Why The Tea Isn't Working

If you use herbs, then you need to get dirty.

Last weekend, my organization Black Herbalists Collective went out into the woods, Blue Indigo Nature Preserve to exact, and did some work. But…why? Why was that necessary?

Land stewardship is one our of core values and is important to me as a person and herbalist. Caring for the land, regardless of its ownership, is one of the most aligned forms of services for a medicine woman. As we take from the land, we should be giving back. Simple as that.

I would take it a step futher, however, and say that if you are plucking shit out the ground, buying herbs, teas, and other outputs from nature, you should be touching some grass, literally, as well. If you hike and get to enjoy the ease of a 3 foot wide trail, you should be digging some dirt. There’s a couple of reasons for this.

If Not You, Then Whost? Whom?

Yes, I’m sure you get inundated with messages about how to give back in various formats. Yes, I am aware that not everyone (unfortunately) is service-minded, and yes, I am definitely aware that for Black people, service is a hard topic.

However, if not you…then who? At some point, reciprocity has to be top of mind for our interactions with everyone and everything. How can we lessen the impact of taking? How can we match the energy of the earth’s abundance? What can we do for pachamama that she can’t do for herself? Getting outside and tending to the land is one of those things.

Now, for Black people, there can be some tension here. Deep in our DNA lives the trauma of being forced to work, tending land specifically, that stops us cold in our tracks. Sometimes our grandparents and their parents purposefully didn’t pass down those skills or desires because it was wrought on them violently and not by choice. I understand this. However, I think we have overcorrected if we believe that we should never lift a finger in service to the planet or each other. That might be a separate rant though.

Turkey tail, wild ginger, and an unknown plant that looks like mint but isn't.

Building Relationships

You want to be an herbalist? You want to be a medicine woman? Or is it all crystal jewelry, headwraps, alkaline water, and no deodorant to you? (I wear Hume deo by the way, I’ve been off the ‘luminum since 2014. Happy to share tips in the comments.)

If you want to truly call yourself in tune with the land, then that requires being in a relationship. One thing a relationship shouldn’t be is what? One-sided. You picking up what I’m laying down? If you want to be connected, you have to put energy back into it. While singing to the trees is an offering, what are you doing to actually prolong and encourage the life of plants, animals, and the very Earth that you so long to tell the internet you are communion with?

Sacred reciprocity is found in all spiritualities. Hoodoos know this, the Q’ero people where I got some learning on the subject from know this, our Indigenous cousins know this, honestly we all do. Somehow though, we allow the thread to be lost and wonder why that plant did help us feel better. These plants, this land, is sentient with its own spirit. Would you like to be used and not poured back into? No! So the land is the same.

Going outside this past weekend, digging dirt, adding it to the trail for fortification, was spiritual. I was talking to the plants, tending to the ground, making it safer for others to traverse and enjoy the nature and river. I met so many plants I’ve never seen before. I feel more connected with the land I sleep on. THAT is being an herbalist. THAT is being a Hoodoo. THAT is being a spiritualist.

If you are not seeking harmony with nature through a reciprocal relationship, you not doing what you think you doing with that tea. The medicine is not hitting as hard as it could in your body because the land or plants don’t know you. Yes, I’ll argue about it.

I’ma Land the Plane

This is not meant to be a finger-wagging tale. I know that there could be barriers to being outside, we all have them. I’m allergic to mosquitos and left that afternoon with a bite in the middle of my forehead that I had to take allergy meds for. It’s a sacrifice, that is for sure. It id also a great joy and the satisfaction of doing your part goes beyond your basic feel good moment.

As someone who hikes, I didn’t even consider what all went into trails. I was just always happy to see them. After working on extending one, I can say that I am grateful to the hands that support making nature accessible and for the back-breaking labor of clearing a path. My god, I was tired! However, I feel good about the land knowing me and my knowing it.

Plane landed.

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If you’re a Black herbalist and want to join a professional organization for us, by us, please consider applying to the Black Herbalists Collective. We are connected all over digitally and have local chapters in the Triangle and Orlando.