5 Magickal Ways to Engage Plants Everyday

Herbal medicine and healing can be as mysterious, mundane or magickal as you please.

Myself, I tend towards the everyday magickal infused with moments of enchanted wonderbliss. The following are five simple ways to engage with herbal medicine magickally to grow your relationships with your plant kindred. If you're looking for a more in-depth way to connect with your plant allies, check out my Plant Ally Project: Thirty Day Challenge. And if you want to know more about practicing engaged herbalism, come this way.

Journaling with herbs 

I’m a fan of journaling. I think it is an easy, inexpensive, and therapeutic form of self-reflection that can help us to release tension, re-member who we are, and develop new habits and practices. Journaling with herbs adds a twist to the practice that can help us to integrate the wisdom of plant medicine into our lives.

I suggest that you start by writing a journal entry in the voice of a chosen plant friend. I and plenty of herbalist will speak about plants from a first-person plant perspective when we’re teaching or working with clients. As someone who writes a lot and has kept a journal since I was a little kid, writing about a plant is one important way that I begin to really understand a plant and its healing qualities in a way that allows me to communicate that knowledge to others. Otherwise, it gets a bit Pisces over here with lots of hazy galaxy swimming but not necessarily a lot of comprehensive and shareable words pouring forth. In all of my plant profiles I include a section about the type of personality and life circumstances that a plant consistently serves well and it is in this section that I most often hear the voice of the plant speaking to me loudest. They are able to share with me, through their unique perspective and personality, the ways that they bring healing and restoration about. Consistently journaling keeps my plant writing skills supple. 

Try some of the following prompts to get you started!

• In conversation with the plant, complete these sentences with their words:
  • I want you to know right now…
  • I would love for you to consider…
  • My gifts are…
  • I work best for those who are…
• Write down a recent healing experience with a plant ally.
• Turn your healing experience into a teaching story such as a fairy tale that you could easily share with others to communicate the healing qualities of your plant ally to someone else. 
• Ask your plant ally something and write down anything that comes through without restricting yourself in the similar vein to automatic writing.

Casting Cards

Clever ones, if you practice any sort of divinatory arts, whether card-based or not, I highly recommend connecting with your plant allies through your chosen oracular medium. My journey with plants and tarot have been intertwined and a so I love connecting with my plant allies by casting cards. It can be as simple as asking the plant a question (i.e. what guidance do you have to offer today?) or a more complex spread such as my Wild Tongue: Plant Ally Tarot Spread. The process can be quite illuminating and meditative, easily forming the foundation for a daily devotional practice if you so choose.

If you’re interested in learning more about the connections between our plant kindred and the wondrous world of tarot, be sure to check out my Herbal Tarot Wisdom series.

Adorning the Soul Shrine

There is a certain understanding of the body within indigenous Celtic practice as a soul shrine which I find to be beautiful and resonant with plant medicine. Rather than separating the body from the sacred the body is imbued with and is itself a temple and sacred vessel of the soul. Herbal medicine works not only on the physiological level in the body but our plant kindred work with the intangible spirit of our beings. With plants, we can clear, cleanse, and adorn our soul shrines with healing energy. The following is simple list of ways to do so:

Bath Tea
Herbal baths are simple, sweet, and effective remedies. You can take a full bath or a foot or hand bath as space and time allows. My favorite way to brew a bath is to start a strong infusion of herbs in the morning (A handful of herbs to about 4 cups water) and strain them in the evening when I’m ready for my bath. I draw my bath, sometimes adding in salts to the water, and then add my bath brew. This way there are no herbs to clean up afterwards and the strong infusion means I am taking full advantage of the healing gifts of the plants. Check out my recipes for my Post-Apocalyptic Bath Salts and Temple Bath Tea for some inspiration!

Shower Rinse + Bundles
Create an infusion as you would for a bath tea, but use it as a rinse in your shower. Aromatic herbs, like fresh Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), can be bundled and hung from the shower head or shower curtain rod while you bathe. The steamy conditions will help release the aromatic scent of the plant bundle which feels like taking a bath in a garden - how divine!

Body Sprays
Create a body spray with essential and herbal oils, hydrosols, flower and gem essences, and healing water (bonus points for creating a Moon infused water). Body sprays can also double as room and altar sprays. I’m a fan of the simplicity of body sprays and have made a variety over the years including one for each day of the week according to astrological correspondences (so a Moon spray for Mondays and a Venus spray for Fridays, etc.). Add a piece of quartz crystal to the bottle of your body spray to enhance the energies of all other oils and essences in the blend.

Herbal Oils + Scrubs
Herbal oils (as opposed to essential oils) are a lovely and easy form of plant medicine adornment. Create a calming Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) herbal oil for a calming and meditative rub or a skin-healing and pain-relieving Comfrey Root (Symphytum officinale) herbal oil. You can add essential oils to your herbal oil if you like, but it’s not necessary. Herbal oils can be mixed with sugar, salt, almond meal, earth clays, and other materials to create easy and exfoliating herbal scrubs. I use honey in my recipe for my Beautiful Buzz Honey Scrub which would be even more luxurious with the addition of a Rose (Rosa spp.) herbal oil.

Singing the Spirit Home

I love singing with the plants, clever ones. I sing when I visit them in the garden and wild places. I sing when making remedies. I sing with clients and my community in consultations and rituals. Most of the time the songs are wordless tunes in concert with the plants, but sometimes there are words. I have a remedy-making song, a trance song, and sing many songs that are passed around the Pagan culture I am part of. 

Here’s the thing about singing with plants. It’s not about singing the “right” notes but about making a sacred sound. Your sacred sound which is unique to you and embodies your lived experience. It is that sound which hums through the universe as the signature of you. It is the sound that most readily mingles with the sound of the plant allies you are working with.

Next time you are studying a plant, whether in a garden or from a book, take a moment of quiet stillness. Ask the plant to share its song with you and let the sound arise. Give the sound an easy conduit and let it flow through you. You might squawk or crack or tremble, but let the sound catch and carry you. Trust your sound and get into the flow of you and plant singing together.

