Medicine Stories

This is a vulnerable and very personal story of how a plant friend recently stepped in to create a bridge of communication between me and my mother, who died three years ago. It was an unexpected and super meaningful healing message for me, and I switched my podcast release schedule around to share this story. Real magic happens when we cultivate relationships with plants and stay open to messages from the multiverse y'all. I also talk about synchronicity, dealing with overwhelming grief, and how we can heal with a plant even when it is not physically present in our space or in our body. Also I cry a lot.   Mentioned in this story: Asia Suler's Intuitive Plant Medicine online course (from which I downloaded the meditation mentioned) The Medicine Stories Patreon page Our Rainbow Heart Beams herbal medicine Asia's two interviews on this podcast: 1. Multidimensional Plants and the Fabric of Consciousness and 2. You Are Your Own Healer: Earth Intuition and Self Knowledge   Further reading: My blog post Angelica: Mama Bear of the Spirit Realm (more about Angelica as bear medicine and more about its medicinal properties)   Oh and hey I'm currently running a $300 shop giveaway! You can ENTER TO WIN on Facebook or on Instagram.

Asia Suler talks about how being in relationship with the aliveness of the earth brings us deeper into ourselves, healing within the complexities of chronic health conditions, working with the story medicine of flowers, and so much more… IN THE INTRO: FREE Opening Earth Intuition online course! Finding a plant ally Reishi: Medicine of the Ages IN THE INTERVIEW: How plants bring us deeper into ourselves, and the kind of second sight that only comes when we tune into the aliveness of the earth The cultural fallacy that spirituality and rationalism can't coexist The chronic health issues that revealed to Asia her intuitive self and brought her to the plant path We don't have to do it alone When it comes to healing, the body works on its own timeline One willow to rule them all: how one (ever-evolving) plant relationship can transform a life  But literally on an actual physical, biological level, you are your own healer Your pain, symptoms, ailments- everything is happening for you The daily routine that keeps Asia's past chronic health issues at bay The interplay between stress, the nervous system, and health Being truly seen, and the difference between being seen by nature v being seen by humans When you're given a book on a subject you've never heard of before and the truth it contains makes you cry Finding the core flower essence for your multidimensional self Bringing story medicine into your healing LINKS: Medicine Stories Patreon (Meet a Plant Ally guided meditation) Mythic Medicinals Reishi Elixir - Triple Extraction Asia's article Reishi: A Psychedelic of the Unseen My interview on the Free Birth Society Podcast- the stories of my one unassisted birth and one midwife assisted birth Medicine Stories Facebook Group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) and again here's Asia's FREE Opening Earth Intuition online course!

We are entitled to a (re)membership with the holy, the never-ending and ever-evolving wisdom of dreams, and guidance on the path of remembering ourselves home. I forgot to mention this episode's Patreon offering in the intro, but check out the Links section below to access Toko-pa's Dream Recovery Kit ebook, designed for the individual who is feeling estranged from their dreams, this guide will help you cultivate a rich dream life. This kit contains guidance for dream recall, tips for overcoming blocks, exercises for deepening your practice, and ideas for ritual and dream incubation.   IN THE INTRO: Ancestral Voices, Women's Weariness, & the Illusion of Linear Time Chronic pain Dreamwalking IN THE INTERVIEW: A childhood in exile, a lost community, and finding belonging again Being grabbed by the hair and dragged into the bottomless underworld An incredible story about physical pain, a powerful dream, the grandfather who jumped from a train on the way to Auschwitz, and ancestral healing  Healing is open ended When a family must keep their stories secret in order to survive, and how that silence affects the lineage- "Nothing influences children more than the silent facts in the background" -C.G. Jung The dreaming channel is always open- being in reciprocity with the world behind the world We are literally made of story, and dreams are the original stories Why we should not be down with OPI- Other People's Information Dreams are nature pulsing through us, and incline us toward our unique medicine The multiplicity of our coherence Not all dreams carry equal weight, but there is no such thing as a throwaway dream either Approaching a dream as if it were a wild animal in a forest Heirlooms, the storying of objects, and what we reclaim when we make things by hand To feed the holy that sustains us, give in a way that doesn't require any more taking The meaning of Toko-pa's name (which was given to her at birth) LINKS: Toko-pa's website Dreamwalking Online Course My piece Ancestral Voices, Women's Weariness, and the Illusion of Linear Time My website MythicMedicine.love Medicine Stories Patreon (Dream Recovery Kit) The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

