Spring Tonics:
a one-day workshop
with Susun Weed at the Wise Woman Center
by Wise Woman Karen Joy
Learn
more about Wise Woman classes with Susun Weed
This one-day workshop was held at
the Wise Woman Center on this gorgeous spring day
just this last weekend. Have any of you ever been
to the WWC? It's a treat to see it in its many seasons.
It's loaded with plants, wild and cultivated, dotting
the forested and open land with rocks jutting up
in between (the land used to be used as a stone
quarry, I believe, many years ago). Goats roam free
here -- mommas and many kids (papas? I don't know).
There are also 2 geese -- Loverboy and Sweetheart.
And two cats (that I saw) -- I think I remember
them as mother and son. Of course there are also
many other creatures happily living here.
After parking with assistance and greeting from
Susun and the two apprentices living there at the
time (cars' tires kill the surface microorganisms
living in the soil, we learned this weekend, as
well as, of course, any plants. This is a place
that values ALL the life there and doesn't accept
its usual secondary status to vehicles -- so great
importance is placed on driving and parking in designated
areas.) . . . . after parking, we (I believe about
13 women, though men are welcomed at these) gathered
at "the circle", where infusion awaited
us. This day was oatstraw, yum!
We spoke in turn with a talking stick, introducing
ourselves, where we reside, and sometimes our reasons
for coming and questions for the day. The talking
stick allows us to share in our moment, uninterrupted,
whatever we desire. Susun reminds us this need not
be words, but can be a dance, music, song, or poem.
This day, the first of the season, most of us seemed
a bit shy, sharing "the facts". Two women
brought their babies. One mother brought her mother.
Having come long distances, some of these women
stayed the weekend nearby and got to meet the night
before at the moonlodge held every Friday before
Susun's weekend one-day workshops.
Susun seems to me to love to share her knowledge.
All questions seem welcome and often come with detailed
answers -- I believe I've heard "there are
no stupid questions".
We went out right away for a gentle walk in the
woods (there are something like 45 acres to the
Center) stopping often to visit a plant or tree,
learning her beauties. One thing I remember from
taking these classes two years ago is SOO much learning
is offered. Though I think I absorb it all, I don't
always remember it consciously. I could take the
same class every year for ten years (and more) and
get new and deeper understandings of what is presented
to me. With that said, I will share with you some
of what I remember.
I remember visiting partridgeberry, or twin flower,
getting close to the ground where she lives and
seeing her leaves and red berries that have been
there since last year. I saw how her berry had two
flower ends explaining her second name.
Anyone who has learned from Susun knows how she
abounds with stories. This is probably one of the
best ways I have encountered for remembering what
I have learned, though sometimes they are just pure
enjoyment. I heard of a girl who, after seeing all
these red berries in a partridge belly, concluded
these partidges "laid" them there all
over the forest floor. Makes sense to me!
Wintergreen, we were told, who also lies close
to the ground and has similar looking red berries
(at first glance anyway), tastes dramatically different.
Its berries taste like wintergreen, while mitchella
repens (partridge berry) has extremely tasteless
berries.
Though the specifics I can't remember, my largest
impression of this plant is it is a wonderful ally
for women! I also remember reading this in an article
on Susun's website about fertility.
Please don't take my lack of detailed knowledge
as an indication of what's offered at the class.
Some women chose to take notes and could probably
recite many "facts" about this plant alone.
I chose to learn differently. I listen and watch
and feel and don't put much priority on memorization
except when there is something specific I really
want to know NOW.
I prefer a feeling in my body that allows me to
spot this plant when walking the woods and feel
it as a woman's friend, rather than words without
feeling. I know in time, as my learning works into
deeper layers, this knowledge will come along with
the feeling. So when a time comes that I am looking
for a "woman's friend" I will research
more of the details, and they will be familiar because
I know that all I heard in this class and others
lives in me. Can anyone else relate to the type
of learning I am talking about?
Okay, so back to our walk. We visited eastern hemlock
(thuja?) and white pine, both predominant in our
area. We tasted them. We experienced them as we
chewed, encouraged by Susun to notice the sensations
in our mouth. The hemlock, I noticed, made my mouth
get wetter. It encourages mucus production, she
shared, and mucous is good! Yes, it protects us,
cushions us, it lines our sensitive skin. We want
it. Perhaps, then, I thought, the mucous that accompanies
a cold, isn't the "evil cold" itself,
but our protection kicking in. And, perhaps, why
steaming our face over a pot of hemlock needle brew,
clears the stuck mucous isn't because it is "drying"
(as my experience chewing it proved), but because
it encourages the production of mucous, allowing
it all to move!
As we moved from plant to tree to plant we heard
of properties in plants and the best mediums to
extract them in. All of this, of course, can be
read in articles written by Susun and her books,
and though this is wonderful knowledge, it cannot,
for me, compare to the memory sensation that goes
with the moment of hearing it from her.
For example, I have read more than once before
about extracting the oils in a plant with oil (olive
oil). So though this is not new to hear, now I can
know this with the taste of the oil from the hemlock
needles I am chewing in my mouth, the sight of this
tree's branches in front of me, the women I have
just met all around me, and all the sights, sounds,
and smells, that go along with a beautiful spring
day in the woods.
We were told how white pine carries five needles
in a bunch, less common in a pine than three. Looking
at the base of these needles we see white, hence
its name, and I hear Susun say while counting on
her 5 fingers W-H-I-T-E, five needles in a bundle!
We look down the hill and around the corner from
this pine and and see big (for this time of year)
green plants along the hillside. We curiously surround
them, these leaves reminiscent in shape, color and
size of lily bulbs I have been seeing lately emerge
from the ground. What family does this remind you
of? we are asked. Liliaceae, someone knows. What
plants are in this family? we are also asked. People
say what, if any, they know. Among the many pretty
flowers common to spring, some mention onions, garlic,
etc. We are encouraged by Susun to smell and taste
a leaf that offers itself to us. Yum, onion! They
are ramps.
Before we head back for lunch (yes, we're not even
half done with class!) we visit two more plants
growing near each other at the bottom of the hill
near wet land. They are wild chives and trout lily.
We sit among them, taste them, and listen to Susun
share much knowledge about them.
We walk back to the deck we will be eating lunch
on. Susun goes inside to heat the nettle soup she
explains was prepared the night before so the nettles
could infuse in the water overnight. The two apprentices
took two groups of women who wanted to help collect
wild greens to add to the salad. They were the tender
tips of madder (gallium - related to the sweet woodruff
that is often made into "may wine") and
garlic mustard leaves pinched off where they meet
the stem. Garlic mustard has a bit of bite like
mustard, and a taste of garlic.
The bell was rung, we sang a song and we ate a
feast of salad with wild greens and nettle soup.
Water and infusion was provided to drink. So were
condiments -- olive oil, salt, tamari, miso, gomasio,
and a sampling of vinegars. Other than umeboshi
vinegar the others were herbal ones made from plants
we were introduced to this day. And I certainly
can't forget the bread from freshly ground organic
grains baked by one of the apprentices (I am so
sorry I am not remembering their names right now).
Organic butter was provided as was delicious!!!!
cheeses made there from the goats' milk -- three
kinds, garlic, aged and wild chives. I have to say
such a simple sounding meal is heavenly (more accurately,
earthly) and left me bored that night with my more
complicated or empty feeling comfort foods like
pasta. In fact I went home that night and drank
the nettle infusion I (thankfully) prepared that
morning before class.
After lunch we stayed nearer to the house and the
gardens there fenced off from munching goats and
such. There was sweet birch (which actually I think
we visited before lunch). The description for this
class mentions we will "bite buds" which
indeed we did -- sweet birch buds, yum! Wild root
beer or sarsaparilla? We learned how her sap is
flowing now and won't stop if tapped. We watched
the drip drip of her yummy water from the thin branches
where her buds were taken.
We learned how to collect these thin branches (with
scissors please for a clean cut), the length of
a quart canning jar and a bundle that would fit
in the circle made by connecting my thumb and longest
finger. We could the put them in the jar and pour
boiling water over them, cover and let infuse overnight.
We could drink the mild brew in the morning, we
could then pour more boiling water over the same
branches and drink that night. The taste would be
a little stronger!
We could repeat this process with the same branches
day after day, with the taste getting stronger each
time. At some point around the fourth day I think
is when I would stop drinking and start cleaning
with the water! Susun says it is a wonderful degreaser.
I think I remember her saying this could go on for
about a month. How's that for a spring tonic?!
A wonderful taste of a tree's spring sap in my
water, then something to help my spring fever desire
to clean out winter! My understanding from Susun
was this is a wonderful spring tonic, though not
something to use as one of our regular nourishing
infusions. In fact, if we wanted we could dump the
first few days of brew to get to the cleaning water.
I personally savor my spring cups of sweet birch
water.
We visited more plants and at this point I am confused
which were on this day and which on the next. And
since this is long enough I will continue in my
next post about the Sunday class "herbal medicine
chest" which will probably come tomorrow!
Thanks for listening! I hope you enjoyed my memory
of this "spring tonics" class.
karen joy
info@ashtreepublishing.com
Learn
more about Wise Woman classes with Susun Weed