Body Sense

Conference Book and Class Notes
from last year’s
2011 Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference

Exciting news!  We ran across a single box of the 178 page-long 2011 TWH Conference Books, complete with extensive class notes with detailed information on a wide variety of subjects.  Now for the first time, we can make a limited number of copies available to those of you who didn’t get to attend last year’s event.  Get yours now if you want one, there won’t be any reprints later!

$16 + $6 Priority Shipping

SOLD OUT!

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Class Notes Included:

1. 7 Song: The Art of Formulation
2. Robin Rose Bennett: My Ally, The Elder
3. Paul Bergner: How To Become A Master Herbalist In 30 Years Or More
4. Paul Bergner: Herbs For The Spiritual Heart
5. Juliet Blankespoor: Growing At Risk Medicinal Plants
6. Juliet Blankespoor: Phytoestrogens Demystified
7. Howie Brounstein and Kristi Reese: Understanding and Treating Adrenalin Stress
8. Kristine Brown: How To Teach Kids To Use Herbs
9. Larken Bunce: The 5 Phases
10. Bevin Clare: Intake, Interview & Assessment
11. Rosalee de la Foret: Detecting False Heat
12. Sean Donahue: Plants For The Underworld Journey
13. Sean Donahue: Herbs For Asthma
14. Ryan Drum: Rural Pathology, Rural Herbs
15. Ryan Drum: Seaweed Solutions
16. Margi Flint: Living With Cancer
17. Lisa Ganora: Traditional Cannabis Medicines
18. Lisa Ganora: Herbal Constituents
19. Charles “Doc” Garcis: California Curanderismo
20. Charles “Doc” Garcia: Guerrilla Herbalism
21: Jesse Wolf Hardin: The Wild Herbalist
22. Kiva Rose Hardin: The Medicine Woman’s Roots
23. Phyllis Hogan: The 4th Sister Was Wild
24. Kathleen Maier: Entheogens and The Dying Process
25. Jim McDonald Humoural Treatments
26. Jim McDonald: Teaching Herbcraft
27. CoreyPine Shane: Getting Specific With Pain
28. Christa Sinadinos: Constitutional Treatment of The Digestive System
29. Katja Swift: Plantain For Kids

(please re-post and share)

Thank you much,

Kiva Rose

Kiva Rose by Jesse Wolf Hardin

Critical Intuition: Knowing The Difference Between Intuiting & Projecting

Excerpted from the Herbal Rebel Column in the now available Spring 2012 Issue of

Plant Healer Magazine

by Paul Bergner

In previous columns, I have spoken of a Four Directions model of obtaining knowledge, of study, that may be applied to herbalism or any other field of endeavor. In the North, we diligently study traditions and what previous generations have left for us in books or oral tradition. In the South we throw ourselves into practical experience, alone, in groups, or in our communities, tasting and experimenting the plants and the contexts of their healing, testing the promise of the studies of the past. In the East, in this era, we look at new information or perspectives that may be coming from the field of science, and we look to new plants or methods, entering our awareness from other lands or traditions. Finally, in the West, we study the reality of the plants and our healing methods with instinct and intuition. It is a mistake to be stuck in one of these four directions, four ways of knowing, while neglecting the other three. We can’t hope to actually help someone else by simply memorizing things in old books. Likewise we can’t expect to ignore what is in those books, and expect our empirical knowledge, or that of our colleagues, to fill all our needs. If we want to be Scientific Herbalists only, we will be up a creek as far as helping anyone, because the entire body of knowledge of “scientifically proven” herbs is not sufficient to treat anything other than a few symptoms or conditions. And finally, we can’t just be Spiritual Herbalists, ignoring our homework in the North, or just rejecting information from science out of hand, or not finding a way to test and ground our intuitive insights.  Especially, we can’t simply take our psychic impressions about a plant and what it can and can’t do, where it belongs on the medicine wheel, what its doctrine of Signatures implies, where it falls in the rulership in the zodiac, and think these impressions are infallible. The individual who is too invested in their naive first psychic impressions is as undeveloped as the individual who believes everything they are told by someone in authority without questioning it. We need to address these impressions with critical thinking. Or should I say critical intuition.

