The Wildland Tea Party

A couple of months ago, in the most random situation, I found myself flooded with inspiration for a new type of event. The Muses, several indeed, had conspired to call me to produce something that would gather women together, in the outdoors, to create ceremony, to heal, and to learn. An offering that seems channeled straight from the Divine, down through my heart, and out through my hands. The divine method here can not be discounted or questioned. Every time I asked ‘how?’ ‘for what?’ “where?’ I was given an almost immediate response from these Muses in the form of a clear vision and strong desire to make it happen.

For the next few months I’ll be testing this offering out to see if it sticks; if it’s manifesting in a way that is pleasurable to me, to you, and to the Muses who are pushing it along…On or near the Full Moon, we’ll gather in sisterhood, somewhere in the great outdoors, for a Wildland Tea Party.

Think of this event as women’s spiritual retreat meets camping trip meets herbal medicine class. I will meet you in a natural setting, create a container for personal work according to a theme for that month, and we will meet each other, heart to heart, as sisters in a sacred space. We will move our bodies under the sun, learn about plant medicines to support our healing paths, and journey shamanically to uncover, release, heal, and integrate any issues that need brought to light.

Each Wildland Tea Party will be held in a new location, with the goal being exposing my tribe of sisters to new sacred places. That you can return to on your own whenever you need to reconnect with the spirits of that place and the energies we co-create and infuse into the land. Each place will become a power portal for you, one that will help you to heal when you feel stuck, stagnant, or in need of community or nature bathing or plant spirit connection.

Together we’ll drink herbal teas, purify with the alchemy of smoke and mist, anoint with oils and salves, and release with sacred fire. A themed kit will be available for you to purchase too, that will help you integrate your experience into your daily life after the event. The kits are available for purchase at the time of check out as an add-on, or at the event or on the website. *Purchasing it along with your event ticket will get you a good discount*

For specific details on scheduled Wildland Tea Parties, including them and general location, click the button below to get to our events page.

Movement is Medicine

A view from Sunrise Park Resort.

Who in my sphere is struggling with resistance? executive dysfunction? paralyzing anxiety? stagnant depression? apathy in any form? fear of rejection/abandonment? healing the inner child and trauma?

I think pretty much everyone can say at least one of these modes of being is relevant to their lives…and for some of us, it could be all of them at once or all on a wave.

Our world would like to medicate us with pharmaceuticals and shame and toxic love and light bullshit. It would like to tell us we are broken for not pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps and making shit happen. And yea, we are 100% responsible for our own lives - NO ONE ELSE IS. But when one lives in the context of merciless and unsympathetic expectation without a framework for actual healing, it can feel really impossible to crawl out from under any of the above struggles and bring ourselves to fruition.

Y’all know I’m an herbalist. And a shamanic healer. I do good work with the spirits of suffering people in my community. I know the herbs to support the brain, the heart, and the energetic channels that get clogged. I can guide someone in meditation and prayer and undo generational curses on the astral planes. I love this work. It is necessary, and usually herbs, nutrition, and the spiritual work are the FIRST STEPS. The ones that guide us. And when it comes to issues of an emotional or mental nature, they can help us discover deeply buried aspects of ourselves that need light. They can support us and strenghten us and build us up to the tasks involved with doing what needs done to make a change. But I’m gonna be bold here and make a statement that might get me some flack - these practices and tools are not the answer.

What is the Answer Then????

MOVEMENT.

Most of have had to sit down and be still and quiet since childhood. Be seen and not heard. Don’t speak out of turn in class. Don’t make unnecessary movements in church, in public, or anywhere you could embarrass an adult or disrupt the larger group. Don’t air your dirty laundry no matter how affected you are by violation. Being the people pleaser that I am, I learned this quickly and didn’t usually act up in those spaces. Although it was always REALLY HARD for me to not talk. I was always talking. And getting in trouble for it.

Being forced into quiet stillness as children was the culture’s way of preparing us for school. For college. For working at a desk. It’s the way we’ve been convinced and conditioned to relinquish ownership of our souls to a bigger machine, gaslit into believing the machine was the dream. They want us quiet. They want us sedentary. They want us dependent on 2 day shipping and mass produced pricing.

All of the struggles I mentioned at the beginning are the result of us not being encouraged to be free humans. Not being supported in our individual uniqueness. They are the result of traumatized people traumatizing people in a traumatic and traumatized system. The result of an educational system premeditated and designed to make you a part of a productive and profitable society - not the enlightened and liberated artist you actually are. It’s no one person’s fault - there’s no blame being cast on anyone here because everyone alive has been on the receiving end of this system abuse - but we do each have something called responsibility for ourselves, and one by one, we have to break out of this mess. (In no way am I suggesting you shouldn’t be angry/heartbroken/etc b/c of what’s happened to you. You should. Feel very fucking thing.)

Soaking in the silence of a snowy alpine forest.

As much as they fucked up the development of our brains and stunted our emotional growth, they never took our actual power away. We may not be able to change the system. But we can change ourselves. Hard as it fucking is. It’s really hard. Really really really hard. Any type of trauma or neurodivergence, and finding your own sense of power can be like climbing a frozen waterfall without an ice pick.

Which leads me to the whole point of this writing to begin with.

If you have nothing at all to work with, no resources, no community, no insurance, no tools, you have YOU. You have your body. And in order to to bring your true self to the surface and begin the journey of collaborating with your struggles, you have to use your greatest asset and sometimes adversary - your physical body.

I think the most important part of the work I do is not teaching people how to avoid medical doctors in treating illness, it’s helping people reestablish the relationship between themselves and nature, by using their bodies to navigate Earth.

Moving our physical vessels in the wilderness is THE BEST MEDICINE THERE IS. Nothing is better. Bold statement, but true. Our neurochemicals are all fucked up and we can’t focus and we’re intentionally distracted by a bunch of nonsense that doesn’t actually matter and we’re forced into unnatural spaces and required to ‘earn’ to live and I could go on and on and on about how antithetical to humanness, it all is. Yea there’s lots of beauty, I’m not saying all of humanity is fucked and doomed. Just that we’ve been set up. And the remedies on offer are not gonna do shit if we don’t move our bodies.

Back in the day humans pretty much lived gym bro lives in terms of how much we worked out. We moved around, we carried, lifted, crafted, hunted, rode, walked, harvested, foraged, and forged. Everything we did impacted our survival, and everything was weight bearing exercise. We did these things in communities too, but that’s a whole other topic I can’t get side tracked on. Our biggest threats were predators and the environment, and we had to stay active to survive. Like animals in the wild, we could shake off traumatizing events and return to a balanced mental state. Something that’s very hard for us now. Because we have no support and haven’t been shown how to get our nervous systems back to a regulated state. We’re told to forget the past that hurt and be happy now even if we can’t get anything done. We’re expected, even from people with good intentions, to keep pouring ourselves out, despite the cup being empty for a long, long time.

In order for us to overcome the limitations imposed upon us by society, culture, environment, and physiology, we have make a conscious decision to find some way in our own personal lives to return to our physical bodies.

All the science shows that the chemicals released when we do hard exercise improves our mental health. It gives us clarity and helps us change the way we think. It reinforces the connection between our hearts and Earth’s and all creation. It builds resilience and strength. It empowers us.

And what I think we could all use a heaping dose of is, empowerment. It just doesn’t come from the outside. We can receive support and love from our friends and teachers and muses, but true empowerment is something that comes from within. It is the inner knowing of I CAN that comes when we rise above a challenge or solve a problem. Working our bodies, is the most potent, satiating, and long lasting source of empowerment we can get our hands on, and it’s made even more effective when we do it outside.

It’s free, and it’s still better than ANYTHING you can put in your body.

I know it can be hard to get started because of the resistance, executive dysfunction, paralyzing anxiety, stagnant depression, apathy in any form, fear of rejection/abandonment, healing the inner child and trauma. I’m in that place a lot, where it’s hard to scrape myself from the floor in order to move. Especially b/c I deal with a few conditions that literally disable me for days, weeks, or even months at a time. But I always know that I’m going to feel better when I do something. And I’m a big fan of walks, gentle yoga, swimming, anything that gets your blood flowing. But the really good medicine is when you get after something that’s scary, dangerous, or really difficult.

If you’re on the struggle bus and can’t get shit done that you want to do, or you can’t overcome something, here my suggestion.

Pick an extreme sport. The easiest and free-est? Hiking. You can wear regular clothes, sneakers, and use your old Jansport backpack. Get stuff at Goodwill. Repurpose old bottles for your drinking water if you need to. Make sure you have a rain jacket and layers. But you don’t need anything fancy. If you don’t have a car or can’t get to a trail, do an urban hike. Fill your pack with books or rocks or cans of food, plan a route in your town, and go for it. This is also a really awesome way to discover hidden gems in your area that you may not have known about. Walk. Walk with purpose. Walk faster. Get your heart rate up. Set a target. Sweat. Make your goal. Go home and take a hot shower and let the dopamine saturate every fucking cell in your body. Fall asleep feeling like a badass b/c you did something new.

