Poisonous Plant Medicine

“Poisonous” plants can be powerful medicine. When understood and respected they guide us to our whole self. They are fierce teachers, helping us embrace what we’ve been taught to avoid.

In this 4-hour workshop you will get an introduction to the history, lore, and medicinal use of several poisonous plants and fungi such as mandrake, belladonna, henbane, datura, hellebore, the yew tree, fly agaric, and more. Through the lens of plant spirit medicine you will experience their medicine and messages without having to ingest them.

Plant spirit medicine is the practice of using our intuition to directly connect with plants. This is in diametrical opposition to capitalistic, material reductionist herbalism that dominates the plant medicine world. Instead of asking what you can get from a plant, we ask the plant directly what they want to share. This allows us to experience the healing benefits of herbs without having to ingest or even be in the same vicinity of a plant – something of great benefit when working with poisonous plants. This is a skill that everybody can develop!

“Poison” as medicine is the spine of my work with poisonous plants and what I feel is the overall message these plants want to share with us. What can we learn when we balance the typical “light and love” approach to spiritual paths with shadow integration? What if the majority of the suffering we experience is not from the things we are afraid of, but from our avoidance of those things?

We will end the day with a Shamanic Journey in order to deeply drop into the messages of the plants. Through the assistance of ritual drumming, mindfulness, and safe, topical application of plant medicine, you will be able to quiet the mind and experience the messages these plants have for you.

You do not need any prior experience with spiritual work, witchcraft, or herbalism – all levels of experience are welcome.

Recommended Materials:

• Journal and pen
• Eye mask
• Comfortable, loose-fitting, warm clothes. (Layers are recommended)