If the essence of critical thinking is to keep questioning, questioning new ideas, questioning old beliefs, questioning ones own motives, and to develop a living mental stream of persistent inquiry, then the essence of critical intuition is to develop an identical process about our intuitive insights. “Is this impression really true?” First of all, let me say I think intuition is an innate ability, and even if some have it to a higher degree than others, practically every human being has pretty good functional intuition. I say this because I have led many beginning students through awareness exercises with plants, where they try to intuit information about the plant, and most people can see things about the plant that are true but not immediately obvious to the senses. In a recent year, nearly every beginning student in a group of 36 identified the properties of Sickle-Topped Lousewort as cooling and relaxing, although not knowing its name, and not tasting or smelling it, after sitting near it for 20 minutes. Another exercise, which I learned in the Tracker School community, is to put a plant or plant part in an envelope, so that the individual cannot see, taste, or smell it. The person holds the envelope, and tries to sense the plant, and asks a series of questions.

1. Is it poisonous or not
2. Is it food or medicine
3. If it is medicine what is its use or body system affected.

I have done this exercise with beginning herb students, apprentices, and also with college students who knew nothing of herbalism. The students receive 4 envelopes, with a poison, a food, and 2 medicines. I do not know which envelope they are testing and cannot influence their impression.  For poison, I sometimes put poison hemlock seeds in one of the envelopes. Out of perhaps 60 student testings, only a handful of student have failed to identify the poison hemlock as poisonous. For most of the substances, the students are 80-90% accurate. Sometimes, unexpected but accurate information comes out. Once an apprentice intuited that Althea was both food an medicine, and that as medicine it was good for the nervous system. This is not conventional wisdom about Althea, but in her case, this nursing mother in dry-as-a-bone Colorado was dehydrated with nervous irritation from the dryness, and Althea indeed soothed the irritation.  We don’t want to rely on this method for studying unknown herbs, because “usually” and “most of the time” is not good enough for detecting poisonous plants.

I am convinced, after working with different types of students for nearly 40 years, that this innate intuition and instinct can be developed into a highly reliable and refined talent, and I’m also convinced that this is an essential talent to develop in order to work in the field of natural healing with plants. These, I think, are the essential points of practicing critical intuition:

1. Make the intention to set aside your preconceptions. When we make an intention, we put ourselves in the center of our being, we increase our awareness, we mobilize all parts of our physical and spiritual senses. We put ourselves in a positive state, rather than a negative, overly receptive state where we may become porous to vague impressions. In this first step we impress on our unconscious mind that we want accurate information, not confirmation of our previous prejudices or opinions.
2. Make a second specific intention that you want to consult your “highest and most accurate intuition.” We again impress the deep mind that we do not want impressions based on wish-fulfillment or ego-pleasing.
3. Ask your question in clear terms.
4. Be very open as to how the answer will come to your consciousness. It may differ between individuals, and also for one individual at different times. A person may “see” something, another may “hear” and a third may just get a vague sense of an answer.
5. When you get the impression, ask again if the information is accurate? Again, impress on the deep mind that you want accurate information as free from bias and projection as possible. A light, focused, but curious and playful attitude works better than a heavy and skeptical or overly serious one.
6. Finally, find some way to ground the answer, or test it in reality.

The same process can be used when working with plants. Some special considerations:

1. Make the intention to perceive the plant on its own terms, in its own essence, rather simply in its relationship to human utilitarians values.
2. Do not free-associate off the English plant name. Baby-blue eyes for wounds in childhood, Bleeding Heart for a broken heart, etc. The English name has nothing to do with the essence of the plant on its own terms. Release those associations.
3. Do not free associate on some form of plant morphology, Shooting Star for those who have failed to incarnate properly, etc because the flower looks to a human like a shooting star. Release that association and ask for the truth of the plant on its own terms.

Be aware of your own projections as much as possible. The question is not “Am I projecting?” but “How am I projecting?” Overcoming projection, this can only be obtained by strong intentions to do so, brutal honesty about ones own covert motives or inclinations to denial or dishonesty, persistent questioning and re-questioning, and long practice.  One herbalist made a flower essence set of several hundred plants, and fully 1/3 of them were either for disordered eating or for rigid religious attitudes. This practitioner in this case suffers from disordered eating, and uses distorted religious beliefs to rationalize the behavior. I once intuited 6 plants on the same day, and five of them said they were “good for people who suffer from overwork.”  Hmmmmm.

Ultimately, the final stage of grounding is necessary. And this brings us back to the Four Directions model. Each direction can act like a check or balance against the others. Is there some history of this plant use in old literature? Does science have anything to say about this? And ultimately, the proof come in the South, where we take the plants in repeated experimentation or use them clinically.

