August 22nd

Come to Mount Shasta and enjoy the last weekend of the first annual Best of Mount Shasta Conferences. This weekend’s focus is on Spirit.

Here is Best of Mount Shasta’s weblink to the Program:

http://thebestofmtshasta.com/eventProgramAugust22.html

I, Kathryn Ariel,  will be presenting on the Communication of Spirit. Visit this link for more details:

http://thebestofmtshasta.com/presenterKathrynAriel.html

Come enjoy Mount Shasta and connect to your I AM wisdom through direct experience of the area as a whole and guided facilitation at our wonderful conference!

As I sit with Spirithawk in our garden, Osiris joins us. Ishnahnay sleeps nearby with St. Francis. Spirithawk is before me and Osiris is behind.

I cam out to speak with Spirithawk concerning his departure to receive any information he wishes to share with me. Silence and the feeling of heart love, deep & strong. I have been struggling with Spirithawk leaving before me as there was time when I thought I would be complete with my soul’s work before or at the same time as he.

With beautiful Ishnahnay joining us four years ago I began to realize there was a possible shift in this outcome.   The original divine plan for Earth has not unfolded in the time line anticipated. Many light workers are aware of it and our journeys are shifting as a result.

Human consciousness has not opened with the speed anticipated (and hoped). Mother Earth’s ascension is still guaranteed but the how is less clear on the Earth plane. The divine plan is daily being altered to allow for free will of humans & earth to play itself into the picture. Those of us who are already connecting to New Earth are stepping more and more out of the view, frequency wise. And many others are leaving entirely.

So dear Spirithawk is leaving and he has facilitated Osiris’ coming into our family to be both friend and protector for Ishnahnay and me.

Spirithawk is not leaving because of illness or disease. He is leaving because his soul work is done. He has a few small tasks to complete, and then he will just ship away.  So Spirithawk what would you like to share with others & me at this time?

Note: I am currently having challenges grounding myself; so am pausing to do so before we continue. Grounding myself heart to heart; chakra to chakra with New Earth, while matching my breath to hers in the space of divine love.

SH: Kathryn Shanti Ariel; sister; friend of old, it is true that I am preparing to leave this body in which I have accompanied you for these past ten plus years. Soul to soul we have been together for more years than can be counted. For brother / sister we are on many levels.

I will truly be leaving shortly, but in Oneness I will always be with you. This is the truth of love and Oneness. We are always together no matter our form. But it is time for me to be about new business, and for your focus to shift a bit from being with me to being focused fully on your writing and your heart presence within Self and upon New Earth.

You are ready for the shift and so am I.  Much awaits you possibility wise with my departure. And yet we will meet again soon. As time is an illusion.

Both my transition team and yours are holding space to allow me to leave and you to gracefully walk through the open doorway that will be created by my departure.  We ask that you fully step into your heart space and allow the transition to happen in the magical way that it is intended, while being grateful for each remaining moment that we have together as a family.

Ishnahnay too is embracing my departure. We too are like sister and brother in the world of dogs and angels.  She is going from being the little sister to the big one. As now she is being asked to be teacher to Osiris along with you. It is true that Osiris has received much training and is capable of being lovingly present for you both. But as you saw today, he has some issues that he is contending with as well.

This is often true of families when a new dog/cat is brought in to be taught by the elder before his/her departure. The new one is here to learn, and yet he is also here to assert his place in the family order and show that he is worthy of being there.

Osiris’ previous trauma is quickly being replaced with calm and understanding through your love & that of Ishnahnay and those who help you. I am also working with him, but to a lesser degree at this point. This is why he asserted himself to me this morning, feeling the need to challenge my presence and position. He knows that soon I will be gone and was having trouble in seeing my position as elder with respect.

It is important for you and I to spend time together in my remaining days, yes. And it is also very important for you to spend time with Osiris, helping him know your love and assurance of his place in the family. You have been doing well with Ishnahnay, letting her know how well she is doing. A beautiful new bond between you two is being created. It is part of the Divine Feminine being birthed in partnership with the male, and is a great blessing for you both.

This morning you voiced frustration of not knowing day to day if I was going to slip away or not. This is fear based and I commend you that you are choosing to return fully into your heart love – lovejoy to allow our remaining time to be love in nature.  The fact that I am physically doing better is challenging you to hold the space for me to leave more clearly in its truth. It is not about illness. It is about my being complete.

