We will start with a couple of dictionary definitions.
con·nect
/kəˈnekt?/ verb
gerund or present participle: connecting
bring together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established. join together so as to provide access and communication.
To become joined or united: two streams connecting to form a river. To establish a rapport or relationship; relate
synonyms: attach, join, fasten, fix, affix, couple, link, secure, hitch;
“ally”
verb al·ly \ə-ˈlī, ˈa-ˌlī\
transitive verb
: to unite or form a connection or relation between : associate <allied himself with a wealthy family by marriage>
intransitive verb
: to form or enter into an alliance <two factions allying with each other>
“ally”
noun al·ly \ˈa-ˌlī, ə-ˈlī\
a person or group that gives help to another person or group
In a previous post called “Joy as a cornerstone of apprenticeship” I introduced the concept/idea of choosing a plant ally and working closely with that plant over the course of a year. Susun Weed defines plant/green ally as “one plant that teaches you the fundamental principals of herbal medicine.” To this day that definition speaks to me so deeply and I believe this process to be a fundamental process when training to become an herbalis. Plant/Green allies can help protect, educate, heal, support, inspire along your life journey. Plant allies can improve the quality of our life. Just like some people have an animal spirit guide, a plant ally can speak to you a through dreams, physical appearance, magnetic, resonance (vibration); or by signs, symbols, words, or any other method or means of communication to your heart and soul.
I think it is important at this point to talk about taking a Local, Sustainable Approach. While it is impossible to tell someone what their plant/green ally should be, I believe this to be an important consideration.
This means getting to know your local, bioregional plants! Getting to know that plants that have shown up right near you, ones that grow in your driveway, your neighborhood, or the local park, ones that can be cultivated in your backyard or a community garden, or even a rooftop garden. A master plant that grows in the Amazon is not a better ally than a common plant that grows on the sidewalk outside your home. Taking a local approach is investing your health and that of your your community! Healing begins at home, the local plants make it possible for us to breathe, growing from the same rich soil we walk on, their lives are intertwined with ours. Traditional healers have long known that the medicine we need the most, grows very near to us.
Setting the Intention
Indigenous peoples from many traditions believe that plants can speak to us—they call to us, if we listen. Begin by talking a trip into Nature to meet your plant ally. It is important for us to remember that we are already in communication with plants. We are already in a state of communication and communion with plants, just by sharing the same ecology. It is simply a matter of being open to hearing them
So go out into Nature and find it. You don’t need to look for it. Just take a walk and then listen for its call. It will find you. Remember Mugwort found me! day after day I intended to find my ally, and even though my intellectual being did not know what I was looking for, my ally was there...waiting for me. I cannot say waiting patiently as patient is not a work I can use to describe Mugwort- and every day it “got in my way,” “slapped me harder” etc until I got it.
Expressing your intention or the purpose of your journey is important because it is the energy of intention that guides the journey. Set your intention.
“I intend to meet my plant ally. Which plant ally wishes to step forward to support me right now?’
What are your needs, wants, and desires in your relationship with the plant medicine?
Spend some time with the plant once you have met it, merging your consciousness with it while sensing its qualities and healing intentions.
You’ve found your plant. What next?
Sit down with it. Be still and quiet for a minute or two. Then just as you would a person, introduce yourself to the plant. One of the biggest hurdles many people need to overcome is to be comfortable talking out loud to a plant!! Tell it your name, where you come from, who you are, and why you are sitting before it. Ask if it will be your friend, teacher and healer. Express gratitude. It is important to note here that EVERYONE has the ability to communicate with plants. It has been passed down to us from our ancestors who lived in direct relationship with the land. If you ask indigenous peoples how they knew to use which herbs you will often hear some version of “the plants told us". To learn to communicate with plants only requires that we broaden our beliefs about what language is. And the easiest way to learn the language of plants is by immersing our selves in their culture.
Begin to notice everything that is happening and continue to consciously direct your mind to listen. Plants usually communicate telepathically and can speak to us through feelings, tastes, visual imagery, songs and even smells. They speak to us as individuals in ways we can readily understand. If we are visually oriented then we are more likely to receive visuals, if we learn more through sound or words then that is what will most likely come in. As we practice this kind of communication, we will have a greater understanding of the information that we are receiving from the plants and will be able to receive the information in more varied forms. It needs to be understood that what we are dealing with here is another realm of reality, so understanding the information is very much like dream interpretation. We can continue sharpening our communication skills by spending more time in meditation with plants. This will aid us in staying open to instructions from the plant about what the next step might be in our lives or what assistance the plant has to offer us. In turn, the plant might need something from us. Maybe we can offer our services to the plant community, or the world at large, and our conversation with this particular plant could tell us what the earth might need from us at this time.
Next you need to Look and Pay attention.
“Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better” - Einstein-
First, notice where it’s growing. (Sun or shade? Wet or dry? Hard soil or soft?) What is it’s habitat. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a population.
Then notice who it’s growing with. (Which plants are next to it? Above it? Below it? How does it relate to these plants?)
Now notice the plant itself. Use all your senses.
How is it growing? (Is it tall or short? Stiff or flexible? Does it climb or creep? Reach for the sun or hide in the shade?)
