School of Intuitive Herbalism
Learning from the plants directly
The School of Intuitive Herbalism is dedicated to supporting people in their development as herbalists and healers. All our work revolves around learning from the plants directly, helping people engage with the inner processes that are catalysed by the relationships that arise between humans and plants. This is a deeply soulful approach to herbalism and is as much a journey into our own consciousness as it is a profound meeting with nature.
Our approach places particular emphasis on embodiment and somatic intelligence. We support one another in learning from the plants through felt experience, relationship, and the wisdom of the body. This work can open us to experiences of profound richness and beauty, while also being deeply challenging and awakening, revealing more of who we are and asking us to shed layers of ego and identity that we have outgrown.
The school is intended for those who already have a grounded foundation in inner exploration and are accustomed to meeting themselves honestly, recognising their projections and questioning the personal stories and illusions – māyā – through which we perceive the world. When we truly let the plants in, they open us to a more intimate relationship with life, a deeper freedom in how we meet it, and the guidance of a wisdom far greater than our individual selves.
Many people have come to recognise this process of awakening through ceremonial work with traditional plant teachers. At the school, we discover that the plants surrounding us every day carry their own profound transformative potency when we learn how to open ourselves, listen deeply, and enter into relationship with them.
The heart of the school is our professional training in Insight Herbalism ® which can be completed in 3 to 7 years depending on existing skills and prior experience. We invite you to get a taste of this work through one of our Introduction classes, during which we can explore which of the various pathways might best suit you. To see an overview of a typical journey through the school click here. Links to get started: Our school, FAQs and feedback.
These are intermediate-to-advanced herbalism trainings, intended for those who already have some herbal knowledge, experience of touch or somatic enquiry, and a grounded personal practice of inner work, including experience of process-oriented therapy. If these areas are new to you, we recommend you work with one of our graduates or another skilled professional to explore these before starting at the school.
You’ll find a free resource library with interviews, podcasts, meditations and reflections. These explore ways of opening to the plants as well as our pedagogical approach and how a relational style of herbalism helps open a path to living in deeper relationship with the wisdom of the land, the plants and our bodies’ intuitive wisdom.
We also have a free Patreon membership scheme which will enable us to slowly build an even more extensive library of articles, recordings and interviews.
We’ve published three books: Intuitive Herbalism (2014), Weeds in the Heart (2017) and Wild Enchantments (2024) (which comes with a set of stunning plant wisdom cards by artist Fiona Owen). All books are produced to the highest ecological standards in the UK and many tell us they are some of their most prized possessions. We have no doubt at all they will give you many years of inspiration and open profound doorways into your own meetings with the plants.