ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism

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ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism

Rooted in the holistic practice of herbal medicine, offering a 3 year professional herbal program.
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11/11/2025

Before it all goes underground
by Dana Perry — our teaching mentor, blog manager + proud alum

—
“Even AI-generated drivel will admit that the veil between the living world and the underworld is at its thinnest in the autumn. A mishmash of the wiki-edited history of Samhain, social media posts with cozy fall sweaters and pumpkin spice captions, and sprinkled with Reddit’s r/Psychic-infused details, it spits back out at us all of the things it has been fed, complete with bullet points. And it does it all for the diminutive cost of 12 ounces of rapidly-disappearing potable water and a slice of human integrity.

Flesh and blood humans have embodied this in various ways our whole lives: the spookiness and gore of halloween, the glowing carved-face pumpkins, the ghosts cut from sheets and shadows. In this time when the wind shifts to cold, we bring in our final winter crops for storage and we prepare for the darkness of winter. Green leaves shift to glorious yellows, oranges, and even browns and drop to the ground. We often perceive leaf drop as some sort of death as well, but in honoring that the cycle of life is really that — a never ending cycle — it is, in essence, just energy transfer. As trees prepare for the winter, they shift most of their energy underground into the root system. With any luck the leaves will remain uncleared, providing important habitat space for beneficial insects to stay cozy over the winter; slowly decaying, restoring the soil with vital nutrients for the new batch of plants, fungi, insects, and animals (humans included) to uptake the following year.

We humans have a penchant for disrupting the cycle…

…As the film between the living and dead begins to thin this year, I’m especially drawn to roses (Rosa spp.)… Rose holds space for all of this; for the never-ending circle of round and round, for both life and death, for this world and the other one. Hoping to transmute our grief to hope, we throw roses on the caskets of our beloved. They hold remarkable beauty when fresh and somehow almost as much beauty when dried, their drooping heads propping up the edges of the shroud.”

—
Read Dana’s full piece on our blog // link in bio ⛓️‍💥

11/03/2025

Don’t miss your chance to experience our free Student Herb Clinic in New Paltz on Sunday, November 16, before the Thanksgiving break. This will be our only clinic in November, so be sure to reserve your spot early. 🍁🤎

Our dedicated third-year ArborVitae students, guided by an experienced faculty mentor, will offer personalized herbal care tailored to your individual needs. Each 90-minute consultation provides time to discuss your health history, lifestyle, and wellness goals in a supportive, relaxed setting.

After your session, you’ll receive a custom herbal protocol designed to nurture your mind, body, and spirit, helping you feel balanced and refreshed.

We’ll be offering in-person consultations at two convenient locations in New Paltz: 📍 our home, ArborVitae: School of Traditional Herbalism  📍 New Paltz Youth Center

You can choose a time that works best for you: 🌾 9:15 AM 🌾 11:00 AM 🌾 1:30 PM

Spots are limited, so if you’d like to participate, email clinic@arborvitaeny.com

10/31/2025

✨🌿 Blessed Samhain, dear plant friends 🌿✨

Today, the veil grows thin, and we stand between worlds — the living and the spirit, the harvest and the quiet of winter. Samhain marks the final harvest, a sacred turning point when we honor our ancestors, guides, and the cycles of life, death, and rebirth that flow through all things — including the plants we tend.

As herbalists and earthkeepers, this is a time to: 🕯️ Light candles for loved ones who have passed 🌾 Offer herbs like mugwort, rosemary, and yarrow to honor the spirits 🔥 Gather around a fire to share stories and warmth 🌙 Give thanks for the abundance of the harvest and the wisdom of the dark

Whether you celebrate Samhain, Halloween, or Día de los Mu***os, may your rituals be filled with remembrance, gratitude, and the grounding presence of the plants who connect us to all realms.

Happy Samhain 🌑🍃 May your roots go deep and your spirit be light.

