Kat Maier - Energetic Herbalism: A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions Integrating Elements of Vitalism, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine

Praise for Energetic Herbalism

This amazing book almost leaves me speechless. Energetic Herbalism integrates the many different sources that flow into modern herbalism into an integrated conception and practice. This is the type of book that can be written only by one who has been practicing for decades, yet it also represents a stream of energy arising from the plants themselves, expressing themselves through Kat, in herbal wisdom. This book touches upon everything that I hold dear in herbal medicine, founded upon the real experience of Nature as a living, intelligent, spiritual being.

Matthew Wood, MS (Herbal Medicine), founder, Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism; author of The Book of Herbal Wisdom

Although I have been an herbalist for forty years, I was never able to understand the concepts of Chinese or Ayurvedic energetics as applied to healing with plants. Kat Maier is the first person to make the connection clear, and I am grateful I get it! Just getting started as an herbalist? Want to be a better herbalist? A better steward of the planet? This is the wisdom book for you.

Dr. Rosita Arvigo, DN , founder, The Abdominal Therapy Collective; author of The Urban Herbalist

A wonderfully practical and accessible guide to energetic herbalism, filled with the wisdom and Viriditas of a Real Herbalist. Thank you, Kat!

David Hoffmann, RH (AHG) , fellow, National Institute of Medical Herbalists; principal scientist, Traditional Medicinals

I always ask my students: Do you want to be a good herbalist or a great herbalist? One of the essentials necessary to achieve a high level of herbal practice is the study of herbal energetics. In Energetic Herbalism, Kat Maier has distilled the teachings of the worlds great herbal traditions into a concise, easy to learn guide that will allow any herbalist to begin to treat each person as an individual rather than generically treating diseases, and in so doing, to truly achieve excellence.

David Winston, RH(AHG), DSc(hc) , author of Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief

Beginning with her story of how she got into herbalisma journey that became her lifes workKat Maier takes on the hard task of making complex herbal systems easily understandable. She also does something that is even harder. She leads her readers to understand that plant medicine is a relationship that needs to be approached from the heart.

Karyn Sanders , cofounder, Blue Otter School of Herbal Medicine; cohost, The Herbal Highway

A beautifully written, all-encompassing guide to understanding the major healing traditions from around the world. Lest you think that this is all Kat Maier offers, let me dispel that thought. Diving deep into sacred healing traditions, Kat leads us to the plants. She enlightens with the uses, indications, and preparations of the plants she has chosen for the apothecary. Energetic Herbalism is a book youll return to again and again.

Phyllis Light , author of Southern Folk Medicine

That Kat Maiers book so wonderfully conveys the essence and importance of energetic herbalism is a blessing. That the book also frames our use of herbs within the larger relationships we hold with the land, the seasons, and the sacred is essential. In Energetic Herbalism, Kat doesnt share mere uses of herbs but keen insights into establishing a deeper understanding of the patterns of health and nature.

jim mcdonald , herbalist and founder, herbcraft.org

In this beautifully written resource, Kat Maier has distilled her immense understanding of plant medicine into a captivating and comprehensive guidebook. Her extensive trainings in both the herbal energetic arts and the world of conventional medicine make her a trustworthy guide.. As an herbal teacher, this is a book I would recommend. As a practicing herbalist, this is a book I will reference. And as a reader, this is a book that offers me inspiration and hope.

Lorna Mauney-Brodek , founder and director, Herbalista

Kat Maier has crafted a very necessary book for these times and the era ahead. We all come from an herbalism tradition somewhere in our lineage. Kat weaves together many of these global practices, paying attention to giving credit where it is due and honoring the sources of the wisdom she shares. Ultimately, this book delves into the sometimes subtle yet significant ways seasonality and energetics aid in healing, filling a niche greatly needed in the herbal community.

Marc Williams , ethnobiologist; facilitator, Botany Every Day; executive director, Plants and Healers International

Energetic Herbalism nurtures an awareness of partnership between people and plantsit is a reverent call to sustainability. Kats profound teachings always leave me awestruck and entice me further into my love affair with herbs. In her book, her impassioned voice penetrates the healers heart.

Mimi Hernandez , executive director, American Herbalists Guild

Energetic Herbalism

A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions Integrating Elements of Vitalism, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine

Kat Maier

Foreword by Rosemary Gladstar

Chelsea Green Publishing

White River Junction, Vermont

London, UK

Copyright 2021 by Kat Maier.

All rights reserved.

Chapter opening illustrations by Lara Call Gastinger. Copyright 2021 by Lara Call Gastinger.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Excerpt from a Kabir poem is from Kabir: Ecstatic Poems by Robert Bly. Copyright 2004 by Robert Bly. Reprinted by permission of Beacon Press, Boston.

Project Manager: Patricia Stone

Editor: Fern Marshall Bradley

Copy Editor: Deborah Heimann

Proofreader: Angela Boyle

Indexer: Shana Milkie

Designer: Melissa Jacobson

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing October 2021.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 121 22 23 24 25

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Maier, Kat, 1955 author.

Title: Energetic herbalism : a guide to sacred plant traditions integrating elements of vitalism, ayurveda, and Chinese medicine / Kat Maier.

Description: White River Junction : Chelsea Green Publishing, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021036531 (print) | LCCN 2021036532 (ebook) | ISBN 9781645020820 (paperback) | ISBN 9781645020837 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: HerbsTherapeutic use.

Classification: LCC RM666.H33 M34 2021 (print) | LCC RM666.H33 (ebook) | DDC 615.3/21dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036531

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036532

Chelsea Green Publishing

85 North Main Street, Suite 120

White River Junction, Vermont USA

Somerset House

London, UK

www.chelseagreen.com

To my loving parents, Loretta and Hank, and the light they birthed in me.

And to my son, Ian, who carries the flame forward.

H ow wise you are to be holding this brilliant book in your hands, getting ready to open the first pages, to plunge into the very heart of energetic herbalism. A magnificent world awaits you, and what better guide than renowned herbalist Kat Maier. As a teacher, practitioner, and steward of healing herbs, Kat brings decades of herbal experience to her writing, but also the curiosity and open mind of someone who is forever enchanted by the green world around them. Like so many herbalists I know, Kat fell into the world of herbs when she was quite young, and she has been on a heartful journey with the plants ever since. Lucky for us shes also found it part of her path to share with others what shes learned along the way.