September 19, 2024 • 28 mins
#64 - Do you know a young green witch or budding herbalist? So often I hear adults who discovered herbalism later in life say they wish they knew about the magic and medicine of plants when they were young.
Join us for a wonderful conversation with Herbalist and Writer Robin Rose as she shares about the joys and practical tips for helping kids (and those who are young at heart!) develop a relationship with the green world.
In this episode, Robin Rose offers key insights on how plants support us in becoming who we authentically are while connecting with a sense of happiness in being alive. She also shares steps on how to help kids safely explore and learn about ritual and plant magic, and how developing a connection with the natural world helps us cultivate our sense of inner wisdom.
Robin Rose Bennett is a story-teller, writer, and herbalist. She has been offering classes in WiseWoman Healing Ways: Herbal Medicine and EarthSpirit Teachings since 1986 - at herb conferences, festivals, clinics, medical and nursing schools, and most joyously, outside with the plants. She shares herbal medicine with gratitude for the loving generosity of the plants and the magic, mystery, and beauty of the web of life.
Robin Rose is on the faculty of the New York Open Center and the Arbor-Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism. She is also the author of two meditation MP3’s and the amazing books: Healing Magic- A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living, The Gift of Healing Herbs, A Green Witch's Pocket Book of Wisdom, and The Young Green Witch’s Guide to Plant Magic.
You can find Robin Rose at: https://RobinRoseBennett.com
Books: https://www.robinrosebennettbooks.com/
On instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinrosebennett/
On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wisewomanhealingways
On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RobinRoseBennett
For more info visit Sara's website at: https://www.multidimensionalnature.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/multidimensional.nature/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraartemisia.ms/
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/plantspiritherbalism
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@saraartemisia
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@multidimensional.nature
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/multidimensionalnature/
Learn how to communicate with plant consciousness in the free workshop on How to Learn Plant Language: https://www.learnplantlanguage.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sara Artemisia (00:05):
Welcome to the Plant Spirit Podcast on
connecting with plantconsciousness and the healing
wisdom of Nature. This podcastis brought to you by the plants
and my deep collaborative workwith them as a Plant Spirit
Wisdom Teacher, Flower EssencePractitioner, Financial Coach
(00:26):
and Co-creator of Plant SpiritDesigns. To learn how to
communicate directly with plantconsciousness, you can check out
the free workshop atwww.learnplantlanguage.com. For
Nature Inspired FinancialCoaching, visit
(00:47):
www.financialabundancecoach.com.
And for herbally inspiredclothing that is an ode to the
plants and the people who lovethem, check out
www.plantspiritdesigns.com. I'myour host, Sara Artemisia and
I'm excited to introduce ournext guest to the show today,
Robin Rose Bennett has beenwriting, teaching and practicing
(01:10):
herbalism and green witchery forover 30 years. She shares herbal
medicine with gratitude for theloving generosity of the plants
and the magic, mystery andbeauty of the web of life. Robin
Rose is also the author of twomeditations and the amazing
books Healing Magic, The Gift ofHealing Herbs, A Green Witch's
(01:33):
Pocketbook of Wisdom, and mostrecently, The Young Green
Witch's Guide to Plant Magic. SoRobin Rose, thank you so much
for being here, just sodelightful as always to connect.
Robin Rose Bennett (01:48):
Thank you for having me, Sara. It is
wonderful to be with you andwith those who are listening.
Sara Artemisia (01:54):
Yeah, it's so good. So I was just reading your
amazing new book, The YoungGreen Witch's Guide to Plant
Magic last night, and there'sjust so much amazing stuff in
here. And so right off the bat,I'm curious to hear if you can
tell us a bit about why it'simportant for kids to develop a
relationship with the greenworld?
Robin Rose Bennett (02:17):
Yeah, happy to if I had a nickel for every
time an adult said to me, I wishI had known about this when I
was little. I wish I had knownabout this when I was a child. I
wish I'd known about this yearsago, I would be a financially
very well off herbalist woman.
And the reality is that this isso intrinsic to our humanity
(02:42):
that Nature is it is our groundof our being, and having been
cut off from it, having learnedthat it is basically inanimate,
having learned that we are onsome kind of higher level than
(03:04):
that, this has damaged us inways obvious and less obvious.
And so part of the reclaiming ofthe Earth, reclaiming of living
on our beloved, beautiful planetin a sane, heart-centered,
caring, just respectful way isreconnecting with the fact that
(03:26):
we are Nature, and Nature is us.
And humans are the only ones whohave stopped listening. Not all
humans, right, but, many, manyhumans have stopped listening to
the teachings of the trees andthe winds and the water and the
(03:47):
fire and all of it. So to, I'mexcited to hopefully be
introducing young people to thisrelationship that they have, and
because it helps us to becomeauthentically who we are, and
(04:08):
then that helps us evolve as aspecies, which is essential that
we do now right, without furtherado or delay, because the harm
that we're causing one anotherand other species and the Earth
is, is virtually immeasurable,right? Yeah, I could also answer
(04:29):
really simply, it's so importantthis connection Nature for young
people, because it brings joy,right? It brings joy. It brings
happiness to be alive. And, youknow, there's so much
disconnect, so much reliance ontechno, you know, and face in
the screen all the time, thatuntil you're not facing that
(04:52):
screen, you don't realize whatyou're missing. So for those
reasons, and more, is why it'simportant. It's essential.
Sara Artemisia (05:02):
Yeah, amazing. I really feel that too, and I love
what you just shared at the endthere, especially about how it
really brings the joy. It justbrings happiness to be alive,
that I love, that this is one ofthe greatest messages and
invitations lessons from thegreen world. And particularly,
I've really been feeling thatthe flowers this year,
(05:23):
especially just how amazing theyare. And it was really
interesting to me in reading thebook, there are a lot of similar
things that I teach to adults inplant connection that you wrote
about. And specifically, onething about how plants know who
they are. This is from pagefive, how plants know who they
are and love themselves for whothey are, and that we have a lot
(05:45):
to learn about self-acceptancefrom plants to be introducing
that to kids is so profound.
It's so profound, and so I wascurious if you could just share
a little bit more about that,about your experience and
perspective, about how plantshelp us connect with a sense of
self-acceptance. It's been sopivotal for me on my journey.
(06:07):
And then how you see thisplaying into supported kids,
specifically right now on theplanet.
Robin Rose Bennett (06:16):
Right.
Right, because, I mean, kids arejust they're just people too,
right? They're just people whoare younger. So I didn't see an
enormous differentiation inwriting this book, other than
in, you know, sometimes in thelanguage. But really, I wrote it
with the same depth that I wouldteach adults, and so, knowing
the plants, knowing who theyare. This is something that
(06:41):
really came to me so stronglyover time working with plants,
and, you know, looking at itlike, All right, let's just take
a Dandelion, right? And there'sDandelion that root in the Earth
that those leaves with white saplatex, the flower stalks in the
(07:03):
center and and then thebeautiful sunshiny yellow
flowers and that turn into themoon when they go to seed. This
Dandelion is so whole andcomplete in and of itself, and
we humans have been kind ofindoctrinated, really, to
(07:27):
constantly compare ourselves toothers. And I'm sure that you
experienced this and peoplelistening experience I certainly
did as a child. And am I enough?
Am I good enough? Am I? And ofcourse, the answer is always no,
no, I'm not enough. No, I'm notgood enough. No, I'm not as
pretty as, no, I'm not as fast arunner as I'm as smart as you
(07:50):
know, whatever it is. And so wehurt ourselves trying to be
anything other than who we areand what I've been learning over
my lifetime more and more as Igrow elder, too. But if I had
the foundation when I waslittle, that would have been
awesome, is how I really belongto myself, and that in this
(08:16):
coming into myself with all myimperfections and all my
idiosyncrasies and unique waysof being, which is kind of what
makes things fun, is that we'reall, that we have fundamental
sameness and similarities, andwe all want to love and be
loved, and all thesesimilarities, our expression is
(08:37):
unique, and that's what makes itfun and juicy, and why we would
have a party, right? You know,you don't want just yourself at
the party, like 20 times over.
What's the point of that? So,yeah, and then that allows, or
speaking for myself, Sara, thatcoming into myself, which I
learned from the plants thatWillow is happy to be Willow,
(09:01):
and Oak is happy to be Oak, andPine is happy to be Pine, and
Dandelion doesn't want to be aRose. And, you know, and all of
that, a Rose doesn't wish hedidn't have thorns. That has
helped me open myself tocommunity in a way that I never
could before, when I was so busytrying to fit in or to not do
(09:22):
the wrong thing or get ridiculedor whatever, all these things we
can't really protect ourselvesfrom. Anyway they happen. They
just happen. But this belongingto oneself and this knowing who
you are. I mean, hello,Shakespeare, to the known self,
(09:44):
be true, know thyself. They sitat the Temple at Delphi, right?
This is old wisdom, but it'seternal. It's timeless. This is
what allows us to open to oneanother, and that is another of
the keys to healing our familiesand our communities and our
(10:04):
cultures. Whole people bringwholeness into the group, and I
just am so grateful to theplants for that. I will tell
you, when I was picking Rosesthis morning, I kept thinking of
you, not only because we hadthis coming up, but because I
know we both share this greatlove of Rose medicine, and Rose
(10:27):
is just such a great teacher ofwell, in the kids book, as you
saw, I say Rose's magic is aself love and claim your space
magic, self love and claim yourspace magic. So in the book,
each plant has its magic, andwhat it says, in addition to
identification and creativity inthe kitchen and ritual and
(10:52):
herbal medicine and all of that,so it's probably the most
structured book I've everwritten yet. But yeah, belonging
to yourself, opening to who youtruly are. This is the key to
inner freedom, peace and openingin a healthy way, to be part of
(11:13):
the whole community, the wholediversity of life.
Sara Artemisia (11:20):
Yeah, I love that. And just amazing how the
plants show us this, how theyembody it. I loved hearing you
share about how coming intoyourself, that you learned that
from the plants. That's the samefor me. I just I'm so grateful
to them because they mirroredback directly. Not only is it
(11:40):
okay to fully be yourself, it'sactually vital. It's actually
the best thing that we couldeach possibly be, is to fully be
who we are.
Robin Rose Bennett (11:49):
Exactly. And then the other thing about that
is that when you becomeyourself, or you are on that
path of becoming yourself,because it's an ongoing process
throughout life, then what to dobecomes obvious. It's like the
exhale that follows the inhale.
And many people worry thatthey're not sure what they're
(12:15):
here for, that they feel acalling to be part of the
solution. They feel of desire tofeel a sense of purpose and
contributing. And if you put thefirst focus on who am I, that
comes that just it followsagain, like the exhale to the
inhale. So and even just to givean example from the plant world,
(12:38):
so Pine, in being Pineswonderful own self, whether it's
the white Pine or it's the redPine or whichever Pine Ponderosa
that we're talking about, inbeing itself, Pine exudes
aromatic medicine. That's itsmedicine. And so in being Pine,
(12:58):
Pine heals the respiratorysystem, because those aromatic
oils help us breathe, whetherwe're forest, bathing in a Pine
forest, like walking through theforest, or we're drinking Pine
infusion. So Pine is who Pineis, and then what Pine does
(13:19):
grows out of that, and we humansare precisely the same. And
little humans are really,oftentimes more in touch with
that, unless they're reallybeing a repressed and suppressed
intentionally to control them.
