Can I Become a Certified Herbalist?
If you are reading this article, it is probably because you have a love of herbalism. You may be curious about herbalism as a career path and wonder what kind of training or credentials are required to become an herbalist. The good (and perhaps confusing) news is that there is no single path to becoming…
11 Ways to Save Money on Herbal Supplies
As your herbal studies gain momentum, we know how tempting it can be to purchase brand-new herbal supplies: herbs, books, materials, and equipment to bring your recipes and projects to life. Like any craft, there are baskets upon baskets of fun, exciting tools that you’ll want and need as you stock your herbal supply cabinet,…
It’s Back To School Time Here At The Herbal Academy & We’re Having A Sale On All Our Courses!
The smell of new notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, and clean slates fill the air this time of year. The back-to-school season is about a fresh start whether you are just beginning school or have long since graduated. Although our courses are available all year round, here at the Herbal Academy, we are pleased to join…
Introducing 3 New Herbarium Features To Help You Grow As An Herbalist
Over the last three years, The Herbarium has become a cherished resource, providing herbalists of all skill levels with in-depth resources to advance their herbal learning through constantly updated herbal monographs, thoughtful articles, and educational podcasts, videos, and charts. We are pleased to announce that even more resources are being released to The Herbarium community!…
Epic 5 Days of Giveaways by Herbal Academy
It’s been done just once before, the 5 Days of Giveaways is back, and this year it’s bigger than ever! As part of this year’s Epic 5 Days of Giveaways, we are opening up awesome prizes each and every day from Monday, July 18th to Friday, July 22th. Here’s what you can look forward to…
Introduction to Herbs for Kids
Welcome to our very special Introduction to Herbs for Kids series! Children are often fascinated by the natural world, learning from simple interactions with a puddle or a bug or a tree. This series of lessons caters to that natural inquisitiveness while introducing children to the world of herbalism in interesting and enjoyable ways. Written towards children,…
Enhance Your Herbal Education with these Affordable Resources!
Aromatherapy and herbalism are vast subjects, and learning them is a joyous, life-long journey! Many of us are simply impassioned with a desire to learn and we often find ourselves looking for new resources to expand and deepen our knowledge of these subjects. Building a home library is extremely helpful for anyone learning about aromatherapy…
A Comprehensive School Directory & Guide to Finding the Best Herbal Education For You!
It is, after all, transformation that all the best herbal schools encourage, enabling and supporting our transitioning into informed and empowered plant healers who have amazing gifts to share with this world. – Plant Healer, Herbal Education Guide & Herbal School Directory, p. 26 It is in this spirit that the wonderful folks at Plant…
7 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Clinical Herbal Practice
Perhaps you have studied herbalism for a few years and find that you are drawn to clinical herbalism – the side of herbalism that focuses on working one on one with clients. Perhaps you know that you want to work as a clinical herbalist, but you may be wondering what it would take to start…
How to Begin your Herbalist Training
You want to become an herbalist, but you’re not sure where to begin. That’s natural, because although an herbalist is someone who works with and studies herbs, the details of how and where an herbalist acquires their herbalist training depends on the interests and talents of the individual. Most often, the job people have in…
Speaking the Herbalist’s Language
There are a number of words that can give beginning herbal enthusiasts or students a reason to stop and scratch their heads. Even if you might know what a word like “decoction” or “ayurveda” means, you might not be sure of the pronunciation. Learning the herbalist’s language is no simple task! And with herbalism borrowing…
Strengthening The Roots of Our Herbal Practice
We can work on many levels as herbalists, but at some point it becomes important to go deep down into the depths of our tradition and root ourselves firmly so that the personal practice of herbalism in our lives can flourish and blossom. The rich ground of historical herbalism and the new frontier of modern…
Finding the Roots of Our Herbal Traditions
Fall is all about root medicine. As our plants ready themselves for winter, many of them draw their energy down into the roots to wait out a season of cold and rest. Burdock, dandelion, butterfly weed, angelica, and licorice are just a few of the herbs we cherish for their medicine underground. With roots at…
12 Best Botany Words for Your Herbal Studies
Most of the time, the words we use to describe our herbs are fairly straightforward: calendula petals, mint leaves, and ginger root. Leaves, petals, and roots are parts of plants familiar to most people, even if they aren’t gardeners, herbalists, or botanists. And for most purposes, that’s as technical as you need to be. Other…
Basic Botany: Describing Leaves
There’s a lot going on in a leaf. Thousands of chemical reactions occur in each one as part of photosynthesis – the process plants use to turn sunlight into energy. Each plant develops their own unique blend of ingredients from sunlight, water, and the nutrients they pull from the soil. The unique makeup of each…
FREE Course: The 4 Essential Habits of Healthy Families
Do you worry about the health and wellness of your family? That’s a pretty natural concern! As plant enthusiasts, we strive to support our family through nourishing herbal teas, wholesome, real food recipes, and preventative natural remedies. However, as many of you have probably experienced, it can be tough to know where to find all the right information. Of…
Botanical Families: How Herbs Are Related
The number of distinct botanical species recorded in the world is impressive. 500 species of conifers, 12,000 species of ferns, 14,000 species of mosses, and a staggering 300,000 different species of flowering plants. Most of our herbs are flowering plants, but how can we make sense of such an overwhelming diversity? Within that giant group…
Creating Your Organized Apothecary
Building a home apothecary is an exciting part of learning herbalism. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from having everything on hand and ready so that you can mix up the perfect herbal tea blend or formula at a moment’s notice. But as your home apothecary grows from a few herbs to a…
Learning Botanical Names
If you have spent time reading about or studying herbs, chances are you have come across botanical names. Usually in italics, botanical names are found in herb profiles, scientific studies, and even in everyday places, such as the back of your favorite herbal tea blend. If you are a HANE student, you may have seen botanical…
One Herb at a Time: 7 Ways to Inspire Your Herbal Studies
When you begin your herbal studies, the sheer number of herbs you encounter can be intimidating. While it’s useful to learn about herbs as the need arises to solve everyday health issues, one of the best ways to approach herbalism is by studying under teachers who can walk with you step-by-step on the first part of your…
3 Old-Timey Herb Books You Can Read Online
Herbalism is seeing a revival in our times, but there is still much we can learn from herbalists who came before us. The history of herbalism goes far, far back into time with the first known reference to medicinal herbs found on clay tablets of the ancient Sumerians. Many old herbal manuscripts are preserved in libraries…
What is a Materia Medica?
Every field of study employs its own language, words, and phrases that become an integral part of engaging with the discipline. In herbalism, one such phrase is “materia medica,” which comes from Latin and literally means “healing materials.” More specifically, a materia medica is a body of knowledge that describes how plants have been used therapeutically throughout the…
The Limits of Herbalism
Herbs have limits, too. For all the amazing ways that herbs can enrich our lives and help us heal, there are still things for which they should not be relied upon. But that’s not all – there are also legal considerations and limits that herbalists need to know. By approaching herbs with awareness of our limits…
What to Do With an Herbal Education
There are many reasons to seek an herbal education, ranging from a desire to become a clinical herbalist to something more informal such as helping family and friends. Simply falling in love with herbs is also a perfectly valid reason! Regardless of the initial reasons that set us on this journey, an herbal education can…
How To Make Herbal Glycerites: Tinctures Without Alcohol
Glycerites are sweet herbal tinctures which use vegetable glycerin to extract the active constituents and flavor from an herb. Herbal tinctures are typically made from alcohol, but glycerin is a good alternative for children, animals, and adults when palatability and alcohol sensitivities are primary considerations. While not as potent as alcohol-based tinctures, glycerites are still…
