Herbal Wisdom Through the Sacred Medicine Path
Revised and Expanded for 2024-2025
I am truly excited to be offering a program that is the culmination of my life’s learning. In the 80’s I began to walk the path of herbal wisdom as a Master Herbalist, soon branching out to offer lectures and classes on health and healing, then further as a whole foods cooking instructor. The 90’s began with completing my aromatherapy certification, ended with completion of Elliot Cowan’s Plant Spirit Medicine course, and culminated with my feet firmly planted on the sacred medicine path, with both a Mountain Teacher and a Cree Elder to guide me. Expanding the healing work beyond the physical led to the development of The Five Element Medicine Path in the 2000’s, as well as community offerings, ceremonies, and Eldership.
Through the varied and changing phases I’ve never stopped loving the plants and I’ve never stopped being a ‘foodie’. In a time when we are remembering that ‘food is medicine’, I’m aware that we haven’t even begun to fully explore that possibility.
Course Description
This is a program about plants and herbs and the knowledge and wisdom that can be gained by learning from them. We will be eating, drinking, preserving, fermenting, creating medicines, using them in ceremony, and much more. It’s a course about plants as friends, plants as food, and plants as medicine, but no single approach takes priority over the others, except perhaps plants as teachers. What naturally happens when you dedicate yourself to knowing plants and herbs at this level, is that you’ll learn they are great healers but in the wisdom tradition you learn through direct experience, which is personal. The knowledge begins there.
Most schools offering herbal education begin and end with herbs as medicine. I believe this does a dis-service to the herbs, who offer themselves in a variety of ways.
When we walk a sacred path of Herbal Wisdom we understand the terms of engagement. We are careful and considerate, respecting Mother Earth, her resources, and her inhabitants. We don’t gather herbs for fun, because that limits their availability for someone else, human or otherwise, who might need them. We don’t gather herbs for entertainment, because they are not play-things. And we don’t gather herbs for profit alone, because Mother Earth shares readily when there’s a reason, and so will we.
The curriculum is fluid, based on what Mother Natures offers in a given year and a given season. We will spend two years together, one Saturday per month (except for Dec/Jan), outdoors in Nature when we can, indoors when we must.
That doesn’t mean however that we won’t enjoy noticing, gathering, brewing, storing, and concocting. On the path I am describing those are sacred acts. They are alchemy. You, as human, bring another dimension of the plant forward, through your hands and your heart, one that the plant cannot do by itself.
This then, is a program that leads you in the direction of coming to know plants and herbs. They will teach you, they will befriend you, they will heal you, and they will enrich you. Would you like to join me?
Program Dates May 2024 - October 2025
Fee breakdown: $225.00 for each full day class:
Year 2024 - $1575.+ gst for 7 classes (May-Nov)
Year 2025 - $2025.+ gst for 9 classes (Feb-Oct)
Location: Outdoor days will vary between parks, mountains, and natural environment areas mostly outside the city. Indoor days – location TBA. May be Zoom during winter weather and unsafe road conditions.
Included in Course (but not limited to):
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tinctures/decoctions/infusions/macerations
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flower essences/leaf essences/root essences
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plant shape/pattern/geometry
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sun teas/moon tea
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drying/cooking/activating
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developing relationship with plants including two-way communication.
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an awareness of what a medicine is and how to discern the difference between a personal healing medicine (a gift offered through your friendship) or a 'medicine for your people.'
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an understanding of the role of plants in our ecosystem and what untapped and undiscovered wisdom they have to offer.
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much more
If You Are Interested:
As noted in the above description, this is not a typical herbal program. It is a dedicated immersion into relationship with the natural world and bringing the fruits of that relationship forward into your life. Each class group will be limited to 8-10 people, to support that theme and enhance the experience of community and connection.
To receive an application, please contact Jaki directly (jaki@jakidaniels.com). For applicants who have not worked with Jaki before, a meeting (in person or Zoom) may be requested.