I'll be teaching a series of classes and workshops at...

Winter Count Gathering

…at the Boulders

held near Kearny, AZ

February 9-15, 2019

REGISTER HERE

Once you register for the week you can sign up for one of my following classes:

Plant Walk: Medicinal Plants of the Sonoran Desert - Monday,  9:30a-1:30p 

Ocotillo: Healing Heart of the Desert - Tuesday, 9:30a-12:30p 

Ogham and the ancient Cosmology of the Celts - Wednesday, 9:30a-12p

Plant Energetics: Medicinal Plants of the Sonoran Desert - Wednesday, 1:30-4p

Oaks & Acorns: Our Ancestral Food - Thursday,  9:30a-12p

Acorn Processing and Bread Baking - Thursday, 1:30-4:30p

Plant Walk: Medicinal Plants of the Sonoran Desert

Monday: 9:30a-12:30p

This class is for those seeking help in identifying some of the plants in the vicinity of camp that are used as medicine. We’ll take a walk, discuss some medicinal plants, taste tincture, and maybe take a seat for awhile and just listen to what the plants have to say.

Ocotillo: Healing Heart of the Desert

Tuesday: 9:30a-12:30p 

Ocotillo lights up the hillsides each spring with a magnificent display of its red flowers. The preindustrial torch of the desert to show the way for travelers in the night.

Ocotillo lights the way for many who seek healing within the bounding immensity of the desert. Join John for a walkabout and intimate exploration with ocotillo in its native habitat. A healer of the emotional heart, ocotillo holds many wonders including the power to transform one's deepest fears and pains of the heart into beauty, lightness, and understanding.  

Following our in-depth exploration and discussion with ocotillo, we will be preparing a tincture of ocotillo as a group. This will take place after lunch (1-2:30p) at John's white shade cloud tent. A materials fee of about $6-15 (for jar and alcohol) depending on the size of tincture you wish to make. 

REGISTER HERE

Ogham and the ancient Cosmology of the Celts

Wednesday: 9:30a-12p 

Ogham (pronounced OH-um) is an ancestral language of Ireland and the druids which is dated to around the 3rd to 5th century BCE in Ireland. It is also found in Scotland and England…as well as North America where it possibly dates back to 2,000-3,000 years ago. We’ll discuss some of these occurrences and how this may have happened well before Europeans were ever supposed to have been here.

To begin to understand the Ogham we need to attempt to look at it from the perspective of those who created or used it. The cosmology of the “Celts” is something that is somewhat difficult to piece together through the remaining fragments, yet it resonates with cosmological views of other ancient cultures.

We’ll discuss the Ogham in relation to the ancient cosmology of the Celts and begin to work with the fidh (Ogham “fews”) for the purpose of divination and gathering knowledge. 

Plant Energetics: Medicinal Plants of the Sonoran Desert

Wednesday: 1:30p-4p 

Join John, and some of the medicinal plants of the Sonoran desert, for a sensorial experience. Beginning with an overview of Plant Energetics - and how we can use this systemic, yet personalized, assessment tool to effectively apply and learn about herbs - we’ll then explore a variety of individual herbs by ingesting and discussing their effects as a group. An inquisitive journey meant to open our minds and fill our hearts with knowledge and the joy of being alive.

Oaks & Acorns: Our Ancestral Food

Thursday: 9:30a-12p

We’ll take a walk to a unique grove of Sonoran oaks to discuss our ancient relationship with this sacred tree and its food, the acorn. Known as the Nemeton in ancient times, the oak grove was a place of sacred worship and coming together with the natural world. We’ll take a brief look at a deep, deep history of relationship between humans and oaks that spanned the entire northern hemisphere over 1,000s of years. Just as ancient cultures venerated the oak and its acorns, it became a symbol of stamina, endurance, fecundity, and creativity. The great oak en-dures in our collective psyche from the great Vedic tales to the forming of the American Republic, and its acorn our great ancestral, spiritual food.

REGISTER HERE

Acorn Processing and Bread Baking

after lunch   

We’ll take a close look at the important steps required to process acorns for consumption. Although all acorns are edible, most require some preparation before consuming. Methods vary from region to region, but some techniques are better applied to certain types of acorns over others. We’ll discuss and experience a dry acorn, cold leeching process that we’ll wrap up the class by baking some bread with.

Early adult registration ends January 15!