You have had few in your life you have left in such a slow manner when they were done. Chuckle. I realize this and so does our transition team. However, part of my staying has been to be sure that you are alright (Osiris).  It was not meant to be hurtful when you were told that your attachment to my being here is greater than mine at this point. It was just a statement of truth.

You have stated many times that if you were given the green light to go, you would do so quickly and easily. In truth, I know that you would make sure that your Earth family was all taken care of being going. This is true of me also. Otherwise I would have left at Christmas as originally planned.

You voiced a concern for Ishnahnay to be able to handle the responsibility for being alone with you. I understand more than most and agreed. So the finding and integrating another family friend was part of why I stayed longer. Please know I could not have done this though without your help in relieving my pain. Your assistance was great and I deeply appreciate it.

It is important to share with others the great benefits of thanking and deeply loving our body temples and those of your animal companions. This process did great things in transmuting dense energies in my body allowing the Light to reenter and fill me.  The great work of coming deeply into a state of Self Love and Light is ongoing now. The immensity of how this will affect and create your outside reality cannot be understated.

There are many speaking of it, and you Kathryn are being asked to do so also. I and others; Ishnahnay included, will assist. To create a reality of Love you / we must be the Love within Self first.  A deep and profound truth. One which will assist those who are consciously aware of the existence of New Earth step fully into their realty there.  It will also assist others who are making the steps to awaken.

I will help more from my new destination once I have left. You and I will become a greater bridge for the Earth realms to also transition to New Earth as is their choice and destiny.  I / we have done much preparation for this. But now I must go into a different dimensional reality to continue the work.  My body form on the Old Earth is no longer necessary. Yours my sister is however, which is why you are staying.

There is no intention of another walk in coming into my form. The teams are aware that  this is a question/concern for you, as you have experienced it in the past when it was unexpected. My body is tired and I am done. There is no place in it for another to walk in. This is why Osiris was brought here instead.  Rest easy with this.

Now I know you are tired, and there are those of the Light waiting to work with you this night. Rest. We will talk more later dear sister.

(article for Holistic Horse Magazine)

Zella & Maryann

What is Holistic Emergency Care?

What does holistic emergency care mean? How is it different from the traditional way that first aid is taught? Even in emergencies, holistic healing deals with the whole being, not just the part that hurts. It recognizes that all your horse has four energy bodies, spiritual, emotional, mental and physical and the knowingness that to successfully treat or facilitate healing of any illness, injury or trauma, all four bodies must be brought back into balance.

Many health problems, be they illness, injury or other trauma, begin with an emotional upset or imbalance of some type. If this is not corrected it can move into the mental body, and then eventually into the physical, where it manifests as an illness or bodily injury. This is as true of our horse companions as it is of us. It has been well documented that animal companions, horses, dogs, cats, etc., will often take on the diseases or traumas of their humans in order to both assist them as well as mirror to them, to help in the learning of soul lessons.

When an injury or acute illness occurs, the holistic caregiver(s) must quickly assess the location of, and care for, the mental, emotional and/or physical imbalances in play, utilizing the tools that will assist the horse’s inner healer to the highest degree possible. In order to optimally assist all bodies, the holistic healer/facilitator may utilize a variety of vibrational healing tools: herbs, homeopathy, flower essences, essential oils, Theta Healing, Reiki, MAP (Medical Assistant Program), and prayer to name a few.   See Holistic Emergency Care Tool Kit for details.

Assessing the Situation

First, the situation must be assessed. Here are the primary steps to dealing with any emergency:

1. Detecting there is an emergency or traumatic imbalance
2. Check for life-threatening injuries
3. Tend to life-threatening issues, while stabilizing the environment, the horse (and other injured or traumatized individuals)
4. Evaluate and tend to less challenging issues

In an emergency situation the immediate issue is the stabilization of the bodies (emotional, mental and physical), and the correcting or containing of life-threatening situations.   If no tools or help are immediately available, my suggestion is this:

1. Center yourself, breathing and connecting deeply with your heart and God-self
2. Ask Creator/God or Angels to stabilize the situation: you, whoever is injured, etc. and bring you all into balance.
3. Ask for divine assistance
4. Then while continuing to breath and stay centered, follow the guidance that your heart is telling you to do. Trust your intuition! The energy of love is the greatest healer. Let unconditional love to flow through you and expect miracles.  Though the asking of divine assistance, miracles can and do come forth everyday.  I  cannot emphasize this enough!

