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about CSHS

Located two miles west of Forestville, in beautiful Sonoma County, the California School of Herbal Studies is one of North America’s oldest centers for herbal education. Founded in 1978 by Rosemary Gladstar, and led today by School Directors Rebecca Maxfield and Jason Miller, along with Program Coordinator Autumn Summers, CSHS continues in the spirit in which it was created.

Our mission is to help create sustainable communities by providing Earth centered, community based herbal education. CSHS works to empower individuals with the skills, experience and confidence needed by the community herbalist. Our school teaches from the tradition of western herbalism, with a materia medica primarily made up of North American and European herbs. Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives and herbs are used to complement the Western tradition.

Our full-time, 8-month intensive offers students a broad-based foundation in herbal medicine. For those who can't make a fulltime commitment we also offer a broad range of weekend series courses and one-day workshops. Successful graduates of our intensive program leave here with the knowledge they need to enter and contribute to the field of herbalism. Upon graduation students receive certificates of completion that are highly regarded by the herbal community.

CSHS is located on a lovely, rustic 80 acre sanctuary known as Emerald Valley. Our campus includes a classroom with an adjacent kitchen, a one-half acre garden with over 400 herb species, a medicine making building and forested hiking trails. Forestville is an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco. Visitors to the school are welcome, but please call first so we can be sure someone will be available to greet you! We look forward to meeting you and sharing friendship and herbal experiences.

herb of the month: Red Clover (continued from left)
red clover close up
indications (cont'd): As a cough rememdy it is particularly indicated with irritated, dry, chronic coughs like bronchitis and whooping cough. It is thought to help break apart and move thick stagnant blood & encysted glands - places where there is a collected residue of septic or stagnant material in the body that can cause illness. Particularly, red clover has an affinity for the salivary glands and glands around the neck. Red clover can help with skin problems like eczema and psoriasis, especially in children. It has a more modern reputation as a phytoestrogentic herb, and has been used traditionally in formulation with other herbs as a cancer remedy for centuries by western herbalism.

Energetically, Red Clover is thought to help give people hope or a feeling that they have a second chance, when it seems that recovery prospects are grim. The flower essence is said to help a person stay in contact with in their own intuitive personal truth in the face of mass hysteria or herd-consciousness. Sit with the plant yourself and see what it says to you!

contraindications: May interact with blood-thinning medications.

note: This information is not a replacement for a trained herbalist. Please consult your medical professional before treating yourself or others with this or any other herbal remedy.