And many adults I've found in myclasses and such many adults as
(13:46):
they are refining, reclaimingwho they are through their work
with the plants, find themselvescoming back to things they loved
when they were little, that theyleft to the side, that they
dropped in favor of whateverthey thought they should be
doing. That's one of the mostdamning words in the English
(14:08):
language, should, you should dothis. You should, whatever it is
I love to say you could. Youcould, because the other thing
about the plants and what Ireally endeavor to do in this
book was about teaching aboutsovereignty, personal
sovereignty. And of course,there's a difference in the
(14:29):
level of sovereignty when you'reeight or nine, when you're 18 or
28 or 68 or what have you rightthere. We need parents for kids
to set boundaries and all that.
But still, there's an innerauthority that can start growing
and developing in a healthy way,that then builds esteem and so
(14:50):
that we don't have, we won'thave, with more kids connected
to Nature, I predict my witchyway. That we will not have the
levels of depression among kidsthat we have now, or anxiety. It
won't, I'm not saying, with allthe problems out there, it will
just be gone, but it won't bethe same because, as you know,
(15:11):
Sara, I know, and I bet a lot ofyour listeners have discovered
too, there becomes this seed ofconnection that feeds you even
through the difficult transitiontimes. And we're in a giant
transition time.
Sara Artemisia (15:32):
Which is exactly why it's so vital to nurture
that seed of connection, thatseed to the inner wisdom that
you're speaking to. And yeah.
Robin Rose Bennett (15:41):
I was wondering if I could share just
a little bit, because Pinepopped up spontaneously in my,
if I could share a little ofPine from the book?
Sara Artemisia (15:49):
Oh, yeah. Loved what you wrote about pine. Let's
love to hear it.
Robin Rose Bennett (15:52):
Okay, so white Pine. Pinus Strobus,
Pine's magic is peace andfriendship magic, and what Pine
says is, be a good friend toyourself and others. And I could
read the Pine poem if you like.
Yeah, okay, right? Becausethere's and just to give people
an idea, there's herbal healing,there's working with it, there's
(16:15):
identifying, there's gathering.
A little tips that I wish I hadhad about gathering plants and
then all the recipes for foodand medicine and then ritual and
magic, which, of course, allkids know is real. So here's the
poem, meet white Pine. I'm anevergreen tree with teachings to
(16:39):
share. Please treat one anotherwith kindness and care. I have
needles, not leaves that make afine tea, and I'll help you to
breathe and not feel stuffy.
Make Pine needle syrup withbuckwheat honey. I calm coughs
and help when your nose isrunny, inhale the aroma of my
fragrant wood, rich in vitaminC, I'll help you feel good. I
(17:03):
lift up your spirits, and that'sjust the start. As you breathe
deeply, I bring peace to yourheart. I will help you befriend
yourself and others. All beingson Earth are sisters and
brothers.
Sara Artemisia (17:24):
That is beautiful.
Robin Rose Bennett (17:26):
Thanks.
Yeah, it's really as youexperience yourself. It's such
an honor to be an ambassador forthe plants.
Sara Artemisia (17:37):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I love also,
just you mentioned it at the endthere, but just how deeply
connected you are with theritual and magic in the green
world, of course, as the herbalproperties, you know. But I was
curious if you could tell us abit more about any connection
rituals with plants. And I'd becurious if you found if there's
(17:59):
any distinction betweenconnection rituals for adults
versus kids, or if it's reallyjust all on a.
Robin Rose Bennett (18:05):
I'm gonna have to go out and do more work
and play with the kids with thismaterial to really answer that
authentically, I will find out.
Ask me next year, this time nextyear, because I'm imagining that
this book will open doorways forme to work more in person with
(18:26):
children. And I have worked withkids, but it's kind of random,
or it's been a kind of a while,or it's like a few kids will
come to classes with parents, Iknow, but here's something I
could say. I know that the kidslove ritual. Because when I do
rituals for the Earth holidayslike Equinox or solstices, I
(18:49):
always invite adults to bringchildren with them, maybe I
should start inviting childrento bring adults with them, and
the kids just love it. Theydon't always love the the kind
of explanations about things,but they love the singing. They
love the calls to the elements,depending upon age, they either
(19:17):
love or don't love meditation.
So maybe that might be one ofthe differences is that bigger
people will tend to be good withlonger meditations, whereas
younger people, smaller peopletypically might want shorter
meditations, right? So these arenot really a qualitative
(19:41):
differences. They're just like alittle bit different approach.
But, you know, I hope that I'mwise enough to let the kids show
me what works for them. I wouldlike to think I'm wise enough to
do that and and to see, youknow, in the same way, I kind of
have learned a lot about herbalmedicine for animals from the
(20:02):
animals watching like if Ididn't know which heart herb to
put out for so and so is dog, Iwould put out several bowls of
teas and see which one they wentto. And so I've learned a lot
about following our instincts,and kids are awesome with that.