The important thing is to find an activity that isn’t easy. One that forces you to pay attention - to your surroundings, to your body mechanics, and to how your gear functions. Choose a sport that has obvious challenges and set yourself to meeting them. Maybe you’re urban hiking and each week you set yourself to go a little further, with a goal being to hike up a local mountain. Celebrate EVERY SINGLE accomplishment, even if to the outside world it seems simple/small. Find a way to get out of your comparative mindset and do this just for you. Again, JUST. FOR. YOU. The benefits WILL ripple out. But who gives a fuck if that dude over there climbed Kilamanjaro? You’re here to do you. He’s got his own set of struggles to deal with. Get that shit out of your periphery and constantly remind yourself that this is your journey, and the ONLY. thing that matters is getting yourself clear and getting some dopamine and overcoming something.

Keep aiming higher.

In my current life, my favorite medicine is snowboarding. I’m not gonna lie, it’s really hard. It’s a total body workout that requires you to pay incredible attention to micro movements in your body, subtle changes in the terrain and weather, other people coming down the mountain, and your own perspective. It’s meditative AF for me, and it’s one of the only activities that allows me to feel hyper aware of the present moment. The normal chaos of my mind shuts down b/c if for one moment I don’t pay attention to how the entire experience FEELS, I’m gonna fall and bust my ass. And falling while moving at speed down an icy mountain with a board attached to your feet SUCKS. I know. I’ve done it a lot and I’ve gotten hurt.

Last run of the day, completely exhausted and untouchably happy.

Snowboarding is so physically and mentally challenging that every time I make a gain, it feels like the biggest accomplishment of my life. Like learning to carve and actually use the toe edge of the board…I was high as a kite for a week when that clicked for me last season, after 10 years of not riding. Natural drugs y’all. And if you’ve got one of the many mentioned struggles, there’s no doubt you are a dopamine deficient person. LET’S FIX THAT.

Every time I do something on a snowboard for the first time, it changes me. I get that natural dopamine fix from the payoffs of embodied persistence. The anxiousness in my brain and all the fears and worries about bullshit adult stuff fade for a while. And the best part is that usually, the next day, I find myself motivated. Less resistant. Ready to tackle the responsibilities and obstacles that have been sidelined. All most likely because my neurotransmitters were off. We are all dopamine addicts y’all. We have to have it. And most of us don’t have enough of it. And that makes EVERYTHING really hard to do. There is something alchemical that happens when we participate in extreme sports - giving ourselves the opportunity to push our bodies to their limits, allowing our minds to function as meditative allies rather than slave drivers, and liberating our spirits to reunite with the essence of nature, profoundly and fundamentally alters us. More than any psychedelic, more than any therapy session, more than any soul retrieval or self help book.

The next time one of your wild friends invites you to do something crazy, do it. Especially if you don’t want to. If there’s something you want to try but you don’t want to do it alone, go do it alone (just let people know where you’ll be and have a safety in check!). Hire a guide or instructor if you need to (like me! I can teach you a bunch of stuff, and if I can’t, I’ll find you someone who can!). The more it takes you out of your comfort zone, the better. Scared you’re gonna look like an idiot? You will. It’s ok. Everyone did when they started. If you don’t have the funds to do something that can be pretty expensive, like snowboarding, borrow gear. Find the cheapest rental place. Stop buying lattes and save your money for a lift ticket. Find a carpool or bus. Change your mindset to looking for possibilities instead of barriers. NO MORE EXCUSES. But if something you’re into is really out of reach, pivot. Pick something different. Join meetup.com and start doing active stuff with people - because it’s HIGHLY LIKELY that you’ll meet someone along the way who is also into that other thing you want to try, and then that entire world opens up to you.

Remember. That heaviness you feel, the fear and stuckness and the weight of all the SHOULDS. Nothing is wrong with you. You’re not broken. You probably have some incredible gifts that are buried beneath the lifelong conditioning that you should be something different from what you are. If you are desperate to get back to your core, to unveil your truth, to allow your unique gorgeousness out into the world, go do something insane that will make your entire body sore for at least 2-3 days. If you’re not sore, you need more. And do it outside so you can soak up all those tree pheromones and absorb all the delicious golden sunlight and breath fresh air and satisfy your very human need for novelty. You never know what crazy or beautiful thing you will see, and those profoundly spiritual experiences just from BEING in a place and participating in the place, is a vital component of this movement as medicine I’m talking about. So much in this world is medicinal. It’s just that above all, we were designed to move our bodies through to and through survival.

View from the top of Sunrise Mountain <3

As always, I got you. Let me know what you need to get there, and I’ll hold your hand to the edge.

Here’s some little things that have inspired/motivated/supported me lately:

I realize this writing doesn’t take into account folks who have physical limitations that prevent them from getting into extreme sports. It’s not intended to be exclusive, but to encourage those that are able. There are other tools available for empowering folks to get out of the rut if physicality is not possible. That’s another article that will come in time <3

---

Not sure what activities you want to try? Here’s a fun list. I recommend watching videos on YouTube/Instagram to get stoked about it.

• Snowboarding/Skiing

• Surfing

• Skateboarding/LongBoarding

• Backpacking/Hiking/Mountaineering

• Rock Climbing (my next adventure sport!)

• Mountain Biking or Road Biking

• Trail Running

• Kayaking

• Backcountry Hunting with a Compound Bow

• Wakeboarding/Waterskiing

• Spelunking/Caving

• Horseback Riding/Rodeo

---

A book I’m reading: Rick Rubin - The Creative Act

A book I’m listening to: The War of Art - Steven Pressfield

7 Powerful Steps to Overcoming Resistance and Actually Get Stuff Done - Zen Habits article by Leo Babauta

Living the Seasonal Life - Building Fires to Heal the Heart

A lovely roaring fire in my home last winter.

Being an herbalist, witch, gardener, hunter, or homesteader, a person gets acquainted with the nearly ritualistic way of living by the seasons. By the moon and sun and stars. By weather changes and mood shifts and the cycles of the body. By the rising and setting of the sun.

We have evolved over the last 100,000 years to live cyclically. To orient our lives by what’s happening in the natural environment - of which we are a part, not separate from.

Technology, while amazing, and providing the outlet for this here post, has dissociated most of us not only from natural world, but from the truth of our needs, and who we actually are. We have lightbulbs to provide artificial sunlight, allowing us to stay awake performing tasks at a time when our bodies would really rather be sleeping. Water is pumped in, giving us more time for tv but removing the reward of going out and getting the water to hydrate our homes. A variety of heat sources are radiated through our homes, warming us without effort and depriving our bodies the opportunity to strengthen and minds to plan and execute and souls to heal from the crackling heat of a fire on a cold day. Something visceral within us in enlivened by the experiences of water, warmth, and natural light and darkness.

I use all of these technologies - not because I want to necessarily - but because I’ve grown into adulthood in a world that is dependent upon them, in a world that requires more of my energy and mental effort to ‘contribute to society’ than is natural for the body I was born into. All of us are in this same predicament. We can not do anything about what we were born into. But I have discovered for myself over the last year, that I am bound and determined to separate myself from the trap of modernity to the extent that it is possible. My body wants a slower pace. My brain is smart, and people expect a lot of me that I don’t want to give, becuase it doesn’t seem right to use my intelligence to feed into a modus operandi that does not suit me - body, mind, or soul. I want to use the gift of thinking to solve problems creatively, to create a life that is aligned with my nature, to fulfil the needs of my home and family in a way that extracts as little as possible and returns as much as possible to the Earth, while being as comfortable and colorful and connected to community, as possible.

For the last year I’ve been living in a little mountain town in Arizona. It was my first experience at high elevation (6600 feet), and in the most snowy and cold winter the area has experienced in 10 years or so. Aside from the loneliness of living 2.5 hours from the network I built over 10 years, and 2000 miles from my family of origin, and working from home in a job that was both unimportant (in the grand scheme of things) and felt like a total waste of time and mental energy, I loved this new experience of solitary rural living. I am blessed to reside adjacent to 4 million acres of national forest land, which has provided the most abundant and beautiful playground for me to explore. The juniper and wild horses and bugling elk have become my neighborly friends.

