Plant Spirit Medicine Treatments

The initial consultation is up to 2 hours long and allows us to explore all aspects of your life as well as a review of your systems based on the Five Element tradition. This time together assists in developing a treatment plan for you and determining what plants are best suited for your needs.

Each subsequent consultation then typically lasts 45-60 minutes. As a general rule, treatments are initially spaced 5-7 days apart. Once an appropriate foundation is laid, the frequency of treatments is gradually reduced.

Because the medicine comes from the spirit of the plant, there is no ingestion of the plant or any need for tinctures. During the treatment I simply ask the spirit of the plant to bring its medicine to you, and after each step I check your pulses to see the response.

My training taught me to listen to your symptoms as messengers of underlying imbalances in your system. Over time, as balance is restored and a strong foundation is laid, symptoms often start to resolve. However, because everyone is unique, it is often very difficult to predict in advance how this process will occur.

There is no typical response when receiving a plant spirit medicine treatment. Some people may feel more relaxed and peaceful while others may feel more energised. For the best results it is important to allow yourself time after your first healing treatments.

In modern times we have come to expect quick fixes and instant results. Yet true healing requires addressing the source of the imbalance by patiently and consistently providing the medicine you need.

Plants work at the pace of nature, and for lasting results this process cannot be rushed. It takes time for the soil to be prepared with the suitable nutrients, time for the seed to germinate, time for the seedling to grow and time for it to come into bloom. This medicine sets the appropriate conditions for our healing, bringing balance and healing in the proper time.

This medicine values your uniqueness and so it is difficult to prescribe a set number of sessions. However it is common to receive one session a week for 6-10 weeks. As balance is restored treatments can then be gradually spread out. After this amount of time we are in a better position to be able to determine what to expect for your healing and well-being.

My standard fees are:

• Initial discussion, no obligation (30 mins): Free
• Initial consultation (Up to 2 hours): $150
• Follow up treatments (Up to 1 hour): $90

I appreciate that not everyone is in a financial position to be able to afford this medicine, especially in the initial period when treatments are more frequent. If this is the case for you we can make arrangements that suit your situation.

The plant spirit medicine training course is a serious course of study spread over two years.

The curriculum includes areas of study such as:

• Traditional Chinese Five-Element Theory, including the chi cycles of energy, traditional five element assessment of health and illness, the body’s meridian systems, natural laws of healing, traditional pulse diagnosis and Akabani balancing.
• Building relationships with plant allies, developing and refining our plant spirit materia medica with local plants.
• Basic shamanic dreaming, learning to comprehend the healing qualities of the spirits of different plants.
• Proper initiation to engage with our plant allies.

Once the required course work and self-study has been completed, the student healer presents clients to lead treatments under the guidance of their teachers. Upon graduation the real learning begins. As the new healer starts working with their own clients, a clinical consultant provides support for six months.

After completing the clinical requirements students are inducted as a lay spiritual healer in the Temple of Sacred Fire Healing and gains membership in the Plant Spirit Medicine Association.

Lay spiritual healers continue their education, and maintain and improve their skills through a program of continuous professional development.

Eliot Cowan trained as a Five Element Acupuncturist with the late JR Worsley in the 1970’s, in England. With Professor Worsley’s encouragement, Eliot rediscovered the ancient practice of working with plant sprits for healing.

During this time Eliot also undertook an apprenticeship with the Huichol in North West Mexico and is now recognised as a tsaurririkame (elder shaman and community leader) in the Huichol tradition. In the 1990’s Eliot wrote the book Plant Spirit Medicine.

After many years of practising and teaching this medicine Eliot founded the Blue Deer Center in upstate New York, USA. The Blue Deer Center is now the home for plant spirit medicine.

Alison Gayek studied with Eliot in the late 1990’s and has been teaching plant spirit medicine since 2002.

Alison has continued her healing work through various pilgrimages with Eliot Cowan and David Wiley. She is a Granicera, a Weather Shaman, in the Nahua tradition indigenous to Central Mexico.