so this is herbalism?
white yarrow, healer of weird skin issues
Early on in the pandemic, I stopped wearing earrings.
I lost the motivation to select the perfect pair for the day, put them on, and feel the heavy dangling from my ears all day.
After a few weeks, it occurred to me that I should probably put earrings back in, lest the holes close.
I did, and I could tell I'd done it just in time. But everything seemed ok.
A few days later my left ear lobe was swollen and red. So I took the earrings out and cleaned the hole with witch hazel and for the past few years my left ear lobe has been mostly fine, maybe just a touch more sensitive than it used to be.
Last week, out of nowhere, I woke up to an earring hole that was decidedly funky.
It was red and swollen and oozing. Gross.
I cleaned it with witch hazel and applied a salve. I went for a walk with a friend, who reminded me that "sometimes, soaking is best." I sighed; she was right.
That night, I made a strong herbal infusion of various relevant herbs: white yarrow, calendula, comfrey, rosemary. I steeped it for 15 minutes before straining it into a 4 oz. mason jar and adding epsom salts. Then I went upstairs, sat in my bed, draped a dish towel over my shoulder, held the jar up to my ear, tilted my head, and stuck my ear lobe in.
I sat on my bed, infusion dribbling down my shoulder, for a good 15 minutes or so, feeling properly mundane and unglamorous. Eventually Althea needed to eat, so I took my ear out, dried off as best I could, and fed her.
The next morning, I took the little jar to the bathroom sink to dump the infusion out and looked in the mirror at my ear. It was fully healed.
This, my friend, is herbalism.
Sometimes herbalism is harvesting herbs in a blooming field, butterflies flitting around, sun shining on your straw hat, basket filling with plants that look impossibly beautiful, and you wonder at how lucky you are that you get these spectacularly ancient moments amid your modern life. You feel charmed, connected, and magical.
And then at other times you sit on your bed with your gross ear lobe soaking in a mini jar of tea. It's not a big deal at all, except it totally heals your ear and that's great. No need to go to the doctor, no need for an antibiotic cream, no need for anything except the herbs in your cabinet.
This is herbalism. It's magical and mundane, bucolic and basic.
I like to talk about how herbs can make you feel empowered and connected and change your life and all sorts of amazing things. But sometimes, knowing how to use herbs means that you can heal your gross ear situation with 30 minutes + herbs you have in your cabinet + hot water. It saves you hassle and discomfort. And that's pretty great, too.
These mundane-yet-incredibly-helpful moments are the reason I created 13: the herbalism + plant magic mini course.
You deserve to heal your weird ear situations (or whatever types of situations) with herbs. You deserve for it to be something you don't even have to think about, for it to be simple and completely mundane.
13 will teach you how to deal with a full array of body situations using just herbs + water.
It will introduce you to the fundamentals of herbalism. It will make it all very simple.
The best part? The lessons are small, delivered weekly to your inbox.
You don't need to study, show up live, or feel guilty about not making flashcards. You don’t even need to log in anywhere! You just need to do one activity per week.
If you want to be able to heal your weird ear situations like a pro herbalist, I encourage you to check out 13. It's as comprehensive-yet-simple-and-low-commitment as you're gonna find.
“This course is the perfect mix of information and invitation to action, without overload. Not overwhelming yet still content rich. and definitely something that I will continue to return to as I deep my knowledge of a select few herbal stars”