Plant Magic for Young Green Witches with Robin Rose Bennett

#64 - Do you know a young green witch or budding herbalist? So often I hear adults who discovered herbalism later in life say they wish they knew about the magic and medicine of plants when they were young.

Join us for a wonderful conversation with Herbalist and Writer Robin Rose as she shares about the joys and practical tips for helping kids (and those who are young at heart!) develop a relationship with the green world.

In this episode, Robin Rose offers key insights on how plants support us in becoming who we authentically are while connecting with a sense of happiness in being alive. She also shares steps on how to help kids safely explore and learn about ritual and plant magic, and how developing a connection with the natural world helps us cultivate our sense of inner wisdom.

Robin Rose Bennett is a story-teller, writer, and herbalist. She has been offering classes in WiseWoman Healing Ways: Herbal Medicine and EarthSpirit Teachings since 1986 - at herb conferences, festivals, clinics, medical and nursing schools, and most joyously, outside with the plants. She shares herbal medicine with gratitude for the loving generosity of the plants and the magic, mystery, and beauty of the web of life.

Robin Rose is on the faculty of the New York Open Center and the Arbor-Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism. She is also the author of two meditation MP3’s and the amazing books: Healing Magic- A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living, The Gift of Healing Herbs, A Green Witch's Pocket Book of Wisdom, and The Young Green Witch’s Guide to Plant Magic.

You can find Robin Rose at: https://RobinRoseBennett.com
Books: https://www.robinrosebennettbooks.com/
On instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robinrosebennett/
On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wisewomanhealingways
On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RobinRoseBennett

For more info visit Sara's website at: https://www.multidimensionalnature.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/multidimensional.nature/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraartemisia.ms/
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/plantspiritherbalism
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@saraartemisia
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@multidimensional.nature
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/multidimensionalnature/

Learn how to communicate with plant consciousness in the free workshop on How to Learn Plant Language: https://www.learnplantlanguage.com/

Transcript

Sara Artemisia: 0:05

Welcome to the Plant Spirit Podcast on connecting with plant consciousness and the healing wisdom of Nature. This podcast is brought to you by the plants and my deep collaborative work with them as a Plant Spirit Wisdom Teacher, Flower Essence Practitioner, Financial Coach and Co-creator of Plant Spirit Designs. To learn how to communicate directly with plant consciousness, you can check out the free workshop at www.learnplantlanguage.com. For Nature Inspired Financial Coaching, visit www.financialabundancecoach.com. And for herbally inspired clothing that is an ode to the plants and the people who love them, check out www.plantspiritdesigns.com. I'm your host, Sara Artemisia and I'm excited to introduce our next guest to the show today, Robin Rose Bennett has been writing, teaching and practicing herbalism and green witchery for over 30 years. She shares herbal medicine with gratitude for the loving generosity of the plants and the magic, mystery and beauty of the web of life. Robin Rose is also the author of two meditations and the amazing books Healing Magic, The Gift of Healing Herbs, A Green Witch's Pocketbook of Wisdom, and most recently, The Young Green Witch's Guide to Plant Magic. So Robin Rose, thank you so much for being here, just so delightful as always to connect.

Robin Rose Bennett: 1:48

Thank you for having me, Sara. It is wonderful to be with you and with those who are listening.

Sara Artemisia: 1:54

Yeah, it's so good. So I was just reading your amazing new book, The Young Green Witch's Guide to Plant Magic last night, and there's just so much amazing stuff in here. And so right off the bat, I'm curious to hear if you can tell us a bit about why it's important for kids to develop a relationship with the green world?