(20:24):
And I think the only essentialthing, and I'm going to go out
on a limb and say this, eventhough I haven't worked with
kids a lot, but I interact withkids, is that you're real. It is
that it's not, you know, Bs,that it's authentic and real,
because kids can smell what'snot real from a long ways off,
(20:47):
and they're not interested. Ibet even if they think like, oh,
this is weird, or what have you,if you're being sincere. Like, I
remember the first time I saidto one of my niece says, ask
that stone if you can take it,you want to take that stone and
ask? And she looked at me like,are you trying to make fun of
(21:07):
me? Like, if I do this, will youthen laugh at me for believing
you? And I, you know, as soon asshe understood that I really
meant it, she was right there.
So they already know. Theyalready know.
Sara Artemisia (21:24):
Yeah.
Robin Rose Bennett (21:25):
They learn fast. Man, they learn really
fast. I have noticed that, likekids on weed walks, they learn
really fast.
Sara Artemisia (21:31):
Yeah, I mean, there's so much plasticity in
the brain when they're younger.
And I love about how there'ssuch as interesting thing. I've
always found this reallyinteresting because, by American
standards, I grew up in a veryunique household, and did
involve a lot of herbs. It waslike very we're gonna take
Echinacea tincture for a littlebit every Fall, kind of a thing.
(21:53):
And I just thought everyone didthat.
Robin Rose Bennett (21:56):
You were brought up by hippies?
Sara Artemisia (21:58):
Yes, exactly.
Robin Rose Bennett (22:01):
Your parents, I got you.
Sara Artemisia (22:04):
Totally so, so I didn't know that that wasn't
normal. And so I love, I justlove this experience of
normalizing connection to theEarth from a very young age.
Because first of all, in thespan of human history, being
disconnected from the Earth isvery relatively new, and it's
kind of strange if we look at itfrom the broader scope of the
(22:27):
human experience over time, butsecondarily, if we introduce the
connection to the Earth to kidsfrom such a young age, they will
accept that as normal, which iswonderful, because that is the
kind of world that we want to bebuilding where children, who
then become adults already areinnately connected to their
(22:48):
sense of inner wisdom and totheir sense of deep connection
with the Earth, with the greenworld.
Robin Rose Bennett (22:54):
Yeah, I agree 100% I think the only
thing I would shift in that isto say they will accept that
it's real, as opposed toaccepting that it's normal.
Because, you know, normal is oneof those tricky words that,
again, invites the comparisonand the contrasting, but they
(23:15):
will accept that it's real,real, that Nature, it's like
Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote, is sobeautifully in braiding
sweetgrass, when she said, whenshe asked her students if they
loved to the Earth, every handwent up when she asked them if
they understood that the Earthloved them, they got very
uncomfortable. They got veryuncomfortable, and they did not
(23:38):
get that and so I think that'sone of the things that that I
hope and state very directly andthen give exercises to
experience that is in this bookfor children that they are
loved, not just by theirparents, right, or their best
friend, but by the plants andthe trees around them, and that
(24:02):
gives a sense of comfort. Isn'ta strong enough word, your sense
of belonging, that everyonelongs for a sense of belonging
to the Earth, and then thatbreeds the desire to take care,
to stand up for the Earth, whichso many kids already have and
(24:23):
are developing. And it'sinteresting how it gets
fascinating, really, how easy itis to throw people off of that
connection with new toys. Bringin a cell phones to a
traditional culture, andsuddenly they, too, are sitting
there looking at the screen. Soit's kind of a fascinating both,
(24:47):
and this, this time we're init's the time of everything.
It's the time of everything. Andfor me and for you, I know this
is the value of this. This isnot, I mean, you can't even say
how valuable it is. It'sinvaluable, but it's so oddly
(25:08):
easy to get thrown off of that.
And yet, when you've lived in adisconnected culture, when you
get invited back in to the heartof the Earth and the Nature
connection. It's like, it'severything, it's everything. It
just gives you so much and whatI love, and I hope there's
(25:29):
enough practical things in hereto do, whether it's making
Lavender butter, or it's makingPine needle magic wands or what
have you, is it's not aboutlike, I'm telling you this, and
you should believe me, it's morelike, try this, try that, try
this, try that, which, that isvery much exactly my approach
with adults as well. Try it andsee, try it and see, do try this
(25:52):
at home. You know, do try thisat home.
Sara Artemisia (25:59):
Yeah, I love that. And just the the
relationship piece, theinvitation that is so clear how
it's an invitation to connectand an invitation to connect
experientially, which I justlove, that you are all about
that. So great. Yeah, so tellus. Robin Rose, how can people
(26:20):
find out more about you and yourwork?
Robin Rose Bennett (26:23):
Ah, I best way would be through my website.
robinrosebennett.com. I alsohave a another website,
robinrosebennettbooks, justdevoted to the books. And
really, the very best thing todo is to sign up for my
newsletter, because that's whereI announce anything and
everything that's going on. Butit's also much more than that. I
(26:47):
really care about it being worthpeople's time, so I put into
that newsletter, which comes outroughly every couple of weeks.
It's not like a constantinundation either. I know most
of us are inundated with stuffpiling up in our inboxes that we
never look at. This has I docare that the content be worthy.
So whether it's thoughts aboutsomething or recipes or rituals
(27:12):
or inspirations, I do try tofill it with meaningful things
and updates on classes or bookdiscounts, or what have you,
contests this that the other andI'm on Instagram, but again, the
newsletter is the best thing.
But I am on Instagram under myname, Robin Rose Bennett and
Facebook. And I think that'sabout it. I don't do the others.
(27:33):
I don't do all of them. I do
Sara Artemisia (27:37):
Yeah, there's, there's a lot out there. Well,
those.
for anyone who has not who'slistening, and maybe you have a
budding young green witch inyour life, or someone who you
think might be really interestedin connecting with the magic of
plants, I would definitelyrecommend checking out Robin
Rose's latest book on The YoungGreen Witch's Guide to Plant
(27:57):
Magic. I'm personally reallyexcited to explore some of these
recipes and rituals with my twoyoung nieces, who are definitely
plant medicine women in themaking for sure. So we're really
excited about.
