Our Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference, Sept. 17-19, is blessed to have not only 20 of the most respected and cutting-edge teachers of herbal medicine… but also two nights of live music featuring bands we know our registrants will love.  Perhaps the most energetic of these acts, Rising Appalachia, will be doing their Afro-Appalachian soul-twang punkabilly forest-activist boogie thing on Friday night, following our longtime friends Carlos Lomas and Gioia Tama of FlamencoWorldCompany and their heartful Nuevo Mexicano flavored Flamenco song and dance.   Saturday night is planned to include the truly enchanting psych-folk couple Arborea, though they are having trouble finding a ride here (see below).  Given the chance that they may not be able to make it, we did an extensive local band search and are pleased to have found and hired Taos musicians Tina Collins and Her Pony to play.  Tina and her partner Quetzal play mostly original tunes, a mix of vocal harmonies, cello and guitar, propelling a contemporary woman’s take on old time mountain style.  Click on the bolded names above to be directed to song samples on Amazon, or do a search on iTunes to enjoy their many recordings… you’ll likely be delighted you did.

Above we have a photo of the deft Carlos and evocative Gioia, FlamencoWorldCompany.

Above is a photo of Tina Collins and Quetzal Jordan of Tina and Her Pony.  And below, a montage of Chloe and Leah, the core of Rising Appalachia.

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Round-Trip Ride Needed

From New England to The TWH Conference for Our Band

ARBOREA

Shanti, Buck and their child

Musicians, on the whole, have seldom been fairly treated in this country, with even the relatively few high paid performers having to deal with predatory labels and management fiascos.  Indie groups in the age of file sharing have an even harder time making a living, selling CDs at small venues while often at the mercy of undependable booking agents.  Like musicians for centuries, Buck and Shanti of our conference band Arborea have faced unforeseen difficulties, without losing their drive to share their creations with attentive listeners.  Like their peers and predecessors, they do what they do for the music first and foremost, out of service to the muse, and in honor and celebration of green energy and the magical natural world.

RIDE SOUGHT

We’d like to find someone in the New England area planning to drive to and back from the upcoming Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference, that  Shanti, Buck and their child could ride with to and from the event.  We’d need you to have a vehicle large enough to hold them and their instruments, and most importantly, feeling honored and happy for the opportunity to be of help in this way.  They would need to arrive on or before July 16th.

If you are interested, we would need to know no later than Aug. 3rd, for their sake, but also to know whether to include them in the Booklet being printed for every attendee.

Thank you much.  Look forward to a most wonderful conference and music.

-Jesse Wolf and Kiva Hardin

This is for the July Blog Party on Adventures in Herbalism, hosted by Darcey Blue of Gaia’s Gifts.

I’m all about the up close and personal.  I learn best through my senses and direct experience. This is perhaps more true in the way I practice herbalism and relationship with the plants than almost anything else. While I enjoy reading and hearing about herbs, my most significant learning happens when they’re about two inches from my face, or when ingesting or actually applying them. I cherish the tactile, the sensual, the immediate.

Nearly all of the herbs I work with in my practice are wildcrafted, and so I have myself a fair number of plant adventures. Whether fording shoulder deep, fast-moving floodwaters with Darcey Blue to harvest Hops stroibles, climbing rocky hills in high heels (I don’t recommend this) in search of Desert Anemone with my local friend Sarah, hanging from tree branches with Loba while looking for berries or crawling through twelve food snow drifts on top of a semi-frozen creek by myself while trying to reach White Fir branches, I tend to like my wildcrafting a little on the extreme side. My family make our home in some of the most remote and least developed country in North America, which definitely creates some great wildcrafting opportunities all on its own.

If you happen to be around to witness such adventures, you’re very likely to catch me squealing like a teenaged girl in a mall, but over wildflowers and roots rather than boys or clothes. Or I might be down on my belly muttering random latin words under my breath while examining some hard to identify species. By the end of any given expedition I’ll likely have leaves tangled in my hair, briar scratches on my arms, dirt streaks on my face and a vehicle full of plant matter. This suits me just fine, and I’d rather have a picnic and muddy adventure in the woods than dinner in a restaurant and a movie any day.

I’ve sliced any number of fingers open, sprained various joints, hung by my hair from Juniper branches on the side of a mountain and even gotten myself quite stuck halfway up a cliff or two. At this very moment, I have several wounds on my hands in the process of healing (be careful with those hori horis, people), a strained wrist, scattered phytodermatitis on my arms and Willow whipmarks on my face from recent wildcrafting journeys. If you don’t yet have the particular disease that compels you to stalk your own herbs and food, you may well wonder what the hell possesses me to brave floodwaters, crawl through mud and avoid nosy authorities just for some weeds.

Why? Because it’s great fun, and nothing quite beats the thrill of finding the one small patch of sticky plants with smelly roots you just walked five miles and climbed a mountain for. Because being dirty and exhausted means I’m alive and living (not the same thing, in case you were wondering). It also gives me a specific and direct connection to the medicines I work with that simply can’t be obtained through ordering herbs online or even growing them in my garden. Getting to know them in their wild habitat provides me with insight and intimacy that I consider invaluable to my practice as an herbalist and vital to my personal relationship with the land and myself.

Truth be told, most of my trips to obtain supplies for our remote homestead are really just excuses to find the herbs that live a little bit further from home. When I make the four hour drive to Albuquerque I have at least a dozen different favorite spots I like to stop at to collect desert herbs. While heading for any city tends to leave me a bit cold, I do get awful excited to go visit my favorite  You’ll never see me as excited as when I’m exploring a new plant place, especially if that happens to be in a high elevation mountain meadow or remote Aspen grove. Despite the fact that I’m fairly afraid of heights, I do manage to find myself on a great many very steep roads and on the edges of dramatic ravines in order to get closer to new and mysterious green thing.

I’m not implying that I think this style of harvesting works for everyone (or is sustainable for the current population), but it is one of my own biggest joys and most persistent obsessions. While I enjoy gardens a great deal, no domesticated plant or pretty plot can compare with the rush that hits me every time I get to know a new wild place, inch by feral inch. Down in the dirt I can feel the world through my senses, direct and up close, as personal as skin and flower and as deep as root and song.

Common Name: Virgin’s Bower, Traveler’s Joy, Love Vine, Lady’s Bower, Sugar Bowls, Devil’s Darning Needles, Pepper Vine, Leather Flower, Vasevine

Botanical Name: C. neomexican, C. chinensis, C. virginiana  and other related species.

Botanical Family: Ranunculaceae

Botanical Description: Generally semi-woody climbing vines with opposite leaves, trifoliate. Dioecious flowers with four sepals, no petals and numerous stamen. Achene fruits that look like long, narrow feathers.

Parts Used: Leaf, vine, root bark

Flavor: Spicy/pungent, salty

Impression: Acrid

Energetics: Hot, dry

Actions: Vascular tonic (vasodilator), relaxant nervine, anti-spasmodic, anti-inflammatory

Specific indications: Arthritis worsened by cold, damp conditions or weather. Migraines from vascular atony. Anxiety, fear and weepiness with concurrent feelings of ungroundedness and a sense of disconnection from reality. Uterine and overian cramping pain with a sense of coldness.

The sprawling, tangly lianas of Wild Clematis climbing Juniper, Oak and even Alder trees are a familiar and sweet sight here in the Gila. Their vibrant light green foliage wraps itself around tree and stone. I’m always amazed by how its long, winding roots can manage to grow a tight grip into even narrow rock crevices and hard, dry soil. With ivory to bright white flowers, they stand out against the blue-green shade of the Oak woodlands, and their feather-tailed seeds are a distinctive mark of this prolific and abundant vine of the mountain Southwest and beyond. Sometimes given innocent and romantic sounding names such as Virgin’s Bower or The Lady’s Vine, Clematis has also been known as Devil’s Darning Needles. While I surely don’t care for the value judgement imposed upon the plant by such a title, I do agree that this powerful herb can do an excellent job of mending the pain and discomfort of a wide variety of ailments.

