In this age of information, words have taken over the experience of learning and discovering a garden. It is increasingly obvious there is a disconnect. There is a longing, though! Most people know something is “off”.
There is a first step…and a step most do not take. You can “know” all the “information” on a plant but, that sometimes is a hindrance to experiencing it. Take that knowledge and neatly put it away, tuck it under yourself and, quite frankly, forget it. This actually works when you want to meet Nature and Natural.
Many who love herbs and herbal medicines discover a deep connection to the plants. It is not chemistry or biology or plantology. It is not a component of chemistry or a part of a plant that causes and contains the magic. There is a deep, prayerful and connective relationship. The Spirit of the plant is the essence.
For those who love gardening, who gather plants in the wild and walk with them home to their kitchens…for those who learn to identify the local weeds plant communication eventually happens. For some, it comes as a surprise and others feel strangely uncomfortable in this imagination space. But, plants only wish to help and offer a lot more than a chemical they have produced. They do find a way to talk to us and will keep trying until we eventually hear them.
There are some really wonderful teachers today who are teaching plant spirit medicine, how to connect with that plant spirit. Many courses give you the “details” of each plants and we are blessed with some amazing websites to gather the information. For me, though, the woods, fields and water ways are the place to learn. The reading is a symbiotic experience with all our senses. I ask and invite guests to the Magical Forest to sit with a plant and just listen. Do nothing other than observe. When you develop a relationship with a plant a kind of sacred plant medicine happens without making or taking any medicine. It happens Just by working with them, they begin to speak to you and you begin to hear them. Whatever they share it is ALWAYS powerful.
It happens when you garden. You know, when people go into the garden, they transform. That’s why so many people love to garden. A magic exists in the most mundane act of weeding. We go into the gardens and begin to feel things and be different, and in a way that’s plant spirit medicine at its finest. I, myself, I am addicted to this connection although I often have a hard time getting out of my head. The plants are teaching me with enormous patience.
And, when you gather a plant to make a suave or oil or tincture or tea, it becomes magical kitchen medicine. You can not get this out of a pill (natural or otherwise). This is special!
Most people do not realize that they are able and capable of making and creating their own medicines. And, they often hold back and wonder if the natural supplement would be better. I say the medicine WE create is the most powerful. It contains the sacredness that ONLY can happen through relationship. And, relationship only happens when you give and share intention and attention. Our ancestors did it this way and it worked. And, its so potent. And people always get it. They never not get it. It’s so amazing to see. However, until they experience it, they seem to hesitate.
That’s why I do what I do and I have not gotten bored yet. I have been into herbs for over 25 years and gathered much “knowledge”. Yet, when I am in the gardens, I know the Sacred Medicine of meeting, greeting and being with plant is the most powerful medic ine ever. And, when I see it transforming people’s lives, it feeds my spirit deeply. And, I know they will pass it on too…that’s how it’s always been done over and over for many generations!