Apprenticeships are held in-person in Scottsville, Virginia. Our classroom is fourteen acres of beautiful rural land on which there is abundance of plants, wildlife, and opportunities for deep embodied connection. For each apprenticeship, class is held outdoors either around the fire or in the pavilion classroom. As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we will also continue to practice well-informed, supportive community care and prioritize each individual's safety.
Each apprenticeship is kept intentionally small. Up to fifteen students will be accepted to each program to facilitate an environment of close connection and collaboration within the group and to ensure that each individual's needs are supported.
Each apprenticeship requires an interview by phone or Zoom and a subsequent $250 nonrefundable deposit to reserve your spot. Deposits are payable following phone interview via cash, check, or Venmo (@owlcraft).
Find out more details on each apprenticeship below, and fill out your registration form here!
Herbal Apprenticeships
The Call of the Plants
June - November 2023
This is a six month foundational journey into deep relationship with plant medicine. Meeting one weekend per month, this program is transformative, immersive, and healing. Taking both an energetic and physical approach to the study of herbalism, you will learn how to serve as a steward for herbal medicine and connect both with nature and yourself.
Over this six month journey, we will learn about medicine making, wildcrafting guidelines and ethics, lacto-fermentation and microbiome health, plant identification and materia medica, the practical applications of herbs, plant meditations, and how to connect with yourself more deeply with the assistance of the herbal helpers that surround us. We will also build community with one another as we gather around the fire, sing, and support each other in the process of learning, healing, and growing. The intention of Call of the Plants is to support your growth as a healer. The more you learn about plants and the relationships within nature, the more you are able to conduct your own inner work with clarity and grow into who you are meant to be in the world.
No experience is necessary, as Call of the Plants is Owlcraft's foundational herbal apprenticeship. However, even those with experience will also find many insights. Many herbal classes are primarily classroom-based or online, and may not offer the benefits of an immersive, experiential herbal apprenticeship that facilitates practical knowledge, energetics, and self healing.
120 class hours. Tuition is $2200 and includes all materials. Payment plans are available. There is also one partial scholarship and one deposit scholarship available for Black, Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ prospective students. Priority will be given to LGBTQ+ BIPOC individuals. Please reach out if you would like to inquire about the scholarship.
Schedule:
June 16-18
July 7-9
August 11-13
September 1-3
October 13-15
November 10-12
The Ceremony of the Plants
February - October 2023
The Ceremony of the Plants is an in-depth, completely immersive journey into the crafting and practice of ceremonial energetic work. Meeting once per season for a total of four weekends, this apprenticeship uses the energetic seasonal qualities and changes as a container for deep personal and collaborative ceremonial work.
Within this apprenticeship, ceremony is approached through the framework of the individual relationship with the seasons, elements, spirit, and community. Rather than taking up practices in an appropriative manner, Ceremony of the Plants will enable you to use who you are individually to craft and learn ceremony. We will learn practical skills such as how to build a fire, how to clear space, how to build an altar, how to create and maintain boundaries, how to hold ceremonial space, and how to facilitate and hold space for others. Ceremony is formalizing the energetic experience in a way that brings healing the land, spirit, community, and self, creating a physical event for the energetic experience.
Considering the intensive, deeply energetic nature of this apprenticeship, Ceremony of the Plants is the most advanced program offering. There are no specific set class hours due to the completely immersive structure of this apprenticeship. Although there will be time for rest, ceremonial space will be held from 7pm on Friday to 4pm on Sunday. It is important to keep a commitment to this intention both within yourself and your interactions with others throughout the weekend.
Schedule:
February 17-19
April 14-16
July 14-16
October 20-22.
Tuition is $1600 and covers all materials. There is one deposit scholarship available for Black, Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ prospective students. Priority will be given to LGBTQ+ BIPOC individuals. Please reach out if you would like to inquire about the scholarship.
The Spirit of the Plants
January - June 2024
Spirit of the Plants is a six month immersive journey into the realms of energetics and plant spirit medicine, providing apprentices with the guidance and tools to be a confident, informed energetic herbalist and access the direct connection to the energetic world. We will take a deeper dive into herbal energetics, plant spirit medicine, plant meditations and journeys, and ceremonial practice, learning how humans are intimately intertwined with the fabric of being surrounding us.
Although this apprenticeship is applicable and accessible no matter the place you are at in your herbal journey, you may find that you will benefit from Spirit of the Plants more deeply if you have a foundation in herbalism similar to what is learned in Call of the Plants.
Check back later in 2023 for a more detailed description and 2024 schedule.
Schedule:
Specific 2024 dates to be announced.
120 class hours. Tuition is $2200 and covers all materials. Payment plans are available.
Registration will be announced in 2023.
