After our second year of attuning to the wheel of the year, in our third year, we walk the spiral of life. This is when we weave all the knowledge and skills you have developed into a finely crafted basket that will carry you through each stage of your life on this earth.
Our cadence is slightly different this year, spending dedicated time in deep exploration of each of the six stages of life in turn - infancy and childhood, adolescence, adulthood, motherhood, menopause and elderhood - starting in the Spring and carrying all the way through to Winter.
As we take each step walking the spiral, we weave in the elements, the doshas, the tissues and the pathways. We weave in the seasons and the ebb and flow of their energies. We weave in our 24 old friends and our final set of 12 new herbal familiars. We weave in the common messages and imbalances that naturally arrive with each stage of life. We weave in the most suitable forms of herbal remedies and expand our formulating to include up to seven herbs. We weave in more intricate patterns of listening to others. We weave in our questioning of the status quo and what messages and meanings we've been told to accept and expect at each stage of life.
In weaving, you create and strengthen your own power.
During the third year of our
herbal apprenticeship you will:
- Develop an intimate knowledge of a select group of 12 more medicinal herbs primarily able to be grown or foraged in the UK
- Understand the stages of life and their energetic qualities
- Explore the interplay of the seasons and doshas with the stages of life to cultivate deep awareness of balance and health at each stage, beyond the labels and diagnoses commonly attached by allopathic frameworks
- Question the status quo, meanings and messages society tells us to expect and accept at each stage of life
- Refine your skills in listening to and understanding the messages of your body and of others who would like support with herbs
- Advance your herbal remedy making skills from five- to seven-herb formulas
- Create lasting bonds with your community of like-minded, curious and empowered souls
- Expand your capacity to support your loved ones and community with herbal medicine
- Solidify your foundation of herbal knowledge and skills upon which you can build a legacy of health of your choosing
What will the journey look like?
Year Three follows a familiar rhythm, carrying you through the final cycle of the apprenticeship with the same seasonal structure of in-person gatherings and supported integration.
We begin in Spring by setting the tone for this final year together. At our first gathering, we widen the lens of our work - exploring the arc of human life through its six stages, and weaving together the threads of elements, doshas, and seasons into this broader perspective.
Alongside this, we deepen your ability to listen - both to yourself and to others. You’ll begin to develop the skills of case-taking, learning how to build a holistic picture of a person’s health and discern what support may be most appropriate, beginning with those closest to you.
Through the Spring and Summer integration period, you’ll explore the earlier stages of life - infancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood -whilst continuing to build relationships with new herbal familiars.
When we gather in Summer, the focus becomes more practical and applied. You’ll bring your observations and experiences - whether your own or those of someone close to you - into the space, working with them as ongoing case studies. Together, we explore the art of formulation, including crafting more complex blends and refining your ability to match plants to people with care and precision.
After a period of rest, we return in Autumn and turn towards the later stages of life. This includes learning to navigate the layers of cultural narrative around these phases, while staying rooted in your direct experience, knowledge and intuition. There is also space here to revisit your case studies, reflect on progress, and make thoughtful adjustments.
Through the Autumn and Winter integration period, we explore themes such as motherhood, menopause, and elderhood, continuing to deepen your understanding of both plants and people.
Our final gathering in early Winter brings your full journey together. Returning to your case studies, you’ll integrate all that you’ve learned across the three years. We close with an extended session and ceremony - marking the completion of your apprenticeship and crossing the threshold into the next manifestation of your journey.
Awaken Herbal Wisdom is a living herbal apprenticeship - one that gently weaves the study of herbal medicine into your daily life, whilst rooting you within a real and supportive community.
Our teaching is grounded in traditional ways of learning, thoughtfully adapted for modern life. This means you can grow into herbal practice with confidence, without needing to step away from your work, your family, or your existing commitments. An apprenticeship is, at its heart, learning through doing - and for the home herbalist, the ‘doing’ is simply the rhythm of everyday life.
This journey draws on a blend of time-honoured approaches:
- Dedicated, in-person teaching days spent learning directly with an experienced practitioner
- Oral transmission through guided 1:1 audio teachings you can return to in your own time
- A written record held in your heirloom coursebooks
- Shared experience and connection through our community gatherings
Together, these strands create a way of learning that is not separate from your life, but lived within it.
Our herbalism apprenticeship follow the cycles of nature, rather than a traditional academic school year. Our teaching season begins with the greening of the land in Spring and concludes as the earth prepares to slumber the Winter of each calendar year.
The rhythm of each year of our apprenticeship is as follows:
Spring - Opening the Cycle
We lay the foundations for the season ahead - rooting into the teachings, the plants and the shared space you’ll be held within.
