March 11, 2026

When I began my journey into learning how to formulate herbal and aromatic medicines for ourselves, and then later, to sell (and now to teach), I didn't know what I didn't know. And I had a LOT of questions.

🌿 For example, I used to wonder why my sleep tincture worked great for some people, but not for others.

🌿 Why did some of my herbal teas dry some people out, but not other people? Or why some of them made urination more frequent for some, but not other people?

🌿 Why did that essential oil blend work so beautifully for one of my friends...but not for all of them?

I started learning herbalism before there were any online courses. My first course was a "snail mail" course by correspondence because that's all there was back then, before the internet, and I was already into my experimenting for a couple years. I learned for several years through a LOT of trial and error because I didn't have anyone to help me along.

Thankfully, nobody got hurt...too bad, anyway.🫢 Mr. V. was my willing guinea pig, and I'm so grateful he supported me in this health journey for us! But I was frustrated because although my products did work, sometimes they failed miserably...and I didn't understand why?

Finally, I met an herbalist, and I asked a LOT of questions.

In fact, the best advice I ever got about my early herbalism practice was this:

What?

I remember thinking, "You mean using herbs like I do over-the-counter medication doesn't really work all that well? If at all?

THAT discussion changed so much.

After that, I began to study what we call herbal energetics in earnest. There wasn't a lot of information out there on this topic back then, even at that point in my journey, but I did find some. I even found a book (Ayurvedic) and a free PDF online by Michael Moore.

I already knew a bit about Ayurveda through my long-ago yoga practice in my 30s, and I understood how this system of energetics viewed the human body. So when I began learning how herbalists in the Western hemisphere work with energetics, I created my own ways of working within the system based on the teachings of around eight great teachers over many, many years.

And I continued to practice. To try things. To make some mistakes. To adjust. And to learn to formulate and to refine my choices based on the specific client I was working with.

This is called using Western Herbal Energetics.

Every herb has its own “personality,” and when we understand that, we can match it to the right person's needs at the right time. Every person's body is unique and responsive to different plants, seasons, and conditions.

We all have a "body personality." This is our "constitution" that defines how we interact health-wise with the world.

I wrote an article on this, and you can learn more about Western Herbal Energetics inside.👇

​Western Herbal Energetics: Science? Or "Woo"?

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It's finally here!

After YEARS of students asking me to teach on the subject of energetics in herbal practice, I've done it. I taught the entire course inside our herbalism community, The Confident Herbalist Tribe, and now the text book and hours of video lessons are in its very own course.

Inside our Confident Herbalist Tribe, our herbal village, I teach a LOT. These are usually live sessions, and members get the replays if they can't make it. I usually write a text of some type, unless it's a Q&A session, too.

After six years, you can imagine how massive this library of content has become!

And our community? It's A-Mazing! It's vibrant and active and filled with experienced herbalists and aromatherapists. Students choose an individualized learning path to follow for structure, and we learn together.

Besides plant masterclasses each month, I also teach what I call "Special Sessions" each month or so. These are sometimes one-off teachings, or sometimes they are a series that eventually make up an entire course.

Inside the Confident Herbalist Tribe, we just finished our series on Western Herbal Energetics together, and guess what?

​It is now a course you can enroll in!

If you've ever wanted to finally master your herbalism practice and create better formulas for the people you love, then this brand new course is for you.

Dial in that missing piece in your herbalism practice. If you've ever wondered if you can really individualize your herbalism practice? Yes. You can.

You can enjoy it inside the Confident Herbalist Tribe, or you can own the course on its own.

NOTE: The Confident Herbalist Tribe is only open for enrollment for a few more days, then it will be closed for several months.

Because Western Herbal Energetics is brand new to the world of our school, we're offering it on sale for a few days for 25% off!

Just use the coupon code: ENERGETIC at checkout

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In the News....Plus A Beautiful Mind Blend

Most people don't realize how important their sense of smell is. It's far more than just a way to enjoy aromas or the tastes of foods. In fact, the loss of your sense of smell can indicate potential warnings for many conditions including Parkinson's, dementia, cardiovascular, and metabolic concerns.

