Classes Session 3: August 30-September 2, 2024
Click on the + sign to see the class description. Click on the teacher photo or name to go to her bio page.
Join us in a sound bath meditation, summoning the fairies who enchant the wild blackberry brambles. We will ask for protection as we build our own internal ring of light through an enchanted hour of music. Meditation will be followed by open discussion and reintegration back into the body.
Join us in a Sound Bath Meditation as we take a musical journey beyond the parameters of body and mind. We will follow the silver cord out in to the cosmos and beyond to the great Void. A place of ultimate peace and healing. Meditation will be followed by open discussion and reintegration back into the body.
After getting out of your vehicles, come and enjoy the beautiful welcome from the amazing green beings who open their home to us. Learn a bit of their magical attributes which they so sweetly offer us. Ground yourself in the peace and beauty of Black Oak Ranch.
Come visit our plant elders and experience their habitat and companion choices. We will discuss their preferences and needs. We'll also discuss their many gifts, and how sometimes their habitat makes them not appropriate for medicine making.
During this class we will learn the history of Gua Sha as it was taught to Vivian by her father in Taiwan, as well as how it has positively affected her throughout her life. We will look at a visual illustration showing the correlation between scraping certain body parts and how our body's reaction is indicative of which needs. Then we will use scraping tools and oil and learn how to scrape ourselves and each other - emphasizing safety and consent - using Gua Sha techniques to the extent of relieving stress and fostering a better understanding of how our bodies can keep us in tune with its needs. Then we will learn essential aftercare measures to ensure a smooth recovery.
Have you been nervous to make your own herbal medicine for yourself and your family? Come join us for a fun, hands-on workshop where you will explore how to make a variety of herbal preparations that you can make in your kitchen using simple techniques. We will go through a step by step process to make folk tinctures, infusions, decoctions, syrups and oils. We'll also go over some ideas to incorporate medicinal herbs into our everyday kitchen recipes.
Bring a small jar to make your own infused herbal oil. If you have dried herbs you've been wanting to make something with, bring them to the class and we can discuss different ways you can use them.
We will delve into the techniques, tools and tricks of the trade needed to cultivate medicinal herbs on your farm. We will spend the first part of this class learning the different ways to start and expand your plantings and the second half getting into processing, learning the techniques professional herb farmers use to get your herbs from start to finish with the highest medicinal value possible. This class will give you the knowledge you need to get your plants from seedling to harvest and on to processing. From roots to flowers we will discuss it all. Bring your questions.
Join us for a workshop on Asian American herbalism - a blend of traditional East Asian and North American folk herbalism. We will explore our relationships to herbs, earth-based healing practices, and Asian American wellness culture. Erin will guide the class to understand the concepts of Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang in the body and in the herbs. We will personalize this knowledge with herbs and daily rituals that can be applied to daily life and cultivated in a healing practice.
In this class, we will learn:
- What is Asian American herbalism? How it works in theory, the natural world, and in clinical practice.
- Introduction to East Asian medicine concepts.
- Herbs to benefit Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang.
- Time for prompted journaling, self-reflection, and Qigong meditation.
Moxibustion therapy uses moxa, made from mugwort leaves, to warm the body and acupuncture points for therapeutic benefit. Learn how to practice this heat therapy at home for healing, comfort, and uplift. There will be hands-on learning of the various techniques, including using a moxa stick, moxa box, and hand rolling in the Japanese tradition. We’ll also explore the culture, theory, and history of this therapy. A moxibustion stick will be provided for the first 30 students.
In this class we'll learn:
- DIY moxibustion workshop
- How to moxa common acupuncture points and areas of the body for therapeutic benefit
- History and traditional practice of moxibustion
- Intro to Eastern energetics
- Cautions and contraindications
In Ayurveda, the health and vitality of the digestive system is the single most important factor in determining long term health. The power or capacity of our digestion, (agni) determines our ability to break down and assimilate everything we take in: foods, thoughts, ideas, emotions, substances and experiences. The digestive system also helps regulate immune function, by sorting out pathogens and toxins (called ama) as well as promoting the growth of healthy gut flora and bacteria.
While western nutrition focuses on the actual foods we take in, Ayurveda looks at everything we take into our bodies on the physical, spiritual, psychological and emotional level. Learn foods, herbs, spices and yoga practices that support digestion. Learn the optimal time of day, seasons, cycles and settings for strengthening the digestive system. Includes recipes, 24 hour clock chart and interactive materials.
Ayurvedic herbology has a unique and elemental understanding of the qualities of herbs according to their flavor, temperature and digestive action (rasa, virya and vipaka). Learn the elemental qualities of common herbs and kitchen spices and demystify “for whom” and “for when” they might be beneficial or contraindicated. This interactive workshop includes handouts of the flavor wheel, herbs/spices to taste and interactive materials. All levels are welcome but a .basic understanding of ayurveda is helpful.
