New Blog Post: The Dark Year

This has not been my year. This has not been many people’s year. At first I tried to sugar coat it, telling myself that maybe things would get better… but they only got worse and then worse and then even worse. It all started with an outbreak of contagious walking pneumonia in my small town of six hundred people. There is only one bank, one pharmacy, one cafe and we all touched the same doors, the same bank machine… Walking pneumonia slowly takes your breath and energy away lasting from one to two months. You wheeze like an asthmatic, nap all the time, and can barely lift a finger.

Everyone caught it, everyone. I had it for the full months of May and June and it turned into a sinus infection I couldn’t shake. I couldn’t plant my garden, I couldn’t clean my house, I couldn’t work my job. I would end up on the ground gasping for breath. After multiple doctor visits I finally shook it at the beginning of July. My garden was late getting planted and a lot of potted plants died while they waited for me, but many more made it into the ground to my relief. And then the drought came. Don’t tell the farmers that climate change isn’t real. First they’ll punch you. Then they’ll weep uncontrollably. The Valley is known for its endless rolling green hills of fertile farms and many lost their crops this summer. My dug well ran dry. That was a bad day...

Interview with La Brigata di Notte
Sarah Anne Lawless: Of Witchcraft, Flight and Other Wonders

"Sarah Anne Lawless is a North-American witch, a herb and spirit worker, the author of articles online and in print and a carver of wood and bones. Her blog is one of the most read in internet witchdom and her online shop, Fern & Fungi, offers a series of ointments, oils and herbal medicines – among which are some very successful flying ointments. Going through Sarah’s website feels like visiting the home of someone who’s made of witchcraft her own form of art and personal expression, from the way she conjures up words in her written pieces to the visceral nature of her drawings. In this interview, we asked Sarah about the nature of witchcraft, animism, traditionalism, social engagement and much more. We’re really grateful to Sarah for her thoughtful answers and for her patience."

Link to Italian Translation of Interview

Now Available:
"Solanaceae: A Monograph of Nightshade Medicine" by Sarah Anne Lawless

Each year, the teachers at the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference submit an essay to match their presentation and together they are published in a book for that year's conference. It's a great way to feel like you were at the conference if you were unable to attend this year. This year's list of presentations was amazing and it was very hard to choose between which ones to attend. I'm so happy there are these essays to make up for the classes I missed! At the conference I taught a class on the history, folklore, and medicinal uses of Belladonna, Datura, Henbane, and Mandrake. If you've been dreaming of getting my dosages, preparation methods, and cultivation tricks -- this is your ticket.

Excerpt:

"It is my goal to reintroduce the solanaceae as powerful tools and allies of healing to today’s herbalists and it is my hope to see more of these plants grown in gardens and more knowledge being shared of their medicinal applications and how to prepare them safely. The more they are used and the more common place they become, the less fear will surround their poisonous properties. If we become comfortable with solanceae medicine once more, then it is more likely the rarer species will survive in our future anthropocene world of mass extinctions. Nightshades are anarchist medicine. Nightshades are apocalypse medicine. These plants cannot heal our world, but they will be worth more than gold to heal ourselves if civilizations fall and with them hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceuticals.

Imagine having powerful and effective analgesics, antispasmodics, anti-inflammatories, and anaesthetics at your disposal in the form of fresh herbs and imagine if they also had the useful mind altering properties of aphrodisiacs, euphorics, sedatives, and hypnotics. Imagine how many people you could help with little else but seeds. The possible applications are varied and endless. It is with an equal measure of excitement and caution I recommend adding the use of medicinal nightshades to your medicine bag and herbal practice in the hope you will quickly discover their value to yourself and to humankind."