Botany for the Witch
Join me for a cycle through the Witches Year.
Hedgecraft is the art of wortcunning; knowing plants not just by their botany, but by the currents of historical magic that runs through them. It is knowing how to find what you need to heal and nourish with that which flourishes just outside your doorstep. This class series will provide the student with a primer in the working knowledge of the cottage witch (or cunning person) in Appalachia. By learning to identify, harvest and craft folk preparations that our ancestors used to treat common ailments and maintain good health, we will better understand ourselves through our relationship with the land.
These classes are five in number and each one finds energetic inspiration from one of the four elemental powers. The fifth class shall draw from the unification of them all, the spirit. Drawing deeply from the taproot of the Old World and Appalachian folk magic that we are immersed in, we will rediscover which plants cure and which plants curse. We’ll create and empower amulets, talismans and wooden works from the forest around us to travel home with. We will craft potions and herbal remedies focusing on what is abundant and effective. Step back into the seasonal wisdom of the plants and trees around you to embody the ways of the Wild and the botany of the Witch.
Hedgecraft is the art of wortcunning; knowing plants not just by their botany, but by the currents of historical magic that runs through them. It is knowing how to find what you need to heal and nourish with that which flourishes just outside your doorstep. This class series will provide the student with a primer in the working knowledge of the cottage witch (or cunning person) in Appalachia. By learning to identify, harvest and craft folk preparations that our ancestors used to treat common ailments and maintain good health, we will better understand ourselves through our relationship with the land.
These classes are five in number and each one finds energetic inspiration from one of the four elemental powers. The fifth class shall draw from the unification of them all, the spirit. Drawing deeply from the taproot of the Old World and Appalachian folk magic that we are immersed in, we will rediscover which plants cure and which plants curse. We’ll create and empower amulets, talismans and wooden works from the forest around us to travel home with. We will craft potions and herbal remedies focusing on what is abundant and effective. Step back into the seasonal wisdom of the plants and trees around you to embody the ways of the Wild and the botany of the Witch.
2023
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Tuition is 750$
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**To arrange a payment plan please fill out the form at the bottom of this page**
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Payment plan is 5 payments of 150$ (Interest Free)
+Schedule+
Due to the wonderful interest we had in the program this year we are opening a second cohort to keep classes a manageable size! You can sign up for the Saturday cohort OR the Sunday cohort. This means you will attend:
SOLD OUT
+++Saturday class+++
(April 15th, May 27th, August 5th, October 14th, and November 18th)
OR
SOLD OUT
Sunday class:
(April 16th, May 28th, August 6th, October 15th and November 19th.)
There can be no substitutions. You must attend EITHER the Saturday classes OR the Sunday ones but can not mix and match. Thank you for your understanding.
SOLD OUT
+++Saturday class+++
(April 15th, May 27th, August 5th, October 14th, and November 18th)
OR
SOLD OUT
Sunday class:
(April 16th, May 28th, August 6th, October 15th and November 19th.)
There can be no substitutions. You must attend EITHER the Saturday classes OR the Sunday ones but can not mix and match. Thank you for your understanding.
Spring: Air (April 15th or 16th)
As the snow melts and warmer winds begin to blow across our winter-rough faces, we hear the first whispers of Spring. After Candlemas on February 2nd, we see the days continue to lengthen as we head towards the Summer Solstice, yet the nights are still too chill to truly feel that we have left the cold behind. Plants like violet, nettle, chickweed, and trees like wild cherry bark, and birch will grace us with their food and medicine, as well as their magic. We will explore Appalachian Spring tonics, vinegars, teas and decoctions, the rituals of preparing the land for the new year of growth and the charms that people renewed each year for protection and fertility.
Early Summer: Water (May 27th or 28th)
The Wheel has turned once more as we near Midsummer, Solstice, on June 21st or thereabouts. St. John’s Day. The Sun shines downwards and we squint our eyes up at its brightness, drawing growth from the leaves, flowers and fruits all around us. The bushes are laden with wine berries, blackberries, and raspberries. We will explore the ancient and delicious healing of oxymels, the plethora of witches herbs of midsummer, and create charms and amulets for protection from meddlesome spirits who roam the lands at this halfway point in the witches year. We will also explored the Plantcraft of our region and have guest teacher Corby Hilscher teaching Tulip Poplar baskets to hold our foraged treasures.
Summer: Fire (August 5th or 6th)
While we begin gathering the harvests of those Things we planted in Spring, we plant the Things we shall harvest in Autumn. Now we reflect on those seeds we planted, and what strange fruits they will bear. Lammas loaves are behind us, but the rites and rituals of the first Harvest are upon us. We will craft tinctures and infused honeys from those plants that flourish during these warm days. We will also learn the art of wood carving from guest teacher Corby Hilscher and ply blade to tree and learn the folkloric uses of our enchanted wood. The lore of late Summer in Appalachia is rich and wild, come and taste the dark fruits of the Elder mother.
Fall: Earth (October 14th or 15th)
The pumpkins are orange, the squash are all harvested, and the red peppers hang in heavy bunches from the eaves, drying to warm us this winter. The Bone Mother, the Witch Father, they will soon run their icy fingers along the green stalks of goldenrod and Joe Pye, rendering them lifeless and crisp, to rot away in the soil and feed next year’s sproutlings. This part of the year, when the veils separating the living and the dead are the thinnest, there are whispers in every wood and the smell of Grandmother’s perfume hangs in the air. We will delve into the world of ancestor ritual, select magical and medicinal herbs to dry and make our own herbally infused oils to soothe and delight the skin in Winter. Spirit work will call us over the hedge as we craft magical inks for rune and sigil rites.
