Elisabeth Brooke is an experienced herbalist and an ex-astrologer at Watkins Books. She has written extensively on the subject of herbalism, astrology and wise women in history, and recently paid us a visit to sign her books and meet readers. On this occasion, we had the pleasure of speaking to her about her practice and personal favourites.
You speak a lot about women in history in your books, do you have any special connection to any of these women?
Trotula, who we find in 12th Century Salerno, in Southern Italy, a melting pot of people that were escaping the fall of the Byzantine Empire. All the Arabic and Greek knowledge was held here. Trotula was a magistra, a teacher, and a physician, and her books had been treated as standard texts for more than 300 years in Europe - they were written in Latin.
When in 16th Century Germany print was invented, printers didn't believe that Trotula was a woman, as women at the times were extremely restricted. Only in the 20th Century scholars proved that Trotula was a woman. Actually, some of her recipes have survived: she uses very gentle remedies that modern herbalists would really appreciate.
What are your favourite herbs and how do you integrate them in your daily life?
Rose, for the heart: it soothes the heart, it makes you feel loved, it makes you feel cared for, it's very gentle, and you know, in these times we need herbs for our heart, don't we? We are living in dreadful times. Lemon balm (Melissa) - I love that, that's another one for the heart, and it's good for raising the mood and for viruses. Another one I really like is liquorice root - I love liquorice! - it's an adaptogen, it's really good for making [the body and the mind] work really well. Luckily I live in Central London and there's plenty of wild spaces. I saw Agrimonia yesterday.
How do you use roses?
I dry the leaves. You have to be careful with roses and make sure they haven't been sprayed. You can make it into a tea, or use the essential oil - I love the essential oil! - or you can even make rose water. That's really good for you. You can put the petals in your bath, especially after a long day. Or even a foot bath! It calms you down and empties your aura.
You and astrology - how did you start and was there a catalyst?
When I studied to be a herbalist, I read books by Liz Greene, especially a book about Saturn, and then I came across someone who was teaching. Later on, when I qualified for this course,
I was looking to learn more about herbalism in relation to astrology - at the time astrology was considered to be pseudo-scientific. Many of my acquaintances looked into Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, as in the Western there weren't many solid philosophies, and I thought: we must have a philosophy in Europe, and of course we do.
However in this country, differently from France or Italy, we had the Reformation and then the witch trials, so at the time people were scared of astrology.
I ended up, one day, in a bookshop, and I saw a leaflet about a herbalism and astrology lecture, so I went there and I trained with them, and I integrated it into my practice straight away. Astrology can be used in so many ways, and certainly can be used to diagnose illnesses. You can use it to look at your physical, spiritual and mental health, to prescribe medicine, and I pick lots of my herbs based on the planets that rule the days and hours. You can use this net to make a practice really powerful as that energy will go into your medicine.
What's your advice for wanna-be foragers and herb growers?
There's a great book by Lucy Jones about growing herbs called Self-sufficient Herbalism, that I recommend; this author grows her herbs in an allotment - lots of people do, these days - and there are allotments all over England, quite often abandoned. So this book is quite practical on how to grow things.
Foraging... don't pick herbs from the side of the road and be aware of animal urine. Avoid sprayed herbs. In a way, foraging in a city is better, as herbs don't get sprayed usually, as they would in the countryside. There are organizations for foragers, and most herbalists do herb walks, so you can Google "herb walks" in your area and find one. I also recommend, if you see a herb but it's not growing abundantly, leave it alone. Ask permission, I always do.
How about your own practice? You are a herbalist and an astrologer, how does a day in your practice look like?
I work on Zoom, I don't do face-to-face. I draft a chart for the time of the appointment, I talk to my patient for an hour and I proceed to make a diagnosis and recommendations for herbal remedies to take. I don't dispense herbs anymore as I'm semi-retired, but I point out herbs suppliers that I like to my patients. When I do a consultation I look at the physical body, the emotional body, the mind, and the spirit, and all of those four areas need to be addressed, then usually I write a report. I work a lot with old and middle-aged people. Plants work on your physical body, but they also affect your emotions, and your spirit, so I make recommendations. I don't see lots of people as it's quite an intense practice.
Do you recommend herb shops in London?
Baldwins in Elephant and Castle, they have fresh herbs and their products are very good quality. Neal's Yard essential oils are good. Italian essential oils are also of very good quality.
What books would you recommend, aside from your amazing books, for people to get into herbalism and astrology?
David Hoffman's books are good, such as The Holistic Herbal, Lisa Jones for growing, Amaia Dadachanji is also a good author and herbalist who The Wildflower Herbal, AEON has got quite a nice list.
Do you have a favourite planet and why?
Well, Venus, I think! I have Venus in my ascendant, so Venus is probably my planet, because we all need more love and pleasure, don't we?
Who were your teachers and did you have any hand-me-down knowledge from your family and cultural background?
None, whatsoever. My mother was a gardener who would grow her plants from seeds, and my grandparents had a beautiful rose garden, so I grew up in beautiful surroundings but nothing medicinal. I learnt everything at the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and I'm self-taught - I wanted to continue with my ideas and meld them together with my practice. I learnt astrology at the Company of Astrology, which isn't going anymore, and they were wonderful traditional astrologers, and I did a lot of work with them. They knew astrology but had never joined it with herbalism, and they were very excited by this!
And one last question...
What are some herbs you would recommend for conditions such as anxiety?
For anxiety... I love lime blossoms, linden blossoms... very soothing. Vervain is really good for strengthening the neural system and oats, avena sativa, is really good for the nervous system. if you had a long period of stress, avena as a tincture is what you need. These can nourish your nervous system, it's food for the nerves. Nourishing is the key to prevent anxiety.
You can read more about Elisabeth here and browse through an amazing catalogue of books, including hers, on herbalism here.
Among other titles that Elisabeth has published, some available on our webshop:
Ageing Gracefully, A Holistic Guide to Later Life;
A Woman's Book of Shadows;
Traditional Western Herbal Medicine - As Above so Below;
A Woman's Book of Herbs;
Herbal Therapy for Women;
Women's Healers Through History;
Goddess Astrology.
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