Blazing Star Herbal School

Must Read article #3: The Herbalist Manifesto

 

The Herbalist Manifesto

Responsible herbalists live by a credo to live in accordance to the divinity of life. Our fingers are on the pulse of our little planet. We must act with compassion and prudence. It is our duty to serve. Our duty is tied to our knowledge and sensitivity yet the duty is greater than egos. With this in mind, we must follow the rules of this manifesto.

1. Live a life which celebrates health. The herbalist must strive to live a healthy life in order to serve as an example to others.

2. Be the perpetual student. The more that you learn, the more people you can help.

3. Be mindful of your environment. The disease of an individual begins in the environment. Observe unhealthy living conditions in the home, workplace and community. Strive to correct them for the benefit of all.

4. Give help where help is requested. Offer help to best your ability or refer assistance from a more qualified source.

5. Be cautious in your speech. Herbalists are leaders in the community so our words are catalysts of change. Think carefully before speaking.

6. Honor the plants that assist you. Be respectful when planting, nurturing and harvesting herbs. Be mindful of the plant community that the herb lives in. All things are connected and all actions have consequences.

7. Abandon selfishness. Harvest only what you need. Ignore the cravings of impulse. Live as part of the community not apart from the community.

8. Listen with an open mind. Research carefully. Be mindful of the past, stay grounded in the present and allow hope for the future.

Peace be with you. – Sue Sierralupe

 

Sue Sierralupe is a certified herbalist, sustainable landscape educator, and avid naturalist. She is also a writer, organic gardener, and permaculture pioneer. The Herbalist Manifesto is a more personal vision of her journey through the world of natural living than her other super informative choke full not to be missed blog The Practical Herbalist.  The Herbalist Manifesto is also blog that sponsors progressive stewardship.

 

If you are a new reader do check out our previous "must read" articles:

The New American Patient by Paul Bergner

Ten-Fold Path To Becoming a Community Herbalist by Gail Faith Edwards

 

 

 

 

Thank You for Choosing Blazing Star Herbal School.

We have some Thank-You gifts for You!

We have been around Ashfield for over 25 years! and I'd  like to Thank all you past apprentices and friends for keeping us going... We have had an Tuesday Apprenticeship running for that long...I myself have taught the program now for 12 cycles and I must admit that I still wake up on Tuesdays and say Yeah Tuesday! Wondering what where the plant spirits will lead us!

So here is my way of Thanking You...Paying it forward. . .

I know it is hard to decide which program to take these days... So many great programs to chose from. What we offer is a program that focusses on "Herbalism as a Way of Life" the many many ways in which you can integrate Plant Medicine, Spirit and Connection to enrich  your daily life. We learn derectly from the plants themselves, we learn about the plants that come to us, we learn to be a stewart of the Green World.

So here is the deal

 

Anyone who sends a deposit in for the 2012 Beginner/Intermediate Apprenticeship (click for details) between now and Dec 22nd will receive a package of Winters Medicine Goodies!

 

Winter Medicine Goodies Package:

- 1 oz of Boneset Tincture

- 2 oz Echinacea

- 1 oz Elderberry Syrup

-1 Chest Rub

-4 oz of FireCider

 

as a special THANK YOU GIFT for chosing to pursue your studies with us!

 

Words from past apprentices:

My experience as a first year herbal apprentice has been one of the best decisions I have made for myself. I am building a strong foundation in the basics of herbalism and have formed new and nurturing friendships. I have gained a new understanding of the global impact of food practices and its politics on the world and on our bodies. I have become aware of the importance of living organically and environmentally. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in enriching their lives and living more consciously! -Patty McKenizie

This herbal medicine apprenticeship has offered so much more than I anticipated. Not only am I learning about herbs and their uses, the class has also offered hands-on exploration of the plant world and medicine making, and in-depth discussion about food activism. Tony(a) has integrated into our study field trips to beautiful, local areas of interest, encouraged attending an array of noteworthy speakers and has created a meaningful, conscious attitude toward community.  -Kara Leistyna

The 10 month program is a perfect way to gain insight to the world of herbalism, learn about gardening and the harvesting of herbs, and making medicine and body products out of earth's natural gifts to us. Coming from the Boston area, I look forward to my weekly apprenticeship at BSHS and find it a good way to begin the journey into plant medicine, whole health and conscious living.-Amber Mamakos

