Healing Wise

Questions on Infusions and ABC's of Herbalism

Q: You say drink the infusions one at a time but is it ok to make 2 or 3 and drink them in the same day example oatstraw, nettle and red clover.

Also I am very interested in taking you abc of herbal's course when does it start and do I pay 50.00 per month?

The reason I want to take it is that I am very interested in herbs and healing. It all started with your breast cancer book I had calcifications in my mammo and the dr. immediatly wanted to do a biopsy and I said no so now I am supposed to go back for a repeat mammo in Jan but I just felt that it was not the right thing to do. When I said no to the biopsy he said oK then why did you want me to have it I said, he said so  you know for sure!!!! I said know what for sure, he said nothing anyways hence my interest in your work, I also was very tired of taking vitamins and supplements I want my life simpler than it is, I want to go back to the old ways.

Anyways I love your books

A: Hello,  thank you for writing.  We are so glad you enjoy Susun's work and want to study further with her.  We enjoyed your story; always nice to hear people question and choose for themselves!

Susun's newest correspondence course, the ABC of Herbalism, can be taken any time that best suits you.  As a correspondence student, your course is between you and Susun, so when you start is your choosing. 

If you choose to pay in the ten $50 installments, it would be monthly.  If you pay online through www.ash-tree-publishing.com, the payments will automatically be deducted each month.  You also have the option to pay by mail to Susun Weed at PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498.

You can drink the infusions however you feel compelled.  It is recommended you make one at a time both so that none will go bad, and so that you can get a body feel for each, rather than having them all mixed together.  I used to do it one at a time, then even chose to drink only one for a whole month before doing another for a whole month, etc. helping me to know each more intimately.  After years now of drinking them, and now that I am not the only one in the household who drinks them, I often have two or three going at a time.  This way we can choose what best fits us in the moment.

If I can help you further as you register for your course, with any more infusion questions, or in any other way, please do let me know!  Susun looks forward to hearing from you and beginning your course :)

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com

More books by Juliette de Bairacli Levy

Q: Dear WiseWoman,

I'm hoping to obtain copies of several of Juliette de Bairacli Levy's books...particularly "As Gypsies Wander", "The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat", "Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable" and "Common Herbs for Natural Health". (I've managed to get a copy of "A Herbal Handbook for Everyone" which seems to be one of the few of her works still in print). Do you know of any available, reasonably priced copies?

 

 

A: Hello, I understand this quest to find Juliette's books! Most are out of print and treasured by their owners, so hard to find used.  Susun Weed, of Ash Tree publishing, has brought some back to print and has 3 more of Juliette's coming available soon. 

 

Currently we print and carry, of those you ask of, Common Herbs for Natural Health. You can see this, her others available, and those soon to come.  The handbooks for Farm and Stable and for the Dog and Cat are available by another publisher.  I have found them at Amazon.com and half.com. 

 

I don't know where you can find As Gypsies Wander, however I would wonder if it later carried a different name, as did many of her books as they were reprinted by different publishers. (for example: her herbal handbooks for animals with varied names like Cats Naturally: and the Herbal Handbook for Everyone may be similar to Common Herbs for Natural Health).  As Gypsies Wander sounds much like the content of Traveler's Joy, which we carry, and our soon to come Gypsy in New York, Spanish Mountain Life, and Summer in Galilee, which we anticipate having available soon.

 

Do let me know if I can help further.

Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
http://www.wisewomanweb.com

A City Herbal in Small Town Utah

Q: I was looking at the book review for A City Herbal - Lore, Legend, & Uses of Common Weeds and it said that Maida Silverman was born and has spent her life in New York City. NYC is a big city and I live in Coalville Utah. Coalville is a small town and I was wondering if the book could be useful for me here? It sounds like a very interesting book but I don't know if it would be useful for me to buy it.

A: Hello, yes, this is a wonderful book!  It is just as useful in the city as in the country.  The plants she speaks of are common many places.  Being in Utah though I do not know if you have many of the same plants.  You can see a list of the plants she covers.  If you are familiar with enough of them I say yes, please do get the book and enjoy it! You will learn much more about the plants and even get some tips on how you can use them in your everyday life.

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com

Book Translations

Q: are your books available in other languages, Czech in particular??? The book in question is Brest Cancer, Breast Heath

   

 

   

A: Hello, thank you for writing.  Breast Cancer? Breast Health! is available in German as BrustGesundheit from  Orlanda.  There are a few excerpts and related articles from the book that can be translated from English using Babelfish - not into Czech, but perhaps something similar?  If interested I am happy to send links to the articles.  Meanwhile you can start with those found at Breast Health Cancer Prevention.

Please let me know if I can help further.

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
http://www.wisewomanweb.com

Learning About Healing

Dear Susun,

Hello. I am a divorced woman and I have five of the most precious gifts anyone could ask for!!! My children. I am going to be very honest with you about who I am.