Some plants may share specific melodies, others might share words. I have known plants to point you in the direction of an already written song that they inspired someone else to write whether a pop song or a old time ballad. Open up to the possibilities of whatever sound might emerge.

Wearing Charms

Before you head out the door, why not carry some of that herbal magick with you in the form of a plant charm. You could add bit of herb to a small pouch or bundle to wear around your neck, waist or tuck into a pocket. Tuck a few flowers or leaves into your hair. A small bottle can contain bits of herb, lucky stones, and a small written sigil that you can wear on your person or keep in your bag. I’ve even charmed a necklace with the essence of an plant and worn that as my daily amulet. Whatever form your charm takes, be sure to set your intention with the charm by working with your plant ally to determine the work that you will be doing together that day. A bundle of Rose petals and thorns (Rosa spp.), for example, may help to open your heart while still protecting it from unnecessary drama. Have fun and experiment!

That was fun!

I hope you're inspired to live a bit more magickally in relationship with your plant allies. What are your favorite ways to connect with your plant allies on a daily basis? Share below in the comments!

To Know : The Practice of Engaged Herbalism

I'm intrigued by practice. I like exploring the what and the why and the how of those things we find ourselves invested in. In fact, the first book I wrote was a workbook exploring devotional practice and it is a topic that I think about on the daily as I perform my regular rituals of magick and devotion. As part of my practice as an herbalist, I often reflect on why I do what I do and how I do it, not only as part of my continuing education as a wellness practitioner, but in order to make adjustments to my practice as I grow in my ability to serve others and their healing. Such reflection is part of my practice of engaged herbalism, which is an herbalism that is strongly rooted in the development of relationships between plants, peoples, and creatures. Practicing an engaged herbalism allows me to maintain and grow my ability to engage and re-engage those I am working with on their healing journey and to always be re-connecting with the wisdom of our plant kindred.

As a teacher of herbalism and magick, I have come to find that the concept of engagement, if understood early on, can prevent student overwhelm which can lead to a stagnation or abandonment of their studies. For the more experienced practitioner, engaged herbalism can help to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

Let’s start with understanding what engaged herbalism is not before exploring why it can be so useful.

Engaged herbalism is not:

• An herbalism of quick cures and magic pills. 
• An herbalism that sees plants as inert and spiritless.
• An herbalism that treats the body as a compartmentalized machine in need of repair.
• An herbalism that is infallible and always right.
• An herbalism that is divorced from social and environmental justice.

In fact, engaged herbalism is:

• An herbalism of the long view and the journey of wellness.
• An herbalism that sees plants as wise, complex, and generous of spirit.
• An herbalism that interacts with the body as a profound and intricate physical vessel of consciousness and experience.
• An herbalism that is curious, ready to try again, and always open to learn more.
• An herbalism that is firmly rooted in social and environmental justice.

Rosmarinus officinalis by author.

Engaged herbalism embodies the following big vision tenets:

Relationships change.

Your relationship with plants, those you serve, and your own sweet self will change continuously throughout your practice as an herbalist. Through engaging with all of these relationships, we’re better able to keep up with the shifts and swings of our sacred (and sometimes challenging, let’s be honest) interconnectedness. The idea of what herbalism is and who you are as an herbalist will change. Your relationship with individual plants will change. How you make medicine, formulate, and ingest your brews will change. Create space for change from the get-go and you’ll have a built-in system for dealing with some of the more difficult challenges that come your way through your practice.

If you know that your relationship with herbalism, plants, and people will always be in a state of change you give yourself a whole heck of a lot more room to grow. You won’t always feel like the total beginner. Latin binomials will not always be a mysterious realm of antiquity. Those bitter tasting herbs you couldn’t stand at first may well become a familiar and craved taste (yeah, bitters!). You’ll recognize that you and who you are relating to is changing and you are continuing to grow into yourself. Most importantly, when we allow ourselves room for change we recognize that we have all the time we need for change. You have all the time you need to learn how to engage with plants in a way that sings to your soul and enlivens the communities you serve.

Inclusivity matters.

Inclusivity, the idea that there is room for everyone at the table, is foundational in my practice. The art of inclusivity is two-fold - one must learn to be inclusive to others in a way that is love and justice-centered and one must also learn to be inclusive to oneself in the same way. While the conversation of how to create an inclusive practice is for another blog post, I will say that there is a deep need for better inclusivity skills in the Traditional Western Herbalism (TWH) community of North America. There needs to be more voices of color, queer perspectives, multi-abled, class diverse, gender variant and many other sounds and songs invited to the table within TWH gatherings and conferences (though I do recognize and celebrate the smaller festivals doing just that such as the California Women of Color Herbal Symposium - heck yeah!). 

At it’s core inclusivity is learning to engage yourself and the world around you with compassionate curiosity. Inclusivity is also about learning to recognize when you are imposing your beliefs, your stories, and ways of beings on others. The last bit is especially important to learn when working with others in a practitioner-client relationship as it can be easy for our own stories and experiences to block the view of the needs and stories of another.

Rosmarinus officinalis by author

At the same time, inclusivity must be practiced on a inward and personal level where we engage and excavate those stories, beliefs, and systems of power imposed on us. When I was taking my first couple of herb classes, for example, I nearly abandoned the idea of becoming an herbalist when I was introduced to the weight-and-volume method of creating extracts because it involved a bit of math. Sounds ridiculous, right? But I had been told a story for years and years by teachers that some kids - like me - aren’t smart enough for math (what an awful inclusivity fail). So, having not examined the story of being a numberless mongrel in my life yet, I thought that if herbalism involved math I therefore must not be qualified to be an herbalist. I had uninvited myself to the table and it took a few years to invite that little kid who got overwhelmed by numbers back home. Fortunately, my fear of calculations did not put me off from practicing as an herbalist (and I developed a few techniques for the number intimidated to calculate their tinctures as a result) and I make sure in my classes to keep an eye out for these moments when students might feel like they have hit an impasse of intimidation. It is my responsibility to create a classroom and consulting space that I am not only able to notice when intimidation or overwhelm is occurring but that folks feel empowered enough to speak up and ask for help, a break, or a moment of “don’t worry we all get confused by this stuff sometimes” affirmation.

Inclusivity matters because we learn to listen to that which has remained hidden - whether this is something within us that we have hidden from ourselves or something that we do not see in others because we (often from a place of privilege) get in our own way. If you are someone who is confused by or perhaps balks at the idea of inclusivity as foundational to herbalism, consider this: as herbalists, many of us value and treasure wild weeds that are often disdained, rooted out, and poisoned by the general non-plantfolk public. Yet, we have been invited by these tenacious plant kindred to learn of their healing gifts and, in turn, we have included them in our hearts, sharing their wisdom with others. By working that inclusivity muscle we have engaged our herbalism and come out the better for it. (Sidenote: I’m currently reading Invasive Plant Medicine by Timothy Scott and it’s great! The book explores topics of inclusivity and migration within the context of plant medicine as well as a practical materia medica for these often undervalued plants.) Engaged herbalism leads to better inclusivity which creates more opportunities for healing - everyone gets their fill of nourishing plant wisdom when we know how to get to the table.

Rosmarinus officinalis by author

Make sure to turn inspiration into insight.

Now here is where a lot of students (and long-term practitioners!) get stuck. It can be so very easy to be head-over-heals in love and inspired by the romance of herbalism. A deeper relationship with the earth, the fragrance of grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle, the ancestral connections, and the sense of rebellion that comes with taking charge of your wellness. Jars are bought, herbs are collected, we consider changing our names to something more earthy like Seedwizard, we buy the best harvesting knife, oh and one of those woven baskets for drying herbs! The inspiration to practice herbalism can be intoxicating, but without a foundation to grow on, the energy is quickly spent as the reality of the practice of herbalism settles in. Yes, there is the romance and the heady scent of an herb garden, but there is also moldy herbal oils, stubborn health imbalances that no tincture seems to help, terrible tasting teas, and the frustration of feeling like one knows some things but not enough things about herbs and how to use them to be really effective. I have been there myself, clever ones, wondering where the spark of inspiration has gone in my herbal practice.

What I have discovered is that inspiration is a spark that craves the wax and wick of insight to keep burning.  Inspiration starts the journey and reinvigorates the path from time to time, but if we do not give inspiration a place to take root it can fly off leaving us feeling like we’ve failed somehow. To keep inspiration, I have found that you have to learn how to allow it to grow into insight. We may have been inspired to use herbal medicine to reconnect to our wellness, but insight is when we suddenly realize that we get the same chest cold at the same time every year which started when our mother passed away and that perhaps there is some underlying grief we need to explore. Insight is a sign of growth and that we are engaged in our practice. Through insight we pay attention to why we are inspired and what our inspiration brings. Insight is realizing that we can and should always be learning more about ourselves and the world, giving ourselves the freedom to do just that. Ultimately, the inspiration to get well leads us to the insight of how to do it.

How do you practice your herbalism?

Is it engaged? Ecstatic? Enchanted? Funky? Revolutionary? Under-the-cover-of-darkness? Let me know in the comments below how you describe your herbal practice.

One more thing… I wanted to point out that the first part of the title of this post To Know is a reference to the Witch's Pyramid, also known as the Four Pillars of the Magus or the Powers of the Sphinx. The other three traditional pillars are To Dare, To Will, and To Keep Silent. Modern additions to the pyramid have been made adding a fifth point such as To Weave or To Desire. The Witch’s Pyramid is an important part of my magickal practice and I’ll be incorporating it’s philosophy into forthcoming posts about life as a practicing herbalist. For those wanting to go more in-depth, I explore the Witch’s Pyramid and it’s relationship to creating ritual in a podcast series in the Lunar Apothecary - I invite you to check it out.

Wherever your herbal studies may take you, I hope you always find yourself returning home to the knowledge of you - expansive, microscopic, complex, and wondrous you.

Listening to Hawthorn : A Heart-Opening Podcast

Clever ones, I'm on a podcast!

But how did I get there?

First, let me introduce you to Natasha Richardson, the wise herbalist behind London-based Forage Botanicals.

Natasha Richardson of Forage Botanicals

She got in touch with me about a year ago as she was going to be visiting my part of the world and suggested we meet up. I'm so glad we did because a) she's a very clever herbalist, b) she's very funny, and c) she's creating incredible healing spaces infused with the sort of slow down, get connected, and find yourself energy we need these days. Yeah, I signed-up for her fan club on the spot. 

A little while ago Natasha started a beautiful herbal home-study course called Listen which is like walking into a dream-garden of herbal wisdom with some very practical tools for the developing herbalist. She also has a podcast of the same name that is free for everyone whether or not you are part of her Listen community. Each podcast features a single herb and an conversation with an herbalist about the healing qualities of the plant being discussed. A few months back she invited me on to share my thoughts about Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) which I thought was very fortuitous since I have just spent the past few years in relationship with the plant in the context of my own family's healing needs. 

I also felt a moment of slight overwhelm because this would be the first time I would be on someone else's podcast (I record podcasts of my own for the Lunar Apothecary) and while I would happily stand up and speak in front of a room full of folks, one-on-one stuff has always been way more intimidating (I'm going to say it has something to do with my Leo Moon - discuss). But Natasha is such a kind spirit and so much fun to talk to and I had first learned of Hawthorn's healing gifts through a conversation with an enchanted Hawthorn herbalist so I knew that my nerves needed to take a backseat to some necessary storytelling. The whole podcast was, in fact, a Hawthorn-style conversation as my nervousness gave way to laughter gave way to insight. And now I've done my first podcast interview and hope to do more (with less "ums" and "you knows"). 

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) via wikipedia

You should immediately download the whole Listen series - I have had so much fun listening to it myself and how many times do we get to sit in on conversations between passionate plant people talking shop? It's amazing! And if you love the free resource that Natasha is providing, be sure to support her other work, whether signing up for her Listen herbal home-study course, one of her amazing workshops or give yourself the gift of clarity on your healing journey by scheduling a wellness plan. Looking for some visual inspiration? Be sure to connect with Natasha via her dreamy instagram.

So without further delay listen to my personal story with Hawthorn, it's healing gifts during times of transition, and how it helped me to have some incredibly heart-opening experiences with my own family.

