Sky House Herbs

Ashley Elenbaas

Everywhere we go, we can find plant spirits. In this podcast, clinical herbalist Ashley Elenbaas invites us to discover the healing power of plants—not just their medicinal properties but their deeper wisdom and gifts. With respect and reverence, Ashley guides her listeners to be open to the teachings of these potent teachers. If you are looking for a holistic approach to healing that can help you achieve optimal health and well-being, then pop in for a listen.

  1. 3h ago

    Savoring the End: The Quiet Labor of Letting Go

    What does it mean to let something end? In this episode, I’m taking you into the late summer garden to explore the simple practice of deadheading and what it can teach us about letting go. As I remove spent blooms from my petunias, I reflect on the ways we continue to hold onto things that have already completed their cycle and how much energy that can quietly require. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/g4B8UtdovJo  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX Just as a plant redirects its energy when we remove dying flowers, we can create space in our own lives by recognizing what is finished and allowing it to go. 🌿 In this episode, I explore: • What deadheading teaches us about letting go • How to recognize what is fading, decaying, or already complete • Why releasing something at the right time can support new growth • How digestion and elimination mirror the body's natural processes of release • Gentle herbal support including triphala, marshmallow root, psyllium husk, and fiber • How eclipses and seasonal cycles can invite reflection and change • The symbolism of Mary Magdalene, the skull, and the relationship between death and new life The garden reminds us that we cannot grasp anything forever. Flowers bloom and fade. Seasons change. Bodies release. Old versions of ourselves fall away. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is recognize what has already ended, remove what is no longer serving the whole, and give our energy back to what is still alive. 🌱 This week, I invite you to go outside and deadhead something. As you do, consider what you might also be ready to release in your own life. What are you ready to let go of as we move toward autumn? 💚 If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might need this message today. AUTUMN EQUINOX EVENT  RSVP to Reserve your place here: https://nla.to/FALL  HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom   ────── 🌼 GARDEN GATHERINGS A sacred, seasonal monthly gardening circle where we root our hands in the soil and our hearts in community. We explore medicinal plants, create herbal medicines, plant inspired art, and tend to both the earth and our own nervous systems. All levels of gardening experience are welcome. Classes are in-person in the Minneapolis metro area. 👉 Explore Garden Gatherings → https://skyh.to/garden  ────── 🌸 GENTLE FRIDAYS A live gathering for plant spirit support in changing times. Each session includes a check‑in, a short reading, and simple practices with medicinal herbs that support stress, depletion, and emotional overwhelm. We draw plant spirit cards for symbolic guidance. This is a calm, supportive space to settle, listen, and be held by plants and shared wisdom. Come as you are—quietly listen, participate in the chat, or simply rest in the hour. 👉 Join Gentle Fridays  → https://skyh.to/events     ———— Chapters: Savoring the End: The Quiet Labor of Letting Go 0:00 Roots 3:54 Eclipse 8:35 Petunias 13:05 Decay 17:58 Digestion 22:54 Mystery

    Savoring the End: The Quiet Labor of Letting Go
  2. Aug 10

    Savoring the End: A Personal Reflection on Weathering Change

    Late summer has always felt like a sacred threshold to me. The garden is overflowing with life, yet there is a quiet awareness that the season is beginning to turn. In this episode, I share some personal reflections on savoring these final weeks of summer and the herbs, foods, and practices that are helping me prepare for the transition into autumn. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/_xwG8sBde44  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX In this episode we'll explore: • Why late summer feels so full, and why fullness naturally gives way to change • The herbs I have been reaching for recently, including Astragalus, Reishi, nourishing mushrooms, Ginsengs, and Maca to help build resilience and support the nervous system • Seasonal foods that nourish the Earth element, including carrots, beets, tomatoes, grains, and warming cooked meals • The wisdom of Late Summer in Chinese Five Element Medicine and why Earth sits at the center of the seasonal wheel as a time of integration and transition • Why I believe sympathy is one of the medicines our world needs most right now • Simple rituals for slowing down, building reserves, tidying our homes, and savoring the gifts of this season before autumn arrives As we approach the upcoming eclipse, I hope this episode offers a gentle reminder to slow down, appreciate what is here today, and prepare ourselves with intention for the season ahead. I'd love to hear from you. What signs tell you that late summer is beginning to shift where you live? Share them in the comments below. Herbal Foundations 2027- NOW OPEN FOR SPRING ENROLLMENT - https://www.skyhouseherbs.com/herbal-foundations-enrollment  Clinical Integration & Practice - Fall 2026 - https://www.skyhouseherbs.com/second-year  Resources Rooted in the Stars The Leo Wound — Plant Medicine for the South Node in Leo  https://youtu.be/y4sbIJT7G4o  Fortify Your Heart — Herbs for the Solar Eclipse in Leo  https://youtu.be/JRaUgpv8Kqg  Herb of the Month: Motherwort - https://youtu.be/iQDa7xBmLqE?si=nsZH4AxIdAQPB8KG  Herb of the Month: Goldenrod - https://youtu.be/zLXe0XBVlC4?si=SEMAQXiFWdmSqh9q  Book -  “Staying Healthy with the Seasons” by Elson M. Haas - https://amzn.to/3TUykBd  HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom

    Savoring the End: A Personal Reflection on Weathering Change
  3. Aug 3

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World: Yarrow & Stitching It All Together

    In this final episode of A Devotional Life in a Broken World, I spend time with Yarrow, one of our oldest and most enduring medicinal plants. For thousands of years, Yarrow has accompanied humanity through injury, grief, and survival. She has never promised a world without wounds. Instead, she teaches us how to tend them with courage and keep walking. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/jgI5kFgEgvc  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX As I filmed this episode, the world itself seemed to be carrying fresh heartbreak: places of worship desecrated and restored, wildfires surrounding sacred ground, earthquakes displacing families, the loss of members of our own community, and the familiar feeling of searching for words when none seem adequate. Rather than asking how we fix a broken world, I explore a quieter question: What does devotion look like when we cannot hold everything at once? Throughout this series we have discovered that devotion is not about certainty or having the perfect response. It is about returning, again and again, to what is ours to tend. Drawing on the wisdom of Yarrow, the words of Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and a deeply personal story about an unexpected family heirloom, I reflect on the small acts of care that quietly stitch our lives back together. This episode closes not with answers, but with a simple devotional practice and a final invitation to carry one living question forward. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is place our hands on something growing and let that be enough for today. In this episode: • The ancient medicine and symbolism of Yarrow as a plant of healing and perseverance • Why devotion is not about finding perfect answers, but continuing to show up • Reflections on grief, sacredness, and finding meaning in overwhelming times • A personal story about inheritance, memory, and the quiet ways symbols find us • A closing ritual for carrying your own unanswered questions with greater trust If this series has accompanied you in your own devotional life, I hope these conversations continue long after the videos end. The questions are still alive. The garden is still here. And perhaps that is enough to begin again. Nightlight Astrology Podcast - Subscribehttps://www.youtube.com/@Adam-Elenbaas  Book - “Untie the Strong Woman” - by Clarissa Pinkoles Estes - https://amzn.to/3SKDv6g  HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom   ────── 🌼 GARDEN GATHERINGS A sacred, seasonal monthly gardening circle where we root our hands in the soil and our hearts in community. We explore medicinal plants, create herbal medicines, plant inspired art, and tend to both the earth and our own nervous systems. All levels of gardening experience are welcome. Classes are in-person in the Minneapolis metro area. 👉 Explore Garden Gatherings → https://skyh.to/garden

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World: Yarrow & Stitching It All Together
  4. Jul 27

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World: Faith and the Still Burning Rose

    In this fourth episode of A Devotional Life in a Broken World, I sit with Rose and one of the most tender questions I know: What is faith, and how do we find it again after it has been wounded? 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/oWRqQLw4GLo  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX Drawing from my own childhood experiences with Catholicism, stories of my grandmother's quiet devotion, the Christian mystical tradition, Sufi poetry, and the timeless symbolism of the rose, I explore the difference between faith as inherited belief and faith as a living relationship. Together we consider what happens when the containers we were given for devotion crack, and whether losing trust in an institution must also mean losing trust in the sacred itself. For centuries, Rose has been a symbol of the heart that continues to open despite sorrow. Known as Rosa Mystica, the Mystical Rose, she reminds us that faith is often hidden beneath the surface, alive in the roots long before we see it bloom again. This episode is an invitation to grieve what has been lost, honor the questions that refuse easy answers, and tend the small daily practices that quietly rekindle the flame of devotion. In this episode we explore: • Why questioning can be an expression of faith rather than its opposite • Rose as a symbol of devotion across Christian, alchemical, Sufi, and goddess traditions • Childhood wounds, spiritual disillusionment, and finding our way back to trust • The hidden nature of faith and the image of Rosa Mystica • Simple daily rituals that help keep the heart open to the sacred Whether you are rebuilding your spiritual life, grieving a tradition that could not hold you, or simply longing to feel connected to something deeper again, I hope this conversation offers companionship more than conclusions. 🔔 Subscribe to Nightlight Astrology: https://nla.to/SUB Book - “Untie the Strong Woman” - by Clarissa Pinkoles Estes - https://amzn.to/3SKDv6g HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom   ────── 🌼 GARDEN GATHERINGS A sacred, seasonal monthly gardening circle where we root our hands in the soil and our hearts in community. We explore medicinal plants, create herbal medicines, plant inspired art, and tend to both the earth and our own nervous systems. All levels of gardening experience are welcome. Classes are in-person in the Minneapolis metro area. 👉 Explore Garden Gatherings → https://skyh.to/garden  ────── 🌸 GENTLE FRIDAYS A live gathering for plant spirit support in changing times. Each session includes a check‑in, a short reading, and simple practices with medicinal herbs that support stress, depletion, and emotional overwhelm. We draw plant spirit cards for symbolic guidance. This is a calm, supportive space to settle, listen, and be held by plants and shared wisdom. Come as you are—quietly listen, participate in the chat, or simply rest in the hour. 👉 Join Gentle Fridays  → https://skyh.to/events

