The Speech of Nature, The Wisdom of Nature, and the Herbal World (Live at 17th IHS)

The following presentation was recorded live at the 17th International Herb Symposium, September 2025.

The practice of herbal medicine changes us deeply, spiritually. Nature is alive and intelligent. It will change the way we think and even speak. Or maybe we started from that place and herbalism came to us naturally. The Speech of Nature is the indigenous tongue which does not doubt and reason but merely states what has been observed and teaches by example, thought by association, so that experiences and intuitions fit together naturally into a practice suited to each individual. The Living Nature leads us to the Speech (and thought) of Nature and finally the Wisdom of Nature so that we think in patterns — often by the doctrine of signatures, or associations.

The ancient energetics are based on sun and moon, yin and yang, the four or five elements, and the animal medicines and signatures. Bear (brown, furry root), Burdock, Angelica, Spikenard; Deer medicines (antler-like and long-legged), Cleavers, Lavender, Vervain; Wolf (angles, joints, instincts), Agrimony, Gentian, Solomon’s Seal; Turtle (water/solid, bone, kidneys) Gravel Root; Snake (poison), Black Cohosh, Rattlesnake Master, Plantain; Alligator (warty leaves, broken health, Lyme), teasel, burdock; and Bat medicine (transformation), Holly.