Slow down and engage your senses to connect, remember, and practice living in a sacred relationship with nature's magic and medicine; in community with the Earth and all of her gifts.
We will meet in person one weekend a month for ten months, beginning in March when the plants are waking up and the energy is rising and ending in December when the plants are drawing their energy back into the Earth to rest for the winter.
Class sessions will be held outdoors as much as possible on 10 acres of land in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains' foothills. This unique opportunity will take you on a three-season journey, with each class focusing on moving through nature's cycles and engaging with the plants and magic of each season.
Some of the topics we will explore:
Using the wise folk tradition, you will learn the fundamentals of herbalism and create a personal apothecary with plants harvested from HCH gardens throughout the seasons. Teas, tinctures, elixirs, incense, and other herbal medicines will be made together. You will be encouraged to engage in your own healing through experiential learning, opening yourself up to the transformational journey that plants have to offer your body, mind, and soul.
Plant Spirit Medicine: In cultivating a relationship with the green world, we will recognize plants as conscious beings and remember that we all have the ability to honor and communicate with plants in the same ways that our ancestors did. We can learn directly from the plants when we remember how to communicate with them.
Working with the Chakras and the Wheel of the Year: As we dance through the wheel of the year, embracing the plant medicine and earth magic of each season, we will also learn to work with the energies of the directions, elements, and chakras that correspond to the energies of each season.
Earth-based Spirituality and Ceremonies: We will also honor the seasonal energies with corresponding ceremonies. This could take the form of a summer fire ceremony or working with blessing herbs and using smoke and feathers to clear our energies in the spring.
Creating and Holding Sacred Space: Allow yourself to explore what your own personal seasons and cycles look like, and allow yourself to be witnessed as you witness others. Spend time learning how to access, sustain, and create sacred space using plants.
Sacred relationship with self and Spirit: You will be encouraged to embrace your intuition and to explore the mystical side of your being that can connect with the beyond, which is deeply rooted in reverence for the Divine Feminine. You'll develop a stronger bond with the Earth and realize that she is our greatest teacher. When we see the Earth as a mother and learn to deeply listen to her voice and messages, we learn to listen to ourselves.
Other Holistic Healing Opportunities: I weave together all of the tools I've accumulated over the years and provide them to you throughout our time together. Meditations, sound baths, forest bathing, dream work, spiritual mentorship, folk herbalism, plant spirit medicine, and profound healing through elemental ceremonies will be available to you. This is an opportunity to learn not only about plants but also about oneself. When we are together, you will be encouraged to go on a healing journey and share your feelings and genuine, honest self. I try my best to provide a safe space for true healing to take place, but true progress requires you to be ready to show up for yourself. This isn't your typical herbal apprenticeship. This is a green healing path to the self through plants.
Home Practice: You will choose a plant ally with whom you will develop a close relationship both during our time together and in your personal life on your own. You will be given home practices to assist with building your relationship with your plant ally and the current season. You will have time at the end of this apprenticeship to share your overall experience with the apprenticeship and the relationship you built with the plant, as well as herbal gifts you created.
This class is open to all bodies, but participation is limited to a small group.
This apprenticeship is a closed group with a small number of participants to allow us to journey deeper together as a group and to allow each participant to focus on self-healing as you build a strong foundation in earth magic and plant spirit medicine.
Classes will be held outside as much as possible. Herbalism lectures, tea meditations, guided journeys, plant walks and identification, herbal gardening, holistic healing methods, and simple rituals are among the subjects covered.
There are a total of 140 class hours. In class, you will receive educational lectures, handouts that combine to create a helpful binder reference, and plant and medicine-making materials. Every class weekend, students can harvest fresh plants from our herbal gardens for medicine-making and for building a personal apothecary.
Apprentices are welcome to camp on the land during our weekend gatherings. Indoor sleeping arrangements may be possible during extreme temperatures but with your bedding. Refrigeration, a shower, and a kitchen are available.