This is where I see the garden changing my life. I knew on that higher level of knowing, that Blazing Star is not just a garden. It is a quieter space where I have one day a week to contemplate how the rest of my life can be spent-In a tornado or the eye of the hurricane.Tues has become one of my favorite days of the week. -Julie Robbins

 

The Art and Science of Herbal Medicine-

As many of you know one of my most influencial teachers of Herbal Medicine was Susun Weed of the Wise Woman Center. More often than not a  student tells me that it was Susuns brilliant book "Healing Wise" that got them going on the path of herbalism, and joining the growing numbers of people walking the herbal path.

Susun's books can be purchased here. Susun Weed is also a guest host on Wise Woman Radio, recently Susun caught up with me .......Here is the result!

An Interview on Wise Woman Radio with Susun Weed

Click here to hear the interview: Interview of Tony(a) Lemos by Susun Weed

 

 

Blazing Star Herbal School Fall Happenings Newsletter!

Please click on each page to read the full size version!

 

No Fear Flu Class Returns to Ashfield MA

The "No Fear Fu" Workshop returns after the popularity of this class last season.

This class is well suited for total beginners as well as for people with herbal experience. 

 

 

Sunday Nov 13, 1-6pm  $45

Ashfield MA (location tba depending on numbers)

 

 We will explore nourishing herbs, medicinal foods and tonic —recipes using ginger, astragulus, garlic, apples, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables, that strengthen our terrain, build our immunity, while supporting optimum wellness. We become familiar with common anti bacterial and anti viral herbs, how to prepare them and how to use them in ways that are safe and health building for the entire family. We will look at ways to prevent getting the flu by building up the immune system and also become familiar with treatments for the flu.

There is nothing quite as empowering as knowing how to make your own medicines. Herbs are magical but preparing and using them doesn't have to be mystical. We will learn how to make simple medicines from common herbs and foods.

 

Register using paypal below or send check to:

Blazing Star Herbal School 

Po Box 154

Ashfield MA 01330

                                                                           

 

 

For More Info Please Contact:

Tony(a) Lemos

413.628 1655

blazingstarclinic(at) gmail (dot)com 

and remember to scroll down for our monthly special!

ON SALE UNTIL DEC 5:The Winters Health Empowerment Package!

 

This package includes the  Course 1: Optimum Winters Health of the 

Do-it-Yourself Herbalism    ...practical, thrify and fun! 

as well as the  Family Winter Health Package

which includes: 

4oz Echinacea

4 oz Elderberry C Syrup

1 oz of Boneset Tincture

1 oz of Elecampane Tincture

1oz of Calendula/Sage Tincture

Winter Warming Bath Salts

   1 oz of Thyme Elixir

 Winter Medicine Instruction Booklet

For a total of $175 (that saves you $75 ! deal or what!!)

   

Options

October Special! Combo $175.00 Family Winter Health Package $99.00 Optimum Winters Health Course $150.00

                                                                                    

 The Topics Included in the Optimum Winters Health Distance Learning Program include:

 

Immune System Overview

No Fear Flu

Building Immunuity

Cooking for Winters Health

Understanding Anti-Virals and Anti-Bacterials

Medicine Chest of Winter Recipes

Supplies Lists

 4 weeks of Reading, Assignments, and Medicine Making.

** This course will offered from December 1st to March 1st.**

 

 

Landed...or why it has been quiet around here

We've been busy! We have moved! From one side of Ashfield to the far side of town! One of the hardest part of the move for me was moving the gardens. Thanks to the willingness of this years apprentices and some friends we spent four long days digging and potting plants…As an herbalist it is so hard to decide what gets left behind……how does one decide? 

(plants packed up and ready to go)

planting the community garden. lots of echinacea, monarda,lungwort, wild yam, valarian, wood betony, skulcap, baptisia, yarrow, bl. cohosh, peonies, ladys mantle, lemon balm, and catnip here.

planting the beds with gotu kola, tulsi, elecampane, spilanthes, meadowsweet, hibiscus, boneset, eucalyptus, marshmallow, calendula and a tea tree!