Do you diffuse? Or wear natural essential oils as scent?

If not...you might want to start.

The more you use your sense of smell, the stronger and more discerning it becomes. In fact, with regular "scent sessions" you can potentially increase cognitive performance and sharpen your memory and focus. PLUS those of us who "are of a certain age" may be able to slow memory decline due to aging.

I took Dr. Tisserand's Aromapsychology certification course a few years ago, and he mentioned a study that showed that diffusing essential oils for two hours at night actually enhanced cognitive action and performance by over 200%. That's HUGE!

The researchers chose to rotate between seven different essential oils, so participants weren't smelling the same aroma every night.

**I love either diffusing or just "wearing" essential oils nightly. They help me to sleep, and I just feel much better when I wake up.

AND....

It turns out that researchers showed that rose essential oil worn daily on clothing increased gray matter in the brain in areas that help us remember, pay attention, and make decisions. This is great news for those of us, again, "of a certain age," because as we get older our gray matter tends to decrease.

Wild roses are getting ready to bloom all over the United States and Canada soon! Let's be sure to get out there and smell them! In the meantime, some lovely essential oil blends are the answer.

Here's a beautiful roller blend I formulated that contains rose. I hope you love it!

A Beautiful Mind Roller Bottle

6 drops orange essential oil (Citrus sinensis)

2 drops black spruce essential oil (Picea mariana)

3 drops rose essential oil (Rosa spp)

2 drops patchouli essential oil (Pogostemon cablin)

1 drop cinnamon leaf essential oil (Cinnamomum verum or C. zeylanicum)

Safety note: Cinnamon leaf essential oil has a dermal maximum dilution of 0.6% according to Tisserand and Young. Be sure only one drop gets into the blend for 10 ml.

10 ml carrier oil base (almond oil, fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, etc.)

Directions:

Add the essential oils to the roller bottle (10 ml size). Now add the carrier oil to the shoulder of the bottle.

Place the roller and lid on top, and shake, shake, shake well.

Enjoy behind your ears, on wrists, neck, shoulders, or even on a leather bracelet (one of my favorite ways to "wear" essential oils).

To read the science:

​Source ; Source ; Source ; Source​

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On Herbal Bread

The last few weeks, I've been writing to you about inflammation and cooking with herbs!

The response from you all have been just incredible, and very positive. I've got a few irons in the fire right now, but I'm trying to figure out how and what I can do to talk about this more because I know like I know how valuable and healthy cooking with medicinal herbs and spices can be!

Anyhow, I've been experimenting with my breads, which I make with fresh-milled flour from my little kitchen mill. To be honest, I'm still learning how to become proficient at this kind of bread, and I love the experimentation.

Being an herbalist, though, I almost always add in some herbs when I cook anything. Both for flavor and for the health benefits. Some of these herbs I take in my food on a daily basis, as a matter of fact.

Here's what I've generally found for bread so far. In a three pound batch of dough, approximately, I add between 3 and 5 tablespoons of herbal spice powders, and this seems to be a little sweet spot. Keep in mind that I like heavy spice and flavors, though, so you can adjust accordingly.

Just add the herbal powder to the kneading stage of your bread baking!

My favorite so far?

Herbs de Provence blend! I'll share my recipe with you in the next newsletter, as this one is getting lengthy.

If you got some value out of this week's note, I would LOVE if you would forward to a friend and also ask them to subscribe too, which happens anytime someone wants one of my FREE guides, like the:

​Guide to Blending Essential Oils (great resource for ideas)

or my

​Personal Home Apothecary Starter Guide​

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Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. Don't forget to take advantage of the 25% off on our newest course, Western Herbal Energetics! Use the code: ENERGETIC at checkout.

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Yay!

This note is proudly sponsored by the Confident Herbalist Tribe, our premium herbalism community and membership.

It's a place to learn solid herbalism, deep dive into the plants (phytochemistry, formulation, benefits, uses, and more), and enjoy friendship and support in your herbalism journey in community.

Join us before the doors close, and enjoy two weeks on us!

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