#1…A woman very dedicated to children.

#2…A healer of unknown talents.

#3…A heart that is wide open.

#4…and a woman that feels out of place here in my family.

I have made many a journey in nature to speak with…Life…. I heard or felt those who chose to respond to my presence. I have witnessed many beautiful happenings and also was shown the sorrow of Mother Earth.  I am at a place where I left my husband and in so doing, had to leave my four boys with their father and my daughter with my mother. I am considered homeless. I do not feel that way because of the connection I found within myself. I feel like I am a fire that keeps getting doused. I knew that the finer parts of me would die if I stayed in the marriage. I did not know that I would rouse my family into thinking that I am way out there and need help. I know what I experienced and it has been difficult keeping that knowing in my being when I am confronted daily with others that really do not know the Love of the Earth personally.  I feel like crying because I miss my kids so much but I know that the ball started and I have to move with the movement.  My heart sounds so great toward the natural healings that my path is split in two. On one side I would die to self to live again with my children and their father. On the other side I feel like the blood of the “people” is on my hands because I am not being the healer Mother Nature knows I am. I know that I have struggled because of the lack of examples that come from the human. I do know that I need to be an example to those that come after me of a Human Being living here on Earth. The bottom line is that I would cherish an opportunity to learn your sacred way. My dream is so huge that it is difficult to express. I gladly let my dreams pass to others so that the dream doesn’t have to wait on me. I want to live in a way that is very connected to the Earth and I found your website. I am unable to find a place to make money because my natural healing gift is calling from deep within and the normal workplace is so hard for me to be in. I am writing to you because I feel I have to try to make connections for my spirit to survive this space here in Kansas…Please, if you are able, let me know if there is a way to be in your sacred area and bring back into practice what I’ve learned to Kansas.

My thanks to you, for being on the Internet, at a time when who and what you are spoke volumes to my heart.

Thank you for writing.  I know you write this to Susun.  She does not have internet  to be able to correspond through email.  If you wish please do write her a letter at PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY  12498.  It is her daughter, with the help of a few of us, and Susun's financial support that allows us to share what we do online.  I hear you wish to learn more from Susun.  There is an abundance to learn online through our many websites, and I am happy to help you find whatever you are searching for within them.  Also through most libraries you can get her books to read.  I recommend you start with Healing Wise, though any would be of benefit.  What else could I help with?  I hear your passion and your needs.

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com

The Wise Woman Center

Q: Hi,
I am interested in finding out more about what your org. is offering.

Thanks and blessed be

 

A: Thank you for your inquiry. I assume the group you refer to is the Wise Woman Center. The Wise Woman Center was founded by Susun Weed, and resides in the Woodstock, NY area. Susun and many other teachers there offer moonlodges, work exchange days, correspondence courses, workshops, intensives and apprenticeships, to women and men (though the women-specific classes and those requiring overnight stay are usually women only). The teachings center around the Wise Woman Tradition and are primarily about herb knowledge - identifying, harvesting, preparing, and allying with - and nourishing women's health and spirituality. Susun travels the globe teaching these things as well.

Here are some links to our websites which will offer more information:

About the Wise Woman Tradition
About Susun Weed and her offerings at home and abroad, including her four books
About the Wise Woman Center and its offerings

The following websites are sponsored by Susun Weed and offer over 800 pages of free information, articles, and book excerpts. This is in addition to the wealth of information you can find shared at our very acitve international online forum. You will also see below Ash Tree Publishing, the publishing company also founded by Susun Weed that provides her four best-selling books, as well as many other treasures, including music and medicine bags.

Ash Tree Publishing Herbal Medicine Resources for women’s health and well being. Find information on menopause, fertility, pregnancy, breast care, and more. Plus books you’ll treasure & information you can trust.

Wise Woman Forum Susun Weed’s Wise Woman Forum - an open space for discussion. Make yourself at home, post a message or start a discussion. This place is for you to share your questions, concerns, and comments with other wise women and men like you. Take a moment to register and become part of the community. Enjoy!

Menopause Metamorphosis Gentle solutions for body, mind, and spirit: alternative approaches, herbal remedies, wise woman support. Your body knows more about menopause than your doctor does!

Breast Health, Cancer Prevention For women who want to maintain breast health and for women diagnosed with breast cancer. This site is designed with the purpose of empowering women in their health care choices.

Wise Woman Center Herbal Medicine and Spirit Healing Workshops, Intensives, Apprenticeship, and Correspondence Courses. Susun Weed founded the Wise Woman Center over twenty years ago with the purpose of offering a safe space for women to rediscover the Wise Woman Way. Studies include plant identification, herbal medicine, cancer prevention, women and chanting, goddess belly dancing, and feeding the creative spirit.

