What is an Herbal Medicine Circle?

“Why do some students seem to fast track everything while others have a notebook full of great remedies that they probably won’t ever use?”

From the very beginning of teaching herbal medicine 30 years ago, I had this question:

“Why do some students seem to fast track everything while others have a notebook full of great remedies that they probably won’t ever use?”

Many factors go into this equation, but there is one thing, across the board that I have seen help people the most in really bringing herbal medicine into their every day lives.

And that is the Herbal Medicine Circle.

The very first herb classes I taught in the 1980’s, I encouraged students to get together in between class and make medicine and it’s as simple as this, the ones that did, learned more and felt more confident about their herbal medicine making.

So, I started encouraging everyone to start their Herbal Medicine Circle.

There is no right way to bring your Herbal Medicine Circle together. The main thing is to just take the steps to get started. It may take a few tries until something gels, but again, getting started is the key!
How many people and how often you meet is up to you. You can begin a Medicine Circle with one other person or call together a group of 10.

Some of my students have been meeting with their Herbal Medicine Circle for more than 15 years. Some of them get together once a month while others gather once a season or a few times a year.

 

An Herbal Medicine Circle meets with the intention of studying herbalism and making herbal medicines together.

Ideas for Getting Started 

• Create a group no matter how big or small. Support can be one other person. You can start with a community of two.
• Find one friend and make one remedy together. Find that neighbor or co-worker that has asked you about your herbal tea or showed interest in your herbal studies. Do you have a niece or family member that might be open to doing an herbal project? Do you have a local garden club, a school garden or a family member or a friend that’s interested in health and wellness?
• Invite two friends over, watch a video lesson on making an herbal remedy. If you’ve purchases an online herb class, watch a segment together, or there are plenty of free herbal recipe video tutorials here on my blog. Watch the video lesson, have all of the ingredients ready and make the remedy together.
• Invite a whole group of people over that you think might be interested in making herbal medicines. Have all the ingredients ready and make a couple of herbal recipes together. At the end of the meeting, see who would like to do it again.
• Where do you want to meet? Do you want to always meet in the same location or take turns in each other’s kitchen’s?
• How often would you like to meet? Once a month, seasonally? Many Medicine Circles I know of, think of their Herbal Medicine Circle kind of like a book club, that meets once a month.
• Responsibilities for each meeting include, deciding what is going to be made, purchasing supplies and then figuring out the cost for each person to cover the supplies.
• Begin with simple recipes, like herbal salts and sprinkles found in chapter 12 in The Herbal Kitchen. Then as a group, decide on what is a good next step to take together. Make herbal oils, pesto, herbal tea blends, remedies for colds…
• At the end of each gathering, go around the circle and have each person say what they enjoyed about the gathering and make any suggestions for improvements if needed.

The benefits of your Herbal Medicine Circle

Studying herbal medicine is not a passing hobby. This is a life skill you’re cultivating. Through the process of working with thousands of mostly women, I’ve had the unique backstage experience of learning what it takes to take this from a nice, fun, peak experience to a sustainable built to last transformation that nurtures wellness throughout your life.

One thing I’ve have observed over and over is the healing feeling that happens when women make medicine together. Early on in my classes, it became obvious that there was another layer of something happening when we made herbal medicines in groups. The act of making the medicines together was healing in itself.

When you bond with someone around your herbal medicine making, the human connection-the bond – creates an emotional component that encourages an environment for deeper learning. It becomes a story that you do together, something to believe in, something to belong to and this work that you do together can have a powerful impact on the lives of people around you.

Herbal medicine is an art. Working together with others really helps activate this art on a deeper, more transformational level so that it moves from the information stage into a body of knowledge that is alive and supports you and your health for the long haul.

It’s one thing to have a tool box, but how do you actually apply it? How do you make the tweaks and adjustments that get you into using what’s in that tool box? Like I always say, theoretically, there are lots of great remedies out there, but what will people actually do and take? In other words, let’s get real.

I have students that attribute their ability to care for themselves and their families with their home herbalism skills, so what gets you to that place? What gets it all to stick?

The crazy thing is that I’ve been doing this so long this that I actually run into people all the time that have studied with me.

