Through following the patterns, rhythms & cycles of creation, the ancient alchemists held the key to unlocking the language of nature. This depth of understanding the greater mysteries of life helped them to create systems of medicine & science that were deeply healing & transformative.

Plants in themselves have a profound ability to initiate us into a higher level of living – of accessing and awakening our truest selves. But the work of Alchemy takes this process of working with plants to a whole new depths, for you’re not just working with a plant medicine, you’re also harnessing & harvesting the planets and elements in your medicine as well.

Each and every process in preparing Spagyric (Alchemical) herbal medicines involves working with these greater elemental & celestial forces that influence each one of us and each plant we work with. Every step in the Spagyric process of making medicine is a reflection of the processes nature goes through. In Alchemy we’re mirroring nature to assist in the evolution of consciousness through healing on these deeper levels.

In this workshop, we’ll dive into the initiatory processes behind preparing a Spagyric medicine. As a plant is prepared through each element – water, fire, earth and air – these elemental forces also cleanse, purify and exalt the highest qualities within ourselves to become more awakened and evolved beings. We’ll discuss the symbolism and meaning behind each step in the Spagyric process and meditate upon how we can experience these transformative processes within our own beings.

This class is a primer in the practice of Alchemy, beginning first with the inner Alchemy one must go through to begin preparing the external Alchemical processes of medicine making. We’re not getting into step-by-step instruction on how to prepare Spagyrics in this workshop – rather, we’re setting the foundation of becoming initiated into the great work of transformational healing that is Alchemy.

This workshop is focused on how to build relationships in the botanical world & rekindle kinship with plants in these times of discomfort, uncertainty & environmental destruction. It is an invitation to explore our relationship with the botanical beings we work with and how to become a better steward, protector & caretaker of the medicine plants that grow on this Mother Earth.

We will explore the many ways plants can use us to weave us back into The Web of Life, and teach us to become, once again, an animal in an ecosystem, a useful part of a greater whole.

We’re at a critical time on the planet when we need to shift away from extractive mindsets &  back to a reciprocity-based relationships with plants, eco-systems, non-human others, & each other. Decolonizing herbalism from dominant society paradigms is the vital work of plant medicine folk in this time. It’s essential that we adjust our mindset and perception away from just using plants for ourselves, but how we can give back, tend to and nourish them, and be in a state of relationship with them.

This healing reaches deep within the marrow – through our ancestry, reclaiming our sacred connection to the Earth we are a part of. It also awakens the responsibility we have to tend to the medicine plants as our family members, ensuring their seedlings and the wisdom of their healing gifts may continue to flourish for the future generations. This class is an introduction to tools we can all use to relearn & practice these ancient, nourishing ways.