Life Threatening Emergencies

Life threatening emergencies come in many forms. Here are some of the more obvious ones:

• Severe Bleeding

• Respiratory dysfunction or arrest

• Cardiac dysfunction or arrest

• Allergic Reaction (including Anaphylactic Shock)

• Nervous system imbalance (including Hypovalemic Shock)

• Skeletal injuries of major bones

• Internal bleeding

• Colic

• 2^nd and 3^rd degree burns

Less Urgent Emergencies and Imbalances (examples)

• Soft tissue injuries

• Skeletal Injuries (unless primary support bone)

• Puncture Wounds and other cuts or scrapes

• Minor allergic reactions

• 1^st and 2^nd degree burns; dependent upon amount

Recognizing an Emergency or Trauma

With any emergency or trauma there are basic signals to bring your attention to the situation. Some may be very subtle, coming to the surface in seemingly sporadic fashion. Some will lurk just below the surface and then suddenly explode into a physical out crying which requires immediate assistance.

A main tool for you as your horse’s caretaker is to understand his basic anatomy and physiology including the norms for pulse, respiration, blood pressure, overall physical composition, balanced mental and emotional composition and such. Check in with your horse regularly through quiet observation as well as verbal and telepathic communication so that she can relay to you how she is feeling and you can do the same with her. Be aware of each other. This is a vital step in being able to recognize and respond to an obvious emergency or a trauma, which may be less obvious to the casual eye.

Some emergencies may come on suddenly and perhaps without prior warning. These are going to require immediate response to stabilize the physical, emotional and mental bodies.

In summary, it is with holistic emergency care and trauma recovery that we address the whole by utilizing tools and divine assistance that serve and rebalance the whole. In so doing the causal energies that brought the situation into a physical manifestation may be removed or healed completely, thus eliminating the need for the human or horses to repeat the experience in any form.

Written by

Kathryn Shanti Ariel of Song of the Dove Foundation

www.songofthedovefoundation.org

Written August 2007 – After Hurricane Katrina

Once again humans and their animals are experiencing the affects of building communities in flood plain areas. A large portion of the Ohio basin is currently under water experiencing a “major disaster” brought on by heavy rains, which have caused Ohio’s rivers to overflow their banks into the surrounding communities.  This is only a “disaster”, because we (humans) have continuously ignored the requirements of the earth to feed herself and her natural communities through flooding, fires, and other “natural disasters”, building our communities wherever we have desired with no heed to the long-term affects that might result. My question is, are we ready to listen to what the earth has always been telling us? Are we ready to build our communities in alignment with her ebb and flow, allowing harmony and prosperity to exist between Mother Earth, the nature realms, and humanity?

For years I (and many others) have watched as our human communities in the United States have moved into river valleys, high fire areas and other natural communities that are continuously in the state of change. We have dammed up the rivers, eliminating earth’s ability to perform regular flooding that brings much-needed nutrients into the soils. These nutrients are for the benefit of all life, and their elimination has been sorely noticed over the years. Soils have become depleted, and riparian habitat, some of the most diversely populated upon the earth, has become in endangered.

Then to top it off when earth and her weather systems do create enough rain to topple over the constraints that humans have placed in their way, we call it a disaster because of the adverse affects the people in the areas affected experience. What is wrong with this picture?  Mother Earth has always provided clear signs, a road map, for those who live upon her to follow in creating community. Many ancient cultures around the world including American Indians observed these signs and honored the flow of the earth, understanding that she is providing for us all.

Many of these regions, such as the Ohio basin, were populated by humanity because of their rich soils and other resources. Then “we” promptly dammed up the very source of that richness, surrounding these rivers with homes and industry. On a recent visit through Ohio and Indiana I had the eye-opening experience to see that the Ohio River is still be polluted by industry and other sources. Polluted to the point of it being unfit to swim in. Now, like the Thames River in England, which massively overflowed its banks just weeks ago, this pollution is spreading to house and home across the land.

Could it be that Mother Earth is not only saying it is time for her to cleanse her own body, but that she is also saying it is time for you  (humanity) to reckon with the huge imbalances and unwellness that we as humans have created upon her body? All of the elements (air, water, fire, metal and earth) and their relationships with the earth are designed work in divine harmony and flow with one another. Humans, as part of the global family of earth are being rather boldly reminded of major imbalances we have created through our desire to do things our way, despite the consequences.