My little cottage came with a wood burning stove, and I expected to have fires here and there. But the man in my life at the time and his dad had another plan - they knew wood burning heat was the way to go in the mountains - and they helped me collect, haul, split, and stack 2 cords of wood. Two full weekends we were out there with chainsaws getting downed oak and juniper. That wood was a precious gift that warmed my cottage all winter, and the last fire it built was the same week that man and I ended our relationship. It was a very peculiar synchronicity.

My first day ever using a chainsaw =)

Needless to say, this year the idea of getting wood has been heavy on my mind. I no longer have the human resources I had last year. That season of my life has changed, and I have no choice but to accept it. It hurts sometimes, and until yesterday, I have occasionally felt bitterness that I was set up to live the kind of homesteading fire building life I wanted, with a man I loved, and then the capability of reproducing that year after year, seemed to have been stripped from the realm of possibility for me. Last winter, I felt that man kept me warm every day, even when he wasn’t there, because he prepared me so well for the fires I lit every morning.

But yesterday, a new season began for me. I decided that no matter what, no matter who is or is not involved, I want this way of life. I am so deeply satisfied by the act of finding and procuring the heat source for my home, and then generating that heat with my hands every day, that I want to keep it going even though I don’t have a chainsaw, a crew of masculine support, or the physicality of the men who helped me. Despite that, I want to feel the deep sense of connection with the Earth and her seasons that comes from being on the land and respectfully harvesting what I need - knowing I will not use more than is necessary, I will not intentionally take any life that is not required for my survival (I don’t kill trees - I only take what’s already fallen). Knowing that I will respect and honor the trees that have given their lives to fire or lightening or old age, and with each fire I light, I will give them and the soils that nourished them, gratitude. The emotions of longing and resentment, I turned also into gratitude, for the skill, and the knowledge, and the ability I received last year that encourages me through this one.

I decided to shift some things around to generate a new energy of this endeavor for myself. I relocated the wood pile so that this year it would be mine. Only my energy would go into its placement, its collection, its stacking, even though the materials themselves came from someone else. I cried a lot as I released my dependence on what once was. I also cried tears of thankfulness for him, the kindness of his heart, and everything he and his dad taught me. There is no way in hell I could even begin this journey of wood collecting and fire tending had I not learned so much from him. No matter what happened between us and how sad I can sometimes still be, that man was the most skilled and talented man I’ve ever met besides my brothers and dad (my mom would go in there if she was a man but she’s not - she’s definitely the most talented and skilled woman I’ve met and I gotta say, this determination and inner strength come solely from her. Thanks Mama Sugie!) and I learned quite a lot from watching him, and the patience in his teaching me. How to split, stack, use a chainsaw, build a solid fire, select wood, etc. It hurts my heart that the season has changed, but the change and what I learned from him, empowers me beyond my own belief.

The new location. The big stuff needs to be chainsawed.

So I set about the task. I got the new location set up. And I got a fuelwood permit from the forest service and set out to collect. I don’t have a chainsaw. I don’t have a truck. I don’t have a trailer. But I have a hatchet, a splitting maul, and an AWD Subaru Impreza with seats that fold down. Me and my doggo filled my hatchback and took it home. It was one of the most painfully proud moments of my life, even though I’m gonna need to do it like 15 more times to get enough to last through the winter!

A small load in the Subi and a super dirty face on me!

Here where I live, at 6600 feet in a town of 5000, summer is fading. I’m beginning my second year. There have been times when I wanted to leave because there are reminders of what I’ve lost everywhere, but Fall is my season. I was born in the most beautiful part of Fall in Virginia, a truly magickal time, and I always feel revitalized when it comes back around. I can move through what needs moving through - I’m tired of running. Up here in the mountains, it’s happening a little earlier than I’m used to. It’s shifting me away from a time of depending on another to make my dreams come true, and into a time of taking what I’ve learned from that past to create a present and future of my own. I’m seeing my strength and resistance to what we’ve been told is the right (easiest) way to live. I’m giving my energy to tasks that align me with the very essence of being alive on Earth. I’m spending my time creating, organizing, rearranging, so that my home is my own. My life is my own. My wood is my own. That’s not to say I wouldn’t accept help if it showed up - I’m not an idiot. But I won’t use the propane unless I have to. I won’t buy the wood so long as I can go get it myself. Now if the snows come and I haven’t collected enough, I might not have a choice, since I don’t have a truck yet.

Living the seasonal life is a choice. It didn’t used to be. It’s not easy. It’s not for everyone even though I wish it were. But it is singularly the most profound, enriching, and spiritual way of living I have experienced, and I hope that as I progress through my life, I find ways to live even more entrenched with the natural cycles of the Earth, befriending seasonal struggle and turning it into seasonal abundance.

I will keep looking for chances to refine my life away from a technologically oriented one towards a nature bound one. I hope the seasonal shift upon us grounds you into the core of who you are. How are you going to more deeply connect with this time of change?

Simmer Down, Sweets

A few days ago I found myself on the phone with a good friend who calmly told me it sounded like I had a lot of fire inside of me and that perhaps I needed some cooling foods to help me get back to equilibrium.

I was detectably out of balance and emotionally worked up, and she knows me well enough to comment in a way that didn’t fan the fire scorching my insides, but instead touched me like a soothing balm so that I become of a mind to take heed.

We all find ourselves this way from time to time, mentally charged and physically ready for battle over something that really would be best handled with a cool temperament and quick step outside of the Self so you can see that forest instead of only burning bushes…some of us get heated more than others (strong Mars in your chart, anyone?) but we can all relate on occasion, can’t we?

Having good friends you trust to point out your bullshit is one of life’s greatest gifts, so if you have that person who will call you out when you’re being insane, don’t let them go. That conversation helped me channel my emotional fire into a creative one, one of my favorite things about being an herbalist. I now had a tangible problem I could set to work solving instead of just burning the blaze inside me brighter til it eventually would burn me out. And for no good reason.

Getting to it, I knew I needed some herbs to cool down the emotional intensity, balance my hormones a little bit (I was in the midst of moon time and RAGING), and reconnect me to the cycles of living that I’d gotten a little bit detached from. It was also really f***ing hot at that time, which surely contributed to my turmoil. What I came up with is one of my FAVORITE herbal teas ever generated from this here herbal witch, and I now present to you, Simmer Down - A Tea for Calming the F Down! It helped so much that I coulnd’t even tell you what the hell had me so tied up in fiery knots! During the blending and prayer process, a medicine song came to me, and I’d like to share it with you too.

It’s a delicious cooling, modulating, and soothing blend of herbs that immediately took me down a notch, to a more manageable state of affairs. It tastes so good cold I’ve been having a cup or two every day when the summer sun is hottest. It can help alleviate menstrual cramps, promotes relaxation, and helps us restore a balanced connection with the many emotion bearing fluids of the body. It would also be useful in mild fevers, overheating, overexertion, and irritable, agitated, and bad moods that are quite possibly covering up some other emotion we’re not ready to process. In the soothing of the agitation, it will help you ground down into the Earth and flow like a river through a forest, giving you access to your psyche, and whatever is really going on down there.

Check it out in out in our shop, and be sure to let me know what you think and how it helps you. If you know someone who would benefit from it, it would make a great gift!

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Ethical Wildcrafting + Stewardship: A Video

In this video I introduce you to the ethics, principles, and practices of wildcrafting (harvesting) plants. I cover intention, intuition, tools, and how to respectfully connect with Earth’s medicines. This is essential information for ANYONE interested in foraging, collecting, or otherwise working with and removing plants from their homes.

Decoctions and Infusions

Herbalists rarely call a tea a tea. Hang around your local herb shop and you’ll hear tisane, infusion, and decoction long before the word tea comes out of someone’s mouth. That’s because in the art of herbal medicine, a tea isnt’ just a tea - and these other unfamiliar terms indicate just HOW the tea is prepared - because not all teas are just a teaspoon of herbs in a tea bag and steeped in water…it gets a little deeper than that.

An herbal infusion is the closest thing to a regular herbs-steeped-in-water tea. One difference is that while you can make an infusion using a tea bag, an herbal infusion usually uses a larger quantity of herbs than a teabag from the grocery store, which is what we herbalists refer to as a Tisane. A beverage tea drunk for fun or for mild benefit, but not usually extra-strength like an infusion or decoction would be, at a ratio of at least 1 Tablespoon of your chosen herb to 1 cup of boiled water. Tisanes and teabags generally use about 1 Teaspoon of herbs, to your cup of hot water.

Infusions are most notably different from the other types of teas because they are made using delicate parts of the plant. The flower, leaf, non-woody stems, and some seeds (like Fennel or Cardamom) are measured, placed into a glass jar, and covered with just boiled distilled or spring water, and then covered. Infusions need to steep for at least 20 minutes for a maximum extraction without maximum bitter principles being pulled into the water. It’s important to note as well that if you’re using primarily seeds for your infusion, you can use 1 Teaspoon instead of the generally used Tablespoon, because they are more dense and heavy.

