Herbal Medicine teaches us that each season has its own plants, gifts, and unique medicine to offer. By following the rhythms of each season, we gift ourselves the opportunity to integrate the healing powers of plants back into our lives and practice the art of building our home apothecary.

In this 4-part, hands-on medicine making series, you will be guided through the medicine of each season, learning which body systems to support and which herbal remedies to reach for.

Together we will make safe, effective remedies including herbal syrups, salves, herbal infused oils, oxymels and more--all with plants that are abundant and local to our bio-region, many of which we will harvest together.

We will explore herbal energetics, formulation, ethical harvests, plant spirit medicine, and practical applications of herbal remedies and seasonal rituals.

In addition to taking home our in-class medicine making projects, each participant will receive a gorgeous workbook to accompany each class that is full of remedies, recipes, seasonal musings, and in depth plant monographs.

This is a journey of remembrance. While it's easy to feel overwhelmed or out of touch with the green path, each of us carries this wisdom within. Once we touch, smell, and taste the plants, it's remarkable how much our hands and hearts remember.

Join us for this Wheel of the Year medicine making journey. We will stock our medicine chests one remedy at a time, reconnecting to the plants, to ourselves, and to each other.

When:

Participants are encouraged (but not required) to sign up for each class, as there is something quite special about gathering together with the same medicine making circle each season.

It is also perfectly fine to purchase one class at a time! Just keep in mind that individual classes may sell out, as space is limited to 12 participants.

Spring Session: Saturday May 9th 1-4pm (Gibson Gardens Family Farm, Andover, CT)

Summer Session: Saturday July 11th 1-4 pm (Gibson Gardens Family Farm, Andover, CT)

Fall Session: Saturday October 17th 1-4pm (Gibson Gardens Family Farm, Andover, CT)

Winter Session: Saturday December 12th 1-4pm (Private Residence, Andover, CT)

What to Expect:

• Our Spring, Summer, and Fall classes will be held in a rustic, beautiful barn space on a gorgeous farm in Andover, CT.

• Our Winter class will be held in a cozy lakeside home just up the road from the farm.

• Classes are limited to 12 participants.

• We will be roaming the fields during our spring, summer, and fall classes to ID plants and to forage for medicine making! Bring your sun hats, water bottles, garden gloves, shears, foraging baskets, and anything else you might need to feel comfortable!

• Tea will be provided for each class, and participants are welcome to bring along light snacks to share.

• We will begin each session with a song and introductions, then move into a lecture, harvesting, and medicine making.

• Bring a notebook or journal for note taking!

• Your $120 investment for each session includes ALL Materials for medicine making, and your Seasonal Workbook.

• If you are signing up for a season that you have taken last year, and you already have a workbook, there is an option for you to select at checkout that subtracts the workbook.

Spring:

Part One: Spring Remedies, Air

(Liver Support, Allergies, Nervous System Support)

Spring is a time to awaken our livers and support our lymph as we venture out of our cozy winter nests. It is also the time to fortify our systems against seasonal allergies and begin the work of tending to the element of Air in our bodies, which is expressed in the health of our Nervous Systems. As we anticipate the hustle and bloom of the Spring and Summer Seasons, we will discuss how reaching for calming, mineral rich herbs can invigorate, enliven, and bring balance. We will also begin the fine work of stocking our apothecary! Each participant will make an Oxymel and Infusion Blend in class, and you will be gifted a pre-made bitters blend. You will also receive a springtime remedies booklet, full of plant monographs, and several recipes for you to try at home.

Summer: 

Part Two: Summer Remedies, Fire

(GI Support, Skin, Lessons in Adaptation)

Summer is the time tend to tend to the element of Fire in our body, which often manifests as GI health, and our relationship to creativity and productivity. As so many medicinal plants are in full bloom, often thriving despite extreme weather conditions, this is also a time to think about adaptation, and breaking up stuck emotional patterning. We will also discuss the practical applications of herbal first aid and herbal skin care to help round out your growing apothecary! Each participant will make and take home an Herbal Infused Oil, and a Salve, and you will be gifted a pre-made flower essence. You will also receive a summer remedies booklet, full of plant monographs, and several recipes for you to try at home.

Fall:

Part Three: Fall Remedies, Water

(Root/Mushroom Medicines, Final Harvest, Food as Medicine, Cardiovascular Support, Kidneys)

Fall is all about celebrating harvest season and bringing medicinal herbs and remedies into the kitchen! It’s also about roots! Most flowers have come and gone, and the medicine of the plants return to their root systems to prepare for the darker months ahead. We can mimic this energetic journey by preparing root medicines, enjoying medicinal mushrooms, and creating herbal rituals to help us feel rooted in our bodies and in our homes. Fall is also the time to tend the element of Water in our bodies, which manifests as the health of our kidneys and cardiovascular systems. After discussing a handful of plants and remedies indicated for this Fall season, each participant will make and take home an herbal salt blend and two jars of Fire Cider! You will also receive a fall remedies booklet, full of plant monographs, and several recipes for you to try at home.

Winter:

Part Four: Winter Remedies, Earth

(Immune Support, Respiratory Support, Skeletal Support)

Winter is a time to bolster our immune systems, give love to our lungs, and support the earth element in our bodies, our beloved skeletal systems, the very bones that carry us through the year. After discussing a handful of plants and remedies to reach for this winter season, we will prepare for an afternoon of medicine making! Each participant will make and take home an elderberry syrup, a simmer pot blend, and a medicinal bath soak. You will also receive a winter remedies booklet, full of plant monographs, and several recipes for you to try at home.

Oxymels are a classic herbal remedy, made with herbs, vinegar, and honey.

Summertime Oxymels are especially fun to make, as you can preserve the flavor and freshness of summer by adding berries and seasonal herbs. The resulting concoctions are a delightful blend of medicinal and delicious! You can add them to mocktails and garden cocktails, or take them on their own to improve digestion, support the immune system, or support stress levels, depending on the herbal formula you choose!

This will be a joyful, immersive, hands on class! We will begin class by exploring the history and elements of oxymels, and then each participant will be guided to concoct their very own formula, choosing plants from our “herb bar.”

Class will be held outdoors at a private residence in Andover, CT

6:30pm on Friday July 17th.

Bring a sunhat, water, and anything else you may need to feel comfortable.

We’ll provide a few light snacks, tea, and all medicine making materials!

Address will be provided upon registration.

Class is limited to 15 participants

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