Have you had any experience with Hawthorn?

Post your stories in the comments below!

Plant Ally Project Thirty Day Challenge

Welcome to the Plant Ally Project : Thirty Day Challenge!

Just what is the Plant Ally Project : Thirty Day Challenge? I’m glad you asked!

This project is for those who:

Are ready to learn how to build meaningful and powerful relationships with a plant ally. Plants are powerful whether or not we’re involved in their lives. Yet, when we do choose to journey more mindfully through the world of the green kingdom as herbalists and plantfolk, learning how to connect with a plant beyond the ground up material in a tea bag can have a profound affect on who we are and how we connect with the world around us. The Plant Ally Project : Thirty Day Challenge is about growing, celebrating, and honoring our plant allies and plant selves beyond knowing what something is used for and into the realm of how do we live meaningful and useful lives.

Want to transition from a casual interest in herbal medicine to a more invested one. I After a few weeks or months, maybe even a year, of dabbling with plant medicines, you’re feeling a calling to connect with the plant world and your herbal practice in a more committed way. The Plant Ally Project : Thirty Day Challenge will help you stretch your herbal muscles, teaching you the many ways of connecting with a plant and its medicinal and magickal qualities. In the process you’ll learn more about who you are as an aspiring herbalist and what gets you really excited about your growing practice.

Are seeking to reinvigorate and find new inspiration in their herbal practice. An herbal practice is just that - practice - and sometimes practice gets monotonous and uninspiring. Hopefully, the Plant Ally Project : Thirty Day Challenge will re-inspire the ways you connect with your plant allies and your herbal practice.

During the challenge, some days will be busier than others, so I encourage you to read through the whole list before starting your journey so you can plan ahead for busier days (such as buying the supplies you’ll need for making tinctures or tea). You won’t need much to participate in the challenge: a notebook, some simple drawing supplies will get you started, and later on you’ll be asked to seek out your plant in the (urban)wild and procure a dried or fresh plant material by either ethical wildcrafting or from a reputable source.

I encourage you to have fun with your Plant Ally Project, comment below with questions and discoveries, and enjoy the process of humbling yourself to the wild and growing your fierce green heart.

Keep scrolling to find all of the details for the project as well as a quick guide computer wallpaper for you to use. Be sure to share the Plant Ally Project with your friends and post about your adventures with #PlantAllyProject. I can't wait to see what plants you meet!

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Use the following quick guide wallpaper to help you keep track of all 30 days of the Plant Ally Project.

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Day 1: Set your intention for the month.

I have found that getting clear on what it is you hope to accomplish at the beginning of a project helps see it through. What are you hoping to learn in these thirty days? How will you be challenging yourself?

Will you learn everything about your plant ally in 30 days? Nope. And that’s wonderful. What you can accomplish in 30 days, however, is significant and meaningful. You can connect with a green ally in ways that will continue to shape and form your practice for years to come. The adventure, clever one, is just beginning.

I encourage you to write your intention down in a place that you will see it often. You might put it in the front of your journal for your Plant Ally Project or tape it to your mirror. Make sure you are affirming it often for it to serve as a tool of change and success.

One final note. It might seem like a lot of work some days or a big commitment to work with one plant for 30 days. There is an art of sacrifice involved in the pursuit of knowledge, which may include sacrificing free time spent on the computer or watching tv to pursuing your herbal studies. Or rearranging your schedule to allow more time for your herbal medicine-making. I would encourage you to be mindful of the work ahead and how committed you are to it, even if it involves a bit of sacred sacrifice. What are you willing to give in order to receive?

Day 2: Choose the plant you’ll be working with or let it choose you.

You might already know what plant you want to work with for your 30 day Plant Ally Project. It may be the mint growing in a pot on your windowsill or the Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica) spreading out in the marshy land in the park by your house. Or you might have no idea what plant you want to work with! If you’re in the latter situation, you have a few options for choosing the plant to work with. The first is simply looking around your garden or neighborhood for local flora. Or you can flip open one of your herb books and see what plant profile you land on. It might be fun to look at the ingredients of some of your favorite tea blends and choose an herb from there. You might choose an herb that is culturally significant to you and, even if it has not been used in your family in modern recollection, was probably used by your ancestors.

My one tip is that once you choose an herb for your Plant Ally Project is to stick with it. It can feel overwhelming and exciting to know that there are hundreds of thousands of herbs for us to learn about. Right now, you are making a commitment to connect with one herb over the next 30 days, and while this does not exclude working with other herbs, it does place emphasis on one plant relationship in particular. For those of you who may feel like they’ve chosen the “wrong” herb after a few days, I strongly encourage you to follow through with your original commitment. Herbs that are difficult to decipher or might take a bit of extra study on our part can appropriately challenge our analytical and emotional skills to connect with the plant world.

Day 3. Learn the latin binomial + folk names of your plant ally.

One plant can have a multitude of names and it is important to be familiar with the Latin binomial as well as common or folk names for a plant. Latin binomials allow herbalists to identify the same plants regardless of language differences. Latin binomials can also help us learn about some of the folkloric stories associated with a plant as well as its medicinal qualities. Motherwort, which Latin binomial is Leonurus cardiaca, tells us about the plant’s association with the heart in two ways. First, Leonurus, connects to the plant’s astrological correspondence of Leo the Lion which traditional guards the heart. Cardiaca again refers to Motherwort’s affinity for heart health.

Day 4. Learn about the habitat of your plant ally.

Where is your plant native to? Where has it naturalized? Does it grow locally? What type of environment does it thrive in?

Day 5. Learn about how to harvest your plant ally.

What are the ideal harvesting conditions for your plant? What time of year? What parts of the plant are used medicinally? Should you harvest from a mature plant?

Day 6. Smell and taste your plant ally.

One of the easiest and most essential ways of connecting with a plant ally is to breath deep its scent and to taste its flavor. If you have access to a fresh plant (and it is safe to nibble on the fresh plant) use that, but you can also used a dried plant. Be aware, though, that a dried plant will often smell and taste different than when it is fresh.

What does the plant smell like? Sweet? Pungent? Strong or soft? What does the plant taste like? Does it dry the mouth or encourage the production of saliva? Taste is a way of understanding a plant’s medicinal qualities. Astringent plants, for example, dry the mouth while bitter plants often produce saliva.

Bonus! Learn about the tastes within Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine traditions.

Day 7. Read three different materia medica profiles on your plant ally.

You have already been reading about your plant in order to complete the last week’s tasks, but now it is time to read multiple materia medica profiles about your plant ally to understand the multiple ways of engaging its healing qualities. Check out my LibaryThing materia medica catalog for book recommendations as well as free resources such as botanical.com which is the complete materia medica of American herbalist Maud Grieve. Searching for {your plant’s name} plant profile online should also turn up resources. Remember, though when searching the mighty internets to find reputable sources. It is amazing the wide range of (mis)information there is about herbs online, so I encourage you to purchase or check-out from your library a few quality materia medicas to start your herbal studies as opposed to relying solely on search engines.

Day 8: Meet your plant ally in person.

You may have already done this, but whether or not you have, spend some time connecting with a live version of your plant ally. It can be a plant growing in a garden, in the wild or in an urban park. Spend time being still with the plant, observing its environment, and talking aloud or silently to it. You might be surprised by what the plant shares with you!

If such is not possible at the moment due to the season or accessibility, reserve this exercise for another day and spend time connecting with an image or remedy of your plant ally.

Day 9: Draw a picture of your plant ally.

One can learn a lot about a plant from drawing it because the act of drawing engages our observational skills in new ways. It doesn’t matter if you can “draw well” or not. If you can hold pen to paper you will be able to roughly sketch a plant. I encourage you to get creative and use color, adding energetic observations, and any other doodles that you find inspiring. Have fun with it!

Day 10: Study the best ways to prepare your plant ally medicinally.

How to extract plant medicines depends on the constituents of a plant and whether or not they are extracted in water, alcohol, oil, vinegar, or additional menstruums (which is a word for a solvent that is used in extracting medicinal constituents from plants). Learn what the best method of preparation is (such as an infusion versus a decoction) and whether your plant ally can be used externally, internally or both.

Day 11: Make a tea or decoction of your plant ally.

Your first medicine-making day! Depending on what you learned yesterday, create a tea infusion or decoction of your plant ally. I recommend that you do not add other herbs to the tea - simply create a one herb infusion or decoction so you can fully appreciate the taste, smell, and effect of your plant ally in your body. Pay attention to the initial taste, the aftertaste, and how the herb feels in your body. Do images, memories, or words come to mind? Spend a half hour or more in contemplation with your tea.

Day 12: Learn about your plant ally’s magickal qualities.

Some materia medicas will include a plant magickal qualities or folkloric stories, but there are also materia medicas dedicated to the magickal qualities of plants including Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham, A Compendium of Herbal Magic by Paul Beyerl, and The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, Revised by Susan Gregg.

Whether or not you are a practitioner of magick, learning a plant’s magickal qualities and accompanying folklore can enrich not only our understanding of how our ancestors connected with the plant and the plant connected with them, but there is often insight into a plant’s medicinal qualities. Plants used in love spells, for example, are often aphrodisiacs and affect the sexual organs, libido, and/or nervous system (such as Damiana Turnera diffusa).

Day 13: Learn about the astrological correspondences of your plant ally.

You may have already discovered the astrological correspondences of your plant ally yesterday, but if not spend today learning more about them. Traditional Western Herbalism and astrology were intertwined for centuries and it has only been in recent generations that the two arts have been split apart.

A physician without a knowledge of Astrology has no right to call himself a physician.  - Hippocrates

Learning the astrological correspondences of herbs further deepens our language to be able to talk about herbs and understand their healing qualities. It also helps us to understand better traditional western herbal energetics and why certain herbs have been classified in certain ways historically (and whether or not that still makes sense today). Books discussing the magickal quality of plants often has astrological correspondences list as well, but you should also check out the historical works of Nicholas Culpeper including his still in-print Herbal. You can also check out my Introduction to Astroherbology which includes additional online and offline resources.

If no astrological information exists for your plant ally, that’s ok! You can either have fun doing a little research and assign your own astrological correspondence (check out my ongoing Astroherbology series and especially my blog on the Astrological Body for insight) or maybe get in touch with your favorite medical astrologer for some guidance.

Day 14: Learn about your plant ally’s emotional qualities.

Plant medicine affects the whole spectrum of our lived experience whether physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, because it is a holistic medicine which recognizes that all of our parts are interconnected. Just as plants have medicinally healing qualities, they have emotionally healing qualities. Books on flower essences are great places to look when researching the emotional qualities of plants as well as materia medicas which take into account the emotional symptoms of dis-ease.

My recommendation for learning a plant’s emotional qualities is to ask the plant directly. I usually enter into a light meditative state and gently ask the plant to share with me its emotional story, sometimes while ingesting plant medicine (such as a tea), but not always. Sometimes I get words, other times images, and most often I feel the response in my body. Make sure to record your experience and don’t rush to “validate” or compare it to the writings and experiences of others. I will say, though, that very often there is overlap between one person’s emotional experience of a plants and another’s.

Bonus! Create a flower essence from your plant ally. Flower essences are easy and accessible forms of herbal medicine. You can find out how to make an essence of your own here.

Day 15: Take a break!

You’re halfway through your Plant Ally Project and it’s time to take a break! You deserve it. Sit back and relax, clever one.

Day 16: Make a tincture or glycerite of your plant ally.

Tinctures and glycerites are great for creating high-potency herbal medicines that have a relatively long shelf life (alcohol extract tinctures can last for many years, while glycerites can last up to 2 years). There are two primary ways to create an extract; the first is the folk method and the second way is by weight-to-volume measurement. Below I have listed out a simple folk method to create an extract. Some plants require a higher percentage of alcohol to extract properly and not all plant constituents extract well in alcohol (such as vitamins and minerals). You can learn more about plant constituents and extractability here. Michael Moore has a some amazing free resources on his website including clinical manuals with extraction recommendations. Lisa Ganora is one of the leading herbal experts on plant constituents and you can check out her short guide to solubility and choosing appropriate menstruums (PDF). For further herbal medicine-making study James Green has written a great book called The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual which I highly recommend.

