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pic by lisa rose starner, from a class walk
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a
four season herbal intensive
with michigan herbalist
jim mcdonald
please note: I'm very close to (or
possibly, as you're reading this) full.
Send along an email to see if space is still left or to
be put on a waiting list.
overview...
This course will be an experiential, hands on exploration
of the plants growing in the fields, woods and yards here
in Southeast Michigan, held predominantly in Oakland
County. The focus is on traditional western
herbalism with a bioregional emphasis; participants will
learn how to become herbalists who make their own herbal
preparations to address the health and wellness of
themselves and their friends and family from the plants
that grow around them (it is not really
intended to create educated consumers who buy herbs at
health food stores... I'm a bit more grassroots than
that). This intensive won't make you a qualified
practitioner to go out and start a practice (as many
factors determine when someone is ready to do that), but it will
provide a very solid foundation from which to achieve
that end, should it beckon
to you. If you're already a practitioner, this
course will offer invaluable information with which to
gain a deeper understanding of the practice of energetic herbalism, allowing you to better tailor your treatments
to the specific person and condition at hand.
The core of this course lies in the foundational energetic
principles of western herbalism. Yes, that sounds
both somewhat mystical and perhaps a bit complicated,
but in reality, it's rooted in relearning how we perceive
health and illness, and the herbs themselves, so that we
learn to recognize such patterns as excess and
deficiency, hot and cold, dry and damp, tense and lax.
This provides a much more useful and comprehensive
understanding of herbcraft than knowing chemical
constituents, the latest (and everchanging) results of scientific studies,
or simply learning to associate the name of a problem
with the name of a herb.
To effectively use plant medicines, you'll need to understand the foundational properties
by which herbs work, how the body's organs and
systems function, how to use your senses, intellect &
intuition to perceive the physiological, energetic and spiritual
properties of herbs, and myriad other nuances that make
for a solid foundation in herbcraft and allow you to
develop a personal style and approach to guide your
endeavors.
There will not be any kind of testing or grading, but
there will be reading assignments, projects to
complete, and I will ask questions during classes. The projects predominantly involve identifying,
harvesting, making and using your own herbal preparations... you need to use
herbs if you want to understand them. We will not,
for the most part, be harvesting during classes.
This intensive will be structured a bit differently than
the other classes I offer. While much of the same ground
and principles will be covered, the intensive is will
present information and concepts that build upon the
foundation of previous classes. Classes
will involve herb hikes at local parks, with discussions
of habitat and harvest, properties, history, lore, current
and traditional uses and my direct experience using these
herbs. Other sessions will meet at my home in
White
Lake, and be a review of readings, and then an exploration of the body's organs
and systems, focusing on how to differentiate
energetically between the ways a condition may manifest
in different people, and how to use herbs effectively with
this knowledge.
You'll also be involved in an ongoing group dynamic, which
allows you to likely learn as much from each other as you
will from me. The value of this could not be
overstated.
If you're considering this intensive, please be willing to
commit to coming to the classes and spending a lot of
time outdoors, with your hands in the dirt, hiking
(vigorous hiking up hills and down dales; you'll need to
be physically able to spend a day out on the trail),
dealing with bugs, perhaps some inclement weather (we
will meet
rain or shine), and above all be willing to put in the
time outside of class to study and to find places near
you that you can get out into and harvest your herbs from.
This may be your yard, a neighbors yard, a community
garden, a friend's property - wherever. You'll need to
do the reading. I will either provide copies of
articles, links to them if they're available online, or
can offer necessary books for sale (though feel free to
get them online, at a bookstore, or from a library if
you prefer). There will be a few required books.
I record pretty much
the entire course as MP3 files, which all participants
get. This helps not only as an info source for
future reference, but also allows people to listen to any
classes they may miss due to illness or unforeseen
circumstances. I also set up an email listserve for
participants to facilitate interaction and dialogue
between classes.
Of course, there'll be quite a bit more covered as the
class unfolds.
about me, the teacher...
I'm an herbalist; I deeply love the plants I share this
land with and one of the ways I give back to them is by
teaching others what I have to offer. If you're
considering taking a long term course like this, you'll
want to feel in synch with the person teaching it.
Ideally, you'll come to one of my classes before hand,
but please also look around online and see what I've
written and others have been kind enough to say about
me.
You can listen to
an hour long interview I did with John Gallagher of HerbMentor.com
here, and there's a boat load of posts I've written on
Rebecca Hartman's
herbwifery forum, and
you can also look through the archives of
Henriette Kress's or
the
AHG herbal listserves,
both of which I've posted to prolifically (you'll need
to subscribe to these). The rest of this site is
also rife with
my writings. A
student in my 2010 course wrote
this. If
you'd like to see "a resume" of sorts, you can click
here.
I'm also very happy to talk to you (and would prefer to)
and answer any questions you have about the course.
cost...
The cost for the intensive will be
$975.
This will be due in two payments,
$425
initially, which will register you for the intensive and
hold your space, and
$550
by/on
the first class session.
Please be aware that the $425 deposit
is non-refundable for cancellations made between the
time the initial payment is sent in and the first class, when
payment is due in full. After the first class, ***there will
be no refunds for any tuition paid***.
travelling in from out of state?
I know that getting here from farther away adds extra
travel time and expense. Though it depends on
where you're coming from, a few years ago a student told
me about the
Mega Bus, which allowed
him to travel in from Chicago to Detroit or Ann Arbor
for just a few bucks (quite literally, just a few
dollars each way). You would need to arrange
travel up to White Lake, this may be possible by
connecting with students living in those areas.
Check into it and see if it's feasible for ya.
dates...
april
saturday the 6th
sunday the 7th
may
saturday the 4th
sunday the 5th
june
saturday the 1st
sunday the 2nd
july
saturday the 6th
sunday the 7th
august
saturday the 3rd
sunday the 4th
september
saturday the 7th
sunday the 8th
october
saturday the 5th
sunday the 6th
november
saturday the 2nd
sunday the 3rd
Times will generally
be 11ish to around 5ish, though it's probably prudent to
state that I'll frequently run over if no one tells me
times up.
So...
If you have any questions, please just let me know and
I'll do my best to further clarify my plans and
intentions. If you're ready and rarin' to go, please
proceed as follows:
*Contact me either via phone or email to let me know
you're interested in signing up, and to discuss any
questions, particulars or whatnot that you or I may
have.
*Let me know when you send a check out so I can be on the
look out for it. You can also pay via credit card
through PayPal as a means of "financing" the course and
making payments as you're able.
you can send your first payment to me
at:
jim mcdonald
4535
jozwik
white lake, mi 48383
Again, if you're interested, please let me know as soon as
you're able.
Thanks for your
interest and many blessings...
jim
mcdonald
~herbalist~
(248) 238-8733
jim@herbcraft.org
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