9.30.2015

Herbalism Learning Models


Ways of Learning about Herbalism
(From Paul Bergner)

NORTH= tradition
EAST= science
SOUTH= personal experience
WEST= intuition

Understanding Herbalism
1. Plants
              - botany
              - how/ when/ what part to harvest
              - medicine making
              - materia medica
2. People
              - constitution
              - condition
                            - roots---> branches/ symptoms
                            - internal causes (constitution); external causes
3. Matching Plants and People
              - clinical skills
                            - external (communication)
                            - internal (distillation; differential diagnosis)
              - The Medicine
                            - protocol
                                          - formulation
                                          - dosage
                                          - working with the person; patient compliance
(Note: different traditions/ approaches to all of the above!)

Plants/ People/ Dis-ease Differentiation
- Quality (energetic)
- Appropriation (location in the body)
- Property (action)

Doshas (from Ayurvedic constitutional analysis)
Vata (air and fire)
Pitta (fire)
Kapha (earth and water)

Treatment strategies
“Law of Similars” (ie. Alchemical medicine, homeopathy)
Vs.
“Law of Contraries” (ie. Galenic, Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda)

Plants’ Profile
(What to note, when creating your own materia medica)

- Taste (sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, salty)
- Tissue state (hot/ cold, moist/ dry, tense/ lax)
- Indications/ body systems/ medicinal use
- Preparations/ dosage
- Cautions/ contraindications
Botanical:
- Name(s): scientific name (genus, species, family), common name(s), species list
- Appearance
- Habitat
- How to collect
- Ecologic status
- Primary constituents
- Preparations
- Medicinal use
- Cultivation

References
The Earthwise Herbal, by Matthew Wood
Michael Moore

9.24.2015

Autumn 2015 Botanical Medicine classes

Jiling’s                                             
Botanical Medicine
                            Classes

Learn to use the natural medicine chest surrounding you: plant identification, medicine making, edible and medicinal properties and usage, and so much more!

Class info

WHEN: Sundays 6:30-8:30 PM, 9/27 - 11/22 (Level 2 classes)
           Wednesday 6:30-8:30 PM, 10/14 - 11/25 (Level 1 classes)

WHERE: Out on a Whim Farm
           (312 Litchfield Turnpike Bethany, CT)

COST: sliding scale $30 - $50 per class (pay as you can)
           (Includes tea, samples, projects. Inquire for trades. All welcome.)

REGISTER: call 607-262-0302, or email Jiling at LinJiling@gmail.com

(visit www.LinJiling.blogspot.com or “Jiling Botanicals” on FB for more info)

~

Weekly schedule
(Schedule may change. Please RSVP for an updated schedule)

“Level 2” Herbal Body Systems and Plant Walk classes:
Plant walks every other week: 10/4, 10/18, 11/1, 11/15, 11/22
Lectures every other week:
9/27- herbal energetics
10/11- nervous system herbs
10/25- digestive system herbs
11/8- respiratory system herbs
11/22- herbal first aid

“Level 1” Medicine-Making classes:
10/14- Welcome to Herbalism
10/21- Gathering, Processing, and Storing Plants
10/28- Creating Tea
11/4- Oil Infusions and Salves
11/11- Making Tinctures
11/18- Sweet Medicine
11/25- Incense, Dreaming Herbs, and Flower Essences 

9.01.2015

Love, Hate


What do you love? What do you hate? How do these preferences, and the choices that arise from them, shape your life?