Simple Folk Extraction

For both extractions (either glycerite or alcohol) you should have a clean jar with a well-sealing lid. Add in your fresh or dried plant material into the jar. You can add the plant material in whole or chop it up to help the extract penetrate the cell walls of the plant and pull out the plant medicine. You’ll want to mix some water with either your alcohol or glycerite - a few dashes is usually sufficient. If you’re using fresh plant material with a plant that has a high-water content be sure not to add too much extra water and compromise the levels of alcohol or glycerite needed to act as a preservative. For glycerites, be sure to mix the water and glycerite together before adding it to your herbs.

Pour your alcohol or glycerite over the herbs so that there is about ¾ of an inch of the menstruum floating above or below the herb. Let your extract brew for at least three weeks - I brew most of my extracts for a minimum of one complete moon cycle, but usually three moon cycles in total. Shake your extract daily and speak to it, charge it up with song, or keep it in a sacred spot in your home. Be especially mindful of glycerites and air bubbles which can lead to spoilage. When it is ready to be decanted, use a nut mylk bag (my favorite method), a fine mesh strainer, or cheesecloth to separate the extract from the plant material. I think it is important to respect the plant body remains and to compost it or add it back into the earth in some way. Now you have an extract! Extracts of both varieties are best stored in dark bottles away from direct sunlight and in a cool location. It is especially important to keep glycerites cool - I keep mine in the refrigerator. If you are not worried about keeping a glycerite alcohol-free you can always add in some alcohol during or after the brewing process. Honey and maple-syrup can be added, too, to alcohol extracts during or after the brewing process to sweeten the tincture. As for dosage, you should research what is the recommended dosage for your plant ally in your materia medicas. In my own practice, I use drop dosages, which is traditional within western herbalism, and in general recommend a dosage of 1 - 10 drops up to three times daily for many of my extracts.

Day 17: Meditate with your plant ally.

For those of you who practice mindfulness, meditation or other contemplative practices, or those of you who have been wanting to start a meditation practice, meditating with your plant ally will hopefully sound like an exciting endeavor. For those of you who read that line and thought, “I can’t meditate!” I would like to first reassure you that this is a common response to many folks who go on to find out that they can indeed meditate. Furthermore, we fall into meditative patterns every day without even knowing it. Have you ever daydreamed? You’ve meditated. Have you ever zoned out while walking, exercising or washing the dishes? You’ve meditated. Have you have taken a break from an overwhelming situation to close your eyes and take a deep breath? You’ve meditated. The folks who may not be able to meditate or should not meditate are those experiencing certain states of psychosis and should seek out the assistance of their health care team to figure out what is best for them and their health.

Meditating with plants is a gorgeous experience and I really encourage everyone to try it out. It can be as simple as sitting with your plant ally, either next to it in a physical context whether as a living plant or plant material such as the dried herb, an extract, oil, or tea, or visualizing the plant in your mind’s eye. You can close your eyes or softly gaze at the plant. Energetically greet the plant before beginning - ask to be invited into their space. Meditating with plants (heck, meditating with anyone!) is an opportunity to open up to the plant beyond the written or spoken world and into intuitive connectivity. You can spend just a few minutes meditating with a plant or a whole afternoon. Do what is comfortable and in a way that encourages openness and vulnerability between you and the plant. Afterwards, be sure to offer the plant something in thanksgiving, whether some water, a song, some sacred incense or another heart-centered gift.

Day 18: Find a poem, quote, song, painting, that embodies the quality of your plant ally.

After your meditation experience with your plant ally, you have hopefully received additional insight about the plant and your growing relationship. Spend some time today finding a poem, song, painting, or additional media that embodies the qualities of your plant ally. For example, I think the following poem by Mary Oliver speaks to the amazing gifts of Milky Oats (Avena sativa).

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver

You might choose to keep the a copy of whatever you find on your altar or in a place in your house where you will see it often. Herbalism is not just a science - it is an art. It is through art that we can find profound healing and when we are artfully able to speak of our plant allies we move beyond the habit of “{x} plant does {this}” to “let me tell you a story of Chamomile, the littlest brightest sun.”

Day 19: Plant personalities. Who in your life is most like your plant?

In my personal materia medicas I include a section on the plant personality which describes both the personality of the plant, but also the personality of a person best served by the plant’s medicine. Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), for example, is a plant for a colic-y child (or adult) who complains of an upset stomach when their emotional world feels unbalanced. Elder (Sambucus nigra) is known as the Elder Mother in many European countries and she has a fiercely protective, no-nonsense personality so she is often good medicine for folks who have difficulty setting up boundaries and are invested in self-deluding practices that don’t serve their health and wellbeing.

Discovering plant personalities doesn’t always feel intuitive at first, but that is why it is good to reference back to the work you did on Day 14 when you learned about the emotional qualities of your plant ally. You might discover that you are the plant personality that your plant ally best serves or a close friend or family member. Plants come into our lives most often for a reason, even if we don’t understand for many years to come, and exploring plant personalities can be one way of discovering why we are drawn to our plant ally.

Day 20: Create your own folk name for your plant ally.

As discovered on Day 3, most plants have a few, if not a multitude, of common names. Create your own folk name for your plant ally based on your experience so far with them. They may have already shared a name that they like to be called with you. Have fun with it and reference back to Day 18 if you need further inspiration.

Bonus! Create a folk name for you.

Day 21: Read a new materia medica profile on your plant ally.

Today it is time to find a new materia medica profile to read about your plant ally because tomorrow you’ll start creating your own personal materia medica.

Day 22: Write a materia medica of your plant ally - Part 1

Whether or not you continue to write your own materia medicas throughout your practice, it is important to learn how to gather information on your plant ally, synthesize that information, and add your own experience and study to it. Reference your favorite materia medicas found in books and online for creating your own, including the type of information included, as well as formatting.  I've created a materia medica for Angelica (Angelica archangelica) as an example of how I typically create my plant profiles. For part one of your materia medica complete the following information about your plant ally:

• Name (folk + latin binomial)

• Habitat, Growing Conditions, and Harvesting

• Parts used of the plant for medicine-making

• Flavor

• Plant Constituents

Optional:

• Astrological information

• Energetics

Day 23: Write a materia medica of your plant ally - Part 2

Today you’ll continue to work on your materia medic, focusing on the heart of the materia medica.