Mother Earth is a schoolhouse; a living library where we come to try out different scenarios and learn from the consequences.  However, now Mother Earth’s divine mission has been endangered and Divine Will is being reestablished upon her to ensure that she is allowed to fulfill her destiny.  We as part of her global family have major opportunities to make positive, responsible and harmonious choices that will allow her and our global community (this includes the nature realms) to live happy, healthy and prosperous lives.

One way to ensure that this happens and to have a great time in the process, is to remember our roles as earth stewards; caretakers of the earth and her creatures. Learning how to listen to and observe the teachings of nature and Mother Earth are of utmost importance in our success. For in order to be her steward, we must understand her, respect her and be willing to co-create harmonious life with her.  This is true of all life. It is true within us as individuals and all levels of community; local and global.

We must learn to listen to the earth and ask where it is for the highest good to build, to grow food, to produce energy centers. All parts of the earth have a divine blueprint, that if followed will allow us to co-create a wondrous world for all. Earth stewardship is also called earth guardianship. It is not about management. It is about being caretakers and respecting the divine light within all beings.  It is time that we learned to ask permission before digging a hole, building a house or cutting down a tree. It is time to say please and thank you to Mother Earth.

Om mani padme hum – Kathryn Ariel

Bringing Divine Community Into Being

We are in a time when the call back to divine community is being heralded across the earth.  Divine community, sustainable community, a way of living where all prosper and harmony is felt by the participation of all Earth life, through the utilization of earth wisdom and technology in a dance of partnership. This new way of living is required by all to ensure the continuation of life upon Earth.  It has been shown to me by the nature realms and those wise ones who have long kept a sacred relationship with nature (of which humans are a key component), that divine community can only truly be achieved through a deep and loving communion and communication with the nature realms and Mother Earth herself.

Is it truly our goal as Earth beings to grow a garden, build a house, birth a family, and create a business, a community, country and global community, where everyone prospers in unity and divine love?  Everyone:  “all creatures great and small”?  This can only truly be accomplished through interspecies communication. Where we ask for and receive permission, communion and wisdom of the nature realms, elements and elementals that are all intricate participants of these creations.

It has been shown to me through direct soul experience and wise teachers alike that interspecies communication; the communication between all species of Mother Earth and beyond, (our heavenly host family as well), is the key to divine community on all levels. Truly it is a major key for being Heaven and Earth into being.  We are all a part of the divine plan for Earth, and all creatures play an intricate role in its accomplishment. Due to the unconscious state that most of humanity has been in for centuries, the understanding of who the nature realms are in this divine plan, and as individuals, their amazing contributions, wisdoms and magic, have been discounted or ignored completely.

To many humans interspecies communication is a subject that brings up issues of belief and faith.  It challenges every one to acknowledge that there is an intelligence within us all (all life) that allows us to remove the communication barriers placed between and within species. Instead allowing our various means of communication to become readily obvious and understandable to all who partake of them.  Interspecies Communication:  speaking, hearing, conversing, and consciously co-creating with species different than yourself as a human. In the realm of Earth, these include the trees and plant kingdoms, animals, elvin, farie and devac realms, stone crystals and more.  Truly there is intelligence in all of Creation. As all things, whether animate or inanimate are made of energy and energy is the intelligent spark of Creator/Mother/Father/God.

But you may think, how is that possible?  How can we converse; speak to, hear and understand the language of another species when so many of us cannot even speak more than one human language? There are many steps upon this path of understanding and unity. The first three are here:

The first step understands that communication, like everything else is pure energy, pure intelligence, and frequency in form.  In accordance with this, one must learn to be conscious of her own frequency and how to align it with those whom she wishes to communicate.  Examples include: medicating, toning, singing, breath and high frequency music.

Second there must be a belief and willingness that every being has a voice, one that you can hear. This can be audibly or telepathically. (In fact, most creatures of nature have been speaking to you, to us, ongoing through time, knowing that at some point we would realize it is them talking and pay attention!) It also important to note here that many creatures communicate through visual language known as visual packages.

