How do you become an Herbalist?

So, you want to become an herbalist? Here are a few things to consider when beginning your herbal journey.

Herbalism in the United States is an entirely unregulated field, and we prefer it that way! There are no federal or state licenses or certifications for herbalists. The closest thing we have to a license or certification is to become a Registered Herbalist through the American Herbalist's Guild, which takes years of study and practice. However, you do not need to be a registered herbalist in order to work as an herbalist.

What is the definition of an Herbalist? (From The American Herbalist’s Guild)

• Herbalists are people who dedicate their lives to working with medicinal plants. They include native healers, scientists, naturopaths, holistic medical doctors, researchers, writers, herbal pharmacists, medicine makers, wild crafters, harvesters and herbal farmers to name a few.

• While herbalists are quite varied, the common love and respect for life, especially the relationship between plants and humans, unites them. Persons specializing in the therapeutic use of plants may be medical herbalists, traditional herbalists, acupuncturists, midwives, naturopathic physicians, or even one's own grandmother.

First, Consider…

You first may want to consider what your end goal is—do you want to be your own family's herbalist or a community herbalist? Maybe an herbal product developer or maker, or maybe work with clients in a clinical setting? Perhaps you want to grow, forage and wildcraft medicinal plants? You may also seek to have a career in the natural products industry, or work in or open an herbal apothecary. It is perfectly okay to not know what your end goal is right away as often we find the answers along the path of your herbal education.

The next step is to choose which herb school is right for you. At Twin Star, we offer comprehensive trainings that will prepare you for a career as an herbalist in whichever direction you plan to go. When you study with us, you'll receive certificates at the end of our training programs, accruing vital hours, detailing what topics you've learned and skills you've become proficient in. These certificates serve as your credentials (hours studied) in lieu of non-existent federal and state licenses.

STEP ONE

Whether you want to learn for the sake of your own health, to hold the healing space in your family or community, become a clinical herbalist, herbal product maker or both (or if you just want to gain an understanding of the field), you’ll start with our Foundations of Herbalism level 1 training in Connecticut or our Foundations of Herbalism in Asheville, NC. We offer two location for our in-person version of this class as well as a fully online and self-paced option. This course will give you a fantastic overview of many herbalism-related topics.

In this course, you'll learn about traditional herbal healing, herbs for each system of the body, how to make herbal remedies and recipes, plant identification, gardening, foraging and wildcrafting, spirit based herbalism and much more.

STEP TWO

Our Herbal Practice & Protocol Advanced Herbal training. This 200 hour professional herbalism course builds upon what you learned in Level 1, and offers essential skills and training for caring for and educating others about herbal health, and developing skills to become an active community herbalist.

STEP THREE

To go on from here to become a clinical herbalist, if you so choose, you'll complete the following additional prerequisites before finally moving on to The Practicing Herbalist Clinical Training program.

a) Take The Art of Flower Essence Therapy online course. This can be taken regardless of whether or not you decide to become a clinical practitioner! It is a fantastic introduction to the wonderful world of flower essences. It will teach you all about how this gentle and effective healing modality helps balance and restore the emotional body.

b) Take the Introduction to Ayurveda online class, a four-hour lecture by Ilana Sobo, which is available for purchase on the After Class Pass page of our website.

STEP FOUR

Lastly, to take the path on becoming a clinical herbalist with Twin Star, you'll take The Practicing Herbalist Clinical Training. This course is co-taught by our founder and director, Lupo Passero, and Ilana Sobo. You'll complete lectures and mentorship hours, and meet and perform herbal consults, all to prepare you to meet and treat clients in your own practice!

 How did Twin Star get its name?

In 2012, Twin Star founder and director, Lupo, was sitting at her kitchen table in her home in Northville, CT. The sun had just set and two bright beings were shinning in tandem just above her back yard mountain view. She had moved back to Connecticut from Asheville, NC several years prior and had been teaching herbalism for various schools and institutions. At the time, she was primarily making her living as an educator for the natural products industry, traveling throughout the northeast. 

Lupo had offered enough herbalism classes over the years that she began to build a solid reputation as a community herbalist and her students began asking for a full herbalist training. As she crafted her first full training programs for herbalists, building upon the decade of experience she had as an herbal teacher in Asheville, combined with her additional years of hard earned expertise in the natural products industry, Lupo knew that it was time to come up with a name for the program and future school that she was unknowingly about to birth.

During this time it was both Jupiter and Venus who were visible in the sky. The funny thing about visible planets is that they show up in the evening sky before the stars come out. Lupo's students kept asking what the "two stars" on the evening horizon were. They were in fact Venus and Jupiter. Venus is the planet of Love and Jupiter the planet of both luck and expansion. Lupo crafted curriculums and classes that she planned to offer under the direct influence of these "two stars". These humble offerings would grow into a plethora of herbal certificate programs, with dozens of amazing teachers and hundreds of students who would come together each year for the 11 years to follow. Not to mention the creation of a full service apothecary and a global herbal travel business to boot!

As Lupo looked up into the night sky one evening, pondering what it was she wanted the name of her future herb school to be, and it just came to her—Twin Star! In (obvious) honor of the Venusian and Jupitarian influences, of course, she asked that these programs be blessed with love, luck and growth. But there was more to it—as a triple Gemini (third house Sun, Venus, Mercury) and Double Pisces (12th house ascendent and moon) she had always resonated with the idea of twin energy, mutability and the merging of two. And, she had also always loved the concept that the flowering plants are a reflection of the night sky, stars of both the mountains and meadows. Years later after naming her business, Lupo found out that her Italian immigrant Grandparents had a business called "Twin City". That was the last and final conformation that she needed.