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Dear friends, This newsletter is much shorter than usual. I have but one announcement to make and I think you’ll enjoy it…Please read on. I’d like you to do something for me. I’d like you to imagine that it’s early winter and tonight is the first snowfall. You live in a little cabin in the hills, within walking distance to your nearest neighbor, but further from town than most of us live today. It’s but 3:30 in the afternoon yet already the sky darkens. A skein of geese passes overhead, probably heading to the river a few miles north. The snow has begun to fall, heavy and slow, drifting down like feathers from a pillow. The air is silent and still and smells of water. You breathe it in and it feels good and cold as it moves down your throat and into your lungs. And yet you woke up feeling a little stuffed up. Your throat has been a bit dry all day, and you’ve felt more tired than usual. You’re not too worried about it, perhaps a mild cold has been moving through your community. But you haven’t visited with your nearest neighbor in awhile and you know she’ll have just what you need. You begin to make your way along the path through the forest. The woods are quiet aside from the sound of your own footsteps, crunching dead leaves as you go. Before you see it you smell the woodsmoke, and soon you arrive at a little house in a clearing, with warm and inviting light pouring out through the windows. You knock on the door and who comes to answer? Me! Well, first my dog Smoky, but I’m right behind him. You see, I’m the village herbalist and no matter where you live, my little home in the woods is but a short walk away. We sit beside the fire, sipping cinnamon tea beneath bundles of herbs hanging from the rafters. There’s a wreath made of Rosemary on the mantle, dried flowers and fresh pine boughs, old photographs and seashells, and beeswax candles burn in the windows. You can smell something savory cooking in the kitchen, and Smoky sleeps by our feet. Once we catch up on the events of our lives, you tell me about the cold you feel coming on. You also mention how you’ve been having trouble sleeping (year-end deadlines are keeping you up), your digestion has been off (mom was just in town and bless her heart she’s great but a bit of a food pusher with a Costco card), holiday socializing (read: alcohol + sugar) is slowly burning you out, and the sun just sets so damn early this time of year. As soon as we finish our tea, I disappear into the kitchen for a few minutes and emerge with a large basket and a set of instructions. And not before long you’re on your way with a crockpot of stew, a handful of strewing herbs, a big bag of echinacea, yarrow and mint tea from the garden, a jar of elderberry honey, a bottle of fire cider, a goose-fat salve to rub on your chest and under your nose, bath salts, Modern Earthling, and a sleep potion. Feeling equipped, you walk the short distance back to your cabin. It’s already dark and an owl calls from the bare branches above. The snow is bit deeper now, but still soft, still silent as it gathers on the trees. You get home, slather on some salve, and begin simmering the strewing herbs. Aromatic steam washes through the house and you settle in in front of the fire with a good book or movie or crossword, whatever you want. Outside the wind has begun to gasp and sigh as it moves through the pines. And after three days and three nights of stew and tea and baths and napping, you awake to the cold winter sun sparkling on forest and fields of white, feeling better than you have in years. ❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎ Being the village herbalist who lives in the woods, somehow within walking distance of all my loved ones, and always with an abundance of simple medicine on hand, is probably my biggest professional aspiration. Until then, I’ve created what I hope can be the alternative: Winter Wellness Sessions, sliding scale herbal consultations with a focus on seasonal wellness.Stay healthy this winter with Winter’s Sister Herbals’ sliding scale Winter Wellness Sessions. No matter which pricing tier you select (prices range from $55-$95), it includes a one-hour in-depth consultation with me (phone or in-person), and 1-2 custom-formulated herbal medicines to help you work through whatever it is that typically gets you down this time of year (value of about $125). We’ll address anything from the the common cold to low immunity, seasonal allergies, feeling gloomy and fatigued, digestive issues, stress, and more. (We can also talk about your kid’s health!) In addition to herbs, we’ll discuss simple nutrition for optimal immunity, and I’ll share some of my favorite recipes for the season of long nights. Finally, you’ll also receive a discount code to get 25% off my entire online shop (including my seasonal immunity remedies soon to be released!). I want staying well this winter to feel as easy and accessible as walking to your neighbor’s house for a cup of tea. The goal of these consultations is for you to learn ways to fortify your immune system before you get sick, and to support your body holistically when you do. As we deepen into cold and flu season (or cold and dark season), there’s no better time to practice preventative health. What would the herbalist in the woods give to you if you told her what ails you, as the night grows long and snow falls heavy and slow from the sky? Well, book your consultation and find out. Please reach out if you have any questions! Love from the little house in the woods🌲, Clare ps- the holidays are coming up and I offer gift certificates for all my services. Is there a loved one in your life who would benefit from a Winter Wellness Session? Please keep me in mind as you begin your holiday shopping.
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