Hello! I'm Ellen Hammer. I'm a Shamanic Herbalist, a Reiki Master Teacher and a healer in the Wise Woman Tradition. I teach classes on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state in Shamanic listening with plants and trees. I also teach Reiki classes with Josslyn Streett and Amber McCarter for Rain Shadow Reiki in Sequim, WA. Susun Weed is my herbal Grandmother.
What is Shamanic Herbalism? My definition of Shamanic Herbalism is: the practice of listening to the spirit of the plants. By dropping into our heart center, grounding to the earth, calming our minds and opening to the possibilities of the spirit world we tap in to the wisdom of the green world. Being in the relationship with the plants as our teachers we find deeper wisdom, directly from the plants themselves, of how to be with them for healing and enlightenment. Who better to tell you what a plant is "good for" than the plants themselves? Here is a link to Susun Weed's definition of a Shamanic Herbalist and an explanation of why I am not a licensed herbalist.
How do I utilize Shamanic Herbalism? I am a Reiki student first, in all that I do. So I activate my Reiki for the best and highest good for all involved and I ask Creator to send me the best and most sacred plant spirits to work with me and give me messages. I am asking for wisdom and guidance for the healing of myself or my client. What this means is that you will be paired with the plants that want to come through for your best healing. The connection may be physical, meaning that I may be guided to recommend a nourishing herbal infusion for you. And the connection may be energetic, meaning that I may be guided to recommend that you sit with a particular plant to connect with its energy, or perhaps you could benefit from just one drop of a tincture made with that plant.
My journey to Shamanic Herbalism and the Wise Woman Tradition is through my teacher Julie Charette Nunn of Crow's Daughter on Whidbey Island, WA. I found Julie through a mutual friend and took an email course on listening to the wisdom of trees in 2015. It was not what I expected in the least, but no less an amazing experience! After that I was drawn again and again to the feeling that I needed to apprentice with Julie at her farm on Whidbey Island. I followed my instinct and made the commitment to begin in early 2016. The commitment was for a year and a quarter, one weekend (two days) per month. That is a very BIG commitment for a mother with young children - I drove 4 hours (with a ferry ride) one way to show up every month. Participating in Julie's Shamanic Herbalist/Wise Woman Healer/Green Witch apprenticeship program was a profound, life changing experience and a deep connection to the women I participated in this experience with. I walked away from the apprenticeship program with Julie with a new set of tools for my basket, so to speak, and was initiated as a Healer in the Wise Woman Tradition, a Green Witch and a Shamanic Herbalist.
What is Reiki? One definition of Reiki is "Divinely guided life force energy." I see Reiki
as the divine intelligent energy that runs through all things in the Universe. Reiki is important to me in my daily life and my practice as a Shamanic Herbalist and a Wise Woman healer. Here is a link to a Rain Shadow Reiki blog where my teacher Josslyn explains what Reiki is.
How do I use Reiki? I use Reiki in all that I do. It is foundational and everything I do holds an element of Divine energy. Reiki is inherently a healing and calming energy and so first and foremost, I use Reiki for healing (physically, emotionally, mentally, energetically, spiritually). I run Reiki when I communicate with plants. I run Reiki on all the medicines I gather and make. I run Reiki before I drive, cook, sleep... Reiki is endless, and limitless in space, time, and dimension so the applications of Reiki are also limitless (I like to say only our minds limit us in Reiki). I use Reiki to clear lower vibrating energies from people and spaces and objects. In my heart I know that Reiki melds seamlessly with everything I do and that it is always with me.
I have been on my Reiki journey for some time now. I met Josslyn Streett in 2009 at our son's elementary school and we became mom friends. At some point she offered to help me with a back issue I was having as a result of a car accident I had been involved in. Thinking that she was a massage therapist I booked an appointment. When meeting face to face with Josslyn she explained that Reiki is not a massage technique, explained what it was and I decided that I didn't have anything to loose from trying. I soon found out that Reiki is AMAZING! I saw Josslyn on a regular basis for Reiki healing sessions and soon participated in a Reiki I class. I have been practicing, healing, learning and growing since Reiki first entered my life. Since my first class, I have taken Reiki II and Reiki Master/Teacher classes with Josslyn. Through the years she has become one of the best friends and most influential people I will ever meet in my life. Through a series of events and circumstances I began teaching Reiki with Josslyn and have taught Reiki I, Reiki II, Reiki III, Reiki Master/Teacher.
I will be writing more blogs in the future about my wild crafting adventures, about the plants that I work with and the medicines I make. I hope you'll join me on my journey.
Thanks for stopping by Good Green Earth and Green Blessings to you.