• And the Plants Will Set You Free

    Through knowing and using the plants that grow around us—the ones in our backyard, the weeds that resist all efforts to control them, the abundance and diversity of the species in the Cascadian forests—we are more whole, secure and free. What’s right under our feet are, by their very nature, agents of freedom. [Read full post]

  • Design Thinking for the Creative Herbalist

    As herbalists, we are naturally using design processes all the time. Working in the plant and human world for the purpose of healing we are constantly dealing in very complex worlds. I want to push you to go past what you know is comfortable and reimagine your practice so you are doing the wildest, most liberating brilliant work that you can. [Read full post]

  • Aesthetic & Beauty in Practice

    It’s touching the dirt, digging roots, preparing and sipping beautiful garden tea blends, smelling the flowers, having my apothecary full of jars containing gorgeous, whole-leaf herbs. Microwaving a wack bag of herb tea is a completely different game. Authentic botanical practice is a lifestyle that honors the sanctity of life and the ecological patterns around us. It’s how we connect to the larger planetary system. [Read full post]

Category Archives: Materia Medica

(Materia Medica) Pseudotsuga menziesii: Douglas Fir

By Renée A.D. | Published: February 4, 2013

“Trees were our first teachers,” Bruce Miller used to say. Bruce (Subiyay) was a Skokomish elder, teacher & leader who was a driving force behind the Salish cultural renaissance of the last few decades. I learned about him just a few months after my arrival at the Evergreen State College. Though he had already passed, [...]

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(Materia medica) Ganoderma lucidum: Mushroom of Divinity, the Spiritual Heart & Host Defense

By Renée A.D. | Published: November 25, 2012
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As plants die back and the rains return in Autumn, the fungi take the stage. The flowers have faded, and the leaves have curled under, its chlorophyllic contents retracting as the plants draw their vitality back underground. In this season of separation, purification, and decomposition, the fungi rule. The return of the Autumn rains awaken [...]

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(Materia Medica) Rosmarinus off: Exalted Herb of Memory, Clarity & Majesty

By Renée A.D. | Published: October 13, 2012

The rains returned this weekend. We’ve had a clear, crisp, exlated & majestic late summer and autumn–maple leaves waning in chlorophyll, leaving the anthocynanins to dazzle our retinas will their brilliant hues of red, orange, and gold. But the cool rains have tapped us on the shoulder every now and then, as if sending a [...]

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Materia Medica: Matricaria chamomilla

By Renée A.D. | Published: September 1, 2010

Common names: Chamomille Energetics; Taste: Warming, drying; Sweet, slightly bitter. Actions: Antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory. This incredible healer and soother has its origins in central Europe and Western Asia, and has found a home in may gardens here on Turtle Island. It has a rich history of both magical and medicinal uses. My patch of chamomile yielded [...]

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Materia Medica: Avena sativa

By Renée A.D. | Published: July 19, 2010

Common name: Milky Oats, Wild Oats, Catgrass Energetics: Neutral to Warm, Moist Actions: Nervine tonic, diuretic, emollient, nutritive Oats are soothing, nutritive, and one of my very favorite tonic plants. I’ll freely admit that I’m prone to being a stress case. Those that know me won’t argue that my tendency is to be fast-paced and generally [...]

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