Herbs for Staying with the Trouble

by Janet Kent Peach Blossom Elixir Deep, long sigh. The heat is on. All kinds of heat with no end in sight. For future readers, I am writing this in late June of 2022. Here in Southern Appalachia we just experienced two back to back heat waves, the kind of heat that happens once in …

You are Nature: Working with the Elements for Change

by Janet Kent It is mid-winter. Outside the Wood Frogs are croaking, calling others in from the surrounding forest to congregate and breed in the unseasonably warm rain. They are here a month early, but they will be fine. We live in the Southern tip of their range and they are accustomed to cycles of …

Everything Matters: Why this is No Time for Cynicism

by Janet Kent Voices of cynicism under the guise of “reason” inundate us early in life. By cynicism I mean not only the assumption that individuals are acting out of self-interest, but also the belittling of the impact of individual and collective action. When we are children, mostly well-meaning adults advise us not to get …

Emergency! Herbs for Overwhelm and Freakout

                                                              by Janet Kent Big Box Meltdown A few days ago I had to spend a while in a big box store. I do this from time to time without much hassle but this time, no such luck. Something about the bright, bright fluorescent lights and the crowded aisles of holiday shoppers put me in …

Think Like a Forest

By Janet Kent We tell ourselves stories to make sense of the world. We do this alone, as individuals, and together as a society. The stories we tell as a society, and in turn, those we tell as individuals, reflect the values of our culture. We recognize these frameworks as stories when they take the …

Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, Part Two: Ecologically Minded Practice

by Janet Kent Consciousness of the growing stressors wild plant communities face can inform our herbal practice in many ways. There is currently a debate over whether ethical wildcrafting is even possible within the context of environmental catastrophe. I plan to write more on this topic soon, but for now, I will assume that people …

Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, Part One: Context, Concepts and Strategy

by Janet Kent. In February of 2016, we, the inhabitants of Earth, reached a milestone. Around the world, the average temperature was 2˚C higher than any year on record. This is the number scientists have cited as the tipping point for the global climate. After a 2˚C temperature increase, catastrophic change is unavoidable. While global …

Earthwork Part Two: Herbs for Grounding

by Janet Kent. We talk a lot on this blog about reconnection, the potential for healing of individual, society and environment when we reconnect to the more-than –human world. Here, I want to talk about a kind of reconnection possible wherever we are, the medicine of presence. In this culture of over-stimulation and information overload, …

Earthwork, Part One: Staying Grounded in Tumultuous Times

by Janet Kent. Our world has become increasingly chaotic. Uncertainty is the rule. For many who live subject to the whims of the current administration, fear and powerlessness have become the dominant emotions.  Arbitrary and cruel executive orders come down from the oligarchs daily, sending shock waves through an already stunned public. News of the …