Plant Medicine Apprenticeship 2007
Syllabus
Class dates will be listed shortly.
Class will be held from 11:30am-5:30 pm. All classes will be divided up into lecture and either field or hands-on study. We will be learning directly from the plants and earth as often as possible! There will be a brake for lunch at around 2:00 pm, which will last for 30 minutes. Please bring food for yourself, or to share with the group if you are inspired. Tea, herbs, supplies, and occasional snacks will be provided in class. We will be holding class under a canopy with mosquito netting. If you have trouble sitting on pillows on the ground please let me know, there will be some fold out cloth chairs available. There are 24 classes in all.
Bring warm clothes during the colder months, and incase of rain. All class announcements as far as location changes and syllabus changes will be relayed through e-mail, or by phone for those of you with no internet access. Please let us know if you need to be called instead of emailed about changes. Camping trips will be planned ahead of time by the whole class. There will be at least 2 camping trips held through the 9 months of the course.
Plant Medicine Apprenticeship Fall 2007 Syllabus
COURSE SCHEDULE:
November 17th - 1. FIRST CLASS, NOURISHING HERBS
* Welcome Circle, opening meditation.
* Overview of apprenticeship, syllabus, booklist, journals, and optional assignments.
* Opening ceremony w/ talking stick and gifts.
* Overview of Green WiseCraft and the Wise Woman Tradition.
* Plant allies and Nourishing medicinal herbs.
December 1st - 2. SACRED SPACE & BLESSING HERBS
* Creating sacred space.
* Grounding, centering, and cleansing the body/mind/spirit.
* Basic ritual, drumming, and the four directions/elements.
* Blessings herbs: Sage, Cedar, Sweetgrass, Copal, and others.
* Cleansing & clearing herbs.
December 15th - 3. PLANT SPIRITS, ALLIES, & DREAM PLANTS
* Spirit/dream journeying and communicating with earth spirits.
* Meditation, Altered states of consciousness.
* Guided journey to meet spirit guides and plant allies.
* Third eye, nervine & dream herbs.
* Overview of chakra energies and plants.
December 29th - 4. HERBAL PREPARATIONS
* Hands-on folk herbal preparations.
* How to make tinctures, teas, infusions, and salves.
* Preparing herbs in an ethical, respectful, sacred way.
* Blessing & ritual of medicine making.
January 12th - 5. HERBAL ENERGETICS & SAFETY LEVELS
* Herbal energetics, Ayurvedic & Chinese energetics.
* Herb safety levels, dosages, & tastes.
* Doctrine of Signatures, reading the physical nature of a plant.
* Yin/Yang, Four and 5 Element Theory.
January 26th - 6. HEALING COMMON AILMENTS
* Herbs for common ailments (Cold/Flu, Allergies, Fever, Headaches).
* Herbal healing for the family.
* Herbs & Systems of the Body.
* Herbal flash cards & herbal wheels.
February 9th - 7. THE ROOT CHAKRA & IMMUNE SYSTEM
* Root Chakra- herbs & stones for healing our root.
* The Immune system, protection of the body.
* Herbs for healing and stimulating the immune system.
* Magical herbs for protection, grounding, and earth energy.
February 23rd - 8. MAGICAL HERBALISM & PLANT SPIRITS
* Grouping herbs magically.
* Magical herbalism & Spellcasting
* Meditations with Plant Spirits.
* Green Witchcraft & Lore
March 8th - 9. HERBS FOR THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM & THE SECOND CHAKRA.
* Plant allies for the reproductive system.
* The Second Chakra
* Herbs for menstruation, motherhood, pregnancy, and menopause.
* Herbal healing for men, prostate health and fertility.
* Herbal Aphrodisiacs.
March 22nd - 10. THE MEDICINE WHEEL
* Weed walk, discovering local plants.
* How to use the Medicine Wheel in healing and magic.
* The four elements and four directions.
* Plants, Stones, and Animals of the four elements and directions.
* Journeying within the Wheel, opening doors, meeting allies.
April 5th - 11. HERBAL HEALING FOR THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM & SOLAR PLEXUS
* The Digestive System.
* Healing common digestive ailments with plants.
* The Solar Plexus, imbalances and healing.
* Herbs and stones heal and nourish this chakra.
* Herbs for Strength, Joy, Power, and Confidence.
April 19th - 12. WEED WALK & WILDCRAFTING
* Plant identification & mother plant identification.
* Ethical wildcrafting techniques.
* Speaking with plants spirits, meeting plant devas and elemental spirits.
* Pressing, drawing, and photographing plants.
May 3rd - 13. THE HEART CHAKRA & THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
* The Heart Chakra
* Heart & Circulatory system illnesses.
* Herbal healing for the heart and circulatory system.
* Herbs for love and compassion.
May 17th - 14. OCEAN MAGIC & HERBAL BATHING
* Magic & healing of the sea.
* Healing herbs of the sea, using salt and sand for healing.
* Water magic and medicine, rituals and spells with the ocean.
* Herbal bathing.
May 31st - 15. FLOWER ESSENCES
* Healing with flower essences.
* Flower walk and essence making.
* Chakras & Flowers
* Flower essences & Homeopathic herbalism
June 14th - 16. TREE MEDICINE & LORE
* Communicating with tree spirits, meeting allies.