10/21/2025

🌸 Free Flower Essence Consultation – Oct. 28th 🌸
 We’re offering a unique opportunity for one individual to receive a free online flower essence consultation with our Co-Founder + Flower Essence Practitioner, Claudia Keel.

This session focuses on emotional wellness, using gentle, plant-based support to bring balance to the mind, body, and spirit through the energetic lens of flower essences. 🌿

If you’re curious about flower essence therapy or feeling called to explore emotional healing in a new way, this is a beautiful chance to connect.

🗓️ Tuesday, October 28th 💻 Online | Free 🕰️ Time is flexible

DM // email us if you’re interested or tag someone who might be 💗 📧 clinic@arborvitaeny.com

10/15/2025

Choosing the sun by Rosey Puloka
— a therapist, farmer and second year student at AV

“…In Claudia’s class about herbs in the cycle of life, we met the usual suspects: ginger for warmth, sage for the mind, rosemary for the brain. It was equal parts didactic and participatory. In between broad categories of nootropics and carminatives were smaller, sweeter, anecdotal stories about older adults and elders and our relationships to them. There was a softness to the conversation that made sense given both Claudia and the kinds of people who generally go into herbal medicine. In a country that is pathologically obsessed with youth and reversing the signs of aging, it’s always a comforting relief to visit these more honest and compassionate spaces. Here, wrinkles from the sun are usually more revered. Hair turning white is a sign of witchiness rather than catastrophe and negligence. And death at least as a concept is more accepted as an inevitable part of life.

So why in this honest, compassionate, and forgiving space that welcomed and celebrated aging was I thinking about death before dying? Was I having a crisis of imagination? Claudia was in a sense asking us to imagine a world where aging is less painful...

…So is it all grief then? Do I not want to live a long life because of how much I’ll lose along the way? Maybe. And maybe longevity just isn’t my priority. To be clear, I want to leave this life absolutely tattered. When you look at my skin I want you to know I chose the sun. When you hear my voice you’ll know my soulmate is to***co and whatever it is, I’ll probably have one more before the night is done. With all due respect to herbalist and longest lived person, Li Ching Yuen, I have a very different ethos. Yuen said, “Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise. Walk sprightly like a pigeon, sleep like a dog.” I have no doubt the vibes around Yuen must have been immaculate. For me, I can confidently say there’s nothing quiet about my heart or spry about my walk. You’ll hear me coming. On this side and the other.”

Read her full reflection on our blog. 🍃

10/03/2025

Sweet moments + sweeter faces coming back together over our first in-person school weekend 🧺💛🌾

10/01/2025

October Herbal Clinics at ArborVitae 🍁
 Looking for supportive, holistic care this fall? Our student-run clinics offer personalized herbal guidance in a safe, welcoming space — online or in person.

🏡 In-Person Clinic – New Paltz 〰 Sunday, October 19th 〰 90-minute private sessions 〰 Herbal, lifestyle & nutrition support 〰 Sliding scale donations welcome

💻 Virtual Clinic – Online 〰 Tuesdays, October 7th & 28th 〰 Same care, from the comfort of home 〰 Perfect for those outside the Hudson Valley

Both clinics are by appointment only and tend to fill quickly — we’d love to see you this October!

🔗 Book now: arborvitaeny.com/herbalclinic
📩 Questions? clinic@arborvitaeny.com

09/30/2025

A magical day in nature for kids! Plant stories, wild games, foraging & herbal potion-making await 🌿✨  Led by outdoor educator Shawn DeRyder & herbalist Sam Perry — a core teacher at Arbor Vitae’s Clinical Herbalism Program

All the details —
📅 Sat, Oct 11 | ⏰ 9am–3pm 📍 181 Huguenot St, New Paltz 👧 Ages 9–11 | 💵 $50 🌧️ Rain date: Oct 12 📩 Register: sweepingfeather@gmail.com

09/22/2025

The equinox is today at 2:19 PM EDT.  In Chinese tradition the fall is associated with grief and sadness. Loss.
For plants, their leaves are akin to their lungs. This is where their gas exchange occurs - what is essentially, breathing. They inhale carbon dioxide into their cells along with water v***r, for the chloroplasts to convert into glucose, and then exhale oxygen back into the air, for us in turn to breathe in.