We each carry our own unique ancestral medicine, and can (and should!) spend a lifetime uncovering it. A teacher of herbal, folk, and indigenous medicine, Atava is deeply grounded in and a powerful guide through this sacred work. IN THE INTRO: Synchronicity, mushroom medicine, and the deer dress Herbal Medicine Giveaway Ancestral Apothecary's Student of Color Scholarship Fund- investing in herbal education is investing in the health of your community The Ancestor Song IN THE INTERVIEW: Invocation When an ancestor becomes an ally from the other side How to know when it's really a message from spirit and not just our own projection Food as the one surviving cultural tradition within a family Remembering your indigenous mind How giving time and attention to our roots can heal relationships among the living Ancestral connection and reverence work never ends Healing is in our bones, our blood, our DNA Being witnessed in our stories Remembering that the plants are (literally) our ancestors Using plants to ground deeply when talking about and facing ancestral issues like colonization and slavery- we're never alone as long as we have our plant allies Making space for people of color to explore and reclaim their ancestral medicine  Teaching healing skills so that people can treat those within their own communities and not need saving from elsewhere Herbalists are the grassroots community healers You're going to be a better herbalist and healer if you're rooted in your own ancestral traditions We all come from people who work with plants Love is the basic fundamental vibration that keeps the universe moving- how love and community saw Atava through uterine cancer & remembering to reweave the energy of love back into the healing arts A beautiful death: how the love we give and receive in this life carries us into the realm of the ancestors LINKS: Ancestral Apothecary School Ancestral Apothecary Ancestral Apothecary on Instagram Weaving Earth Immersion Lead To Life Ancestral Medicine My website Mythic Medicine Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses) Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

Herbalist Kami McBride is back to dive even deeper into the uses of plant medicine for long term vitality and well being. This time we focus on home & kitchen herbalism, which is both super easy/accessible to everyone and the most important way to utilize herbs for daily health. Win win! INTRO: Home herbalism is the best kind of herbalism Put this spice (already in your kitchen!) on a cut to stop bleeding quick Kami's fabulous book, The Herbal Kitchen, has a new 10th anniversary edition! Pre-Order now and get these bonuses: The Turmeric Sessions Video Class Pesto for All Seasons eBook Kitchen Medicine Workshop Herbal Kitchen Recipe Cards Pre-order access to Herbal Kitchen chapter on Herbal Honey INTERVIEW: How simple kitchen herbalism bypasses the overwhelm many new herbalists feel (IT'S SO EASY Y'ALL) Culture begins in the kitchen Empowering yourself to take care of everyday illnesses and ailments at home The magic that happens when women gather to make food and medicine together (with our uniques lineage of women standing behind us) How Kami has her kitchen set up so that incorporating healing herbs into every meal takes no thought Herbal sprinkles alone can change the whole food culture in a home No one eats perfectly healthy at every meal, but adding herbal salts, vinegars, oils, honeys, etc. to each dish automatically and dramatically boosts the nutritional- and flavor!- content Kitchen herbalism returns a vast diversity of missing micronutrients to the Standard American Diet Digestion is literally the foundation of health, and an herbally oriented kitchen supports the flow of blood, energy, and oxygen to your digestive track at every meal Evolving our medical care to the next level begins at home Pesto is as sacred as the elements and is incredible for fighting colds & flu (and has endless possibilities beyond basil!) Reawakening our senses & activating ancestral taste and scent perception Why you need the bitter flavor in your life Alchemy Oil, Chai Honey, and mind blowing Herbal Cordials The best herbal food gifts to give for every occasion Mega next level meal planning- taking 15 minutes to ask yourself what's going on with your/your living mates lives and health this week, and then planning meals and herbal condiments around that LINKS: Pre-Order The Herbal Kitchen now to get the bonuses! My website MythicMedicine.love Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses) The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

Our task as European-ancestored people, seeing what's been hidden beyond our short-sighted view of history, and why healing isn't possible in the absence of love. IN THE INTRO: Who gets to claim their ancestors? Healing broken lineages Cultural appropriation & reparations IN THE INTERVIEW: How Lyla, raised to acknowledge only her Native American side, came to understand and honor her indigenous European ancestors What happens when people hate their ancestors (and therefore themselves) Making space for everyone's healing- permission to grieve all the ancestral traumas  Going way back in time to understand colonizer/oppressor actions Lyla's early experiences with sexual abuse, alcohol, and drugs and how they informed her perspective on restorative justice Pilgrimage to the Sacred Motherland of Europe- "These mountains may have lost their people, but that doesn't mean they don't need ceremony" Seeing through the thin wall of time that dominates our understanding of history & remembering that the vast majority of our ancestors lived before cultures and humans got broken Indigenous languages are the sound of the land speaking through the people Love is the only thing worth doing here Where do we go from here? It depends on where we came from LINKS: Reclaiming our Indigenous European Roots by Lyla in Moon Magazine Lyla on Facebook Episode 27, "Anti-Racist Genealogical Research (For Everyone)" w/ Darla Antoine Episode 26, "Ancestral Reverence as Devotion to the Earth" w/ Daniel Foor My website MythicMedicine.love Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses) The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

