My journey into herbs and the plant world started when I was a very young child. My grandparents had a 60 acre farm with acres of woods and streams, all mine to explore to my hearts delight. I grew up in a city of just underv7,000 people which was great but not the same as the freedom I had being on the farm. I followed the deer trails for miles and sat quietly in the woods waiting for wildlife to appear. If the deer, rabbits or other creatures appeared, I watched where they foraged and when they left, went over to see what they were eating. I learned to identify different plants such as oak trees and acorns, hickory trees and nuts, berries and the farmers crops! I would pick the different leaves and press them in a book and compare them to the leaves I found in plant books.
When I grew up and had my children, I gave them over the counter medicine or a doctors prescription when they were sick because I didn’t know much about making herbal medicines. But I grew uneasy about the manufactured medicines; what are all these ingredients I can’t even pronounce and what do they do? So I started doing my own research online and bought many herbalism books. My favorite book starting out was and still is, The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal by David Hoffmann. It is excellent as a guide to the use of herbal remedies in healing. It provides explanations of the body’s systems and how to gather herbs and prepare remedies. I took this book with me out into the field and used his pictures of plants to compare to what plant I had just discovered. I was amazed and delighted to find so many healing herbs in my own yard!
One of the first herbal medicines I made and showed my children how to do was a spit poultice made from chewed plantain leaves. At the time we lived in South Carolina and fire ants are prevalent and vicious. The plantain spit poultice when applied immediately to a fire ant bite takes the sting away and blisters don’t form. Applied to insect bites, the itching disappears almost immediately. I felt empowered!
This started me on my path to making all my own organic personal care products and herbal medicines with simple ingredients and no chemicals, parabens or fillers. I harvest many of the flowers, herbs and berries along the treelines and in the fields. Some plants such as plantain, self heal, nettles, goldenrod, dandelions and violets I grow in my flower beds alongside the perennial flowers. I have several shelves filled with herbal oils and tinctures that are in various stages of being infused; some are completed and ready to use, others are in the beginning to intermediate stages of completion. All bring the amazing healing power of plants to ally with us for any number of ailments we might have.
I studied herbalism with Susun Weed, a very well-renowned herbalist. She is a tough, fierce and no bull herbalist, but the wealth of knowledge she has and what she teaches in my opinion is invaluable. I’ve learned to listen to the plants, they let you know if they are the right one for what you want. Plants have so much to teach us if we quiet our minds and listen with our hearts.
My deepest desire is to be of service; to heal people and our planet. This is why I opened my Etsy shop and started my blog in 2015, to reach as many people as possible about the benefits of organic personal care products and herbal medicine. Herbal medicine is the peoples medicine, you can have a say in your healthcare.
A simple method of being proactive in your health is to drink nourishing infusions daily. Take a 1 quart mason jar and add 1 oz of dried herb to it. Pour boiling water into the jar to the top and cover. Let sit 4-8 hours or overnight to infuse. Strain out the plant material, squeezing the liquid out and compost it. You can drink the infusion cold or hot with some honey if you like. Herbs such as linden flower, oatstraw, nettles, comfrey leaf and red clover are excellent for your health. Drinking nourishing herbal infusions regularly helps people reduce and eliminate their need to take medications including those for blood pressure, pain and insomnia and this is just a few.
Misconceptions people have about herbs
Many people think herbs are 100% safe because they are natural. This is not so. Why? Because some of the most powerful poisons in the world exist among herbal remedies. Hemlock is a good example, it looks like harmless wild parsley. As you can see in the pictures below, these two plants look almost identical but hemlock will kill you.
Herbal remedies are safe if taken correctly. Herbs contain active compounds which react on the body like a drug. All drugs can potentially cause allergic reactions, side effects, fatal injuries and interactions with other herbs and drugs. Herbs are natural, but they are also powerful. Many people think they are mild which can not be further from the truth.
Another misconception I’ve heard is that herbs don’t interact with drugs. Some herbs can compromise the effects of drugs, making the drugs less effective. Self medicating with herbs while taking drugs is never a good mix.
Herbs work slowly, deeper and on the entire body. It takes time for the herbs to work their magic. People tend to think herbs are weak because they don’t see immediate results. Give the herbs time to work, it can take several months before results are noticed.
Different Healing Modalities
I use several different healing methods depending on what is needed for the person. In addition to herbs, I also use reiki and crystals. For me, this is intuitive in nature, sometimes all is needed is one modality other times it is a combination.
Reiki
Reiki does not come from me. I am the hollow bone in which reiki flows through me to the person needing healing. It is energy healing that comes from the Universe and knows exactly where to go to assist in healing the person. This can only occur if the person is accepting of reiki. If not, the the energy will not flow through me to the person. It does not matter if they believe in it, they just have to accept that it can heal.
An example of this is with my sister-in-law. She wanted to experience reiki but didn’t know anything about it. But she was willing to try it. I knew nothing of what kind of pain she had or where it was in her body. I placed my hands on her back and immediately my hands were drawn to her left shoulder area. My hands were vibrating with energy and warmth. As I moved my hands around her back I kept coming back to her shoulder where the energy was the strongest. When the energy was done, she said she didn’t feel any thing so she thought it didn’t work. But when she woke up the next day, the pain in her shoulder was gone! She was amazed as the pain medication from her doctor wasn’t really helping her. She said that was the best nights sleep she had in months!
Crystals
Crystals harness the life giving elements of the Earth and the Universe. The stones utilize the energy of the Sun, the Moon and the oceans. Semi-precious stones connect us to Earth as soon as we come into contact with them.
Many people wonder if crystals have healing powers. They do have healing abilities that at times I feel are different for each person. You have to open your heart and mind to the stones and receive their messages.
One of the easiest ways to begin working with stones is manifesting your intentions and what you want to create in your life. Crystals have powerful vibrations which connect with you when you where them or place them close to you.
I pass the crystal through sage smoke to cleanse them then hold it in my hand and state my intention for it. The crystals hone in on your vibrational energy and amplify your positive vibes.
Misconceptions
Some misconceptions about crystals are you shouldn’t buy crystals, they must be given as gifts. This is totally false crystals don’t care about that!
Crystals should be cleansed in water or salt water. Doing this can seriously damage crystals, water is not a smart choice for cleansing even though some stones aren’t harmed. Why take that chance? Passing them through sage smoke is one of the safest methods.
Crystals don’t attract anything. I’ve heard this from people who are skeptical. Crystals heighten the intentions you set for your life. They help you manifest your deepest desires and unlock your deepest fears. You attract the energy you put out and crystals expand your manifestation powers.
My experience as an herbalist, reiki practitioner and crystal healer has been very fulfilling and humbling. I feel honored to be of service to people, to help in any way I can. The more I help people, the more I learn, it is a never ending learning process much like a spiral. I think more people are awakening, there’s an energetic shift toward 5D from 3D. A part of this awakening is being more aware of the different forms of healing and being open to them.