(I couldn’t get this to post last year, so it’s a bit later now!)
Last week I had the privilege of attending the 14th annual Good Medicine Confluence in Durango, Colorado. It was my second time attending this event, and both times I was filled with gratitude for the magical healing world of plants and their human allies.
.The Confluence is organized by Jesse “Wolf” Hardin and Kiva Rosethorn Hardin, with help from their daughter Inga, who produce the Plant Healer Magazine. It takes them an entire year to plan the teachers, the content, and to organize the event itself. I’m so grateful for their hard work and warm friendship!
This year’s event took place July 10th through the 13th, with 5-6 class time slots, each with four or five different classes going on simultaneously. My only regret is not having been able to go to all of them. It was hard to choose with so many excellent topics!
I took my youngest son Hyrum with me this year, since there were going to be activities for children. He was hesitant to come, but made friends quickly and played lots of fun games with them (he also sprained his ankle, but that’s another story!).
Fort Lewis College hosted the gathering, so it was a little like going to college while we were there. Hyrum learned that student union buildings are the funnest places to hang out! They had a game room with foosball and ping pong.
Some of the topics covered were: Wound Healing, Parasites, Marketing for Herbal Businesses, Wild Edible Feasting, Mead Making as Medicine, Making Herbal Shrubs, Women’s Health, Entheogenesis, Fermenting Medicinal Herbs, and Aurelian Standard for Making Professional Spagyric Tinctures (whew!).
The first day of the conference was Tuesday evening, when the vendors began setting up their tables and people came to find their lodgings (we slept in the truck in the student union parking lot, which was its own adventure).
Stay tuned for more posts on the classes I attended each day, and information on the teachers of the classes!
Blessings,
Marqueta