Join Erika Galentin of Sovereignty Herbs and Ash Sierra of Ritual Botanica at Maple Spring Gardens for a two-day, hands-on, deep-dive into the ancient alchemical art of aromatic distillation. Participants will learn the nuts and bolts of aromatic distillation of essential oils and hydrosols using a traditional copper alembic still as well as experience aromatic distillation as a ritual journey of self-reflection and an empowering platform for the development of sacred plant-human relationships.
What you will learn about Aromatic Distillation…
You will leave this intensive with all of the knowledge you need to get started on your own aromatic distillation journey including:
How to distill aromatic plants for essential oils and hydrosols from start until finish using a copper alembic still.
How to set up the still and how to dismantle, clean, and care for it
How to load the still for best distillate quality and yield
How to decipher and monitor hydrosol yields & separate out essential oils during the distillation process
Maintaining cleanliness and sanitation to ensure high quality product with longevity
What considerations should be made when purchasing your first still
What you need to know about burners and fuels, pumps and plumbing
Troubleshooting issues
Hands-on harvesting with focus on ethical and sustainable techniques.
How to ascertain the volume of plant material needed for your distillation
The many ways to process harvested plants for the best aromatic outcome
Plant study methods to enhance your relationship with the plants you distill
Ways to incorporate hydrosols into herbal medicine-making & self-care practices.
Learn the difference between hydrosols and essentials including use and safety
How to implement aromatic medicine into your personal and professional practice
How aromatics from plants can positively impact both body and psyche
How aromatic distillation can be used to develop deeper, more respectful relationships with plants, ecosystems, and ourselves.
The tradition of Aromatic Distillation you will experience…
Aromatic distillation is a traditional method of extracting and capturing the aromas from plants. It is alchemical in nature - a process that relies on the four elements of earth, air, fire, & water in the transmutation of one form into another.
The Alchemists of old believed their work to be a spiritual discipline. Modern alchemical scholars have interpreted this spiritual work metaphorically; Alchemy could be considered a collection of psychic processes shared within the totality of human experiences, or what Carl Jung termed the 'collective unconscious'. In this interpretation, the 'lead into gold' of the Alchemists becomes an inspirational allegory of the work required for the refinement of Self and emanation of the Soul.
The process and tradition of Aromatic Distillation that Erika and Ash teach is most certainly a spiritual one, involving both ceremony and celebration; the aroma of a plant is likened to the ‘Soul’ of the plant and aromatic distillation a ritual that beckons the soul of the plant to reveal itself.
In this workshop you will learn the Aromatic Distillation process as both an attempt to foster a deeper relationship with the plant kingdom, a relationship full of metaphor, story, and personal myth, but also deeper relationships with ourselves and our unconscious. In this regard, you will experience aromatic distillation as a platform for self-discovery and exploration of the natural world.
What to expect during this Aromatic Distillation intensive…
This Aromatic Distillation intensive begins Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 10:00am EST and ends Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 2:00pm EST.
Day one will include the harvesting of the plant material and a discussion on sourcing and sustainable harvesting. As we load the still together, the group will learn about the ‘anatomy & physiology’ of aromatic distillation including putting the still together, sealing the seams, what type of burner to use, options for hooking up the condenser pump, and the different types of vessels you can use to capture your hydrosol and essential oil.
As the distillation is taking place, Ash and Erika will take participants through a journey of ‘embodied’ aroma as we explore how distilling aromatic plants provides us with a ceremonial journey of self-reflection. Participants will be guided through the alchemical process of aromatic distillation as both a physical and metaphorical platform for journeying with our psyches, our hearts, and our spirits.
Day two of this workshop will focus on bringing together all that we have learned through a group discussion of both the plant study and distillation experiences in addition to completing lessons in dismantling and cleaning the still in preparation for storage.
Tentative Schedule:
Saturday, September 24
10:00am - 1:00pm - Class
1:00pm - 2:30pm - Lunch Break
2:30pm - 7:30pm - Class
Sunday, September 25
9:00am - 1:00pm - Class
1:00pm - 2:00pm - Closing Circle
Benefits of attending this Aromatic Distillation intensive…
Sacred space of the stunning and infamous organic farm Maple Spring Gardens in Cedar Grove, North Carolina.
An intimate group setting to deep dive into aromatic distillation with lots of opportunities to ask questions
Handouts - including sourcing a still for yourself and troubleshooting guide
Everyone gets to take a bottle of the distillation home
Experiential hands-on distilling with the collective 15+ year experience of your knowledgeable teachers
11+ hours of instruction and experiential learning
About your Instructors…
Ash Sierra is driven by a desire to bridge gaps between the human and plant worlds. Her background as a clinical herbalist, farmer, distiller and astrologer are wrapped up in a practice focused on mental wellness and empowerment through an eclectic range of modalities including medical astrology, hermeticism, eco-psychology and vitalism. You can find her tending land and apothecary in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NC or community organizing with the Hawthorn Community Herb Collective. For medicine and magic visit www.ritualbotanica.com or follow her on Instagram @ritual_botanica.
Erika Galentin is a Clinical Herbalist, aromatherapist, distiller, grower, and medicine-maker, consulting from Sovereignty Herbs in Athens & Columbus, OH. She holds a degree in Herbal Medicine from the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK and Scottish School of Herbal Medicine, Glasgow, UK. She is a professional member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK) and the American Herbalists Guild (USA). Over a decade of clinical practice has provided a platform for witnessing the efficacy of medicinal plants and aromatics within a clinical environment. It is through this clinical practice that Erika seeks to encourage positive, learned relationships between plants and people and people and their bodies. She is a firm believer in celebrating the role that emotions and the psyche play in the ecology of our physical terrain. In addition to clinical practice, Erika is both a student and teacher of horticulture, native medicinal plant conservation and ecology, and the phenomenological and Goethean study of plants and their medicinal virtues. Erika participates as a member of the Education Committee of the American Herbalists Guild as well as the Stewardship Committee of Appalachia Ohio Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of land and water in Southeast Ohio. Follow her on Instagram @themedicinegardener and @sovereigntyherbs.