Decoctions are made using the woody, fibrous parts of a plant, like barks, berries, hard seeds, and roots. We tend to use between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablspoon of the plant material per 1 cup of water. We add these to a stainless, glass, or cast iron pot, and bring to a gentle simmer. You do NOT want to boil this mixture - you want the water bubbling but not rolling like you want for pasta. Place a lid on your vessel and allow to simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Some herbal formulas contain different types of plant parts, so you’ll want to do a combined decoction-infusion process. For these, you’ll decoct the hard plant parts first using the total amount of water for the combined fomrula. Once the decoction is complete, add the infusion herbs and allow to steep, covered, for 20 minutes or more.

It is absolutely possible to put 1 tablespoon of herbs into a tea bag, tea ball, or cheese cloth, to do your infusing. I typically only recommend this when you’re traveling or don’t have access to the accoutrements you’ll need for the other methods, because you tend to get a weaker extraction.

There are great stainless steel mesh strainers that fit right inside your mug and make it pretty easy to do infusions. Whether infusing or decocting, make sure you strain your herbs through cheesecloth, muslin, a coffee filter, (use unbleached or sunbleached for all of these materials, if possible) or stainless strainer, pressing the herbs with your fingers or a spoon to get the extra out. That’s the good part with the most concentrated medicine, so you don’t want that to go to waste.

When your infusion, decoction, or tisane is ready to drink, dispose of your plant material in the most respectful way possible. Toss into your yard, put in the compost, or prayerfully put in the trash if those options are not available to you. Most water extracts can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, so I like to make 3 days worth at a time.

Reheat your teas on the stove, and not in the microwave. Sweeten with honey, maple syrup, or fruit juice if desired, but I highly recommend getting familiar with the unique tastes, textures, and sensations the herbs provide before adding anything to it. This will help you grow in your understanding of herbs and their properties, and is valuable information all herbalists seek out when getting to know their medicines.

From the Ashes...We Rise and Recover

Life is often full of beautiful surprises and glorious adventures into our internal worlds, and through relationships we get to go as deeply into our experience of human life as possible. The need for connection is the most human of all our needs, and when we find it, within our families of origin, with chosen families, partners, friends, colleagues, and clients, we can feel an ecstatic sense of joyful belonging. For some this comes easy, for others, lack of trust, past failures, and the lasting effects of unexamined trauma can prevent us from the full experience of healthy human connection.

Sometimes we experience the joy of deep heart to heart and soul to soul connection, only to have it dismantled by the inevitable disappointments that also come with the human condition. All of us will experience heartbreak, loss, and grief in this life, no matter how much we try to prevent it by avoiding depth with others, by maintaining a falsely positive disposition or staying busy, by refusing to explore our own internal landscapes and excavating the traumas and conditioning we experienced as children and throughout our lives.

No matter how hard we try, we can not get away from the truth that life is astoundingly beautiful and full of delight, AND, life is going to make us hurt. A lot.

Pluto is still my guide, and I’ve been going through it. I’ve struggled with my physical and mental health, and I’ve lost a partner, bonus children, and a group of people who I had come to love with a fierceness I’ve not known before…people who had become my family.

Getting through this last 6-7 months has really been some of the most difficult work I’ve done, and now that I’m coming through, I know it was not without purpose, even though I felt like it was going to kill me.

These experiences of darkness and pain, of loss and grief, can send tremors through our souls and destabilize our entire sense of Self. We feel unable to cope, to move forward, to see anything good in life. For a lot of people, turning to substances or unhealthy behaviors helps them to check out, to stop the pain for just a little span of time. We are seeking relief but causing more harm to ourselves.

When we are called to the difficult spiritual work of attending to our grief and loss, to mending our own very broken hearts, it is tempting to wish for a permanent escape. But what the great masters all say, is that the ONLY way through the pain, is through it.

Going through the loss with a determination to be fully present with your feelings is the only way you will become strong again. It’s the only way you will find your path back to the truth of WHO you ARE. Not who you were before the loss, not who you want to be one day, but who you actually are. I believe this is the purpose of these great losses, heartbreaks, discoveries of trauma, and everything else really damn terrible that we are forced to sit with. Through the power of grief, our brokenness crumbles our bones to dust so that we may be rebuilt. We are transformed through this immersion with the shadow. We see our ugliness and the ugliness of the world and have a choice to make about its meaning. If we want to live as fully embodied spiritual beings on this planet as this time, we have to find the WILLINGNESS to go to the depths we are guided to.

Surrendering to this, we can allow ourselves to completely fall apart. To writhe in the agony of losing what we thought we’d have forever, what we never wanted to lose, and even what we never had but feel we should have. This doesn’t apply only to romantic relationships. It applies to everything. How we were raised. How we work. How we relate. How we expected our lives to turn out. How we allow people to treat us. Everything.

When these experiences of loss are extremely intense and difficult to get through, the really bad breakup, the death of someone close, the vision of the future that is no longer, the ability that becomes disability, we must turn to others for support. As a species requiring connection for survival, trying to go it alone will only lead to more suffering. Sometimes, when you have no control over what’s going on, you have to let go of wanting it and needing it so that another human can intervene and help you find your way.

As an herbalist, I feel the same way about our botanical allies. They too are spirit beings and we have evolved interdependently with them, the way we have with other humans and our 4 legged friends and winged teachers. We have to allow them to heal our bodies and souls in a way that we can’t on our own. We must allow the Earth to love us, to hold us in her embrace like the heartbroken children we are. We need Earth’s Medicine.

Arriving on the other side of my own recent experiences with debilitating grief, I realized that through it all, my body and soul had become weak. I had no more energy to try, hope, or want. I could not sleep and I could not stay awake. Old symptoms I thought I’d eradicated began to reappear. Past harmful habits became enticing. Giving up became the only option that made any sense to my broken heart. But somewhere within me, I knew I had to learn from this, and I had to recover. I had to find courage and be the brave woman who hikes long stretches alone, who approaches love and cooking with reckless abandon, who loves to hug everyone I meet, who has work to do in this world - I had to be willing to see my mistakes  as much as hear about my strength and goodness from people who know me and love me (thank you - you know who you are!)

To get myself through the intermediary space between intense pain and once again wanting to feel my own goodness, I needed something to strengthen me - body, mind, soul. I needed a very special herbal tonic that would address my energetic injuries and the depletion in my body, something that would allow me to rest for real, to process a lifetime of pain resurrected through the loss of my most treasured relationship, without losing myself permanently to those conditions.

What I came up with is the From the Ashes Recovery Tonic. The first week I drank 1-2 quarts per day, and in that time I felt myself rise from the ashes of disappointment, attachment, and a shattered heart, eager to meet the sun each day - something I have not experienced for years.

The herbs in this formula were chosen to rebuild and tonify the spiritual and physical bodies, to strengthen heart shen and improve vascular sufficiency in the brain. When we have lived in a state of deficiency for a long time, it’s important that we nourish as much as we repair. I needed this formula to taste so good that I would want to drink it all day long, because I knew I was going to need a lot of it.

From the Ashes Recovery Tonic has been a miracle for my recovery. It is gently energizing without stimulating, it catalyzes a creative internal approach to healing oneself, it opens the heart so that its brokenness can be lovingly attended by the self and others, it reduces anxiety/palpitations/dizziness/rumination, and reconnects the soul that has dissociated from the body. It helps the body use energy wisely so that sleep comes and stays through the. night.

This formula feels very important. To me, to anyone stuck in the throws of depressive, stagnant grief or intense broken hearted outrage. It felt important to share with all of you. It is a beautiful medicine to use in conjunction whatever healing therapy you choose to utilize. And I encourage you, if anything you’ve read here is familiar, if the struggle is real, get help.  Try the tea and let me know how you experience it (click the link below to pre-order!) I’m here for you, but so are many wonderful healers, therapists, and practitioners ready to support your transformation through the process of a broken heart, no matter how it broke to begin with.  If you need something different from what I offer, I will be very happy to help you find the right healer. I got you boo, and so does our beautiful mother, Earth.

Yours in the Underworld,

Candice

Manzanita

Manzanita

Prescott National Forest, Arizona

A member off the Heath family (Ericaceae), this gorgeously tangled shrub is related to Cranberry and Madrone, and offers similarly healing attributes. It's a sister like plant to Uva-Ursi, who I first learned as Bearberry while living and learning in Oregon. According to many of my herbal predecessors, these two are practically interchangeable in their abilities. Michael Moore says that if one isn't growing in your neck of the woods, just look for the other, and it's probably there. "Remember that Manzanita is an analog to Uva Ursi; if Manzanita is uncommon where you live, go into the mountains and you will probably found Uva Ursi. Where the latter isn't found is usually where you find Manzanita. Only in the deserts are both missing." p 158.