* Magical and medicinal uses of trees.
* Wildcrafting and making medicine from trees.
* Outdoor Tree Walk.
June 28th - 17. HERBS FOR THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM & RELEASING GRIEF
* Herbs for the respiratory system.
* The Throat Chakra, imbalances and healing.
* Releasing grief held in the lungs.
* Opening the throat, herbs for communication.
July 12th - 18. MOON MAGIC & DREAMING.
* Moon magic, lore, and love.
* Celebrating the cycles of the Moon with ritual, dreaming, and writing.
* Herbs, Stones, and animal spirits sacred to the Moon.
* Emotions, psyche, and dreams.
July 26th - 19. HERBS FOR THE NERVOUS SYSTEM & THE THIRD EYE
* Third eye chakra, healing & imbalances.
* Holistic healing for depression and anxiety.
* Herbs and stones for stress, nourishing the nervous system.
* Herbs, stones, flower essences, and magic for healing depression.
* Herbal pain relief & muscle relaxants.
August 9th - 20. SHAMANIC HERBALISM, SPIRIT/DREAM JOURNEYING & CROWN CHAKRA
* Shamanism around the world, shamanism for the witch/healer.
* The role of the Shaman.
* Crown Chakra- Journeying, meditation, and spirit work.
* Working with spirit guides and ancestors.
* Gathering information, using the tools of the shaman.
August 23rd - 21. HERBAL BODY CARE
* Preparing herbal masks, scrubs, oils, balms, and perfume oils.
* Lavishing ourselves for 4 months of hard work with:
* Aromatherapy massages, herbal steams, facials, foot soaks, mud masks, and seaweed wraps!
* Be ready to get dirty!
*** The final weekend will be two days in a row, with an overnight stay on the 18th. There will be a dinner made by all of us on the night of the 18th. The ending ceremony will take place the night of the 18th after the sun goes down. Friends and family can join in the celebration on the 19th.
September 6th - 23. CIRCLING BACK
* Presentations of final projects from each apprentice.
* Meditation and reflection on apprenticeship.
* Offerings to, and spirit journeys with, plant allies, spirit guides, and Gaia.
* Magical herbs for change and transformation.
Potluck dinner: MAGICAL COOKING
* Magical cooking potluck.
* Feasting on your spells! Releasing energy from the food into your body.
After sunset on the 18th: ENDING CEREMONY.
* Meditations on Gaia, Life, Death, Rebirth, Herbs, Learning, Journeying, and Making Magic!
* Ending ceremony & Womb lodge.
September 7th - 24. GRADUATION GIFTS & CLOSING
* Morning yoga, ritual, and massages.
* Henna tattooing
* Offerings, certificates, gifts.
* Celebration!
* If you have any question about dates etc., feel free to call me whenever you'd like. Classes that you miss can be made up by meeting with me on another date. Get ready for an amazing year!
SUPPLIERS OF * Organic * HERBS:
Healing Spirits, 9198 St. Rt. 415 Avoca, NY 14809, (607) 566-2701. High quality well priced locally harvested herbs.
Mountain Rose Herbs, www.mountainroseherbs.com. High quality organic herbs at a good price. Ask for the 10% discount as an herbal student.
Herbalcom.com, Really great internet site with very cheap organic herbs. Best place to get resins, jasmine, and hibiscus.
Avena Botanicals, Deb Soule, 20 Mill St., West Rockport, ME, 04841. (207) - 594-0694 Very good high quality locally harvested tinctures.
2007 Recommended Booklist
** = Assigned readings. The first four books listed are highly recommended for this course.
* = 2nd most recommended books
HERBAL HEALING:
** Plant Spirit Medicine, By Eliot Cowan
** Healing Wise, By Susan Weed
** Sacred Plant Medicine, By Stephan Harrod Buhner
** Herbal Rituals, By Judith Berger
* The Complete Floral Healer by Anne McIntyre
* Witch's Heal, By Billie Potts
* Out of the Earth, By Simon Mills
A Modern Herbal, By Mrs. M. Grieve
Perscriptions for Herbal Healing, By Phyllis A. Balch
The Yoga of Herbs, By Dr. David Frawley
Planetary Herbology, By Michael Tierra
The Energetics of Western Herbs (Vol. 1 & 2), By Peter Holmes
The New Holistic Herbal, By David Hoffman
Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs, By Gail Faith Edwards
The Book of Herbal Wisdom, By Mathew Wood
A Woman's Book of Herbs, By Deb Soule
Partner Earth: A Spiritual Ecology, By Pat Montgomery
The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook, By James Green
The Secret Life of Plants, By Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird
A City Herbal, By Maida Silverman
Indian Herbology of North America, By Alma R. Hutchens
* Satsun, By Dr. Rosita Arvigo
* Amazon Magic, By Jaya Bear
Woman Who Glows in the Dark, By Elena Avila
HERBAL MAGIC
* A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year, By Ellen Evert Hopman
* Spirit Herbs, By Mary Dean Atwood
* Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, By Scott Cunningham
Magic and Medicine of Plants, By Reader's Digest
Magical Herbalism, By Scott Cunningham
PLANT IDENTIFICATION BOOKS:
* The New Age Herbalist, By Richard Mabey
* National Audubon Society: Field Guide to Wildflowers
* Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs, By Steven Foster & James Duke.