And so, this time of year, as the chlorophyll drops, revealing the rainbow of terpenes and phenols that were always there but had been obscured, the leaves turn and fall.

Dry air, cold air. As animals, this taxes our lungs in the wintertime, making us more susceptible to illness. We as animals do what we can to combat the Cold and Dry and stay healthy. Some of us retreat and hibernate with our bodies; emotionally some of us withdraw into ourselves and feel loneliness and loss. The Fall is a time to prepare.

With the exception of the hardy evergreens, the plants cease much of their breathing for the winter, preparing for it this time of year by

Littering the ground with their fallen lungs. Withdrawing their vitality underground to their roots and rhizomes and tubers and bulbs
Until the spring arrives.

We feel an uninvited shift, Assaulted by the Cold and Dry we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by, And perhaps feel like we are being forced to retreat underground. But not only can we, we always do, Reemerge.

This reflection was written by our Co-founder + Core Teacher Richard Mandelbaum, and this beautiful sunrise was taken today, the morning of the Equinox. For more of his offerings, writings and more - check out his website: richardmandelbaum.com 🍂💛

09/21/2025

What an honor to come together for another year of learning, sharing + growing on this land. This opening circle never gets old. Thanks to all who continuously show up with open hearts and open minds.

Welcome to ArborVitae 🫀🌲🧺

09/20/2025

Quercus alba: a medicine of boundaries
by Naomi Harrison-Clay

“My mother is very small and hidden to the insensitive eye. She can be red or green, and sits at the foot of the fathers within a field of microscopic fur. She faces out towards the world with her tiny petals proudly displaying their chests. She blooms in late Spring for only two weeks before Spirit’s wind-dance brings the message of pollination and she begins to swell into me.

My father dangles low and loose upon the tips of last year’s branches. He clusters among his green brothers, blowing three inches long in the wind. He is like a dense curtain hanging from his maker. He is limp and free. My father is quick to let go, releasing his seed into the sky.

…When the Air brings my parents together, I am created upon the womb of the branch, maturing until Autumn into a one inch globular nut with a warty cap. My meat is white and bitter.

I teach of tightening the membrane. I teach of solidifying the structure. I teach of strengthening connections. I dry the flood. I bring the Air. Most importantly, I teach about boundaries. When boundaries are too loose and relaxed, fluids become leaky and accumulate inappropriately. The structure that holds everything together begins to lose its integrity.

Think of a river. A river requires strong, unified boundaries in order to direct the water along its path. With sturdy walls around it, the water can flow with incredible force. When boundaries become too porous, the river that was once alive with movement becomes a stagnant swamp. Strengthening boundaries that are too relaxed will dry the flood and allow the water to be animated by the force of Spirit. These are lessons of Water’s relationship with Earth and Air.

When we are rooted in our structure, our home, our bodies; we become strong enough to reach far outside of ourselves, connecting with other beings and other realms without losing the momentum of our vitality, without stretching ourselves too thin...”

Naomi is a third-year student at ArborVitae. Read her full reflection of White Oak on our blog 🪾🤍

09/10/2025

We’re excited to kick off a new season of free herbal consultations with our first two student clinic days:

🌿 Sunday, September 21 – In-person + virtual in New Paltz, NY 🌿 Monday, October 7 – Virtual from the comfort of your home

🕘 Appointment slots: 9:15am, 11:00am, and 1:30pm (1.5-hour sessions)

Led by advanced students + experienced mentors, these sessions explore your health from a whole-body perspective resulting in a personalized, herbal protocol to support your needs.

📬 To book, email clinic@arborvitaeny.com

Address

181 Huguenot Street
New Paltz, NY
12561

Telephone

+16467215998

Website

http://arborvitaeny.com/

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