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To read the entire informative article, subscribe or resubscribe now to: www.PlantHealerMagazine.com

Kids, Common Infections, Herbs & Antibiotics

Excerpted from the now available Spring 2012 Issue of

Plant Healer Magazine

by Aviva Romm

September 1, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report on the problem of unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for kids. They found that doctors are unnecessarily prescribing antibiotics for kids more than 50% of the time, most often for upper respiratory infections (colds, coughs, ear infections, sinusitis, and sore throats).

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is the primary cause of antibiotic resistance, which is a major global public health problem. Further, medical science is waking up to the fact that pediatric antibiotic exposure is not benign for the individual, and may lead to asthma, eczema, and the development of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease later in life. Finally, antibiotics that make their way into the environment whether through industrial manufacturing, use in animal husbandry or human excretion, also have an impact. While antibiotics can be lifesaving when necessary, when overprescribed and misused, the consequences can be deadly!

Antibiotics are often given unnecessarily for common pediatric infections because doctors think that parents want or expect them. Indeed, I’ve had to talk dozens of parents out of an antibiotics prescription, they are accustomed to doctors giving meds and they are afraid and don’t want their kids to suffer. Doctors also prescribe antibiotics because they are worried about missing a serious diagnosis, and then there is also fear of litigation for the rare missed or under-treated infection.

I’m a big advocate of avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use, and the fact is, for common pediatric infections, they’re unnecessary. And herbs can play a huge role in supporting health and comfort while avoiding unnecessary medications. It’s amazing, though, how many herbalists and naturally inclined folks are confident using herbs until it comes to their young‘uns getting sick. The fever of 103 degrees, the cough that lasts for 2, 3, or 4 weeks, or the middle-ear infection can bring even the bravest hearts to their knees at the pediatrician’s office. You find yourself tentatively taking that antibiotic prescription that is handed out as freely as candy on Halloween. And then there is the ensuing dilemma when you get home– do you give the antibiotic or do you stick with the herbs just a little longer? Too often fear trumps evidence and intuition.

Herbal Care or Medical Attention?

Here are symptoms to worry about. If you see any of these, a doctor’s appointment is appropriate and medications are likely warranted:

•Any baby less than 1 month old with a fever requires immediate medical attention!

•High (> 103.5 F) or persistent fever in any aged child

•A child is having to work extra hard to breathe or if her breathing is as fast, labored, or accompanied by stridor, whooping sounds, or wheezing

•Persistent pain (nothing relieves it) such as an earache, sore throat, severe headache or stomach ache

•Frequent vomiting or diarrhea if a child us unable to keep down enough liquids to urinate at least once every six to eight hours… this could be a sign of dehydration

•Thick eye discharge that doesn’t get better during the day

•A stiff neck, extreme lack of energy or the illness seems to be getting worse rather than staying the same for more than five days

•Blood in the vomit or diarrhea

•If the child has been exposed to a contagious disease such as mono, pertussis, measles, the flu, or has travelled out of the country recently

•If your treatment for a mild condition is not helping, and the condition persists or worsens

Reassuring signs that you can, in good confidence, continue to treat an illness botanically include:

•The child, in spite of not feeling well, continues to play and act generally normally, and is able to be awake, and alert even though he or she may be more sleepy than usual

•The child’s appetite may be decreased from normal, but he or she continues to take fluids and perhaps a small amount of food

•The child is peeing a normal amount compared to usual

•The symptoms slowly improve over the course of several days

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Cough

A cough is a reaction to airway irritation or inflammation, usually caused by viral upper respiratory infection (also called a cold) or something in the environment (i.e., dust). Asthma and gastroesophageal reflux can also cause cough. This is a discussion of cough due to viral infection. Coughs can last from days to even weeks. In fact, you might have noticed that sometimes after a cold, a child can have a lingering cough for even 6 weeks. This can actually be completely normal, is called post-viral airway reactivity, and is due to persistent irritation in the upper airway.

Antibiotics do not treat coughs due to viral infections and are almost never indicated for coughs due to colds.

Botanicals:

Aunty Aviva’s Cough Syrup Blend

This remedy is effective and pleasant for use with children.

