Welcome to the first month of A Year of Gaia

I am so excited to take you on a journey of self healing and sacred plant medicine this year! Spring is coming here in Vermont, and I hope you are also starting to see all the beautiful plants coming up around you. Especially the plants we will cover this first month! Diving into plant medicine this spring will allow you to watch the plants go through a full cycle of growth through the seasons. This is the best way to get to know them deeply! I hope you discover the nourishing plants growing around you and begin lifelong healing relationships.

We greet the plants as they return after a long winter, welcoming them back from hibernation as they stretch their green arms up to the sun…

Our Year One training focuses on self healing and receiving the plants for your own wellbeing! Learning the plants well through first hand experience working with them. This year is about building relationships yourself with specific plants who will become your main partners and teachers. You will be exploring plants each month and finding out which most speak to you! Some you may not feel a whole lot from, and others will feel like an elephant walked into the room… They can have a very big presence! Some of them will take you on unexpected journeys that may change you forever. This is what happens for many of us.

This year we will be entering into the realms of our plant teachers, going to these elders directly to learn from them. At this school we believe the plants are conscious beings we can learn from and communicate with directly. As we listen to the plants through our whole being, we often receive their medicine in ways that are hard to express. They change us… tending to wounds we often can’t heal ourselves. The plants throughout this course are master healers! The deeper you choose to go with them, the more you will receive. Each of you will build your own connection to certain plants who touch you most deeply.

Create sacred space for our own healing and journeying. My hope is that you will deepen your relationship to yourself this year! Love up your body and heart. May the nourishing herbs this month guide you closer to what most feeds and supports you! Allow their spirits to move through you, taking your time with each one.

Each module has a lot of multimedia content! I recommend reading the content like a book from top to bottom, skipping over anything you want to just go back to. New videos are being added this year throughout the course. Since you have lifetime access to the course content you can always go back at any point to dive a little deeper. Listen to the guided tea meditations and lectures as you connect to each month’s plants. Home practice focuses on creating a daily routine of self nourishment and plant connection through infusions, simple rituals, and guided meditations. Practice plant journeys the over the course of the year on your own and in our live classes.

For most of you, many of the plants this month you’ll be able to find growing up around you this spring! Look out for them and allow them to call to you. Enjoy receiving the nourishing herbs and welcoming in the spirits of these incredible plant teachers. Take your time moving through this month’s readings, audio recordings, and videos. Go at your own pace and enjoy.

When you are ready, head over to Part Two where we profile our Nourishing Herbs for the Month

This course includes a lot of the foundational training we offer at The Gaia School in sacred plant medicine and folk herbalism. The roots of our practice at this school is communicating with the spirits of the plants through tea meditations, journeying, and working with the live plants. Join us in harvesting, medicine making, and identifying the plants around you! These practices will be shared throughout every module, and they are the foundation for building intimate relationships with the plants. You can choose how deep you decide to go this year, and what pace you need. Take the time for yourself to receive…

Enjoy the powerful medicine of this month’s allies.
Much love,
Sage

Welcome Ceremony & Offerings

Join me as we create sacred space to welcome in our plant teachers! Gather a candle and some blessing herbs or incense if you have some. Create a sacred space to offer prayers for your own healing, and welcome in the healing energies of this month’s plant spirits. I recommend setting up an altar you can use for the rest of the year’s journey. You might want to place small bowls of the plant allies this month on your altar, and any written prayers for your personal healing.

We call on the spirits of the green nations to join us in sacred circle as we journey together... We call on the power and strength of the wild weeds, our nourishing herbs this month, to help guide us into our own healing. May they open the gates for us into the realms of the medicine plants, and hold us as we join together for collective healing.

We call on our loving ancestors, the lineages of medicine, and elders who have carried these sacred traditions for thousands of years. We welcome in healing medicine from all directions into each of our lives. May the spirits of the plants guide is into deep listening from the heart.
Listen ~ Ancient Mother Song

Blessed Be.

Our Plant Allies

Nourishing Relationships

We all have strong plant allies who are with us throughout our lives. Plants we have been close to for a long time… often from a very young age. These plants were part of our ecosystem and part of our family. As we journey through this course pay attention to the plants that you feel a special connection to! Notice the plants you feel drawn to outside, (even their images on a computer screen), those that grab onto you, catch your eye… the plants whose energy or medicine you feel the strongest. As you work with each of the plants in class, spend time sitting in meditation with any plants you feel drawn to getting to know. Offer the plant gratitude and connection from your heart… Introduce yourself. Invite this teacher to your home.

We all have allies that have been with us since we were born. This course is intending to bring you closer to the plants that have loved and guided you, as well as bring some new allies into your life. Whether or not a plant is known to be medicinal does not matter, all plants have healing energy and wise spirits. Close your eyes and think of some of the plants that were important to you during your childhood. Take a few breaths with each one to send that plant appreciation for what they gave you when you were a child… Feel the plants who were the most present for you through those early years of your life. Feel them now residing inside you, and all the moments you were guided and supported by these elders.

Childhood Plant Allies

Take out your journal and take a few minutes to write down some of the greatest plant allies you had during childhood. What are some of your memories of them? How did they make you feel when you were with them? If you close your eyes and visualize them, you may travel to a memory of this plant, and give some love back to it. Open your heart to receive its spirit and loving presence.

CHILDHOOD PLANT ALLIES RECORDING

Ancestral Herbalism

Ancient Lineages & The Wise Woman Tradition
Traditions of our Elders

We all carry powerful ancestries of herbal medicine in our lineages. The ancestral traditions of plant medicine are in our bones… We remember, our body remembers, and the plants remember us. The loving ancestors who guide each of us have plants they are partnered to as well. Their allies often become ours. With them comes memories of the lands they come from, and the communities they were a part of. The ancestors bring their plant teachers to us… and the plants can also help bring us to our loving ancestors.

Where did your ancestors come from? Google search the part of the world or country your ancestors came from and see what plants they used for medicine. These are your ancestral plants, and they will often be some of your strongest allies.

Many of us live on land we are not indigenous to. I live on unceded land of the Abenaki people, where many still live and tend their homelands after such painful erasure and genocide. As someone who carries the legacy of European colonization and white supremacy, it feels important that I continue to do the work of repair. My ancestors, and those indigenous to this land are holding our hands. They know the healing needed is very long overdue.

As indigenous people all over the world continue to rebuild and pass on their healing traditions, their people are still marginalized and oppressed. Their traditions appropriated. It’s important we understand that here in America much of the herbal traditions we have today comes from Native Americans (including Central America), European lineages, African lineages passed on through generations by enslaved Africans taken from their homelands, ancient traditions from Asia, and countless traditions from communities all over the world. As we learn about the lineages of herbal medicine throughout this course, know they come from the traditions of all our ancestors. Just beyond the veil, they are there waiting to support you in remembering.

All ancestral herbal traditions share plants in common because these species have very wide ranges. I invite you to take time to learn about the native medicinal plants where you live, the invasive plants, and the plants that have naturalized there. Learn about the people and ancestral traditions of the land you live on who have been partnered to these plants for thousands of years. Rare native plants are to be protected and generally left alone by those without indigenous heritage. Let these vulnerable populations to reproduce! Support native plants by growing them and protecting their ecosystems. Consider your impact with every plant you use, where was it grown or wildcrafted. What is the impact we have working with that plant? It is time for us to work on repair and healing… seeking ways to help restore where we can.

Many plants you will partner with are not from your ancestral lineage, but they are wanting to support you! Many plants, especially native plants, have stories to share about our past and present. Plants carry old memory, and will lead us often to those who walked the earth before us.

The Traditions of our Elders or Wise Wo/man Tradition refers to the healing lineages that existed before and alongside patriarchal systems of medicine. Though these ancient traditions of healing included all genders of healers. The term wise woman is spoken to honour all the women healers (midwives, herbalists, mothers, grandmothers, healers, and witches) who have been erased and ignored by history and Western ideologies of healing. I learned about the 3 traditions of healing from my teacher Tony Lemos, and from studying anthropology and ethnobotany - The Scientific, The Heroic, and the Wise Wo/man Tradition (which I call the Tradition of our Elders). Each of these 3 traditions we can find at home, in hospitals, in our families, in natural medicine, and in ourselves.

