Herbal Medicine is not alternative medicine, it is the original
The United States healthcare system likes to look down its long Pinocchio nose at herbal practices as “witch doctor” ineffective quackery. This train of thought started in the US in 1910 thanks to J.D. Rockefeller, Carnegie and The Flexner Report that condemned herbal healing and ultimately made people afraid of plant medicine. The Flexner report was nothing but a tool for Rockefeller, Carnegie and others to push the United States medical practices from plant medicine straight into petrochemical pharma. This switch not only impacted the use of herbal remedies but also changed and standardized how medical schools taught their curriculums and ultimately changed a nation from relying on healers, medicine people, midwives and plant medicine to relying on doctors who were all trained with the petrochemical pharma narrative. This switch made Rockefeller, Carnegie and countless others wealthy beyond comprehension. Thousands of years of deep understanding of the body and its energetics were replaced almost overnight. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Auravedic Medicine, Indigenous healing, Plant Medicine, Reiki, Sound Healing, Chiropractic’s, Acupuncture and many other modalities were demonized and discarded as witch doctor snake oil. Herbal practice died in the mainstream, and people that practiced the old ways became more and more isolated and discredited; until now. Recently plant medicine and the protectors of the old ways have resurfaced. Suddenly people are migrating back to herbal medicine, people are spending time with healers and medicine people, they are relying on midwives and medicine makers that understand the old ways and respect the Earth.
This change is because plant medicine is NOT alternative medicine, plant medicine is and has always been the ORIGINAL medicine.
In Cherokee tradition we regard the plants as our allies and friends that are placed here to help us, but we must call on the plants for their wisdom, and we are required to respect and honor the plants and our Earth mother that supports the spirit of each plant helper. For in this way we honor the old ways, for in this way we are living in Good Medicine. My Cherokee ancestors were healers and have passed this path to me, what a sacred honor it is to hold the title of Medicine Woman and to be chosen to carry the medicine of the plants into our modern world.
Plants have their own language and energetics that medicine people understand, we work WITH our plant helpers to bring healing to ourselves and people who come to us for healing. There are many schools of thought on how we categorize herbs, and other plants for healing. However, for people new to plant healing there are four main pillars of plant energetics. Warming, Cooling Moistening and Drying. Plant energetics can be felt in the body in real ways. Think of sipping a ginger tea and the warm and dry feeling you get from this plant, then sip on marshmallow root tea and feel the exact opposite. The role of a plant medicine healer is to know how to use a plant helper to bring healing to the body mind or spirit, ideally all three. Here are some examples of herbs that fall under each pillar.
Warming Herbs
Anise Seed
Ashwagandha
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cumin
Garlic
Ginger
Horseradish
Mustard
Nutmeg
Peppercorns
Turmeric
Cooling Herbs
Aloe
Coriander
Dill
Fennel
Hawthorn
Hibiscus
Horsetail
Lemon Balm
Marshmallow
Mint
Nettles
Plantain
Raspberry Leaf
Rose
Rosehips
Saffron
Slippery Elm Bark
Usnea
Yarrow
Moistening Herbs
Aloe
Flax
Irish Moss
Licorice
Linden
Marshmallow
Mullein
Oatstraw
Plantain
Psyllium
Rosehips
Slippery Elm
Violet
Drying Herbs
Burdock
Cayenne
Cinnamon
Garlic
Ginger
Hawthorn
Horseradish
Horsetail
Nettles
Raspberry leaf
Turmeric
Yarrow
Herbal Medicine has the power to heal you of your ailments, your diseases, your injuries, your broken bones and bruised elbows. Plants hold the ability to heal your tired and fractious mind, they hold the tools to help quiet and open the heart, to settle the nervous system, to fight off colds and flus, molds and metals. They help us to stay healthy and when taken with gratitude they become ten times more powerful.
The most interesting aspect with plant medicine is that we know through scientific research that plants understand frequency. They can understand intention, and when called upon to help heal you, they respond in kindness and assistance. If this isn’t evidence that magic is truly real I can’t imagine what would possibly qualify.
I encourage you to learn about our plant helpers and bring them into your home to assist you on your healing journey. With the holidays coming up people armor themselves for “cold and flu season” with a battalion of pharmaceuticals, this year I encourage you to go to the original healers, the plants for support. The most impactful thing we can do for our health and longevity is to support our bodies our minds and our spirits each and everyday, we do this most effectively through food. Food is either our strongest medicine or our most potent poison, the choice is ours on how we choose to engage with what we consume. I encourage all my clients and friends to remember that food IS the medicine and using our plant helpers and animals brothers with respect is exactly how God intended for us to optimize our health. One of my favorite ways to incorporate plant medicine with food for healing is with homemade bone broth. This elixir is my go to daily support through the cooler months for protein, hydration, joint and immune support and so much more… and the best news? it’s SO EASY to make! So here is my recipe for chicken bone broth using many plant helpers, May it bless you and your family.
Little Owl Bone Broth Recipe
Ingredients
2 heads of garlic
1 red onion
1 white onion
4 carrots
3 celery stalks
1 zucchini
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
2-4 dried serrano peppers
Bunch of fresh herbs (use the herbs you LOVE) I prefer Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, Oregano, Sage, Parsley. You can also use dried herbs if fresh herbs are not available to you.
1 whole chicken carcass from a previous dinner (I will roast a whole chicken, debone and then freeze the carcass to use when I need bone broth)
8-10 cups of water
2-3 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
Method
Begin by rough chopping the garlic, onions, zucchini, celery and carrots and set aside. Bind your selected fresh herbs with cooking twine. Place your herbs, vegetables and spices and apple cider vinegar into a large stock pot. Add in 8-10 cups of water and place your entire chicken carcass in the pot. Cover with a lid and slow simmer for a minimum of 12 hours I prefer 24 hours. Add water as needed to keep the bones and vegetables covered. Once done cooking taste your broth and add salt to taste.
Strain your elixir with a mesh strainer, colander or cheesecloth and pour into glass jars with a lid. Mason jars work well for this!
Place into the fridge and use for soups, for daily sipping, and to use at the first onset of cold symptoms.
Sip a glass of bone broth each morning and watch your health skyrocket.
Remember food IS the medicine.
