Learning the Language of the Earth

We are called by many names - plant-wise, wortcunner, witch, la sage femme, wise woman, medicine woman, hearth mother, healer, herbalist, and the list goes on. We know how to see and hear the wisdom of the earth and the green ones, and we wield them with power and surety to heal, protect, and bless our people. Reading the meaning and powers, or dangers, of a plant through holistic insight and intuition has been an important human skill since the earliest of times. 

The Doctrine of Signatures is a beautiful way to “remember” the heart and soul and roots of herbalism and herbcraft because it weaves the material - the physical actions that plant medicines have on our bodies and tissues, the constituents as they show up in taste - AND the intelligence and wisdom of spirit - how the plants uniquely and beautifully embody (and make visual) their specific powers and abilities. Signatures are the knowledge of the inner essence based on outer characteristics, and these ways of "knowing" nature are the basis for all traditional systems of healing and plant medicine.

Topics covered:

• The two approaches to the doctrine of signatures - intuition and skillful perception

• Various ways the doctrine of signatures can be experienced and worked with

• How to learn "the language of plants" and how to apply this to animals, landscapes, and other natural phenomena

• The intelligence of folklore and its embedded natural wisdom

• Meanings of colors, shapes, smells, environmental, astrological, and signatures of imbalance/dis-ease

We will spend time in this class in lecture and discussion, as well as a Q&A portion at the end. We will have the chance to look at a wide variety of plant pictures and images to build your familiarity with this way of seeing and knowing the natural world.