Herbal Pathways
I've recently returned from a beautiful week spent hidden away in the hills of rural Portugal, fully immersing myself in the language of herbs, alongside wonderfully wild women and some very happy dogs. This week gave me so much more than some much needed hands-on herbal time (woefully lacking during these past 3 years of online learning) by connecting me with the path I'm travelling and those travelling with me. We came together with our shared love and connection with nature, yet each with a different path behind us - bringing our own knowledge and wisdom as women and as herbal medicine practitioners.
dogs greet, tails wagging
orange, green, flowers surrounding
us women, all converging
Vulnerability
Learning can be a vulnerable experience, as we are literally stepping into the unknown. Learning alone and learning alongside others can be difficult in different ways, connecting us with our insecurities, our shadow aspects. However, we need to be vulnerable to learn, as we acknowledge that we don't know yet, but we want to. As herbal practitioners, this process can be a reminder of humility and that the learning continues everyday because there is something to learn from all. The in-person clinical skills training was particularly valuable and potentially the most vulnerable experience, as we explored physical examinations with each other. I noted in my diary... showing bravery, showing care, with our bodies bare.
Women & Rituals
The wild, wise old witch, hidden away in the woods handing out herbs to heal. Carrying you into life, carrying you out. Holding your secrets. I think about these wise women. Burned, oppressed, silenced. Not just then, but still today. And then I think of us... grounded, rooted in the earth, listening to its language. Through connecting to the plants, the stories, rituals and paths they have travelled, we carry our ancestral women with us. We have donned lady's mantle and we are indestructible. I have hope.
The Warrior
I shall carry Artemis, the Goddess of wilderness, wild animals & nature with me, after this week. A warrior and huntress, seen accompanied by her loyal hounds; she is the patron of healing and disease. Thank you for seeing the warrior spirit in me, so that I may better see her in myself.
Our Voices, Our Power
In life, I try to listen and raise the voice of others first. I certainly hope that this is what I do. But what these women gave me, perhaps without realising, was some confidence to keep on raising my voice too. I stood tall on a rock and chanted, whilst drumming my hands on a saucepan - which I never do (loudly). I threw our burned words into the wind as our voices were raised up, carried by the breeze and mingled with the rain.
Thank you wonderful women. Keeping being wild, and next time... let's be even louder.
