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5/8/2024

Happy herbal Wednesday, Reader!

I hear from friends who have friends and family members and readers who email me about the fact it's getting more difficult to get your prescription meds OR that they're becoming too expensive, costing a fortune for many.

Even over the counter meds---One of my friends told me she took her aging father to pick up an OTC expectorant from the drugstore, and it cost nearly $40!

What's happening here?

Well, my hypothesis is that Big Pharma is having a hey-day with our pocket books because for most of the people in modern societies....the knowledge of herbalism has been educated right out of us. We've turned over ALL the power we used to have to entities who are only about the bottom dollar.

It's sad. And scary.

When you know the history of herbalism in America, you have reason to be angry. That's a topic that's way too large to go into here, but suffice to say the modern public is and was unaware while herbalism was being made illegal and forced underground upon the rise of the AMA (American Medical Association).

There's a solution, though!

We can still RE-learn the traditional knowledge of herbal medicine that we used to know. You can learn herbalism on several levels:

1) You can become a dabbler, and just make herbal remedies from recipes and formulations from a trusted source.

(TRUSTED is the key word, here.) Just because a person is a homesteader or even a naturopath or a nurse or other medical or holistic practitioner, they still may not have specific training in use of medicinal herbs. There are many social media experts out there now who have large followings and even more "overnight" herbalists. Beware. Do not learn herbalism on YouTube or TikTok, please.

2) You can go to a physical or online school and learn herbalism from someone who has various certificates and who has done the work and invested thousands of hours in time and thousands of dollars into their herbal education. You choose this so that you're gaining information and education you need to be able to work with family and community members to support their health.

3) You can take it to an even higher level and go into advanced herbalism and hopefully aromatherapy, spending even MORE time and dollars in order to perhaps start a business or a client practice. This is the level I'm at now, and I love teaching safe, effective herbalism, aromatherapy, and traditional and natural living skills. At this level, you can start a clinical practice if you want to.

It's ok to be a dabbler. It truly is.

As long as you're learning and obtaining remedies and formulations from people who truly ARE part of the next couple of levels, then you're most likely fine. And here I'm speaking to common cold and flu, etc., not higher needs health issues.

If you're just dabbling, and you have a health issue, you may want to consider hiring an herbalist to have a specific and legitimate herbalist-client relationship with.

The bottom line is that the time to learn herbalism is now.

I'm sensing more and more that learning herbalism for your home and community use may be coming to a stop at some point. All the government officials need to do is to sneak a little law into one of their massive acts of Congress. We just saw this happen a few months ago in Canada. If you didn't see the interview with Canadian herbalist Yarrow Willard, it's worth a watch.

Here's a quote from one of my students, and I think it's extremely relevant in these times:

"Just as skin has layers, herbal medicines and essential oils do as well. Learning how to safely and effectively layer certain herbs internally and externally with sister-type essential oils is of great interest to me. As an awake Christian, this knowledge could be our only means of health in the future. Therefore, studying this subject is a mandate from the Lord. It is clear your calling is teaching. Thank you for presenting valuable herbal knowledge in such a fun, interesting, and non-intimidating manner." ---Vicki Stiles

I hope if you're interested in more than dabbling, you'll take a look at our new school platform and choose one of our courses!

​The HHH School of Botanical Arts & Sciences​

Be sure to bookmark it!

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Let's talk about frankincense!

Frankincense is an oleo-gum resin and comes from the trunks and branches of the Boswellia species (B. sacra, B. frefreana, B. carterii, B. serrata, etc.).

Traditionally, frankincense tears (the hardened resin) was burned, used topically, and taken internally.

Some of the reasons for burning as incense was for ritual and purification. It was used in perfumes, cosmetics, in the Egyptian mummification processes, to balance female hormones, healing wounds, and more!

There are MANY reasons to work with frankincense, and please, if you do decide to add frankincense to your herbal repertoire, purchase from sustainable sources. For this, I really love Aromatics International.

You can also purchase the tears, and you can make your own infused carrier oil, which will contain the valuable boswellic acid---excellent for inflammation.

​How to Make Frankincense Infused Oil​

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​The Complete Guide to Using Frankincense Essential Oil​

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Hip. Hip. Hooray! I have a new gift for you!

This is a limited time free guide, so please be sure to pass this note along so friends and family who may be interested can get this, too. I've put together a little guide on 25 essential oils that are safe for kids. There are many more essential oils that are safe, but these 25 are common, not expensive, and have MANY uses.

In the guide, you'll find out about using hydrosols for babies and infants, plus the 25 essential oils and their uses that are safe for kids 2+.

Enjoy!

​Guide to 25 Essential Oils Safe for Kids...with Uses​

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Thank you so much for being here! Thank you to those who reply, too.

By the way, I have to remind you that I just can't answer medical questions in emails because:

1) We (you and I) don't have a legitimate herbalist-client relationship with the necessary intake process, health discussions, etc.;

2) I'm not a medical doctor, and I don't provide medical advice. Herbs can heal, and herbs can be very effective, but I can't answer medical questions. And this is where working with an herbalist one-on-one can help you.;

3) I just don't have time any more to provide suggestions and starting points. I feel so bad saying this, and it hurts my heart to know how many suffer. I get thousands of emails a day, and although I read them all, at this point, it's physically impossible to reply to all of them.;

4) I'm a teacher of herbalism. The best way to access me and my thoughts on conditions is to join the Confident Herbalist Tribe. I still can't provide "medical" advice, but it's in the Tribe that we all dig into deeper studies of plant medicine and situations. We truly have a village with a "hive mind", and those who stay active in community learn SO much about health, including their own body. The Confident Herbalist Tribe is a step up from Ditch the Drugstore, and the next live round is coming up this summer.

In fact, if you're a current student in Ditch the Drugstore, you know we're coming to the end of this current live group! Graduation Day is this Saturday, so try to attend! There will be giveaways, celebration, we get to take a peek into each other's home apothecaries, and more!

Finally, if you missed the video I made on Cleavers for YouTube last week, be sure to take a look! I was stunned (and appreciative) at how many people wrote to me thanking me for finally knowing what this spring weed is useful for!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. Don't forget to download your FREE guide to 25 Kid Safe (2+) Essential Oils! Just use the same email as you're subscribed with here, and you won't get double notes. Also...please forward this along to a friend!

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