Academy of Scottish Herbalism

Academy Of Scottish Herbalism
Introductory Course Syllabus

 Text book: Herbs, Partners In Life by Adele Dawson
 and video: Juliette Of The Herbs

Comprising 126 hours of tuition, completion qualifies a student to perform self-care and family Herbalism

Introduction—First Trimester

January 14-March 12, 2006  90% attendance is required

Comprising 126 hours of tuition, completion qualifies a student to perform self-care and family Herbalism and serves as a prerequisite to the Intermediate and Advanced levels.

Introductory trimester of the course includes:

Botanical Folk Pharmacy; includes basic medicine making processes, practical knowledge and skills in making tincture extracts and infused vinegars, honeys and oils from fresh plant material, medicinal teas, ointments, creams, poultices, fomentations and steams. Plant chemical constituents; what they are, how to extract each and how they are used. Selection, handling and care of Herbalist’s kitchen tools, supplies and extracting menstrums. 

Materia Medicas; in depth discussion of research on profiles of the twenty-one plants of the Introductory trimester. How to review, understand and utilize Materia medica research. Tasting and experience of each plant.

Therapeutic Applications; how to use herbal preparations and adjunct healing substances such as clay, water, salt, honey & vinegar, their properties and useful applications in Herbalism and healing.

Human Anatomy and Physiology; Introductory level for the Herbalist.

Understanding Technical Terms; including medicinal actions, plant chemical constituents, propagation methods, terms of botany and structure of botanical nomenclature.

Herbal botany; lectures, plant identification walks and wild plant observations.

Wildcrafting; ethics, selection, country laws and the Herbalists’ customs. Harvesting, drying and storing the twenty-one plants of the Introductory trimester.

Gardening; methods of propagation. Low maintenance and high productivity gardens. selection, handling and care of the Herbalist’s gardening tools and supplies. Soil amendments & techniques, soil and growing requirements for the twenty-one plants of Introductory trimester. Planning and planting a raised bed ‘wild style’ herb garden.

History & Philosophy; Traditional Scottish Herbalism history. Ancient and modern roles of the Herbalist in society. Traditional meditation & healing techniques. Ethics of how to manage this new knowledge, techniques and legalities of talking about herbs.