Third, is the understanding of how the Universal rule: “Ask and you shall receive” pertains to communication; interspecies or intraspecies. If ask to have clear, concise, communication with another being, based in divine truth and clarity, then the way will be shown and given to you to accomplish this. Believe me, there are infinity of teachers and guides eagerly waiting to assist you in this endeavor! The magic is that many of these teachers are in the form of your animal companion, the bird at your feeder, the tree outside your door or the favorite rock that you sit upon to meditate.  Happily there are also those in human form who have remembered these skills and are here to help you along your own path of divine communication.

These are just three of the many steps to accomplishing true divine community through interspecies communication.  Song of the Dove Foundation (www.songofthedovefoundation.org) offers individual and group trainings on this subject and is currently developing a online series and teleconference trainings as well. Please contact Kathryn Ariel for details at kathrynariel@songofthedovefoundation.org or 530-938-1531.  Learning how to communicate with all of Earth’s fascinating life forms will enhance your own life experience and lend a much needed hand to bringing the divine blueprint of Heaven on Earth into being.  Join in, and rejoice in the beauty of creation!

All we need is love, da, da, da, da, da …. I would wager to say that most humans with access to music in the last thirty years have heard this wonderful song by the Beatles.

All we need is love, da, da, da, da, da,

All we need is love, da, da, da, da, da

All we need is love, love,

Love is all we need ….

Now in this time of knowing and understanding the power of words more clearly, we know that the word “need” means that we don’t have it, but really wish we did!  We now also know that what we focus upon, and claim, becomes our reality.

In this awareness a while back I began changing the word “need” to the word “am”. Thus creating the lyric:

All I AM is love, love …love is all I AM.

Ah this singing of the truth of my/our being is quite delicious and fun to sing. It is just as easy to sing it with “you are”, or “we are” to help bring this divine truth more and more into the collective.

It is a wonderful jingle, and can be especially helpful when something that could cause you distress comes to your attention. Rather than getting in a fret about it, bring love into it, and help it shift:

All we are is love, da, da, da, da, da.

It may seem like a silly thing. But give it a go.  You might be surprised! And the fun thing is, it is quite catchy as well.

All we are is love, da, da, da, da, da.

All I AM is love, da, da, da, da, da

All we are is love, love,

Love is all we are, love is all we are, love is all we are

And fade out ….

Thank you once again to the Beatles for all their inspiration and love!

With love,

Kathryn Shanti Ariel

Song of the Dove Foundation

What does holistic emergency care mean? How is it different from the traditional way that first aid is taught? Holistic health deals with the whole being, not just the part that hurts. It recognizes that all creatures have four energy bodies, which are the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical.  To successfully treat or facilitate healing of any health imbalance all four bodies must be brought back into balance.

Many health problems, be they illness or “accident,” begin with an emotional upset or imbalance of some type. If this is not corrected it can move into the mental body, and then eventually into the physical, where it manifests as an illness or bodily injury. This is as true of our animal companions as it is of us. It has been well documented that animal companions will often take on the diseases of their humans in order to both assist them as well as mirror to them, to help in the learning of soul lessons.  When an injury or acute illness occurs, the holistic caregiver will tend to all four bodies in the order of importance, to bring the one(s) being assisted into a state of calm and comfort as quickly and effectively as possible.

In addition to treating all bodies, the holistic healing facilitator may utilize a variety of vibrational healing tools: herbs, homeopathy, flower essences, and working directly with healing Light Teams or Creator.  Holistic care emphasizes treating the whole being through the understanding of the Oneness of everyone and everything. All things carry a vibration that can be beneficial or hazardous, dependent upon their nature and how they have been created.  In holistic emergency care we are often called upon to utilize the beneficial to remove or rebalance the hazardous.

For example: A child falls off a swing spraining her ankle and cutting her knee open quite severely. She is scared, in pain, and in a low level of shock by the time you are able to assist her. To care for her holistically you will treat her emotional distress, most likely with a flower essence remedy and a hug of reassurance; calm her mentally by talking about something else to get her mind off the hurt; then treat the physical injuries in order of severity with a combination of modalities as described in Sections II and III of this book. Staying in touch with the emotional, mental, and physical states of the person will result in a much higher success rate.

Assisting an injured animal has many similarities to that of a human. As a healer or first responder the holistic approach is to address all four bodies. The focus given to each body and the order that this occurs is sometimes different in animals, because they often deal with injury and disease differently than humans.   In any case, it is our responsibility to treat all bodies to bring complete balance back into the animal, if that is her choice.