Learning how to craft your unique business is an art. One of the most important aspects of a successful small business is knowing your own unique brand voice that is authentic to you. After crafting your voice, next you will need to build your goals to see if it aligns with your values, and then align with the market’s (your customers) needs. This is a learning process for every entrepreneur, but once you have a strong foundation, it’s an easier, less expensive journey to embark upon.
We will go over the fundamentals of a business: basic financials, target market, unique value proposition, and answer business questions for those jumping with a service (private practice, education, or events) or consumer products.
Do you have an advanced care directive that will guide loved ones and medical staff in knowing your desires should you not be able to speak for yourself?
If not, this class will give you important information needed to make informed decisions about how you want to be treated at the end of life. We will show you tools that are available to make your wishes clear as well as giving thought to what you want to have happen after you die.
We Crones will be there to offer support to enable you to create documents that reflect your desires, values and wishes.
We will share with you the California Advanced Health Care directive and the Five Wishes forms as a template to create your personal document.
The traditional Death Café’s are held all over the world and allow participants to come together in a safe setting to talk about death and dying. In our previous symposium Café’s we have talked about helping ourselves and others get comfortable with the fact of death, challenges dealing with the health profession, options besides burial or cremation, making critical decisions related to death and dying, and more.
The Symposium Death Café is not a class per-se, it is a conversation. We can ask questions, find answers, share stories, explore fears and celebrate knowledge with love!
In this class we will start off by diving into the question: What is Alchemy? We will initially focus on Alchemy concepts, and the history of alchemy dating back to Ancient Egypt, and how that translates to today. We will talk about the relation of Alchemy in TCM, as well as Ayurveda, and brush on the topic of astrology, and the celestial guidance that is often looked to in alchemical processes. We will then discuss how alchemy is seen in nature, and how our and other’s observations have created the Spagyric tincture process. We will then discuss the importance of lab safety and how to go about the extraction method in a good way.
In this class we will break apart the three major classifications of parasites, and what infections can look like, either long term untreated, or just rearing. We will talk about certain parasites lifespan, and how to use this knowledge to offer forms of treatment for others. We will talk about pre, post, and during treatment modalities and the importance of pre/post supports. We will discuss the importance of knowledge in knowing your subject well and how it might look with parasites moving through them at that time, and what you can do to be best supportive.
In this class we will draw out a map and discuss the constitution of each sign, and where in the body there is correspondence. Students should be able to walk away with a basic understanding of the constituents of each Astrology sign and why those signs specifically can impact an organ. Students should bring enough paper to draw their own diagram, along with taking notes. We will also discuss the history of medical astrology, its prevalence in previous time periods, and how astrology also relates to plants and our calendar. This class will not cover how to read an individual's medical astrology, it is a “basic intro-class” to help prepare one to do so if they choose to seek interest.
If you are a lover of plants, and feel a deep connection with nature, you have no doubt stumbled upon a plant that gave you a sense of remembrance. Or maybe you felt the plant speak to you. In this class, we’ll gain insight on ways to connect with plants through an intuitive and natural way - the way of knowing. In this class, we will explore the ways in which plants can, and do, communicate, and how to deepen that intuitive connection.
The heart is one of the most, if not the most, vital organ in our bodies. In this class we will gain knowledge on herbal plant allies that will help in opening and strengthening the heart. Metaphorically and physically. Join us as we are also guided in internal open heart exercises.
In this class we’ll discuss the 5 Universal Postpartum needs and Ayurveda’s perspective on healing and nurturing this special time in a woman and family’s life. Deep nourishing practices that offer life-long healing for the years ahead in motherhood. Learning these simple practices and perspective on women’s health and postpartum care as a cultural shift. Centering Woman and Mothering for our collective healing and wellbeing. We’ll discuss ayurvedic anatomy & herbal formulations as well as demonstrate belly binding and Yoni Swedhana (vaginal steaming).
In this class we will celebrate the women who have carried life within their wombs. We will hold a ritual of “closing the bones” or “sealing the gates”. With sisters to support and honor this journey of pregnancy and birth, we gather to help us re-member. We’ll sing, drum and ritually close those opened portals to support us in our foundation of motherhood. This class is for all women who have been pregnant (for any length of time) and wish to participate. Hand drums and rattles welcome.
You’ve heard of the circadian rhythm, the cycles of day and night. In this class we’ll learn about the infradian rhythm, the lunar cycle. We’ll learn how to relate to this cycle and our menstrual cycle. How can we live and love by our natural inner moon rhythm? What is happening during our follicular / ovulation / luteal / menstrual phases? Our hormones, desires, and nutritional needs are different for each phase! We’ll explore how we can support ourselves emotionally, spiritually, physically and nutritionally. We’ll learn the herbs to support each phase with steams, teas, tinctures and infusions.