•1⁄2 ounce dried mullein leaves (Verbascum thapsus)

•1⁄2 ounce marshmallow root (Althea officinalis)

• 1⁄2 ounce licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

• 1⁄2 ounce thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

• 1⁄2 ounce anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum)

• 1⁄2 ounce wild cherry bark (Prunus serotina) •1⁄2 ounce slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra) •1 quart of boiling water

Combine all the herbs. Put 1 ounce of the mixture in a glass jar, add the boiling water, cover, and steep for 2 hours. Strain the liquid into a pot and simmer gently until it is reduced to 1 cup (discard the plant material). Sweeten with H cup of honey (for children under one year, omit the honey and replace with maple syrup or sugar to taste). After the syrup cools to room temperature, store it in a jar in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 months.

Dose: 1-2 teaspoons as needed for children one to three years old, 1 tablespoon as needed for older children.

Quiet Cough Formula

This sweet-tasting, glycerin-based tincture is relaxing, expectorant, and antimicrobial for the respiratory passages.

•1⁄2 ounce anise seed tincture (Pimpinella anisum)
•1⁄2 ounce cramp bark tincture (Viburnum opulus)
•1⁄2 ounce thyme tincture (Thymus vulgaris)
•1⁄2 ounce elecampane tincture (Inula helenium)
•1⁄2 ounce red clover blossom tincture (Trifolium pretense)

•1⁄2 ounce black cohosh tincture (Actea racemosa syn. Cimicifuga racemosa)
•1-ounce vegetable glycerin

Mix all the ingredients in a 4-ounce dark amber bottle. Shake well before each use. It will store indefinitely. Refrigeration is not necessary.

Dose: Give 1/2 to 1 teaspoon up to every 30 minutes for 2 hours for acute coughing bouts, or two to four times daily for milder or chronic coughs.

When to Consult with a Doctor

•All babies under 1 month old with persistent cough should be evaluate by a doctor
•If the child is wheezing and has no history of asthma

•If the child has asthma and wheezing that is causing him significant difficulty breathing, with no relief from prescribed medications.
•If the child’s breathing is rapid and labored (fever by itself can cause breathing to be faster than usual, but it should not make a child work harder to breathe).

•The child’s lips or mouth are turning blue due to labored breathing or shortness of breath.

Ear Infections (Otitis media)

Ear infection is the most common reason for a pediatric office visit, and one of the most common conditions leading to antibiotic over-prescription. Antibiotics treatment is considered appropriate (though not always necessary) for babies under 6 months old with known or suspected ear infections, and sometimes for children ages 6 months to 2 years with severe infection.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends giving parents the option of waiting 48-72 hours to see if symptoms resolve on their own before using an antibiotic. Approximately 80% of kids with acute otitis media get better without antibiotics!

Botanicals

•Garlic-Mullein Oil (Allium sativum and Verbascum Thapsus) The classic herbal remedy for ear infections is garlic-mullein oil. In 30 years of herbal practice, I’ve rarely had to turn to anything else. Garlic is a natural antimicrobial, addressing infections of both a bacterial and viral nature. Mullein is an analgesic, relieving the pain associated with earaches. Never put anything in the ear if you suspect eardrum rupture or if there is drainage from the ear.

•St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) Oil is a natural antiviral and analgesic, and can be used as an alternative to garlic-mullein oil, though I prefer the latter.

•Jamaican Dogwood (Piscidia piscipula) – Cramp Bark (Viburnum opulus) tincture (a 50/50 combination) is a reliable alternative to ibuprofen or Tylenol for pain relief. Give 5-10 drops to children under 5; 10-20 drops to children 5-12, and 2-3 mL to older children. Repeat the dose in 15- 20 minutes, then every 2-4 hours as needed. Jamaican dogwood is said to cause respiratory paralysis in excessive doses; do not exceed the above doses and keep out of reach of children.

When to Consult with a Doctor

•Pain that won’t resolve

•High fever and persistent ear pain

•Drainage from the ear

•Neck pain or stiffness

Herbal pediatrics is an important but under utilized art because so many folks are afraid to treat kids, especially young children. It is critically important to know when medications are necessary, and also equally important to know when they are not. The health of the individual and the balance of the planet are at stake when medications are inappropriately and over used. Paying close attention to healthy kids, and spending time around kids when they are sick will help you to learn the difference. A family physician or pediatrician in your community can be an ally for you and your family or patients, and you an asset for him or her as many physicians treating kids want to know how to use alternatives but don’t know where to learn or who/what to trust.

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To read the entire informative article, subscribe or resubscribe now to: www.PlantHealerMagazine.com

To learn more about botanical pediatrics or to ask questions, go to Aviva’s website at: www.avivaromm.com.