Look at the plant. Does it grab your attention or blend in? What color is it? (Is that color pale or intense? If it has more than one color, which parts of the plant have which colors?)
Touch the plant. Is it warm or cool? Smooth or rough? Tough or delicate? Are the tissues thick or thin? Moist or dry?
Smell the plant. What does it smell like? Is the smell sweet or spicy or sharp or bitter or sour or rotten or minty or refreshing or something else?
The Exploration of Taste
“To become a master herbalist in 30 years or more, taste an herb every day.” Paul Bergner, Medical Herbalist and Author
If you’ve identified the plant, and you know it’s not toxic, taste the plant. What does it taste like? Close your eyes and hold it in your mouth. What does it remind you of? If you have not Identified the plant you can return to this.
In past times herbalists would rely upon their trained senses and experience to properly assess the therapeutic nature of plants, and among the different faculties there is perhaps no equal to the perception of taste. It is not a rigid classification but more of an exploration. Taste is an ancestral tool that is highly relevant today. The taste of an herb can give us a general understanding of an herb’s energetics and properties.
This may seem a primitive means of accessing plant intelligence and utilizing herbs, but historically all major systems of herbal medicine have used use taste as a foundational concept in understanding how herbs work. We know that particular tastes do have direct correlations to chemical constituents.
Taste directly corresponds to the herb's energetic qualities. Sweet herbs tend to be nourishing and building. Pungent herbs tend to be dispersing and warming and bitter herbs tend to be cooling, draining and detoxifying. An obvious example is cayenne anyone who has tasted it, knows this is a pungent herb, it promotes circulation and is warming. The taste of an herb determines it heating or cooling energy as well as other uses
Pungent tastes are assimilated by lungs and large intestine
Salty corresponds to Kidneys and urinary/bladder
Sour (astringent also) taste corresponds to Liver/ Gall bladder
Bitter taste corresponds to heart and small intestine
Sweet corresponds to spleen and stomach
A small amount of taste strengthens corresponding organ while too much weakens
“To me, any herbalist who doesn’t know the taste of an herb but attempts to use it can be compared to a painter who doesn’t know the colors of the rainbow, or a musician who doesn’t know the scales.”
Alan Keith Tillotson, Herbalist/ Author
“As in ancient times, herbalists would do well to continue to rely upon their trained senses and experience to properly assess the therapeutic nature of the plants, and among the different faculties there is perhaps no equal to the perception of taste.
Used by every system of traditional medicine, taste figures prominently in the practice of herbal medicine, providing immediate insight into the properties and uses of medicinal herbs.”
Todd Caldecott, Herbalist, Author
Here are a few fun activities you can do as you get to know your plant ally.
Preparation and ingestion of medicine:
A great deal of information can be gained through preparing (and taking) your own medicines from the plant. You can make infusions, decoctions, tinctures, elixirs, salves, oils, baths... its endless really* It’s important after you make it to take it, to experience it!!. Preparing and taking your own medicines is far greater than anything you buy, because it is coming from your own direct relationship with the plant which has been prayed with. It has your intention infused within. Remember to always be in prayer mode when you prepare medicine. Ingestion of the plant is a way of incorporating its being into you, where a true communion happens. It has a chance then to physically touch your organs, your heart and mind.
Your plant ally is your very own super hero.
A "poster" promoting your ally with a super hero twist! A great way to introduce your ally to your friends. ApprenticesErin Pollard and Kolby Taylor with their SuperHero Posters
Make a Pendant/Talismans/Charm
Wear it often. How does it make you feel?
Nap/Sleep with your Ally
As well as asking your ally for dreams or to come to you in your dreams you can physically go to sleep with your ally. Can you imagine actually making an outdoor napping bed and planting it with chamomile.
You can use your ally to make herbal paper
and then use that paper to make a handmade journal or to write your dreams and intentions on, or to draw her!
Write a Poem or song about your ally : Recently graduated Carolyn Walker is presently recording an album inspired by her time at Blazing Star Herbal School here is her song Yarrow. She even has a show coming up at Luthiers Coop in Easthampton on May 4th 2023
Making Paint or Ink With You Ally ( there will be a separate post on this in the near future)
Design a personalized Tarot Deck
One Ally at a time. . .and over the years you will have created your personal ally deck. Your cards will act as act as prompts to inspire you whenever you feel the need for extra support or guidance. At times that your allies physical presence is not near you will be able to re/connect with the healing effects of your ally. Your deck will be a unique way for you to receive nourishment and wisdom from your allies.
There are still openings in the 23rd cycle of the Blazing Star Herbal School Beginner /Intermediate apprenticeship. Here is what local herbalist/author and past student of BSHS Brittany Nickerson of Thyme Herbals has to say
“This is an apprenticeship like no other offered today - you will have the opportunity to meet every week, tend to the plants, do integrative materia medica work, make medicine, and learn the ins and outs of the body and how to tend to it for health and vitality. This program takes a truly personal appraoch to health, emphasizing your relationship with your health and community - there is nothing cookie-cutter about Tony(a)'s approach! I took Tony(a)’s advanced therapeutic herbalism apprenticeship back in 2009 and it was a wonderful experience. I can't recommend this program more!”
ps. Brittany is also writing on Substack now so you hear from her directly