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 … Continue reading Think Like a Forest
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 … Continue reading Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, Part Two: Ecologically Minded Practice
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 … Continue reading Herbalism in an Age of Mass Extinction, Part One: Context, Concepts and Strategy
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, … Continue reading Earthwork Part Two: Herbs for Grounding
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 … Continue reading Earthwork, Part One: Staying Grounded in Tumultuous Times
by Janet Kent It’s mid-December, 2016. I write that for future readers who may not know the context and urgency of this post. I hope these future readers are on the other side of the fight against the forces of hate and domination. But for now, I write this to you, and you know exactly … Continue reading Herbs for Resistance
by Janet Kent and Jen Stovall *CONTENT WARNING: this essay details elements of the violent and racist history of American Biomedicine. We also discuss contemporary injustice in medicine. Take care of yourself. Fifty years ago in March, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. led the march from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights for African … Continue reading Herbalism as a Tool for Social Justice