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World: Faith and the Still Burning Rose
  5. Jul 20

    Clematis: You Are Not Here to Be Used | A Devotional Life in a Broken World

    In this third episode of A Devotional Life in a Broken World, I spend time with Clematis, a plant that offers no herbal medicine, no harvest, and no practical utility but simply climbs toward the light and offers its beauty freely. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/SthCESqL8-4  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX Watching Clematis has made me wonder how often I measure my own life by productivity, usefulness, or visible outcomes. What would it mean to pray, to rest, to read, to create, or to simply be present without needing those moments to produce something in return? Together in this episode, we explore devotion that asks for no audience and expects no reward. Inspired by the writings of Clarissa Pinkola Estés, this episode reflects on beauty that continues to bloom even when it is unseen and the quiet courage of offering ourselves fully to something larger than our own ambitions. I also share one of my own devotional practices: making small pilgrimages to places that help me remember my place in the world so I can simply arrive and offer something small to a mothering force that feeds me so much. If you've been feeling exhausted by the pressure to always produce, perhaps Clematis has something to offer you as well. In this episode we explore: • Clematis as a teacher of beauty for beauty's sake • Devotion beyond productivity and measurable outcomes • Prayer, contemplation, and sacred rest • The spiritual practice of pilgrimage • Living without the need for an audience or recognition • Two things can be true: Living a devotional life AND being a social activist Reflection Questions • What in your life is asking to be tended without any promise of return? • Have you been measuring your devotion by its productivity? • What does true rest feel like in your body? • Is there a place you could visit regularly simply to become small and present? Thank you for joining me in this ongoing inquiry into what it means to live a devotional life in a broken world! HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom   ────── 🌼 GARDEN GATHERINGS A sacred, seasonal monthly gardening circle where we root our hands in the soil and our hearts in community. We explore medicinal plants, create herbal medicines, plant inspired art, and tend to both the earth and our own nervous systems. All levels of gardening experience are welcome. Classes are in-person in the Minneapolis metro area. 👉 Explore Garden Gatherings → https://skyh.to/garden  ────── 🌸 GENTLE FRIDAYS A live gathering for plant spirit support in changing times. Each session includes a check‑in, a short reading, and simple practices with medicinal herbs that support stress, depletion, and emotional overwhelm. We draw plant spirit cards for symbolic guidance. This is a calm, supportive space to settle, listen, and be held by plants and shared wisdom. Come as you are—quietly listen, participate in the chat, or simply rest in the hour. 👉 Join Gentle Fridays  → https://skyh.to/events

    Clematis: You Are Not Here to Be Used | A Devotional Life in a Broken World
  6. Jul 13

    Herb of the Month — Creeping Charlie

    In this Herb of the Month episode, I introduce you to Creeping Charlie (Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea) and explore why this resilient little plant deserves a place in our herbal practice. We'll look at its identifying characteristics, medicinal actions, energetic qualities, historical uses, and practical ways to prepare and work with it. I also share why I believe its abundant presence may be an invitation to pay closer attention to the medicine growing right beneath our feet. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/QjFyETaXLbE  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX Creeping Charlie is one of those plants that many people spend their summers trying to remove from the garden. Yet beneath its reputation as a persistent "weed" is a generous medicinal ally with a long history of supporting the nervous system, kidneys, skin, and those recovering from tick borne illness.  In this episode, we'll explore: • How to identify Creeping Charlie in the garden and distinguish it from similar plants • Its traditional uses for supporting the kidneys, headaches, and the nervous system • Why it has become one of my favorite herbs to consider after tick bites and in Lyme recovery support • How to use the fresh leaves as a spit poultice and other simple herbal preparations • The fascinating doctrine of signatures that connects its heart shaped leaves with its healing actions • Historical uses, folklore, and why this often overlooked plant has remained an important herbal ally for centuries Whether you've been pulling Creeping Charlie from your flower beds for years or you're meeting this plant for the first time, I hope this episode helps you see it with fresh eyes and a deeper appreciation for the medicine growing all around us. 🌿 Herb of the Month Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtGmbdK5tigdQ6AtMVIyHsQ7fytqaR25Q&si=tiXhIcFu58rTaKVt  Chapters: Herb of the Month — Creeping Charlie 0:00 Welcome 4:14 Poultice 8:32 Reflection  HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom   ────── 🌼 GARDEN GATHERINGS A sacred, seasonal monthly gardening circle where we root our hands in the soil and our hearts in community. We explore medicinal plants, create herbal medicines, plant inspired art, and tend to both the earth and our own nervous systems. All levels of gardening experience are welcome. Classes are in-person in the Minneapolis metro area. 👉 Explore Garden Gatherings → https://skyh.to/garden  ────── 🌸 GENTLE FRIDAYS A live gathering for plant spirit support in changing times. Each session includes a check‑in, a short reading, and simple practices with medicinal herbs that support stress, depletion, and emotional overwhelm. We draw plant spirit cards for symbolic guidance. This is a calm, supportive space to settle, listen, and be held by plants and shared wisdom. Come as you are—quietly listen, participate in the chat, or simply rest in the hour. 👉 Join Gentle Fridays  → https://skyh.to/events

    Herb of the Month — Creeping Charlie
  7. Jul 6

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World — The Lion-Hearted Mother

    In this second episode of A Devotional Life in a Broken World, I sit with Motherwort, a plant whose very name holds a beautiful paradox: lion hearted strength and deep maternal tenderness. Together we explore what it means to remain open and vulnerable while also protecting what is sacred within us. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/hppSxc_y_FY  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX In a world that often asks us to be endlessly available, Motherwort reminds us that true vulnerability is only possible when we are held by a strong and intentional container. I share reflections on energetic boundaries, the quiet work of tending our inner landscape, and simple devotional practices that help us return to ourselves each day.   In this episode you'll discover: • Why protection and vulnerability are partners, not opposites • The herbal wisdom and symbolism of Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) • Simple daily practices for creating an energetic container • Reflection questions to help you discern where your energy is being called and where it is being depleted   My hope is that this conversation offers both comfort and courage as you continue cultivating a devotional life rooted in presence, discernment, and the quiet strength of the lion heart. Join me July 10th in Minneapolis - https://skyh.to/summer  Resources: Watch my Video - Herb of the Month: Motherwort - https://youtu.be/iQDa7xBmLqE?si=hM9f2TmjMAZcLq8S Book - “Untie the Strong Woman” - by Clarissa Pinkoles Estes - https://amzn.to/3SKDv6g  00:00 Welcome 03:11 Protection 08:09 Mothering 13:34 Container 19:00 Practices 24:05 Inquiry 30:45 Balance 33:13 Closing HERBAL COURSES 🌱 HERBAL FOUNDATIONS APPRENTICESHIP A 12‑month online journey designed to help you weave herbal medicine into the fabric of daily life. This is the place we begin, learning to make our own remedies, meeting the plants in our backyards and kitchens, and connecting deeply with the rhythms of nature. It is a foundation built not just of facts, but of relationship and trust in the green world. 👉 Become a herbalist → https://skyh.to/roots   🌿 SECOND YEAR: HERBAL INTEGRATION & PRACTICE For those who have laid the first stones and are ready to walk further into the woods. This second year focuses on the art of advanced formulation, clinical skills, and discovering your unique seat of service as a community herbalist. Here, we refine our listening and deepen our apothecary practice, moving from student to practitioner. 👉 Second Year Details →  https://skyh.to/bloom   ────── 🌼 GARDEN GATHERINGS A sacred, seasonal monthly gardening circle where we root our hands in the soil and our hearts in community. We explore medicinal plants, create herbal medicines, plant inspired art, and tend to both the earth and our own nervous systems. All levels of gardening experience are welcome. Classes are in-person in the Minneapolis metro area. 👉 Explore Garden Gatherings → https://skyh.to/garden  ────── 🌸 GENTLE FRIDAYS A live gathering for plant spirit support in changing times. Each session includes a check‑in, a short reading, and simple practices with medicinal herbs that support stress, depletion, and emotional overwhelm. We draw plant spirit cards for symbolic guidance. This is a calm, supportive space to settle, listen, and be held by plants and shared wisdom. Come as you are—quietly listen, participate in the chat, or simply rest in the hour. 👉 Join Gentle Fridays  → https://skyh.to/events