The vital intelligence of nature is the force behind all growth, healing, and renewal, and our work as plant healers deepens greatly when we can match whole plants with whole people living inside the dynamic multiverse of the whole cosmos.   FREE Vitalist Herbalism Mini Course In the Intro: The way in which most of us (including me) are called to the plant path It's time to remember who we are The multidimensional medicine of Calendula What I do when I want to remember new information forever How understanding the ancient idea of vitalism changed my approach to plant healing In the Interview: The real definition of holistic medicine (it's probably not what you think it is) Approaching plant relationships the way we approach human relationships Why a balanced approach to herbal learning includes intellect, intuition, science, tradition, personal experience, and the experiences of others The best way to get to know a plant The two words that Sajah saw in a newspaper while clearing tables at a coffee shop job and how they changed his life forever The role synchronicity played in introducing Sajah to one of his most beloved plant allies Alchemy- the wholeness of the plant and the wholeness of the person integrated into the wholeness of the cosmos, and the importance using plants for the psyche and spirit as well as for the physical Mythic astrology, the archetypes of the zodiac, and plants as bridges connecting our internal microcosm to the celestial macrocosm Lung herbs and grief Ancient ancestral resonances and the memory we carry in our DNA The vitalist approach to herbalism- “something that is created by the whole is going to be more intelligent than something created by the part” Plants mentioned include oregon grape root, devils club, wood betony, ceanothus, osha, and mullein Show Notes: Vitalist Herbalism Mini Course Evolutionary Herbalism website The Plant Path Podcast The Medicine Stories Patreon page The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

The stories that call to us, the ancestors who live in us, the cultures that are lost to us, and so much more... IN THE INTRO: Self care and energy hygiene for sensitive types Ancestral languages Elderberry magic IN THE INTERVIEW: Making peace with our names, the legacy of patriarchal naming, changing names, prehistoric kinship ties, and pondering how our most ancient ancestors chose names Spectral visitations from the grandfather who died before Janelle was born Rootlessness, and what is lost when people set out on their own and leave their land and people behind How our ancestors live in us, even when we can't claim their culture as our own Language as a gateway to the ancestors Megalithic monuments and the transition from hunting and gathering to farming in Europe Starting a podcast Knowing whose land you're living on The ancient tales we're drawn to Diving deep into embodiment and creativity The profound inner and outer journey of Personal Mythmaking Navigating the world as a Highly Sensitive Person and empath- "I need a lot of self care to be connected to my deep self" Biodynamic craniosacral therapy, somatic experiencing, and other coping mechanisms/self care Chronic trauma responses and nervous system stuckness The more ephemeral cultural transmissions: textiles, fiber arts, music, dance, cooking, etc. LINKS: Janelle's website My interview on the Personal Mythmakers Podcast My website MythicMedicine.love Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses) The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) The Memory Code by Lynne Kelly Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers The Highly Sensitive Person by Dr. Elaine Aron Lyla June on the For The Wild Podcast, Part 1 and Part 2 Sylvia Lindstead

How strategic inefficiency can make us more efficient, knowing your personality type, and being deeply rooted in place. IN THE INTRO: What time can do (my recent family emergency) Ancestral Lineage Healing Lion's mane mushroom & hawthorn berry medicine IN THE INTERVIEW: How the journey through grief, depression, and getting on and then getting off 5 different pharmaceuticals at once led Rebecca to herbalism Meeting the spirit of a place/seeing your home with new eyes Sexy desert plants: creosote (chaparral/Larrea) & ocotillo Where there is no word for magic because it's just a normal part of life & why believing in magic makes us human The West's missing rites of initiation & why we have such a hard time adulting Realizing that no one else is going to tell you that you belong, that you have the gift, that you are magical The humoural approach to herbalism & healing: why knowing your personal balance of temperaments (sanguine, choleric, meloncholic, and phlegmatic) can help you to know yourself better The debilitating cultural preference/lie embedded in The Hero's Journey  The virtues of working inefficiently A practice to get you rooted and step you back inside yourself: reconnecting to what we cut off in order to get things done quicker & better Root medicine: shatavari & ashwaganda LINKS: Rebecca's websites: King's Road Apothecary and The Wonder Sessions Ancestral Lineage Healing Intensive in Berkeley 2/8-10 My website MythicMedicine.love Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses) The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Malidoma Somé

Most artists, and working women, keep their parenthood separate from their work and creativity. Alela Diane is bucking that (unnatural/inauthentic) trend, and we speak about the hard decisions working moms face, how giving life to her second daughter literally almost killed her, and the many magical ways her songs come into being. IN THE INTRO: The complexities of motherhood, Part 1: Weaning Win a copy of Alela's latest album Cusp The future of this podcast  IN THE INTERVIEW: Alela's unique name, bohemian childhood, and deeply rooted familial musical inheritance The painful life experiences that led Alela to start making music Songs that come in dreams, or that contain foreknowledge of the future The complexities of motherhood, Part 2: Tour life as a mom (taking them with until you're like neh, they're staying home) Alela's giving birth / near death experience Knowing when your loved one has passed, before you get the news LINKS: AlelaDiane.com Mother Magazine feature on Alela My website MythicMedicine.love Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses) The Medicine Stories Facebook group Take my fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Music by Mariee Sioux (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)