Unlock the secrets of crafting delightful sodas and seasonal shrubs using wild ingredients straight from nature's pantry! In this hands-on class, we'll journey through the world of soda and shrub -making, learning to harness the vibrant flavors and natural goodness found in wild plants, fruits, and herbs. We’re invited to unleash our creativity and celebrate the diverse flavors of nature that tantalize the taste buds and nourish the soul!
There will be a $15 supply fee for this class.
Using West Coast fungi and lichen dyed wool, this class will explore the process of using a resist to create an artistic wet felted hat to keep to keep you warm and fashionable on your wild plant and mushroom forays. We will touch on foraging, dying process, and fiber preparation but the main focus will be on the felting process. Participants can choose from project designs that can be practical, whimsical or somewhere in between. This introduction to wet felting class is a great jump-off point for creating many beautiful and functional felted items. Wet felting is slightly physical, come prepared to get a great upper-body work out and a little wet. Projects can be completed within these class sessions.
We will spend this time to finish our Noggin Caps.
Learn traditional drumming and dances from Ghana, West Africa.
Learn traditional drumming and dances from Ghana, West Africa.
Understanding how our body works allows for a more grounded place to make decisions about health and consequently our community's health. Fear, anger, and anxiety are emotions that can be used to manipulate by affecting our stress response and we often feel powerless over the experience. No matter the cause of sympathetic stimulation, too much lowers our quality of life instead of its intended purpose of preparing us to identify and address an emergency. In this class, we will dive into the physiology of our sympathetic stress response and the nutrition and herbal medicines that affect it.
To the untrained eye, a field can look like a bunch of unruly grass. But with our botanical eyes, we see possibilities and relationships! Flowers hidden in the overgrowth reveal characteristics that suggest familial connections, but some flowers don’t even look like flowers! How do we know what we are looking at? We need to look beyond the petals into the organs of reproduction, where the magic of pollination happens. This is a hands-on flower dissection class, we will dissect flowers and observe their petals, perianths, ovaries and calyxes!
The line between food and medicine is very fuzzy. Demulcents are a perfect representation of this balance with their mucilage-rich slime that can feel miraculously delightful on a parched dry sore throat or a burning ulcer. Mucilage is also commonly used as a texture in cooking, think chia seed pudding or okra in stew. The uses of demulcents dive much deeper into our immune system, respiratory, and renal systems. Let us take a journey into mucilage, sources, uses, preparations, and some fabulous hands-on experience!
Life is about balance on every level conceivable. When we are in excess in one area of our life, we are often borrowing energy from another area creating a deficiency. When we can identify these extremes and focus our healing on not just suppressing an excess but nourishing a deficiency, we can create real change. This can happen with a symptom, nutrient, emotion, experience, an herbal extract or even a perspective shift. Let’s chat about the energetics of plants, people and places and how we can weave a life of balance and intention.
Black North American Herbalism is part of an extended class taught by Shereel at Land of Verse, Scarlet Sage, and the Berkeley Herbal Center. In this two part class, we will focus on learning about the medicinal plants, foods, preparations and methods Africans utilized during the time of enslavement. There will be a brief historic overview of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the agricultural technology that Africans brought to the North American continent. Clothing is required for this class.
In part 1:
● We will experience herbal combinations that were commonly used by African Americans.
● We will learn about common ailments and herbal remedies that were prevalent and used at the time.
We will braid and stitch the leaves of cattails into sun visors. Mid-kids and young women who are ready to stay focused on the project are welcome to join!
The space is open for us as an herbal community to hold conversation and care for one another in building a safer and more compassionate space for those of us and our loved ones who use substances. We will be discussing ways to support through the Harm Reduction principles and the herbal allies we can use to support the vitality of our community.
This class will introduce us to the skin diseases eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and oak and ivy rashes,
their causes, and their internal and topical treatments. We will explore the environmental, dietary
and emotional causes of these skin ailments and discuss the appropriate plants for treating them, from both the Western Herbalism and Ayurvedic perspectives.
Crones
Crones, come share lunch with other Wise Crones. We will discuss loving life after menopause, finding joy, appreciation, and health in our Crone years. We will also discuss our part in the Maiden’s Rites of Passage Ceremony and our own Crone’s Honoring Ritual.
This is time to reflect and share our experiences of Cronehood and our love for our Wise Crone ways and bodies. Past menopause and into memorypause, we will tell our stories. A time to make a ritual Crone Broom will follow.
Crones, come share another lunch with other Wise Crones. We will continue our plans for the Maiden’s Rites of Passage and our own Crone’s Honoring Ritual.