Integration - Learning through Living
Summer - Deepening and Exploring
Autumn - Turning Inward
In-Person Gathering · 10am–4pm
We begin the second half of the year together.
As the season shifts, so does the focus - drawing your attention inward, deepening your listening and expanding your ability to work with the body and the plants in a more nuanced way.
Integration - Deepening the Practice
Self-Paced Audio · Live Online Sessions · Community Weekend
The work continues in your own time, supported by guided audio teachings and shared online integration sessions.
This phase offers space to absorb, reflect and apply what you are learning - allowing your confidence and clarity to grow steadily, within a consistent and supportive container.
We also gather again as a wider community during this season for another weekend of connection and expansion.
Winter - Closing the Cycle
In-Person Gathering & Ceremony · 10am–7pm
We gather to bring the year together.
This is a space for integration, reflection and recognition - of what you’ve learned, how you’ve changed and what you’re carrying forward.
The cycle completes and the ground is prepared for what comes next.
Year Three
Our third-year cohort is open to continuing students only.
In-Person Gatherings
10am-4pm
Live Online Integration Sessions
Mid-Season Community Gatherings
Saturdays 10am-4pm
To facilitate your journey, you will receive:
- An interactive heirloom coursebook with all of the information we will cover across the four seasons, including in-depth plant profiles (monographs) of the medicinal herbs we will be getting to know
- Lifetime access to all digital resources via your personal student portal
- A private WhatsApp group for our cohort to discuss, share and ask questions, as well as an invitation to join wider community groups with shared interests
- A few surprises along the way
Practical topics and skills you will learn include:
- The Spiral of Life - witnessing the evolution of each moment of life into the next as we travel through our time on this earth
- The Six Stages - exploring both the nature of and common imbalances that arise at each stage of life - infancy and childhood, adolescence, adulthood, motherhood, menopause and elderhood
- Applied Doshas and Elements - understanding the elements and doshas connected with each stage of life
- Medicinal Herbs – develop an intimate knowledge of a curated set of core herbs and work confidently with them
- Refining Formulation - expanding to seven-herb formulas and understanding the most suitable forms of herbal remedies for each stage of life
- Advanced Listening, Observation and Enquiry - practising considerate and comprehensive conversation to gather a holistic starting point for supporting others with herbal medicine (commonly referred to as case taking)
'Meghan's courses in herbalism are the perfect way to learn the skills needed to feel confident in your use of herbs regardless of where you want to take your knowledge next.'
~Merryn
There are three options for joining the journey:
Single Payment of £1997
Five Instalments of £399.40 each
- the following four instalments are automatically charged monthly for the following four months
Non-Refundable Deposit of £497
- pay the non-refundable deposit on registration
- the remaining £1500 will be automatically charged in full on 30th November 2026
- *This payment plan is only available until 15th October 2026.
Places are limited to ensure cohorts are kept small and intimate.
please contact us.
All course fees are subject to our terms and conditions.
So if you’re yearning to remember how to thrive together with the earth, if you’re inspired to reclaim power and sovereignty over your health, and if you’re ready to relearn the knowledge of your body and plant medicine, join us on this journey into herbalism like no other.
Reclaim your power to cultivate deep health.
Questions and Answers
Do I need to live nearby?
No! You are welcome to join the apprenticeship no matter where you live, just be sure to make suitable arrangements for joining our in-person sessions.
If you are using public transport, we recommend checking dates and timings carefully, as rural services do not run as frequently. Some students choose to share a portion of the journey, especially from York; however, students are ultimately responsible for making their own travel arrangements.
We are located in a quiet rural village just an hour's drive from York with independent accommodation within the village and camping and caravan accommodation in nearby seaside town, Bridlington. There are ancient monoliths and serene private beaches nearby, so plenty of peace, nature and history to explore. As the apprenticeship progresses, some of you may want to find accommodation to share. There’s an extra bit of magic that happens when you can create a special home away from home and enjoy extra after-hours conversation with your fellow cohort members.
Please note, whilst we welcome applicants from outside the UK, preference of place offerings is given to students who can fully commit to attending all of the in-person sessions for the journey, regardless of where they are travelling from, so do check your diary and research travel and accommodation before you submit your application. If you are considering joining us from outside the UK, do get in touch, as we are working on a journey that may be better suited.
How much time do I need to commit outside the gatherings and guided audio teachings?
As much or as little as you want! We do strongly recommend you plan to pace yourself with our guided audio teachings between our live online integration sessions to get the most out of our conversations and jot down your thoughts and reflections in your coursebook, but there are otherwise no formal assignments, papers to write, assigned readings to do or exams to revise for. Whatever you feel inspired to read, do or make beyond our sessions is completely up to you and very welcome for discussion and questions within the cohort. It's your journey!
Which energetic systems will we be working with?
