Guiding Beliefs
Herbalism is for Everyone.
My favorite herbal fact is that every single culture on this planet has had or currently has a herbal practice. In our modern world where everything is polarizing and we are more split than ever before, this is a great unifying act that can bring together. There are so many beautiful herbal practices in every culture and I love to see them in our modern world.
Reciprocal relationships are important.
If there is one thing you will hear me preach about over and over, it’s this. Much of today’s view of nature is extractive. “What can this plant do for me?”. But what’s missing is the relationship element. Plants are living beings, as science progresses we even have information about how plants are more animate than we thought. They communicate with one another and with other living beings, lend their nutrients to help a neighboring plant, spread the word of danger, ans create vast networks and communities just like we do. So why do we “use” plants when we should be working with them? This mindset shift can grow your herbal practice exponentially, let alone your connection to the nature world.
Herbalism is a political act.
I may not speak about politics often but herbalism is inherently political. Plant medicine was once the only medicine and deeply ingrained into every society. Through modern expansion and honestly greed, it was stamped down, marketed as witchcraft and snake oil practices along with many other practices like frequency medicine, osteopathy, chiropractics, and homeopathy (look up the Flexner Report). This changed healthcare to no longer be about preventative care and shifted to disease and sick care. While modern medicine is wonderful in extreme issues, it is sorely lacking preventive and small imbalance based support. It is not profitable for the modern medical system to get herbs from your neighbor or to seek guidance from a traditional wise person whose craft has been passed down through generations. Herbalism is an act of resistance.
Every home needs an herbalist.
This is something said in the community often and I completely agree. As I said before, we lack wellness support and a deeper understanding of holistic wellness. More and more studies are coming out about how most of our diseases and issues come from stress and gut health imbalances. If we could support our bodies in wellness instead of treating when sick we could make a big impact. Small acts like a daily tea, adding herbal salts to food, incorporating wild foods, and creating a relaxing nighttime routine are all basic things we can do for our health, and those start in the home.
You don’t need to know everything to call yourself a Herbalist.
Many people will say they aren’t a herbalist but then I find out they work with herbal medicine. If you work with plants, you are an herbalist. You don’t have to know everything to use that title. The running joke in herbalism is there is forever homework. You will never know anything, and that shouldn’t be your goal. Just like with any skill, it is better to know a few things very well than to know a little about everything. Pick a specific topic and dive deep. You don’t need to stress and worry about what you don’t know, focus on what you do, and own that title!
