Here you will find a weaving of spirit and medicine stories; and tales of friendship with the Allies — the plants who teach us.
I will share thoughts of stepping softly on the planet that I love, along with what I have learned from and about the herbs;
and of making medicines from the earth. I will offer recipes that nourish, and strategies for healing hurts; and for reconnecting our deepest selves to the Green World that holds us. Come, visit my world beyond the Rose Gate.
♦
In a cabin amid pine trees I turned the wheel at Winter Solstice of 2017, and closed a chapter of my life. Looking to the future I renewed my dedication as an herbalist. From small beginnings as a folk herbalist and over two decades of immersion in the Wise Woman Tradition of herbal medicine, I have come to a landmark in my journey, and my training.
It is a renewed commitment to a way of being in the world that began as a child, when I first saw the shimmer of light and life around my plant friends, and knew that I, and they, were more than just flesh and blood or stem and leaf. I was fortunate to live until I was seven in a small cottage home with a magical backyard garden. There I wandered in sunlight beyond the gate that was bordered on each side by a tumbling wildness of scarlet roses, with a scent one had to smell to believe. In that garden I had my first encounters with the Old Ones, who linger always at the edge of sight in the lushest of gardens. There my Celtic mother encouraged the tales of unseen friends, brought to her with smiles on an ever-dirty face; and there I sometimes travel in my thoughts when I want to write.
At a time when our general population of citizens are the sickest they have ever been, it has long been clear that taking drug after drug to suppress symptoms, while at the same time incurring new damage to liver and other organs from those same drugs, is not much of a life. We can change. We can be healthier. It starts with the foods we eat, and the herbs that nourish healing in forgotten ways. With those we:
- Circumvent the need for many of the medicines that prop us up us in modern life — because we become healthier, and no longer need them.
- Support our bodies in healing many ailments without the use of drugs, instead finding true healing of what is at the root of our distress.
I invite you to come through the Rose Gate with me, to remember the old connections to an earth that nurtures us, and how her plants help us heal. Perhaps my words will inspire you to work with the herbal allies, learning new medicines. I will ramble at times — good journeys are like that. I invite you to wander with me, and hope you will find these pages helpful as they grow.