• Herbal Actions

• Main Uses

Day 24: Write a materia medica of your plant ally - Part 3

Our final day of materia medica crafting!

• Magickal Uses

• Contraindications

• Drug interactions

• Dosage

Optional:

• Plant Personality

• Recipes + Charms that feature your plant ally

Day 25: Create a plant ally charm.

You’ve completed your materia medica, meditated with your plant ally, and learned about its many uses, now its time to stretch your magickal muscles and create a plant ally charm. You might choose to create a small herb bundle to wear around your neck or keep on your altar. You might make a charmed herb candle or an herbal dream pillow including your plant ally. Engage with your plant ally magickally and follow the path of enchantment that unfolds!

Day 26: Write a plant ally song or poem.

Take time today to write down a song or poem, whether short or long, for your plant ally. It may be a song of thanks or medicine-making. You might write a poem describing the plants healing qualities. Or a short rhyming verse calling on spirit of the plant. What do you want to say to your plant ally?

Day 27: Create a Plant Ally immersive experience.

You’ve created a charm and written your poem, now it is time to immerse yourself in the world of your plant ally. If appropriate, create a bath using your plant ally or bathe with them in your shower. You could also burn the plant as an incense and sit in meditation with them or create a room and body spray with the plant’s essential oil. If you are so inspired, create a ritual of connecting with your plant ally where in addition to the immersive experience, you speak aloud your poem, create medicine, and charge up your charm. The path you choose is up to you...

Day 28: Write about your unique ways of connecting with herbal medicine.

We are very near the end of our 30 day challenge. What have you learned about yourself and the ways that you connect with plant medicine? What has your plant ally taught you? Are you super exciting about creating plant medicines? Do you want to grow a garden of herbal wonder? One day do you think you want to serve others as an herbalist in a private or community practice? Describe what it is about your experience of herbal medicine that gets you excited.

Day 29: Write your values as an herbalist or user of plant remedies.

I think it is important to know and state your values as a humyn creature living on our ocean planet, especially when entering into a mindful relationship with the powers of the plant world. Spend today creating a set of values that describes who you are as an herbalist or user of plant remedies and how these inform the ways that you move through the world. You can read my values here.

Day 30: Review your month!

Wow! Congrats! You did it! Take time to review your month and take a look at all that you have accomplished. Make sure to leave a comment below about what plant ally you worked with and your experiences, including favorite recipes, herbal wisdom insights, and recommended reading.

The Sliding Scale: A Tool of Economic Justice (aka The Green Bottle Method)

Class and economic justice are topics that lots of folks struggle to talk about in the United States because most of us aren't educated in schools or the culture at large to talk about money, access to resources, and what class actually is. Class, of course, cannot be understood as an isolated experience, but is part of the complex interactions of race, gender, ability, privilege, sexuality, and the myriad of identities we all hold. I think the sliding scale is a great way to begin a conversation about class because it frames the discussion from the standpoint of access. I wrote this article, in part, because it was really hard to find any online resources about creating and using a sliding scale. So, these are my thoughts, and they are a work in progress. In future articles, I will talk more about the realities, upsides, and pitfalls of using the sliding scale model as well as how to figure out if such a model is sustainable for your business. Please feel free to share, cross-post, and incorporate information (including the graphics) from this article onto your site - I just ask that you give credit to keep the conversation going. 

Want to know my updated thoughts on the sliding scale including troubleshooting and alternatives? Come this way. I’ve also written about ways that I focus on creating access and not scarcity in my marketing.

Offering a sliding scale for classes and products comes from a desire to create multiple access points for the wild and big hearted creatures called to learn from us. I have always strived to offer products and services at a variety of price points as well as multiple free offerings throughout the year, including keeping my online programs purposefully inexpensive (you can find all my courses here) so that folks from a diversity of economic backgrounds might take part. In meditating on what tools I could use to create multiple financial access points that would reflect the multiple economic realities of my students, I use a sliding scale system for some of my products and services. 

First, if you're unfamiliar with what class is and why it matters, please visit classmatters.org to learn more and check out the additional resources listed at the end of this post.

The sliding scale is a tool that allows for a product or service to be obtained at multiple price points based on the circumstances of the purchaser. Typically, the scale will be set in a chart and some form of income verification is provided by the purchaser to an authority figure who determines where on the scale the purchaser falls. This method allows folks who would most likely be priced out of something to have the chance to take part in it. It also seeks to address the systemic inequalities of class in our culture.

The sliding scale represents the idea that financial resources, including income, are not and should not be the only determining factor in whether or not someone can access services/care/etc. Service providers and institutions usually offer sliding scale because there is a commitment to serving individuals and/or communities that would otherwise not be able to afford the services. Often, these organizations actively seek external funding to establish financial stability and fill in the economic gaps that sliding scale does not provide for. For a small business like Worts + Cunning Apothecary, I do not receive any outside funding to supplement sliding scale discounts, so I must take into account what I am able to offer and still be able to support my family. I'll talk about implementing a sliding scale in your own business in future posts.

For a sliding scale to work it relies on the principles of truthfulness, respect for complexity, and accountability. I do not ask for income verification. I trust my students and clients to be honest. Community thrives when accountability is a central value, because that is where trust grows and depth work can be done. Teachers deserve to get paid and students deserve classes which recognize the multiple realities of economic access and privilege that exist.

Recently, someone shared with me the idea of sacrifice versus hardship when examining access. If paying for a class, product, or service would be difficult, but not detrimental, it qualifies as a sacrifice. You might have to cut back on other spending in your life (such as going out to dinner, buying coffee, or a new outfit), but this will not have a long term harmful impact on your life. It is a sacred sacrifice in order to pursue something you are called to do. If, however, paying for a class, product, or service would lead to a harmful impact on your life, such as not being able to put food on the table, pay rent, or pay for your transportation to get to work, then you are dealing with hardship. Folks coming from a space of hardship typically qualify for the lower end of the sliding scale. I find the idea of sacrifice versus hardship to be a very useful nuance when talking about class and access because it recognizes and respects that paying for something might still be a challenge even if it is just a short-term one, while giving appropriate space for those who are dealing with financial hardship.

