UPCOMING EVENTS
Buds & Blossoms Clinical Herbalism
Last Day to Register!
Community Medicine Making Circles
with Jen Halima
Next one: August 23rd
The Elders & Herbal Syrup
As the flowers begin to berry, we’ll touch on so much wisdom in simple and yummy ways to strengthen and protect our immune systems as the summer begin to wane and the flowers are turning to fruit. You’ll take home a bottle of elderberry & rosehip syrup made with local honey for immune support and try out some other herbal syrup recipes in class.
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Solid Perfume-Making
with Lakeja Baylor
Saturday, September 6th, 4-5 pm
In this workshop you will be learning how to make your our own solid perfumes. Combining beeswax, botanically infused oils, and essential oils you will make & take home 2 differently scented solid perfumes.
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Cacao Ceremony
with Angela Bates
10:30 am – 1:30 pm
Step into a sacred place of magic and connection for a special cacao ceremony featuring Keith’s Cacao. You will experience a heart-opening journey guided by ritual, intention, and he healing spirit of cacao. The ceremony will include gentle clearing practices, storytelling about the cacao being served, a sound meditation, and, of course, drinking the world’s finest ceremonial-grade cacao, all while allowing the energy of this beautiful medicine to awaken you to move love, more fun, and support you in getting out of your own way. Come as you are, leave transformed.
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Sunday Morning Tea Ceremonies
with Silvy Franco
Join Silvy for a meditative ceremony to commune with Camelia sinensis. Come for quiet reflection as you sip on several cups of tea following Japanese tradition. Ceremony begins at 9:30 am and goes for an hour. Pre-registration is required.
Suggested Donation: $25
Chickweed
/in Herb of the Month /by Ashley Davis(Stellaria media)
Ahhh, Chickweed. It’s such a refreshing sight this time of year. Its clumping, succulent carpets of bright green scream fresh new life after winter. It might be my favorite wild edible plant, partly because of its abundant accessibility, and partly because my body is so excited for a bite of fresh wild green nourishment this time of year. You can experience the full vitality of eating fresh greens by getting on your hands and knees, and taking a bite directly from the earth as if you were a rabbit:) It’s such a different sensation than eating even the freshest greens from the grocery store or farmers market. And this is what I unabashedly do when I first encounter this plant each year. I bow down and give thanks for this delicious & welcome gift.
Tastes/Energetics: cooling & moistening
Parts Used: aerial parts
Actions: nutritive, antiscorbutic, anti-pyretic, demulcent, emollient, vulnerary, pectoral, diuretic
Uses: Chickweed is primarily used either internally as a nutritive herb with cooling and detoxifying properties, or externally as a soothing remedy for cuts, itching, or irritation. Chickweed contains saponins, soap-like plant chemicals that emulsify and increase permeability of cellular membranes, thus, increasing the absorption of nutrients, promoting the excretion of metabolic waste, dissolving phlegm, neutralizing toxins, and even weakening bacterial cell walls, rendering them more vulnerable. Chickweed also has a reputation for dissolving cysts, especially ovarian cysts, and some wise country women say it helps with weight loss (soap dissolves fat). Chickweed is very soothing to the bladder & kidneys and is used as a cooling diuretic for cystitis.
Indications: signs of heat (fever, infection, coughs with yellow, concentrated mucus, inflammations, any condition ending with “itis”), chronic UTIs, internal or external wounds (to draw out splinters or infection, reduce swelling & inflammation), rashes (including chickenpox, measels, diaper rash, bug bites, or poison ivy), pink eye (as a wash), internally to support weight loss or dissolution of cysts.
Preparations: Internally as a tea, tincture, or fresh plant. Externally as a poultice, salve, or wash.
Cautions: None cited in literature.
2 cups chickweed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
I TBSP lemon juice
optional:
3-4 oz hard cheese
3-4 oz nuts or seedsPlace chickweed, nuts & garlic in a food processor and blend until finely minced. Add the cheese, oil & lemon juice and process until blended. Transfer to a small bowl or tupperware & store in the refrigerator.Identification: Chickweed is out now, thanks to the warm weather & rain. You can often even find it growing under the snow. If you wish to harvest, remember to find a place away from the roadside & chemical sprays, and to harvest no more than 1/3 of what you find. I highly recommend that you get a field guide to help you with identification. It can be difficult early in the season, before the plant is in bloom. Here are some hints:The leaves of chickweed are small, ovate, oppositely arranged, and a little fuzzy. The leaves and stems have an almost succulent quality. This becomes more apparent as the plant matures. The stems are a little hairy, and if you look closely at the nodes, you’ll notice that these hairs change direction around each node. The flowers are also tiny and white in color. They appear to have 10 petals, when in reality they are 5 petals, each one deeply cut into 2 lobes. Happy Hunting!