Herbs Require Relationship

Relationship is the fundamental difference between allopathic medicine and working with plants. Some see this relationship requirement as a hurdle because it takes more time and effort. But I think it's part of the medicine.

A burdock friend.

Now, you can treat herbs as if they are allopathic medicine — grabbing goldenseal and echinacea every time you get sick. It's possible to swap out Nyquil and use (and I mean that word, "use") wild lettuce to similar ends. I would argue that's not herbalism or at least it’s not herbalism as I practice it. Herbalism is not just “medicine but natural” to me.

I practice what’s called vitalist herbalism. The word “vitalism” refers to the vital force, or the animating intelligence of all living things. To practice vitalist herbalism is to work with the body rather than against it. Astroherbalist Sarah Corbett defines vitalism as “a holistic model that sees people as unique, honors the intelligence of their body, and aims to work in alignment with the healing power of nature.” (Sarah is a mentor and friend. If you like my work, you’ll love Sarah’s Seasonal Herbcraft program. It’s incredible and has had a huge impact on my practice.)

Vitalism asks us to conspire with the body’s plans for health. Rather than saying, “Oh, sneezing is bad, stop the sneezing,” we ask, “What’s the body trying to do by sneezing? What might the sneezing be telling us?” In this approach, symptoms are signals. The body is not a problem but a companion. This is one of the relationships that deepens with herbalism.

Of course, the plants are companions too and equally we honor their intelligence. Rather than use them, which replicates patterns of extraction, we collaborate with the plants. We create new habits that include them. We consider how their intelligence will weave with what the body is trying to do. We care whether the plants we want to work with are ones that are plentiful or if they are endangered. We get to know them.

Some St. John’s Wort that lives a few blocks from my home.

When people ask, “But do herbs work?” Yeah, and some of them “work” right away. But a lot of them are meant to be foods, tonics, or they build us up over time, reminding our bodies of what they can do but have forgotten. I think that's so beautiful.

I mostly love that most herbal remedies don't work like time-release capsules and that we have to continuously welcome them into our lives throughout the day. There's something Saturnian about it all, the commitment required. A commitment to yourself and to the plants.

There’s a returning to the plants in our lives, over and over, that builds nourishing connection. However, it’s worth mentioning the trouble of relationship: few of us have time and energy to spare. It is tough to tell someone, “Your herbal protocol means you're making yourself tea 3 times a day and applying a salve as often and also movement and nutrition and sleep hygiene, and and and —” Sometimes, being holistic can be too much.

Finding what is both reasonable and connective is a huge part of my role as an herbalist. When I work with people, we collaborate to find what's honestly manageable. There’s no point in a protocol if the person can’t do it or if it’s going to make them more stressed and tired. The protocol should be exciting and linked with tasks you already do so it feels possible.

In caring for our bodies this way, we feel compelled to take care of our medicines too. To plant these herbs on a windowsill or in a community plot. Or to steward them plants where they already grow without asking them for anything. To pick up trash in our neighborhoods and local parks as an offering to the land.

The wonders of burdock leaf’s sheer scale.

This work is a truly a practice. Practicing treating our bodies like the wise creatures they are. Practicing relating to the more-than-human world and the wonder those relationships bring. Practicing trust. Practicing relationship. Unwinding our conditioning of use and exploitation. Practicing new ways of listening. If we “heal,” it is in this direction — in the direction of relationship as a practice.

These are the values upon which my astroherbal work is built. If you’d like to work with me, take a look at my astroherbal offerings.