Robin Rose Bennett (28:09):
Little witch left.
Sara Artemisia (28:12):
That's so great.
Well, Robin Rose, thanks so muchfor joining us. So wonderful.
Robin Rose Bennett (28:18):
Welcome.
Thank you. Thanks for having me,and thanks for all that you do
to spread the good greenblessings in medicine around the
world.
Sara Artemisia (28:28):
Oh, thank you.
Robin Rose Bennett (28:31):
Green blessings, everyone.
Sara Artemisia (28:35):
And thanks so much for listening and joining
us today on the Plant SpiritPodcast. I hope you enjoyed it
and please follow to subscribe,leave a review and look forward
to seeing you on the nextepisode.
Welcome to the Plant Spirit Podcast on
connecting with plantconsciousness and the healing
wisdom of Nature. This podcastis brought to you by the plants
and my deep collaborative workwith them as a Plant Spirit
Wisdom Teacher, Flower EssencePractitioner, Financial Coach
(00:26):
and Co-creator of Plant SpiritDesigns. To learn how to
communicate directly with plantconsciousness, you can check out
the free workshop atwww.learnplantlanguage.com. For
Nature Inspired FinancialCoaching, visit
(00:47):
www.financialabundancecoach.com.
And for herbally inspiredclothing that is an ode to the
plants and the people who lovethem, check out
www.plantspiritdesigns.com. I'myour host, Sara Artemisia and
I'm excited to introduce ournext guest to the show today,
Robin Rose Bennett has beenwriting, teaching and practicing
(01:10):
herbalism and green witchery forover 30 years. She shares herbal
medicine with gratitude for theloving generosity of the plants
and the magic, mystery andbeauty of the web of life. Robin
Rose is also the author of twomeditations and the amazing
books Healing Magic, The Gift ofHealing Herbs, A Green Witch's
(01:33):
Pocketbook of Wisdom, and mostrecently, The Young Green
Witch's Guide to Plant Magic. SoRobin Rose, thank you so much
for being here, just sodelightful as always to connect.
Robin Rose Bennett (01:48):
Thank you for having me, Sara. It is
wonderful to be with you andwith those who are listening.
Sara Artemisia (01:54):
Yeah, it's so good. So I was just reading your
amazing new book, The YoungGreen Witch's Guide to Plant
Magic last night, and there'sjust so much amazing stuff in
here. And so right off the bat,I'm curious to hear if you can
tell us a bit about why it'simportant for kids to develop a
relationship with the greenworld?
Robin Rose Bennett (02:17):
Yeah, happy to if I had a nickel for every
time an adult said to me, I wishI had known about this when I
was little. I wish I had knownabout this when I was a child. I
wish I'd known about this yearsago, I would be a financially
very well off herbalist woman.
And the reality is that this isso intrinsic to our humanity
(02:42):
that Nature is it is our groundof our being, and having been
cut off from it, having learnedthat it is basically inanimate,
having learned that we are onsome kind of higher level than
(03:04):
that, this has damaged us inways obvious and less obvious.
And so part of the reclaiming ofthe Earth, reclaiming of living
on our beloved, beautiful planetin a sane, heart-centered,
caring, just respectful way isreconnecting with the fact that
(03:26):
we are Nature, and Nature is us.
And humans are the only ones whohave stopped listening. Not all
humans, right, but, many, manyhumans have stopped listening to
the teachings of the trees andthe winds and the water and the
(03:47):
fire and all of it. So to, I'mexcited to hopefully be
introducing young people to thisrelationship that they have, and
because it helps us to becomeauthentically who we are, and
(04:08):
then that helps us evolve as aspecies, which is essential that
we do now right, without furtherado or delay, because the harm
that we're causing one anotherand other species and the Earth
is, is virtually immeasurable,right? Yeah, I could also answer
(04:29):
really simply, it's so importantthis connection Nature for young
people, because it brings joy,right? It brings joy. It brings
happiness to be alive. And, youknow, there's so much
disconnect, so much reliance ontechno, you know, and face in
the screen all the time, thatuntil you're not facing that
(04:52):
screen, you don't realize whatyou're missing. So for those
reasons, and more, is why it'simportant. It's essential.
Sara Artemisia (05:02):
Yeah, amazing. I really feel that too, and I love
what you just shared at the endthere, especially about how it
really brings the joy. It justbrings happiness to be alive,
that I love, that this is one ofthe greatest messages and
invitations lessons from thegreen world. And particularly,
I've really been feeling thatthe flowers this year,
(05:23):
especially just how amazing theyare. And it was really
interesting to me in reading thebook, there are a lot of similar
things that I teach to adults inplant connection that you wrote
about. And specifically, onething about how plants know who
they are. This is from pagefive, how plants know who they
are and love themselves for whothey are, and that we have a lot
(05:45):
to learn about self-acceptancefrom plants to be introducing
that to kids is so profound.
It's so profound, and so I wascurious if you could just share
a little bit more about that,about your experience and
perspective, about how plantshelp us connect with a sense of
self-acceptance. It's been sopivotal for me on my journey.
(06:07):
And then how you see thisplaying into supported kids,
specifically right now on theplanet.
Robin Rose Bennett (06:16):
Right.
Right, because, I mean, kids arejust they're just people too,
right? They're just people whoare younger. So I didn't see an
enormous differentiation inwriting this book, other than
in, you know, sometimes in thelanguage. But really, I wrote it
with the same depth that I wouldteach adults, and so, knowing
the plants, knowing who theyare. This is something that
(06:41):
really came to me so stronglyover time working with plants,
and, you know, looking at itlike, All right, let's just take
a Dandelion, right? And there'sDandelion that root in the Earth
that those leaves with white saplatex, the flower stalks in the
(07:03):
center and and then thebeautiful sunshiny yellow
flowers and that turn into themoon when they go to seed. This
Dandelion is so whole andcomplete in and of itself, and
we humans have been kind ofindoctrinated, really, to
(07:27):
constantly compare ourselves toothers. And I'm sure that you
experienced this and peoplelistening experience I certainly
did as a child. And am I enough?
Am I good enough? Am I? And ofcourse, the answer is always no,
no, I'm not enough. No, I'm notgood enough. No, I'm not as
pretty as, no, I'm not as fast arunner as I'm as smart as you
(07:50):
know, whatever it is. And so wehurt ourselves trying to be
anything other than who we areand what I've been learning over
my lifetime more and more as Igrow elder, too. But if I had
the foundation when I waslittle, that would have been
awesome, is how I really belongto myself, and that in this
(08:16):
coming into myself with all myimperfections and all my
idiosyncrasies and unique waysof being, which is kind of what
makes things fun, is that we'reall, that we have fundamental
sameness and similarities, andwe all want to love and be
loved, and all thesesimilarities, our expression is
(08:37):
unique, and that's what makes itfun and juicy, and why we would
have a party, right? You know,you don't want just yourself at
the party, like 20 times over.
What's the point of that? So,yeah, and then that allows, or
speaking for myself, Sara, thatcoming into myself, which I
learned from the plants thatWillow is happy to be Willow,
(09:01):
and Oak is happy to be Oak, andPine is happy to be Pine, and
Dandelion doesn't want to be aRose. And, you know, and all of
that, a Rose doesn't wish hedidn't have thorns. That has
helped me open myself tocommunity in a way that I never
could before, when I was so busytrying to fit in or to not do
(09:22):
the wrong thing or get ridiculedor whatever, all these things we
can't really protect ourselvesfrom. Anyway they happen. They
just happen. But this belongingto oneself and this knowing who
you are. I mean, hello,Shakespeare, to the known self,
(09:44):
be true, know thyself. They sitat the Temple at Delphi, right?
This is old wisdom, but it'seternal. It's timeless. This is
what allows us to open to oneanother, and that is another of
the keys to healing our familiesand our communities and our
(10:04):
cultures. Whole people bringwholeness into the group, and I
just am so grateful to theplants for that. I will tell
you, when I was picking Rosesthis morning, I kept thinking of
you, not only because we hadthis coming up, but because I
know we both share this greatlove of Rose medicine, and Rose
(10:27):
is just such a great teacher ofwell, in the kids book, as you
saw, I say Rose's magic is aself love and claim your space
magic, self love and claim yourspace magic. So in the book,
each plant has its magic, andwhat it says, in addition to
identification and creativity inthe kitchen and ritual and
(10:52):
herbal medicine and all of that,so it's probably the most
structured book I've everwritten yet. But yeah, belonging
to yourself, opening to who youtruly are. This is the key to
inner freedom, peace and openingin a healthy way, to be part of
(11:13):
the whole community, the wholediversity of life.
Sara Artemisia (11:20):
Yeah, I love that. And just amazing how the
plants show us this, how theyembody it. I loved hearing you
share about how coming intoyourself, that you learned that
from the plants. That's the samefor me. I just I'm so grateful
to them because they mirroredback directly. Not only is it
(11:40):
okay to fully be yourself, it'sactually vital. It's actually
the best thing that we couldeach possibly be, is to fully be
who we are.
Robin Rose Bennett (11:49):
Exactly. And then the other thing about that
is that when you becomeyourself, or you are on that
path of becoming yourself,because it's an ongoing process
throughout life, then what to dobecomes obvious. It's like the
exhale that follows the inhale.
And many people worry thatthey're not sure what they're
(12:15):
here for, that they feel acalling to be part of the
solution. They feel of desire tofeel a sense of purpose and
contributing. And if you put thefirst focus on who am I, that
comes that just it followsagain, like the exhale to the
inhale. So and even just to givean example from the plant world,
(12:38):
so Pine, in being Pineswonderful own self, whether it's
the white Pine or it's the redPine or whichever Pine Ponderosa
that we're talking about, inbeing itself, Pine exudes
aromatic medicine. That's itsmedicine. And so in being Pine,
(12:58):
Pine heals the respiratorysystem, because those aromatic
oils help us breathe, whetherwe're forest, bathing in a Pine
forest, like walking through theforest, or we're drinking Pine
infusion. So Pine is who Pineis, and then what Pine does
(13:19):
grows out of that, and we humansare precisely the same. And
little humans are really,oftentimes more in touch with
that, unless they're reallybeing a repressed and suppressed
intentionally to control them.
And many adults I've found in myclasses and such many adults as
(13:46):
they are refining, reclaimingwho they are through their work
with the plants, find themselvescoming back to things they loved
when they were little, that theyleft to the side, that they
dropped in favor of whateverthey thought they should be
doing. That's one of the mostdamning words in the English
(14:08):
language, should, you should dothis. You should, whatever it is
I love to say you could. Youcould, because the other thing
about the plants and what Ireally endeavor to do in this
book was about teaching aboutsovereignty, personal
sovereignty. And of course,there's a difference in the
(14:29):
level of sovereignty when you'reeight or nine, when you're 18 or
28 or 68 or what have you rightthere. We need parents for kids
to set boundaries and all that.
