Herbalism 101

Herbalism is all about the senses: seeing, touching, tasting, smelling and hearing.

seeing:

• recognising plants by their family groups
• recognising plants by key identifiers
• able to identify poisonous plants
• recognising plants in and out of bloom
• understanding the help and harm of the Doctrine of Signatures

touching:

• feeling the textures of leaves
• recognising the shapes of stems
• spending time holding types of plants and becoming familiar with their energies
• recognising plants by their textures

tasting:

• recognising the five flavours: sweet, bitter, salty, sour and umame or acrid
• being able to identify poisonous plants without tasting

smelling:

• recognising the power of scent emotionally, physically and spiritually
• understanding what it means if an herb smells foul to one person and good to another
• understanding aromatic herbs and their uses

hearing:

• listening to our body and what it tells us
• recognising symptoms and understanding the root of these symptoms
• listening to our body, emotions and spirit as a collective
• reacting in harmony with our senses
• understanding the medicinal actions of herbs
• listening to how our body energetics feel and what the plant energetics are