Healing Wise Q & A with Susun Weed

Let me know if I can explain any further!

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com

Foods for nauseous cancer patients...

Q: Hi there,
My mother recently underwent 10 radiation treatments after the removal of a cancerous brain tumor. They gave her 4 one week and 5 the next and 1 the next giving her the two weekend off. she is now not eating or drinking ..she has no apetite and i was hoping you had an idea of what would taste good for her. She has always been a strong person and the change could be from the medicine. My dad is at wits end..I'll be going to visit and stay for a few days this week and was hoping to have some ymmy ideas .. She presently can't stand the smell of grease and stuff that my dad has been trying to force her to eat ? He is 83 and she 81 ? Any good advice for me would sure be appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

A: My thoughts are with you and your family. Is there anything at all that she craves? Your mom has been through so much, physically and emotionally. I can only imagine what she may be going through. She needs to heal deep. I am sure she needs much beyond just food, but as you know nourishment is essential right now. When healing often we need simple foods - broths are top of the line for this for me. Defat the broth if fats are nauseating to her. Is nausea part of the issue? I prefer chicken bone broth, but if better for her to start a simple potassium rich vegetable broth may be good. I would also try some nourishing herbal infusions, are you familiar with them? - though not great amounts of the Red Clover blossom if she is on blood thinners. Please let me know how I can help further...

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com

 

Q: Thanks for your advice...
I was held up for the week and was unable to go see my parents but i phoned twice a day. After I got mad and sent them some lists with acidic foods and alkeline ..so they could stop feeding the cancer ? My dad realized they had to make decisions for her. She has improved since last Monday quite alot and the doctor apparently increased the steroid she has been given ? What effects will we have to watch for now ? I will make some vegetable soup this weekend for her. And I'm not sure what she has been craving but i'll find out. I know that she likes bacon but the smell makes her ill to her stomach.She eats it with eggs in the morning. They have always eaten alot of fats and whites ? Hard to let them know to stop it all ? Seafood and salmon are something they have quite alot of usually too. So I'll do my best when I go.
Nausea is definately part of the whole thing. But at least she's been up and about and not lying in bed waiting for the inevidable ?
She has previously undergone 2 lobe removals for cancer twice when she was in her 50' s and once in her 60's again they took one out on the other side..then she had a breast removed in around 1998 .. and then they found a tumor in between her lungs that they shrunk a few years ago and it remained unseen with tests until they found the tumor ? She is a strong lady at 81 and I'll make sure to let you know how things go. Thanks for your concern and answers.

 

A: This must be so hard to watch in someone you love. I am glad you will keep me updated. After 80 years of eating one way it is hard to change, and I certainly would not try to change it at this point. I have found for many, though, our own innate passion for health leads us to some seemingly odd cravings in times of trial. Most often I have seen these be a draw toward simplicity, the least processed and complex foods and flavors - broths and salads. I personally prefer chicken bone broth, but say the veggie broth as a second for vegetarians. You could make a bean soup with broth and some bacon to give that flavor, but diffuse the fat, good well cooked greens and even a little live sauerkraut in it - great for gut flora. And hey even a side of white bread for dipping :) Or shrimps and greens sauteed in a broth. In the end though you can't be there all the time. I imagine it would be hard to let go and let others make choices especially when they feel improper. I am glad to hear she is up and moving around. It is hard to say how she will respond to the steroid when there is so much else going on. I wonder why the choice for that and to increase it?

love and blessings,
Karen Joy

 

Q: Hi again,
I went to see them and I felt like I was in the way. I was wondering if you've ever heard of how THC works in the treatment of cancer patients who won't eat anything ? Living in canada it's very easy to get marijuana or the pills they give people to take. The steriods they had her on ran out three days back and mom fell back into a pit ? Then they took her to the doctors yesterday and got her back on them again? I know by your reaction they aren't that good? So maybe the THC deal could be something to try ? I have her doctor calling me sometime in the next day or two . Thanks again for all your help ..I did forward all the information about what to try etc. I'm not sure if they followed any advice or not ?

 

A: Susun speaks of using marijuana to help increase appetite for cancer patients in her book Breast Cancer? Breast Health! She says the prescription Marinol is not as effective as smoking the dried leaves and female flowers. Do you know what the doctors are hoping the steroids will do? What do you mean she fell into a pit?

Karen Joy

Sore Breast after Mammogram

Q: Hello Susun!

Thank you for taking the time to read my note.

I am a 33 year old woman who has just had a mammogram -- benign mass in my left breast (thankfully!) however, the technician had to repeat the procedure on my left breast (spot mammo) and it has been tender ever since. This was almost 3 months ago!

I am very upset that I had one at all :( I am afraid that my breast is now damaged in some way -- the shape shanged slightly too, which I was really upset about. I plan to have my doctor give me a physical exam next month, just to be sure everthing's ok.