Manzanita is one of the most striking plants growing in Arizona. The bark is a deep rusty red, somewhere between glossy and matte in its finish. The contrast with its lichen colored leaves and subdued hues of flower and berry gives this plant an ethereal feeling, as if it glows softly within its own aura, the way one might expect an angel to appear. Its branches tangle, and the way it creates dense thickets in high desert forests reminds me of one other thing only: the rhododendron forests of Appalachia.

Unripened Berries

I would not be surprised to learn that indigenous Arizonans have legeneds of elementals living within these Manzanita thickets, as I've heard innumerable tales of the little people in the Rhodies during my time on the Appalachian trail and at herbal and folkoric events in the South. According to Charles Kane, Peter Bigfoot, and Michael Moore, the Manzanitas can appear as small shrubs at around 3 ft, but with enough moisture, can grow up to 30. I surmise it would be a thoughtless task to lose one's way within the branches of a Manzanita so massive.

Manzanita Branches

This plant has a specific affinity for healing and restoring the water organs in our bodies, namely kidneys, bladder, and womb. A primary constituent, Arbutin is a glycoside which is converted to hydroquinone in the presence of alkaline urine (7.0 on the pH scale).  An acidic environment is preferred in these watery areas to keep E. Coli in check, the bacteria that when prolific, causes urinary tract infections. The leaves contain large amounts of tannin, an astringent constituent that lends itself to tightening tissues that have lost tone - due to age, childbirth, recurring infection, etc. This is likely the reason it is a known vasoconstrictor. Manzanita leaves therefore can be useful in excessive menstrual bleeding, as a post partum sitz bath to heal and tone injured vaginal and cervical tissue, and as a douche when the vaginal pH has become to alkaline as well.

When I first learned of Bearberry, I was so touched by its ethnobotanical uses that I created a username after it - Bearberry Smoke. That's because native people have used the leaf ceremonially and during council meetings as a smoking herb. According to what I read back in 2008 from a book I don't remember, it is the plant of brotherhood - promoting a shared feeling of mutual intent and respect. Michael Moores says that it is a common smoking herb, used with tobacco, other herbs, or on its own. 

A few months ago I got to eat a bunch of the sweet flowers, and just yesterday I finally got to experience the tasty little berry, which can be made into jelly or drink. The berries are dry and full of seeds, but the flavor is sweet and sort of apple-like. I crunched on the seeds and swallowed them, which was fun for me. I felt like I got all the nutrition it had to offer. Its name Bearberry comes from the fact that bears really love Manzanita and Uva-Ursi berry season. If Bear is your medicine guide, or if you've seen Bear show up in dreams or in your yard lately, Manzanita may have some messages for you as well!

Manzanita Flowers

There are a few different ways to use this plant, but the leaf is going to provide the medicine. Dry it for future use, but also because it gets the conversion process going - where the arbutin breaks down into hydroquinone - which is the antibacterial phytochemical we're looking for when treating infections. Charles Kane says that drying the leaf and then dehydrating it in a small amount of water before its final preparation increases the availability of hydroquinone. 

The dried leaf is used to make a tea, about 2 T per quart. Drink 3-4 cups per day for a few days up to two weeks, depending on the condition being treated. I’ve seen other authors recommend lower or higher ratios of herb to water, but this is what I use to get a medicinal strength infusion without too much astringency. Use a stronger infusion for vaginal douche or sitz bath, about 4 T per quart. Being so astringent, the tea can cause stomach or intestinal irritation, so when taken internally I and the mentioned authors all agree that combining it with mucilaginous herbs can reduce the chances of this irritation. Cornsilk, the mallows, plantain, okra, and hollyhock are some suggestions in this regard, with comfrey being a useful addition to external applications.

Kane and Moore both provide a tincture strength using the dried leaf as well, a 1:5 50% ratio, typical dose of 30-60 drops 3-4 x/ day. 

Alter your strengths, doses, and delivery according to your client's needs, of course.

This is an invaluable herb for your herbal apothecary, and will be especially potent if it’s growing near its patient. We should have some for sale soon, so sign up for the Medicinal Muse to stay in the loop!

Tangles

References:

Peter Bigfoot, Useful Wild Western Plants, Page 74

Charles Kane, Herbal Medicine of the American Southwest, Pages 127-128

Michael Moore, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, Page 156

**DISCLAIMER: Any information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and not intended to replace professional health advice. Need a professional herbalist? Contact us!**

The Desert in Summer

One of my personal goals this year is to more intimately understand the medicinal plants growing in my local environment. I want to develop such a familiarity with Arizona flora that I come to know them in all their life stages, and can more aptly expect what might be growing where, and when, more specifically. If for instance I find myself thinking, “Oh I’m on the South face of this mountain at 2,000 feet” I want such a thought to follow as, “It’s likely that I’ll find X,Y, or Z growing here.” This kind of stuff is devotedly described in medicine plant guides under Habitat and Range sections, but I want to acquire MORE of this wisdom through my own exploration.

Thorns

Compass Barrel Cactus

I’ve discovered that spending a few hours with a community of medicinal plants offers limitless revelations into the plants’ most private natures. Watching them open to receive sun at just the right moment, observing the temperature and wind speeds at which the amount of nectar is most enticing to hummingbirds, and even becoming aware of precisely which flowers are ready for harvest - and why.

I swear these plants talk. I hear them. Almost in words, but not quite. They tell me things but only if I’m really present and focused only on being with them. Just like in any meaningful relationship.

We’ve had some rain the last two nights here in my neck of the Sonoran Desert, so this morning felt like a great opportunity to get some cooler than usual hiking in and fill my soul with the scent of Chaparral heavy on a humid air. I wanted to see what the desert looks like immediately after a rain that follows months of hot and very, very dry.

I set out for 4 miles in the McDowell Mountains, pretty much my go-to.

The desert is very much alive. The plants have mostly withdrawn their energies, dropping leaves and hunkering down to prevent dehydration. But there were tons of cicadas, chipmunks, bunnies, lizard babies, and roadrunners. And the entire landscape took on a different hue…Even though there was a lot of brown, it was still beautiful, with browns, reds, and greens all on display in different modes at this unique time.

I don’t know if it was the cloud cover or the humidity or what, but it' was REALLY challenging to get clear photos. Maybe my photosynthesizing friends were shy of their awkward appearances, but I love them no less. Some of these are enlarged and blurry and edited for the effect, but the colors are pretty accurate. Enjoy a quick peak into the desert’s summer magick, and go find yourself some plants to hang out with!

View of the McDowell Mountains

Ambrosia deltoidea

Ambrosia deltoidea, Bursage

Sphaeralcea ambigua

Sphaeralcea ambigua

Larrea tridentata

Wildflower seedpod

Wildflower Seedpod

Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa

Parkinsonia aculeata

Coyote Scat

Ferocactus cylindraceus

Cylindropuntia fulgida

Olneya tesota

Olneya tesota

Desert Succulent

Carnegiea gigantea

Encelia farinosa

Encelia farinosa

Dried Desert Flower

Sonoran Desert

Write Your Timeline of Awesomeness

When’s the last time you considered your badassery?

View fullsize

Footbridge in the rhododendron forests of Southwestern Virginia.

Making a visual representation of all the awesome things you’ve done in your life is a sure-fire way to boost your self esteem. It reminds you of the stuff you probably forgot about when you were so busy thinking about how lame your life is, or how you never do anything cool, or how impossible it feels to get this next big thing off the ground. Your timeline is an incredible tool to keep handy for any time you’re feeling kinda sad and sorry for yourself, or struck by a terrible fear of failure/success that’s preventing you from moving forward.

I’ve decided to share my own timeline to motivate you to create yours, and also because potential customers and prospective clients need to know who I am - what I’ve done and where I’ve been - so that they trust what I’m putting out in the world, and understand why I’m asking them to trust ME.

So without further ado, welcome to my Timeline of Awesomeness, beginning in 2005, at the age of 22.

• Graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University - B.A. Political Science, Minor Developmental Psychology (Can you believe the Poli Sci part??!!)

• Moved to Eugene, Oregon - Drove from Virginia to Utah, then California, then Oregon, with my pet ferret and a Peace Lily

• Met my first herbalist, Candace Hunter of the Practical Herbalist, who became my first herbal teacher. Kept on meeting herbalists everywhere, and becoming tight with them, started learning more about herbalism.

• Worked for an environmental non profit, Cascadia Wildlands.

• Drove from Oregon to Virginia with my cat, Griffyn.

