Spring Has Sprung - Green Witch Activism, Herbal Antibiotics & Sacred Ceremony
(Originally posted as a newsletter 3/16/21. If you are not signed up for my newsletters,signup here!
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
Green Witch Activism, Herbal Antibiotics & Sacred Ceremony
And a recipe (scroll to the end)!
Hello Friends!
Please join me for these very special
offerings right around the corner!
All my classes are ONLINE, and available by
recording afterward if you can't attend in real time.
Check out my website for a full listing of events and classes.
GREEN WITCH GUIDE TO SPIRITUAL ACTIVISM PART II
Join me TONIGHT!
Tuesday, March 30, 6-7:30pm EDT
Register HERE!
If you missed Part I but are drawn to join us for Part II,
you can register for both classes at the same time.
In our second class we will engage in a magic ritual of spiritual activism designed to bring about results in the physical world. There were some suggested preparatory practices assigned between sessions. Full details of what we are focusing on and what you will need to bring will be provided upon registration.
Coming up next!
HERBAL ALTERNATIVE FOR ANTIBIOTICS
Series of three weekly classes
April 5, 12 & 19, 6:00 – 7:30 pm EDT
Online Learning through the New York Open Center
Register HERE!
The overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture has led to a crisis of antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases. Antibiotics are also radical remedies with side effects. Fortunately, there are a variety of teas, tinctures, topical salves and foods that can be used to prevent illness through strengthening our immune systems. There are also antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral herbs that can be used safely and effectively to help us heal when illness is already present. Join herbalist Robin Rose Bennett to learn how herbal allies, from astragalus to zingiber (ginger), can help us regain and maintain our health.
Take advantage of Early-bird pricing until April 1st!
HERBS, RITUAL, AND SACRED CEREMONY
A Pre-conference Immersion With Robin Rose
Wednesday, May 5, 6-8pm CST and Thursday, May 6, 10am-5pm CST
To learn more and to register click HERE!
This one evening and one day long event can be taken separately
from the Midwest Women's Herbal Conference. If you do register for the entire wonderful conference, Robin Rose will also be teaching one additional workshop.
Meaningful ritual is vital to our healing and to our sense of connection. In this immersion we’ll dive into an experiential ritual or two and we'll delve into an exploration of essential facets of crafting your own rituals and ceremonies: developing relationship with the four elements and seven directions, creating a safe container for group and solo work, the use of symbol and metaphor, and common medicinal, magical plants will guide us every step of the way.
Learn to tune in to the invisible world in a grounded way, and you
will feel connected to the magic alive in every moment.
Among the various birch species, the one I know best is the black birch, also known as cherry birch or sweet birch. It’s easy to mix up actual black cherry trees with cherry (black) birch trees because the leaf shapes are not that different at first look, and the bark of each has a relatively smooth, dark appearance that gleams with a red undertone. Both species have horizontal lenticels, small vents or breathing pores, all along their trunks. However, though you may easily confuse these trees by sight, you won’t forget how birch smells when you learn to “scratch and sniff” the twigs, and black birch’s unmistakable, delicious fragrance reveals itself. The distinctive aroma comes from methyl salicylate, or wintergreen oil. This is one of the constituents that make black birch as medicinal as it is delicious—it is rich in salicylic acid, making it pain-relieving and useful for sprains, aches, and arthritic pains.
It is one of the first fresh plants I harvest for infusions every spring and these infusions are almost universally loved. Fresh birch twig tea gets vital energy flowing through the body, akin to the way sap begins to flow through the tree again as the light and warmth revive its circulation, calling it back to an active phase of growth after its winter’s rest.
BLACK BIRCH SPRING DELIGHT INFUSION
2 cups fresh black birch twigs
½ gallon water
Harvest small twigs from a black birch tree, ideally before it has leaves. (If you use twigs from a tree that already has leaves on it, you can put a few leaves into your infusion and dry the rest for a different infusion. Leaves are beneficial to the kidneys, but I leave them out of this infusion to get the maximum taste of wintergreen.)
Nick the outer bark every half-inch or so to reveal the green cambium layer underneath and help release the fragrant oils. Then cut the twigs into approximately half-inch pieces. Put them in the jar. Cover with boiled water. Cap and let steep overnight.
Enjoy!
(excerpt from "The Gift of Healing Herbs")
Love and Green Blessings,
Robin Rose
~*~