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World — The Lion-Hearted Mother
  8. Jun 29

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World — The Sting and the Nourishment

    What does it cost to begin? What am I willing to be stung by in order to be fed? These are the questions I sit with in the opening episode of a new five part series exploring what it means to live a devotional life in a world where many of our spiritual, cultural, and ecological containers feel fractured. Rather than offering answers, I want to create space for honest inquiry, trusting that the questions themselves can become a form of prayer. 🤝 Share this Video: https://youtu.be/02Wv5uKuI7s  🌿 Subscribe for herbal tips and wellness insights: https://bit.ly/4iRnpyX Our guide for this first conversation is Stinging Nettle, one of the most nourishing plants in the herbal tradition and one that asks something of us before she offers her gifts. She grows in disturbed places. She stings when we reach for her carelessly. Yet beneath that sting is profound nourishment, resilience, and the quiet promise that life returns, even after devastation. In this episode I reflect on beginning from a place of humility rather than certainty, allowing longing itself to become a doorway into the sacred. Drawing inspiration from Clarissa Pinkola Estés and the image of the Divine Mother who meets us most readily in our need, I explore how our deepest hunger may not be a problem to solve, but the very place where devotion begins. To close our time together, I invite you into one simple practice that has become central to my own spiritual life: creating a small altar dedicated to the Divine Mother or to whatever sacred presence calls to you. It doesn't have to be elaborate. A candle. A stone. A flower. A living plant. The practice is simply making a place in your home and in your life that is devoted to something beyond productivity and achievement. In this episode we explore: • Why devotion often begins in longing rather than certainty • What Stinging Nettle teaches us about resilience, boundaries, and nourishment • How disturbed ground can become fertile ground for transformation • Creating a simple altar as a daily act of devotion Questions for Reflection • What are you hungering for? • What have you been avoiding because you are afraid of being stung? • What would it mean to begin your devotional life from exactly where you are, rather than where you think you should be? I'd love to hear what this conversation awakens for you. Share your reflections in the comments, and if this series resonates with you, please subscribe and join me as we continue exploring what it means to cultivate a devotional life alongside the wisdom of the plants. With love and green, Ashley   #Herbalism #DevotionalLife #StingingNettle #DivineMother #PlantSpiritMedicine #NatureSpirituality #SacredLiving #HerbalWisdom #EarthBasedSpirituality #SkyHouseHerbSchool Chapters: A Devotional Life in a Broken World — The Sting and the Nourishment 0:00 Introduction 1:40 Series 4:40 Devotion 6:50 Nettles 10:10 Boundaries 13:40 Harvest 16:20 Nourishment 19:40 Infusion 22:40 Inquiry 25:50 Fear 29:40 Practice 33:40 Altar 37:20 Tending 39:40 Closing   Resources: Series - The Divine Mother in Nature Series - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtGmbdK5tigcuozGrUHM0L5DGG2uP5R3L&si=M2ezPk60pk9iYz4A Book - “Untie the Strong Woman” by Clarissa Pinkoles Estes - https://amzn.to/4f4KWOd Nettles - Mountain Rose Herbs - https://mountainroseherbs.com/nettle-leaf?srsltid=AfmBOoqyDjSbWLs0EON2pd1-0ntODERVhzUYIBiRoyLorUyZqh9TS8hM Nettles Video - How To Make an Overnight Infusion - https://youtu.be/J1N86C1KSgY?si=ZaBHRf3uNTZLfCn1

    A Devotional Life in a Broken World — The Sting and the Nourishment

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

Everywhere we go, we can find plant spirits. In this podcast, clinical herbalist Ashley Elenbaas invites us to discover the healing power of plants—not just their medicinal properties but their deeper wisdom and gifts. With respect and reverence, Ashley guides her listeners to be open to the teachings of these potent teachers. If you are looking for a holistic approach to healing that can help you achieve optimal health and well-being, then pop in for a listen.

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