It is in the trauma recovery where the rebalancing and deep healing of all bodies can occur.  It is here that the choice is made by the whole being to create a positive reality for itself, or remain stuck in negative thoughts and thinking that will attract more illness.  In providing holistic tools to the human or animal to heal the deeper imbalances, the opportunity is given to return to wholeness and true health.

In an emergency situation we are seeking the stabilization of the bodies, and the correcting or containing of life-threatening situations. But we must remember that if one treats only the physical body and disregards the mental, emotional, and spiritual imbalances that created it in the first place, it is highly likely that continued imbalances or dysfunctions in the higher subtle bodies would once again be projected into the physical body in some form. This applies to humans and animals alike.

In summary, it is with holistic emergency care and trauma recovery that we address the whole by utilizing tools that serve and rebalance the whole. In so doing the causal energies that brought the situation into a physical manifestation may be removed or healed completely, thus eliminating the need for the human or animal to repeat the experience in any form.

Along with the toxins that humanity has created in Earth’s environment; local and global, there are many foods that in excess can bog down your liver’s function. Diary. excess sugar, peanuts, and overly spicy foods are examples.  Eating certified organic foods is a big help, but still some foods are more difficult to digest than others.

One indication of the health of your liver, is the clarity of your eyes.  Red or otherwise agitated  eyes are very often linked to a congested liver.

Here are some basics for keeping your liver healthy and operating happily:

1. Begin your day with a glass of warm water & organic lemon juice.  For an added plus, add a tablespoon of aloe vera juice.

2. Drink plenty of purified water throughout the day to keep your body hydrated. The liver cannot do its job flushing out toxins and such, if you are dehydrated.

3. An herbal infusion that is great for cleansing your liver in a mild, friendly way is: milk thistle, eye bright, chamomile, and dandelion. Note that with the exception of milk thistle, all of these herbs have yellow flowers. Yellow is an indication color for the liver, both healers and agitators. (It is also the color of jaundice, an ailment of the liver.)

4. For releasing metal & radioactive toxicity here are some possiblities: Kelp, Cilantro, Flower Essence Yarrow Special Formula made by Flower Essence Society: www.flowersociety.org.

In the early morning hours just before dawn, I laid in bed pushing through the illusions of challenges in my life, to reach and receive the knowingness of the many blessings my family have, receive and give each and every day.

It is quiet except for an owl hooting in the darkness. An owl totem gives you the power to extract secrets. Meditate on the owl and things will be revealed. Listen to its voice inside of you. (http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/owl.htm). Hearing the owl always reminds me of the book I Heard the Owl Call My Name, by Margaret Craven  In such, it is a call of my soul back to God; of death and rebirth within my current body form or beyond it.

Today, I feel the owl reminding me of my new choice to no longer let others define who I am, and instead allowing God to oversee my rebirth into the fullness that my God I AM had / has for me in this lifetime. It is never too late, I remind myself. It is in this space of rebirth and allowing I give thanks this day. I will meditate and allow the secrets that my God I Am wishes to reveal to me at this time. To rebuild my sense of self value and self worth, that I have allowed to be blown asunder by valuing others definitions of me over my own.

My gratitude, first and foremost is to God and Mother Earth and all her realms for having me as a resident once again, to enjoy her beauty and abundance and truly remember the depth of its truth.  Second I thank myself for having the courage to return, to release my inner demons and return fully into unconditional love in every way. Then I thank everyone else in all forms who have and are journeying with me in love and integrity. I have so many to be grateful for and to; I just pray you all know the depth of my gratitude whether or not we have every met and had the opportunity to say hello, eye to eye and soul to soul.

However, I know more than anything that we – all of God’s creatures – are connected heart to heart; soul to soul; in the web of Oneness and Unconditional Love. It is there that I meet you, greet you and thank you from the depths of my being. Let us all be the unconditional love that is God, as this is truly Heaven on Earth.

In love and gratitude,

Kathryn Shanti Ariel

In this time of great change Mother Earth is calling to us top return to her bounty, communing with nature in partnership. One avenue of receiving her bounty is through gardening and wild crafting of foods and herbs. Growing and wild crafting our foods and healing tools are two substantial components of this partnership. This article will be addressing four of the nutritive and medicinal herbs, which grow wild in the Tri- County area, and are easily grown in your own garden using permaculture techniques: Dandelion, Plantain, Red Clover and Yarrow.

