There are a lot of different kinds of herbalists out there. Some people weigh and measure everything, following precise recipes. Some work by the fullness of the moon. Some of us learned at our granny's knee, and some take a lifetime of classes. Some worked for years and years, finding kindred spirits to share information and knowledge with. Some wouldn't dream of making anything without adding a little energy from the universe. Me - I'm a folk herbalist. I believe that the herbs are brilliant, and they will do what they were meant to do if you can get them where they are supposed to go. To me, measurements are handfuls and bunches and "some" - just the way I cook.
The thing is, I also think that everyone is correct. I respect that not everyone will be comfortable with the same thing that feels right to me, because I know and love far too many people who would never attempt to cook without a recipe.
In a recent conversation, it was emphatically intimated that the methods I use disrespect plants and the medicine that comes from them. If I didn't know so many wonderful herbalists who are also folkies, it would have cut me to the quick.
In a lot of ways, herbs are like a religion or a belief system. There will always be people who see their way as the only way. That is just human nature.
In high school, I took a class called World Cultures. In that class, we studied all of the major religions, and in retrospect, the teacher did a fine job of keeping his own beliefs to himself. He simply stated the tenets of each system, how the people lived their lives, and the beauty of each of those ways of life and beliefs.
So these days, my personal mission is to get people involved with the plants around them and learn to bring them into their lives... to share that joy of discovering how good nettles taste, or how deeply satisfying it is to be able to soothe a loved one who is ailing with a handful of weeds from the yard.
Anyone who knows me will also know that I have a deep love and respect for those plants. I don't really care how you learn, or how you eventually use the plants - anymore than I care how you pray. I only care that you do learn, and that your methods bring you joy.