Clematis was at one time a very large genus, containing about 300 species. It has recently been broken down into several smaller subgenera, but Clematis itself is retained and the species most typical of it botanically are still included under that name. I have listed some of the species above I know to be medicinally active, but to my understanding and experience, any species that demonstrates a significantly acrid (as in, it burns the shit out of your mouth) taste will work just fine. I have no idea if this extends to any of the hybridized or domesticated cultivars as I’ve worked exclusively with wild Clematis at this point.

Strongly active Clematis will be acrid and burn your mouth quite noticeably. Young leaves are by far the best and I try to harvest it when the leaves are not quite grown and at least a month before flowering. Not to say it won’t work later, but it will be stronger and have more relaxant (both nervine and anti-spasmodic) effects if it is harvested while still very acrid.

In Western herbal practice, the arial parts of leaf and stem are most often used, while in Chinese medicine the root bark is often utilized as well. If you’ve ever tasted the spicy bite of Clematis leaves, you still haven’t tasted anything until you’ve taken a nibble of the root bark. This innocuous looking root is acrid enough to make your eyes water and burn when you chop the root bark and certainly more than strong enough to make most of us spit the offending piece of burning matter right back out of our mouths. This is fairly typical of many members of the Ranunculaceae, most of whom certainly tends toward the acrid taste in general. This is exactly why so many of them make excellent anti-spasmodics, a quality directly associated with the acrid taste by many systems of traditional medicine.

Clematis has some overlap in actions and effect with the famed Pulsatilla (now Anemone). This is not surprising considering they share some important constituents. I first learned from Southwestern herbalist Mimi Kamp that Clematis can act as a nervine in ways similar to Anemone. It’s certainly not exactly the same medicine, but close enough to be very useful.

As with its cousin Anemone, this herb is most indicated for those who experiencing cold signs, with or without symptoms of dampness as well. These individuals will likely have a pale tongue, a middling to slow pulse, pale skin, an overall sense of tiredness and an aversion to cold weather. These people are often easily upset or disoriented, and may be referred to as “spacey”. They often have difficulty remaining ungrounded, especially when feeling strongly emotional.

Also similar to Anemone, Clematis has a marked affinity for the reproductive system. I especially like it wherever there is a tendency to spasmodic uterine or ovarian pain of a cold nature, typified by dull but insistent aching and often accompanied by sadness, despondency and joint pain. From King’s American Dispensatory:

“Clematis virginiana has been highly spoken of as a nervine in uterine diseases.… Clematis recta, being particularly useful in nervous insomnia, neuralgic and rheumatic headache, toothache, reflex neuroses of women from ovarian or urinary irritation, neuroses of men with pain in testicles and bladder, cystitis, urethritis, gonorrhoea, orchitis, and swellings of the inguinal glands.”

Clematis has a history in traditional medicine in the treatment of cold, sometimes damp, arthritis, muscle spasms (including leg cramps) and similar afflictions. I find it most effective when formulated with other appropriate herbs which may include Black Cohosh, Ginger or Turmeric. I have even found it to have some significant use in the treatment of joint pain in fibromyalgia, especially when combined with Ashwagandha.

This plant is almost always recommended for migraines by herbalists in the US. Clematis is indeed an excellent and effective vasodilator that can be extremely helpful for those experiencing migraines, especially when other typical treatments have failed to have an effect. I learned from Michael Moore that Clematis is:

“…a useful treatment for headaches in general and migraine and cluster headaches specifically… Most effective in classic migraines where there are head flushes or visual disturbances in advance of the actual headache and most effective then, when drunk at the first sign of these presymptoms. Some folks find the tea works better, some find the tincture more effective. Try both.”

I have mostly worked with the fresh plant tincture, but the tea is indeed effective as well and I usually keep a bit on hand to try for folks not responding to the alcoholic extract. While I find a fresh plant tincture made with significantly acrid leaves and root bark and high proof alcohol to be the strongest and most active preparation, I’ve also seen a 5 year old tincture made with brandy and wilted flowers and leaves that had little acrid taste be effective in the treatment of migraines and arthritis when used in somewhat larger than usual doses.

Considerations & Contra-indications: Not generally an appropriate herb for those with heat signs. Caution should be used when using over a long period of time, especially as a simple and not for people with dominant deficiency in anything more than acute situations. I tend to think it’s best as a short term approach or buffered by an well thought out formula. Nevertheless, I find reports of the plant’s toxicity to be somewhat overstated, as long as it is used appropriately and with due respect for its strength. Strongly acrid species can be moderated by always using the dried plant and by briefly frying it in a hot pan, especially the root bark.

Dosage: 5-60 drops of fresh plant tincture, depending on the intensity of the plant and the constitution of the individual. Otherwise, a tsp of dried plant in 1 cup of just boiled water.

References & Resources

King’s American Dispensatory

Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West by Michael Moore

Recorded Lecture by Mimi Kamp

Recorded Lectures & Written Notes by David Winston

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All Photos © 2010 Jesse Wolf Hardin

Herbal Conformism and the Illusion of Normalcy:

A Response to Charles W. Kane
from the ‘Freak-Show Field’

by Jesse Wolf Hardin

Intro:
Charles W. Kane is an experienced clinical herbalist and self described “veteran of the war against terrorism.”  Unlike the majority of modern day herbalists, he would not be likely to describe our field as “alternative medicine”, and brings from a military and Western background a refreshing degree of old fashioned common sense and down-home candor.  We often refer to his book when looking for what is increasingly rare experience based information and competent materia medica.  That said, he is also someone whose pronouncements I occasionally find simultaneously disturbing and strangely enjoyable to disagree with.  A recent rant of his is titled “Image Herbal Medicine”, calling attention to various concerns that Kiva and I share, while featuring some assumptions and conclusions that surely call for a response.  It seems somewhat karmic (just kidding!) that such a response come not just from metropolitan, cappuccino swilling, politically correct crystal douser and Obama apologists, but from a long-haired cactus-hugging Gaian ecosopher who not only an animal middle name but also wears cowboy hats, stretches a mean barb wire fence, writes about Old West firearms and teaches personal defense.  The bulk of Kane’s article appears below in quotation marks.  Any blame or praise for the words between, falls fairly on me.

“This short essay may come across as snarky or even unpopular,” Mr. Kane starts.  And let me begin in turn by saying there’s no apology called for in either case.  Snarky can be insightful and incite-ful – and darkly entertaining – so long as we avoid the patronizing airs of elitism, are reasonably clever and truly right.  As for ideas being unpopular, in our screwed up society the writing or doing of what’s popular is one of the surest means of being wrong.

“Image herbal medicine or herbal medicine as a fashion statement is easily the most practiced form within the field today. The indicators that suggest an individual is image or fashion oriented are numerous:

1. Identity crisis: name changes to Root, Weed, or Green for example; middleclass whites (the majority of herbalists) wishing they were Hispanic, American Indian, or other “ethnic” races, as if some groups are more ‘connected’ to the plants/planet – a form of reverse racism really.”

Here, Kane has hit on an important issue regarding the lionization and adulation of particular ethnic groups, especially among guilt ridden herbalists and environmentalists… though a far more common and dangerous error in this society is imagining that we all, even EuroAmerican anglophones, are anything other than the descendants of land based peoples, heirs to our own traditions of natural healing and lifeways that were passed down from equally tribal, resilient, plant-wise folks whether whether they be Celts, Vikings or Visigoths.  That said, there is much to both learn from and respect in some of the ways of remaining indigenous peoples of Africa and Asia, Australia and the Americas, and little of honor and value to emulate in the current, modern, so called ‘civilized’ dominant cultural paradigm.

As for fledgeling herbalists changing their names to Root or Weed, it’s stereotypical enough that his observation earned some belly laughs.  Such names likely come closer to representing their characters, interests and allegiance of these plant loving people, however, just as nicknames like “Ace” or “Cowboy” might do a better job of describing certain rodeo regulars or U.S. Army tank crews than “John” or “Bob” like their parents picked.  Our ex New World Order neocon president goes by the respect demanding “George W. Bush”, but that alone wasn’t enough to win him any respect.  History shows that when people need help with their health problems, they cease to care if the person is referred to as Mike or Moss, as ‘Witch’ or even “Leonard Singh III, esq., Proctologist, PhD, DDT”  Just as it should be.

“2. Anti-establishment appearance/association: fits in at a rainbow gathering.”

