Cambridge, MA Course
Brattleboro, VT Course
Courses are open to all,
both green men and green women are welcome!
Come journey with the sacred healing plants...
Join us for a 9 1/2 - Month Apprenticeship in Herbal Healing,
Shamanic Herbalism, Plant Spirit Medicine, Spiritual Ecology, Holistic Healing, and Journeying with Plant Devas and Earth Spirits.
Two apprenticeships are taught each year, one in Brattleboro, VT and one in Cambridge, MA, running from March until the end of December.
The Plant Medicine Apprenticeships focus on working with plants as medicine for the body and spirit, remembering the ancient traditions of plant medicine used by village healers around the world. We will focus on local Northeastern American plants as well as some plants used in Hawaiian La'au Lapa'au (Hawaiian healing with plants), Ayurveda, and Chinese herbal medicine.
Certification for the 140-60 hour course will be given upon completion of the apprenticeship. Classes will be held outside when the weather permits and locations will be given upon registration. Please take a look at our apprenticeship syllabus for a closer look at what this course offers.
Apprenticeship classes focus on:
- Medicinal Herbal Healing
- Healing Plants of North America, Hawaii, & Asia
- Plant Spirit Medicine
- Wise Woman Tradition of Healing
- Herbal Actions, Tastes, & Safety Levels
- Systems of the Body & Herbal Energetics
- Medicine Making -
(tinctures, infusions, salves, and oils...)
- Shamanic Herbalism
- Guided Meditation & Journeying
- Harvesting & Wildcrafting Plants
- Magical Herbalism & Folklore
- Plant Identification of North American Plants
- Spiritual Ecology & Earth Spirituality
- Communication with plant and nature devas
- Plant Medicine Walks
- Chakra healing with plants
- Rituals with nature
Our Plant Medicine Apprenticeship is an intensive journey into green medicine and traditional plant knowledge. The apprenticeship is intended to be a spiritual journey as well as a course in medicinal herbalism. Classes include lecture, ritual, guided journeying, hands-on work with plants, medicine making, journeying with plant spirits, tasting plant infusions and extracts, meditations with nature, earth and body awareness, journal writing, and deep exploration with the spirit of the earth. Students learn to identify and use plants for medicine, form plant allies, and prepare medicinal teas, tinctures, essences, infusions, oils, incenses, and salves with plants from around the world. Students will learn to use the energies of the moon, sun, earth and the elements in their practice and treat imbalances in the body.
This apprenticeship is both a course in Western herbalism and in Shamanic plant spirit medicine. In each class spirit is blended with science, through meditation, lecture, plant walks, and hands-on learning. We seek to unite Western modes of learning and healing with ancient traditions of learning from the earth and from spirit.
The apprenticeship is intended to be a healing journey for each person and towards a deeper connection to the earth. The doorways that are opened and the wisdom gained during class will seep into each apprentices home and everyday life. The plants that each student forms relationships with changes their lives deeply, helping to guide and support them through life- body, mind, and spirit.
At the end of the 9 1/2 - month program, each student will be brought into the inter-connected web of world healers through ritual and celebration, given gifts of initiation, and will be certified from the school in herbal healing and plant spirit medicine. Educational and plant materials as well as tea or snacks will be provided to you in class. We welcome you to join us in a journey back to the earth, with Sage and the plants! Please feel free to contact us with any questions and we'll arrange a time to speak or meet with you.
"Healing with plants is probably the most ancient form of wisdom emerging right from the core of Mother Earth. It manifests our deepest connection to our past and to nature. All healing is free and open to us. By preserving this sacred wisdom and teaching others we are again re-establishing our relationship with the Earth." - Andrea Nandoskar, Apprenticeship 2006
The cost for the 9 1/2 - month March, 2011 Apprenticeship is $1,500 - $1,700 (sliding scale) for 23 six hour classes. A $150 discount is given to those who pay in full. Monthly payment plans starting at $130 a month (after initial class deposit) are available. A $200 deposit ($100 is non-refundable) is required to register for the apprenticeship and is subtracted from the total tuition. Grants are available for Vermont students through VSAC. Full payment is due by the first apprenticeship class meeting unless a payment plan has been arranged in advance.
To register, fill out the registration form listed on our web site and send it to the address provided. Each student should only miss 2-3 classes during the course, as it can disrupt the circle if people can not make classes regularly. The course will be limited to 15 people. Please feel free to contact Sage with any questions, at thegaiaschool@hotmail.com, or call (617)-838-8094.
VIEW OUR 2008 COURSE SYLLABUS
PLANT MEDICINE APPRENTICESHIP 2011 REGISTRATION FORM
Upon registration you will receive a welcome packet in the mail with your course syllabus, booklist, course information, and beginning readings. Solitary study, practice, and assigments for the course are optional (with occasional exceptions) and highly encouraged. If you miss a class you will be able to cover the missed coursework by meeting with Sage outside of class.
This Apprenticeship is open to anyone interested, regardless of their gender, belief system, past experience, or knowledge of plants. We have had both advanced students and beginners as apprentices, and both men and women. Though the course does often stress the energy of the Mother present in the earth, both yin and yang energies present in all things is honored. Women tend to be the majority in our apprenticeships but green men are welcome and greatly appreciated in our circle.
~ Student Quotes & Pictures ~
"To me, a green witch is someone who loves, connects with, and realizes the power of Mother Earth, and connects that with their own individual power and innate ability to heal others... Gaia provides all that we need in the form of food, medicine, and love. The green witch uses this knowledge as a foundation of their lifestyle eating whole foods from nature, using plants to balance emotional and physical imbalances, all evolving out of a place of love for the earth and for themselves." - Andrea Nandoskar, Apprenticeship 2006
"A green witch is someone that takes care of nature as well as themselves, their family, and their community, by keeping that symbiotic relationship with nature and humans alive. The lifestyle of the green witch is to work on their connection to nature and spirit and pass this lifestyle on to all that surrounds them."
-Angelina Dressler, Apprenticeship 2006
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"Humans can also learn from Gaia by maintaining ancient traditions that honor Her.
By reestablishing a connection with our roots, by honoring our ancestors, by being thankful for the gifts she gives us...
By sitting beneath a tree, by walking barefoot on the grass, by meditating at the sea shore, by celebrating the seasons, by observing the behavior of animals and forming loving relationships with them.
We can learn from Gaia by modeling Her behavior and building human systems that mimic the patterns, structure, and processes of Her natural systems. We can form tribes of families of clans and live in close communion with our people, we can drum and howl at the moon...
How does Gaia teach? Mostly by wise example: She demonstrates for us the kind of conditions in which Life thrives. She shows us the processes by which Life continually renews itself. She shows us the kind of interdependent relationships that organisms can create with one another to benefit each other1s existence. She offers her fruits freely to all creatures.
Gaia is Mother Nature... She shows us the process of evolution that perpetuates Life, a process we are already participating in.
She teaches mostly passively, in silence, for her way is peaceful, but occasionally she will assert herself with a stern lesson S? Gaia is my real mother."
-E. Christopher Mare
Register for the 2011 Plant Medicine Apprenticeship.
Find out what past students have to say about Gaia School Apprenticeships.
The 2009-10 Apprenticeship syllabus.
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