As someone who personally feels on the gender spectrum, I do not use the term “wise woman tradition” generally. But I do use it in moments where it feels important to honour the millions of women who have carried medicine through the generations for their families and communities, often unseen or unacknowledged. The world health organization says that 90% of all healing is done by women from their home. It is time these women, mothers, and grandmothers were honoured for their medicine and wisdom. They were the main people planting and gathering the medicinal plants we still use all around the world… They have been the main carriers of herbal traditions for tens of thousands of years. May their spirits guide you in remembering.

HEALING TRADITIONS

Scientific

herroic

Wise

The Nourishing Traditions of our Elders

80% of the world uses herbal medicine as their primary source of health care. Since that is mostly within communities that haven’t lost their herbal traditions, many of us represent the other 20% of the world that have moved away from herbal medicine as our primary source of medicine. This is the repair work we are seeking to do now, and return the medicine plants back into the hands and consciousness of all people. This is incredibly important at a time when people around the world cannot afford health care. While herbal medicine cannot replace certain Western medications and surgery when they are needed, plants provide the body and soul healing we can’t receive from anywhere else but nature.

Many of us remember in our souls the village healers. Those who lived their partnership and devotion to the plants. We can remember when we gathered in sacred groves to drink plants that awaken us to messages from the spirits… We remember it in our bones. The plants remember as well.

I visit the witch in the woods. Sometimes she is there. Grandmother spirits stretching back in time. They are always grateful to see me again. Sometimes she is no longer hidden in the woods, but in town with a wide open door where children and neighbors freely come in and out. She offers medicine to those who need it, warm hugs, and often smiles in joy when I come seeking her support. She is the community healer, who gives bread when someone is hungry, and whose house welcomes everyone. I ask her if she is tired sometimes, and she smiles… I don’t try to do more than I can do, she says. And hands me a cup of nettles. She is always giving me nettles.

The spirits of the village witches live inside us… We feel the call to help soothe a broken heart with flowers from our garden. We feel called to support the sacred turning of the earth, and the transitions of birth and death. We seek wisdom from our dreams, and know when we are being visited.

It is time to listen to what the spirits are wanting to tell us. Listen to the call of the inner witch… They don’t play by the rules. They will insist on your inner freedom… and they will help you enter a world of magick.

Juliette de Baïracli Levy was a grandmother in the herbal medicine traditions as I was taught decades ago... It was an absolute honour to learn from her. Juliette was the main teacher of Rosemary Gladstar, Deb Soule, and so many other teachers I studied with over the years. Here is a beautiful film about Juliette - herbalist, traveler, author and grandmother of herbal medicine. Her book Traveler’s Joy will remain my favorite book ever written.

Nourishing Traditions

The foundations of our herbalism practice is restorative nourishing plants. Plants that rests help to rebuild and strengthen our bodies, organs, and cells. Instead of simply treating symptoms we focus on nourishing our cells and tissues back into health. Our focus turns to nourishment and building healthy cells throughout the body. The plants we introduce this month (and many throughout the course) are what we would call restorative or nourishing herbs. They are meant to be taken for daily and for months at a time.

This month we explore the wild weeds that are most nourishing to our bodies! As we journey with the nourishing herbs, we also want to ask what is most nourishing to us on all levels. We need a lot more than just plants for our wellbeing. What do you NEED to thrive and be well? Starting with your most basic needs… Loving connections, healing food, clean water, safety, comfortable home, warmth, clean air, and community (not just human) that supports you. Art, laughter, play… good sleep. We cannot ignore our basic needs when we are focusing on healing. They should be where we begin.

The nourishing herbs and wild edible plants teach us that most of what nourishes us is free and right outside our doorstep. Love, connection to the earth, plentiful wild nourishing food, abundant water (hopefully!), air sweetened by the plants, and caring community of many different beings. All that nourishes you is within reach. This is your greatest medicine, when we learn to receive it… We find our way back to the sources of our wholeness and wellness. Illness may still come. That is part of being alive. Death will still come. But we will be held in the loving arms of nature, able to tend ourselves and each other well through all that comes. We will allow the beautiful earth family that surrounds us to support us, and support them in return.

Understanding Healing

What does health and wellness feel like to you? Is it the absence of physical illness, emotional and physical suffering? Or do you think that health includes these experiences of suffering and death. Over 20 years of healing work with thousands of people, I’ve come to deeply understand that healing is not the absence of illness or suffering. Often through illness we heal and find deeper wholeness on many levels! I’ve come to see healing and wellness as a layered combination of tending well to ourselves, receiving love and balms in places of our pain and wounds, connection to source/Spirit, the earth, and our own beings. What does healing and wellness feel like to you? I’ve felt it many times in the midst of illness.

I believe healing includes nourishing and supporting the body (cells, tissues, organs, and systems)… but what if illness remains even with all the medicines available? We have to move away from thinking that illness is always caused by something going wrong that needs to be fixed, and begin to see illness as an opportunity to listen to the voices within us and receive the caretaking we need. For me illness is always a message from within asking for greater care taking. Plant medicine is just one way we can tend ourselves and support our bodies through all we will experience in life.

What does it feel like to be well in your soul and heart? Can it include living with physical illness? Or any feelings of suffering? Listen within and ask yourself when you feel yourself healing… what does that look or feel like? What do you think is needed for healing at the deepest levels? The answer to this we live out and understand over lifetimes. Let yourself enter the mystery… There is not an end goal of perfect health. There is however continual opportunities for self love, care-taking, intimacy with your body and self… as well as with nature.

Basic Needs for Wellness

We all have basic needs to thrive such as safety, nourishing food, clean water, clean air, warmth, caring community, home/shelter, and love. But even with everything we need to thrive, we will experience illness and death, because it is part of nature for things to break down. At all times we experience birth, death, wellness, and illness inside our body. We are a part of nature, so just as all living beings and the ecosystem surrounding us, we will go through the natural cycles of life as well.

The healing plants can support our journey through life. They guide us into deeper presence with ourselves and with nature. After over twenty years of exploring healing on all levels personally and professionally I’ve seen that a strong connection to nature, ourselves, and to community, seems to create the deepest healing. All healing seems to happen through love. Receiving the love and nourishment our body and soul needs. This can healing can occur while we are also experiencing illness, suffering, and even death. The plants bring us towards what we most need for wholeness and wellness, and they help us to open to receiving more deeply what we most need.

What nourishes you?

JOURNAL PROMPT ~ Spend some time journaling about what nourishes you. Include what nourishes you physically, what nourishes your soul… your heart, and your mind.

Restorative Herbalism

Nourishing and restorative herbs help the body build new, healthy, cells and tissues. They increase and restore energy (Chi, Qi, prana) strengthening the physical & energetic body. Restorative herbs should be used in conjunction with all other treatments, with nourishing/restorative herbs as the base for any healing regimen. While other herbs or therapies might be addressing specific imbalances, the restorative herbs work to heal the body from the cellular level, healing tissue, rebuilding organs and systems. 

Restorative herbs should be used daily, for a period of months or years. It takes months to years for tissue, organs, and systems to rebuild and heal. The more serious the illness, the longer it might take for the tissue and cells to repair. If tissues are continuing to have damage done to them, the restorative action of the herbs will take longer. The challenge with restorative healing is consistency! Nourishing herbs work the best when they are taken daily or as close to it as possible.

“In the Wise Woman Tradition we nourish. We do not fix or cure or balance. We nourish health, wholeness/holiness in each individual, ever aware of each individual as related to family/community/universe, in spiraling, ever-changing completeness. Problems become doorways for transformation... The Wise Woman Traidtion tells us that compassion, simple ritual, and common herbs heal the whole person and maintain health/wholeness/holiness…

The Wise Woman Tradition asks, how is this problem my ally? How does this condition benefit me? What nourishment am I given by my pain/problem? What part of myself is revealed here? What nourishment does it need? How shall I nourish my wholeness? What strengthens me, my community, and Mother Earth in this situation?

There are no rules. There are no cures. There are no healers. Everything is our cure, a doorway to wholeness.
We are all healers.” - Healing Wise, Susan Weed

Nourishing Infusions

The Roots of our Self Care
Nourishing & Restorative Herbs

Nourishing herbs help to supply the body with nutrients it needs, speeds tissue healing, cleanse the blood/fluids, and restore organs. These are food type plants that are like taking a multi-vitamin. Work with one plant at a time to get to know each deeply in your body and being.

Daily nourishing infusions are the roots of our plant medicine practice! We drink a quart a day of these multivitamin plant infusions for a powerful shot of nutrients to the body. Minerals and vitamins become easily available to the body in an herbal infusion, similar to drinking broth.