2024 Heart of the Earth
Saturdays, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
& Sundays, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
2024- Year One Dates
Weekend One - March 2 & 3
Weekend Two - April 6 & 7
Weekend Three - May 4 & 5
Weekend Four - June 1 & 2
Weekend Five - July 6 & 7
Weekend Six - August 3 & 4
Weekend Seven - September 7 & 8
Weekend Eight - October 5 & 6
Weekend Nine - November 2 & 3
Weekend Ten - December 7 & 8
2024, Year Two Dates
Weekend One - March 9 & 10
Weekend Two - April 13 & 14
Weekend Three - May 11 & 12
Weekend Four - June 8 & 9
Weekend Five - July 13 & 14
Weekend Six - August 10 & 11
Weekend Seven - September 14 & 15
Weekend Eight - October 12 & 13
Weekend Nine - November 9 & 10
Weekend Ten - December 14 & 15
Tuition is $2400. To reserve your spot, a $400.00 nonrefundable deposit (subtracted from the total tuition) and a phone chat are required. There are payment plans and a sliding scale available. Please inquire.
Please fill out the contact form below to set up an interview/phone conversation.
"I completed Kristin's earth magic and plant medicine apprenticeship and I give a full-throated YES to what she teaches and shares in this exquisitely designed course. Each month going up the long path to her magical land, I felt like I was on a pilgrimage to a spirit-filled place to learn from a truly gifted medicine woman and spiritual teacher. She's done the deep work and you feel it in her medicine and her teachings. If you have the opportunity to work with her - LEAP! You'll be glad you did!!!” - Kit 2021
"As soon as you walk on Kristin and Adam's land, you can feel what a special place it is. Kristin has a wealth of knowledge about all things herbal, from seed gathering, planting, and growing to gathering and using plants in teas and cooking, as well as making plant medicine. I learned to live with and work with nature through the seasons.
Last summer, I got a splinter that was broken off at the skin. Rather than have a friend dig it out with a needle, I wrapped it in a plantain leaf poultice; the next morning, the splinter was lying on top of my skin. I was like a little kid. I was so excited! That was just one of the many, many things I learned in my first year of the Heart of the Earth Herbal Apprenticeship. I am so looking forward to learning more in year two!" Adelaide 2022
"This experience has been so unique for my growth and journey to learn more about the earth and medicinal plants and herbs. The spaces and experiences Kristin creates are so magical! It was an amazing opportunity to connect more with myself and nature along with others on their personal journeys." - Sandy 2023
"Kristin's apprenticeship through Heart Centered Herbals is transformative. Her shamanistic approach to medicine-making deepened my relationship with the earth, medicinal plants and herbs, nature, and myself. Her wisdom and love guided my hands and heart toward establishing a deeper connection and understanding with our magical plant allies. Thank you Kristin for sharing your heart and mysticism." Ashley 2023
"Kristin's herbal course offers hands-on class time for creating salves, teas, flower essences, and much more. The notebook for the herbal class not only contains recipes but a generous amount of plant information for future reference. We explored the medicinal value of the common "weeds." Kristin's passion for the plants, nature, and her land inspires me to appreciate all who reside on my two-acre property." PK 2023
I am so excited to be entering my fourth year of offering Heart of the Earth! Hi, my name is Kristin Jewell and I will be your guide, along with the plants and momma earth on this spiritual herbalism journey.
I weave together all of the tools I've accumulated over the years and provide them to you throughout our time together. Meditations, sound baths, forest bathing, dream work, spiritual mentorship, folk herbalism, plant spirit medicine, and profound healing through elemental ceremonies will be available to you.
I am grateful to steward 12 acres of land that
provides a sanctuary for my plants and practices. I share this space with my amazing partner, Adam, our two pups, some chickens, rabbits, and a couple of cats.
I am proud to say that I am a daughter of the earth. I am a forever apprentice and steward to her, learning daily from the fauna and flora, the shifting of the seasons, and the annual cycles.
In case you were curious, I’ve apprenticed with herbalists Sage Maurer and Kat Maier. I've earned degrees in both Behavioral Science, B.S., and Transpersonal Psychology, M.A. I am certified as a Spiritual Guidance Mentor, have received a certificate of professional training in The Applications of Therapeutic Sound with The Center Of Light, and have completed a two-year Priestess Path apprenticeship.
I am a survivor and I am here to heal and break cycles. I have invested heavily in my healing journey over the past twenty-plus years, and providing a safe and sacred space for others to heal and grow is my life's mission. I view our time together as walking alongside each other, for when you heal, I heal; we heal together.
I have medicine and magic, and I want to share it with you,
so you can own and share your medicine and magic, too!