Shamanic Herbalism Correspondence Course

“To become a true herbalist means to be sensitive to the being of the herbs, to commune in sensory awareness with the plant light of the universe. It is to learn to listen when the plant speaks, speak to the plant as another human being, and look upon it as one’s teacher”.
~Dr. David Frawley and Dr. Vasant Lad’s “The Yoga of Herbs”

Gaia’s Green Magic

In Ayurvedic Medicine, herbs are approached through the art and science of herbal energetics. Ayurveda and the ancient Essene Way of Life are the oldest developed shamanic practices worldwide. The properties of medicinal plants are related systematically according to their elements and tastes. However, without a developed sense of energetics, we cannot tap into the plant’s spirit, which holds a pure understanding of plant medicine. Knowing the energetic language of plants is a unique system for realizing their hidden potential. It is a profoundly satisfying process which opens one’s heart to the ancient language and mysteries of the plant kingdom. Herbal energetics is the main factor in understanding herbs in the world’s Ayurvedic and ancient shamanic traditions.

Energetic herbalism is the knowledge that belongs to all living beings. Adapting this healing approach to meet the individual’s unique needs, constitution, and environment is a gift of the plants.

We will explore the energetic medicine of plants in an inspiring and practical format. The course’s Apprenticeship part will include herb & medicine walks, connecting with plants’ healing essence, discovering your totem plants, and knowing a plant’s medicine through the five senses. You can expect a hands-on, participatory and enlightening experience.

You are embarking on one of the great adventures of the human mind throughout the ages. May this healing and learning journey take you to the source of all nourishment and the origins of life within your own heart? May you be inspired to follow it wholeheartedly, beneficially, and creatively. May it guide you through life and help you be of healing service to all life.

Sacred Plant Medicine:
The Heart of Green Medicine

It is a Time to Celebrate and Honor the Spirit and Essence of Herbs.
Are you studying herbs but spend most of your time learning about them in books?
Are you learning the medicinal uses but know little about the plant’s spirit and essence?
Do you yearn to speak the largely forgotten language of plants, hear their stories, and know their living history?
Do you want to spend time immersed in the sacred world of Sacred Plant Medicine?

“Continually trying to look on the bright side interferes with finding the wisdom in the fruitful darkness. Continually striving upward toward the light means we never grow downward into our own feet, never become firmly rooted on the earth, never explore the darkness within and around us, darkness without whose existence the light would have no meaning.”
~Stephen Harrod Buhner

Lesson 1 – Introduction

The Hidden Language of Plants
Sacred Plant Medicine: The Heart of Green Medicine
Gaia Elemental Medicine
Declaration of the Four Sacred Things
The Greening: Viridatas
The Healing Power of Plant Spirit Medicine

Lesson 2 – The Elements & Herbal Energetics

The Great Elements
The Five Elements & Man
The Elements According to Ayurveda
Creation Originating in Cosmic Consciousness
Energy, Elements & Earth Wisdom of the Ancients
Elements & Elemental Spirits
The Ayurvedic Elements & the Gunas
Plant Spirit Medicine: The Elements
The Elements & Their Essence
Plant & Elemental Spirits
Herbs & the Five Elements
The Return of the Elements

Lesson 3 – The Constitution: Your Inherited Genetic Blueprint

History of Constitutional Medicine
Constitutional Elemental Medicine
Integrating Constitutional Traditions
Understanding Your Constitution & Your Current Condition
Prakruti: Your Permanent Constitution
Vikruti: Your Current State of Balance & Health
Constitutional Questionnaires

Lesson 4 – Shamanic Herbalism: Sacred Plant Medicine

Shamanic Healing Part I
Shamanic Transmutation II
Shamanic Rejuvenation III
Ancient Practices from around the world (Ayurveda, Essenes & Native Traditions)
The Healing Power of Plant Spirit Medicine
The Spirit in the Realm of Plants
Plants, Spirits and their Healing Gifts

Lesson 5 – Herbal Energetics: The Language of Plants

Herbal Energetics in Clinical Practice
Learning From The Rishis
Energetics and the 5-Elements
Herbal Energetics: The Healing Tastes
Case Study: Depression

Lesson 6 – Cleansing of the Senses

The Five Senses & the Sun & the Moon
Cleansing the Senses to Enhance Spirit-Plant Communion
Expanding Your Perception of Reality

