European Herbalist Julia Graves returns to VCIH in June!
The Energetics of Traditional European Herbalism
Wednesday June 4, 6 – 9 pm
$20; pre-registration required, click here to register
Traditional European Herbalism evolved from the fertile interaction between the ancient Egyptian, Babylonian and Greek empires, the learned doctors of which travelled the trade routes into India and China, eagerly exchanging medical knowledge. These systems of medicine were based on the dynamic interplay of the four elements, which the ancient Greeks distilled into what came to be known as humoral medicine. In this class, we will look at how humoral medicine relates to the cycle of life and the cycle of seasons, the classification of the four qualities and degrees of herbal actions, herbal compounding, and the European view of the pharmacology of the nine tastes. Traditional European constitutional analysis will also be discussed, along with pulse analysis, face and hand reading, and other clinical skills. The presentation will include comparisons of Traditional European Medicine with the systems of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.
Opening Your Eyes to Nature: The Language of Plants
Saturday June 7, 1 – 6 pm
$60; pre-registration required, click here to register
Known in all cultures world-wide since the dawn of time, the Doctrine of Signatures was popularized by the famous pre-renaissance doctor and alchemist Paracelsus. Largely lost in the modern reductionistic approach to herbalism, this language of plants provides a way of looking at herbs in the living, energetic way. It is the way Nature herself speaks. The Doctrine of Signatures teaches that each characteristic of a plant (color, shape, the environment it grows in, etc.) reveals its medicinal virtue. Highly relevant for clinical practice, and an eye opener for anyone – herbalists, healers, gardeners and lovers of nature alike – you will walk away from this workshop with a new way to view Nature. Not merely a lecture, this workshop includes exercises and an herb walk, so bring your curiosity, come eyes wide open, and allow yourself to be surprised at just how much Nature will reveal, if we allow ourselves to believe that “as above, so below; as in the plant, so in my body”. We have much more in common with plants than we might think.
Julia Graves has studied massage, medicine, and cupping in the European tradition. She has trained as a Gestalt psychotherapist, worked for Findhorn Flower Essences, and served as a flower essence practitioner and essence creator. Julia offers her own line of flower essences, The Lily Circle, as well as a kit of flower essences for Mayan Abdominal Massage.
In 2010, she founded the Naturopathic Earthquake Survivor Relief Clinic, and headed the clinic in its six missions in Haiti. Julia is also author of The Language of Plants, a detailed guide to the doctrine of signatures.