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Nurture a deeper knowing.
Wildness Within’s Materia Medica is a continuation of one’s journey with plants and place. This program is designed to build upon the fundamentals of plant medicine taught in Wildness Within’s foundational herbal apprenticeship as well as strengthen one’s confidence and internal knowing of plant medicine. The Materia Media course provides tools for participants to learn the applications of plants in the field, at home, and in a clinical setting.
This is an opportunity to learn about the herbal actions, energetics and uses of medicinal plants. Participants will grow their understanding of when to use a plant, how it can be combined with another plant, as well as safety and precautions. We will learn about specific plants through botanical identification, seasonal harvests, and plant medicine making.
This course will primarily focus on plants grown in the PNW, both cultivated and wild. It will incorporate herbs used in Western herbalism, Ayurveda, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) materia medica. Each class will emphasize living with the seasons and the natural cycles of plants and place.
Materia Medica Pathway Objectives:
· To understand the applications and herbs associated with Western Herbal Actions and TCM Herbal Categories.
· To connect plant medicine to people based on symptoms and constitutions.
· In-depth understanding of at least 20 plants to be used in the field and in practice.
· To understand phytochemistry and how plants affect our physiology and anatomy
· To connect specific herbs with patterns used in Zang Fu diagnosis and TCM Yin/Yang Organ affiliations
· To practice plant extractions methods that result in medicinal potency of individual herbs.
· To embody the seasonal rounds; intuitive wild plant harvests, planting with the seasons, and internal knowing of preparing, processing and administering herbs.
Who is the Materia Medica Pathway for?
The Materia Medica Pathway is for people who have completed at least one year of herbal study; online or in-person (ideally those who have completed the Foundational Herbal Apprenticeship). This is a program for an intermediate herbalist looking to expand their herbal knowledge through botanical identification, learning folklore and scientific uses of plants as well as harvesting and processing plants for medicinal applications. This is an ideal program for someone interested in learning more about herbal actions and energetics through a TCM lens and how to apply the uses of different plants.
This course is intended to strengthen one’s understanding about the applications of a plant in combination with a person. It also builds upon an individual’s botanical identification and seasonal harvesting skills. It’s a wonderful program for someone looking to go-deeper into their herbal journey - further combining the interconnectedness of plants, place and people.
This class can be combined with the Practitioner Pathway for those interested in clinical herbalism.
What is the learning structure?
The Materia Medica Pathway will meet in-person at the end of the month in various locations in the greater Seattle area as well as meet online mid-month to share an in-depth experience with one herb in profile.
The structure of this class will include:
One field trip per month
Didactic presentations on herbal actions
In-field harvests and plant preparations
Online herb in profile discussions
Monthly review quizzes
Herbarium collections
In-class workbooks including plant profiles, recipes and more
This is an application based course. The application process is designed to answer your questions and support you in discerning if this is the right fit for you at this time.
NEW! 2026 online zoom session in between in-field classes
Dates and Time:
The second Monday of the month, 6-7:30PM: Online Zoom – Herb in Profile
The last Saturday of the month, 10AM-3PM: In Field Materia Medica
February 9, 28
March 9, 28
April 13, 26
May 11, 30
June 8, 27
July 13, 25
August 10, 29
September 14, 26
October 12, 27
November 9, 28
PLUS end of year celebration: Saturday, December 12th 2-4PM
This is a 10-month commitment.
Materia Medica Pathway Cost: $2,500
Obtain the monthly knowledge and hands-on projects
Online Zoom Herb in Profile LIVE sessions (& recordings)
Access to online class hub-site with resources
In-field herbal harvests
Herbarium & Plant Profiles reviewed by Rachael (optional certification route)
Cost does not include in-class workbook, reference books, medicine making supplies, transportation costs, or private mentoring.
ADVANCED COMBINATION: $4,000
COMBINE THE Materia medica with online practitioner pathway
Payments: To ensure your spot in the program, a non-refundable deposit of $200 is due upon acceptance. Full payment is due by first day of class on February 9, 2026. If participants need to set-up a payment plan, please correspond with Rachael about what this looks like.
Cancellation Policy:
All cancellation requests must be made prior to February 9th, 2026; any payments beyond the deposit will be refunded in full. Any cancellations beyond this date is not subject to refund.