Mid Atlantic Women's Herbal Conference 2014

This was my second year at the MAWHC, and it was again fantastic. Last year I went by myself and didn't know a soul, and I had a wonderful time taking in my first-ever herbal conference experience. This year I carpooled with 2 friends (should have been 3, we missed you Herban Momma!!), my teacher Maia Toll was there, I ran into friends and met new ones, and had just as wonderful a time.

Red Earth Farm hosts the conference on their land in Kempton PA (and offers a rather wonderful CSA too, I might add), and this year Charis and the other helpers did a great job with the wet weather we had up until registration time Saturday morning. The chairs had clearly been put up under the tents before it started raining, and there was almost no mud to speak of. Thanks everyone!

Our keynote speaker was Rosemary Gladstar. Have you met her or worked with her yet? I hadn't, I had only used her book Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health (affiliate link.) I've heard her described as "The Grandmother of Modern Herbalism" several times, and truly, a grandmother is what I expected. Boy was I surprised!

Rosemary is a fireball. She is full of stories, some ribald, some serious, all honest and energetic and inspiring. And her laugh! Right into the microphone, so full of joy and good humor, even when she was discussing the Fire Cider controversy. She gave us a slide show of Herbal Elders in the morning, and told so many stories about these people, demonstrating that our heritage and traditions and herbal lineage are so very important to our craft and our future. In the evening, she told us a little of her life story, how she came to her current project the United Plant Savers, and touched on the Health Freedom Movement. She invited open discussion about the issues surrounding giving herbalism a 'legal' status, she challenged us to take back the name Herbalist and not be afraid of using it, and she asked us to find out what we love and to do that. Rosemary understands that 'being an herbalist' is a narrow and limiting definition of what we do in this field, and there's room for everyone and their various skills and passions.

Rosemary also brought her mom with her to the conference. This tiny lady is 90 years old, and every time I saw her she was wreathed in smiles. It was such a joy to know that she was in our presence, and that our presence contributed to her happiness.

And Maia was there! Why don't I take pictures at these things?! I miss her hugs so much, they're not hands-on-arms, lean-in, gently-bump-a-shoulder things. A big, wrap around, squeeze is what she gives, and what I give back! Maia taught 2 workshops. She promptly threw us out of the first one- no, not really! She did strongly suggest that we already know what she's going to say, and that we should go meet other teachers too. I guess she's right... but I miss her!

So for my first workshop I started at a tent with a neat contraption that hooks to a plant and plays tones as the plant gives off energy or resonances. It was very pretty and I stayed a while to listen, then I moved over to a tent offering a talk on the Divine Feminine. Both were good times for introspection, and I enjoyed that.

The next workshop break offered a class on fermenting vegetables- sauerkraut and the like- and it was fabulous! Suzanna had us all involved, the (large) class made a huge batch of kimchi as she taught us the process, and she handled the crowd and the information very well. I mean, the woman gave complete strangers knives and no one had an accident! She was an impressive presenter, something to aspire to for sure.

During the last break I started out in the Dandelion class, and learned something new- the botanical name for Dandelion, Taraxacum officinalis, translates into The Official Remedy for All Disorders. That night someone jokingly asked me, "So what would you recommend for everything that ails me?" and I had my answer ready- Dandelion! Part way through I made my way over to Maia's second class and listened in on her talking about the endings that happen at this time of year, and some of her rituals around Autumn and Winter. She ended by inviting us to write down something we'd like to release and let go of, and we gathered around the fire pit to burn them. Some people were emotional and it was so nice to be part of that healing moment.

There were also great vendors on hand. I'm in Linda Shanahan's Herbs Through the Seasons class (HIGHLY recommended!) and last month she brought in herbalist Sharon Moncrief for a very interesting talk about women's herbs. Both Linda and Sharon came as vendors, and their stuff looked great. I got a pretty ring from Sharon, who is now making jewelry in addition to the beautiful tinctures and oils and creams she has developed, and I went home with an amazing piece of baby Ginger with the greens still on it and the most fragrant Lemon Verbena ever from Linda's farm. I hope you both sold out of everything you brought!

So, go the the MAWHC next year! You will enjoy it. Unless you are a man, which is my only beef with the conference. The two men in Maia's class this past year would both have provided great things to the day, and they would have benefited just as much in return. I'm sure they're not the ONLY guys out there who would have fit in with us, either. I understand the power a group of women can have on each other, but I believe the conference I attended both last year and this was missing out on what these men offer. I wish I had convinced my classmates to come in drag!

Since I didn't take any pictures myself, here are some from the MAWHC's Facebook page.