That’s far too simplistic.  Not all anti-establishment types fit into Rainbow Gatherings, witness the radical Quakers with their archaic bonnets and men’s suspenders, the Michigan Militia and Wyoming Freemen in their cowboy boots and surplus camo fatigues, pissed off college professors wearing knitted vests that would have any Rainbow chuckling!  What is there to be preferred in pro-establishment business suits, blue collared polyester work shirts or corporate-logo baseball caps?  And what value would there be in dressing like everyone else, unless we were in a military uniform or 1950’s doo-wop band?  Most importantly, herbalists and village healers have never fully fit into or been embraced by the status quo.  As with shamans and medicine men, in earliest times the herb-wielding healer was often thought of as divinely mad or dangerously possessed, an affiliate of the unknown, agents of inexplicable powers who were sought out and rewarded when there was a personal or group needed but perhaps kept at a distance between.  As the language of science increasingly replaced that of magic, being conventional looking didn’t keep herbalists from being sidelined, trivialized and slandered.  Mr. Kane is and always will be an alternative practitioner, working outside of the accepted forms an protocols of the drug pushing, high-tech, high dollar medical industry.  He is as fringe as the jacket on David Hopper’s character in the cult film ‘Easy Rider’, if as uncomfortable with the fact as the beer chugging Jack Nicholson was in that same movie.

Herbal enthusiasts and healers are the alternative because we think outside of their box and hopefully outside of our own, because we look to nature for the knowledge, resources and examples we need, because we may see healing as a return to wholeness and vitality rather than a quick fix, as the treatment of causes and imbalances rather than the suppression of symptoms, with a goal not of living longer so much as living more authentic, healthy, vital, rich, meaningful, and purpose-full lives.  And we are alternative because we do not base our value on degrees or the letters after our names so much as on what we know, how willing we are to learn, and how effective we are in our practice.  Because we possibly do not require the approval of any segment of society, official or not, to believe in ourselves and our growing abilities, to act on what we know and assume a responsible role.

“3. Social orientation: anti-individual, group or collective oriented.”

No one is more of an individualist than myself, and I have always paid a high cost because of that.  I grew up individuating myself even if it took me rejecting ideas and ways of being that I’ve since found valuable.  While I teach groups of hundreds, I tend to quickly grow restless in a crowd larger than three!  And yet, we would at best be herb takers and not herbalists, if we only treated ourselves.  By its very definition, healing is other-oriented, a service to our collective kind whether that be an ecosystem, a community, a neighborhood or simply our own family.

“4. Politics: radical left, green socialism.”

There is predictably a majority of Progressives in the herbalism field, just as most environmental activists are Caucasian.  That is not an indictment of either herbalism or ecoactivism, however, but a questioning of and call for more diverse participation, for greater black and asian involvement in ecosystem restoration… with Republicans considering the treatment of more than their own cirrhosis, and contributing to the balance of more than their allopathic specialists’ bank accounts.

“5. ‘Spirituality’: gaia, plant spirit medicine, animism, Buddhism, or the “pick what feels good” self-styled path; anything non Judeo-Christian.”

I recognize that a certain shallow New Age, style oriented approach to herbalism has hurt the credibility and slowed the revival of herbalism in general, but not nearly so much as the slanderous statements released in industry and regulatory agency papers, nor any more than an internecine post such as Kane’s.

An understanding of the earth as a living totality whose health we depend on, can be found in nearly every religious tradition.  Recognition of a spirit or force in plants was characteristic of Christian mystics as well as Gnostics and alchemists, and new science is affording us a model and vocabulary for natural forces and healing processes are still nothing less than magical in their ways and ramifications.  How referencing the Greek word for Mother Earth – ‘Gaia’ – could discredit nature-inspired herbalism is beyond me, and it concerns me to imagine having a preponderance of Judeo-Christian practitioners could ensure the acceptance of and respect for the field of herbalism, when we should insist on being measured by intent and accomplishment, rather then prejudged and pre-approved due to any personal spiritual or philosophic bent.

“6. Modality crisis: embracing TCM, Ayurveda, Unani, or any other foreign system with the thought that they are more enlightened than western approaches, or equally common, the smorgasbord approach: cherry picking from an array of cultural approaches, ending up with a big pile of muddle.”

Eclecticism is indeed a pitfall on the path, leading us to select only what we like or find easy about an approach instead of facing the aspects that are more discomforting or challenging, creating a self-satisfying hybrid without the backbone of tradition, the test of experience, or the benefit of focus and devotion.  Still, even Mr. Kane’s system of Western Herbalism is a conglomerate, drawing from mix of different people’s ideas and approaches, an amalgam even if he were to try to resist all change and influence, and an evolving body of knowledge if not.  The Western world adopted the plants and adapted the healing techniques of the East, Greece was the meeting point of the two.  Roman medicine was highly informed by what they learned from North African healers.

“The catch-22 is when an individual matures to the point of dropping this exterior, moving on to adult life, herbal interest often gets dropped as well: this occurs to most in the field between the ages of 25 to 35. The ones that stay are often in a state of arrested development (75% of ‘older’ herbalists are still children).”

Actually, Mr. Kane is at least as concerned with exterior appearance as any cloak conscious pagan herbalist, and perhaps more so since he deemed it a topic worthy of writing an article.  His entire piece is given to describing how important he finds conventional appearance in the search for personal acceptance and professional credibility.  It matters a lot to him that he not look like a hippie, Democrat, Moslem or Mexican, nor be confused with flower-sniffing, plant communing herbalists whose look he believes undermine the practice.

But yes, most herbalists, plant lovers and nature nuts that I know are still childlike, stopping the most adult activities at the sight of an unnamed plant at the side of the road or trail, grinning and hopping up and down when they finally key it out, anxious to make others feel better, crestfallen when unable to do so.  The are delightfully free of the fear of being seen in public adoring another life form, free of concern over getting their knees dirty when a fragile sprout or shiny bug calls for close attention, inclined to act on their impulses and convictions, likely to foolishly but wondrously work to heed an inner calling or fulfill their dreams.

People trapped in what Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes) might call premature adulthood, are stuck  with concealing their excitement over even the rarest of plants under a veneer of machismo or maturity, and worry needless if someone is watching when it comes time to crawl around for skullcap or jump into a swimming hole.

“If you look like you just steeped off the bus from the local primitive skills gathering, you will raise doubts in the minds of the people you are treating. I can’t tell you the number of times I have been thanked by patients, who appreciate my normality within an otherwise freak-show field.”

Looking like what the average, normal person considers to be a freak can be counterproductive if you want to be able to treat folks of all kinds, from all walks of life.  On the other hand, there is nothing about a conservative’s crew cut or doctor’s starched white doctor’s coat that universally communicates wisdom, let alone accessibility, a capacity for empathy, deep concern or human warmth.  And by being comfortable with their selves, their bodies, mortal processes and physical looks, healers help their clients to do the same.

Normal is too often the refuge of the fearful and average, the self doubting and those who are scarily well adjusted to situations and environments they should naturally be finding intolerable and unacceptable.  It is normal to obey every new law that is passed no matter how unconstitutional or intrusive, to pay thousands of dollars for health insurance without spending anything to learn how to care for ourselves and our loved ones or tend even the most simple to treat family ailments, to take steroids for allergies and antibiotics for nearly everything else.  It’s all too normal for practiced nurses to defer to book learned doctors, for health practitioners to ignore their instincts and observations and blindly employ the pharmaceutical-centric approach, and for herbalist to worry they can’t do any good unless they are certified and have an office.

What’s not normal, Charlie W. Kane, is someone like yourself caring so much about plants and natural healing at the same time you’re so concerned about appearing normal.  Just a little bit freaky, you have to admit.

Friends and clients joined in celebrating the launch of herbalist Kiva Rose’s mobile Village-Herbalist Clinic at her office in Catron County, New Mexico, in a formalizing of her years of providing herbal health consultations to the residents of this singularly remote region of the American Southwest.