(the chickweed tub pictured), a nettles patch, and a violet area is under cultivation...some transplants some seeds. Burdock has been planted by seeds in rich soft easy to harvest!! soil.

There is much under cultivation in the green house calamus, vitex, white sage, licorice, wisteria

 

and Passion Flower!!!  Soon to begin Slippery Elm, and Hawthorne. 

As well as getting plants settled we have been getting chicks settled!

Next project:

Beginning the Woodland Garden Goldenseal, Blue Cohosh, American Ginseng. Boy we are busy!

 

Courses presently running (and with room still):

2011 Tuesday Apprenticeship (info here)

DIY Summer Maladies and First Aid Correspondence Course (register and info here)

Family Health Distance Learning Course (register and info here)

 

.........we'll be back with more Plant Profiles, Monthly Specials, Must Read Articles and Health Challenges as we continue to get more settled!

Juliette of the Herbs and new movie in production by Juliette's film maker Tish Streeten

With all this Juliette talk I think I must mention the film here. I look forward the first rainy rainy tuesday of the apprenticeship as an excuse to do a showing of my dear friend Tish Streeten's film" Juliette of the Herbs" 



Juliette of the Herbs is a beautifully filmed lyrical portrait of the life and work of Juliette de Bairacli Levy: herbalist, author, breeder of Afghan hounds, friend of the Gypsies, traveller in search of herbal wisdom and the pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine. For more than 60 years Juliette lived with the Gypsies, nomads and peasants of the world, learning the healing arts of these people who live close to nature, and learning from nature herself. Now 85 years of age, Juliette’s life story is as colourful and exciting as her tremendous wealth of herbal knowledge. 

Filmed on location in Greece, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, England and America, and interwoven with Juliette’s vast collection of archival photographs, together with scenes of Gypsies dancing and Bedouins with their herds, Juliette of the Herbs is an inspiring portrait of a remarkable woman. 

 Here is a great article on the life of Juliette
 

 

about Tish Streeten - Filmmaker 

Tish Streeten has been making documentary films for more than 15 years. She has been studying herbal medicine for more than 30 years. Juliette of the Herbs, a feature length documentary portrait of the grandmother of today's herbal movement, has won many awards and has been shown in festivals and theatres across the country and internationally. The success of this film is a result of Tish's deep understanding of the subject matter and her talent as a filmmaker.

Tish Streeten was born and grew up in Oxford, England. She studied agricultural botany at the University College of North Wales and then decided she could learn more from practical work in the field. For the next ten years she worked throughout Europe and America as an organic farmer, gardener, fruit picker and herbalist. In 1979 she went to work with Danilo Dolci in Sicily as the resident gardener for the Centro Studi e Iniziative. Tish was in Sicily for almost three years.

In 1982 Tish came to New York to make documentary films, studying for one year at New York University with George Stoney and Brian Winston. Here she made her first film, Community Dig, a short documentary about an archaeological excavation in Greenwich Village, which aired on public television. Tish has since worked as producer, editor, researcher, post-production supervisor, sound editor, sound recordist and assistant editor on many independent, cable and public television documentaries. Recently Tish produced, directed and edited Sicilian Sojourn, a 20 minute documentary on responsible tourism and the cultural traditions of Sicily. She also co-produced and edited Ecological Design: Inventing the Future, which has won many awards and was shown at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. She was researcher and co-producer of Sangoma, a film for Canadian television about traditional healers in South Africa. A few years ago Tish worked on the highly acclaimed television series, Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers. She is currently producing two series - one called Green Witches, on women herbalists and traditional healers world wide; and another, Trees That Heal, about medicinal trees world wide. Juliette of the Herbs is Tish's first feature length documentary.

Tish formed her production company, Mabinogion Films, to produce and distribute documentaries on women, the environment and the cultural traditions of the world. The Mabinogion are a collection of mediaeval Welsh romances of Celtic origin. The word mabinogion means storytelling. Tish's films are made with an intimate knowledge, caring and respect for her subjects. Sicilian Sojourn grew out of three years living and working with the people of Sicily. Juliette of the Herbs was seven years in the making. For Tish, the film making process is one of organic growth. Tish produces, directs, writes, edits and records sound for her films. She also does the research, fund-raising and distribution.

 

And Tish has a new documentary film in production Tulsi, Queen of Herbs. You can read all about it on the new website here

 

Celebrate Juliette De Baracli Levy's 100th Birthday with new books!

Read on for discount coupons for our DIY Correspondence Courses!!!

I want to share with you a wonderful book by Juliette de Bairacli Levy, the Grandmother of Herbal Medicine - Summer in Galilee.  You'll find Juliette and her two toddlers irresistible as they explore the Sea of Galilee (in the modern State of Israel) together.  Summer in Galilee includes an herbal index by Susun Weed, photos fromJuliette's archives, and stories that will stay with you forever.  Timely, filled with historical tales and emotional adventures, Summer in Galilee is a classic that is passed from hand to hand, generation to generation.

And when you buy this wonderful and highly acclaimed book on Tuesday June 7th, you'll will receive dozens of wonderful downloadable bonuses that you'll love!  Go to: www.grandmotherherbalmedicine.com  learn about 70 partners who are celebrating the life and work of the amazing Juliette de Bairacli Levy, the grandmother of herbal medicine.

Join Juliette as she spends an eventful summer swimming in the waters, and the history, of the Sea of Galilee, in the modern state of Israel. Juliette trains her observant eyes, and lovely descriptive prose, on the people, places, plants and animals around her.  

You will hold your breath as Juliette dares to traverse the forbidden militarized zone around the Jordan River in pursuit of a personal communion with this holiest of lands.

You'll thrill as she and her children discover ancient treasure, be fascinated as she visits the tombs of  Jewish mystics, and, perhaps, scream in terror as she is visited in the dark of night by an enormous snake - only to breathe a sigh of relief when she is saved by her faithful Afghan hound. 

Juliette vividly describes her visit to a Bedouin village, and the trouble this causes, both in the kibbutz where she lives and among the Bedouins. But with keen wit, steely nerve, and kind heart, she manages to please everyone, including her readers, as she saves the day and mends frayed tempers.

And when you buy this wonderful and highly acclaimed book, you'll be offered dozens of wonderful downloadable bonuses that you'll love!  Including discounts on our DIY Correspondence Courses!!!! For over 70 gifts, go to: www.grandmotherherbalmedicine.com  and help us spread the legacy of this amazing woman, the grandmother of herbal medicine, Juliette de Bariacli Levy.

Registration Extended! DIY Herbalism: Summers Remedies and First Aid, Distance Learning Program

***Due to the popularity of this course I have decided to keep registration open until July 4th 2011***

 

The third course in our popular

Do-it-Yourself Herbalism Series

                         ...practical, thrifty and fun!

Course 3:

 Summers Remedies and First Aid 

Are you tired on reading the labels and trying to decipher the truth about sunscreens that really work not harm!  Tired of spending money on natural Bug Sprays that do not keep bugs away. Sick of not knowing how to soothe and relieve the "unbearable" itch of poison ivy. Fed up with those seasonal allergies.....Why not why not make your own remedies! 

 

In this hands on medicine making course the focus will be on creating  an at home First Aid kit to treat everyday ailments with a special focus on summer maladies.  We will also profile in detail several common summer plants and explore ways to utilize them. 

 

Why DIY Herbalism: Are you and your family on the path to becoming more sustainable? Keeping chickens, bees...then sustainable health /sustainable medicine is the next step for your family. Imagine growing and processing your own medicine. Competent and confident to treat your children when they are under-the-weather, here at Blazing Star we like to empower individuals to make informed choices about their own families day-to-day health and wellbeing.

 

(photo credit: Aglaia Kremezi)

We will address the following conditions (and others):

Cuts and scrapes

Burns (sun and fire)

Bug bites, (ticks, mosquitoes and bees) (TX and PX)

Muscle aches (Sprains/strains)

Bleeding and Bruises

Poison Ivy and Poison Oak rash

Dehydration (sun poisoning)

 Seasonal Allergies (chronic and acute Tx plans)

 

Basic and creative medicine making will also be addressed.

 

***Due to the popularity of this course I have decided to keep registration open until July 4th 2011***

$150   (paypal or checks accepted) 

 

                                                                            

 

Mailing address is Po Box 154, Ashfield MA 01330