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Primitive sense and the intuitive mind: Sensory herbal medicine

  • Ruth Weaver
    Ruth Weaver

    The Apothecary Forager, Ruthie Weaver is a Medical Herbalist living, teaching and practising in the beautiful county of Cornwall, her place of birth and upbringing. Ruth studied at the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine, Glasgow and The University of Lincoln where she completed her Herbal Medicine BSc. (Hons). Since then (2012) Ruth’s Practice in West Cornwall continues to grow, working with clients with acute and chronic illness and of mind, body and spirit.

    Ruths work for Herbal Reality includes writing new monographs as well as working on an ongoing project to enrich current monographs throughout the site. The monographs are enriched to include further detail on in herbal energetics, pharmacological actions, new research as well as essential information on the sustainability of plants. In the work of writing through monographs and articles, Ruth works to a balanced view of traditional, scientific, energetic and practical insights.

    The roots of Ruth’s practice are in traditional Western herbal medicine, maintaining both a deeply holistic, intuitive and energetic approach to treatment. Ruth has sought diversity in her inspirations having worked with and learnt from many leading herbalists from around the UK. Ruth also spent a number of years working with a collective of herbalist first aiders at events around the UK providing orthodox and herbal first aid.

    Sharing the herbal wisdom is where Ruth’s passion lies, she believes everyone should be empowered with the knowledge and skills to treat simple conditions at home with the powerful medicines growing so abundantly around us. Ruth also offers walks, talks, workshops and courses both in Cornwall and beyond

    This author is in our team of writers who research and create our monograph articles. To explore our herb monographs, follow ‘Herbs’ on our homepage and search alphabetically or by herbal action.

  • 10:00 reading time (ish)
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Ruth Weaver discusses how we connect with herbs by sensing and feeling and why it is important.

Foraging and finding herbal medicines is an instinct found across many species, however it is a skill that many of us haven’t nurtured. This article discusses how we connect with herbs by sensing and feeling and why it is important.

Introduction

Primitive sense and the intuitive mind: Sensory herbal medicine

Since the beginning of time, animals have interacted with plants for food, medicine and shelter. Humans and animals have evolved with the native flora as has the practice of hunting and gathering. Foraging for wild medicines and edibles is at the heart of the animal instinct to survive, however as a result of societal life and industrial scale agriculture, the majority of us in the Western culture are detached from our primitive ways and as a result, we are more detached from the natural world.

In this article we will take a look at the relationship between the human sensory systems, instinct, intuition and the plant world and exploring primitive sense as a fundamental principle in the animal- plant relationship. We will uncover insight into the evolution of our relationship to plants as food and medicine, and explore how we may enable ourselves to learn more directly from the plants through a rediscovered primitive instinct and the informed use of our own senses.

First we have to ask, how do wild animals stay so connected to their instinct to forage? And how are we different?

Ruth Weaver

The Apothecary Forager, Ruthie Weaver is a Medical Herbalist living, teaching and practising in the beautiful county of Cornwall, her place of birth and upbringing. Ruth studied at the Scottish... Read more

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