Nourishing herbs are food plants! We use larger amount of plant material (1-2 handfuls or approximately 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of leaf per quart of water) instead of 1-2 tsp as we would with most medicinal plants. This is because the plants we work with for nourishing infusions are food-like plants, and we can have larger quantities of them. They are low in the compounds found in many medicinal plants that can be toxic in high doses, such as alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, volatile oils, glycosides, terpenoids, resins, acids, etc.

Drinking a quart a day will feed your body what it needs every day so that we are giving our cells all the vitamins and minerals they need. Nourishing herbs are higher in minerals and vitamins, carbohydrates, protein, and compounds like polysaccharides that are less poisonous in high quantities. These are powerhouses of nutrition!

Home Practice ~
Drink a quart of One Plant Infusion Daily

This month your home practice is to start a daily practice of drinking the nourishing herbs. Choose one plant to work with at a time, a practice called ‘simples’. Brew your nourishing herbal infusion at night and drink 1 quart in the morning or throughout the day. Dilute them with water until they taste and feel right for your body. I recommend doing a plant journey with each plant over the course of the month. Below are the nourishing plants we will be getting to know this month!

Leaves ~ Nettles, Oatstraw, Chickweed, or Red Clover

Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup leaf to a quart jar of hot water. Steep 6-8 hours, strain, and drink throughout the day. I recommend starting with a 1/2 cup plant material and increasing to 3/4 cup as your body gets used to the infusions. Since they provide so many nutrients (like a multivitamin) they feel a bit like drinking a meal. I don’t drink them while eating since I don’t want to overload my body. They seem to be best on an empty stomach, between meals, or in the morning. Nourishing infusions will last for a few days in the fridge, sometimes more. I often brew a few days worth in larger mason jars, drinking over a few days. After getting to know each one you can mix them together.

Or the Roots ~ Burdock root or Dandelion root

Add 2-3 tbsp. root to 2 quarts water. Simmer for 20 minutes on very low, then strain and drink. Dilute with water until the infusion tastes mild. You can also brew these roots overnight by steeping 2 tbsp. in a quart of hot water overnight for 6-8 hours. I love using fresh roots the best if I can, but good quality dried roots are excellent as well.

All Nourishing & Restorative Herbs

Chickweed – 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per quart water
Mullein – 2 - 4 tbsp/quart water (strain through nut bag). 
Marshmallow root – 1 tbsp/quart water
Plantain - 1 tbsp/quart water or fresh juice
Linden - 1 tbsp/quart of water
Wild Foods/Greens

Nettles – 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per quart water
Oatstraw – 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per quart water
Burdock – 2 tbsp/quart water
Dandelion – 2 tbsp/quart water
Alfalfa – 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per quart water
Red Clover – 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup per quart water
Violet – 1 tbsp/quart water or fresh juice

When are restorative and nourishing herbs most needed?

• When you feel depleted, reduced energy, low life force, and needing deep replenishment… and rest.

• When your digestive system is compromised, and you aren’t breaking down and absorbing nutrients in your food well. The nourishing herbal infusions are like drinking a broth of readily available nutrients!

• During chronic illness, inflammation, or after/during infections. Use restorative herbs when tissues are weakened, contributing largely to the cause of illness.

  Examples - weak lungs - chronic bronchitis, damaged urethra - chronic UTIs, damaged mucous membranes in the intestines - chronic digestive issues, weakened adrenals - chronic low energy. Weakened tissue is prone to infection - healthy tissue is resistant to infection. Most often found in mucous membranes (lungs & respiratory tract, digestive system, vagina, urinary tract). 

• Long term infections or tissue damage ~ from toxic foods, chemical exposure, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, pollution, (all damage tissue and organs).

• To increase mucus membrane health - vulnerary (wound healing) plants, demulcents, and nourishing herbs increase healthy cell growth and repair damaged tissues. Examples - Marshmallow, Plantain, Astragalus, Violet, Chickweed.

When taking restorative herbs, make sure you are supporting your circulation! Improving circulation aids in the repair of tissue and organs - Therapies include exercise, massage, hot/cold treatments, and circulatory enhancing herbs (cayenne, hawthorn, ginger, pine, turmeric, rosemary, cinnamon, sarsaparilla)

Breathe… Tissue & organs need oxygen AND nutrients to speed tissue healing and cellular regeneration. Oxygen is received from deep breathing, and health of the lungs. Nutrients received from nourishing herbs and healing foods are combined with oxygen to give your cells what they need to regenerate. Increasing circulation supports oxygen & nutrients in being received. Energy healing & time in nature also helps to restore and rebuild cells, tissues, and organs. I recommend drinking your nourishing herbs during a short daily tea meditation, focusing on deep breathing and relaxation. I like to stretch before and after every tea meditation.

Restore elimination with nourishing herbs that support the kidneys, liver, digestive tract/colon, skin & lymphatic system. Increasing movement and restoring elimination allows for greater fluid flow, waste cleansing, immune system health (blood & lymph flow), endocrine balance (as hormones moving through the blood are broken down through liver and released through the kidneys), as well as tissue repair.

VIDEO OF NOURISHING INFUSION MAKING

NETTLES

Urtica Dioica

Native to Europe. Grows in temperate Asia, North Africa, the Americas, and Worldwide

Nettles is the grandmother that tends me in an old cabin in the woods. Nettle wraps me in a blanket and tells me to rest by the fire. She teaches me of ancient wisdom and simple slow living close to the earth. Nettles is the grandmother that helps me to remember. She (or I could say he/they) brings me to my ancestors, and back to the sea they called home. Grandmother reminds me of wholeness, connection to the earth, and the nourishing traditions I come from. For many people like me, nettles is the plant that leads us to all other plants. This ally is an elder guide in the realm of plant medicine.

Nettles is Gaia’s nourishment embodied! Nettles is a superfood and amazing source of nutrients. I have drunk thousands of gallons of nettles in the last 20 years… It is my staple nourishing herb and has accompanied me through many, many, days. Nettles feels like a whole meal. The dried leaf contains 40% protein, one of the highest sources of protein from any green we know. Nettles is very rich in iron, zinc, protein, B vitamins, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, E, A, D, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, chlorophyll, trace minerals, and fiber. It nourishes and restores the whole body with a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. Nettles is a great nourishing tonic during pregnancy, strengthening to the uterus, helping to increase breast milk production, and give babies or parents the nourishment they need. The high amounts of iron in nettle replenish iron stores during menstrual bleeding, and it is very helpful for anemia. When you feel depleted, try drinking nettles!

Nettles increases energy and assists the body in healing from chronic illness or long term depletion/stress. As an adaptogen, nettles increases energy levels, helps to lower our stress response, and rebuild overtaxed adrenals. The seeds are an especially powerful tonic for the adrenals, taken as a tincture or food. Nettles increases resiliency emotionally and physically, supporting us through times of upheaval or change, stabilizing and balancing the nervous system. I love to blend it with oatstraw to add a little extra nervine boost to calm the nervous system.

As an adaptogen and deep immune tonic, nettles increases immunity, soothes allergies, and helps the body to resist infection. I’ve seen nettles do wonders for people with animal or pollen allergies (especially used with goldenrod tincture). Nettles cleanses wastes out of the body and acts as a diuretic, nourishing the urinary system and cleansing the fluids. It is a tonic for the urinary tract and kidneys, helpful in preventing bladder and urinary tract infections. I love nettles for those who tend towards UTI’s or kidney infections in the past. It is also an excellent genitourinary tonic for prostate health.

Nettles is soothing to inflammation in the digestive tract and helps to increase the absorption of nutrients through the mucous membranes of the intestines. It is very helpful for people who are undernourished or have nutrient deficiencies. The infusion can be drying and astringent for some people, so be careful if you tend to have dry tissues already! You may want to add a oatstraw or marshmallow root as a demulcent. Nettles can slow heavy bleeding as a hemostatic, toning to mucous membranes and blood vessels as a tonifying astringent. 

Nettles nourishes and helps rebuild the musculoskeletal system with its high silica, calcium, and magnesium content, repairing joints and cartilage, and soothing inflammation. Nettles is very helpful for arthritis and joint pain as an infusion. Many cultures have used nettles stings to help relieve arthritic joints as well! Nettles is also well known to increase hair, skin, and nail strength… It is a great restorative for new cell growth and building healthy tissue through your whole body. Enjoy the nourishment of the earth through our beloved ally, Nettles… You will likely fall in love.

