Getting To Know Reishi

Reishi’s Chinese name translates as “Spirit Plant”, or “Herb of Spiritual Potency”. It is a remarkable, adaptogenic mushroom that has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Like all adaptogens, Reishi has a normalizing effect on our overall physiology, and it can help restore us to health from a truly incredible range of…

Nettles: Using The Whole Plant

I’ll paraphrase one of my favorite herbalists, jim mcdonald, when he speaks to the difficulty some folks have in gaining confidence with herbs. He suggests picking one or two herbs to focus on completely– Grow them, eat them, read about them, make medicine with them, etc.; if you really got to know, say, Peppermint and…

Autumn Lessons

Autumn Lessons—The Need For Rest We have lots of traditions about Autumn: a new school year, visiting fall foliage, pumpkins, honoring our ancestors and hometowns, football games, celebrating a good harvest, marking the beginning of the holiday season, and many more. All these are wonderful things, and beloved traditions, but there is another aspect of…