Ash and Erika share strong backgrounds in Jungian psychoanalytic theory, Alchemy, and AromaGnosis techniques. Combined, Ash and Erika bring over 15 years of aromatic distillation experience.
About our host, Maple Spring Gardens…
Where good stewardship of the land and a successful farming business go hand in hand.
Maple Spring Gardens is a family owned and operated farm in northwestern Orange County, North Carolina that has been raising and marketing produce in the Triangle area for more than 35 years. We grow a wide variety of vegetables, small fruits, culinary and medicinal herbs, and bedding plants for sale to the local community. Our produce is available at the Carrboro Farmers Market and Durham Farmers Markets throughout the season. We also sell a limited amount of produce to Weaver Street Market, our home town co-op.
Our farm is comprised of 80 acres of land, of which 15 acres are tillable and 50 are forested, providing for a diverse, and balanced farm ecosystem. Each year we grow about 7 acres of mixed vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, and small fruits, with the remaining tillable acreage planted to soil nourishing cover crops. All of our fields were once worn out, run down, eroded tobacco land. Through the use of organic soil building practices such as composting, cover cropping and crop rotation, we have transformed abused and neglected land into a fertile and productive farm. Improving and maintaining the health of our soil and the farm’s ecosystem is an ongoing endeavor, and one in which we feel privileged to engage.
COVID Safety Considerations
We will be following recommendations from the CDC and the State of North Carolina regarding COVID safety precautions for in-person gatherings and ask that all participants do the same. This intensive will be taking place outdoors. However, there may be times during the hands-on portions of this workshop (harvesting, loading the still, collecting water) where we may not be 6 feet apart. You will have the option to maintain social distancing during these hands-on activities, but we ask that all participants bring and be willing to wear masks for everyone’s safety and comfort.
Lodging and Travel…
Maple Spring Gardens is located at 9779 ALLISON ROAD, CEDAR GROVE, NC 27231. Please note this is a working farm and in not open for visitors outside of scheduled arrangements.
Lodging options are listed below by location. Please note that we are not endorsing or promoting any of these properties but rather offering options in the area.
Camping at Maple Spring Gardens
Camping will be available at Maple Spring Gardens Friday evening (September 23th) through Sunday morning (September 25th) by reservation only. A camping pass is available with your registration for an additional fee of $15.00 USD. Please be sure to select the Camping Pass option during your registration. Campers are welcome to arrive any time on Friday, September 23rd after 5:00pm EST and must be cleared off the land by Sunday evening September 25th by 5:00pm EST. Camping amenities at Maple Spring Gardens include:
Indoor flush toilet
Outdoor kitchenette with hot plate, InstaPot, electric kettle, and sink. You must bring your own cookware and utensils.
Fire pit
Trash, compost, and recycling
Potable water
Please note that outside of these facilities you will be responsible for all your comforts including food and beverages (see below). There are no shower facilities available on the farm. Please email our host Sunshine Dawson (blissfulsunshine@gmail.com) for more information about camping at Maple Spring Gardens.
Additional Lodging near Cedar Grove
Hillsborough (20 minutes away)
Chapel Hill (35 minutes away)
Durham (35 minutes away)
What is provided and what to bring with you…
Participants will be asked to bring the following:
Food and snacks. Please note that participants are responsible for bringing their own nourishment as no meals will be provided during this intensive. There are several grocery, restaurant, and take-out options available within a 35 minute drive, but planning ahead is advised:
Hillsborough (20 minutes away)
Chapel Hill (35 minutes away)
Durham (35 minutes away)
Footwear that can be worn on dirty, uneven surfaces (we will be on foot for harvesting).
Anything you need to make sitting and standing for long periods of time most comfortable. Bring your own chairs as chairs will not be available.
Warm clothing and rain protection (just in case)
A journal for workshop exercises and self-reflection during the distillation and something to write and draw with
An object of significance that represents something within yourself that you would like to honor during the distillation (this will be placed on the distillation alter and returned to you after the workshop)
Cash for purchasing products from Sovereignty Herbs, Ritual Botanica, and Maple Spring Gardens.
Kindness and an open mind
Please leave the following at home:
Pets - This is a working farm. We ask that you please leave your pets at home
Drugs and alcohol - Please note that the use of drugs and alcohol is strictly prohibited on the farm property and during the intensive. Individuals under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol will be asked to leave the intensive without refund.
Bigotry and hatred can also stay at home.
What will be provided:
Water
Handouts about aromatic distillation
Glass sprayer bottles to take a sample of the distillation home
Registration Information…
This event has limited registrations which are available on a first first come first serve basis. Pre-registration is required in order to attend this event. Walk-in will not be admitted. Please click here for Service Cancellations & Refunds Policy prior to registering for this event.
Registration instructions: Please click on the button below that says ‘Continue Registration’ and fill out the form. Once the form has been completed and submitted, your registration will be added to your shopping cart. Click on the shopping cart icon to complete your purchase. Please note that payment must be received in order for your registration to go through. If you are having difficulties with registration, please contact Brooke at support@sovereigntyherbs.com.
Contact Us:
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