Herbalist Val Elkhorn on Biodynamic Gardening as Spellcasting [episode 22]

Val Elkhorn shares about balancing the cosmic forces with the earth by gardening with the cycles of the moon. You’ll also hear about: Bringing spirit back into the sciences Growing up in a conservative family and doing her own thing The chronic digestive issues that led Val to herbalism How society is disconnected from the energetic forces of nature  ♥♥♥ Join The Earth Speak Collective Membership!  Join like-hearted folks in a sacred container and community where you'll: Connect deeply to yourself, others, nature & spirit Learn to trust your intuition Activate your Earth magic Expand your healing & divination skills Put your intuition into practice in everyday life Stop feeling lonely on your spiritual path Embody & express your creative power & truths Experience safe space without agenda or judgement When you join the Collective, you get access to all of our past workshops, any live workshops happening while you're a member, live weekly energetic reset calls, monthly community rituals, all the secret episodes, member-run meetups to explore magical topics, and a lively members only forum (that's not on FB!). ▶▶▶ Learn more and sign up for the Collective membership here: https://www.earthspeak.love/collective ***** Val Elkhorn is a herbalist living in the enchanting northwoods of Michigan. Through her business Woodspell Apothecary she grows, harvests, and makes medicine to the rhythms of the moon, using the practice of Biodynamic farming. Woodspell Apothecary gracefully melds science and spiritually, through research and ritual. Val strives to create products that are as sustainable and Earth conscious as possible by sourcing from local businesses, using recycled bottles, and using organically grown plants.  In this conversation Val shares her journey to find her place in the Universe, and how chronic digestive issues led her to a path of herbalism with a focus on herbal bitters. Take the Find Your Bitters Quiz on her webpage! In this episode, we talk about: Reconnecting with our ancestors and their land based practices  Val’s existential crisis at the age of 10  Val’s psychedelic packaging and her training as a Graphic Designer Identifying as an Earth tender, activist, and herbalist  How Val found her place in the Universe, and her path to the plants Gardening with the cycles of the moon The chronic digestive issues that led Val to herbalism  How a Naturopathic approach to health and healing, allowed Val to feel truly heard for the first time The spectrum of healing, and the time and place for conventional medicine Creating sustainable, plastic free products Nature as a guide to being present and connected to your body Disconnecting from the busy minds, to be held by the Earth Finding a sense of belonging with the plants Earth altars and rituals - as therapy  Honouring beauty for the sake of beauty  Coming out of the broom closet to your family  Feeling out of place and being the “rockstar rainbow of the family”  The unique catalysts for transformation in our lives  Melding spirit and science in gardening Val shares her dreams of making her own biodynamic calendar and garden journal  Biodynamic farming as spellcasting  Balancing the cosmic forces of the garden Staying curious and being open  The mainstream misconceptions of what is means to be a Witch  Being disconnected as a society from the energetic forces of nature  Moon gardening as a link to our ancestors Matching herbal blends to bodies  Bonus Secret Episode! Get the secret episode with Val Elkhorn on the co-evolution of humans and bitters, at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret. Links: Learn more about Val’s offerings at https://www.woodspells.com/  Connect with Val on Instagram @woodspell.apothecary // https://www.instagram.com/woodspell.apothecary/ Connect with Val on Facebook @woodspellapothecary Explore Val’s YouTube channel  Take the Find Your Bitter’s Quiz https://www.woodspells.com/quiz   Get the secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret References: Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth https://amz.run/3InV  Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism http://clinicalherbalism.com/ Herbalist, Jim McDonald https://www.herbcraft.org/  Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine https://chestnutherbs.com/  Juliet Blankespoor https://bit.ly/3hz6e76 Lemon Balm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_balm Trillium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillium Ramp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_tricoccum St John’s Wort (St Joan’s Wort) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum_perforatum Herbal Bitters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitters The Wild Medicine Solution: Healing with Aromatic, Bitter, and Tonic Plants https://amz.run/3In4  Urban Moonshine https://www.urbanmoonshine.com/ Kate Clearlight https://www.instagram.com/kateclearlight/ Theodore Rosevelt quote - https://bit.ly/37LqCx6 The Loon (bird) call - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFpU22rTqPc  Biodynamic Gardening and founder  https://bit.ly/37OTWTB  Herbalist, Deb soule  https://www.debsoule.com/ Rosemary Gladstar https://bit.ly/310O2xb  Stella Natura Calendar http://www.stellanatura.com/ Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show! Theme music is “It’s Easier” by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and “Meeting Again” by Emily Sprague  https://mlesprg.info/ Learn to trust your intuition and activate your Earth magic + sign up for our delightful newsletter at https://www.earthspeak.love Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak