Dear friends,

 

Despite the little grey snow flurries outside, I'm keeping warm in the apothecary this morning pressing tinctures, sorting through papers and catching up on client work. Last week was scattered and busy; so finding some order amongst the glass bottles and bags of herbs feels simplifying and grounding. I welcome it. I'm wiping cobwebs away from forgotten corners and pouring herbs that are ready to be composted into a big bowl to give to the elder tree in the yard. Candles are lit, garden sage burns in a bowl on the essence-cabinet altar, I am wiping down all surfaces with a cloth dipped in strong pine infusion. This felt sense of needing to untangle and clarify is spurred on by the knowing that I will be stepping away from work for a few months this winter. Client work will be on hold, teaching will be on hold, medicine making will be on hold. The email inbox will most certainly be on hold, too! 

 

The reason for this pause is that I am having a baby around Imbolc time – the time of milk returning!  This line from the Bacchic Gold Tablets runs through my head almost daily: Bull, you jumped into milk. Quickly, you jumped into milk. Ram, you fell into milk. To say the least, I'll be deep in the milk. I'm 31 weeks along and while it feels like there is still a ways to go, I am preparing to enter the cave in the weeks ahead – so this email will outline a few updates and way-markers for classes and the apothecary moving forward! 

 

~ First, applications are now open for both Herbal Mystery School & Flowering Round 2026. Both classes will start a little later (end of April/May) so that I can have more time with the bambin'. These are my two long-term program offerings that are offered online. Applications for 2026 programs close on December 20th! 

 

~ I have extended the Flowering Round essence practitioner program to be a full year in length, which means that the program is developing and deepening further. We begin in Spring and meet until the following Floralia the next year. A year with the flowers, plant energetics and Flora worship. 

 

~ Registration for the Spring session of Turning Toward The Flower is also open! Just in case you want to save your spot early, or are planning on applying for Flowering Round (in which this course is a pre-requisite). We start in April. 

 

~ Because I have been so utterly ill for the entirety of this pregnancy, the new product line was put on the back burner. A truly sloooooow simmer. However! We are getting CLOSE! It is very funny to me that the new essence line will likely be ready to be released around the same time that I am supposed to have a baby.  These are formulas that have been gestating for way longer than this baby, but I trust in the timing of it all. I really can't wait to share them with you. Here's a little peek of one of the new formulas, Mother Goose (for listening to old earth magic and comes with a Mother Goose inspired rhyme-spell for the formula) to show you that I swear these formulas are real and are forthcoming!:

 

~ There are two spots left for the day long apple magic class on November 30th at the farm. Medicine making, folklore, ritual and snacking on lots of apples in the orchard. See you there? 

 

~ The winter solstice sessions sold out very quickly this year! Thank you! I do have a few regular, full-length essence sessions left throughout the end of the year if you would like to book a consultation before I go on leave.

 

~ I am putting the in-person Herbal Mystery School on pause for next Spring, but I will likely offer a version of Herbal Mystery School starting next fall that will specifically focus on dreaming plants & ritual work to carry us through the winter months. I will announce it in June.

 

~ As I strain out tinctures and clear out the apothecary, I am thinking I will do a little shop update with discounted tinctures, cordials and other goodies from the apothecary to raise some funds for my (unpaid) maternity leave. I'll send along a little update once I get some things bottled in the next two weeks. I currently have a double extraction decoction of medicinal mushrooms going on the stove right now, perfect for winter time. 

 

Thank you for bearing with me through all of these updates! I appreciate you being here. 

 

With care & anticipation,

Liz