Lesson 7 – Tree Medicine

Tree Medicine
Sacred Tree Medicine: Quotes & Inspirational Passages
Tree Meditations
Tree of Life
The ancient Tree of Yoga
The Sacred Tree
Tree Spirits
Trees, Spirits and their Healing Gifts
How to Absorb and Channel Energies from Nature

Lesson 8 – Deepening Your Relationship with Plants

The Living Medicine: Shamanic Aromatherapy
Ayurvedic Aromatherapy
Sacred Smoke
Making Your Own Shamanic Power Plant Essences
Movement & Breath Opening Channels of Communication
Rituals: The Natural Act of Deepening Your Relationship with Plants

Lesson 9 – Living Ecology: The Nutritional Foundation for a Living Body & a Living Earth

Lesson 10 – Supplemental Material

Fasting: The Great Physician Within
The Benefits of Meditation or Why Meditate?
Grounding Earth Meditation
A Rite for the Nature Spirits
Spirit of Herbs- by John Seed
Earth Rhythms- by Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera

11. About the Author & The Living Centre & Living Arts Institute

Textbooks for the Course

The Lost Language of Plants: The Ecological Importance of Plant Medicines to Life on Earth, (Stephen Harrod Buhner, Bear & Co. 2002)
The Secret Teachings of Plants: In the Direct Perception of Nature (Stephan Harrod Buhner, Bear & Co. 2004)
Sacred Plant Medicine: Explorations in the Practice of Indigenous Herbalism (Stephan Harrod Buhner, Bear & Co. 2006)
Plant Spirit Medicine: A Practical Guide to Plant Spirit Medicine (Clare G. Harvey and Amanda Cochrane)
Shamanic Herbal Energetics Adobe DVD Reader Course Material, Shantree Kacera, D.N., Ph.D.
Conscious Living Manual: The Sevenfold Path to Peace, (Shantree Kacera, D.N., Ph.D. & Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera, 2002)
The Yoga of Herbs (Drs. Frawley and Lad, Lotus Press, 1986)

This comprehensive study course is intended for both the professional health care practitioner and wholistic medicine student. It is designed to lay a foundation for the professional use of Shamanic Herbalism within a wholistic practice and may be used in several different yet compatible ways:

As a foundation for practice as a Visionary Herbalism Diploma Program.
As an adjunct to the practice of a therapist in another natural healing modality.
As training in self-healing for nonprofessionals.

Part I (The Long-Distance Course) Is the home study part of the course. Study the material and do the lessons at your own pace. Send in the lessons through postal mail or email. We’ll check your addresses, make comments, and give you feedback on your progress.

Part II (The Advanced Study & Research) Thesis Project allows you to dive deeper into the teachings. Choose an area of study you feel particularly drawn to in the course that sparks your passion, invites your curiosity, and beckons you to explore. Write a 5,000-word thesis and conduct a research project to be submitted within the course study time. Also, we ask you to offer to your community and document a couple of workshops or lectures to build understanding, expertise and confidence.

One-on-One Sessions

These sessions are available to both support and deepen the learning experience of this course. Three sessions of 40 minutes each can be done over the phone. These are available to guide and advise you on your research thesis project. You must book these sessions in advance once you have submitted your proposed thesis topic.

Your Guide & Adviser: Shantree Kacera

Homework

Homework is sent in upon each lesson’s completion and returned to you. You do not need to send your reference files. However, it would help if you kept us posted on how you’re doing with your projects.

Time Completion

You may complete these lessons on your schedule. But to utilize them to their fullest, we recommend you set up a scheduled time to do each class; one evening a week or an afternoon on the weekends will keep your momentum going. The average time to complete the course is about one year. Some students have completed the material in 6 months, while others may take a few years.

We do ask that you complete the course in two years. After two years, if the student fails to complete the course within the allotted period, the time-extension fee is $100 for an additional year.

Questions

One of the specialties of these lessons is the personal attention given to your questions and homework. We invite your comments and suggestions.

Certificate

Students who complete the lessons and ALL the homework will receive a beautiful Herbal Certificate. The Certificate awarded states that you are acknowledged for conducting a thorough, in-depth study of energetic herbalism.

Lessons 1-10 & Adobe DVD Reader Course Material

The Shamanic Herbal Energetics Long-Distance Course comes as an Adobe DVD Reader. The Adobe DVD Reader course material makes keeping your lessons, homework, and other course material easy. The course material will be sent out once we receive your tuition.