*** Nettles is not harvested once it is flowering, since it is too high in silica then and can overstimulate the kidneys. If you are new to nettles, make your tea with only 1/2 cup of leaf, and increase as your body desires!

Parts Used ~ young leaves before flowering, and the green seeds. Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, gently cooling, drying and astringent, grounding, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, chlorophyll, proteins, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), carotenoids (antioxidant), acids, tannins (drying to mucous membranes), sterols (plant hormones), carbohydrates, polysaccharides (adaptogenic), and terpenoids.
Actions ~ nutritive, diuretic (increases urination), detoxifying, astringent (tones tissue), adaptogen, anti-inflammatory, urinary & kidney tonic, adrenal strengthening, hemostatic (slows heavy bleeding), galactagogue (increaseses breast milk), vasodilator (opens blood vessels), circulatory stimulant, hypotensive (lowers blood pressure), expectorant for the lungs, anti-allergic, anti-rheumatic (reduces joint pain/inflammation for arthritis or rheumatism).

*** Safe and recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Diuretic action of nettles means it shouldn’t be used by people already on diuretic medications. Not recommended in high doses for those on blood thinners. Nettles can be very drying, which can cause issues if you already run dry, including increasing constipation for some. Use demulcents like oatstraw, burdock, marshmallow root, chia/flax etc to balance the drying nature of nettles. No strong drug interactions, safe to take in combination with western mediations. Nettles is mildly blood thinning, which most plants are, so if you are on blood thinners consult with a Naturopath or holistic MD if you work with nettles. Since nettles is a diuretic as many plants are, consult with your doctor if you are on diuretic medications. Rarely people can have a mild histamine reaction to drinking nettles, so start with a mild tea to see how it feels to your body.

Brewing Nettles Infusion ~

Add 1-2 Handfuls (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup) of dried leaf added to a quart jar of hot water. Steep 4-8 hours, strain, and then drink throughout the day. If you would like to make a cold infusion, (which brings out less minerals but more vitamins), just use cold water instead of hot. You can also make a tea from the fresh nettles by simmering a handful or two of the young leaves in 2 quarts hot water on very low for 15 minutes. Strain and drink, diluting with water as you need. You’ll want to use thongs since they sting when fresh! Remember only use nettles leaves that have been harvested before they are flowering.

To make a Nettles Vinegar - Fill your jar full of chopped young leaves, packed down. Fill the whole jar with apple cider vinegar. Shake well. Cap your jar with a stainless steel lid and label with the date. Steep for 1 month. If you are using dried plant, fill 1/2 the jar with plant material, and then fill the whole jar with ACV. Strain after a month, and use spoonfuls on your food like salad dressing! It is packed with minerals and vitamins, as vinegar is especially good at extracting nutrients from mineral rich plants like nettles.

OAT STRAW

Avena sativa

Native to the Middle East & Europe. Grown Worldwide

Oatstraw is sweet green milk… Like drinking the breast milk of Gaia. I gulp down oatstraw as if my life depended on it. My cells shout in joy and relief when I drink oatstraw. Oatstraw is a powerful multivitamin plant, deeply nourishing to all of our cells and tissues. The grass is very high in minerals and vitamins such as silica, iron, magnesium, zinc, calcium, protein, B vitamins, phosphorus, chromium, vitamins A and C. The B vitamins, calcium, and magnesium help to soothe and strengthen the nerves, and restore health to the tissues of our musculoskeletal system.

Oats is very well known for nourishing and rebuilding the nervous system. Alkaloids, flavanoids, and phytosterols (plant hormones) in the milky tops and straw of the plant are especially strengthening and calming to the nerves. Oats helps to ease tension in the body and nerves as a gentle antispasmodic. It is especially calming when there is burnout, overwhelm, irritability, high stress, fear, and anxiety. Oats also balances and nourishes the endocrine system and helps to regulate hormones, which can cause emotional waves. The alkaloids in the milky tops (unripe seed pods) of oatstraw are both nourishing and restorative to the nervous system, as well as anti-depressant. You can use oatstraw to rebuild your nervous system and bring greater joy.

Oatstraw is deeply relaxing, and one of the most soothing plants for emotional pain, heart break, and grief. It is very supportive in easing depression and chronic anxiety. I often reach to Oatstraw when there has been an emergency of any kind. It is the plant I bring when someone is in the hospital. When you are in shock, grief, or panic, this ally can bring so much relief. Oatstraw can help ease trauma held as pain and tension in the body, supporting us in feeling safe and grounded in ourselves. Oats is a gentle heart tonic, helpful for heart palpitations and relieving the effects of stress and trauma on the heart. It helps to lower cholesterol, and supports the health of our blood vessels.

Oatstraw feels so soft and sweet going down… It is moistening and lubricating to the tissues of the body, including the vagina, the mucous membranes of the digestive tract, and the respiratory tract. Very soothing and nourishing to the skin, it eases skin irritations, rashes, inflammation, and helps cool heat. Oats is anti-inflammatory and lubricating to the joints, including the spine. Many people say that Oats helps to restore vitality, libido, and energy levels. I definitely find oats feels like one of the most healing and restorative allies we have!

“As the tall oat plant which sways and dances gracefully with the changing winds yet remains firmly rooted and grounded in the Earth, so too will those who take oat’s medicine. By strengthening and soothing nerves, balancing endocrine function, and nourishing the immune system, oatstraw fosters physical, mental, and emotional strength and resilience.” - Paul Berger

Parts Used ~ leaves and milky tops before the seeds mature. *** Harvest when a milky sap can be squeezed out of the developing seeds.
Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, gently cooling, moistening and mucilaginous, grounding, calming, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals including B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, alkaloids that are building to nervous system, proteins, saponins, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), sterols (plant hormones), steroidal saponins (strengthening to adrenals), carbohydrates, polysaccharides, and acids. Actions ~ nutritive, demulcent soothing to mucous membrane tissue, nervine (calming to the nervous system), antispasmodic, anti-depressant, vulnerary (tissue healing), anti-inflammatory.

*** Safe and recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Careful when taking oatstraw and insulin, just have your blood sugar monitored to make sure it doesn’t interact. Oatstraw can lower blood sugar, which you don’t want to drop too low.

Brewing Oatstraw Infusion ~

Add 1-2 Handfuls (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup) of dried leaf in a quart jar. Cover with hot water and steep 4-8 hours or overnight. I recommend starting with 1/2 cup and increase as you like. It’s sweet and yummy…

To make an Oatstraw Tincture - Fill your jar full of chopped leaves and milky tops, packed down. If you are using dried plant, fill 1/2 the jar with plant material. Cover with 100 proof vodka, cap your jar with a stainless steel lid, and label. Steep for 2 months, then strain and take 2-3 droppers full in water as needed.

Audio ~ Oatstraw

CHICKWEED

Stellaria media

Grows throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. Naturalized in South America, Africa, Middle East, and Worldwide

My favourite wild green super food! I eat bowls and bowls of chickweed every week in the spring. Mixed with some green goddess dressing, I’m in heaven. Besides violet leaves and nettles, it’s the most abundant and delicious wild food we have where I live. I have spent years spreading it in all of the garden beds. In the Victorian era it was eaten in fancy salads and sandwiches in Europe. Chickweed stays green all winter long under the snow, which amazes me every year. The little white flowers greet me in April when all the other plants are still sleeping. They bring the joy knowing that the abundance of spring is on its way…

Chickweed is an excellent spring green and cleansing, nourishing tonic. It makes a fantastic juice, addition to salads, or cooked green. Chickweed is a very nutrient rich plant high in iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, magnesium, high in B vitamin complex, manganese, zinc, phosphorous, and potassium. Stellaria replenishes the body with valuable nutrients and helps release excess water as a diuretic. Drink chickweed to support your body in cleansing fluids and eliminating waste. It is also strengthening to the kidneys and bladder, as well as cooling to any inflammation in the urinary tract. I love it for full body cleansing and rejuvenation in the spring time!