Robin Rose Bennett: 2:17

Yeah, happy to if I had a nickel for every time an adult said to me, I wish I had known about this when I was little. I wish I had known about this when I was a child. I wish I'd known about this years ago, I would be a financially very well off herbalist woman. And the reality is that this is so intrinsic to our humanity that Nature is it is our ground of our being, and having been cut off from it, having learned that it is basically inanimate, having learned that we are on some kind of higher level than that, this has damaged us in ways obvious and less obvious. And so part of the reclaiming of the Earth, reclaiming of living on our beloved, beautiful planet in a sane, heart-centered, caring, just respectful way is reconnecting with the fact that we are Nature, and Nature is us. And humans are the only ones who have stopped listening. Not all humans, right, but, many, many humans have stopped listening to the teachings of the trees and the winds and the water and the fire and all of it. So to, I'm excited to hopefully be introducing young people to this relationship that they have, and because it helps us to become authentically who we are, and then that helps us evolve as a species, which is essential that we do now right, without further ado or delay, because the harm that we're causing one another and other species and the Earth is, is virtually immeasurable, right? Yeah, I could also answer really simply, it's so important this connection Nature for young people, because it brings joy, right? It brings joy. It brings happiness to be alive. And, you know, there's so much disconnect, so much reliance on techno, you know, and face in the screen all the time, that until you're not facing that screen, you don't realize what you're missing. So for those reasons, and more, is why it's important. It's essential.

Sara Artemisia: 5:02

Yeah, amazing. I really feel that too, and I love what you just shared at the end there, especially about how it really brings the joy. It just brings happiness to be alive, that I love, that this is one of the greatest messages and invitations lessons from the green world. And particularly, I've really been feeling that the flowers this year, especially just how amazing they are. And it was really interesting to me in reading the book, there are a lot of similar things that I teach to adults in plant connection that you wrote about. And specifically, one thing about how plants know who they are. This is from page five, how plants know who they are and love themselves for who they are, and that we have a lot to learn about self-acceptance from plants to be introducing that to kids is so profound. It's so profound, and so I was curious if you could just share a little bit more about that, about your experience and perspective, about how plants help us connect with a sense of self-acceptance. It's been so pivotal for me on my journey. And then how you see this playing into supported kids, specifically right now on the planet.

Robin Rose Bennett: 6:16

Right. Right, because, I mean, kids are just they're just people too, right? They're just people who are younger. So I didn't see an enormous differentiation in writing this book, other than in, you know, sometimes in the language. But really, I wrote it with the same depth that I would teach adults, and so, knowing the plants, knowing who they are. This is something that really came to me so strongly over time working with plants, and, you know, looking at it like, All right, let's just take a Dandelion, right? And there's Dandelion that root in the Earth that those leaves with white sap latex, the flower stalks in the center and and then the beautiful sunshiny yellow flowers and that turn into the moon when they go to seed. This Dandelion is so whole and complete in and of itself, and we humans have been kind of indoctrinated, really, to constantly compare ourselves to others. And I'm sure that you experienced this and people listening experience I certainly did as a child. And am I enough? Am I good enough? Am I? And of course, the answer is always no, no, I'm not enough. No, I'm not good enough. No, I'm not as pretty as, no, I'm not as fast a runner as I'm as smart as you know, whatever it is. And so we hurt ourselves trying to be anything other than who we are and what I've been learning over my lifetime more and more as I grow elder, too. But if I had the foundation when I was little, that would have been awesome, is how I really belong to myself, and that in this coming into myself with all my imperfections and all my idiosyncrasies and unique ways of being, which is kind of what makes things fun, is that we're all, that we have fundamental sameness and similarities, and we all want to love and be loved, and all these similarities, our expression is unique, and that's what makes it fun and juicy, and why we would have a party, right? You know, you don't want just yourself at the party, like 20 times over. What's the point of that? So, yeah, and then that allows, or speaking for myself, Sara, that coming into myself, which I learned from the plants that Willow is happy to be Willow, and Oak is happy to be Oak, and Pine is happy to be Pine, and Dandelion doesn't want to be a Rose. And, you know, and all of that, a Rose doesn't wish he didn't have thorns. That has helped me open myself to community in a way that I never could before, when I was so busy trying to fit in or to not do the wrong thing or get ridiculed or whatever, all these things we can't really protect ourselves from. Anyway they happen. They just happen. But this belonging to oneself and this knowing who you are. I mean, hello, Shakespeare, to the known self, be true, know thyself. They sit at the Temple at Delphi, right? This is old wisdom, but it's eternal. It's timeless. This is what allows us to open to one another, and that is another of the keys to healing our families and our communities and our cultures. Whole people bring wholeness into the group, and I just am so grateful to the plants for that. I will tell you, when I was picking Roses this morning, I kept thinking of you, not only because we had this coming up, but because I know we both share this great love of Rose medicine, and Rose is just such a great teacher of well, in the kids book, as you saw, I say Rose's magic is a self love and claim your space magic, self love and claim your space magic. So in the book, each plant has its magic, and what it says, in addition to identification and creativity in the kitchen and ritual and herbal medicine and all of that, so it's probably the most structured book I've ever written yet. But yeah, belonging to yourself, opening to who you truly are. This is the key to inner freedom, peace and opening in a healthy way, to be part of the whole community, the whole diversity of life.

