Greetings from Winter’s Sister Herbals!

‘Tis the season…when we’re all feeling a little manic: holidays, social engagements, family obligations, year-end deadlines, the small business hustle. It’s a lot! So in true Sagittarian form (today is the New Moon in Sagittarius), I’ve included an abundance of information in this email. Please feel free to scroll around to what interests you.

This newsletter is focused on my clinical work: what brought me to herbalism, my approach to clinical work, and information about what exactly it is that I offer. And most importantly, I’ve included a very special seasonal discount code that you can use towards any consultation gift certificate or package (more on those below!).

Consultations and astrology readings make great gifts. I promise you that either way, your loved one will walk away feeling empowered, heard, and ready to make some deep and affirmative shifts in their life. Or use the discount to give yourself the gift of care and attention.

In this email:

• Season of the Goose (or, how I became an herbalist)

• Discount code!

• Information about Wellness Consultations

• Astrology Readings and Energetic Plant Medicine

• Online shop update

As always, thank you for reading! I hope you that find something here, and feel free to respond with any questions or feedback. It’s a joy to hear from you!

Love,

Clare

ps- did you miss my first newsletter? Curious about my new business name Winter’s Sister Herbals? Read this.

Season of the Goose

I’ve always called early winter in the Bay Area (where I lived for many years) “Bird Season” because this time of year, California is a major layover for migratory species, particularly waterfowl and other shorebirds.

And in Wisconsin (where I grew up) it’s the Season of the Goose. You can hear them as they stop to eat what’s left of the cornfields, rest on the yet unfrozen lakes, and from the gray skies where they fly in tangled skeins. 

It was exactly 4 years ago, December of 2014, that those same birds led me to herbalism. I can’t say exactly how it happened; it wasn’t logical. Dance played a part. So has my work in feminist social movements (more on those later). But unlike many of my peers, there was no health crisis that led me to herbs. Though I’ve suffered from anxiety for most of my life, I didn’t start using herbs for it until after I knew that herbalism was calling.

I did, however, grow up with dis-ease around me, and have witnessed firsthand for as long as I can remember the alienation, frustration, and grief that accompany chronic illness. This aspect of my childhood is a major reason why I do what I do, yet at the time I found herbalism, it didn’t play much of a direct role.

Which brings me back to the birds. In the fall of 2014, I had quit my job at the feminist foundation where I worked for many years. I had no idea what was next. I was nanny-ing, working at farmer’s markets, and half-heartedly applying to nonprofit jobs. I was also reading everything by Louise Erdrich I could get my hands on, including her first book, Love Medicine.

One day, the little girl I babysat was napping, so I was reading Love Medicine on the couch. I was reading the chapter where one of the characters uses goose hearts to cast love spells when I decided to look at the cover.  It was then that I saw my face. I mean, not actually, but it looked exactly like me. Or at least it did to me in that moment, and that’s what mattered. And not only was my face there, which felt magical enough, it was part of the bodies of two rosy geese in flight.

You see, I love geese, I always have. They remind me of home. My grandfather painted them. They arrive in late fall or early spring, times of transition, when things are either dying or coming back to life­­. Otherwordly times. Growing up in lake country, I’ve always felt a kinship with waterfowl, beings of the land and the water and sky, and because geese are migratory, also beings of the unknown. Yet as you might agree, decidedly mundane, so much so that most people regard them as a nuisance.

I remember leaving my nanny gig that afternoon, inspired by my book cover discovery, and stepping out into the Presidio of San Francisco. The first thing I heard was the sound of geese flying overhead. I paused. I looked up. And then I went to the beach and let the salty December wind rattle around me.

The next day, with geese on my mind, I revisited Mary Oliver’s poem “ Wild Geese.”  And that was it. The triangulation was complete. The message had been received. I knew I was to become an herbalist despite knowing next to nothing about what that meant. It was literally one of the most random moments of my life and the most clear.

Because written in those lines was all that I knew to be true: you do not have to be good, you only have to love what you love. The world is speaking to us, the prairies and the rivers and deep trees, if we listen. We are being called home, in a myriad of ways, again and again and again. You belong here, exactly as you are, in the family of things.

And with that, I knew what it was I was going to do: to work with people as they listen to the call.

As an herbalist, I don’t heal things, nor do I call myself a “healer.” I simply help my clients to better integrate what they already know about themselves, like the geese did for me. I’m no more than a facilitator, deepening the communication between you and whatever it is that’s calling you home.

(scroll to the bottom of this email to read Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese)

This holiday season, give the gift of wellness.

Wellness Consultations and/or Astrology Readings are a wonderful way to give loved ones the meaningful gift of vitality, wellness, self-empowerment, and fun. If you’re looking for easy holiday gift ideas, I offer:

• Wellness Consultation Gift Certificates ($100 towards the price of any consultation- see below for details)

• Astrology Reading + Cosmic Embodiment Gift Certificates ($95- see below for details).