The Medicine Woman Mobile Clinic:
What it Means to Be a Village Herbalist

by Jesse Wolf Hardin

www.animacenter.org

Natural healing and self sufficiency can benefit anyone, no matter where we might live.  That said, self care and community health care are in some ways even more vital in rural areas than they are in cities, given the few regular medical services available and the many miles from town, farm or ranch to the nearest well equipped hospital.  Relative isolation requires increased self reliance, manifest from vehicle repair and garden skills to the ability to treat their family’s less serious conditions as well as provide first-aid in the case of an emergency.  And along with the need, also comes an unusual degree of receptivity to natural and so-called alternative healing methods, with folks inspired to avail themselves of the medicinal and edible plant varieties thriving all around them, predisposed against the excessive or automatic use of pharmaceuticals, resentful of what they view as an increasing expensive and depersonalized medical industry, distrustful of any kind of official certification, and characteristically leaning towards what they consider the deliberate gifts of nature and creator.

Such folks are not, at least out here in the West, the kind to readily ask for help or advice of any kind.  The knowledge that many of them have about local indigenous herbs is gathered not through visible study so much as taking in information without appearing to do so, watching what grandparents and neighbors use, and often surreptitiously testing it and proving its effects to themselves before allowing even silent witnesses to their methods.  Nor are they comfortable going into offices of any kind, whether a lawyer’s, banker’s, doctor’s or herbalist’s.  They may instead invite old fashioned house calls to a trusted practitioner, bringing out food and beverages while apologizing for the trouble and venturing to describe their symptoms or needs.  And often what they prefer is to wait until they run into the area’s curandera, “grannywoman” or village herbalist at a local event, in front of the gas station or in the aisles of the country store.  The most effective healers solicit health information in a relaxed manner such as one discusses the best feed for a fair-bound lamb, and emphasizes the many entirely practical reasons they might have to make the necessary effort to heal, tend and nourish their bodies.  Any tinctures or other preparations are offered the way one offers a present, too imbued with their sincere concern and obvious effort for anyone to ever turn them down.  And even if there is a set value for the medicine, the healer accepts payment as though it were a personal gift and acknowledgment of much appreciated help.

Rather than depending on bumping into her many local clients, my partner Kiva is now seeing them primarily by advance appointment.  The sign I drew for her Medicine Woman mobile clinic rests in a portable iron base, so that it can rolled out and set up in front of outdoor tables at our friend’s local café, or announce her location anywhere she ever feels like setting up.  One advantage that the unincorporated practitioner has is that she or he can advise clients wherever she is most needed or most wants to be, whether that be the herbalist’s own home, or a park or camping area with a backdrop of greenery or creek.  If having a permanent office building seems to say “stable”, “credible” or “official”, a partly mobile practice communicates a sense of the “adaptive”, “personal”… and “traditional”.

Local clients email or call Kiva’s voicemail to arrange for their appointment, and she gets back to them as soon as she can.  Given that we live 7 river crossings from not only pavement but cellphone reception or available land lines, this means a message recorded on the same iPod that holds her ever-present progressive Americana recordings, downloaded through our solar powered satellite connection whenever she is home, and replied to on her twice weekly trips to town.

With its scarce few hundred residents, however, it not so much a town but as a “village”, as the highway department makes clear with the signs posted on either side, a modern village with a common need, calling for a both uncommon and old-timey approach.  Herein exists the classic province of the democratized, self empowered healer.  It is places similar to this all over the world, where one comes to know not only the names but the histories and lifestyle habits of those whom we seek to assist.  The expect of us not “cures” but insights, tools and aids, an opportunity and means to regain balance and wholeness, the knowledge and help of the beneficial plants growing in the nearest mountains and deserts, in their backyard gardens and wily weed patches, and laced through the wild unkempt edges of neighborhood streets.

-Jesse Wolf Hardin

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(for information on Village Herbalism, The Medicine Woman Tradition and Kiva’s  Online Herbal Foundations Courses, go to:

www.AnimaCenter.org and www.AnimaHealingArts.org)

Summer’s Spice: Beebalm Flower Infused Honey

It won’t be long now until the first brilliant purple flowers of Beebalm explode into bloom here in the Canyon. Locals call this gorgeous wildflower either Oregano de la Sierra or just Wild Oregano. Because yep, it tastes spicy and rather Oregano-like. The botanical name of this particular species is a bit long, being Monarda fistulosa var. menthaefolia, but really, any Monarda species will work just fine for most medicinal, culinary and other uses. The specific actions will, however, vary with the exact flavor and impression of the particular plants you work with.

There can be quite a bit of taste variation through the genus of Monarda, all are aromatic but some veer more toward the sweet end of the taste spectrum while others are definitely most appropriately called spicy. Our own wild Beebalm certainly has the capacity to make your eyes water and to elicit surprised yelps from the sensitive mouths of those who didn’t quite believe me when I said it was hot. There’s also often a buttery or oily aftertaste, a smooth slickness left on the tongue after ingestion of a leaf. This buttery effect doesn’t seem to be present in all species but is certainly an element of our local Beebalm.

This versatile plant has myriad uses in food, medicine and beyond and its one of my favorite herbs to talk about at length. It can be prepared a variety of ways, from the dried leaf to the tincture of the flowering tops to a sweet elixir of the flowers. What we’ll be talking about here though, is the preparation and use of the flower infused honey.

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Ingredients

• About a pint jar full of recently harvested, roughly chopped Beebalm flowers
• Appr. a pint of local raw honey

Directions

1. Fill jar with Beebalm flowers
2. Fill again with honey
3. Stir with butter knife, chopstick or something similar to remove air bubbles
4. Top off with honey
5. Repeat until jar is full of flowers and honey
6. Cover and allow to infuse for about 4 weeks

Now you have Beebalm flower infused honey. You can either warm it gently and strain it or use it as is. The flower bits taste good and make the medicine stronger but not everyone appreciates the texture.

Here are a few ways in which Beebalm honey can be helpful:

• Burn/Wounds – An excellent dressing for wounds and burns, even severe or extensive burns. Honey itself is very healing and can help to prevent or resolve infections, but the blood moving properties of Beebalm speed healing, lessen pain and treat infection. I especially love a combo of  Evening Primrose (Oenothera)/Beebalm flower infused honey for moderate to severe burns or wounds.
• Sadness & Stagnant Tension – Beebalm is a relaxant nervine. Being vary aromatic, it tends to be dispersive, moving energy and fluids up and outward. This makes it especially helpful for Kapha types with a tendency toward stagnation on a emotional level. It can help with sadness or tension that won’t seem to go away, especially when accompanied by a sense of stuckness and coldness. Be aware that it can make already spacey Vatas even more spacey (it’s that upward movement thing, when Vatas often need grounding, downward moving herbs). They’ll often like that euphoric feeling but it may or may not be helpful to them overall. Beebalm is also common ingredient in my formulas for those with seasonal affective disorder.
• Tummy Troubles – Being an aromatic with an affinity for the gut (otherwise known as a carminative), Beebalm works very nicely on achy, bloated bellies where there’s a sense of stuckness and dampness. It also combines well with many bitters, which would also usually be indicated in such a scenario.
• Sore Throat – Especially good for those achy, sorta scratchy sore throats. If there’s a sense of rawness, add in some Mallow root or Elm bark. If it’s more of a sharp, burning sort of sore throat, add in or substitute Rose petals.
• Respiratory Infection/Congestion – I’ve often talked about Beebalm leaves used in an herbal steam for cold/damp respiratory infection and congestion but the honey also makes a great addition to many respiratory formulas.
• Inflammation – Beebalm is great for many forms of systemic inflammation. I seem to use it where a lot of people would use Ginger, which makes sense with its spicy, diffusive taste. However, Beebalm is more variable in temperature (a la herbal energetics) and has a more complex mix of stimulant/relaxant effects. I also learned from West Viriginia Herbwife Rebecca Hartman that Beebalm can be mighty useful in addressing acute Lupus flareups, especially where there’s concurrent rheumatoid arthritis and the flareups manifest as acute joint inflammation and body pain. I usually work with the tincture/elixir for this purpose, but the hones seems to work pretty well too.
• Infections – Those of you who’ve read my other writings on Beebalm will be familiar with how often I use it for many sorts of systemic or local infections. However, the sugar content of honey makes this particular preparation less than ideal for that use, so stick with the tea, elixir or tincture for that application.
• Food – Well yeah, it just plain tastes good. Add it to nearly any hot tea, to all sorts of sauces and desserts or even just straight from the spoon (not the whole jar at once though, folks).

~~~

All Photos ©2010 Kiva Rose

Grassroots Herbalism: The Weeds & Wildlings of Folk Medicine

by Kiva Rose

Mexican Poppy (Eschscholzia californica var. mexicana)

Any of ya’ll who’ve been reading The Medicine Woman’s Roots for very long are likely familiar with my penchant for all things weedy and wild. Garden flowers are pretty enough, but I prefer the bad attitude of rebellious weeds and fierce insistence of wild plants growing out of sharp-edged rock crevices and boggy swamp bottoms. Rare, esteemed herbs from the other side of the globe can be useful enough medicines, but my heart (and the heart of my practice as an herbalist) definitely lies with the common, abundant plants that grow just outside my door and down by the river.

Even in my small, feral garden, I don’t baby anyone. If they can’t hold their own with the Lamb’s Quarters and Wild Mustard, that’s just tough. I’m a great fan of such qualities of tenacity, fierceness, badassness (yes, that IS a quality, if not a word) and even a bit of outright mule-headedness can serve very well. And really, this is where my roots grow deepest – among strong, willful plants, land, culture and people. Yep, I like weedy and wild people too. Stubborn, skeptical and child-like in the way that rural and earthy (even while still urban) folks can be. Whether in Appalachia or the Mountain Southwest, I am inevitably drawn to those who not only survive adversity, but thrive despite the difficulties.

Kiva Rose by the Gila River with a skirt full of Galium aparine and Corydalis aurea

I see grassroots herbalism as having direct connections with local plants, with the land both we and the herbs grow from and with the people we work with. All this directness leads to a certain kind of messiness. Sometimes picking your own medicine means there’s strange little bugs in your most recent harvest and sometimes talking to folks about their problems on their back porch leads to a much more complicated conversation than if you’d kept it in your air-conditioned office. Working this way, you get to know the plants in the context of their environment, of their relationship with other plants, with the dirt, with humans. Likewise, we also learn to understand people in the context of their human community and the connections they have to place and more-than-human people (you know, critters of various sorts).

I approach healing as a means of facilitating wholeness in whatever form that takes for each individual. Context is essential to any sort of wholeness. I don’t want to isolate bits of synthesized plant parts for my remedies, and I find my best success therapeutically has always come from working with whole plants. And I don’t desire to remove the people I help from their circumstances and ways of being. I work best when I get to know folks, hear about their life and what they love and what gets under their skin. I can’t really imagine any old-time root doctor or indigenous medicine person working any other way, and it seems the only approach I know how to practice anyhow.

Homemade Herbal Medicine

If you want to make lots of money with herbs, this sure as hell isn’t the way to do it. Often enough, I don’t make any money at all for the work I do or the herbs I hand out. Sometimes I get live chickens or whiskey (for tinctures, folks, for tinctures) or fresh plants or even slabs of fresh killed Elk for my work. I, like just about anyone else, do need money to feed my family, tend the land where I live, and even just to pay for all that alcohol for tinctures. But I enjoy working by donation whenever I can, and being able to give regardless of a person’s financial status.

The work I do (and love) is folk medicine, it’s accessible and subversive and messy and is all about the magic of the everyday. It revolves around good food and weeds and  conversation and a return to the heart of what healing is all about: wholeness embodied in the individual, the community and the land.

~~~~

In case you’ve missed it up ‘til now (or have waffled a bit about actually getting signed up), I and John Gallagher of LearningHerbs.com are doing a free teleseminar (this means you call in on a telephone and get to listen to us ramble on about our favorite subjects) on Wednesday evening (that would be June 9th) called the The Wild Remedy: Grassroots Herbalism from Your Backyard and Beyond. This includes a whole bunch of giveaways including a year subscription to HerbMentor.com and even a free ticket to the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference in September. Space is limited but there’s still room as of now so head over to http://WildRemedy.com to learn more and to sign up.

Note: I’m rather behind on my emails (as per usual). I get a crazy volume of correspondence in, and I can’t always write everyone back even though I’d love to. And if you’ve written about studying or consulting with me and its been more than two weeks and you haven’t heard back, feel free to write again. I can’t promise an immediate response, but you can figure I’m working on it.

Rhiannon helping to process plants for medicine.

~~~

All Photos ©2010 Kiva Rose

The beautiful logo my partner Wolf created for the Medicine Woman Herbal Clinic and for my line of herbal products, Medicine Woman Herbals.

I’ve recently opened an office, one day a week, at the new Frisco Wellness Center here in the local village of Reserve. I call my herbal and nutrition consulting The Medicine Woman Herbal Clinic, and share the space with Kristen Ehrlich, who is a massage therapist. While I’m already seeing folks there, we’re celebrating the opening with an open house and small gathering at the Wellness Center on June 12th (that’s 43 Main Street next to the daycare and community garden, if any of you locals happen to be reading this).

In the process of opening up this office, I’ve also been conducting a serious reevaluation of my own practice and work as an herbalist. I have always considered myself to be very hands-on, common sense and grounded in what works. I don’t have any letters after my name, no special certification or even any fancy memberships to prove my status as a professional herbalist. But as I’ve begun teaching and working with more and more people, and expanding my practice, I’ve noticed that I sometimes find myself wishing I could prove myself with more than just my reputation and the thanks of those I’ve treated or taught. After all, there is a certain allure to having people trust you based on your education or official status in the world. And of course, within the realm of mainstream medicine, or even mainstream alternative medicine, it is nearly a requirement you at least pretend to have some sort of certification, some document that assures your clients and students of your competence, if not your excellence. Now, I think there’s some real validity to this way of thinking if you intend to work within the medical system or desire the respect of other healthcare professionals. This sort of respect and acknowledgment from within the system creates a very specific kind of accessibility and allows the public to know that herbalists even exist in the world. Which in turn provides them with options for health and healing they didn’t previously have, something that is almost always a good thing.

The more I think on it though, the less I’m interested in any official status. I’m happy for those herbalists who work in a more widely accepted model of practice that allows them greater freedom of movement within our culture… but for myself, I intend to stay right here, at the grassroots. For me personally, this means continuing to work with people as an herbal practitioner, as a village herbalist, on a nearly daily basis. It means leaning over peoples’ backyard fences and teaching them how to work with the weeds that grow all around them. It means gathering wild plants for food and medicine for my family and friends. It means when I sit down with people to try and help them with whatever discomfort or problem they’re experiencing that my aim is to nourish and promote wholeness and vital health. It means I’m a weedy herbalist, subverting the dominant culture with chicken soup and wildflowers, and by reminding people that medicine comes from right here – from the earth we’re connected to and from inside our own bodies.

It doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop learning, or quit trying to understand the intricacies of human physiology or the magical complexity of botany. In fact, I think I might learn that much more with all the time I’ll save not filling out paperwork or proving I know what I’m doing to the proper authorities. For myself, authority as an herbalist comes from myself and from the community I serve. This is how I practice and this is how I teach my students. My people come to study with me initially looking to become a “certified herbalist” and while I do offer a certificate of completion at the end of some of my more demanding programs, those certificates are just that, a piece of paper informing you (and whoever you show it to) that you managed to finish the course of work set before you. It, like me, offers no entitlement or authority.

At my core, I’m a traditional herbalist, what people ’round these parts call a medicine woman, and what’s called an herbwife or grannywoman if you’re from Appalachia or the Ozarks. Nope, I sure haven’t finished college, but I sure do know what herbs to use on an assassin bug bite or if you’ve got a migraine. Like all of us, I’ll be working to understand how it all works until my very last breath. I’m excited for that journey, and to spend every day of the rest of my life learning how to better help the community I serve as an herbalist, a healer, a human being.

~~~~

In case you missed yesterday’s post, be sure to check out the FREE teleseminar I’m doing with John Gallagher:
The Wild Remedy: Grassroots Herbalism from Our Backyards & Beyond

Hello folks, here in the Canyon, the Wild Roses (Rosa woodsii) are just beginning to bloom, the Blisswort (Scutellaria potosina) is flowering beautifully (more on those very soon) and the land is green and lush with such an abundantly rainy Spring! I’ve been on a bit of a writing hiatus, and my time’s been consumed by working on many big projects, not least the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference but also on several other exciting things I can’t really talk about just yet. What I can tell you is that I’ll be back to writing on a more regular basis very shortly, and that I’m putting together even more herbal, healing and related online goodness for ya’ll. To help make up for the lack of Kiva words lately, I want to announce a great new opportunity to get a big earful of my herbal ramblings in one concentrated dose.

Many of you know that I’m a big fan of the work of John Gallagher over at Learningherbs.com, who provides an amazing amount of free herbal information and opportunities as well as through his ongoing and interactive homestudy site/course over at Herbmentor.com.  John recently invited me to do a special FREE teleseminar for anyone who wanted to join in. Now, living out the sticks as I and my family do, seven river crossings from the nearest road on an 80 acre botanical sanctuary set within the Gila National Forest, you have to understand that I have no phone and only limited satellite internet running on a small system of solar panels. So it’s generally difficult for me to manage any sort of audio interviews of any kind. But I was so very excited about the particular subject matter that John proposed to me and the wonderful audience of this teleseminar that I really wanted to make the extra effort to do a live teleseminar.

This has all come together to become The Wild Remedy: Grassroots Herbalism from our Backyards & Beyond, a 60-90 minute free teleseminar. We’ll be talking about hands-on, down-home herbalism for everyone, including tips for beginners and for working with the wild and weedy plants all around you, including those in your own backyard! Additionally, we’ll be discussing working with common kitchen remedies, and even a bit about the energetics of foods and how you can create healing for your family through your meals every single day. I’ll also be sharing some details about the upcoming (and oh so exciting) Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference. Overall, we’ll be digging into the marrow of traditional herbalism, herbwifery, community-based healing and the many accessible ways we can each work with plants for greater health. You can find out all about the teleseminar right here, and also sign up (completely free) to participate next week.

And if that wasn’t enough, we’re also giving away some really great prizes during the teleseminar, including a free one year subscription to HerbMentor.com, one free ticket to the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference and multiple copies of the Wildcraft boardgame.