Chickweed is a powerful tissue healer, used for wound healing and tissue repair throughout the body. You can drink it internally to heal mucous membranes, soothe inflammation of the musculoskeletal system, or apply it externally for tissue healing. I love mixing it with comfrey, plantain and violet, other great vulneraries. Chickweed is anti-inflammatory and demulcent, cooling to dry, hot, and inflamed tissue. If used externally as a poultice, salve, or oil it is helpful for wounds, sores, rashes, and burns. Chickweed can ease skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis used externally. It’s also soothing to stings and poison ivy as a poultice. I’ve used it often externally as a diluted juice or tea for inflamed eyes. You can also use it to cool hot conditions such as fevers, or as a cooling wash for burns.

The saponin content in chickweed increases permeability in cells, allowing for more nutrient absorption. The saponins are responsible for some of the medicinal uses of chickweed, but they can irritate mucous membranes if taken in too high a concentration or dose. Just dilute with water if you feel any irritation in your mouth from the first couple sips. Saponins in chickweed help fat cells break down and it is often used for weight loss. The plant contains a lot of water, mucilage, saponins, coumarins, flavonoids, acids, triterpenoids, and polysaccharides. Chickweed is anti-cancer and anti-tumor, used especially as a preventative for reproductive and lymphatic cancers. Healing to reproductive system cysts, fibriods, and general lumps of any kind. It is a thyroid and endocrine system tonic, balancing to metabolism. Mixed with violet it helps with breast and lymphatic congestion.

Chickweed will soothe inflammation and cool heat through the whole body, excellent for inflamed mucous membranes of the respiratory system and digestive tract. I find the juice to be the best for cooling and healing mucous membranes, but make sure it is diluted enough the saponins don’t irritate. Chickweed is deeply healing to wounded tissue when there has been chronic infections, and super nutrient rich to support new cell growth. I just love chickweed!!

Parts Used ~ leaves and stems in early spring when the leaves are full and stems haven’t gotten tough. Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, gently cooling, grounding, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals including B vitamins, iron, calcium, magnesium, proteins, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), sterols (plant hormones), mucilage, saponins, coumarins, acids, triterpenoids, and polysaccharides. Actions ~ nutritive, vulnerary (tissue healing), soothing to mucous membrane tissue, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-tumor, refrigerant (cooling to the body), demulcent, diuretic (increasing urination), emollient, expectorant (clearing mucous in the lungs), laxative.

*** Safe and recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If you feel any irritation in your mouth from the first couple sips, dilute with water by half - some people are more sensitive to saponins in plants. No known drug interactions.

Brewing Chickweed Infusion ~

Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dried leaf to a quart jar. Cover with hot water, and steep 4-8 hours. Strain and drink. To make a Fresh Juice - Add 1 handful of chickweed to a blender full of water. Blend for a few minutes until liquified and strain. Drink 1 quart a day, diluting with water as needed.

To make a Chickweed Vinegar or Tincture - Fill your jar full of chopped leaves, packed down. Fill the whole jar with apple cider vinegar. Shake well. Cap your jar with a stainless steel lid and label with the date. Steep for 1 month. If you are using dried plant, fill 1/2 the jar with plant material, and then fill the whole jar with ACV. Strain after a month, and use spoonfuls on your food like salad dressing! To make a chickweed tincture, first wilt your chopped up fresh leaves spread out on a paper bag or screen for a day. Then fill your jar with the wilted leaves and gentle pack down. Cover with 100 proof vodka, cap your jar with a stainless steel lid, and label. Steep for 2 months, then strain and take 2-3 droppers full in water as needed.

Chickweed videos to come as the plants get bigger!

BURDOCK

Arctium lappa

Native to the Middle East, Europe, Russia, and Asia. Naturalized in the Americas & Worldwide

If I was on a desert island and I could only bring one plant, it would be burdock. Then nettles. Then oatstraw. That is the truth. (I guess a strong anti-microbial might be smart as well). Ahhhhh burdock…. my beloved. I would say burdock has saved my life. I’m not sure that’s true, but it feels true in my body. Having dealt pretty intensely with a chronic Lyme and a Babesia infection that went diagnosed for way too many years, (like someone in slowly boiling water), burdock rescued me in many moments of intense suffering and sickness that for a long time I didn’t understand. I have a hard time describing how incredible burdock is. It is something you have to feel from drinking it. I know it can’t be properly described how the body reacts to the medicine of burdock but I will try. After 20 years of loving and being loved by a plant, it is hard to summarize all of its medicine. My body has been imprinted with burdock so deeply I feel I must now be made of burdock. I have spread the seeds so much around the land I live on, I have hundreds of burdock plants that surround my front door and all through my gardens. Burdock feels like home.

Burdock root provides powerful nourishment to our bodies, and feels deeply grounding. The tea is sweet, delicious, and cooling to inflammation everywhere. It is an incredible multivitamin plant, the roots packed with minerals and nutrients. It is rich in iron, zinc, protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins, and vitamin A and C. The roots also contain a lot of milky inulin and fiber, which feed our gut flora. If you want to make your beneficial gut bacteria really happy, drink lots of burdock. The root is eaten as a main food through Asia, both raw and cooked. The edible roots are sweet, moistening, and delicious sauteed with some sesame oil. You can also eat the young stalks before flowering - they taste similar to artichoke! Here is a sweet video by Alexis Nikole @blackforager.

After burdock root decoction sits out exposed to air, it turns turquoise. Burdock is magick. I also think the plant itself (in its first year of growth) is the most beautiful plant I’ve ever seen. I’ve painted and drawn them countless times. Soft hairs like downy white fur on the underside of these massive soft wavy leaves… Purple and pink and green, and so showy. As the leaves uncurl they look like vulvas, which I’m partial to personally.

Burdock is one of the best digestive tonics. It is incredibly soothing and anti-inflammatory to the intestines and whole digestive system. It also one of the best plants to reduce inflammation through the whole body. Burdock root may be the best healing plant I know for our digestive organs. I have seen it work miracles! The roots are cleansing to the gut as a gentle laxative, and increases the health of the intestines, liver, pancreas, and intestinal mucous membranes. With dandelion, it is helpful for diabetes and balancing blood sugar levels. Burdock will speed waste elimination, cleanse the blood, and increase nutrient absorption through the intestines. It helps to block toxins from entering the body, and is great plant for food poisoning or any exposure to toxins that might have occurred (even better mixed with marshmallow root). The mucilage and fiber binds to heavy metals and chemical toxins, clearing them out through the intestines.

Burdock is a powerful adaptogen like nettles, helping to lower our stress response, balance our endocrine/hormonal system, and regulate metabolism. It is also an amazingly restorative tonic for the kidneys and adrenals. Grounding and strengthening to the whole being, burdock lowers stress and anxiety. I find it to be very calming and soothing, and very useful for trauma or volatile emotions. Burdock brings me right back to earth, and grounds me better than any other plant I know. It helps to slow me down, and remind me to dig deep within.

Burdock is building and modulating to the immune system, and helpful in preventing infections. Burdock is one of the best anti-cancer and anti-tumor plants we have. I love to blend it with astragalus and medicinal mushrooms for cancer prevention or treatment. It helps the body eliminate waste efficiently, and strengthens the body’s filtration systems (kidneys, liver, and skin). The roots are cleansing to the blood, lymph, and all fluids. Because it is so cleansing to the fluids and digestive system, you often see skin conditions clear with burdock. It with help to sooth inflammation and eruptive skin issues such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema. I’ve seen horrible cases of eczema clear from daily burdock infusions.

Burdock is an amazing anti-inflammatory for the joints. It blends well with other anti-inflammatories such as ginger, marshmallow root, nettles, astragalus, and many of our other adaptogens (such as reishi or siberian ginseng). The very bitter leaves can be used externally for headaches, painful joints, swelling, and wound healing. I lay them all over my body and joints when I need pain relief. They are cooling and soothing to inflammation in the joints. You can also use the roots for inflamed tissue in the lungs, healing and strengthening the bronchioles from respiratory infections. Burdock seeds are also medicinal and nutritive - they can be used to strengthen the kidneys, liver, and urinary tract! What doesn’t burdock help with I wonder!?

Parts Used ~ Roots harvested in the fall. Spring roots are used as well, though not quite as strong as fall roots. Leaves are used mostly externally, but can be used as a bitter tonic. Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, gently bitter, nourishing, cooling, moistening and demulcent, grounding, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals, inulin, mucilage, amino acids (proteins), flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), acids, phytosterols (plant hormones), carbohydrates, polysaccharides (adaptogenic), volatile oils, lignans, tannins, and flavonoids.
Actions ~ nutritive, laxative, diuretic (increases urination), detoxifying, adaptogen, anti-inflammatory, urinary & kidney tonic, adrenal strengthening, anti-rheumatic (reduces joint pain/inflammation for arthritis or rheumatism), alterative (cleansing and supporting elimination), liver and digestive system tonic.

*** Safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Burdock is mildly blood thinning, which most plants are, so if you are on blood thinners consult with a Naturopath or holistic MD if you work with burdock. Burdock lowers blood sugar, so people on insulin should monitor their blood sugar levels to make sure blood sugar doesn’t drop too low. Since burdock is cleansing to the blood and strengthening to your liver, consult with your doctor if you are on medications that might be cleared out faster from your body from drinking burdock. If you have a mild allergy to the Aster family, burdock may not be for you. I recommend always trying a weak version of a tea to see if the plant feels good in your body.

Brewing Burdock Infusions ~

Overnight infusion method - Start with a lower concentration tea, and then you can increase the plant material amount in your tea as you get to know each plant. Add 1-2 tbsp. to a quart jar of hot water. Steep overnight or 6-8 hours, strain and drink throughout the day. As your body gets to know burdock, you can get up to one handful (2-3 tbsp. per quart). Quick Decoction method (for highest mineral content) - Add 2 tbsp. of burdock root to 2 quarts of water. I recommend starting with 3/4 to 1 tbsp in 1 quart water and working up to 2-3 tbsp as you get used to it and like it stronger. Simmer 15 minutes on low, strain and drink. Some folks eat the root bits too. You might get to see your infusion turn a bright turquoise! If you haven’t had burdock yet, brew it weaker by diluting with water. The taste should be very mild when you are first getting used to it (you may not even taste it)! I can drink burdock much stronger because I’m used to it… but my body does still tell me sometimes to dilute it.

Making a Burdock Tincture - Fill your jar full of finely chopped fresh roots. Cover with 100 proof vodka. Shake well. Cap with a stainless steel lid and label with the date. Steep for 1-2 months. If you are using dried root, fill 1/2 the jar. Cover with 80 proof vodka (always use vodka from a glass bottle not plastic). Shake well, cap and label. Steep for 1-2 months shaking now and then. Strain and use 3-4 droppers full of the tincture in water a couple times a day.

DANDELION

Taraxacum officinale 

Native to Europe, naturalized in North & South America, throughout Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Worldwide

Sweetheart dandelion. We all love dandelions… They are warriors! Growing up in the city I often saw them push up through concrete. Dandelions have provided food for so many people for thousands of years, including during WWII when cities were bombed and there was little food. People survived off of eating dandelions that grew in the rubble. Dandelion teaches us how to find nourishment in difficult environments. It is a plant that has received such high amounts of toxins from herbicides sprayed on lawns (this breaks my heart completely). And yet, it keeps thriving. I am in awe of dandelion.

The whole plant edible and medicinal… The leaves are high iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, B complex, C, and D.  It is higher in vitamin A than any garden plant known. The roots contain 45% inulin (similar to burdock), mucilage, acids (antioxidant and immune stimulating), latex resin, flavonoids (antioxidant), and taraxasterol (an anti-inflammatory and blood sugar balancing phytosterol). Basically dandelion is a powerhouse. The high inulin content feeds the healthy bacteria in your intestines, and the gentle bitter action helps to stimulate digestive juices. Dandelion is a great tonic for the organs of the digestive system. It is a restorative her for the gallbladder, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Because it strengthens the organs of elimination (kidneys and liver), dandelion is great for blood and fluid cleansing. It helps to eliminate waste from the body, excellent mixed with burdock for spring cleansing!

Dandelion is a well known restorative liver tonic, cleansing toxins such as heavy metals and plastics from the body. It is healing for cirrhosis, hepatitis, and prevents liver failure. Very helpful for those who have had long term addictions that have damaged the liver, and eases the side effects of prescription medications, drugs, and chemical exposures. Like burdock you do have to be careful when taking too much dandelion while on prescription medications as it can cleanse them out of your system too quickly.

Dandelion is balancing to blood sugar and used all over the world to manage diabetes. I recommend it to be mixed with burdock and cinnamon for regulating blood sugar levels. As a kidney/bladder tonic and diuretic, dandelion reduces swelling and water retention. Since it is very cleansing to the fluids, and detoxifying to the body, it can ease painful/inflamed joints, often combined with burdock for arthritis. Dandelion supports the body in eliminating waste, and helps to cleanse the lymphatic system, which carries wastes out of the body. As waste and toxins are released from the body, our skin naturally starts to clear! Dandi is hormone and endocrine system balancing, mostly through supporting the liver in breaking down excess hormones (such as excess high levels of estrogen or testosterone).

Dandelion is a powerful anti-cancer and anti-tumor ally, as it strengthens the liver and lymphatic system, clearing toxins and wastes from the body that could possibly cause damage. Dandelion is immune strengthening, and helps you feel like a joyful warrior, like dandelion itself!

Parts Used ~ Leaves, roots and flower. Whole plant! Roots harvested in the fall. Spring roots are used as well. The whole plant is edible. Taste & Energetics ~ bitter, mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, neutral to cooling, cleansing, and restorative.
Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals (vitamins A, B complex, C, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, bitter principles, inulin, proteins, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), acids, sterols (plant hormones), carbohydrates, polysaccharides (adaptogenic).
Actions ~ nutritive, diuretic (increases urination), detoxifying, liver tonic, bitter stimulant to digestive juices, laxative, anti-inflammatory, urinary & kidney tonic, anti-rheumatic (reduces joint pain/inflammation for arthritis or rheumatism), alterative (cleansing and supporting elimination), cholagogue (stimulates bile production).

*** Safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. No strong drug interactions, generally safe to take in combination with western mediations. Dandelion is mildly blood thinning, which most plants are, so if you are on blood thinners consult with a Naturopath or holistic MD if you work with dandelion. Dandelion lowers blood sugar, so people on insulin should monitor their blood sugar levels to make sure blood sugar doesn’t drop too low. Since dandelion is cleansing to the blood and strengthening to your liver, consult with your doctor if you are on medications that might be cleared out faster from your body from drinking this plant. It can flush out of your system more quickly some anti-depressants, similar to burdock. Because dandelion is a diuretic, consult with your doctor if you are on diuretic medications. I have not seen this be an issue with folks in the past over 20 years of working with dandelion and many people, but listen to your body and have a Naturopath to support you if possible!

Brewing Dandelion Infusion ~

Overnight infusion method - Add 1-2 tsp dandelion root to a quart jar, steeped overnight. Decoction method to bring out more minerals - Add 1-2 tsp. of dandelion root to 1-2 quarts of water. I recommend starting with 1 tsp. in 1 quart water and working up to 2 tsp as you get used to it. Simmer 15 minutes on low, strain and then drink! Dilute with water as needed.

Fresh juice - Add 1 handful of dandelion root or leaf in a blender full of water. Blend until liquified and strain. Dilute with water as needed, and drink throughout the day. 

To make a Dandelion Vinegar or Tincture - Fill your jar full of chopped leaves, roots, and flowers packed down. Fill the whole jar with apple cider vinegar. Shake well. Cap your jar with a stainless steel lid and label with the date. Steep for 1 month. If you are using dried plant, fill 1/2 the jar with plant material, and then fill the whole jar with ACV. Strain after a month, and use spoonfuls on your food like salad dressing! To make a dandelion tincture, first wilt your chopped up fresh leaves and roots spread out on a paper bag or screen for a day. Then fill your jar with the wilted leaves and roots, and gentle pack down. Cover with 100 proof vodka, cap your jar with a stainless steel lid, and label. Steep for 2 months, then strain and take 2-3 droppers full in water as needed.

VIOLET

Viola Odorata & Viola sororia

Europe, North & South America, Asia, Africa, and Middle East

Who loves violet!? My whole land is covered in violets… and I am so grateful because they provide us with a lot of food and fresh juice! Violet has sweet, demulcent edible leaves and flowers. You can harvest violet for salads, for fresh juice (diluted with water - see my instructions a the bottom of this page), to make syrups, tinctures, or vinegars. Avoid the roots because they will make you sick…

Violet like our other nourishing herbs is very nutrient rich! Very high in protein, iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, and many other nutrients. Violet leaves are my favorite mixed with chickweed and dandelion greens for salads. They are sweet, crunchy, and slightly slimy in a good way. Some violets are high in saponins and should not be eaten in high quantities, but they would be excellent for medicine. You’ll know if your violets are too high in saponins for comfortable consumption if you chew a leaf and feel some irritation in your throat. Plants high in saponins can irritate the mucous membranes, so we use them is smaller quantities. If you’re like me you have access to the variety that is especially good for eating fresh!

