Plant Attunement at Clearpath Herbals
The first outdoor meeting of Clearpath School of Herbals Medicine’s Plant Attunement Immersion was back in late April. We meet once Sunday afternoon a month, and during the winter the class happens inside. We were psyched to be outside and because of the mild winter early spring plants were up in force.
Plant Attunement Immersion meetings are spontaneous and improvisational. I never know exactly what we are going to do, and this I think adds to both the credibility and incredibility of the experience. How so? Because when the direct experience of attunement and communion with a plant happens – again and again — virtually without fail, well . . . that’s pretty incredible! And the fact that people so obviously see that the class is not rigged in any way whatsoever makes the entire process that much more credible to everyone. It is a guarantee.
Sitting with Skunk Cabbage
We chose to sit and attune with skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidas). In some parts of the country this plant may be at risk, but one would never know that where we live. It is the most noticeable plant in early spring, some areas being veritable oceans of skunk cabbage. Chris Sturk of the Binaural Beat Brothers expertly led us into a more supple and receptive state of awareness with his skills on the frame drum, and then . . . well, that is the unique part. It is never the same thing twice, and everyone is different. The same goes for the plants. They are as sentient as we are.
Plant Medicine
We were seriously outnumbered – a group of small human islands floating in a sea of skunk cabbage. But skunk cabbage is such a powerful presence, one alone would have been enough to make itself known. I do not use skunk cabbage much in my practice, and I regret that, being that it is local, native, and abundant. I aimed to correct that by going direct to the source and asking it about its medicinal virtues. It was more than forthcoming, and the information came in spectacular mind pictures. I usually get things more kinesthetically, but this time it came via strong visuals, and I enjoyed the variation. In my mind, the habitat that skunk cabbage thrives in became a map of the human body. The message was clear that skunk cabbage antidoted the cold, damp, fetid nature of its habitat, and would do the same for conditions of the mucous membranes and skin. I was aware of its positive benefit on damp-cold respiratory conditions, but not so of its effect on skin. Later when I looked it up, indeed the root has been used as an ointment to treat ulcerous sores that are hard to heal and are even taking on a hue of decomposition, similar to the dusky red color of skunk cabbage flowers. I saw this very clearly — like an animated movie — in my mind’s eye.
In what amounted to twenty minutes, Chris’s drumming led us down and back up from our respective journeys. When complete, we thanked skunk cabbage, and then we shared our experiences, going around a few times so we could add as we remembered or could put things to voice.
Plant Personality
Another participant had a more kinesthetic and personal message. She felt very warm and even agitated in her lower back and kidney area, as if she was getting fired up about something. The agitation, however, remained a bearable flow of energy and she did not feel panicked by it. In fact she said she felt even more grounded, and that surprised her. Once I shared some of skunk cabbage’s energetic nature with everyone, she laughed because she said that it reminded her of her own nature, and she was already feeling the stirrings of spring in a fiery way, and that skunk cabbage was just amplifying it. She said she did not so much need its medicine internally, but more as a ‘personality medicine’ reminding her how she could be fiery in nature and still stay rooted. She was very grateful for the experience.
Skunk cabbage is rare in the plant world in that it has thermogenic properties; that is, it can generate temperatures substantially warmer than its surroundings, allowing the plant to pop out of the icy muck in early spring. It also grows year by year by screwing its roots emphatically own into the muck; so actually, as skunk cabbage ages, it grows down and ever-more anchored into the ground. This woman kinesthetically felt both qualities of skunk cabbage directly in her body — both its fiery and rooting natures. So cool!
If this kind of experience speaks to you and you live close enough, feel welcome to join us. The cost is $30. Next Plant Attunement Immersion meeting is ths SUnday, July 10, from 1-4PM. Contact Chris at chris@clearpathherbals.com to register. Visit our calendar for upcoming events and classes, and join or mailing list for informational blogs.