I've been reading some of Susun Weed's books lately. I find them very interesting. Has anyone else read any of her work? She has a women's center in Woodstock, NY where she has moonlodges, workshops, and intensives about herbs, herbal medicine, foraging, natural living, and women's spirituality. I'm thinking of making a trip up there with my daughter for a weekend this summer. Does anyone know anything about her place or anyone who has gone there?

Also it's about 12.5 hrs away for us. Does anyone know of something similar which may be closer for us. That would mean in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, maybe West Virginia. We are in Ohio BTW. Thanks!

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2002

Answers

Denise, I don't know about the workshops but I have some of her books. I love her. I think she is great!

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2002

I have some of her books; she's great. I don't know anyone who's gone there, but have you tried a search? Like for herbal workshops? I know there are some correspondence courses you can take on herbalism too, some online even, but I think it would be less effective than hands- on, dont you?

Here's one to get you started, it's in Ohio: HEALING HEART HERBS

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2002

Our state has an herb association. Maybe Ohio does too, then you could find something closer to home. Try talking to an extension agent. Several folks in WV offer herb weekends, etc.

Check out the American Herbalist Guild as well. They are online, but I don't know the address off hand.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

Oh, thanks guys! I really like her too. Yep, I totally agree that hands on would be better. She does offer correspondence courses. But I'm going to follow up on your suggestions and hopefully find something that looks as interesting as Susun Weed. The other author of this type which I really like is Rosemary Gladstar.But she is also located in NY. Between the two of them I've learned a lot about herbalism. I've started making some really great infusions on a regular basis for health and such. I'm also trying to build up an herbal medicine cabinet. You want to hear something funny? I was thinking of making a first aid salve which calls for an oz. of goldenseal. I was getting some other things yesterday and thought well I'll just get a couple of ozs. of this golden seal for when I'm ready to make that salve. I've never bought it before and about passed out when they told me that golden seal is 249.00/lb. That made my purchase about 40.00. Well needless to say I put it back! I'll wait untill I'm ready to make it and maybe in the meantime I'll find a less expensive salve to make. I can only imagine the look on my face.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

In West Virginia, you might contact Myra Bonhage-Hale. Her website doesn't have the 2001 schedule posted yet, but it will tell you how to contact her. Go to http://www.lapaixherbaljourney.com

She teaches classes and is into the state association. Her place is in central West Virginia.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

She was just on public radio today. I didn't find this out until I was in the car and it was too late to post anything about it.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

Oh shoot! I wish I could have heard her. Did you get to listen? What did she talk about?

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

I've never bought it before and about passed out when they told me that golden seal is 249.00/lb. That made my purchase about 40.00. Well needless to say I put it back! I'll wait untill I'm ready to make it and maybe in the meantime I'll find a less expensive salve to make.

Sounds like growing your own would be worthwhile! I don't know of any seed or plant sources, however.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

Joy, I thought about that. I did a little research and found out that goldenseal is becoming rare due to overharvesting in the wild. That is why it was recommended to only buy cultivated instead of wildcrafted. I don't have the correct environment to grow it. It grows on northern hillsides in rich forests. Phooey!!!

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

You can probably get away with substituting oregon grape root for the goldenseal in your salve formula. Another reason why goldenseal is becoming endangered is because a lot of people believe that if you drink goldenseal tea you will pass a urine drug screen test. If you have a wooded patch and want to try growing it, Horizon Herbs usually carries rootstock. You may want to either put it someplace very remote or else someplace where you can keep a good eye on it, because at least around here theft is a big problem.

I met the woman who owns Healing Heart Herbs this past summer at Herbfest and she seemed very nice. United Plant Savers has a botanical research farm in Ohio and they teach a few classes there. Their website seems to be down at the moment but it's at plantsavers.org I've been sort of haphazardly working my way through Rosemary Gladstar's correspondence course. Rosemary puts on a Woman's Herbal Festival every year with several well-known speakers but it's all the way up in Vermont.

I've read some of Susun Weed's books, she's OK but not one of my favorites. The impression I got is that she works quite a bit with simples, I prefer to do more blends. Also, her herbs don't "sound" like my herbs, if that makes any sense. I knew one woman who had studied with Susan but Ayla was pretty flaky so I don't want to judge the course just based on her. :)

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002

She was speaking mostly on menopause and treatments for it -- I listened as hard as I could while I was in the car and scribbled notes on the back of an envelope.

Subjects covered; hot flashes/chi energy, soy and bone density loss, healing and nourishing herbal infusions (nettle and oatstraw, red clover I remember), and then she took phone calls. The thing that I found the most interesting was regarding calcium and bone density. Her recommendation was half a cup of yogurt a day, and those herbal infusions (nettle has always been touted for mineral content). Then they discussed the use of tofu and soy isolate and she said that westerners were using it all wrong, that unless the tofu was consumed in conjunction with meat, the way that it was in the orient, and not INSTEAD of meat, it would actually cause faster leaching of calcium. Fermented soybean products -- miso and tamari -- are beneficial and she recommends daily dietary use.

