Rising Stars: Meet Darcey Blue French of Flagstaff

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darcey Blue French.

Hi Darcey Blue; please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After graduating from Smith College, getting a Bachelor of Arts, and dabbling in horticulture, botany, and environmental science courses outside my major, I moved to Arizona. I fell in love with the plants of the deserts. I had a job at the U of A in Tucson but knew there were better paths for me. I had a dream one night that involved building a nursery full of plants and realized I needed to unearth a long-buried interest of mine as a young teen of herbalism, wild plants as food, medicine, and more. So I looked around for training locally and studied first with Charles Kane, then moved on to apprentice with Rosemary Gladstar in Vermont and The North American Institute for Medical Herbalism in Boulder, Co for a 2-year clinical program with clinical nutrition. I opened my private practice in 2008. During that time, I learned from the wild plants and lands of the Arizona deserts and mountains through wildcrafting, plant communication, and ceremony.

Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Being an herbalist is not a preset path as many other careers are; you can go to an herb school these days, but learning to share your wisdom with the community, gather and make your medicine, and market. Your goods, building a client base, managing an apothecary or garden, teaching classes, and apprenticeships, and running a store front either online, in person, or at a farmers market are skills that aren’t always taught and not always intuitive. Most of us get into herbalism because we love plants and helping people, but there’s a large learning curve for many other skills. It always came back to what brought me the most joy and connection with the plants I loved and worked with, balanced with what could bring in enough income to keep me afloat. That balance was not always easy to find, but over time you discover what your gifts are and how you are called to serve most, and that can shift and change as you grow as an herbalist. I found over time that I loved teaching and sharing the magic of the wild plants and lands they grow on most and writing monographs and articles the least. So I’ve been trying to focus on sharing the plants with people through education and healing sessions, plant walks, and short classes; I do love wildcrafting the medicine plants and have always kept a small online shop of fresh, unique, and local medicines, but never wanted to make that a massive production so has stayed small that way.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an herbalist working with wild and cultivated plants as medicine, food, and spiritual/emotional allies, Earth Medicine for Body and Soul. I specialize in teaching others how to connect deeply and personally with plants around them as allies, teachers, and wisdom keepers and how to work with them to craft medicine and food. Plants want to communicate with us and always try to speak to us. I’ve been running plant spirit communication circles for over 10 yrs and helping folks open their minds and hearts to the messages and wisdom of the plants for themselves. I have also run a yearly apprenticeship for over 10 yrs now, which is a 9-month program that teaches the basics and building blocks of herbalism, medicine making, plant communication, and using plants as medicine allies for families and community members. I focus on handcrafted, small-batch, seasonal, and locally sourced plant medicines and remedies unique to our bioregion and populations.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I have learned much about what plants and lifestyle choices are supportive during acute covid infections and working through the long recovery process that most folks experience post covid. I was a long hauler for about a year after my infection and spent much time working with plants while resting. Sharing plant medicines with our communities is important because they are available to everyone as self-care, prevention, healing, and recovery need change. No one should be without tools to help themselves when in need, and plant allies are remarkable. Everyone should have a home apothecary that they’ve made with medicines that can support their families during these times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sacredwildness.org
• Instagram: sacredearthmedicine

Image Credits
Photos Darcey Blue French