Herbal Pharmacy

Herbal Pharmacy

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THE ART OF HERBAL MEDICINE MAKING

16 Week Online Course

Join us for Herbal Pharmacy - The Art of Herbal Medicine Making. Taught by Gail Faith Edwards

"An herbalist learns to walk among worlds, blurring the lines between art, magic, myth and medicine. She, or he, skillfully gathers leaf, flower, root, and bark to nourish and heal. She cultivates hope, develops spirit, and trusts her intuition. She is both scientist and shaman. An herbal medicine maker's path is an ancient tradition and at the same time cutting edge. Her work is often invisible. She needs no accolades. Her heart is wild and full of love."

This is a 16 week online course for those who want to develop, clarify and sharpen their herbal medicine making skills. Following is the outline of the course:

Part 1 - Harvesting and Processing Herbs
Wildgathering with reverence and respect ~ ground rules ~ techniques for drying herbs and proper storage ~ making incense and smudge sticks ~ at-risk plants ~ buying dried herbs ~ methods for using dried herbs: making pills, capsules, boluses and suppositories, poultices and compresses ~ culinary preparations.

Part 2 - Water-Based Herbal Medicines
Preparation and use of teas, infusions, decoctions, syrups ~ fermented beverages ~ healing properties of yeasts, honey and mead ~ gels ~ spiritual baths ~ flower essences.

Part 3 – Spirit-Based Medicines
Tincture overview ~ using folk and weight/volume preparation methods for fresh and dried plant material ~ choosing menstruum ratios according to constituents ~ double-extraction method ~ tincturing medicinal mushrooms ~ tinctures in alcohol, vinegar and glycerin ~ shrubs, oxymels, switchels and glycerites ~ elixirs ~ honeys ~ liniments ~ decanting and storage ~ dosages, contraindications and additional guidelines ~ gemmotherapy.

Part 4 – Oil-Based Medicines
Making infused oils from fresh and dried plant material ~ making ointments and salves ~ making creams, butters and lotions ~ care of the skin ~ treatment protocols with herbs ~ elimination diet ~ quality and purity control ~ safe use of essential oils, aromatherapy .

Review of Active Plant Constituents and Their Mode of Action

Alcohol Percentages for Tinctures

A printed Student Handbook of approximately 150 pages is available to accompany the course,if you want it.  You’ll find it on the literature tab. You are presented with a document containing links to each class. The classes are approximately one hour in length. This is a fun class, with a lot of hands on experimentation, inspiration and encouragement as we hone our herb gathering and medicine making skills together.

This class is appropriate for beginning and intermediate level herbal students. There will be a suggested reading list as well as online links for extended learning offered for each of the segments.