From the new Spring issue of

PLANT HEALER MAGAZINE

The photo is a super closeup of an actual pollen release from river Alders.  Volume II Issue II is 288 full-color pages long, with articles for all ages, levels and types of herbal practitioner and aficionado… by many of herbalism’s leading voices.  To subscribe, resubscribe, submit or advertise, go to:

PlantHealerMagazine.com

Now Available

PLANT HEALER MAGAZINE

Vol. II Issue II – Spring 2012

As of today you can log in to your personal PH membership account to download this 288 page issue.

www.PlantHealerMagazine.com

New column by Phyllis Light • Exclusive Interview with Matthew Wood

Columns & Articles by leading herbalists:

Paul Bergner • Christa Sinadinos • Juliet Blankespoor • Susun Weed

Rebecca Altman • Samuel Thayer • Ananda Wilson • Jim McDonald • Sean Donahue • Doc Garcia

7Song • Aviva Romm • Rosalee de la Forêt • Robin Rose Bennett • Henriette Kress • Wendy Petty

Virginia Adi • Kristine Brown • Sabrina Lutes • Michelle Czolba • Nicole Telkes • Katja Swift

Jane Valencia • Jesse Wolf Hardin and Kiva Rose

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Submit your articles for the Summer Issue by the deadline: April 1st

For more information or to subscribe:

www.PlantHealerMagazine.com

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(Please RePost As Able)

~This post was written for the Smoke Theme of the Wild Things Roundup~

The rising smoke of fragrant plants has long been considered the food of gods and ancestors by humankind. Throughout the centuries, it has retained the connotation of sacred space, magic, and the sensual. Even now, just the description of white smoke rising from an ornate censer can evoke images of ancient temples and forgotten rites. This is no surprise given the power of the olfactory system over memory, dream, and desire.

For the modern American human, however, the word incense may be more likely to bring to mind the suffocating stench of chemical infused headshop fumes than anything sacred, beautiful, or the least bit subtle.

My own sense of smell is sensitive to say the least, and I’ve been studiously avoiding most strong smelling things like perfume and incense at all costs for many years now. And not just because of some sort of uppity aesthetics either. The truth is that many scents, mostly synthetic but some botanically derived essential oils as well, can make me physically ill. I’ve grown wary of staying in motels or other people’s houses because of how I can wake up with my face swollen, my body covered in hives, and distinct difficulty in breathing.

Nevertheless, I’ve long loved burning the resins of local conifers on our woodstove during the cold season. I personally far prefer the sweet smoke of a Piñon’s resin to that of any of Frankincense or even Copal. Even the dried leaves of Juniper or Cypress species rank among my favorite smudge or incense scents, far above much more costly, and often exotic, alternatives. When I breathe in the sweet, wild scent from the very trees that make up the forest I live in I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the many levels of delight and healing they constantly provide me with.

Then I met Sarah Lawless, an herbalist in British Columbia, who introduced me to the concept of more complex native plant incenses. After smelling the incredibly sweet, complex, and euphoric smoke of her Rocky Mountain and Hawthorn-Rose Kyphi incense from her Forest Grove Botanica, I knew I was done for, and had to have more. You can read her article on making kyphi on her blog.

Sarah’s lovely work also inspired me to create incense from Southwest plants, and more specifically, with the plants of the Saliz and White Mountains of NM and AZ that I so adore. I have to say that these experiments and explorations in the realm of fragrance have been some of my most meaningful when it comes to establishing intimacy with place and gaining a greater understanding of their medicine and magic.

Now first off, before I launch into any recipes, I want to make a quick but important point. That sticky stuff glued to the bark of your local Pine tree. That is NOT sap (or pitch, for that matter). Sap is found deeper inside the tree and transports water, nutrients, hormones, and other vital fluids through the plant. Resin is an immunological secretion used by trees to help protect the plant from potential pests and pathogens, often secreted after the outer surface of the tree has been breached. While I won’t be getting into the deeper, more detailed workings of tree fluids (more on that coming soon) in this article, I feel that understanding the purpose of resin for the tree is important for a couple of reasons. Not least is so that the harvester will understand what the resin produced for, and in turn hopefully realize that it’s very important not to rip large chunks of resin off a wound on a living tree. You then open the tree up to potential infection and could place that tree’s life in danger. My point then, is that it makes the most sense to harvest resin that’s already on the ground or is overflow, not from the actual wound. Another option is to find downed trees or branches and harvest resin from where they are no longer needed.

Types and Technicalities

There are certainly easier types of incense to make than what I like to do, and abundant recipes for them can be found online. I’m writing about this type because I love it so and feel like it could use a bit more exposure so that more people can try it with their own local plants. On the other hand, it can get way more complicated than this, and once you familiarize yourself with the process, it won’t take long at all to get the hang of it and start adapting in many different directions.

The kind of incense I’ll be talking about here will be considered kyphi like to some but does not adhere to any rules or historical recipes. I like it much better than most powdered incenses, and makes a great alternative to loose incense when you feel like mixing things up a bit. I divide my ingredient types up into categories, which makes it easier to come up with a balanced recipe when I know what I need and allows for simpler substitutions as well.

Ingredients

Resins:

Conifer Resin – Pretty much any sort of conifer resin will work here, the hardened is easier to deal with than that which is still soft and gooey. I work with Piñon, Ponderosa, Juniper, Cypress,

Bud Resins – Cottonwoods are the most obvious of these but a number of other trees produce leaf bud resin as well, including Alder, Birch, and some Cherry trees.

Bee Resin – This is simply propolis, the more unrefined the better. Like the other resins, it helps hold everything together and smells wonderful as well.

Leaves & Flowers

Huge number of options here depending on what you’re going for, experiment with a single isolated ingredient and see how it smells when it burns. Figure it’s going to burn way hotter and scorch easier on its own than in the final mix so just go for the general idea. Rose petals, Yarrow leaves/flowers, Douglas Fir needles, White Fir needles, Yerba Santa, all sorts of Sages, Artemisia flowers/leaves, Vervain flowers/leaves, and

Roots & Barks

Orris (a specific species of Iris) root may be the most famous example of roots in incense, but there are many aromatic roots that work well here, including Calamus, aromatic Cyperus species, and Angelica/Lovage/Oshá. Heartwood or bark of Juniper, Cedar, Alder, and many other plants can also add amazing nuances to the incense.

Berries & Berry-Like Objects

Rose hips, Hawthorn haws, Elderberries, and Juniper berries (actually cones) are some of the easiest to come up with but many more dried berries could work here, including Cranberries and Huckleberries.

Infused Honey, Meads, & Wines

Any aromatic honey or fermented honey preparation can work here, or a good wine made from local plants. I’ve used Rose infused honey, Alder/Rose mead, Alder leaf infused honey, Apple mead, Hawthorn infused wine, and many other variations. Infused honeys that are just a bit off, but not growing any strange fuzzy animals (in which in refer to our friendly molds) can work great.

Miscellania

Unrefined beeswax is my main item here, it helps hold things together while smelling nice. Too much will make your incense smell like a guttering candle though.

Proportions & Directions

Now we get to the part where people cuss me for my lack of precise measurements. I hate to tell you this, folks, but I hate measuring shit out. I have to do it in certain situations, as in formulas I use clinically, or when I make botanical perfumes, and in particularly delicate dishes. But not here, here I just go by feel and smell until I find the balance I like. I’ll provide my preference guidelines and you’ll have to figure out what you like best from there.

The thing to keep in mind here is if you don’t add enough resinous material, your incense will scorch and smell burnt much more easily. If you don’t add enough honey/mead/wine you’ll miss out on that sweet, complex flavor that comes with the fermentation and honey. Other than that, it’s pretty hard to mess this up.

You can mix and match endlessly and most likely never get bored, using each opportunity to showcase another dominant scent or scent combo. My most recent batch was Juniper-Cottonwood, and the one before that was White Fir-Rose Hip, and the one before Colorado Blue Spruce-Elderberry-Juniper.

Figure about 1 part resins (conifer resin, propolis, bud resins), 1 part berries, 1/2 part beeswax, 1/2 part roots/bark,  and 3 parts leaf/flower, all by (eyeballed) volume.

Grinding Note: I grind all my ingredients by hand in a mortar and pestle. Yes, it would be much quicker and easier in an electric grinder, I just prefer the old fashioned method for this particular project.

