Before I even began studying to become an herbalist, I was carrying around tiny jars and bundles of herbs with me on my adventures around the neighborhood, to school, and almost anytime that I stepped out of the house. I tucked these herb bundles into pockets, sewed little bags into necklaces to wear them close to my heart, and flattened them between the folds of origami envelopes. I found these little bundles for years afterwards, tucked into all sorts of pockets and holding spots. During my herbal student days, I was moving all around the country and began creating different variations of h ..read more

For many herbalists practicing any form of traditional or modern western herbalism, you'll encounter the "woah, man, have you heard about mushrooms?" whether in a book, class, conference or herbal study meetup. (I mean, I’m sure there are mushroom people in all the herbal traditions, but I can only speak of my mushroom people...) I certainly encountered the seemingly endless ability for mushrooms to treat all the things in my early days of practice, especially since I was coming up during a renewed intensity around the raw vegan food movement. Are mushrooms cool? Yes! Do they cure all the thi ..read more

The bright half of the year - from late spring to long summer - seems to move at a dizzying pace when compared to the dark half of the year - fleeting autumn to deep winter - which slows and steadies as light slumbers and the cold takes hold. We need these bright times and these dark times with all of the mottled light and shadow that dances between. We need time to be speedy and swift just as much as we need time to be unhurried and languid. For me, the space between autumn and winter embodies the pause between the inbreath and outbreath more than any other time of year. Our experience of th ..read more

While I take a break as the season of Samhain arrives in the northern hemisphere, I wanted to share with you a glimpse into my other monthly newsletter, The Moonlight, that my patrons as well as the students of The Lunar Apothecary get access to. While the theme changes each year (my Lunar Apothecary folks get to choose the annual focus), it allows involves some sort of exploration of lunar-focused healing and magick. This year we've been exploring the theme of "lunar rituals and paths of magick" where I pull a ritual and recipe from my free but secret course (which you can acc ..read more

Just what is the Ascendant? Unlike our Sun signs or our Moon signs with their familiar language and symbols, the Ascendant, also known as the Rising Sign, can feel abstract. As a position on the birth chart the Ascendant is the sign of zodiac that was rising or ascending from the horizon at the time of your birth. Just like the Sun and Moon, stars rise up from the horizon, too, including the constellations of representing the twelve signs of the western zodiac. While many of us might know our Sun and Moon signs, the Ascendant isn’t as commonly known (though our current renaissance of astrolog ..read more

Our plant allies offer many gifts, alleviating the symptoms that arise from stress to inflammation to infections, but they also draw us into a deeper relationship with what it means to feel whole and well in our bodies. Cramp Bark (Viburnum opulus) is a plant that I turn to often in my practice for very grounded and everyday needs, while watching again and again it guide folks through a transformative relationship with their bodies. So, I'm very pleased to share what I've learned about the unhindered brilliance of Cramp Bark (Viburnum opulus) and it’s transformative ways. image source Cramp ..read more

After a long summer, where it seems that everything might be gold and green forever, and the winds of autumn have yet to sweep in and pull the last of summer's fruit to the earth, I think of the ways that these spaces between seasons are a good time to check in on the boundaries within and around us. While boundaries can sometimes evoke feelings of absence, pushing away, and borders, I find it more helpful to understand boundaries as an essential form of nourishment. To resist our need for boundaries is to go hungry - when we deny or ignore our own boundaries we can be left hungering for ..read more

It feels fitting that the final post in my series of might-do lists for the lunar cycle is on the Dark Moon, when the Moon pulls tight her veil of night, letting the stars illuminate the night sky as she takes respite. The Dark Moon, sometimes called the Old Moon, Black Moon or Void Moon, is the final period of lunar waning before the New Moon takes to the sky, marking a time of respite and retreat, dissolution and discernment. While the Dark Moon is one of my favorite times during the lunar cycle, I debated whether or not to write a might-do list since I try not to do much of anything except ..read more

After well over a decade of writing plant profiles, I’ve written profiles for nearly all of the herbs that I use regularly in my practice. Now I’m starting to turn to those herbs which I use less frequently, but would miss if I didn’t have access to them. A lot of these plants are ones that I was introduced to early on in my studies and are often strongly linked to a particular geographic location. I was lucky to learn (and continue to learn) from teachers throughout North America in a wide range of regional environments. These days, many of the herbs that I work with are local or have natura ..read more

I loved my days as an herbal student (though, truthfully, you don't ever stop being a student as an herbalist as you're always learning from plants and people) and I love that as part of the ever-growing and diverse community of folks teaching herbal arts, I get to interact with students everyday. Being able to support students in ways that I was supported (and wanted to be supported) and helping them figure out what sort of path they want to travel as plant folk and magickal people has been an ongoing source of joy for me. And, for as much as I loved being a student, I also struggled to feel ..read more