Herbalism in America has grown exponentially since we launched the Good Medicine Confluence back in 2009, and what was then only a small handful of herbal conferences has since exploded into dozens of annual gatherings. These range from huge international events to intimate bioregional ones. Each has its own distinguishing focus and following that makes them stand out. The Confluence is known for blending scientific classes with magical approaches, ecology with spirituality, and ancient traditions with the latest research and new alternative methodologies. Folks drive or fly from across the country to attend their favorite gatherings – not just to expand their herbal knowledge and healing skills, but to network with others and delight in the plant healer community!
I began my deep dive into practicing herbalism while living off the grid in the Gila Wilderness in the mountains of New Mexico. The floristic diversity and complete immersion into field botany, wildcrafting, folk method herbal medicine making, wildflower distillation, and other aspects of herbalism was a perfect introduction to what would become my primary vocation and passion. Given my remote location, one of my only ways of connecting with other herbalists was primarily online via our satellite internet connection. Through those online connections, I formed more long-term friendships than I can count, people I was also able to meet in person further down the road at herbal conferences!
While I have met many friends through teaching, visiting herb stores, attending classes, and other ways, there’s really no replacement for the intense and immersive experience of celebrating plant healing at a conference with so many other like-minded people. Most of my closest friends were gleaned from herbal gatherings, and those experiences based around our mutual passion for the healing herbs have often facilitated a long-lasting and deep bond between us. More than just a shared interest, we have a common devotion and lifestyle rooted in the green world.
Even when many of us know each other online or one on one, it’s remarkable to see the level of sharing of resources and tools as well as networking that happens at conferences. The heightened excitement of a live in-person event seems to catalyze a burst of creativity that’s mycelial in nature and can lead to a symbiotic community where we can all benefit and support each other in important ways that we could never manage on our own!
Passion is amplified through joined hands and hearts, and together we strengthen our inner fires of inspiration in each other to bring more beauty and healing into the world. Coming together can conduct the current of electrical enthusiasm that keeps us all vibrant and nourished as healers and people of the plants. Just like the plants, we are never truly in isolation, and depend on each other for survival and vitality!
It’s more than a little common for plant healers to give so much time to others and also to try to keep their businesses alive and running, that they become depleted, tired, and sometimes even truly burned out. Physical depletion is one possible symptom, but it’s also quite normal for the flames of passion to die down alongside feeling drained. Solitude, rest, and other forms of nourishment are certainly great ways of recharging, which can help us sustain our passion for the plants and our healing work. For myself, I find that the additional component of being around the excitement and insight of my herbal peers is one of the primary ingredients in reigniting that internal heart fire for my work, my calling, and my vision.
I didn’t truly realize how vital community was to my creativity and drive until I was more isolated after the birth of my son during quarantine and felt much of my fire draining away in the absence of person-to-person exchange and sharing. It was only in reconnecting to the plant healer community that I felt truly revitalized enough to create new formulas, reorient my direction as a healer, and return to my role as an herbalist.
Healing is so much more than correcting physical ailments, and it very often involves the support of a community, intimate connections, and forming communities small and large! There’s a unique bond between those who live their lives in devotion to the green world. It’s been one of the greatest pleasures in my life to share my herbal knowledge, obsession, and experience with others and to receive so much in return.
I’m currently deep in anticipation for this coming July where I’ll be teaching at our 13th Annual Good Medicine Confluence. Hosted at a beautiful nature retreat center in the mountains of Colorado, it promises to be the best one yet and I cannot wait to join in the shared current of inspiration, to see old friends and make new ones, both human and plant! I’m also eager to cultivate my current obsession with fungi and more alchemical approaches to healing.
Wherever you live, however you work with people and plants, no matter where you come from, 2023 is the time to gather together with other herb-folk to celebrate life lived to the fullest in the spirit of the green.
I’ll hope to see you there!
You may also enjoy:
2023 Herbal Event Calendar
Mountain Rose Herbs' Herbal Educator Community
The Herbal Radio Podcast
Topics: Herbalism
Herbalist, wildcrafter, artist, and storyteller, Kiva Rose lives in a canyon botanical sanctuary within the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. She is also the co-director of the Good Medicine Confluence, held each year in the mountain Southwest, coeditor of Plant Healer Magazine, and publisher of the just-released historical novel, The Medicine Bear by Jesse Wolf Hardin. She also maintains an herbal blog, The Medicine Woman’s Roots.
Herbalism in America has grown exponentially since we launched the Good Medicine Confluence back in 2009, and what was then only a small handful of herbal conferences has since exploded into dozens of annual gatherings. These range from huge international events to intimate bioregional ones. Each has its own distinguishing focus and following that makes them stand out. The Confluence is known for blending scientific classes with magical approaches, ecology with spirituality, and ancient traditions with the latest research and new alternative methodologies. Folks drive or fly from across the country to attend their favorite gatherings – not just to expand their herbal knowledge and healing skills, but to network with others and delight in the plant healer community!
I began my deep dive into practicing herbalism while living off the grid in the Gila Wilderness in the mountains of New Mexico. The floristic diversity and complete immersion into field botany, wildcrafting, folk method herbal medicine making, wildflower distillation, and other aspects of herbalism was a perfect introduction to what would become my primary vocation and passion. Given my remote location, one of my only ways of connecting with other herbalists was primarily online via our satellite internet connection. Through those online connections, I formed more long-term friendships than I can count, people I was also able to meet in person further down the road at herbal conferences!
While I have met many friends through teaching, visiting herb stores, attending classes, and other ways, there’s really no replacement for the intense and immersive experience of celebrating plant healing at a conference with so many other like-minded people. Most of my closest friends were gleaned from herbal gatherings, and those experiences based around our mutual passion for the healing herbs have often facilitated a long-lasting and deep bond between us. More than just a shared interest, we have a common devotion and lifestyle rooted in the green world.
Even when many of us know each other online or one on one, it’s remarkable to see the level of sharing of resources and tools as well as networking that happens at conferences. The heightened excitement of a live in-person event seems to catalyze a burst of creativity that’s mycelial in nature and can lead to a symbiotic community where we can all benefit and support each other in important ways that we could never manage on our own!
Passion is amplified through joined hands and hearts, and together we strengthen our inner fires of inspiration in each other to bring more beauty and healing into the world. Coming together can conduct the current of electrical enthusiasm that keeps us all vibrant and nourished as healers and people of the plants. Just like the plants, we are never truly in isolation, and depend on each other for survival and vitality!
It’s more than a little common for plant healers to give so much time to others and also to try to keep their businesses alive and running, that they become depleted, tired, and sometimes even truly burned out. Physical depletion is one possible symptom, but it’s also quite normal for the flames of passion to die down alongside feeling drained. Solitude, rest, and other forms of nourishment are certainly great ways of recharging, which can help us sustain our passion for the plants and our healing work. For myself, I find that the additional component of being around the excitement and insight of my herbal peers is one of the primary ingredients in reigniting that internal heart fire for my work, my calling, and my vision.
I didn’t truly realize how vital community was to my creativity and drive until I was more isolated after the birth of my son during quarantine and felt much of my fire draining away in the absence of person-to-person exchange and sharing. It was only in reconnecting to the plant healer community that I felt truly revitalized enough to create new formulas, reorient my direction as a healer, and return to my role as an herbalist.
Healing is so much more than correcting physical ailments, and it very often involves the support of a community, intimate connections, and forming communities small and large! There’s a unique bond between those who live their lives in devotion to the green world. It’s been one of the greatest pleasures in my life to share my herbal knowledge, obsession, and experience with others and to receive so much in return.
I’m currently deep in anticipation for this coming July where I’ll be teaching at our 13th Annual Good Medicine Confluence. Hosted at a beautiful nature retreat center in the mountains of Colorado, it promises to be the best one yet and I cannot wait to join in the shared current of inspiration, to see old friends and make new ones, both human and plant! I’m also eager to cultivate my current obsession with fungi and more alchemical approaches to healing.
Wherever you live, however you work with people and plants, no matter where you come from, 2023 is the time to gather together with other herb-folk to celebrate life lived to the fullest in the spirit of the green.
I’ll hope to see you there!
You may also enjoy:
2023 Herbal Event Calendar
Mountain Rose Herbs' Herbal Educator Community
The Herbal Radio Podcast
Topics: Herbalism
Herbalist, wildcrafter, artist, and storyteller, Kiva Rose lives in a canyon botanical sanctuary within the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. She is also the co-director of the Good Medicine Confluence, held each year in the mountain Southwest, coeditor of Plant Healer Magazine, and publisher of the just-released historical novel, The Medicine Bear by Jesse Wolf Hardin. She also maintains an herbal blog, The Medicine Woman’s Roots.
