Did you know that home medicine makers go through 7 stages? Learn what they are, and discover which stage you are at and how you can progress to the next stage.
Stage #1: Declaration
Many people have secretly dreamed about being a Medicine Woman or Medicine Man, but have never gotten started. For you, though, something triggered one day—maybe it was a bad reaction from a pharmaceutical, maybe you got tired of the white coats’ arrogance, or maybe you saw a video that sparked your heart. Whatever it was, it helped you understand that the time to do something is NOW.
So you made a decision to start learning the old ways, start making your own medicine, and become knowledgeable about how your body works. You realize that you are responsible for your health.
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Conventional medicine encourages victims, and the conventional medical system wants you to follow its directions blindly and trust it with your life.
People who declare their intentions to become Medicine Women or Medicine Men are on a very special path and are different from the collective.
Your declaration puts you on the road less travelled. You are starting an amazing adventure where, yes, you sometimes will make mistakes or go down blind alleys . . . but you have crossed the river and decided that you are responsible for your own health.
Don’t underestimate the power in that decision. A whole new world begins to open up to you once you make a declaration of that magnitude.
And it is big.
While you are a little unsure of how this will unfold, you stand a little taller and there is a sense of strength in your core.
Stage #2: First Taste of Power
You’ve successfully treated your first ailment with a home remedy!
Maybe you used garlic to treat an ear infection (go here to pick up a free eBook on how to use garlic medicinally: www.GarlicMiracles.com).
Maybe you made some elderberry syrup which stopped that sore throat in its tracks.
Make Your Own Elderberry Syrup With TGN’s DIY Elderberry Syrup Kit! Buy Yours Here!
Or maybe you treated an infection with a poultice (here is a video that will show you how to do that).
Maybe it was as simple as eating a few dandelion leaves to calm an upset stomach.
But, in any case, you experienced firsthand the amazing power in these simple plant medicines.
And you want more.
Stage #3: You’ve Made All 8 Herbal Preparations
You have successfully made all of the 8 preparations every home medicine maker knows how to do: fresh herbs, pills, infusions, syrups, tinctures, liniments, salves, and poultices.
And you know what?
You get a big grin on your face whenever you remember the first time you realized just how easy it is to do all this.
(If you aren’t at this stage but want to get here fast, check out the “Home Medicine 101” and “Making Herbal Medicine” eCourses in our TGN Academy. Learn more here!)
Stage #4: You Can Handle at Least 12 Common Ailments
You’ve become very familiar with the actions of 5 to 10 herbs, and you are confident in being able to handle at least a dozen common ailments that come up in your family: fevers, stomach aches, runny noses, coughs, burns, cuts, bites, stings, anxiety, small infections, and more.
You have a home medicine kit you’ve created that is filled with the medicines you know and trust because you made them yourself. (An easy online training to empower you to treat the 12 most common ailments is at www.HomeMedicine101.com.)
Stage #5: You Proactively Use Herbal Medicine
You’ve moved beyond reacting to common ailments and have begun to use the power of your own medicine to proactively improve your health.
Perhaps you regularly drink nourishing herbal infusions or take herbs to help with stamina or reduce the effects of stress. Maybe you have created tonics that generally support your immune system, strengthen your teeth, or help with brain function. Maybe you are more consciously using herbs in your meals to help digestion and gently nudge your body to higher and higher levels of well-being.
At this stage, you are actively becoming stronger and healthier every day because you’ve integrated the proactive use of herbs into your lifestyle. You don’t even think about it anymore—you just do it :-). (You’ll love The Grow Network’s annual Home Medicine Summits!)
Stage #6: You Grow or Wildcraft Your Own Medicines
The highest-potency medicines are those you either grew yourself or wildcrafted near where you live.
At this stage, you have the skills to grow your own herbs.
Or, if you are wildcrafting, you are able to positively identify wild plants. You know the best times to harvest, what parts of the plant to use, what the poisonous look-alikes are, and how to harvest so as not to damage the stand. (Training in these skills is available to members of the TGN Academy.)
Stage #7: Plants Have Spoken to You
You’ve had your first experience when a plant “spoke” to you.
Perhaps one day you were not feeling that great and one of the jars of herbs in your home apothecary just seemed to “jump” at you. You decided to go with your intuition and use the plant medicine. And you find, to your amazement, you start feeling better.
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Cracking open the books (or surfing The Grow Network blog), you are gobsmacked to learn that the herb you intuitively picked is known for helping your ailment! Once you’ve reached this stage, you know you have the deepest level of connection with your body, the plant kingdom, and all of creation.
What Do You Think?
What stage are you at? Where do you want to go? I would love to hear from you—please put your stage in the comments area down below.
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Marjory Wildcraft is the founder of The Grow Network, which is a community of people focused on modern self-sufficient living. She has been featured by National Geographic as an expert in off-grid living, she hosted the Mother Earth News Online Homesteading Summit, and she is listed in Who’s Who in America for having inspired hundreds of thousands of backyard gardens. Marjory was the focus of an article that won Reuter’s Food Sustainability Media Award, and she recently authored The Grow System: The Essential Guide to Modern Self-Sufficient Living—From Growing Food to Making Medicine.
COMMENTS(3)
#7. I may be at this stage, but I’m always trying to learn more. I believe you never learn all that there is to know about herbs.
I have been foraging, growing, using herbs to cure common family ailments since the 1980’s.
I began my Herbal Journey in Greece, where I lived, bore and raised my 4 children for 21 years. In the 2000’s I began making tinctures, through self study, trial and error, for self treatment of my own heart palpitations, my son’s ADHD, and bouts with depression, sleep lessness , and have been successful in all attempts.
I have not learned how to make pills, salves, poultices, creams, and things listed in #3.
I still want to learn this. Also, maybe there are better ways to strain, store, label the final product than my clumsy way. I have much still to learn, but I do have a sound base and background. Maybe I can take some of my own Focus Tincture to learn from your vast store of Knowledge. Thank you for being here, Marjorie Wildcraft!