• I usually start with grinding all my berries an berry like objects up to a rough powder. When I work with Juniper cones, I prefer to roast them lightly beforehand.
• I then grind my conifer resins and propolis to a powder and add.
• Then I grind my leaves/flowers roughly (larger for things like Douglas Fir needles, more finely for flowers like Rose) and my roots/barks to whatever fineness I can manage by hand in my mortar and pestle.
• Next I grate the beeswax.
• This all goes in a bowl together, and gets well stirred. And this is very important, because if you don’t get a fairly even coating of resin on everything, you’re going to end up with very inconsistent incense.
• I then slowly add the warmed honey/mead/wine until the mix is sticky but not wet.
• Then I cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and put a 1-2 inch thick coating of the mixture on the paper. This part is messy and sticky, prepare to smell good afterwards (and stick to anything you touch).
• Next I place the sheet on the cool side of my woodstove wait for the sheet to warm. When the resins start to melt and the whole mess starts to look gooey, I stir and turn the tray slowly round and round until the whole thing is warm and melty.
• I then press the mixture flat on the tray again, and put it in a warm (but not hot), dry place to cure/dry for several days to a week.
• Once mostly dry (but possibly still a bit sticky-soft), I break or cut into small pieces and store in an airtight container away from light or heat.
• Burn on charcoal or a warm (not blazing) wood stove.
• Breathe deep.

I don’t consider this to be hard-earned room deodorizer, but rather a very visceral connection to the land and plants. Another form and facet of the plant devotions I discussed in my last post. I treasure every breath taken of the pleasure these plants provide me.

The hopefully humorous Plant Healer poster below was inspired by an email, received from a onetime subscriber only a couple of months ago. Its author surely didn’t mean anything bad by complaining that Plant Healer provides “too much information.”  A second reader complained she ran out of printer ink printing out every issue of this digital magazine, apparently unaware that she could purchase a hard-copy Annual and save herself the trouble.

Of all the criticism a periodical might ever earn, we suppose one of the easiest to hear is that Plant Healer Magazine is too large, with too many articles!  With so many truly great writers and teachers, we’ve as yet been unable to keep it down to under 250 full size, 8.5×11″ color pages… and we must confess, the upcoming Spring issue is no exception.  A powerful new column by Phyllis Light and exclusive interview with Matthew Wood, combine with 38 other awesome articles to distinguish yet another wild issue of Plant Healer.  Subscribers will be able to download it on March 5th, the first Monday of the month, and others so desiring can subscribe in time at:

www.PlantHealerMagazine.com

(Re-Post and Spread Freely)

"Too Much Information" - Art Poster from www.PlantHealerMagazine.com

Here’s a sneak peak at the front cover of our upcoming

SPRING ISSUE

of Plant Healer Magazine, to be released the first Monday of March.  The photo is of a plate decorated with traditional Ukrainian lacquerware technique, entitled “Folk Herbalists in Spring”, making it a shoo-in for this season’s cover choice.  Subscribe, submit or advertise by going to:

PlantHealerMagazine.com

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Anima Lifeways and Herbal Site Updated

You’re invited to please check out the newly updated Anima school site, featuring simplified pages and easy navigation.  Besides the new look and header, you’ll also find:

•A new Introduction with easy direct links to every section and program without need of the menu
•A “Home Study” page with revised offerings, including the just now reopened Foundations In Traditional Herbalism course
•Extensive “Writings” pages, with a free archive of many herbal and lifeways articles by Kiva Rose, Jesse Wolf and Loba
•A new “On Site Opportunities” page, with On-Site Helper details as well as information on the upcoming “Sacred Indulgence Botanical Retreat & Workshop” in May
•New Applications for Retreats, Events and Programs… so sorry they hadn’t been downloading correctly, all better now!
.

Home Study Courses Reopen

Announcing the reopening of the Anima herbal and lifeways courses.  We stopped accepting applications long enough to reorganize our study programs.  We’ve had to cease accepting sliding scale donations due to recent tax and paypal regulations, but have separated most of the courses into 4 easily affordable parts.  Finally, we no longer separate courses into separate teaching path categories (“Village Herbalist,” “Shaman’s Path”), since nature awareness and shamanic work such as increasing our awareness is of importance to student and practicing herbalists, and plant and healing knowledge can be of value to everyone.
.

Kiva reopens her Foundations In Western Herbalism Home Study Course.

.

Foundations In Traditional Herbalism Course – with Kiva Rose

Now Reopened: A comprehensive exploration of the principles of Traditional Western Herbalism by Kiva Rose, 5 extensive lessons designed to provide the student with a competent experiential grasp of the principles and practical skills that forms the basis for applied herbcraft. Experiential assignments and exploratory questions are included in every lesson to help the student fully integrate the lesson that the next will be built on. This course is accessible to intent and focused beginners as well as clinical practitioners looking to deepen their understanding of Traditional Western Herbalism.  It is, and will remain, the primary foundational herbalism course.  Additional and advanced herbal courses with Kiva Rose will be released in the next year as part of a new Medicine Woman program.
.