Join us for a quiet honoring of the loss of an unborn child through miscarriage or abortion.
Young Women ages 12-21
Curious about poi spinning? Have you ever seen fire dancing? Poi spinning is good introduction to flow arts. Join poi-teacher Loreta to learn and master the fundamental moves and transitions of poi! Move your body while enriching your mind! Poi spinning is a beautiful art. If you ever wanted to try this, this is your chance. Or maybe you already know some of the moves and want to improve it, this is a class for you too. We will cover the basics, turns, transitions, stalls and other techniques. We will have some sets of poi to play with.
Welcome maidens, to the Circle of Women! Join us in celebrating the beauty and strength of this phase of your life, the time of your bloods. We will explore ideas and feelings, hear stories, make things to care for ourselves and prepare for the Maiden’s Rites of Passage Ceremony to be held Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. Any young woman who would like to go through the Maiden Ceremony must attend this class.
Join us in creating wearable flower crowns! Let your unique style and creativity flourish in learning the art of crafting with flowers and plants.
We will learn how to select, prepare and weave flowers and plants into a magical, keepsake crown that we can wear at Symposium or dry and keep forever.
Enjoy a fun, supportive environment where we can connect with other young women and celebrate the beauty of nature!
Cut, Paste, Create & Share your stories! Zines (pronounced zeens, like magaZINES) are small personally published booklets that can share stories, art, poetry, information & more. Together we will talk about the importance of our voice and our creativity as well as the radical herstory of independent publishing. We will make small booklets using collage, pencils, glue and our endless imagination.
Mid Kids ages 7-11
We will weave small round traditional Hawaiian style baskets. We will discuss local and tropical fibers used for basket weaving. We will use the following materials: Round reed, watsonia grass, banana paper, redwood bark, hemp twine, philodendron leaf, new Zealand flax, and seagrass. Please bring clippers or scissors if possible. Class is limited to 13 mid-kids.
Curious about poi spinning? Have you ever seen fire dancing? Poi spinning is good introduction to flow arts. If you ever wanted to try it, this is a class for you. Or if you already know some moves, we can learn more tricks. Come and learn and we can perform together during the talent show on Saturday night. We will have some sets of poi to play with.
We will immerse ourselves in the land of Fae with the story of Adelina the flower fairy, following her adventure as we tromp through the forest and create a magical miniature world for her. Everyone will make their own acorn fairy and along the way we will build houses and games for our new friends.
From mushroom spore prints to leaf rubbings, nature-made paint brushes to mud and flower pigments, we will explore and capture snapshots of the our world around us while building our knowledge of the botanical world. We might get a little messy, but we will definitely have fun!
Isn't it amazing how life can fit all the makings of a tree in a tiny seed? In this class we will learn about the life cycle of a plant, explore native flora and discuss ecology and some small ways we can make a difference in our environment. We will construct a couple of different seed balls to plant natives and flowers with one well-aimed throw!
Joins us, timekeepers, as we craft a wheel of the seasons. We will gather our knowledge and our experiences as we walk the wheel of the year, painting each season and learning all it has to teach! We can use these seasonal calendars to help guide us through the year ahead and keep a piece of Symposium magic in our everyday life.
Early Morning Classes
Wear loose clothes and bring a yoga mat if you have one.
The ancient practice of Vipassana, or Insight, meditation is one of observing—and coming into balance with—life as it is. This technique results in a foundational restructuring of the mind, by learning to perceive subtle and profound expressions of natural law (universal truth) through one’s own direct experience.
Long-term practitioners report:
Relief from destructive mental habit patterns
A general sense of happiness and well-being.
Release from addiction.
Greater confidence
Higher productive capacity
A greater understanding of one’s own path and purpose
Developing mental concentration through observation of breath related sensation
Expanding practice by observing sensation throughout the body
loving compassion meditation
We will do movements for deep medical healing- using sounds, images, emotions and movements to get to know the personality of each organ system for deep healing.
Other Classes
Come join us for an evening under the late spring constellations. Guided by a green laser wand, you’ll learn to find your way around the night sky and the names of the stars and constellations, while hearing folklore from different times and cultures. We’ll meet the bright shining stars of the Twins, the Lion, Virgo, the Scorpion, and more… You will also be dosed with Essence Elixirs!
Intensives
1. The Art of Spagyria and Methods of Extraction of Spagyric TInctures ~ advanced ~ Mo Judith
2. Asian American Herbalism – Qi, Blood, Yin, and Yang ~ intermediate/advanced ~ Erin Masako Wilkins
3. Felted Forager Noggin Caps limited to 15 ~ beginning/all levels ~ Sara Gibson
4. Lymphatic Breast Health ~ all levels ~ DeAnna Batdorff
sives