Study tips for herbalists
A lot of people ask me about how to start learning about herbs and which courses are good, so I decided to put this together for you guys!
Resources
- Herbmentor.com
- Here are a few useful herbs that are good to start out with
- Check out my recommended books
- Paul Bergner has excellent information and courses available here
- The East West School of Planetary Herbology is a great place to take courses
- The Lunar Apothecary is a great for leaning about herb magic and lunar herbology
- This website will help you to find local plants (USA only)
- Bear Medicine Herbals
- Herbcraft.org
- Herbal Remedies Advice
- HANE is also a good school to check out
Tips
- Check out local plant societies to see what activities they have planned. Some of them offer free plant walks that will help you to get to know your local plants
- Start experimenting with your (safe) local weeds first. For many of you, this means sorrel, dandelion, plantain, violet leaf, and ground ivy.
- Get your warnings and safety information from reputable books and herbalists, not social media (tumblr). There are many rumors on this site about what is and isn’t poisonous, please don’t believe everything you read!
- Keep a few materia medica books on hand to check for contraindications and safety instead. My go-to books for checking whether an herb is okay with me are located in the recommended books post above
- Pick 1 herb a month to really focus on. Keep in mind that you can do a lot with a few herbs, some of them have dozens of uses
- Learn about your herbs by tasting and using them, not just reading! Personal experience is more important than book knowledge (except when it comes to safety)
Equipment
- JARS (check the thrift store for cheap finds)
- Alcohol - I usually use 80 proof vodka for tinctures but you can also use brandy depending on what you’re making
- Oils- I like grapeseed oil and coconut oil
- Funnels
- Cheese cloth for straining herbs
- Kitchen scale
- French press (easy way to make loose leaf tea)
Idea of what to start making with herbs
- Bruise/injury salves
- Bug sprays
- Calming tinctures/teas
- Digestive tinctures/teas
- Pain tinctures
- Fomentations
- Poultices
I probably forgot a lot of stuff so Ill be adding more in the future!
