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a nine month herbal intensive
with
jim mcdonald
Overview...
This course will be an experiential, hands on exploration
of the plants growing in the fields, woods and yards here
in Southeast Michigan, predominantly in Oakland County.
The emphasis is on learning how to be an ecologically
responsible wildcrafter who makes their own herbal
preparations to address the health and wellness of
themselves and their friends and family. It is not
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, but it will provide a good
start towards that end, should it beckon to you. I
am planning on bringing Matthew Wood in to offer a
intermediate/advanced level course in 2008, and if
you are interested in that, this course will offer a
superb foundation upon which to begin.
To effectively understand and use plant medicines, you'll not only need to know how to
identify plants and what they're used for, but also
understand plant communities and habitats, the properties
by which herbs work, about how the body's organs and
systems function, how to use your senses, intellect &
intuition to perceive the 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.
While there will not be any kind of testing or grading,
there will be reading assignments, and projects to
complete. The projects predominantly involve identifying,
harvesting, making and using your own herbal preparations
- you need to use herbs if you want to learn about them.
We will not, for the most part, be harvesting during
classes... this is what you'll be required to do on your
own time, both because a large group cannot usually
harvest herbs without having too great an impact on the
plant populations, and because harvesting is best done on
one's own, so it's easier to "tune into" the plant you're
harvesting and the habitat it grows in. This is especially
important, as it is while a person works in a focused and
intimate manner that they develop relationships with the
plants they use, and these relationships allow you to
understand what can be done with a particular herb in a
way no other type of study can.
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. Saturday 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. Wednesday evening
sessions will be a review of reading and/or listening
assignments, and then an exploration of the body's organs
and systems, focusing on how to differentiate
energetically between the ways a conditions 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.
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 able to
spend a day out on the trail), dealing
with bugs, perhaps some inclement weather (we'll be
meeting 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 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 also be
some online "listening" homework, which will require you
to listen to hour-long
herbal highway programs
(by Karen Sanders; a ~great~ show) once a month or so. My
slow computer and dial up has no problem playing these,
and many libraries have headphones you can use to listen
there, if need be.
Of course, there'll be quite a bit more covered as the
class unfolds.
The cost for the intensive will be
$600.
This will be due in two payments,
$250
initially, which will register you for the intensive and
hold your space, and
$350
the second time we meet (Wednesday, March 21st).
Please be aware that there
will be a NON-REFUNDABLE $250
deposit taken for cancellations made between the
time the initial payment is sent in and March 21st.
After March 21st, ***there will
be no refunds***.
The dates and times are the second Saturday and the fourth
Wednesday, with just a couple exceptions (Wednesday meetings
will be at my place in White Lake)...
dates...
march
saturday the 10th
wednesday the 21st
april
saturday the 14th
wednesday the 25th
may
saturday the 12th
wednesday the 23rd
june
saturday the 16th
wednesday the 27th
july
saturday the 14th
wednesday the 25th
august
saturday the 11th
wednesday the 22nd
september
saturday the 8th
wednesday the 26th
october
saturday the 13th
wednesday the 24th
november
saturday the 10th
Times for Saturday
are generally 11 or 12 to around 5ish; Wednesdays
are from 7pm to 9-9:30pm.
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.
Because this is a long term study course, its my
preference that participants have previously taken a
course with me to be sure that the way I teach and the way
they learn jive well. This is not necessarily a hard and
fast rule, and there may be exceptions, but my preference
is that if this interests you, you come to one of my
January classes.
*Let me know when you send a check out so I can be on the
look out for it.
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) 737-3589
jim@herbcraft.org
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