line decor
  
line decor

 
 
The Gaia School's
SACRED MEDICINE COURSES
Spring 2013




Sacred Plant Medicine Apprenticeship 2013 - Year One - Putney, VT
Bi-Weekly Wednesday Group

** New Bi-weekly Wednesday Course - Registration Open!

Sacred Plant Medicine Apprenticeship 2013 - Year One - Boston, MA
*** Registration Closed - COURSE IS FULL FOR 2013.

Sacred Plant Medicine Apprenticeship 2013 - Year One - Putney, VT
*** Registration Closed - COURSE IS FULL FOR 2013.

Advanced Apprenticeship 2013 - Year Two - Putney, VT
*** Registration Open! - 3 Spaces Left!


Roots of Shamanism 2013 - Putney, VT
*** Registration Open! Beginning in June.


View our Photo Gallery on Facebook!


New! Reserve your place in an upcoming course using Paypal.


Journey with the sacred healing plants...

Join us for a 9 Month Apprenticeship in Herbal Healing, Shamanic Herbalism, Plant Spirit Medicine, Spiritual Ecology, Holistic Healing, and Journeying with Plant Devas and Earth Spirits.


Two first year apprenticeships are taught each year, one in Brattleboro, VT and one in Cambridge, MA, running from the beginning of March until the end of October.

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:

  • Sacred Plant Medicine
  • Growing & Wildcrafting Healing Plants
  • Wild Foods
  • Healing Plants of North America, Hawaii, & Asia
  • Plant Spirit Medicine
  • Ancestral Traditions of Healing
  • Herbal Actions, Tastes, & Safety Levels
  • Systems of the Body & Herbal Energetics
  • Medicine Making - (tinctures, infusions, salves, etc.)
  • Shamanic Herbalism
  • Guided Meditation & Journeying
  • 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
  • Ritual & Prayer


        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 course 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 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.


         The cost for the 9 month March, 2012 Apprenticeship is $1,600 - $1,800 (sliding scale) for 22 six hour classes. A $100 discount is given to those who pay in full. Payment plans starting at $125 per 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.

Tuition Payment Using Paypal


         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@gmail.com, or call (617)-838-8094.

VIEW OUR VERMONT 2013 WEEKDAY COURSE SYLLABUS


PLANT MEDICINE APPRENTICESHIP 2013 REGISTRATION FORM


2013 Payment Plan Form


         Before the start of the course 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 circles.



~ Student Quotes & Pictures ~





 

2013 APPRENTICESHIP REGISTRATION FORM
Register for the Spring, 2013 Plant Medicine Apprenticeship.


STUDENT QUOTES
Past student's experiences and photos.


2013 SYLLABUS -
BOSTON, MA

The 2013 Apprenticeship syllabus.



 
"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 other's 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 certain lesson. Gaia is my real mother."

-E. Christopher Mare