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.

—— Doug Larson

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), an amazing nutritive and medicinal herb, brightens any garden with its cheery yellow flowers and seed tuffs that bring delight to the hearts of any who enjoy making magical wishes.

Surprisingly like most herbs, Dandelion has long been tagged as a weed and removed from gardens and pitched in the trash, rather than harvested with gratitude and eaten in salads, soups and as a side vegetable (like spinach). Now with the returning of our awareness to the gifts of the Earth, Dandelion and other herbs have found their way back into the produce section of health food and grocery stores everywhere.

Part used: whole plant; Energy and Flavors – Leaves are cool and bitter, the roots is bitter, cool and sweet; Properties – alterative (blood purifier), cholagogue (promotes flow of bile), diuretic (increase flow of urine), tonic (herbs that promote the functions of the systems of the body), demulcent (soothing substances, usually mucilage used internally or externally to protect damages or inflamed tissue; Dose – standard decoction, or 10-30 drops of tincture

Used for: liver problems, urinary tract infections, skin eruptions, stomach pains, breast cancer, beverage

Dandelion can be eaten raw in salads, steamed, used in stew or taken in tincture or capsule form. The leaves are sweet in their younger stages while turning more tart as they grow larger. At all ages they are a blessing to your body and the body of your animals.

Plantain is another wonder of nature, having an abundance of qualities helpful to our body’s wellness.  There are multiple species that grow in our region, Plantain major, which grows in damp areas, near creek and in bogs (i.e. the south end of Lake Shastina), and Plantain (Ribwort) which grows in dryer niches, such as open fields and vacant lots, and has long narrow leaves in comparison to major’s darker, broader leaves. Note: Plantain major is also known as broadleaf plantain.

Narrow Leaf Plantain without bloom

Plantain, along with the other herbs discussed in this article are wonderful ground covers and can be used successfully in permaculture to protect the soil while providing your family with a fresh healing apothecary.

Part used – leaves and seeds; Energy and Flavors – bland, somewhat bitter, cool.

Properties – diuretic, alterative, anti-inflammatory;

Dose – standard infusion; component in salves or poultices

Used for - urinary tract infections, hepatitis, stings, bites and wounds, relief of any type of inflammatory imbalance including arthritis. Also can be rubbed on skin to counter the sting of nettle.

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) is commonly found growing wild in open fields and as a ground cover in gardens across the land. It is a powerful nutritive herb.

Part used – blossoms; Energy and Flavors – pleasant; Properties – anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (reduce or prevent fevers), anti-cancer, improves visual acuity due to high beta-carotene content, while possesses estrogen-like actions. Dose – standard infusion, poultice, salves ; Used for – cancer prevention and healing, vision balancing, hormone balancing, general good health. Can be enjoyed every day in tea.

Note: not to be confused with Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) or Italian Clover, which is also a beautiful ground cover, but does not contain the medicinal qualities of its cousin Trifolium pratense.

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Lastly …

Yarrow or Achillea millefolium grows abundantly in the Tri-County area from high desert to the foothills of our highest mountains. Yarrow or Warriors’ Wound is named after the Greek warrior Achilles, for its abilities to facilitate healing of wounds both internal and external.

Yarrow - Achillea millifolium - warriors wound

Known for its snowy white caps of flowers adoring feathery pale green leaves, Achillea millefolium has many decorative cousins that are available in nurseries. It is important to notes that although lovely and draught tolerant, the cousins do not have the medicinal qualities of millefolium. So it is important to be clear what you are buying.  Learn your herb’s latin names, so that you can be certain you are getting the correct seeds or plants.

Part used – whole herb; Energy and Flavors – warm, bitter, spicy; Properties – diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (reduce or prevent fevers), carminative (relieves gas), hemostatic (arrests hemorrhaging), astringent, and antispasmodic; Dose – standard infusion, poultice, salves ; Used for: colds, flus, fevers, painful or suppressed menses, bleeding, hemorrhoids

With all herbs it is important to grow them in garden environments as similar to their natural ones as possible.  This is one of the steps of permaculture, and helps to insure that the plant’s properties remain true. Yarrow for instance prefers sunny, fairly dry environments with good drainage, in contrast to Plantain major, which prefers damp, boggy soils.

By Kathryn Shanti Ariel -

Song of the Dove Foundation