At the crossroads of Creativity, Nature and Spirituality is Transformation.

herbs

First Aid with Wild Herbs, Part 5 (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

by Joanna on April 15, 2011 · 0 comments

in Healing, Herbs, Living Green, Wheel of the Year

The Gardener from the Gaian Tarot

Treating Toothaches & Other Topical Pain, Irritated Skin, Insect Infestation, Stings, Insomnia, Stress, Melancholy and Low Energy

Guest post by Chris Chisholm

This is the fifth in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College).

In my last article, I described how to understand the classification of plants, the difference between the “monocot” and “dicot” classes of the flowering plant division, and some details about monocots. In this, my final article in the series, I will conclude with how to identify flowering plant families, before giving away the last secrets from my wilderness first aid apothecary.

Dicots

It’s important to point out that many plants, including trees, that don’t seem to “flower” are, in fact, flowering plants in the dicot class, right along with the many garden and wild flowers we commonly think of. Also, you need to know that North American plants in the dicot class are divided into sub-classes including aster, rose, mallow, pink, witch hazel, and magnolia. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

First Aid with Wild Herbs, Part 3 (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

by Joanna on March 17, 2011 · 0 comments

in Healing, Herbs, Nature, Wheel of the Year

Treating Anemia, Diarrhea, Bleeding, Allergies, Asthma, Toxins, Bacteria & Viruses

Guest post by Chris Chisholm

This is the third in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College).

The author depicted as model for Explorer of Air in the Gaian Tarot, climbing a willow tree whose leaves and bark contain aspirin.

As I mention in the first two parts of of this series, it’s important to learn plants of a “niche” you choose, such as medicinal herbs growing wild in your yard, or like my niche which is wild plants that can help me in wilderness first aid situations. The key to identifying plants in your niche is to recognize their “family characteristics,” and the best book to learn by is Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel.

Not only is Botany in a Day a great guide to plants, but it includes wonderful information on herbal medicine, with a description of uses for each plant, and a special section on the medicinal properties of plants which every herbalist should know: starches; saccharides like inulin, mucilage, pectin and gums; glycosides like phenols, flavonoids, coumarins and saponin; various acids, acrids, and alkaloids, plus latex, gelatin, resins, bitters, and essential (volatile) oils.

As a home herbalist, you will need to know those properties, but I suggest backing up and learning to understand plant taxonomy. As you may know, all living things are categorized into a huge family tree called taxometric classification. The main classifications are a series of “kingdoms” including bacteria, animals, and plants, among others. All the kingdoms are divided into “divisions” or “phyla” depending on which taxonomist you talk to. The divisions of the plant kingdom include classifications like mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants, among others. For the purpose of this article, let’s just focus on conifers and flowering plants.

Start with Conifers

Yew trees are poisonous, although this Pacific Yew is better known as a medicine to fight cancer.

[click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

First Aid with Wild Herbs, Part 2 (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

by Joanna on March 10, 2011 · 0 comments

in Herbs, Living Green, Nature, Wheel of the Year

Gaian Tarot Teacher. Can you identify two plants depicted that the author discusses in this article?

Treating Trauma, Cuts, Headache, Pains, Colds and Other Infections

Guest post by Chris Chisholm

This is the second in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College).

As I mention in Part I of this series, the “fourth tenet of herbal medicine” is to learn the plants in your area, and to test them to see what works for you as an individual. It can be overwhelming to think about learning all the plants in your area, so do what I did: create your own “niche” to study. I chose to focus only on plants that were native or widely naturalized in my region, and more specifically, plant medicines that would be important for wilderness first aid.

Another idea for creating your own niche would be to focus on plants that grow wild in your neighborhood. For instance, one of the ten herbs Susun Weed chooses in her book Healing Wise is dandelion. Susan says that a “wise woman” only needs a repertoire of ten potent herbs in her cupboard. Dandelion is certainly one of those potent herbs, and no doubt it grows in your lawn. Perhaps you can limit your studies simply to plants growing in your yard.

[click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

First Aid with Wild Herbs (Celebrating Plants in the Springtime)

by Joanna on March 1, 2011 · 2 comments

in Herbs, Living Green, Nature

Guest post by Chris Chisholm

This is the first in a series of five articles that Celebrate Plants in the Springtime, written by my good friend and naturalist Chris Chisholm (founder of Wolf Camp and Wolf College).

Gaian Tarot Seeker, with Mt Baker (Komo Kulshan) in the distance

I was hurriedly descending the lowest slopes of Mt. Baker, the northernmost volcano in the continental U.S., through a giant old-growth forest, trying to reach the road before nightfall. My ride was waiting there, and I could see my friend in her car, just below me through a break in the trees. The trail continued at a gradual angle 1/4 mile sideways before switching-back to the parking area.

I was young, so even though going off-trail would create erosion, my young mind thought that cutting downslope was an acceptable choice since someone was waiting for me. Wrong. In the dim light, I scrambled over fallen trees and jumped down steep inclines, not taking care to avoid damage to the forest, nor to myself.

Instant Karma hit as I crossed over a little stream. My momentum was fast forward, but my leg fell into some kind of hole which had a broken root that caught my thigh. Direct hit, causing the worst charlie-horse I’d ever received, and that’s from a kid who grew up with 6 siblings, always playing outdoors. It took me a while to catch my breath, and about 10 minutes to move the remaining 100 feet down to my ride.

[click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

The Five Green Allies Spread (from the Teacher card)

by Joanna on July 1, 2010 · 1 comment

in Living Green, Nature

What We Might Learn from Plants and the Five Green Allies Spread

by guest Carolyn Cushing

First published in Carolyn's blog, Art of Change Tarot, 5/12/10. Used with permission.

(Joanna's note: I love Carolyn's work and was particularly taken with the spread she created based on the herbal allies in the Gaian Teacher (Hierophant) card. So I wanted to share it with you. Carolyn will be the guest teacher on the July 7th teleseminar in the Gaian Tarot Circle.)

I wondered while gazing upon the Gaian Teacher about what questions the plants pictured might ask us if we could understand their language. I looked at Joanna’s companion book and my own herb books to see their properties as well as drew to mind my experience with these plants. I felt that each plant offered questions to aid us in healing as well as developing self-knowledge and mindfulness.

Dandelion: We modern humans with lawns are always trying to uproot this plant that has wonderful nourishing qualities and bright sunny flowers. Despite knowing this, I uprooted a few the other day because they had wandered into my Hosta area! So what wisdom does the dandelion have for us and what questions might it ask:

Self-Knowledge: What part of me is tenacious and steadfast no matter what confronts me? What am I trying to remove from my life that might actually be helpful to me?
Mindfulness: Where is there simple happiness in my life that I need to pay more attention to?
Healing: How can I nourish myself after challenging times? How can I keep hope alive within my soul?

Garlic: I love the tangy strength of garlic and feel a surge of good health after a meal cooked with its pungent cloves. Joanna points out that the many layers of the garlic can be seen as a metaphor for the unfolding cosmos.

Self-Knowledge: What can help me to put my current life challenges into larger perspective? What stinks in my life right now, but might be making me stronger for the long haul? What is at the hidden center of myself that can give me strength to face the challenges of life?
Mindfulness: What area of my life needs strong and focused attention right now?
Healing: how can I build up the strength to take on the next challenge of my emotional (or spiritual, or physical, etc) healing?

[click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }