Plant Spirit Healing

You can see many titles by Stephen Buhner in my Carousel of books on sale at Amazon. If you have never read him, I highly suggest you do. Since I have been focused on herbal medicine in the past 15 years or so, my ideas and attitudes have been radically affected by Buhner. Now, when people ask me if I am a healer, I have to say "No". My role is more like a witness, a conduit, the mediator between the 'patient' and the plant kingdom.

It was at a Bioneers conference several years ago that someone said that plants have an intelligence far greater than we can imagine. This idea blew my mind. Then at a basic plant science class in Santa Rosa Junior College a few years ago, the teacher explained photosynthesis and I got it on a whole different level. I realized I had 'learned' this in the second grade, but somehow the magic of it had evaded me. Imagine, these 'little green men' chloroplasts, in the plant cell, can take sunlight and turn it into food! Talk about advanced spiritual adepts. This food, made from sunlight, makes all other forms of life on this planet possible.

Now I am learning that plants can manipulate their chemistry as needed to create their own anti-biotics and pain killers. Traditional healers have been saying this for years. You ask the plant to heal a particular illness and it modifies itself for the patient. Huh? Now science is proving this to be possible. I got an email from a friend today related to this. Check it out at Livescience.com Plants Make Own Painkillers

My role in this process became clearer to me when I started the flower essence training with Jane Bell last January. More and more I realized that 'I' did not choose flower essences for my clients. The plants chose. I merely went through the motions - the ritual, if you will, of asking for the connection to be made. I had already had this experience when working with essential oils. I would sometimes smell the essential oil that was appropriate for a condition. Then, not trusting my intuition, I would look in the book. Perfect choice!

I find it awkward to say this when I am at a fair selling my products. Most of my formulas come to me by inspiration. I feel something, smell something, get words. I have to hurry and write it down. Sometimes I actually hear a voice telling me to make such and such an item. I ask what it is for and may or may not get an answer. Two of the items for sale in my Etsy store were 'downloaded' in this way. The Solar Salve and the 7 Rose Heart Chakra Rub. Sometimes I get part of the formula and when I ask if it is finished, they say "not yet. Wait for further instructions." When a customer asks what the products are for, I sometimes find it hard to communicate an answer. I know that the 'heart chakra rubs' are to increase 'rose resonance' which is the expression given to me - that means increasing our coherence with the heartbeat of creation. Changing our frequency so that it is more in sync with Nature. Read Buhner to get a handle on what this means. The Solar Salve, first in a trilogy which will include a Lunar Salve and a Stellar Salve, have not been fully communicated yet. They have to do with the three mystery schools of ancient Egypt.

Some people refer to this type of herbalism as plant spirit healing. It is a form of communication I guess. I have a master's degree in Linguistics. I have studied many languages. I had no idea that I would be learning the language of plants, or that there was a language. Interestingly, as I learn more about communication with plants, I find simultaneously that my ability to communicate with animals is increasing too.

So does that mean you can use any herb, flower essence or essential oil? Well...... sort of, but not exactly. A very important part of the process is intention. The intention must be clear. What are you trying to accomplish. Also, there must be an attitude of humility - surrender - acceptance, all words that most of us in the west do not like. What I mean is that to some extent, we must accept both the wisdom of the 'illness' and that we may not know what healing looks like. That there is a power greater than us at work in all this. Amen

Making Your Own

Wanted you to see the tincture and infused oil I made from the St. John's wort I harvested a month ago.

Infused oil - small jar on the right



I put the dried plant material in a jar then fill with olive oil. I put it outside under the sun, moon and stars for one month - from full moon to full moon. Look at the bright red color. I will press then filter out the plant material. I use this in healing salves such as Sea Witch Salve for sale in my Etsy Store and the Solar Salve available from my website. I also use it in a Liniment where it assists with minor pain relief.

Tincture - large jar on the left

I fill the jar with fresh plant material then fill with 95% alcohol from Marian Farms in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This alcohol is made from organic, biodynamcially grown grapes. I place the jar in a dark place for one month. I press it with the tincture press I got from Horizon Herbs in Oregon. This tincture is used as an anti-depressant, for lower back pain, as an anti-inflammatory and for sciatica.



Making Plant Medicine, by Richo Cech is a very useful, reader-friendly book telling you different ways to make tinctures, infused oils, salves and many other herbal products.

June is St. John's Wort Time

St. John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum is in bloom now. The ideal time to harvest it is Summer Solstice or St. John's Day (June 24) The birth date of Saint John the Baptist. Although it is considered a "noxious weed" and therefore cannot be legally grown in California, it grows wild all over the place and so you can find it along the road.

You can make either an infused oil or a tincture with St. John's Wort.

Infused oil: Fresh flowering and budding tops only. Combine 1 part by weight of the fresh herb: 3 parts by volume of olive oil. The dried herb does not extract in oil. The fresh herb should be thoroughly bruised or mashed prior to combining with the oil.

Solar maceration of oil extract improves extraction of certain constituents, although maceration in the dark is also effective. The maceration must continue for 2 full weeks.

The oil is a useful external application for bruises, sprains, swellings, varicose ulcers, hemorrhoids, and old burns. The oil may be further processed into salves or creams which retain the same effect. The oil can also be used internally as a treatment for indigestion and /or gastric ulcer. The dosage is 1 tsp. taken 2 to 3 times daily.

Not to be taken concurrently with pharmaceutical drugs. Do not exceed recommended dosage. Overdose of the herb can cause photosensitivity, generally characterized by an increased optical sensitivity to sunlight and an increased tendency for the sunburn. People with light skin should keep treated areas covered due to increased risk of burning or blistering.

Use care when harvesting or processing. Best to wear gloves since hypericins are readily absorbed to the skin. Avoid rubbing the eyes or wiping the brow.

Tincture: You can make a tinture of fresh or dried flowering tops. With fresh the ratio of plant to alcohol is 1:2 (100% Alcohol), with dried 1:5 (75% Alcohol to 25% Water). You can leave it in the sun, but be careful since alcohol is flammable.

St. John's Wort has a nervine effect and can help in restoring damaged nerve tissues, deadening nerve pain and strengthening the urinary organs. It can be useful in treating athletic injuries with nerve damage and/or pulled muscles or ligaments.

"Hypericum" translates as "over an apparition" and has been used as an anti-depressant.

Taken from: Making Plant Medicine, by Richo Cech

David Hoffmann in Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine, writes that an oil made from St.John's Wort can be used for rheumatic pain, neuralgic or sciatic pains, or applied to minor burns. It is a valuable healing and anti-inflammatory remedy. In a lotion or salve it assists in the healing of wound and bruises, and varicose veins.

Taken internally, it has sedative and pain-relieving effects and has been used to treat neuralgia, anxiety, and tension. It can be useful during menopause when one is especially irritable or suffers from anxiety. (Note from Hamida - If you are suffering from on-going depression or emotional disturbance, seek help from someone you trust - don't keep self-medicating, even if it is with herbs).

Hamida says: I have used St. John's Wort tincture personally to relieve lower back pain caused by over-exertion. I also use it when I need to relax a little and calm down. The effects are subtle, but I feel more grounded. I use it in my Solar Salve. See my website www.wisewomenofthewest.com

A friend has had success in treating sciatica by taking St. John's Wort tincture.

And now it's time for me to go gather some and make some infused oil and tincture.
Happy Medicine Making!

The following is from Michael Moore's website:
Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

More pictures:

St. John's Wort

SJW up close

SJW thick growth