4 Essential Rules Of Gathering Wild Herbs

So you wanna gather wild herbs?

There are several vital rules or principles of gathering wild herbs that are essential for you to understand before you go out and gather up.

Here’s 4 of them…

1. Do no harm. To the plants, to yourself, to others.
2. Do not eat anything until you are 110% sure of what plant it is.
3. Ask permission before you pick/harvest. Offer a prayer and/or a song. Listen to the answer in your heart. Plants speak the language of the heart and are very generous givers so please listen carefully with a quiet mind and open heart. You may be able to feel a no as a pinching feeling in your hands as you go to gather. You may feel a yes as a tingling or ticklish sensation in your hand as you go to gather. Either way, be open and responsive to whatever the answer is. You can also tell by looking at the plant. Does it look healthy or is it scraggly, limp, brown, eaten, small, on someone else’s property or very rare to the area. Be respectful and let the plant get healthy first.

Strong plants make strong medicine.

4. Give more than you take. Before you take from the plant. Give to it first. Look around. Is there trash you could pick up? Could it use a drink of water? Some compost? Or can you pull some weeds from around it? Your gathering of the plant will be so much more enjoyable if you give it something first in a very practical way.