Join Herbalist & Tea maven Darcey Blue to discover the magic and alchemy of blending herbs together, in water, for healing and pleasure. The benefits of preparing, drinking and connecting with your herbal medicines as tea is an important therapeuetic self care practice for both herbalists and their clients.  But no one wants to drink a medicinal tea that is unpalatable, and we’ve all made a blend or two that was a bust.  After 13 years of blending medicinal and beverage teas with herbs,  Darcey has learned a few tricks and strategies to help make this process less mystifying and more enjoyable. This class will cover the basics of understanding the six tastes of herbs and herbal energetics that are vital to being able to blend delicious and effective herbal tea medicines (and other forms of herbal medicine!), and an overview of energetics in people and constitutions. We will learn a few different strategies for formulating herbs in tea blends, which can be distinct from tinctures, in which palatability and compliance is less of a challenge. Additionally we’ll cover preparation methods for different kinds of teas/brews, client compliance strategies (how to make it easy for them!), and share several recipes for basic medicinal formulas/blends that can be adapted to different people and situations. Medicine should be both beautiful, delicious and effective. We will taste different herbs and teas during the class.  Please bring your mug! 

The practice of Sacred Reciprocity has become a bit of lost art in modern western culture, but all traditional peoples had ceremonial and beautiful ways of showing gratitutde and giving back to the land that supported their lives.  As healers, earth lovers, plant people, sacred warriors and priestesses, it falls on us to recreate, honor and hold space for our communities to show our gratitude in meaningful and beautiful ways.  Together in this time we will create a sacred space, call on the spirits of the land of Black Oak Ranch which has supported women together for so many years, to create an offering of prayers and gratitude.  We will create a “despacho” as it is called in the Andes, a beautiful mandala filled with food, seeds, sweets, sacred plants, and all our prayers, together, to be offered to the Fire.  The power of prayer is well known, and these direct offerings of gratitude to the land (and the plants we work with!) can be quite powerful and effect transformation, healing and empowerment in our lives and work in the world.    All are welcome.   Please bring 3 small, whole leaves for your prayer offering, and a drum, rattle, whistle or flute to help us create sacred space. 

Treating acute situations requires an intensive and active herbal strategy, which includes frequency, dosing, monitoring and potential referral out to further medical care. This class will cover the materia medica/herbal allies  effective at clearing infections, how to monitor and assess, therapeutic strategies of frequency and dosage, and when to refer out to further medical care. Most infections can and do clear with appropriate herbal treatment, but it is best to be prepared and know when to seek assistance from other medical practitioners. This is especially important as we come across increased frequency of antibiotic resistant strains of bacterial infections, and folks without access to insurance. Treating infections effectively and responsibly is a great service to our communities. Lyme disease therapeutics will not be covered in this class since it is beyond the scope of Darcey's personal practice.