Here is a general guidelines about how I currently price my sliding scale and to help you determine where you fall on it.

• The highest dollar cost reflects the true cost of the class or service. It is the cost that the practitioner would charge all students in the absence of a sliding scale. If you have access to financial security, own property or have personal savings, you would not traditionally qualify for sliding scale services. If you are able to pay for "wants" and spend little time worried about securing necessities in your life, you have economic privilege and power in our community. This price is for you.

• The middle cost (when there is one) reflects the practitioner's acknowledgement that paying the full cost would prevent some folks from being able to attend, but who do not honestly find themselves reflected in either descriptions for the highest cost or the lowest. If you are struggling to conquer debt or build savings or move away from paycheck to paycheck living but have access to steady income and are not spending most of your time thinking about meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, medical care, child care, etc., you belong here. If you, however, can ask others for financial support, such as family members, partners, or friends, please consider using those personal resources before you use the resources of the sliding scale and limit opportunities for others.

• The bottom cost represents an honest acknowledgment by the teacher and practitioner that there are folks whose economic circumstances would prevent them from being a part of classes if there was not be a deliberate opportunity made for them to access services at a cost that is reflective of their economic realities. If you struggle to maintain access to needs such as health care, housing, food, child care, and are living paycheck to paycheck or are in significant debt, you belong probably belong here and you deserve a community that honors your price as equal an economic offering as the person who can pay the highest tier. Even when the lower tier is still prohibitive, I will work with folks to offer extended payment plans and other solutions.

Typically, there is a limited amount slots for products, services, and classes offered at the middle and lower end of the scale. Please be mindful that if you purchase a price at the lowest end of the scale when you can truthfully afford the higher ticket prices, you are limiting access to those who truly need the gift of financial flexibility. Being honest with yourself and your financial situation when engaging with sliding scale practices grows strong and sustainable communities. It also respects the work of teachers and creators, like myself, you have families to support and rent to pay. Additionally, when I am paid fairly, I am able to invest more time and resources to free and lower cost offerings.

In the spirit of access and supporting those who appreciate visual learning tools I've created a graphic to illustrate how the Worts + Cunning Apothecary sliding scale works. Above you'll find a graph illustrated with three bottles (click to enlarge). Each bottle contains sentences that describe a person's current financial experience and class. The bottle on the far left is full of beautiful green potion representing the upper end of the sliding scale spectrum. Folks who identify most with the statements in the far left bottle qualify to pay for class tickets at the upper end of our sliding scale. The middle bottle represents folks who sometimes can pay for the upper end of the sliding scale, sometimes the middle, and sometimes the bottom half (depending on how many sliding scale options are available). The bottle on the far right represents the lowest end of the scale and folks who qualify to purchase class tickets from the bottom of our price spectrum. 

For ease of reading, here is the text from each of the bottles in the above graphic:

Top of the Scale (or the left bottle):

• I am comfortably able to meet all of my basic* needs

• I may have some debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs

• I own my home or property OR I rent a higher-end property

• I own or lease a car

• I am employed or do not need to work to meet my needs

• I have regular access to health care

• I have access to financial savings

• I have an expendable** income

• I can always buy new items

• I can afford an annual vacation or take time off

Middle of the Scale (or the middle bottle):

• I may stress about meeting my basic needs but still regularly achieve them

• I may have some debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs

• I own or lease a car

• I am employed

• I have access to health care

• I might have access to financial savings

• I have some expendable income

• I am able to buy some new items & I thrift others

• I can take a vacation annually or every few years without financial burden

Bottom of the Scale (or the right bottle):

• I frequently stress about meeting basic needs & don’t always achieve them

• I have debt and it sometimes prohibits me from meeting my basic needs

• I rent lower-end properties or have unstable housing

• I do not have a car and/or have limited access to a car but I am not always able to afford gas

• I am unemployed or underemployed

• I qualify for government assistance including food stamps & health care

• I have no access to savings

• I have no or very limited expendable income

• I rarely buy new items because I am unable to afford them

• I cannot afford a vacation or have the ability to take time off without financial burden

* Basic Needs include food, housing, health care, and transportation.
** Expendable Income might mean you are able to buy coffee or tea at a shop, go to the movies or a concert, buy new clothes, books, and similar items each month, etc.

᠅

At the end of the day, the sliding scale thrives on trust. Trust is a pretty amazing thing. I trust you to be honest in your assessment of your economic reality. Since the sliding scale is a tool of accountability, it is an ongoing conversation and I remain committed to helping folks figure out how to talk about their own economic experiences, since it has been such a helpful language to learn on my own journey. 

Do you use the sliding scale in your practice?
How do you employ it and does it work for you?
Do you use other economic equity tools?
Comment below!

Additional Resources

• How to Make the Sliding Scale Better for You + Your Clients

• I really enjoy additional language for the scale developed by the folks at Embracing Equity

• Beth Maiden’s My Business is A Garden is endlessly inspiring.

• Ride Free: Fearless Money Management Sliding Scale Discussion

  • Check out Hadassah Damien's exploration of the sliding scale which includes a number of sliding scale examples for everyone to learn from.

• Read Patty Adam's of Durham Healing Arts and Yoga for Queers + Misfits thoughts on the sliding scale and donation-based classes.

• Check out Kammaleathahh Livingstone's Tip It Forward program to make sure bodywork and massage can be available to everyone.

• Working Definitions of Class

• Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks

• Class Matters: Cross-Class Alliance Building for Middle-Class Activists by Betsy Leondar-Wright

Please feel free to share, cross-post, and incorporate information (including the graphics) from this article onto your site - I just ask that you give credit (my name, Alexis J. Cunningfolk, and link to this post) to keep the conversation going. Because we need to keep talking about money, equity, and how we make it better for all.