As the original medicine, herbal medicine spans all cultures, continents and civilisations. We are fortunate so many of these ancient lines of observing the natural world - both plants and people - are intact today and that we are able to explore and consider so many valuable perspectives that contribute to our better understanding of how all of nature can thrive together. Each practising herbalist finds their own inspiration and creates their own alchemy, and you will, too. On this course, you will have the opportunity to explore the energetics, concepts and terminology of both Western herbal medicine and Ayurvedic perspectives, intimately woven together in a way that facilitates embodied, elemental and experiential learning. Curious to learn a bit more about how we work with Western and Ayurvedic energetic systems? Read more here.
What is the teaching like?
The learning experience we offer is blended in many ways, making our approach to teaching and learning unique amongst herbal medicine schools in the UK. Our intention behind how we structure our herbalism apprenticeship is to provide a blend of the best aspects of traditional learning methods, delivered in a way that meets us in our modern lives, so you are well held by us and can relax into your journey. We combine in-person gatherings, guided 1:1 audio teachings, live online integration sessions and an heirloom coursebook for written records and reflections to deliver teaching that is elemental, embodied and experiential and, perhaps most importantly, means your learning is woven into your daily life, rather than requiring you to dedicate many hours to staring at a screen.
Is catering provided?
Yes! Catering for our in-person gatherings is included in the apprenticeship fees, and there will be plenty of herbal tea available to drink when we are together.
When and how do I apply?
Applications for the 2027 Year One cohort open 1st June 2026. The final date to submit your application is 15th October 2026. Enrolment closes 31st October 2026. Join our waiting list to be notified when 2027 dates are announced and receive your invitation to apply.
Our application process is simple and straightforward, intended to give us a sense of who you are, what is inspiring you and what you are hoping to gain from your experience to help us determine if our school and the journey we offer is a great match for you. As you work through your responses, just be yourself. There are no prerequisites or official requirements for joining our course.
We aim to let you know the outcome of your application within one week.
If successful, you will be offered a place on one of our first-year cohorts. All places are offered and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please note submission of an application is non-binding and does not guarantee you will be offered a place on our upcoming cohorts.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes! You can pay a non-refundable deposit of £497 with the remaining £1500 due in full on 30th November 2026 or split the cost into five equal instalments of £399.40. Instalments for all payment plans are charged automatically in accordance with the timing of the plan. The final payment for deposit plans, when offered, is charged automatically in full on the specified date. For the five instalments plan, successive payments are charged automatically on the same date of the initial payment for the following four months. If you have any questions about timing and payment plans, please contact us.
What if I can’t make all of the dates?
Live participation is warmly encouraged, as there is a real richness in learning together and engaging in shared inquiry in real time. That said, the course is intentionally designed to support real lives.
All live online integration sessions are recorded and made available for you to revisit, or to engage with in your own time if attending live isn’t possible on a given date.
Our guided 1:1 audio teachings and core teachings of our in-person gatherings are pre-recorded for future reference for all students and in case anyone is unable to attend a gathering due to unavoidable circumstances.
Our community gatherings are not recorded to encourage the open exchange of ideas and the free flow of participation.
All recorded materials are available in your student portal, which is accessible via desktop and mobile browsers, so you can listen and learn wherever and whenever suits you - with a cup of herbal tea, on a walk, out in the garden, or as you're going about your day-to-day tasks and travels.
We invite you to be present to your learning journey in a way that feels sustainable and grounded. If there are occasional diary clashes that are unavoidable, please don’t let that deter you from applying. You will still be fully supported within the apprenticeship. If you have any questions at all, do feel free to contact us and ask, as we want the learning experience to be right for you.
Is there an opportunity to progress beyond the first year?
Yes! Whilst continuing on is completely up to you, two further years of development are available after completing the first year of the apprenticeship so you can continue to go deeper into your exploration of herbalism, health and your body. You can explore what the second and third years of the journey look like here and here. You can also download our full curriculum guide, which shares the details of the herbal learning journey we offer across all three years.
Is this a certification/qualification course?
This apprenticeship and its successive years have intentionally not been designed as a formal qualification because we believe the wiser we become in ourselves, our homes and our communities, the more we are able to lift each other up to create a stronger society organically. There are many brilliant clinical training courses available across the globe; however, not everyone wants to complete 500 clinic hours, conduct a research project and sit exams. Whilst not everyone wants to become a clinical herbalist, many do want to develop a high level of skill and knowledge for personal reasons - and that's the journey of empowerment we love to provide. Wondering if you need a qualification for how you'd like to work with the knowledge and skills you gain with us? Read more here.
For any further questions, do feel free to contact us and ask.
Heritage School of Herbal Medicine
Founded by
Meghan Rhodes
MAMH MAPA
Your Journey
About Us
