Today’s episode is with herbalist and author Ellen Evert Hopman.

She's going to teach us all about the Doctrine of Signatures. This class was taught at the 2017 New England Women’s Herbal Gathering in New Hampshire.

Learn an ancient plant classification system that was developed in a time before most people could read. Did the plant grow in sun or shade? In damp soil or in a dry area? The shape of a leaf, the color of a 9 flower, the taste of an herb were all guides to which body system or organ the plant was appropriate for.

Although you'll learn a lot in this episode, you should look into her book: Secret Medicines from Your Garden - Plants for Healing, Spirituality and Magic

She covers the Doctrine of Signatures along with a lot of other herbal and magical concepts. 

To find out more about Ellen, you can visit her online at elleneverthopman.com.

Thanks Ellen for sharing this class with us!

Hopman is the author of a number of books and has been a teacher of Herbalism since 1983 and of Druidism since 1990. She has presented on Druidism, herbal lore, tree lore, Paganism and magic at conferences, festivals, and events in Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and in the United States.

She has participated in numerous radio and television programs including National Public Radio’s “Vox Pop” and the Gary Null show in New York.

She presented a weekly “herb report” for WRSI radio out of Greenfield, MA for over a year and was a featured subject in a documentary about Druids on A&E Television’s; “The Unexplained” (Secret Societies, February 1999).

She is a Master Herbalist and professional member of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG) and lay Homeopath who holds an M.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling.

She is a founding member of The Order of the White Oak (Ord Na Darach Gile) and its former Co-Chief, a Bard of the Gorsedd of Caer Abiri, and a Druidess of the Druid Clan of Dana. She is currently ArchDruid of Tribe of the Oak, an international Druid teaching Order based in New England, USA.

She was Vice President of The Henge of Keltria, an international Druid Fellowship, for nine years and has been at times a member of The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF).