Relationship Based Herbalism
An 6 Session Summer program
Fridays July 11,18,25- August 8,15,22 2025
10-4pm
A Seasonal Herbal Immersion: Rooted in Relationship
For those who long to reconnect—with the plants, the land, and themselves.
What is Relationship Based Herbalism?
Relationship-Based Herbalism is an approach to working with plants that centers on deep, reciprocal connection rather than extractive or purely utilitarian use. It emphasizes building long-term, respectful relationships with plants, ecosystems, and the more-than-human world through presence, observation, listening, and gratitude. Rather than seeing plants as commodities or remedies alone, this tradition invites practitioners to engage with them as relational beings — allies, teachers, and kin.
Practice and Principles include:
Reciprocity – Giving back to the plants and land that nourish and supports us.
Reverence – Approaching plants as wise elders or co-creators, not resources to serve our needs
Embodied & sensory knowing – Learning through direct experience: tasting, touching, growing, and making medicine.
Place-based practice – Rooting herbalism in the local landscape, its seasons, stories, and ecology.
Decolonial awareness – Honoring Indigenous and ancestral knowledge, challenging extractive models of healing.
Have you wanted to take the Tuesday apprenticeship at Blazing Star Herbal School but couldn’t commit to ten months of Tuesdays? Or maybe you’re a returning student or practitioner who craves a refresher—a chance to remember, realign, and deepen your practice in community. Whether you’re brand new to herbalism or have years of experience, this program offers an opportunity to reawaken your connection to plant medicine through presence, relationship, and joy.
In a time when herbalism is often reduced to a transactional model—quick fixes, isolated remedies, commodified supplements—this course offers something deeper. It invites you to step into a more relational way of being with the plants, rooted in reciprocity, reverence, and long-term tending. These practices are not just about healing the body—they’re about remembering our place in the web of life.
Throughout this program, we will:
🌿 Honor the connection between well-being and nature
We’ll explore how our health—physical, emotional, and spiritual—is deeply tied to the land beneath our feet and the plants that grow around us. We’ll connect with our local environment through our senses and hearts, learning directly from the plants.
🌿 Dive deep into our local botanical allies
Together, we will study the diversity, beauty, and medicinal value of the plants that surround us—learning how they support the wellness of mind, body, and spirit. We’ll focus on prevention and nourishment, not just treatment. This is about building resilient, lifelong relationships with the green world.
🌿 Recognize the power of traditional knowledge
Herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It’s estimated that over 80% of the world’s population—around four billion people—rely on traditional herbal remedies as their primary form of healthcare. The World Health Organization reports that 88% of countries incorporate traditional medicine, including herbal practices, into their healthcare systems. These numbers remind us that herbalism is not a trend—it’s an ancient, living tradition with global roots.
🌿 Restore our sense of empowerment and connection
The more we disconnect from nature, the more susceptible we become to fear, fragmentation, and disempowerment around our well-being. This program is an invitation to return—to reclaim our agency and remember our innate ability to care for ourselves and each other. As Robin Wall Kimmerer writes, “All flourishing is mutual.”
🌿 Embrace herbalism as a spiritual and creative practice
We’ll explore the healing that happens beyond the physical—through ritual, creativity, and collective care. Traditional practices like limpias, spiritual bathing, smudging, and prayer remind us that healing is energetic, emotional, ancestral, and communal. When we honor the plants not just for what they can do, but for who they are, we begin to mend the rift between ourselves and the living world.
You will:
🌿 Engage directly with the earth – Learn to plant, tend, harvest, and build intimacy with the land and your medicine garden.
🌿 Craft your own remedies – Create tinctures, teas, elixirs, salves, and oils with confidence and intention.
🌿 Learn plant energetics and identification – Sharpen your senses and skills to recognize, understand, and work with plants intuitively and practically.
🌿 Practice sustainable, seasonal living – Embody rhythms of nature and integrate herbalism into your everyday life.
🌿 Build meaningful community – Connect with others who value deep ecology, ancestral knowledge, and the sacred in the everyday.
Who is this program for?
This program is perfect for:
✨ Beginners ready to embark on their herbal journey with depth and heart.
✨ Experienced practitioners seeking to slow down and reconnect with local plant medicine.
✨ Anyone craving a more grounded, creative, and soulful way to engage with herbalism and community.
$1000
($200 deposit to register PayPal/venmo/)
Pay in full and receive free ebook “The Art of Connecting with your Plant Ally (A Guide to a Deeper Connection)”