But still, there's an innerauthority that can start growing
and developing in a healthy way,that then builds esteem and so
(14:50):
that we don't have, we won'thave, with more kids connected
to Nature, I predict my witchyway. That we will not have the
levels of depression among kidsthat we have now, or anxiety. It
won't, I'm not saying, with allthe problems out there, it will
just be gone, but it won't bethe same because, as you know,
(15:11):
Sara, I know, and I bet a lot ofyour listeners have discovered
too, there becomes this seed ofconnection that feeds you even
through the difficult transitiontimes. And we're in a giant
transition time.
Sara Artemisia (15:32):
Which is exactly why it's so vital to nurture
that seed of connection, thatseed to the inner wisdom that
you're speaking to. And yeah.
Robin Rose Bennett (15:41):
I was wondering if I could share just
a little bit, because Pinepopped up spontaneously in my,
if I could share a little ofPine from the book?
Sara Artemisia (15:49):
Oh, yeah. Loved what you wrote about pine. Let's
love to hear it.
Robin Rose Bennett (15:52):
Okay, so white Pine. Pinus Strobus,
Pine's magic is peace andfriendship magic, and what Pine
says is, be a good friend toyourself and others. And I could
read the Pine poem if you like.
Yeah, okay, right? Becausethere's and just to give people
an idea, there's herbal healing,there's working with it, there's
(16:15):
identifying, there's gathering.
A little tips that I wish I hadhad about gathering plants and
then all the recipes for foodand medicine and then ritual and
magic, which, of course, allkids know is real. So here's the
poem, meet white Pine. I'm anevergreen tree with teachings to
(16:39):
share. Please treat one anotherwith kindness and care. I have
needles, not leaves that make afine tea, and I'll help you to
breathe and not feel stuffy.
Make Pine needle syrup withbuckwheat honey. I calm coughs
and help when your nose isrunny, inhale the aroma of my
fragrant wood, rich in vitaminC, I'll help you feel good. I
(17:03):
lift up your spirits, and that'sjust the start. As you breathe
deeply, I bring peace to yourheart. I will help you befriend
yourself and others. All beingson Earth are sisters and
brothers.
Sara Artemisia (17:24):
That is beautiful.
Robin Rose Bennett (17:26):
Thanks.
Yeah, it's really as youexperience yourself. It's such
an honor to be an ambassador forthe plants.
Sara Artemisia (17:37):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I love also,
just you mentioned it at the endthere, but just how deeply
connected you are with theritual and magic in the green
world, of course, as the herbalproperties, you know. But I was
curious if you could tell us abit more about any connection
rituals with plants. And I'd becurious if you found if there's
(17:59):
any distinction betweenconnection rituals for adults
versus kids, or if it's reallyjust all on a.
Robin Rose Bennett (18:05):
I'm gonna have to go out and do more work
and play with the kids with thismaterial to really answer that
authentically, I will find out.
Ask me next year, this time nextyear, because I'm imagining that
this book will open doorways forme to work more in person with
(18:26):
children. And I have worked withkids, but it's kind of random,
or it's been a kind of a while,or it's like a few kids will
come to classes with parents, Iknow, but here's something I
could say. I know that the kidslove ritual. Because when I do
rituals for the Earth holidayslike Equinox or solstices, I
(18:49):
always invite adults to bringchildren with them, maybe I
should start inviting childrento bring adults with them, and
the kids just love it. Theydon't always love the the kind
of explanations about things,but they love the singing. They
love the calls to the elements,depending upon age, they either
(19:17):
love or don't love meditation.
So maybe that might be one ofthe differences is that bigger
people will tend to be good withlonger meditations, whereas
younger people, smaller peopletypically might want shorter
meditations, right? So these arenot really a qualitative
(19:41):
differences. They're just like alittle bit different approach.
But, you know, I hope that I'mwise enough to let the kids show
me what works for them. I wouldlike to think I'm wise enough to
do that and and to see, youknow, in the same way, I kind of
have learned a lot about herbalmedicine for animals from the
(20:02):
animals watching like if Ididn't know which heart herb to
put out for so and so is dog, Iwould put out several bowls of
teas and see which one they wentto. And so I've learned a lot
about following our instincts,and kids are awesome with that.
(20:24):
And I think the only essentialthing, and I'm going to go out
on a limb and say this, eventhough I haven't worked with
kids a lot, but I interact withkids, is that you're real. It is
that it's not, you know, Bs,that it's authentic and real,
because kids can smell what'snot real from a long ways off,
(20:47):
and they're not interested. Ibet even if they think like, oh,
this is weird, or what have you,if you're being sincere. Like, I
remember the first time I saidto one of my niece says, ask
that stone if you can take it,you want to take that stone and
ask? And she looked at me like,are you trying to make fun of
(21:07):
me? Like, if I do this, will youthen laugh at me for believing
you? And I, you know, as soon asshe understood that I really
meant it, she was right there.
So they already know. Theyalready know.
Sara Artemisia (21:24):
Yeah.
Robin Rose Bennett (21:25):
They learn fast. Man, they learn really
fast. I have noticed that, likekids on weed walks, they learn
really fast.
Sara Artemisia (21:31):
Yeah, I mean, there's so much plasticity in
the brain when they're younger.
And I love about how there'ssuch as interesting thing. I've
always found this reallyinteresting because, by American
standards, I grew up in a veryunique household, and did
involve a lot of herbs. It waslike very we're gonna take
Echinacea tincture for a littlebit every Fall, kind of a thing.