Winter: The All- Spirit (November 18th or 19th)
The Bone Mother will soon touch the Earth with her cold, iron blasting rod of frost. The green leaves have begun to die and the garden beds are sleeping. We will craft warming concoctions of plants like Pine and Spruce, Spicebush twig and mint. The art of Winter Solstice baking and kitchen witchery will end our five class series. After crafting herbed salts for magic both occult and culinary, we'll feast on baked goods crafted with the bounty we've stored from the warm months behind us. Finally, rich salves of warming oils and fats will bubble on our stove top to be jarred up to heal the chapped skin we'll ward off in the chill times to come. We will peer back over the hedge at the old year and walk forward with the knowledge of the plants and trees we've met along this elemental journey.
As the snow melts and warmer winds begin to blow across our winter-rough faces, we hear the first whispers of Spring. After Candlemas on February 2nd, we see the days continue to lengthen as we head towards the Summer Solstice, yet the nights are still too chill to truly feel that we have left the cold behind. Plants like violet, nettle, chickweed, and trees like wild cherry bark, and birch will grace us with their food and medicine, as well as their magic. We will explore Appalachian Spring tonics, vinegars, teas and decoctions, the rituals of preparing the land for the new year of growth and the charms that people renewed each year for protection and fertility.
Early Summer: Water (May 27th or 28th)
The Wheel has turned once more as we near Midsummer, Solstice, on June 21st or thereabouts. St. John’s Day. The Sun shines downwards and we squint our eyes up at its brightness, drawing growth from the leaves, flowers and fruits all around us. The bushes are laden with wine berries, blackberries, and raspberries. We will explore the ancient and delicious healing of oxymels, the plethora of witches herbs of midsummer, and create charms and amulets for protection from meddlesome spirits who roam the lands at this halfway point in the witches year. We will also explored the Plantcraft of our region and have guest teacher Corby Hilscher teaching Tulip Poplar baskets to hold our foraged treasures.
Summer: Fire (August 5th or 6th)
While we begin gathering the harvests of those Things we planted in Spring, we plant the Things we shall harvest in Autumn. Now we reflect on those seeds we planted, and what strange fruits they will bear. Lammas loaves are behind us, but the rites and rituals of the first Harvest are upon us. We will craft tinctures and infused honeys from those plants that flourish during these warm days. We will also learn the art of wood carving from guest teacher Corby Hilscher and ply blade to tree and learn the folkloric uses of our enchanted wood. The lore of late Summer in Appalachia is rich and wild, come and taste the dark fruits of the Elder mother.
Fall: Earth (October 14th or 15th)
The pumpkins are orange, the squash are all harvested, and the red peppers hang in heavy bunches from the eaves, drying to warm us this winter. The Bone Mother, the Witch Father, they will soon run their icy fingers along the green stalks of goldenrod and Joe Pye, rendering them lifeless and crisp, to rot away in the soil and feed next year’s sproutlings. This part of the year, when the veils separating the living and the dead are the thinnest, there are whispers in every wood and the smell of Grandmother’s perfume hangs in the air. We will delve into the world of ancestor ritual, select magical and medicinal herbs to dry and make our own herbally infused oils to soothe and delight the skin in Winter. Spirit work will call us over the hedge as we craft magical inks for rune and sigil rites.
Winter: The All- Spirit (November 18th or 19th)
The Bone Mother will soon touch the Earth with her cold, iron blasting rod of frost. The green leaves have begun to die and the garden beds are sleeping. We will craft warming concoctions of plants like Pine and Spruce, Spicebush twig and mint. The art of Winter Solstice baking and kitchen witchery will end our five class series. After crafting herbed salts for magic both occult and culinary, we'll feast on baked goods crafted with the bounty we've stored from the warm months behind us. Finally, rich salves of warming oils and fats will bubble on our stove top to be jarred up to heal the chapped skin we'll ward off in the chill times to come. We will peer back over the hedge at the old year and walk forward with the knowledge of the plants and trees we've met along this elemental journey.
+Seasons of the Witch+
These classes are from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM for 5 Saturdays or Sundays with one hour lunch breaks at our beautiful location in Marshall, North Carolina.
Refund Policy: We are a very small business and we rely on tuition payments in order to teach our program. We can't buy materials or pay our bills without it! We cannot issue refunds for tuition payments unless you suffer a serious personal or family emergency that renders you incapable of attending.
COVID Addendum: We live in uncertain times. Please understand by signing up for this class you are committed to remaining flexible. If we have to do part of it online we will, if we have to wear masks next year we will. We will do our best to provide a safe, fun, and special container for learning, but also prioritize the health of ourselves and our community. The class shall not be canceled, and will go one while we remain creative, flexible and adaptive. No refunds shall be issued if the ways in which we have to come together to learn are different than your expectations. Please be patient, mindful and kind in these trying times.
COVID Addendum: We live in uncertain times. Please understand by signing up for this class you are committed to remaining flexible. If we have to do part of it online we will, if we have to wear masks next year we will. We will do our best to provide a safe, fun, and special container for learning, but also prioritize the health of ourselves and our community. The class shall not be canceled, and will go one while we remain creative, flexible and adaptive. No refunds shall be issued if the ways in which we have to come together to learn are different than your expectations. Please be patient, mindful and kind in these trying times.