Then they got into fielding phone calls that was somewhat amusing, especially since she had just talked about menopause as being an empowering time for women, which I condensed down into the philosophy of "Hey, I don't take this crap anymore!!!"

Some of the phone calls were so obvious that I started to wonder if they were a set up or not -- the woman who called in to somewhat accuse her of unneccessarily frightening women with 'horror' stories of menopause because SHE had never experienced any of those problem! (unh-huh. And the whole rest of the world is made up exactly the same way that you are, sweetie!!) Weed's take on it was that having had four children, she did not have as much life energy left as did someone who had had only one or no children and opined that generally, the less children you have spent your life energy on, the stronger would be your menopause experience.

Or the man who called in to ask if there was a corrolation between menopause and the Leaving Wife Syndrome. He was asked to elucidate on that one, and said that it is when women hit menopause and become unhappy and want to leave a marriage. Her opinion was that the woman had BEEN unhappy for quite some time, and through the empowering energy shifting away from the reproductive function and loosening it all up that after that the woman wasn't going to keep on going over the same old ground where she was so unhappy, citing the scenario of the woman who had told the truth (which was not popular) at a dinner party for her husband's boss and his wife. After the guests had left her husband told her that he did not want a wife that told the truth that way and she told him "Well, maybe you need a younger wife, because I can't lie anymore."

Yow! thought I. She must have been pretty unhappy all those years to get to that pass.

And that was mostly what I heard. They did spend a good amount of time getting in the name of the book and where you could order it, that sort of thing. I know that WPR offers cassettes of programs for sale on their website if you think that it would make your life happier to have it, about $12. It was hosted by Jean Feracca.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Hey Sherri, I bet you're right! I just read up on Oregon graperoot and it does seem to have the same properties. Thanks for the suggestion! What course are you taking from Rosemary Gladstar? Do you like it? I have a book of hers too and you are right that she has more blends. I've been to her site. I think both approaches seem good. But I think I lean a little toward simples because they are just so "simple". I believe the salve I was wanting to make is from Gladstar's home medicine chest book.

I am thinking about taking Weed's green ally course. If I do then I am entitled to 50% off of a course at the women's center. In that case then I WILL be going to NY this summer. What would be so cool is to do an apprenticeship somewhere. But that's a long way off for me. I still have young children.

Thanks Julie for your report on the interview. Do you really think it was a set up? I'm a little disturbed to hear I have used up so much of my life energy as I have 4 children also. Pregnancy does take a lot out of you. And back when I went through all of these pregnancies, I wasn't doing anything in particular to nourish my body. If I'd only known then what I know now! What did the lady at the party tell the truth about? I think you do get impatient with the games and the bull**** as you get older. I'm not actively menopausal and I'm starting to get just downright blunt. Man look out when I get there!!! That poem about older women wearing purple and learning to spit seems to fit the age to me. Has anyone ever read that one? It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me until recently.

I do like Weed's approach to nourishing the body with herbs. I have been making her infusions and am really enjoying them. I'm sipping my nettle as I write this. It sort of reminds me of spinach! Where I am a bit confused is that hre work and the work of others states that the red clover blossoms and the oatstraw contain high amounts of calcium. But when I investigated the calcium content of each in Prescription for Nutritional Healing, calcium wasn't listed. Then I looked at my oats box and there is 0% calcium in those either. What do you make of that? Anyone? I went to Susan's message board and asked this question in a very respectful manner. I got an email from her daughter that Susun would answer my question on Monday when she returns home. I wonder what she'll say. I personally could just drink the nettle all the time as it does have high mineral content and is supposed to help with hayfever type symptoms over time. And I have those type of symptoms off and on all year, not just during hayfever season.

Well I sure am chatty today! I think I'll wrap this up and see what you all think! Thanks!

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

I'm not really sure if the callers were a set up or not. They didn't SOUND like it, but as I get cynical in my old age, I wonder sometimes whether the callers are just too convenient in steering the topic, or whether the prescreeners actually do pretty good job. The woman who was accusing her of telling 'horror' stories at least had enough of a touch of indignation in her voice that I found her believeable. Maybe it was just ME, I've been feeling rather touchy of late (and not in the touchy-feely way).

She never specified what 'telling the truth' was about, it was probably an involved story that really didn't matter one way or the other, but was more to the point that her friend simply was not going to swallow her opinions and keep still anymore. I'm not old (relatively speaking), and I already wear purple -- does that mean that I'm going to be hell on wheels(chair) when I'm a little old lady?

I was wondering about oat straw as well, but perhaps it is something as simple as oatstraw working better in combination with the nettles for some reason. From reading my horse herbals, it seems that there are combinations that are superior to single herbs at times. Such as one detoxifies while another strengthens. Perhaps it is something that simple --?

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2002

I forgot to add earlier on that she also stated that tofu should be consumed along with seaweed and kelp, in the Japanese manner, as the minerals in the sea vegetables counteracts the leaching action of the tofu. She also mentioned that one person (young boy) on a completely vegetarian diet with a lot of tofu consumption had gone blind as a result, as the tofu stripped vit.B12 from the optic nerve, and said that this condition was irreversible.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2002