In every industry or culture there exists a unique language
When you’re in the particular industry, it’s easy to assume that everyone knows what you’re talking about when you use industry-specific words. There’s nothing worse than going to a presentation or listening to a lecture by someone who speaks to his/her peers while ignoring the fact that other people may not be privy to their particular language.
Herbalism is no different. We have a vocabulary that, frankly, is unfamiliar to most people and can become a source of frustration for new herbalists or lay people interested in learning more. We use words to describe herbal actions such as vulnerary, demulcent/emollient, anodyne or cholagogue, that can easily create confusion to people who are unfamiliar with our vocabulary.
If you are one of those people, I’d like to encourage you to spend a little time going over the language of herbalism, become familiar with the strange words slowly over time. This will give you the opportunity to understand and delve a little deeper into the world of herbalism with confidence. I will be sharing a new herbal vocabulary word each week here on our academy website notifications, as well as on our blog, so subscribe to our email as well as notifications here so you can learn along with everyone else!