Sign up now at http://WildRemedy.com to join John Gallagher and I on Wednesday evening, June 9th, at 6:30 Mountain Time for a great conversation about hands-on herbalism from the grassroots!

~~~

All Photos ©2010 Kiva Rose & Jesse Wolf Hardin

For those who don’t regularly read the Anima Lifeways and Herbal School blog, you might be interested in my newest series of posts over there called The Forager’s Basket. Mostly made up of concise profiles of common wild foods, this series aims to give people an ongoing look at the wide array of easily available edible wild plants as well as suggestions on how to harvest, process, preserve and prepare them. Yes, that’s right, free information about free food, what could be better?

You can take a look at the series so far right here, and if you enjoy them, you might want to subscribe to the blog via a feedreader or email to receive updates about new posts. Enjoy!

~Kiva

There’s nothing quite like the sound of a warm spring wind rustling through a vibrantly green patch of Oats. Bowed with the weight of their ripening fruit, they nod and toss their heads with each breeze. Their sweet smell and long smooth leaves certainly invite us to sit down and get acquainted with them. In case you can’t tell, Avena is a favorite plant of mine, both as a beautiful living plant and as a primary medicine in my materia medica.

Many people think of gruel or porridge when they hear the word Oats. For some, this is a pleasant association of home-cooked food and for others, not so much. Most don’t necessarily connect Oats to medicine or even to a live plant but rather to that flaky brown stuff in the round cardboard container many of us grew up with.

And yet, Avena has its origins in a wild plant that has spread so well and so widely that even experts are unclear on exactly where it first began. Feral and cultivated Oats are one of our best nervines, nerve tonics and overall supplementing tonics. As weeds and wild things, they require little from human hands to make themselves at home and proliferate at will. There’s a lesson to be had in their tenacious vibrancy and in the particular medicine they provide us. In their capacity to restore frayed nerves and tired minds, they also give us the gift of returning to our original wild selves with renewed energy and vigor.

While I have previously written at some length about the use of the fresh plant tincture of milky tops of Avena, this particular post is about the dried aerial parts of the plant, including either just the dried milky tops or the entire above ground green plant, harvested during the milky stage.

Avena is one of those mild herbs that I was at first rather skeptical of. I found myself wondering if it actually ~did~ much of anything, outside of providing vitamins and minerals. Yes, yes, I know what the books say, but I’ll admit that I’m rarely convinced of anything just by reading about it. In my world, experience will prove something out, or not. That the fresh tincture of the milky tops worked as an effective nervous system trophorestorative I had little doubt of after many case studies where the plant did indeed make a significant difference. But it’s taken me much longer to make what I feel is a fair and accurate assessment of the dried plant used as an infusion. This monograph is a summary of just that – my experiences working with Oatstraw with family, friends, clients and myself.

Avena is a consistent, safe and effective nutritive tonic for those suffering from exhaustion from overwork or emotional trauma. Often there will be symptoms of irritability, chronic fatigue, inability to focus, loss of libido and sometimes heart palpitations. The loss of libido is often directly related to the other symptoms, as it can be difficult to be fully present and physically engaged when dealing with anxiety and bone-deep tiredness. However, it does appear that Avena has a more specific effect on the endocrine system as well, promoting balanced menstrual cycles and sexual health. And proving the old saying about sowing one’s oats. This is even more true when the Avena is combined with an adaptogenic/tonic herb such as Withania.

Avena is most indicated when there is a combination of anxiety and restlessness (often accompanied by insomnia) with some level of depression, mental fatigue and inability to focus. It’s great for that “tired but wired” feeling so many of experience after long periods of overwork (or child rearing), especially if there is a history of  lack of adequate sleep. It’s also an excellent tonic for those whose nervous systems are worn down or fried from substance abuse of any kind. Additionally, I have seen it significantly reduce the occurrence of chronic tension headaches brought on by anxiety, overwork, menstrual cycle and/or exhaustion.

The herb can be very helpful where there are palpitations triggered by tiredness and endocrine imbalance. Avena has a long reputation as a mild cardiotonic, and while I’m not sure if the mode of action is simply through its effect on the nervous system or if there is a more direct impact on the heart itself but I have definitely seen it reduce the frequency and severity of heart palpitations clearly brought on by stress, although I prefer the dried plant combined with the use of the fresh plant tincture of the milky tops in such cases. From King’s American Dispensatory:

This plant is a nerve-tonic, stimulant, and antispasmodic. It ranks among the most important restoratives for conditions depending upon nervous prostration, and for the nervous exhaustion consequent upon typhoid and other low fevers, and the accidental disorders arising from these complaints, as weak heart, spermatorrhoea, insomnia, etc. In enfeebled states of the heart muscle it acts as a good tonic to improve the energy of the organ, and is recommended by Prof Webster to prevent relapsing cardiac rheumatism. In this condition it is not thought to be specially antirheumatic, but rather to strengthen that debility upon which the rheumatic diathesis depends, so that the patient is less subject to atmospheric and other impressions.

Avena has neither overt relaxant or stimulating actions, but instead seems to heal and nourish the nervous system so that the body can respond appropriately to stimulus rather than overreacting with either depression or anxiety. Its soothing character and neutral energetic profile makes it appropriate for nearly anyone, including children and those weak from deficiency or long illness. Herbalist Thomas Avery Garran specifically says that:

Oat is a gentle supplementing medicinal. Its action of supplementing both yin and qi is somewhat unique and makes it appropriate for many patterns affecting an extraordinary number of patients in the West. Coupled with its [ability] to nourish the heart and calm the spirit, these supplementing properties make oat extremely important in modern practice…

Keep in mind that Avena is a nutritive, gentle herb and can take time to have a noticeable effect. While some people, especially those with extreme exhaustion, can feel the soothing touch of the plant right away, many only notice the effects after 4-6 weeks of consistent use. If symptoms are severe and a more rapid resolution is needed, consider using the tincture of the fresh milky heads in addition to the Oatstraw. The tincture doesn’t replace the mineral-rich water-based preparations of Oatstraw, but it usually has a quicker action and they work very well when used in tandem.

Some herbalists are of the opinion that only the fresh plant tincture of the milky tops is the only part of the plant worth using, but I have found in my practice that the dried green herb also has great value. This is in part due to its impressive mineral profile, but also because of its gentle nervine effect. I consider the tincture and the dried plant to be somewhat different medicines, and often use them concurrently.

Oatstraw is the foundation of many of my nourishing infusion blends for clients with nervous system depletion, endocrine deficiency and general lack of energy and mental clarity. The infusion is quite pleasant tasting, light, slightly nutty, grassy and sweet and with a bit of honey, even most children can be convinced to indulge in a cup of Oatstraw. It’s hard to go wrong with Avena, and it will often help and almost never harm or cause complications. It is a core restorative, and very much a tonic in the sense that it replenishes and supplements at a deep level rather than simply stimulating surface function. I can’t emphasize how needed and vital these sorts of medicines are in an age and culture where burnout is the norm and exhaustion is expected. Do keep in mind though, that depletion needs to be addressed on every level, from lifestyle and sleep habits to nutrition and herbs. There is no one quick fix, the key is supporting the whole person.

Oats are common feral and wild plants throughout most of the US and beyond. They’re also are very easy to grow seed, even indoors or by children. Wildlife are very fond of it though, so keep it protected if you have hungry neighborhood critters. It’s ready to harvest when the immature green fruits pop when you squeeze them and emit a milky white fluid. You can harvest the whole plant or just the milky tops. If you harvest the tops and cut them back by about half, they tend to come back with a second round of fruit to harvest.

Common Names: Wild Oats, Oatstraw, Oatgrass, Catgrass,

Botanical Name: Avena sativa, A. fatua

Botanical Family: Poaceae

Taste: Sweet, bland

Energetics: Neutral, moist

Actions:Nutritive, nervine, nervous system trophorestorative

Parts Used: Dried aerial parts or tops harvested during milky phase.

Preparations: Usually taken as an infusion, and sometimes a decoction (if primarily interested in extracting minerals).

Dosage: From 1-4 Cups of the infusion per day usually, preferably spread out through the day rather than all at once.

Considerations & Contraindications: None except that a very few people wit Celiac disease or gluten intolerance have problems with Oats in any form, sometimes because of cross-contamination with other grains during processing. Additionally, some individuals have a rare reaction specifically to Oats. Otherwise Avena is a very safe and basically a food-like herb.

Recipe: A favorite spring tonic of mine that I find very beneficial in increasing energy without overt stimulation and while simultaneously providing a sense of centered calm is a sweet and spicy blend of Oatstraw, Raspberry, Sassafras, Roses and Cinnamon. This alterative mix is both nourishing and energizing, and with a bit of honey or maple (or birch) syrup, enjoyed by both children and adults served either cold or hot.

• 1/2 C Oatstraw or Oat tops
• 1/4 Cup Raspberry (Rubus) Leaves or 1/8 C Sassafras Leaves
• 2 Tsp Sassafras root
• 2-3 large pinches of Rose (Rosa) petals
• small pinch of Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) powder

Add ingredients to a quart jar. Cover with just boiled water and cover with airtight lid. Allow to infuse for 2 hours to overnight. Strain and enjoy.

Variation: For a stronger relaxant nervine effect, try substituting Peach (Prunus persica) leaves or Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) leaves.

Resources & References:

King’s American Dispensatory (Felter-Lloyd)

Medical Herbalism (Hoffmann)

Western Herbs According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (Garran)

Herbal Medicine of the American Southwest (Kane)

The Earthwise Herbal: Old World (Wood)

At long last! –– the release of the greatly anticipated

COURSE 1

of a 5 course program for the village herbalist:

From the Ground Up: Grassroots Training in Traditional Western Herbalism

FOUNDATIONS IN TRADITIONAL WESTERN HERBALISM

Written & Taught by Kiva Rose Hardin

After years of preparation, the essential first course in Kiva Rose’s comprehensive 5 course program has just been released, with openings for a select number of committed students.  Foundations in Traditional Western Herbalism provides information and tools that are important for understanding and getting the most from the 4 other courses in this groundbreaking series.  Kiva’s attention to the basics makes the practice of herbalism comprehensible for a beginner, while her unconventional perspective and innovative approach ensure that even experienced herbalists will find themselves learning new concepts, in lessons that not only inform but stretch and challenge, inspire and delight.

Lessons arrive as PDF files, with beautiful, illustrative color photos scattered throughout.

To register, go to the bottom of this post and click on the Application link.

The Course Work

Each lesson consists of a core topic, accompanying definitions and terms, a section on Materia Medica with an in-depth profile of a single herbal ally, and another featuring a description and complete directions for foundational medicine making techniques, with questions and assignments for every section. Course 1 includes 4 lessons:

• Lesson 1: The Roots of Traditional Western Herbalism
  Materia Medica: Nettles (Urtica spp.)
  Medicine Making: Tisanes, Infusions & Nourishing Infusions
• Lesson 2: Healing as Wholeness & The Tonic Approach
  Materia Medica: Mullein (Verbascum spp.)
  Medicine Making: Infused Oil
• Lesson 3: Vitalist Herbalism & The Anima
  Materia Medica: Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp)
  Medicine Making: Decoctions
• Lesson 4: The Matrix – Healing & the Material World
  Materia Medica: Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
  Medicine Making: Herbal Baths & Hydrotherapy

Students can take as long as needed to complete work, which includes studies and readings, the answering of questions and the fulfillment of assignments.  It is these assignments that are in some ways the most crucial of all, placing the focus on the immediate, practical utilization of each idea and skill that we learn here.  “This is not so much about memorizing information,” she explains, “but about experiencing the plants and their effects, and learning to understand and integrate those effects in a practical and effective way.”  Once the coursework is completed and emailed back, Kiva reviews it and then writes a single detailed, personal response providing any helpful clarification or correction, further suggested assignments and advice where needed.

Once your Foundations in Traditional Western Herbalism questions and assignments are complete, you may then want to enroll in each of the following, soon to available courses:

• Course 2: Elements in Energetic Herbalism
• Course 3: Human Ecology: Physiology & Organ System Energetics for the
  Traditional Herbalist
• Course 4: Reading the Terrain: Practical Diagnostics for the Traditional Herbalist
• Course 5: Restoration: Pathophysiology & Diagnostics for the Traditional Herbalist

Course 1 will provide the groundwork for beginning or furthering herbal healing practice, and anyone taking all 5 courses can be confidant of having been given the essential information, means and tools needed to be a highly effective herbalist… whether treating one’s self and family, or giving one’s life to helping heal others.

About Your Instructor

Kiva is the cofounder of the distinctive sense and common sense based Anima Tradition of Herbalism, author of the acclaimed Anima Healing Arts Blog (formerly the Medicine Woman’s Roots), and the village herbalist of the rural community near her lush botanical sanctuary in the wilderness of Southwest New Mexico.  She’s become known for her intuitive understanding of plants and their properties, leading her to discover – or in some cases rediscover – novel uses and treatments, as well as for her evocative, easily understood explanations of energetics, and she and her school’s bioregional emphasis.

Kiva writes: “My focus is firmly on accessible, grassroots herbalism that educates the individual and serves the community, both the human component as well as the larger earthen community. I strongly believe in restoring health at all levels and approach healing from the understanding that the body is a diverse and intelligent ecology, integrally connected to the planet as a whole.”

As her partner in this life and work, I couldn’t be more proud of her efforts, or more impressed with this life-empowering and life-enhancing course.

Donations

All courses are offered on a donations basis, with a $350 to $700 suggested sliding scale depending on your ability to contribute and how much you value what is offered.  Those unable to donate the complete amount at once, are invited to contribute over time as able.

Apply Now

To apply, click on the link below, then download, fill out and return the:

Foundations in Traditional Western Herbalism Home Study Course Application

Spread the Word

And please make the time to spread the word about this exciting series of courses, by pasting and forwarding this message to your mailing list, or reposting this announcement on your blog or in  appropriate forums you frequent.  Thank you for your patience in waiting for this course to be released, and for your commitment to healing, the plant world and this School.
-Jesse Wolf Hardin

Anima Lifeways and Herbal School
www.AnimaCenter.org and www.AnimaHealingArts.org

Spring has come a little late to the Gila but is now emerging full force, right in step with the tumultuous pace of the San Francisco River flooding its muddy banks. Thanks to snowmelt and significant rains, southwest New Mexico is remarkably well watered at the moment which most likely means a wildflower rich Spring! While there are already many flowers blooming at lower elevations in the Gila, here at about 6,000 feet we’re still at the beginning of our season.

Every year, this diminutive but beautiful little flower commonly known as Mountain Candytuft (Noccaea fendleri subsp. glauca) is one of the very first noticeable wildflowers to bloom in the Canyon.

It’s colors range from bright white to lavender to purple, depending on exactly where it’s growing. It prefers middle mountain coniferous forest and is mostly found in this area growing at the feet of towering Ponderosa Pines among the leaf litter, pine needles and fallen tufts of Usnea lichen.

Candytuft is a Brassicaceae, a member of the ubiquitous Mustard Family. And like many other mustards, it is both edible and quite tasty. Sweet and spicy, somewhat reminiscent of a cross between Mustard greens and Broccoli, these abundant flowers make excellent additions to all sorts of salads and are also wonderful and beautiful garnishes for many soups and similar dishes.

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Another tiny but gorgeous wildflower is the above Lomatium nevadense, sometimes called Desert Biscuitroot. The flowers are incredibly complex and lovely in a way that my camera is unable to capture without a stronger macro lens, but you can get a hint of its delicacy from the two pictures I’ve included here.

This small plant usually grows in lower elevations, primarily in rocky areas. It is uncommon in the Canyon and as of yet, I’ve only seen this single plant growing up here on the mesa along a rocky trail. It returns each year, tenaciously persisting in flowering among the rocks and sand.

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Snow comes and goes in the Canyon and mountains just above us, feeding the already flooded river and adding to the drama and beauty of the flowers and green things as they emerge from the ground.

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The Piñon Pines (Pinus edulis) are vibrant with new growth and their enticing, resiny scent is easily smelled each time I brush against their branches while climbing or hiking.

This slowly passing cold season has been one rich with hot tea brewed from the leaves and barks of evergreen trees, including the Piñon Pine, Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var glauca), White Fir (Abies concolor) as well as the nutty goodness of our local Acorns.

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Even on stormy days, Rhiannon and I venture out to discover new lichens, watch the rambunctious javelina playing by the river and enjoy the wild land we live on.

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Last year’s Penstemon flower stalks retains its beauty and grace, especially with the vivid colors unfurling all around them.

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These are the leaves of some freshly gathered Oregon Grape Root (Mahonia repens), tucked in a basket also containing an abundance of White Fir (Abies concolor) branch tips.

Mahonia is a favorite medicinal of mine, and one that I use frequently in my practice. I’ve written about this plant previously, and you can read my monograph on it right here.

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With the arrival of Spring, many exciting shifts are still happening here, and the newest offerings and opportunities here from the Anima Lifeways & Herbal School will soon be unveiled, especially my extensive 5 course distance program entitled From the Ground Up: Grassroots Training in Traditional Western Herbalism. Thanks so much to all of you who have written with your enthusiastic support and interest! It will be ready soon and I will announce it here and on the Anima School blog the moment it’s available.

~Kiva

Many deeply rooted changes have been taking place here in the quiet of the Canyon during the cold months. As Spring slowly unfurls her foliate face, we’re increasingly  incorporating these transformational shifts into our existing framework of education and healing work. Regular blog readers will first notice that my herbal blog has a new title, and is now called Animá Healing Arts rather than The Medicine Woman’s Roots. Those who visit the herbal blog via the web rather than subscribing through email will also have noticed the structure and content change of the non-blog pages as well as a new front page. Even if you do subscribe via email, I encourage you to take a look at the new, expanded site and additional offerings.

The new Animá Healing Arts name reflects my increasingly strong desire to provide accessible healthcare and healing opportunities for those who most need it. While this has long been an overriding interest of mine, the current shift is evidence of my deepening commitment to the well-being of my local community, the larger human community and the earthen community as a whole.

Here’s an excerpt and description of Animá Healing Arts and what we offer:

“The Anima Healing Arts Health & Herbal Clinic provides online and on-site care on a per donation basis, with no one ever turned away for lack of funds. Integrating multiple healing modalities in order to provide optimal wellness, we offer lifeways counseling, herbal consultations, nutritional healing & other holistic therapies. We deeply desire to foster a life-affirming, grassroots and common sense approach to healing based around the unique needs of each individual and informed by the wisdom of the natural world.

The Mission of Anima Healing Arts:

• To provide accessible healing services to those who need it.
• To gift the local and larger community with tools for caring for themselves and each other.
• To empower individuals to take charge of their own health and healing.
• To restore a vital connection and integration between the person, their body and the living earth.
• To support the emotional, physical and mental well-being of human beings in order to contribute to the health of the planet.”

Please note that all old links to The Medicine Woman’s Roots blog and bearmedicineherbals.com will still work just fine. Also, if you are a feed subscriber (via email, feedreader, browser etc), your feed will remain intact and no action is needed. Also,  you can access the Animá Healing Arts blog directly at: http://animahealingarts.org/blog

The Animá Lifways & Herbal School is also placing a stronger emphasis on skill-based learning, which can be seen in our subtitle on the School blog (and soon the website as well), “Nature Awareness, Healing & ReWilding Skills”. We have always taught a blend of understanding and action, and this recent shift is simply a way of further driving home the importance of ~living~ our dreams, passions and callings in the most real and earthen ways. Wolf, Loba and I feel strongly that it is vital to pass on traditional knowledge, especially in this time where self-sufficiency is so critical to not only surviving during hard times, but thriving. A full update to the School site is also underway, and should be up within the week, with many additions and changes that will, more succinctly than ever, communicate the mission and purpose of our work.

Also be on the lookout for announcements and descriptions of this Spring’s Foundations in Western Herbalism Intensive. This will take place May 6-9 on the School grounds here on our 80 acre Animá Botanical Sanctuary, surrounding on all sides by the Gila National Forest. This intensive will be three days of exploration of the principles and practice of the traditional and vitalist herbalism, including herbal energetics, constitutional medicine, wildcrafting and much more!

Additionally, in the Spring of 2011 we will be introducing a new on-site botanical medicine program for those of you interested in pursuing in-depth herbal study at the Animá Lifeways & Herbal School in person.

Thank you all for your invaluable support and enthusiasm as my practice, school and other projects grow and blossom, I appreciate each of you so much!

~Kiva

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Photograph (c) 2010 Jesse Wolf Hardin, Stinging Nettle Watercolor (c) 2010 Loba

The below video will give you a small but vivid taste of what you can look forward to if you plan on attending this September’s upcoming Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference. It includes a look at our outstanding selection of teachers, a glimpse of the beautiful site in the high desert of New Mexico and even a chance to hear the earthy and intriguing music of our two of our featured bands, R.I.S.E. (formerly Rising Appalachia) & Arborea. So take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy a brief but magical journey into the enchantment yet to come…

This amazing video was brainstormed and created by TWHC Sponsorship Director, Animá Medicine Woman Mentorship student and practicing herbalist, Rosalee de la Forét, and we’re so grateful for her hard work, astute insights and infectious enthusiasm.. thank you, Rosalee!

If you’re excited about the conference and the opportunities it presents, whether you’re able to attend this year or not, please take the time to forward or share this clip whenever and wherever appropriate! You can send them to this post, or directly to the youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXNR7_k-vNo

Let me take a moment to emphasize here that the conference is an international one and not necessarily specific to to the American West or Southwest, there’s something for everyone here. Registrants from as far away as Canada, the UK, Alaska, Hawaii and possibly even Central America will be in attendance!

Thanks so much to all of the generous individuals and organizations that have helped spread the word and increase awareness of the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference, your assistance and generosity makes all of the difference and means so much to us personally, thank you!

~Kiva Rose

Note: if you’re an email subscriber and have a hard time seeing this from your inbox, just click on the title of this post to be taken to the actual blog site and you can watch from there. Or use this link to go directly to youtube to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXNR7_k-vNo