(21:53):
And I just thought everyone didthat.
Robin Rose Bennett (21:56):
You were brought up by hippies?
Sara Artemisia (21:58):
Yes, exactly.
Robin Rose Bennett (22:01):
Your parents, I got you.
Sara Artemisia (22:04):
Totally so, so I didn't know that that wasn't
normal. And so I love, I justlove this experience of
normalizing connection to theEarth from a very young age.
Because first of all, in thespan of human history, being
disconnected from the Earth isvery relatively new, and it's
kind of strange if we look at itfrom the broader scope of the
(22:27):
human experience over time, butsecondarily, if we introduce the
connection to the Earth to kidsfrom such a young age, they will
accept that as normal, which iswonderful, because that is the
kind of world that we want to bebuilding where children, who
then become adults already areinnately connected to their
(22:48):
sense of inner wisdom and totheir sense of deep connection
with the Earth, with the greenworld.
Robin Rose Bennett (22:54):
Yeah, I agree 100% I think the only
thing I would shift in that isto say they will accept that
it's real, as opposed toaccepting that it's normal.
Because, you know, normal is oneof those tricky words that,
again, invites the comparisonand the contrasting, but they
(23:15):
will accept that it's real,real, that Nature, it's like
Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote, is sobeautifully in braiding
sweetgrass, when she said, whenshe asked her students if they
loved to the Earth, every handwent up when she asked them if
they understood that the Earthloved them, they got very
uncomfortable. They got veryuncomfortable, and they did not
(23:38):
get that and so I think that'sone of the things that that I
hope and state very directly andthen give exercises to
experience that is in this bookfor children that they are
loved, not just by theirparents, right, or their best
friend, but by the plants andthe trees around them, and that
(24:02):
gives a sense of comfort. Isn'ta strong enough word, your sense
of belonging, that everyonelongs for a sense of belonging
to the Earth, and then thatbreeds the desire to take care,
to stand up for the Earth, whichso many kids already have and
(24:23):
are developing. And it'sinteresting how it gets
fascinating, really, how easy itis to throw people off of that
connection with new toys. Bringin a cell phones to a
traditional culture, andsuddenly they, too, are sitting
there looking at the screen. Soit's kind of a fascinating both,
(24:47):
and this, this time we're init's the time of everything.
It's the time of everything. Andfor me and for you, I know this
is the value of this. This isnot, I mean, you can't even say
how valuable it is. It'sinvaluable, but it's so oddly
(25:08):
easy to get thrown off of that.
And yet, when you've lived in adisconnected culture, when you
get invited back in to the heartof the Earth and the Nature
connection. It's like, it'severything, it's everything. It
just gives you so much and whatI love, and I hope there's
(25:29):
enough practical things in hereto do, whether it's making
Lavender butter, or it's makingPine needle magic wands or what
have you, is it's not aboutlike, I'm telling you this, and
you should believe me, it's morelike, try this, try that, try
this, try that, which, that isvery much exactly my approach
with adults as well. Try it andsee, try it and see, do try this
(25:52):
at home. You know, do try thisat home.
Sara Artemisia (25:59):
Yeah, I love that. And just the the
relationship piece, theinvitation that is so clear how
it's an invitation to connectand an invitation to connect
experientially, which I justlove, that you are all about
that. So great. Yeah, so tellus. Robin Rose, how can people
(26:20):
find out more about you and yourwork?
Robin Rose Bennett (26:23):
Ah, I best way would be through my website.
robinrosebennett.com. I alsohave a another website,
robinrosebennettbooks, justdevoted to the books. And
really, the very best thing todo is to sign up for my
newsletter, because that's whereI announce anything and
everything that's going on. Butit's also much more than that. I
(26:47):
really care about it being worthpeople's time, so I put into
that newsletter, which comes outroughly every couple of weeks.
It's not like a constantinundation either. I know most
of us are inundated with stuffpiling up in our inboxes that we
never look at. This has I docare that the content be worthy.
So whether it's thoughts aboutsomething or recipes or rituals
(27:12):
or inspirations, I do try tofill it with meaningful things
and updates on classes or bookdiscounts, or what have you,
contests this that the other andI'm on Instagram, but again, the
newsletter is the best thing.
But I am on Instagram under myname, Robin Rose Bennett and
Facebook. And I think that'sabout it. I don't do the others.
(27:33):
I don't do all of them. I do
Sara Artemisia (27:37):
Yeah, there's, there's a lot out there. Well,
those.
for anyone who has not who'slistening, and maybe you have a
budding young green witch inyour life, or someone who you
think might be really interestedin connecting with the magic of
plants, I would definitelyrecommend checking out Robin
Rose's latest book on The YoungGreen Witch's Guide to Plant
(27:57):
Magic. I'm personally reallyexcited to explore some of these
recipes and rituals with my twoyoung nieces, who are definitely
plant medicine women in themaking for sure. So we're really
excited about.
Robin Rose Bennett (28:09):
Little witch left.
Sara Artemisia (28:12):
That's so great.
Well, Robin Rose, thanks so muchfor joining us. So wonderful.
Robin Rose Bennett (28:18):
Welcome.
Thank you. Thanks for having me,and thanks for all that you do
to spread the good greenblessings in medicine around the
world.
Sara Artemisia (28:28):
Oh, thank you.
Robin Rose Bennett (28:31):
Green blessings, everyone.
Sara Artemisia (28:35):
And thanks so much for listening and joining
us today on the Plant SpiritPodcast. I hope you enjoyed it
and please follow to subscribe,leave a review and look forward
to seeing you on the nextepisode.
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