Sara Artemisia: 11:20

Yeah, I love that. And just amazing how the plants show us this, how they embody it. I loved hearing you share about how coming into yourself, that you learned that from the plants. That's the same for me. I just I'm so grateful to them because they mirrored back directly. Not only is it okay to fully be yourself, it's actually vital. It's actually the best thing that we could each possibly be, is to fully be who we are.

Robin Rose Bennett: 11:49

Exactly. And then the other thing about that is that when you become yourself, or you are on that path of becoming yourself, because it's an ongoing process throughout life, then what to do becomes obvious. It's like the exhale that follows the inhale. And many people worry that they're not sure what they're here for, that they feel a calling to be part of the solution. They feel of desire to feel a sense of purpose and contributing. And if you put the first focus on who am I, that comes that just it follows again, like the exhale to the inhale. So and even just to give an example from the plant world, so Pine, in being Pines wonderful own self, whether it's the white Pine or it's the red Pine or whichever Pine Ponderosa that we're talking about, in being itself, Pine exudes aromatic medicine. That's its medicine. And so in being Pine, Pine heals the respiratory system, because those aromatic oils help us breathe, whether we're forest, bathing in a Pine forest, like walking through the forest, or we're drinking Pine infusion. So Pine is who Pine is, and then what Pine does grows out of that, and we humans are precisely the same. And little humans are really, oftentimes more in touch with that, unless they're really being a repressed and suppressed intentionally to control them. And many adults I've found in my classes and such many adults as they are refining, reclaiming who they are through their work with the plants, find themselves coming back to things they loved when they were little, that they left to the side, that they dropped in favor of whatever they thought they should be doing. That's one of the most damning words in the English language, should, you should do this. You should, whatever it is I love to say you could. You could, because the other thing about the plants and what I really endeavor to do in this book was about teaching about sovereignty, personal sovereignty. And of course, there's a difference in the level of sovereignty when you're eight or nine, when you're 18 or 28 or 68 or what have you right there. We need parents for kids to set boundaries and all that. But still, there's an inner authority that can start growing and developing in a healthy way, that then builds esteem and so that we don't have, we won't have, with more kids connected to Nature, I predict my witchy way. That we will not have the levels of depression among kids that we have now, or anxiety. It won't, I'm not saying, with all the problems out there, it will just be gone, but it won't be the same because, as you know, Sara, I know, and I bet a lot of your listeners have discovered too, there becomes this seed of connection that feeds you even through the difficult transition times. And we're in a giant transition time.

Sara Artemisia: 15:32

Which is exactly why it's so vital to nurture that seed of connection, that seed to the inner wisdom that you're speaking to. And yeah.

Robin Rose Bennett: 15:41

I was wondering if I could share just a little bit, because Pine popped up spontaneously in my, if I could share a little of Pine from the book?

Sara Artemisia: 15:49

Oh, yeah. Loved what you wrote about pine. Let's love to hear it.

Robin Rose Bennett: 15:52

Okay, so white Pine. Pinus Strobus, Pine's magic is peace and friendship magic, and what Pine says is, be a good friend to yourself and others. And I could read the Pine poem if you like. Yeah, okay, right? Because there's and just to give people an idea, there's herbal healing, there's working with it, there's identifying, there's gathering. A little tips that I wish I had had about gathering plants and then all the recipes for food and medicine and then ritual and magic, which, of course, all kids know is real. So here's the poem, meet white Pine. I'm an evergreen tree with teachings to share. Please treat one another with kindness and care. I have needles, not leaves that make a fine tea, and I'll help you to breathe and not feel stuffy. Make Pine needle syrup with buckwheat honey. I calm coughs and help when your nose is runny, inhale the aroma of my fragrant wood, rich in vitamin C, I'll help you feel good. I lift up your spirits, and that's just the start. As you breathe deeply, I bring peace to your heart. I will help you befriend yourself and others. All beings on Earth are sisters and brothers.

Sara Artemisia: 17:24

That is beautiful.

Robin Rose Bennett: 17:26

Thanks. Yeah, it's really as you experience yourself. It's such an honor to be an ambassador for the plants.

Sara Artemisia: 17:37

Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I love also, just you mentioned it at the end there, but just how deeply connected you are with the ritual and magic in the green world, of course, as the herbal properties, you know. But I was curious if you could tell us a bit more about any connection rituals with plants. And I'd be curious if you found if there's any distinction between connection rituals for adults versus kids, or if it's really just all on a.

Robin Rose Bennett: 18:05

I'm gonna have to go out and do more work and play with the kids with this material to really answer that authentically, I will find out. Ask me next year, this time next year, because I'm imagining that this book will open doorways for me to work more in person with children. And I have worked with kids, but it's kind of random, or it's been a kind of a while, or it's like a few kids will come to classes with parents, I know, but here's something I could say. I know that the kids love ritual. Because when I do rituals for the Earth holidays like Equinox or solstices, I always invite adults to bring children with them, maybe I should start inviting children to bring adults with them, and the kids just love it. They don't always love the the kind of explanations about things, but they love the singing. They love the calls to the elements, depending upon age, they either love or don't love meditation. So maybe that might be one of the differences is that bigger people will tend to be good with longer meditations, whereas younger people, smaller people typically might want shorter meditations, right? So these are not really a qualitative differences. They're just like a little bit different approach. But, you know, I hope that I'm wise enough to let the kids show me what works for them. I would like to think I'm wise enough to do that and and to see, you know, in the same way, I kind of have learned a lot about herbal medicine for animals from the animals watching like if I didn't know which heart herb to put out for so and so is dog, I would put out several bowls of teas and see which one they went to. And so I've learned a lot about following our instincts, and kids are awesome with that. And I think the only essential thing, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say this, even though I haven't worked with kids a lot, but I interact with kids, is that you're real. It is that it's not, you know, Bs, that it's authentic and real, because kids can smell what's not real from a long ways off, and they're not interested. I bet even if they think like, oh, this is weird, or what have you, if you're being sincere. Like, I remember the first time I said to one of my niece says, ask that stone if you can take it, you want to take that stone and ask? And she looked at me like, are you trying to make fun of me? Like, if I do this, will you then laugh at me for believing you? And I, you know, as soon as she understood that I really meant it, she was right there. So they already know. They already know.

Sara Artemisia: 21:24

Yeah.

Robin Rose Bennett: 21:25

They learn fast. Man, they learn really fast. I have noticed that, like kids on weed walks, they learn really fast.

Sara Artemisia: 21:31

Yeah, I mean, there's so much plasticity in the brain when they're younger. And I love about how there's such as interesting thing. I've always found this really interesting because, by American standards, I grew up in a very unique household, and did involve a lot of herbs. It was like very we're gonna take Echinacea tincture for a little bit every Fall, kind of a thing. And I just thought everyone did that.

Robin Rose Bennett: 21:56

You were brought up by hippies?

Sara Artemisia: 21:58

Yes, exactly.

Robin Rose Bennett: 22:01

Your parents, I got you.

Sara Artemisia: 22:04

Totally so, so I didn't know that that wasn't normal. And so I love, I just love this experience of normalizing connection to the Earth from a very young age. Because first of all, in the span of human history, being disconnected from the Earth is very relatively new, and it's kind of strange if we look at it from the broader scope of the human experience over time, but secondarily, if we introduce the connection to the Earth to kids from such a young age, they will accept that as normal, which is wonderful, because that is the kind of world that we want to be building where children, who then become adults already are innately connected to their sense of inner wisdom and to their sense of deep connection with the Earth, with the green world.

Robin Rose Bennett: 22:54

Yeah, I agree 100% I think the only thing I would shift in that is to say they will accept that it's real, as opposed to accepting that it's normal. Because, you know, normal is one of those tricky words that, again, invites the comparison and the contrasting, but they will accept that it's real, real, that Nature, it's like Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote, is so beautifully in braiding sweetgrass, when she said, when she asked her students if they loved to the Earth, every hand went up when she asked them if they understood that the Earth loved them, they got very uncomfortable. They got very uncomfortable, and they did not get that and so I think that's one of the things that that I hope and state very directly and then give exercises to experience that is in this book for children that they are loved, not just by their parents, right, or their best friend, but by the plants and the trees around them, and that gives a sense of comfort. Isn't a strong enough word, your sense of belonging, that everyone longs for a sense of belonging to the Earth, and then that breeds the desire to take care, to stand up for the Earth, which so many kids already have and are developing. And it's interesting how it gets fascinating, really, how easy it is to throw people off of that connection with new toys. Bring in a cell phones to a traditional culture, and suddenly they, too, are sitting there looking at the screen. So it's kind of a fascinating both, and this, this time we're in it's the time of everything. It's the time of everything. And for me and for you, I know this is the value of this. This is not, I mean, you can't even say how valuable it is. It's invaluable, but it's so oddly easy to get thrown off of that. And yet, when you've lived in a disconnected culture, when you get invited back in to the heart of the Earth and the Nature connection. It's like, it's everything, it's everything. It just gives you so much and what I love, and I hope there's enough practical things in here to do, whether it's making Lavender butter, or it's making Pine needle magic wands or what have you, is it's not about like, I'm telling you this, and you should believe me, it's more like, try this, try that, try this, try that, which, that is very much exactly my approach with adults as well. Try it and see, try it and see, do try this at home. You know, do try this at home.

Sara Artemisia: 25:59

Yeah, I love that. And just the the relationship piece, the invitation that is so clear how it's an invitation to connect and an invitation to connect experientially, which I just love, that you are all about that. So great. Yeah, so tell us. Robin Rose, how can people find out more about you and your work?

Robin Rose Bennett: 26:23

Ah, I best way would be through my website. robinrosebennett.com. I also have a another website, robinrosebennettbooks, just devoted to the books. And really, the very best thing to do is to sign up for my newsletter, because that's where I announce anything and everything that's going on. But it's also much more than that. I really care about it being worth people's time, so I put into that newsletter, which comes out roughly every couple of weeks. It's not like a constant inundation either. I know most of us are inundated with stuff piling up in our inboxes that we never look at. This has I do care that the content be worthy. So whether it's thoughts about something or recipes or rituals or inspirations, I do try to fill it with meaningful things and updates on classes or book discounts, or what have you, contests this that the other and I'm on Instagram, but again, the newsletter is the best thing. But I am on Instagram under my name, Robin Rose Bennett and Facebook. And I think that's about it. I don't do the others. I don't do all of them. I do

Sara Artemisia: 27:37

Yeah, there's, there's a lot out there. Well, those. for anyone who has not who's listening, and maybe you have a budding young green witch in your life, or someone who you think might be really interested in connecting with the magic of plants, I would definitely recommend checking out Robin Rose's latest book on The Young Green Witch's Guide to Plant Magic. I'm personally really excited to explore some of these recipes and rituals with my two young nieces, who are definitely plant medicine women in the making for sure. So we're really excited about.

Robin Rose Bennett: 28:09

Little witch left.

Sara Artemisia: 28:12

That's so great. Well, Robin Rose, thanks so much for joining us. So wonderful.

Robin Rose Bennett: 28:18

Welcome. Thank you. Thanks for having me, and thanks for all that you do to spread the good green blessings in medicine around the world.

Sara Artemisia: 28:28

Oh, thank you.

Robin Rose Bennett: 28:31

Green blessings, everyone.

Sara Artemisia: 28:35

And thanks so much for listening and joining us today on the Plant Spirit Podcast. I hope you enjoyed it and please follow to subscribe, leave a review and look forward to seeing you on the next episode.