Any ideas on what I can do? It feels like I was punched in the breast. My nipple is a little tender, discomfort fluctuates. Bottom line is that my breast feels different than it did pre-mammo.

Thank you so much for your time and thoughts or for passing me along to someone who might be able to help. I will never have a mammogram again.

Sending love and healing,
R.

 

A: Hello R., I hear and understand your concern. I have heard of lasting discomfort from mammograms, though do not know how long or if this is what is happening for you. Are you able to phone Susun on a Tuesday evening between 7:30 pm and 9:30pm Eastern time? She does not have internet in her home to be able to correspond through email. I am sure she would love to talk with you about your concerns. Her number is 845-246-8081.  [This runs until the end of October 2006; she will resume again in spring 2007.  This is not available through winter.]

I hear you wish you hadn't had the mammogram. At this point what can best be done is nourish your health now. Do you have Susun's Breast Cancer? Breast Health! book? It has directions for self-examination as well as herbal breast oils you can use to nourish your deep health and possibly even soothe the soreness. Since you have already been exposed to the radiation of the mammograms you can simply add some foods to your diet to help you deal with it, especially since it was only one time and 3 months ago. You may appreciate these articles:

Anti-Cancer Lifestyle

5 Easy Things you can do to Prevent Breast Cancer  

Surviving Radiation the Wise Woman Way

Breast Health!

Please let me know if I can help further...

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com

 

Q: hello karen!

thank you so much for your response. it's true that all i can do is to move forward and take care of myself now -- i'm sure holding on to things from the past and harboring feelings of regret are not conducive healing. my most immediate concern is related to physical injury of the breast due to excessive compression (combined of course with the radiation -- agh).

i would like to purchase a copy if susun's book.

finally, i would also be interested in talking to susun. i have a couple of questions: is there a fee for the conversation? and is there a specific time i should call between 7:30 and 9:30?

thank you!
r.

 

A: Hello R., I do understand. I too have many times looked back and wished I had done different. I think this is normal and natural, and can be quite helpful when we use this to look forward, as I hear you doing when you say you will not have a mammogram again.

I also understand the concern for the bruising and the need to know better what is going on. This is not hanging on to the past, this is the present.

I am glad you will speak with Susun. I wish I knew more on this to help you directly. There is no fee for this talk time, it is offered free by her. You can call any time during those two hours, just know if she is on the line you will get a busy signal. So you may wish to start closer to 7:30pm (but not before of course) and keep trying up until 9:30pm. If you are unable to get through you can try again next week, though if dilligent I am quite sure you will get through. In the meantime you may wish to make use of our online forum, just to have others to talk with about it, and bounce ideas off. If you wish you can purchase Susun's book online directly through Ash Tree Publishing. 

Let me know if I can help further.

All my love,
Karen Joy

Correspondence Courses in the City

Q: Hi Susun,

I have been reading your book, Healing Wise and also own The Wise Woman's Herbal for the Childbearing Year. I am interested in taking the ABC correspondance course and am curious as to what the materials are that I would receive. Would I receive the secrets of the Medicine Wheel of Plant Uses and How to understand and use botany and botanical nomenclature? I feel very novice, I've just discovered red raspberry leaf tea & feel so much better after drinking 20 oz of deep steeped tea a day for the last 2 months that I was compelled to delve into your book Healing Wise....and then to look you up on the web.

I have a concern:
I live in a suburb of Chicago....people are not very weed friendly here...they're very chemical friendly, plus, once I reach a relatively un-touched place where I may find some weeds, I am concerned that the weather might inhibit harvesting.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to communicate with me about this fascinating subject and about my concerns.

I think that I'll brew my tea now & look forward to your response :)

R.

 

A: Hello R., thank you for writing with your interest to study through correspondence with Susun. She does not have internet in her home to be able to receive and respond to email, but I know she will be very happy to work with you.

I understand your concern about living in the city. You may need to be a little more creative than you would if living on many wild acres of land, but I think you will be surprised of all you are able to find, and use! I started my studies with Susun through correspondence course when I lived in San Diego! Not only was it a city with few uncontaminated patches, but it was a desert. I very little time I was astonished to find all the little nooks and crannies and abandoned areas rich with all the plants I was learning about. And soon was harvesting as I thought I would never be able to do there. In Chicago area I know you will soon find all the treasure areas that might right now go overlooked.

So wonderful to hear you are working with such a nourishing herb!

I do not know more detail about the ABC of Herbalism course than is shared on the website. For further answers more detailed about your course, you are welcome to phone Susun on an office day, which is Wednesday from 11am-4pm Eastern time at 845-246-8081.

At our online forum is the "Wise Woman Classroom" section where current, prospective and past correspondence course students share their experiences, questions and friendship.  You may wish to peruse or ask there to learn a little more detail about this course :)

Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com