A Little About me

I'm not very good at this blogging thing yet.
This blog is meant to be about Herbs, but I suppose I should tell you a little about myself, so you know what kind of creature you are dealing with. I am a Scorpio woman of Scots-Irish and Cherokee descent. In fact, on my Father's side I am a descendant of the great, semi-mythical Irish warrior CuChulain, the Hound of Ulster, (go to the head of the class if you know who he is!) My Dad's folks were "Hill People" and both grew up in log cabins in the Ozarks ( a lifestyle I have been trying to achieve for years), so I guess I inherited my affinity for folk medicine from them. On my Mom's side I am 100% Irish. I grew up believing in Fairies because my clanspeople talked about them as if they were real. (I still believe in Them.) My clans are Murray and McNally, (which, being rebellious sorts, we spell McAnally). Most of my Irish relatives come from the border counties in Ireland, so they are a pretty tough bunch. Poet warriors all. We are what you call "black Irish," not "lace-curtain Irish."
We know less about our Cherokee relatives, but they come from my Dad's side, too. We know even less about my mother's side. Her people came here in the early 20th Century with just the clothes on their backs. It wasn't the Great Potato Famine, but there were other , smaller crop failures when the potato blight struck.
Our religion at home when I was growing up was Irish-Catholic-Union, (all one thing) which gave me my strong mystical and political tendencies. I grew up in a small town in southern Minnesota and came of age in the late 1960's and early '70s. I was most definitely a Flower Child and was involved in the "back to the land movement." (I still call myself a hippie; no matter what people say about us now, we were right about a whole lot of things. And I am still trying to get back to the land).
I started trying herbal medicines once I was out on my own-- (I had been a very sickly child, and actually wasn't expected to live. I have the Herbs to thank for my continuing presence on this planet!)-- and found that the plants could actually heal, rather than just suppressing symptoms. When I started having my babies (one in heaven above and three here on Earth) I raised them with herbs, homeopathy, yoga and vegetarianism (plant foods). They all turned out great. Now I am a grandmother, with one grandson ,( the only child of my peripatetic oldest daughter, in France), and another one on the way (coming soon!) a little closer by, to my youngest daughter.
These days I am back in school, finishing up a degree in Western Herbalism. I have fantastic teachers and classmates, and I will be sad to see this part of my life end.
The more I study the Herbs, the more I am amazed at their inherent wisdom. I have come to believe that the plants are intelligent in a way our modern culture doesn't understand, that they possess a type of consciousness which, though different from ours, is no less real. The plants mysteriously show up when and where they are needed. They will literally reach out and grab a person who needs their medicine. If you are open and willing they will whisper their wisdom to you for free. Learn to listen to them. You might be surprised at what you hear.
I believe in Magic--I believe the whole world, this whole cosmos--is made out of Magic. "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy" (to paraphrase Hamlet).
I believe that the plants are our teachers and our caretakers--they give us air and food, medicine, clothing and shelter--and sometimes visions. They know we are all related, even if we humans sometimes forget. "We are one flesh you and I," Mowgli says in The Jungle Book. This is my philosophy--in this magical world everything is connected and anything is possible. "God is alive, Magic is afoot."