• Drove from Virginia to Arizona, where I moved to study herbalism at SWIHA. Made amazing lifelong friends and began building community.

• Started The Growing Project, LLC, which is the parent company of Rebel Herbal.

• Interned with Katie Hess, creator of Lotus Wei which is the most incredible line of flower powered pampering you’ll ever find.

• Wrote a paper on herbal contraceptives, which you can read here.

• Spoke about using Arizona native plants and Vitamin D deficiency to the Arizona Herb Association (seriously there were like 75 people in that room - it was nuts).

• Received a certification in Western Herbalism - 600 hours of plant science, pathology, physiology, life coaching, and more.

• Worked for my teacher, JoAnn Sanchez, who created and directs the herbalism program at SWIHA. For her I was an assistant instructor, editor (2 editions of 4 academic texts), curriculum creator, student supervisor (for a 6 month stewardship project that included: ethics of wildharvesting, ethnobotany, field studies, and meditative practices).

• Worked at Desert Sage Herbs which is my home herb shop. Retail work is fast paced client work at its best and I recommend it to any herbalist coming out of school who wants to get familiar as heck with plant medicine and Latin binomials, quickly.

• Had a small clinical practice for 5 years, working with clients to heal infertility, autoimmune diseases, acne, adhd, and more.

• Moved to Austin, where I saw clients and sold products, gave lectures at corporate lunch and learns and local holistic fairs.

• Hiked 600 miles of the Appalachian Trail over 7 weeks. During this time I got involved in an intimate relationsihp with Appalachian plants, using Solomon’s Seal to treat pain issues and Plantain for blisters and infections, as well Dandelion in its entirety as an amazing food source. You can read my trail journal here.

• Traveled down the West Coast where I was a doula at a close friend’s home labor, was interviewed on Real Herbalism Radio (listen here!), worked with some green plants in Northern California, and took a Greyhound from Sacramento to Phoenix (never do that).

• Got a job as a demo rep turned account manager turned business development leader for Watusee Foods, where I pretty much hustled chickpeas all over the US. Still the best hiking food I’ve had. Got our product into Kroger!

• Broke my tailbone and my literal foundation was razed to the ground in what turned out to be one of those pivotal spiritual moments that changed me forever by forcing me to face myself and REBUILD.

• Started Rebel Herbal, and flopped. But didn’t quit it.

• Got Wilderness First Aid Certified - one of the most amazing trainings I’ve ever done.

• Had a full year of healing from addiction, emotional abuse, and inner child stuff, while living with my little brother and creating a beautiful new adult bond with him. This entire time was hard as hell but so important and special.

• Moved back to Arizona! Did not drive - I flew to Vancouver to visit a friend and her newborn, then to Phoenix, with 3 suitcases and a pack full of all my hiking gear and my Vitamix (duh).

• Got a job in sales, which taught me more than I ever could have imagined about myself regarding money, confidence, ability, determination, and perseverance. It also taught me how to consult business owners, which is incredibly useful in my work now.

• Saved a bunch of money and took a leap of faith by quitting that job and working full time on my passions (what you’re seeing here, basically).

• Started the Arizona Herbalist’s Coalition, a community resource for herbal practitioners and businesses to get professional development, academic advancement, and self-care advice, and to contribute to Stewardship of land and indigenous wisdom.

And so here I am, doing this thing here on Rebel Herbal. I mean of course there are a whole bunch of other awesome events I could add to this timeline, but sometimes it’s good to keep it focused. If you find yourself in a slump though, go ahead and write out as thorough and detailed a timeline as you can, and review it often.

Now it’s your turn =)

~Candice

Contraceptive Uses of Plants

contraceptive uses of plants

an ethnobotanical approach to women’s health

Although often perceived as a controversial topic in contemporary conversations regarding medicine, health, and daily life, contraception has been practiced in practically every culture in the world since humans developed civilization. 

Defined as a method of preventing the fertilization of an egg by sperm, contraception has become the term used to describe any method, practice, procedure, or device which prevents fertilization and implantation of a fertilized egg (zygote), as well as those which may terminate an active pregnancy.  For the purposes of this paper, contraception refers to any practice utilized by sexually active people to prevent pregnancy, or to end pregnancy in its early stages.

Currently there are a number of strategies employed by copulating couples to prevent fertilization and implantation, including male and female condoms, birth control pills, patches, and rings, contraceptive shots and intrauterine devices, fertility awareness or natural family planning, emergency contraceptive (Plan B or Morning After Pill), withdrawal before ejaculation, and in cases where pregnancy does occur, there are both chemical and surgical procedures for removing a fetus from the uterus and thus ending the pregnancy.

US News estimates that up to 40% of women between 15-44 are on some type of birth control, most likely the forms that alter a woman's chemistry such that her body behaves as if it is already pregnant, and therefore eggs are not released during the menstrual cycle.  A growing number of women and professionals in the field of health (in addition to environmental scientists) are becoming concerned with the seemingly unregulated use of these contraceptives because of how they affect women's reproductive health.

As more people, and women in particular, are becoming interested in healing therapies which are more connected to the earth and to their own bodies, herbal medicine is providing insights to these people about safer and healthier treatments.  By investigating how women and men have used plants to control their fertility throughout history, several things become clear: people have always used plants as contraceptives, and new options for family planning may be on the horizon.

Emmenegogues

True emmenegogues are herbs that stimulate menstrual flow and activity, according to David Hoffman, who also suggests in Medical Herbalism that the term 'emmenegogue' may have expanded to describe herbs that have an affinity toward the female reproductive system, and help to tonify, normalize, and balance hormones for this system.  However, most texts, journals, and professional herbalists use the term emmenegogue specifically for herbs that bring on menstruation when it has been delayed or obstructed. 

The largest category of herbs used for contraceptive purposes is emmenegogues.  They are used to prevent pregnancy by encouraging the lining of the uterus to release and initiate the bleeding phase of menstruation, thereby preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg, and even to prevent fertilization by using the herbal emmenegogues to start the menstrual cycle very early, and very shortly after sexual activity. 

David Hoffman mentions in Medical Herbalism three herbs which he calls 'True Emmenegogues,' and they are Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) and Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens).  They also have a tonifying effect on the uterus, which is beneficial for the woman using the herbs, especially if she hopes to become pregnant in the future.  These three herbs are given credit for their emmenegoguic and contraceptive powers more than any others.

In Native American Ethnobotany, 340 herbs are listed as being used as gynecological aids, compared to 41 used for contraception, and 102 used as abortifacients.  For example, the Cherokee used Angelica (Angelica archangelica) roots and Pennyroyal (Hedeoma puglioides) leaves to induce abortion and as a "tonic for obstructed menses." (Moerman p 74)  The Sanpoil used Yarrow for this purpose, and Mugwort was used by the Blackfoot, Chippewa, Dakota, Kaiwaiisu, Menominee, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, and Sioux.  Interestingly, the Lakota people used the roots from a variety of Opuntia as the "medicine for not give birth." (Moerman p 765). 

Abortifacients

            Herbs that induce an abortion are called abortifacients.  These act to stimulate the uterine lining so that an implanted embryo is flushed out with induced menstruation, or they may starve the uterine lining of progesterone, a hormone necessary for carrying a pregnancy.  Today these are likely avoided in practice and discussion because potentially toxic doses  may be required for inducing abortion.

            Margarita Kay, in Healing with plants in the American and Mexican West, found that Mexican women in Baja use the root, branches, and bark of Chaparral (Larrea tridentata) to induce abortion, and that in many markets in Mexico, Marrubio (Marrubium vulgare) or Horehound, is reccommended for its 'oxytocic activity;' meaning that it initiates a very early labor.  There is ancient evidence of this plant being used in this way, as Dioscorides said it brings on menstruation, and expelled the placenta after birth (or the fetus if it died in utero).  Another preparation by the Seri people in Mexico involves making a tea of Desert Broom (Baccharis sarathroides) leaves with the lac of a Creosote bush (lac is created by insects on the leaves of Larrea), which is said to induce abortion.  In 1633, the herbalist Gerard said "Sitting over a hot bath made of Baccharis roots mightily voideth the birth and furtherething those that have extreme laboring their childing," and also that it "brings down the desired sickness," which is menstruation.  Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinale) is often called the prostitute's herb in Mexico, because it is used not only to bring on delayed menstruation and induce abortion, it is given as a douche for a variety of vaginal infections.

Spermicides

            Although there is not much information regarding the use of herbs as spermicides, new research on this topic is continually being generated in India.  A spermicide is usually a gel, wax, or liquid, with ingredients that destroy sperm cells before they have an opportunity to migrate through the cervix.  Spermicides are usually used as a lubricant for sexual activity, or they may be inserted/injected into the vagina before or after intercourse.