Both the flowers and leaves are very mucilaginous, cooling and healing to all tissues (especially mucous membranes). It is a great anti-inflammatory vulnerary for wounded tissue, healing to the vulnerable tissue of the digestive and respiratory system. Violet juice is especially restorative to the intestinal lining, often mixed with plantain leaf or comfrey. It is especially moistening to dryness when used fresh. For some reason the dry leaf is not demulcent or mucilaginous as the fresh leaves are… It is the only plant I can think of that really needs to be used fresh.

Violet is a well known respiratory tonic, soothing and strengthening to the lungs, and healing to inflamed bronchioles. You can use violet to soothe sore throats, bronchitis, sinus infections, and coughs. The gentle nervine action eases spasms of coughs as a tea, tincture, or syrup. You can use violet to rebuild the health of the respiratory system after long term infection or exposure to toxins such as smoke and pollutants. It is excellent mixed with mullein, marshmallow root, and other plants to support lung health or cough soothing such as sage, thyme, other mints, or evergreens. Violet flowers make an incredible syrup for coughs and respiratory infections.

Violet eases grief, soothes the heart, and calms the nerves. You can try violet tea for sleep and to aid dreaming as it gently awakens the third eye. I’ve found it to be a wonderful antidepressant, quieting high emotions, and helping our heart to open to giving and receiving love. I have used violet for years in supporting those who are grieving and releasing pain in the heart or lungs. It blends wonderfully with rose and linden for soothing heartbreak. When I sit with the violets my heart instantly feels lighter, and I am drawn to curl up among the flowers and rest…

Violet is cleansing to lymphatic system, helping the body to clear wastes and toxins. You can use it to help clear swollen glands and clear infections. It will help to cool fevers and reduce inflammation. Violet has well known anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties. Many have found violet helpful for lumps, cysts, and addressing tumors either benign or cancerous. The leaf and flowers are used externally and internally for breast health. You can make a wonderful oil with violet to use for breast and lymphatic self massage. I like to blend violet with red clover and chickweed either as a tincture, vinegar, or massage oil to address cysts or other lumps.

The salicylates in violet make it helpful as an aspirin alternative for pain, headaches, and fevers if taken internally or applied externally for pain. The leaves are great used as a poultice externally for inflammation and wounds. Just chew a leaf into pulp and spit it onto your booboo. It will soothe all kinds of stings, sprains, and pains. Gentle and soothing to all of our ouchy places. Most importantly, violet helps you to feel soothed and tended to in the places that need love…

Parts Used ~ Leaves and flowers. The roots can be toxic in high doses. Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, neutral to cooling, calming, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, magnesium, alkaloids, mucilage, glycosides, salicylic acid, saponins, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), phytosterols, terpenes, and tannins.
Actions ~ nutritive, demulcent, expectorant (clears mucous from the lungs), vulnerary (tissue healing), diaphoretic (increases sweating), diuretic (increases urination), detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain relieving), alterative (cleansing and supporting elimination), emollient, antioxidant, antibacterial, antirheumatic, antispasmodic, sedative.

*** Safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If you feel any irritation in your mouth from the first couple sips, dilute with water by half - some people are more sensitive to saponins in plants. No known drug interactions.

Brewing Violet Infusion ~

Add 1-2 Tbsp of dried violet leaf in a quart jar. Cover with hot water, steep 4-8 hours. Strain and drink through the day.
My preferred use is a Fresh Juice - 1 handful of violet leaves to a blender full of water. Blend and strain, dilute with water until the taste is mild and sweet. If too concentrated your digestion will be upset due to high saponins, so dilute until it tastes mild. Drink 1 quart a day. Mixes very well with plantain leaves for fresh juices that heal mucous membranes of the digestive tract (especially intestinal lining). Anti-inflammatory and tissue healing to the lungs and whole body as well!

To make Violet Glycerite - Fill your jar full of violet flowers and chopped leaves, packed down. Fill the whole jar with a mix of 3/4 vegetable glycerine and 1/4 water. Shake well. Cap and label with the date. Steep for 1-2 months. If you are using dried plant, fill 1/2 the jar. Cover with a mix of 2/3 vegetable glycerine and 1/3 water. Shake well, cap and label. Steep for 1-2 months shaking now and then. Strain and use 3-4 droppers full in water. Heavenly!

RED CLOVER

Trifolium proteins

Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Naturalized in North & South America

Red clover flowers are so nourishing and sweet… They tell me summer is fully here when I see them flowering! The flowers make me joyful just thinking of them. Here in Vermont red clover blooms come around late June and July, flowering for a couple of months. I love eating them raw while in the garden, or adding them to salads. They are so lovely and sweet tasting. Red clover is rich in calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, and vitamin C. The flowers and leaf are both high in nutritional value, but the flowers are the sweetest part of the plant. Red clover is an alterative, supporting the body in healing through cleansing waste and restoring elimination. It’s a wonderful ally to use when gently cleansing the body of wastes and supporting detoxification along with violet, chickweed, dandelion, burdock, and nettles.

Red clover is a nourishing ally for the sacral chakra and the heart. The flowers have long been connected to fertility and love. In my early days of herbal magick red clover was one of my favorite plants to use in love spells - along with rose, jasmine, olive, and orris root. Red clover has a way of softening and gentle opening our hearts, and helping us to feel joyful and playful.

Red Clover flowers are heart healing and opening… they often make people feel lovey, a bit giddy, and sweet. It is a wonderful ally to support both sacral and heart healing if there has been trauma or sadness lingering there. Red clover strengthens the lungs and can be combined with other lung tonics to help ease grief. As a heart tonic red clover is blood thinning, lowers cholesterol, and increases circulation. It’s restorative and healing to blood vessels, clears arterial plaque, and reduces the chance of blood clots. Do not take red clover if you are on blood thinning medications, or a few days before a surgery.

The flowers are high in isoflavones, plant hormones (phytosterols) that have a mild estrogenic effect on the body. They increase fertility in everyone, and are nicely hormone balancing. The phytosterols (plant hormones) in red clover help to block xenoestrogens (man-made chemicals) from attaching onto our cells and causing DNA damage. These xenoestrogens can lead to an increase in cancer potential for the damaged cells. Red clover is strongly anti-cancer and anti-tumor, especially for reproductive cancers of the prostate, breasts, uterus or ovaries. Over 33 documented cultures around the world use red clover for cancer treatment and prevention. Drinking a quart a day of red clover blossom infusion is a great choice for prevention if cancer runs in your family!

Red clover is a wonderful reproductive tonic that helps to balance hormones and increase fertility. It is a great restorative tonic for the uterus, ovaries, testes, and prostate. Each red clover blossom is made up of many small flowers, and they look like vulvas to me. They are edible and delicious… (wink wink). The flowers can be used for all kinds of reproductive issues, including cysts, fibroids, and lumps - often combined with chickweed, raspberry leaf, or violet. Red clover also helps with menopausal hormone fluctuations, hot flashes and PMS. For people that have low estrogen, it can give you a little estrogenic boost, and for folks with high estrogen it will help lower your levels by taking up receptor sites on your estrogen responsive cells. Mineral and phytosterol rich, clover is building to bones and helps prevent osteoporosis. All around red clover is a powerhouse nourishing herb that pours the love and sweetness on us!

Parts Used ~ flowers (and leaves less often). Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, neutral to cooling, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), coumarins, phytosterols (plant hormones), isoflavones, saponins, phenolic glycosides, cyanogenic glycosides, and carbohydrates.
Actions ~ nutritive, detoxifying, phytoestrogenic, expectorant, alterative (cleansing and supporting elimination), anticancer, antitumor, antispasmodic, blood thinning, anti-inflammatory, demulcent.

*** Safe during breastfeeding. Some consider it safe during pregnancy and some do not due to the phyto-estrogen content. No strong drug interactions, generally safe to take in combination with western mediations. Red clover blood thinning, so if you are on blood thinners consult with a Naturopath or holistic MD if you work with red clover. Red clover can reduce the effects of estrogen HRT or Tamoxifen. Red clover may also increase the rate the liver breaks down Western medications and clear them too quickly from the body.