The conversation usually goes one of two ways, “You know, I really enjoyed that Kami, but I just don’t get to it as much as I’d like to,” or, “My Medicine Circle meets three or four times year, we make a ton of medicine together and it’s the most amazing experience. I’ve helped so many people with my herbal remedies.”

For those who’ve created their Herbal Medicine Circles, when you talk to them, you can feel it. The vitality that their Medicine Circle has added to their herbal journey is palpable. You can feel how alive their herbal medicine is.

Feeling inspired, connected, related, motivated, and part of a bigger picture. That’s what having a Medicine Circle is all about.

Here’s the thing – many people in your life will not understand the value of your home herbalism craft, but I want you to build your self-esteem and really know and understand the value of what you are learning and creating with your home herbal remedies.

I want to ask you a question. How important is it to try and reduce the use of medications whenever possible and to give daily support to the digestive process? What does it mean that you’re cultivating a craft that can possibly help to reduce your use of medication? Not all the time of course, and not in every situation, but it does help and even if it helps once, what is that worth? How much does it cost when we get sick? What is the real value of this craft?

When we look up the word “craft” in the Webster’s dictionary, it defines it as an activity involving skill or making things by hand and practical skill. Our herbal crafting is a practical skill that supports life.

As you continue down your home herbalism path, you are reawakening, or reinvigorating, or being initiated back into this craft; a very old human craft, a practical skill that has nourished life since we have been on the planet.

Creating community around your herbal learning is what helps root this craft deeper into your life.

Find someone. Create a space where you can connect and support each other in this quest. You are engaged in the noble craft of creating a home culture of reviving the art of body literacy, food literacy, and plant literacy. Studies show that women help each other more than when they’re just helping themselves. Our medicine making can be an antidote to the culture of isolation that many women experience. Find your community that can help you nurture and sustain your herbal studies.

By creating an Herbal Medicine Circle, you take learning out of the realm of will power. As in, “Okay, it’s on my list, I bought this book, I signed up for this online course and I am doing it.” Some people do it that way. Some people just burst through and just do everything themselves, but what I have seen over and over is that will power wears out and the To-Do List remains unless you create community support.

We are meant to tend and befriend. We are wired to connect. We’re not really wired to do this alone. Who can partner with you in developing this amazing home art of health care resiliency? There’s an untapped power of our social intelligence that wants to focus on the wellness of the species.

Also, when you share it with someone, it solidifies something in your psyche. This is a home craft. You can do it alone, that’s fine, but my experience shows me that the teachings go to a whole other place when you do it with other people.

You have no idea what level you’ve integrated something until you hear it coming out of your own mouth telling it to someone else. Even if you’re totally overwhelmed or busy, find someone to connect with around your interest in food, herbs, and remedies.

Now, that you’re studying herbal medicine and natural remedies, you are also in charge of making and administering all the home remedies.
Who is going to help you? Who is going to be your extended family in this endeavor? Do you want to do this one alone too?

Take a moment. Think about your strategy. Who is going to partner with you in your home herbalism? See what you can do to set up a social context for this work to thrive in your life. Create community around your home wellness studies.

We are being called upon to be leaders right now to create conditions for life to thrive. We are reclaiming our human capacity to heal with herbs and natural remedies; our craft. We are being called to be leaders in creating conditions for life to flourish.

Thank you for being here.

I would love to hear how forming your Herbal Medicine Circle goes.

Practice and enjoy your herbal crafting and inspire a home and local culture that nourishes and supports life.

Wishing you the best,

 

“For over a decade I have gathered in a small circle of women to study the power of plants. We have steadfastly followed an unspoken mission, and we have created magic. We have listened to the wisdom of our elders, the caretakers of the earth, the whispers of the green ones. We break bread together, we sing, we heal, we cry, we make medicine. Most importantly we love. Today we made gifts for our loved ones like we have for so many years. Some things are new, many are tried and true recipes that our friends and family have come to know us for. We are the Sage Sisters and if our medicine has touched you, I count you among one of my nearest and dearest.”

 

-Danielle Davidson talking about her Herbal Medicine Circle