            Neem (Azadirachta indica) is an extensively used plant native to India, where it is coined the 'Divine Tree.'  It's uses are numerous, and it is even considered a panacea to cure all diseases to many people.  In the December 1996 issue of the journal Contraception, a study is described where the active constituents in Neem plant demonstrated a clear spermicidal effect, killing human sperm in under 20 seconds. The compound most studied is named NIM-76, and it does not have abortifacient properties, while it decreases motility, velocity, and head displacement of human sperm.

            While most studies on Neem as a contraceptive have been performed on animals, human studies show a great potential for this plant to be used in its oil form as a contraceptive spermicide.

Herbal Pessaries

            A pessary is an herbal concoction which is inserted into the vagina to either kill incoming sperm, prevent the cervix from opening, keeping cervical mucosa from thickening, or stimulating the uterus to abort or initiate menstruation.   Parsley is commonly used by women attempting abortions.  However in a study described in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, pessaries containing the leaves of Neem and Soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi) with the oil of Bergamot mint (Mentha citrata) potentiated the spermicidal activity Neem by eight times.  It acted in this way by preventing the migration of sperm into the cervical mucus.

            Because contraception is so widely practiced among members of the human race, awareness of natural and particularly herbal methods is going to benefit people on a global scale.  Many procedures and recipes have existed for thousands of years, many herbalists and healers of the past openly discussed and advised patients on such matters.  As humanity heads into new eras, it must look to the past for the wisdom of the old healers and their plant allies for safer and healthier ways to manage fertility and population.

Sources

Journal of Ethnopharmacology. A. Jain, S. Katewas, B.L. Chaudhary, P. Galav.  January 2004; 90(1). p 171-177.

Indian Journal of Medical Research.  April 2001; 113. p 135-141.

Contraception. December 1996; 54(6).p 373-378

Native American Ethnobotany. Daniel Moerman.  Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 1998.

Healing with Plants in the American and Mexican West. Margarita Kay. p 64-68.

Making Plant Medicine. Ricoh Cech.  Horizon Herbs, 2000.

Nature's Medicine Plants that Heal. Joel Swerdlow, Ph.D

Medical Herbalism The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine.  David Hoffman, FNIMH. Healing Arts Press, 2003.

**DISCLAIMER: Any information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and not intended to replace professional health advice. Need a professional herbalist? Contact us!**

Shamanic Herbalism: A Path to Your WHOLE Self

Think of me as a your guide on a journey.

Imagine we’re in the mountains together, and you have come with me to get some exercise for your body and to clear your mind of its heavy anxieties. You don’t know until you show up that I’m taking you to a secret spring flowing cold and clear from deep within the Earth. From this spring you drink and are revitalized. The water is rich with minerals and pours out as if it is an offering to you, from your first mother. I drink with you, and we are in communion - with each other, with the Earth who provides everything we need, and with the spirit energies constantly alighting our path.

In this visualization, I am showing you something - a way to the source of who you are, a way to acquire what you need to stand fully in the nature of your truest self. I am not the water that heals and hydrates you, I am not the path taking you there. I am but the guide introducing you to both, maybe for the first time.

This is how I approach healing as an shamanic herbalist.

I work with open-minded individuals who have found themselves stuck, stagnate, unfulfilled, or imbalanced, and unable to move forward toward whatever they want to create. The causes are many and often disguised - but they manifest as anxiety, addiction, pain, attention difficulties, relationship issues, recurring or chronic infections, decreased libido, isolation, anger, lack of inspiration, dis-ease, injury, financial insecurity, and creative blocks.

My journey to herbal medicine began in my early 20’s, as an anxious young person in emotional pain, physical dis-ease, destructive habits, and mental illness. Seeking a closer relationship to the natural world (I’ve always been adventurous and outdoorsy!), I began a search into more healthful alternatives to conventional food and the innumerable prescriptions I’d been given. Since stepping onto this path, I have met healers from diverse modalities and traditions who have each been a guide to me discovering a new part of myself that was hidden behind a sickness or thought pattern. Healing those parts and integrating them with the rest of my being allowed my truest self to more fully express itself, and thus here I am, ready to be of service to you, as a guide along your own way.

If you are experiencing something like this and have found me on your search, I trust that it is no accident.

So what exactly does Shamanic Herbalism mean?

Shamanic herbalism blends the knowledge and skills I have acquired during formal education in Herbal Medicine & Shamanic Healing, to bring the hidden needs of the spirit to the surface. These practices are our allies to navigating elements of our unconscious selves that are generally rather difficult to access, and can promote healing on the physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental planes. Shamanic Herbalism is non religious and available to everyone.

View fullsize



Sessions are conversational and relaxed. We ebb and flow together, creating a rhythm like footsteps on your favorite trail. I will prepare an herbal tea for us to share, and may ask you to shuffle cards or recite your favorite prayer. I will ask about your physical health, including how you eat, how often you poop, and whether you are taking supplements or medications, or working with other practitioners for your well-being. We will talk about you and all your parts so that you leave with a deeper knowing of your WHOLE, best self.

You will also leave with suggestions for herbal formulas, nutritional recommendations, lifestyle changes, and spiritual or creative practices, all to support you on your journey like a trusted pair of walking sticks on a new trail. You’ll have the option to obtain a unique to you in-depth assessment and wellness plan that will serve as your personalized, easy to follow guide to totality.

Interested but still not sure if this is the right way for you?

Here are a few examples of clients I work well with.

• Healers who are burned out, sick, or have lost their passion

• Herbalists who need an herbalist

• Individuals who aspire to start businesses but are trapped in fear or sickness

• People experiencing chronic fatigue or autoimmune disorders

• Folks recovering or still suffering from addiction

• Couples experiencing sexual challenges or infertility

• Anyone trapped in physical pain

The most important quality you must possess in order to receive the most from our sessions is an open mind. We are all a little limited by our own realities, but it is imperative that you are willing to try new things and receive insights that may seem a bit of the ordinary for you. Not to worry though - I’ve got your back through any challenges that arise.

Herbal formulas are custom blended specifically for you, and most of the time are available from my apothecary. There are times when suggested items are only available at a retail location outside of my space.

Read my timeline to learn about my professional and personal experiences, or send an email with any questions you have. It would be an honor to walk with you as your shamanic herbalist.

~Candice

Globe Chamomile - A Sonoran Desert Invasive

I’ve been wanting to post about this little round ball of joy for a while, but now I totally know what the internal hold up was. Turns out, I had the plant all wrong. About 10 years ago I learned that this was Pineapple Weed aka Matricaria discoideae, but I could never detect that pineapple fragrance I’d read about – cuz it actually ain’t there. Please forgive my miseducation friends, and there are a few of you over the years who’ve received the wrong info from me. Thankfully I was corrected last week, so let me introduce you to Globe Chamomile, aka Oncosiphon piluliferum.

Globe Chamomile has a bright, sunny disposition, and this year it’s growing all over the dang place (in the Sonoran Desert). Turns out it’s a non-native and noxious – but I suspect it has something to teach us desert dweller. According to the Arizona Native Plant Society, Globe Chamomile first made its way here back in the 90’s as an introduction from South Africa. Seems to like growing here in this arid climate, and with the wet seasons we’ve had in the last year, it’s proliferation is dramatic and to many a botanist/ecologist/naturalist – SCARY.

When I first got into what I thought was Pineapple Weed, I assumed it had some of the same healing traits as Matricaria recutita, what we just call Chamomile. Standing in a stand of Oncosiphon one is immersed in the same or at least very similar aromatics of our regular Chamomile. It makes you feel good and soothed. Like if you’re in a really irritable mood and you just can’t snap out of it, the fragrance of all these varieties will help you leave the illusory world of heightened emotions and ground down into a calm reality.

Well Pineapple Weed is used just like Chamomile, German, Roman, English, or otherwise. But I just can’t seem to find much info on Globe Chamomile which is breaking my little wildcrafter’s heart. What I have found is rather interesting, though, and I do believe there is some reason this invasive ‘weed’ is reproducing in such abundance that it can be harvested for medicinal use by every herbalist I know from here to Kingdom Come and there would still be plenty to go around, for many rounds.

Globe Chamomile in prolific abundance - Scottsdale, Arizona

Oncosiphon piluliferum is native to South Africa, and the only healing application I’ve discovered through hours of searching the interwebs is as a febrifuge. Meaning it helps break severe fevers. This is very cool, literally, as the Matricarias are also known for having cooling, drying qualities. I believe the Chamomiles would be lovely additions to formulas for fevers to sooth the edgy weariness that can come along with them.

Aside from their cooling energetics, I don’t know for sure if they’re used to ‘break’ fever. I did find a couple of clinical studies describing that the constituents in Globe Chamomile showed anti-malarial properties in-vitro, which could be of tremendous benefit in those areas where the parasite causing malaria is easy to meet.