I also offer discounted Wellness Packages. When you purchase a package, you’ll receive a scheduling code that you can use yourself or give as a gift (more information below). Distance clients welcome!

Please use the code SEASONOFTHEGOOSE at checkout to get 12% off any gift certificate or package! Valid through December 25th.

Wellness Consultations

A gentle and simple way to support physical healing and build resiliency, Wellness Consultations are what I consider to be a creative collaboration between myself, the client, and the plants themselves. Whether you’re seeking guidance on wellness and vitality, working to improve your overall health, or dealing with an acute or chronic health issue, herbal medicine and nutritional interventions will support the body to balance and heal itself. 

I work holistically and foundationally. My guiding philosophy is that by making changes in the ways we nourish ourselves using herbs and food, lifestyle, self-care, and movement, we’ll more deeply feel the shifts in our lives than we would using herbs alone.

This holiday season, I’m offering Wellness Consultation Gift Certificates, or you can always schedule a consultation for yourself.

You can also sign up for my Winter’s Sister Wellness Plan. This package includes one intake session + two follow-ups, and one month’s worth of herbal medicine. Packages are my favorite way to work with people. Not only is it slightly cheaper, meeting consistently (but always on your schedule) allows us to deepen our work together in ways a single session simply does not allow for. When you purchase a package, you’ll receive a code that you can use yourself or give as a gift.

And don’t forget to use the code SEASONOFTHEGOOSE for 12% off!

From clients:

“Working with Clare has brought a new level of calm and centered energy into my life. She’s offered practical suggestions that have brought me clarity and peace during a particularly hectic year….Beyond just the practical suggestions I’ve found it incredibly comforting to know there is someone who is unequivocally on my side, available to offer support and guidance, and to provide expert insights into how to improve my self, my health and my relationships. Cannot recommend Clare enough! She is a miracle.”

“Clare has been such an incredible support to me through my struggle to balance my mood and hormones. Consultations with her are in-depth and done with deep care, which was a beacon of hope for me at a time when I felt my doctors were not listening to me. She made me feel seen and heard - so important to the healing process! She never pushes products or herbs; she looks at the whole picture and focuses on lifestyle and holistic changes. Some of her tinctures have supported me through cold WI winters and long distance digestive issues while traveling and I can't live without her lemony chicken soup recipe. Can't recommend enough!”

“Clare really teaches you how to use the resources that you have - within your physical body and surrounding environment - in order to live a more healthful and joyful life. I have learned so much about myself and my health from working with her.”

Want more detailed information about Wellness Consultations? Read this.

Astrology and Energetic Plant Medicine

Some of you know that in addition to my work as an herbalist, I also offer Astrology Readings and Flower Essence Consultations.

Over the past year I’ve been experimenting with different ways of approaching these forms of energetic work, and I’ve finally come up with an offering that integrates both astrology and vibrational plant medicine in a way that feels complete.

Introducing: Astrology Readings + Cosmic Embodiment, a recorded interpretation of your birth chart + an in-person (or phone) discussion session + a custom flower essence blend specific to your chart and needs.

Astrology is the practice of understanding the ways in which certain archetypal patterns play out in our lives.

Flower essences are an energetic form of plant medicine that support emotional and spiritual resiliency. By eliciting very subtle shifts in our minds, bodies, and spirits, they support us to more fully integrate our higher selves into our everyday lives, to act from a place of deep inner knowing, and to bring emotional and spiritual integrity to all that we do.

Together, astrology and essences provide us with powerful tools for better understanding ourselves, our relationships, our life’s work, and the world at large.

An Astrology Reading + Cosmic Embodiment session makes a wonderful gift. Use the code SEASONOFTHEGOOSE for 12% off!

From astrology clients:

“It was my birthday and I figured I would treat myself to an astrological chart reading, and booked one with Clare. I wanted to know about my upcoming year, but I also wanted to learn a little bit more about astrology as a field. Clare was very prepared and professional.  She gave me a lot to think about for my upcoming year, and helped me understand my own chart. I recommend it and will be making this an annual birthday gift for myself. - a very satisfied Aquarius Sun.”

"Last year I scheduled the Astrology Reading + Cosmic Embodiment with Clare. I was feeling stuck in my decision about going back to school. After our conversation she created a flower essence which I am sure helped me land on my final decision. The flower essence helped propel me forward into a creative exploration of potential schools and professions. Later, with the stress of a full time job and a being a full time student, I scheduled a follow up/wellness appointment. She offered suggestions and created a tea and tincture that has allowed me to tend to my body during this crazy busy time. With only a few months left of massage school, I am certain my journey would not have been this smooth without her."

Online Shop Coming Soon!

Turns out I’m quite indecisive when it comes to label design…my shop will be opening a bit later than I expected. Stay tuned for beautiful teas and tinctures made with herbs from local farms. My elves and I are working hard to get them ready in time for the holidays, thank you for your patience!

Thank you for reading! May we transition towards winter with grace and joy. Happy New Moon!

Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mind.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.