Module 1: Introduction to Sacred Gaian Herbalism (October 2021-March 2022)
• Dates: 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/29, 12/13, 1/10, 1/24, 2/7, 2/21, 3/7, 3/21
• Class: 6-9 pm, online.
• Module 1 prerequisites: none
In this 6-month apprenticeship, be prepared to eat, sleep, and breathe herbal goodness!
Class time & Cooperative Learning Time: 3 hours a week
At-home projects & independent study: 5 hours a week
Herbal Exploration, Research, Kitchen Witching, Altarcraft, Journeying, Meditations, Art, Music, Journaling
Cohort Cauldron: the virtual space where you and your classmates keep the magic bubbling, sharing discoveries, learning together, and creating your herbal community: 2+/- hours/week = 24 hours total
Student Portal: A regularly updated google drive filled with recipes, readings, songs, poems, exercises, and frugal, luxurious, practical, and ingenious tips and insight
In-person Intern Hours: 8/month = 48 hours total. Work directly with Jessica behind-the-scenes, learning about and contributing to a working herb farm, wellness center, apothecary, and United Plant Savers botanical plant sanctuary! Building our gardens and trails is the big priority this year. Some things you might find yourself doing: watering, weeding, terracing a hillside, hauling dirt/rocks/compost/leaves, laying trails, gathering herbs, pressing tinctures, packaging products, labeling jars, help with social media and newsletters, or orienting new students, inventorying herbs, assisting with classes, cleaning, getting dirty, and cleaning up again… there’s always something to do! (Due to the pandemic, in-person intern hours can be moved forward to Spring/Summer, and at times take place digitally. For non-local students, work-stays are available in warmer weather (camp, or stay in the guest lodgings, when available).
Of use to beginners and experienced herbalists alike, it is designed to introduce students to a variety of Nature-based healing traditions, holistic self-care strategies, herbal remedies, and wellness practices from around the world and across time (including Yorùbá, Ayurveda, Shamanism, Wise Woman, Folk, and Kitchen Herbalism, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Curanderx, and multiple Native American traditions) WITHOUT appropriation or spiritual bypassing. Please note that you will not become an “expert” in any of these, nor are they all available for you to use carte-blanche. Rather, this is an opportunity to reconnect with nature, to learn and unlearn and explore the ways your own ancestors were encouraged and discouraged from doing so, to sit with discomfort and joy, and to build your own authentic relationship with plants, even if it leaves you with more questions than answers! Together, we will explore how (and how not) to incorporate these diverse modalities into our own understanding of Herbalism - safely, respectfully, and wisely.
Over the course of this class, we'll meet different herbs and get to know them in-depth through individual and group projects (including making your own oracle deck and a group materia medica!), hands-on practice (aka “Kitchen Witching!”), journeying, readings, and more. You'll gain a basic understanding of pattern recognition, body systems, and herbal energetics, which will allow you to explore how each of these common plants/mushrooms supports the body, and how different herbs and dis-eases relate to life cycles, emotions, doshas, chakras, traumas, etc.
By the end of the apprenticeship, you'll have made a whole medicine chest of Syrups, Teas, Tinctures, Oils, Salves, and Steams), cooked up nutritive foods (bone broths, taum, lacto-ferments, golden honey, etc), and come away with a greater appreciation of the rhythms, traditions, and connections of Sacred Gaian Herbalism.
Ready to join? Hooray!
Check it out below and read the Application Letter carefully. Due to the changing times, we have updated the course and contract with some changes as of 10/01/2020.
If it all sounds good, fill out this form.
We’ll get in touch with you to schedule a phone interview.
Upon acceptance into the program, you'll reserve your spot with full or partial payment, and I will send you a course list of required books and suggested tools and materials to begin your path as a Sacred Gaian Herbalist!
Tuition
I offer this program at a low cost with the goal of making this wisdom available to more people. In return, I ask participants to agree to share some of what they learn with others, (especially regarding where the plants and practices originate and which cultures are the traditional wisdom holders), to ensure the ethical knowledge of wellness spreads.
Guided Independent Study (In-person and/or Distance Learning): $700 per course (not including materials) includes up to 10 hours of direct training, support, project review, and mentorship tailored around your prior experience, needs, and learning style, with additional training available at $65/hour. In-person, digital, and/or phone sessions.
Single Apprenticeship: $600-700 (sliding scale) per course, not including books and materials.
Full Year Long Program: $200 discount, not including books and materials.
Social Justice Scholarship for Native Americans, People of Color, and Trans folk: Prospective apprentices who this applies to may apply for a 50% off scholarship. This scholarship seeks in a small but meaningful way to replace systemic injustice with the skills necessary to heal and nourish all community members.
Extra Benefits
Co-working: If you would like a quiet place to come and work on your own stuff (including homework) when I don’t have clients, you are welcome to arrange times to do so! I tend to work better with some quiet company nearby, as long as you’re self-sufficient, and we can occasionally break for a communal quick walk, some yoga, etc.
Garden/Permaculture/Carpentry Skillbuilding: Interested in getting your hands even dirtier and leaving your mark? Talk to me about helping out with infrastructure projects like making garden beds, building projects, laying trails, etc. Intrepid intermediate apprentices can request to take on a specific crop/area to cultivate, including silviculture.
My Library: you are welcome to arrange times to come and browse through my book collection. I do not lend them out, but you can curl up with them here!
Buying Books: The ones in the apothecary are always 10% off the cover price. Once or twice a year I place a large book order, and you are welcome to look through the catalog ahead of time and add to the order.
Materials: The apothecary is stocked with hundreds of freshly dried local herbs, spices, oils, beeswax, honey, bottles, jars, etc. for all your remedy-making needs! If you’re looking for something specific, feel free to call/text me and I’ll put it aside for you.
Vitamins and Supplements: Every few months I restock supplements through my distributor, Emerson Ecologics, and you are welcome to add items onto my wholesale order (typically they will be 50% off retail prices). You can see what they have in stock by signing up for a free Wellevate account, and you can also order supplements/vitamins directly that way. Wellevate is a professional program for practitioners (it is not an MLM), and I use it for my online dispensary because they ship directly to client’s homes so I don’t have to keep supplements in stock, and because they let me set a 20% discount on everything so more folks can afford their vitamins. Feel free to share the link.
Bulk Herbs: You can coordinate within the FB group to place a large order through Mountain Rose (we receive a 10% discount). I have a wholesale account with several organic (dried and fresh) herb companies and growers, and will typically place an order 1-2 times a year. Let me know if you are interested.
The New Hampshire Herbal Network’s Annual Herb and Garden Day: Volunteers work for several hours and can attend for free. Want to team up with other apprentices and have an apprentice table to vend your herbal creations? Let me know!
United Plant Savers: Blackbird’s Daughter Botanicals apprentices are eligible for a $20 membership through United Plant Savers Partners In Education Program. Simply let me know if you’re interested in the first class.