Now please read clearly – what I’m about to say is of my own intellectual surmising and I did not read this anywhere and no one told it to me, but I wonder if Globe Chamomile might have some healing capacity in treating Valley Fever?

Valley fever is caused by the inhalation of coccidioides, a fungus that becomes airborne during construction and drilling, and finds its way into the lungs of humans and animals. It can be a pretty serious condition with uncertain results from treatment.

The two dis-ease states are caused by entirely different organisms, but both cause fever, and I have learned through my own love of phyto-geographic observation that oftentimes invasive, noxious, difficult to deal with weedy plants are growing somewhere the people in that area really freakin’ need them. Like Kudzu in the South East.

Anyway, I suppose this is just some stream of consciousness rambling on and on about a plant I love to see and am dying to learn more about, but there are a few little lessons to take from my experience with Globe Chamomile.      

1. Always check your sources. It doesn’t matter if a wise old elder or a published book told you something, it’s really a good idea to get more than one say-so on who an herb is and what it does. Obviously I need this lesson first hand, especially as I am often a purveyor of herbal information. Question me, too!

2. Weedy and invasive plants  may have the ability to treat or heal an issue of critical concern in your area. I believe that plants show up where they’re needed, in their symbiotic relationship with us and other organisms in the environment.

3. Do you know an herbalist in South Africa? Please connect us! I need to know more about how this plant is used in traditional healing there.

**DISCLAIMER: Any information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and not intended to replace professional health advice. Need a professional herbalist? Contact us!**

Globe Mallow for Determined Patience

Globe Mallow

Sphaeralcea spp.

Harvest: 4.11.19

Seed, tea, flower essence

Globe Mallow teaches lessons in patience, trust, and determination. (Survival, self assuredness, self confidence, self esteem, trust, unfolding, perseverance)

This year I’ve been on the hunt for Sphaeralcea incana, even though it is quite a common desert wildflower. I have long loved this beautiful glowing flower. So when return from Tucson I drove past miles of desert floor ablaze in its ethereal orange blossoms, I knew I needed to connect it with it deeply, and soon.

This led to a series of weekly attempts at finding a grand stand of Globe Mallow, abundant enough to gather, prepare, and share. Revisiting old sites where I'd found it before proved fruitless, as the community I'd previously seen seemed to have packed up and moved to someplace more suitable.

I drove many miles as if on a quest, and eventually the insecurities arose as I sensed the plant's spirit evading my own - maybe I wasn’t supposed to harvest the herb this year, or maybe my understanding and memories of its qualities were incorrect. I had to surrender to the experience of not finding what I was looking for, and maintain the fire of determination at the same time. Glad I did! One of my girl crew was able to point me to a good grove of globes, and then the real magick started to happen.

One week before I sat down to write this, I quit the job to pursue my actual purpose, undeniable and indescribable as it is. Part of that is connecting people to nature and to each other, and to begin to understand the relationships between plants, people, and place, a little (a lot!) more. In order to do this I aspire to spend a lot of time in Nature as an observer and co-creator. In reality, I’m pursuing Nature as a lover in a longterm healthy relationship (and hoping she’s ok with with a non-monogamous affair).

So the day after I quit my job, I rode out to the ‘for-sure’ spot described by my friend. It was early-ish, the desert was still quiet but coming to life, and there was only one other person nearby. I hiked into the desert a little bit and found the stand she was talking about. Except! There were no flowers.

I peeked around a bit more and discovered that while there were no flowers, there were tons of seeds. Literal tons. It became clear that perhaps part of my purpose in seeking out Globe Mallow was not to blend a tea, but to provide seeds from wild plants so that others could experience its healing in their own back yard, just through being with it one on one. A giant orange lightbulb went off and I felt so aligned with everything that I set happily out to gathering seeds with gratitude in my heart and respect in my hands(it would have been too early for the seeds on my previous forays, keep in mind).

A few minutes into this I wandered farther up the hillside and down through a ravine, finding a blossoming Sore Eye Mallow (one of its other names) with enough blooms that I felt good about harvesting a few to make a flower essence (link to flower essence here). The blossoms were bigger, the stalks taller, and the leaves greener than I'd remembered.

Flower Essence medicine is pretty special for a lot of reasons, but one of the most important ways from an ecological perspective is that you only need to use a few blooms to make an ounce of mother essence (link to mother essence here). Flower Essences are vibrational medicine, which means they work to align your own energy/aura/spirit/mind/all of it with the energies of the plant. It raises your own vibrations to meet the plants’, and therefore heals you on the level of your psycho-spiritual self, rather than only on the level of your tangible self. Although the effects are tangible and palpable, and the healing spills over like sunlight onto all the parts of you in need of healing and balance.

I cut about 4 flowers from different stalks, and let them do their thing in their morning sunlight water bath. I sat to think about the meaning of of it, and as I meditated on all the changes I’d just made to my life, my pursuit of Globe Mallow, the sheer bliss of the moment I was experiencing right then, a flood of ideas entered into me. New ways of thinking about herbalism and my professional life, recipes, rituals, classes to write, work to do. It was a moment of divine union as inspiration poured right down into my crown and filled up my heart. I had a deep sense of knowing tuned-inness that I rarely experience indoors.

Sitting there in such quiet stillness, I saw a ton of wildlife. Lizards felt comfortable coming out of hiding, a giant black beetle with red wings walked by on long legs that elevated its body an inch off the ground. There were butterflies. I sat directly across of a giant Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata), and began to have ideas for how this, my most trusted and well known ally, could provide healing in ritual and ceremonial ways I hadn’t tried before. As thoughts of our relationship floated through my mind, a hummingbird came to the tree and sat on the highest branch. It was so close I could see its tiny body and long bill, I could see where its colors began and ended and blended. And this was an incredible confirmation for me, sealing in what I knew to be true.

I stood up to have a good look around, and so discovered that there were more Globe Mallow Flowers. As it turns out, they opened up as the sun got warmer. I had wondered if that could be the case, and everything worked out perfectly to where I was still in the same meadow when they began to open. Something, some deep inner knowing, had kept me there to witness the grand opening in a way I’d never before.

Getting to see the flowers open all around me and being in their midst was more amazing than actually getting to harvest. The message was clear: Experiencing is more important than the experience.

Sitting there with an open heart and notebook, Globe Mallow medicine came to me.

This is medicine to support gradual unfolding. We must place unshakable trust in the process of our own opening. The journeys each of us take, the paths we are on in pursuit of goals and success (whatever that means is individual and of the time) come before the achievement, and so we must keep our minds in the moment, without frustration. There is a greater plan than the ones we devise, but they do indeed merge - and this is Alignment.

This medicine supports you in the risks you take, to grow brightly, colorfully, into you as you are meant to be. It helps you to support yourself by recognizing your own robustness and strength. It encourages you in your remembrance of self love, self care, rest, healing , and calmness and the memory that it is ok to slow down. You don’t have to know EVERYTHING Right Now. When you stop moving, everything reveals itself to you.

Here’s the thing. If I had found a bunch of globe mallow the first time I went looking for it, I wouldn’t have kept looking. If I’d found it before I quit my job I might not have made it my first priority after to quitting to go to the desert and harvest. If I’d found it in another location it would have been too early for seeds. I’d never have experienced Globe Mallow’s vulnerable expansion to receive the Sun exactly when it was supposed to. If I still worked in the office, I wouldn’t even have been there, right then. I’d have missed the other messages and the hummingbird, the spotted lizards and giant beetles. I’d have passed over my own process of unfoldment. I’d have missed my own personalized, universal memo!

Hindsight is not always 20/20 but it’s usually a hell of a lot easier to see the past than the future and for many of us, even the present. If you are struggling with feeling like you aren’t where you’re supposed to be, or if you’re facing a big decision that is scary or difficult to make, but you feel it pulling you from deep down in your core, Globe Mallow medicine will be your ally in progress and process. It will help you notice the subtleties and nuance of your life that actually play a bigger role than you expected on your journey. Gently it nudges your mental acceptance of where you are, it reveals that you can open yourself to new ideas and changes that need to be made in order to proceed. Globe Mallow holds your hand as you learn to trust Divine timing, and holds the candle as you illuminate the intersection of your plan with a greater one.

Aligns 3rd and 4th chakras, balancing will, determination, ambition, and outward expression with vulnerability, compassion (for oneself and others), receptivity, healing, trust, and soul knowing.

**Rebel Herbal recommends that you try any new flower essence for a full lunar cycle (28 days)**

**DISCLAIMER: Any information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and not intended to replace professional health advice. Need a professional herbalist? Contact us!**