Brewing Red Clover Infusion ~

Add 1-2 handfuls of dried flowers in a quart jar (1/2 cup - 3/4 cup flowers). Cover with hot water, steep 4-8 hours. Strain and drink! Fresh flowers can be added to salads, or made into a fresh tea. To make a fresh juice of the flowers, add 1 handful flowers to a blenderful of water. Blend for a few minutes, strain, and drink!

To make Red Clover Glycerite - Fill your jar full of red clover flowers, packed down. Then fill the whole jar with a mix of 3/4 vegetable glycerine and 1/4 water. Shake well. Cap and label with the date. Steep for 1-2 months. If you are using dried flowers, fill 1/2 the jar with dried flowers packed down a bit. Cover with a mix of 2/3 vegetable glycerine and 1/3 water. Shake well, cap and label. Steep for 1-2 months shaking now and then. Strain and use 3-4 droppers full in water. If you would like to make an alcohol tincture, use 100 proof vodka in a glass bottle, instead of the glyuverin/water mix. I love glycerites for most sweet natured flowers!

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LINDEN

Tilia cordiata or T. americana

Asia, Europe, North & South America

Oh sweet Linden. Often the first plant I offer to new students. Linden brings in incredible sweetness, and helps us to want to welcome nourishment! This gentle spirit helps us feel safe when we are a bit scared, and introduces plant medicine with so much love. That’s the trick with sweet tastes, they help us to open up to receiving... Linden is one of the most enjoyable blissful plants to drink, and a great one to offer if you are not sure someone will like your herbal teas. They will enjoy Linden!

Linden is not so much a food plant, but very restorative and nourishing to the tissues and to the spirit. I add it to the nourishing herbs because the young leaves of the tree are sweet to eat or juice, and make a wonderful nourishing juice or tea. With linden we only use 1 spoonful of plant material to a quart jar (compared to the handfuls of oatstraw or nettles!) If you haven’t meditated with Linden before, you are in for a treat… meditating with Linden feels like floating in bliss to me.

Linden is deeply relaxing to the nerves and body… soothing stress, anger, irritability and tension. It is a sweet, demulcent, moistening nervine that our bodies tend to LOVE. Linden supports deeper rest and relaxation, easing muscle tension as it melts away stress. I find it is a really nice antidepressant, calming to volatile emotions, and helps ease heartbreak. Linden is a gentle antispasmodic soothing muscle tension and cramps (everywhere including the intestines and uterus). Linden is very demulcent and cooling, coating to the digestive tract, and eases stomach upset especially when connected to the nervous system or emotions. Linden is really helpful for anxiety that affects the gut, similar to lemon balm, ginger, chamomile, lemongrass, or peppermint. Linden can also help reduce stress headaches, (though not great for migraines since it’s a vasodilator), and can be a gentle remedy for nerve pain.

LINDEN MEDICINE MAKING

Linden is healing and strengthening to the heart, improving cardiovascular circulation as a vasodilator. It helps to sooth heartache and grief, often bringing a feeling of safety and love. I find linden is one of the most helpful plants for emotional pain and healing from trauma. It is a gentle but effective heart tonic, used for heart palpitations, heart pain (angina), and hardening of the arteries. I combine linden with hawthorn, rose, or motherwort for strengthening and healing the heart. Linden is also cooling and soothing to fevers, used traditionally in Europe for colds and flu. It’s a really gentle remedy for infected tissue, especially mucous membranes. It soothes inflammation of the lungs, sinuses, and throat. Cooling to heat in the body, as well as to fiery emotions.

Needing extra moistening? Steep linden overnight, and see what happens to the tea! The water gets thick with mucilage, which will be even more lubricating to joints, soothing to the digestive tract and bronchials, and hydrating to all your tissues. Helpful for hyperactivity, heartburn, and ulcers (often mixed with marshmallow or plantain). Linden is a sweet gift to give to yourself or someone you love. It feels like a huge hug when you drink it!

Parts Used ~ flowers and leaves (less leaves). Taste & Energetics ~ mineral salty & sweet, nourishing, neutral to cooling, and restorative. Phytochemistry ~ vitamins and minerals, mucilage, flavonoids (anti-inflammatory), glycosides, volatile oils, acids, carbohydrates, polysaccharides, tannins, acids.
Actions ~ nutritive, demulcent, vulnerary (tissue healing), diaphoretic (increases sweating), diuretic (increases urination), anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain relieving), emollient, antioxidant, antispasmodic, and sedative.

*** Safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Rare drug interactions, generally safe to take in combination with western mediations. Linden shouldn’t be combined in high doses with taking lithium, as it can slow your body’s ability to clear lithium from your body (leading to a high blood dose of lithium).

Brewing Linden Infusion ~

Add 1 tbsp of dried linden leaf and flower in a quart jar. Cover with hot water, steep 30 min or overnight. Strain and drink throughout the day!

To make Linden Glycerite - Fill your jar 1/2 way with dried linden. Then fill the whole jar with a mix of 2/3 vegetable glycerine and 1/3 water. Cap and label, and let sit for 1-2 months. If you are using fresh, fill the whole jar with fresh linden flowers chopped up (I like to add in some chopped leaves). Cover with a mix of 3/4 vegetable glycerine and 1/4 water. Cap and label, and steep for 1-2 months shaking now and then. Strain and use 3-4 droppers full in water like an alcohol tincture.

Other wonderful nourishing herbs ~

Alfalfa - For an overnight infusion, add 1/2 cup alfalfa leaf to a quart of hot water. Steep 6-8 hours. Digestive cleansing, increases absorption. Nutrient rich. Balancing to hormones (contains phytoestrogens). Anticancer. Anti-inflammatory soothing to arthritis. Bone building.

Plantain - Leaves used as food, juice, and tea. To make plantain juice, add 6-7 leaves to a blender 3/4 full of water. Blend on high, strain and drink! I like to add some violet leaves because plantain is very astringent and drying. Tissue restorative, used externally and internally to soothe inflammation and heal wounded tissue. Astringent, tonifying, anti-inflammatory. Incredibly healing to the mucous membranes of the digestive system especially mixed with violet or comfrey.

Thistle - Roots, leaves and stem used for tea, juice, and food (once spines are removed). To make a fresh juice ~ Add 1/2 cup fresh leaf chopped leaf to a blender 3/4 full of water. Blend on high, strain and drink! Tonic for the liver and digestive system. Nutrient rich, cleansing and moving to fluids. Plant can be blended on high with water and strained to removed spines. 

Purslane - Leaves and stems eaten in salads and juiced. Soothing demulcent, anti-inflammatory, cooling, nourishing. Healing to the skin and mucous membranes of the bronchioles and digestive system.

Other nourishing herbs / wild edible plants ~ Mallow, Amaranth, Mustards, Docks, young Lamb’s Quarter, and young Lady’s thumb. 

PLANT JUICES

While learning from Hawaiian herbalists 15 years ago, I was taught how to make fresh herbal juices. Rather than using a juicer, we blend a handful of plant material with a couple quarts of water. Plant juices are a great option to make when you have mostly fresh plant material. The nourishing herbs are the best plants for herbal juices because they have a high amount of vitamins and minerals. They are the most nourishing and cleansing for the body. Drinking a plant juice is like drinking a delicious veggie juice! Highly nourishing, cleansing to the body, and full of the life force of plants!

To juice fresh plants ~

Add 1 handful of plant material to a blender. Fill the blender 3/4 of the way full with clean water, and blend until fully liquified. Strain through a find strainer or nut milk bag. Drink 1-2 quarts a day! Make sure the juice tastes mild, if they are too strong they can upset your belly. Add water until it tastes like a flavored water. These juices are very powerful, with strong “mana” (energy, prana, chi). You will likely feel the strong life force coursing through you! Drink them slowly and make sure they are diluted enough with water, I recommend not drinking them too concentrated.

Best plants for herbal juices ~ Violet, Chickweed, Plantain (nice added to violet since it’s a bit drying), Dandelion, Nettles (blend on high for a few minutes to clear out sting), Mugwort (young leaves), Cleavers, Comfrey, Burdock root, Yarrow (young leaves), Red clover blossoms, Calendula flowers, Rose petals (organic only), Holy basil or sweet basil, Mint, Ginger, Lemon, Fruit (apple, citrus, pear etc. are great). For plants that are less food-like and stronger, just add less plant material!

Video ~ Making Herbal Juices