Join Kiva Rose and Loba in a special Sacred Indulgence Botanical Retreat & Celebration in May..

.

Sacred Indulgence Botanical Retreat & Workshop – May 10-13 – with Kiva Rose and Loba

Nourishing the healer! Come spend a restorative weekend at Anima Sanctuary, a lush riparian canyon in the wilderness of southwest New Mexico, learning the rituals and ways of botanical-based self-care. We will be cooking and eating outdoor feasts of wild and traditional foods, learning how to create decadent herbal teas, body butters, balms, blessing oils, chocolate truffles and other treats for you to take home to continue the indulgence. We’ll also be discussing some of the most effective ways of prioritizing our own care and outlining ways of creating rituals of self-love and nourishment, focusing on empowering ways of taking responsibility for our personal well-being and satisfaction.  This workshop is especially appropriate for healthcare practitioners, care-takers, parents, and anyone else who needs more nourishment in their daily lives and has an affinity for plant-based medicine and pleasure.  For an application, go to the Events Page of the revised Anima site.

.

Outdoor cooking will be just one component of a Sacred Indulgence weekend.

.
(Please RePost and Forward this for us… thank you!)

.

Anima Lifeways and Herbal Site Updated

You’re invited to please check out the newly updated Anima school site, featuring simplified pages and easy navigation.  Besides the new look and header, you’ll also find:

•A new Introduction with easy direct links to every section and program without need of the menu
•A “Home Study” page with revised offerings, including the just now reopened Foundations In Traditional Herbalism course
•Extensive “Writings” pages, with a free archive of many herbal and lifeways articles by Kiva Rose, Jesse Wolf and Loba
•A new “On Site Opportunities” page, with On-Site Helper details as well as information on the upcoming “Sacred Indulgence Botanical Retreat & Workshop” in May
•New Applications for Retreats, Events and Programs… so sorry they hadn’t been downloading correctly, all better now!
.

Home Study Courses Reopen

Announcing the reopening of the Anima herbal and lifeways courses.  We stopped accepting applications long enough to reorganize our study programs.  We’ve had to cease accepting sliding scale donations due to recent tax and paypal regulations, but have separated most of the courses into 4 easily affordable parts.  Finally, we no longer separate courses into separate teaching path categories (“Village Herbalist,” “Shaman’s Path”), since nature awareness and shamanic work such as increasing our awareness is of importance to student and practicing herbalists, and plant and healing knowledge can be of value to everyone.
.

Kiva reopens her Foundations In Western Herbalism Home Study Course.

.

Foundations In Traditional Herbalism Course – with Kiva Rose

Now Reopened: A comprehensive exploration of the principles of Traditional Western Herbalism by Kiva Rose, 5 extensive lessons designed to provide the student with a competent experiential grasp of the principles and practical skills that forms the basis for applied herbcraft. Experiential assignments and exploratory questions are included in every lesson to help the student fully integrate the lesson that the next will be built on. This course is accessible to intent and focused beginners as well as clinical practitioners looking to deepen their understanding of Traditional Western Herbalism.  It is, and will remain, the primary foundational herbalism course.  Additional and advanced herbal courses with Kiva Rose will be released in the next year as part of a new Medicine Woman program.
.

Join Kiva Rose and Loba in a special Sacred Indulgence Botanical Retreat & Celebration in May..

.

Sacred Indulgence Botanical Retreat & Workshop – May 10-13 – with Kiva Rose and Loba

Nourishing the healer! Come spend a restorative weekend at Anima Sanctuary, a lush riparian canyon in the wilderness of southwest New Mexico, learning the rituals and ways of botanical-based self-care. We will be cooking and eating outdoor feasts of wild and traditional foods, learning how to create decadent herbal teas, body butters, balms, blessing oils, chocolate truffles and other treats for you to take home to continue the indulgence. We’ll also be discussing some of the most effective ways of prioritizing our own care and outlining ways of creating rituals of self-love and nourishment, focusing on empowering ways of taking responsibility for our personal well-being and satisfaction.  This workshop is especially appropriate for healthcare practitioners, care-takers, parents, and anyone else who needs more nourishment in their daily lives and has an affinity for plant-based medicine and pleasure.  For an application, go to the Events Page of the revised Anima site.

.

Outdoor cooking will be just one component of a Sacred Indulgence weekend.

.
(Please RePost and Forward this for us… thank you!)