why I stopped making tinctures
Harvesting St. John’s Wort for tinctures back in the day.
In 2018 I decided to stop making tinctures for myself.
I had a bountiful garden overflowing with medicinal herbs. I had drying space, kitchen space, plenty of mason jars (obviously) and more amber glass dropper bottles than I could ever need. I had the training, and the experience.
What I didn’t have was time.
When you have a bountiful garden (or fully-stock cupboards), herbal training, and medicine-making skills, things can get…overwhelming.
You know all the things you could be doing and you genuinely want to do them.
Also, you know that doing these things saves you a ton of money. (A 1 oz. bottle of tincture costs around $16.95. You can make a 32 oz. jar of tincture for less than that).
But the issue is that you don’t just want to make tinctures — you want to make flower essences that you infuse in a crystal mandala at the base of your rose bush, solar-infused oils, hand salve for Christmas gifts, tea for your cousin who’s really stressed right now… and so on.
Even when herbalism is your full-time job (*raises hand*) it’s too much.
It’s too much to grow the plants, harvest-dry-garble them, make all the products with them, and get those products strained, bottled, and labelled. Let alone use them and get them to the people who need them.
So in 2018, I made a decision: I would no longer make tinctures. I would buy tinctures when I needed them.
The result? I actually started taking tinctures again, because I had them when I needed them. I had tinctures on hand to blend and give to others.
I stopped wasting time feeling guilty about this and got on with my life.
I decided to not feel as though I wasn’t “making use of” my garden and embraced the fact that I embraced my garden in so many other ways: harvesting herbs to dry for tea, interacting with the plants, teaching classes, opening the garden for pick-your-own, making flower essences and oxymels. Really, I was steeped in the bounty.
Cutting out tinctures was so small, in the scope of things. And yet, it was so freeing.
Two weeks ago, I posed a question: what’s your biggest challenge in your herbal practice? I got back many helpful responses (thank you!) and one of the most common answers was “I feel overwhelmed about doing all the things.” Tinctures, specifically, came up a lot.
I am sharing this story with you because I want you to stop feeling guilty about not doing all the things.
You don’t need to do all the things to be a great herbalist.
You don’t need to grow the plants and harvest them and make your own tinctures and craft your own formulas. You don’t!
Each of these steps take so much time and expertise that many great herbalists just do one or two of these things. Seriously, many great herbalists do just one!
While I was “away” (literally, on maternity leave, but also allowing myself to sit in limbo + reflection after the big “pruning” of October) I spent a lot of time thinking about how to craft new offerings that are as helpful as possible to you. Courses you’ll actually complete, classes you’ll get a LOT out of. I’ve had wonderful feedback about the courses I’ve offered in the past, but I know folks are burnt out with the same-old online learning and so many people struggle with finding time to study, let alone practice.
I wanted to take my offerings down to the essentials:
How do I actually use herbs and plant magic in my own life?
What is the minimum you need to learn/do to benefit from herbs and plant magic?
What style of program will be most engaging and doable for people?
In a few days, I’ll be announcing my 2023 programs. Some will feel similar to past programs, some new + fresh, but they all reflect a release of "shoulds" and an embrace of what is most essential, helpful, and fun.
In the meantime, I’ll ask you this:
What do you actually want out of an herbal and plant magic practice?
How are you already using herbs in your life?
What practices have you found have truly benefitted you the most?
What has been the most fun?
Let go of the “shoulds.” You don’t need them.
yours in store-bought tinctures,
Amanda
P.S. Know someone who gets overwhelmed by trying to do all the things? Forward them this email.
P.P.S. Before you ask me where I buy tinctures from, find out here! You'll also find my favorite popcorn recipe ;)