Mastering Herbal Formulation
Taught by Janet Kent • Go at your own pace • Live sessions included
Essential Info
What it is: A comprehensive course on herbal formulation, with emphasis on making high quality tincture and evaporated glycerite blends.
Format: 5.5 hours of video lessons on herbal formulation with handouts and live sessions
Pacing: Self-paced; take lessons in any order
Live support: Forum for questions and trouble-shooting with periodic live sessions for practicing formulation together.
Who it’s for:
o Herbalists who want to make more precise, effective herbal formulas
o Practicing community herbalists and clinicians who want to expand and improve their formulation practice
o Herbalist who already have solid formulation skills but would like some inspiration and the chance to nerd out about the art and science of herbal formulation with other herbalists
o Herbalists with product lines who would like some extra training and/or inspiration
o Anyone who wants to learn how to precisely measure dosage down to the drop
o Herbalists who want to make more effective, individualized formulas
o Herb shop staff who want to become better at combining herbs
o If you are a beginner, this class will likely be a steep learning curve, but you can use it to identify gaps in your education that you can then work to fill.
*Note that we will not cover formulation methods from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Unani Tibb, or William Lesassier’s triune formulation method.
Access: For the life of the course
Price: $75 • 1/2 price if you’re actively providing herbal mutual aid, or part of a group who is, OR if you are a clinician who offers accessible and/or sliding scale care in your practice. (Email us for the coupon code)
*This is the introductory cost of the class. We will be adding content during the first few months of the course according to the needs that emerge from the first group of students.
Those who enroll before June 1st have access to this lower price point and will also have the opportunity to inform how we expand the course. For example: we already have requests from alumni for classes on formulating with both high and low dose herbs and formulating with double extracts. We will add these classes to the course soon.
Next step: Enroll now
Formulation is one of the most interesting and delightful practices in the field of herbalism. Taking what we know about individual herbs, the human body, and the multi-faceted nature of health, then using that knowledge to craft a formula for general use or for a specific individual allows us to weave together the many threads of our craft. Formulation is both a skill and an art. If we gain the skills to do it well, we can increase the efficacy of our herbal preparations, reduce waste, and improve the lives of those who take our medicine.
In this course, you’ll learn:
How to make well-blended, targeted formulas that people will actually take.
A foundational system for crafting high quality herbal formulas.
Methods for crafting precisely dosed individualized formulas.
The process and math needed to ensure that each dose has an adequate amount of each herb in the formula.
How to predict how long a tincture will last.
How to make an evaporated glycerite.
How to make digestive bitters for every occasion.
You’ll also receive
A Materia Medica Preparation and Dosage Spreadsheet that the faculty of Terra Sylva keep up to date with our current preferred medicine making forms and dosages for over one hundred herbs.
Dozens of formulas from Janet’s personal formulary. Tried and true formulas to study and make or to use as templates for creating similar formulas from your own bioregion and apothecary, including a large compilation of nervine formulas and clinical strength digestive bitters formulas.
The chance to workshop your own formulas in the forum and at our live sessions. ‘
An alcohol dilution calculator for personal use.
Bonus material: Building Your Herbal Apothecary
In addition to Formulation skill building, this course includes two classes to help you expand and maintain your apothecary:
Building an Apothecary
Maintaining an Apothecary: Legal Considerations
And there’s more: Digital copies of Janet’s ever popular zines: Ease Your Mind: Herbs for Mental Health and Under Pressure: Herbs for Resilience.
Membership in Terra Sylva’s online community
Included with the course is membership in The Grove, Terra Sylva’s online community for students, graduates, and teachers. The Grove is a space for discussing and connecting about all aspects of herbalism, supporting each other, learning from each other, and sharing resources. Become part of the community!
Course structure
4 in-depth lessons on Formulation, plus a lesson on Evaporated Glycerites, one on making Digestive Bitters, and two lessons on Building and Maintaining an Apothecary - 5.5 hours of video with extensive handouts and resources
Discussion forum
A dedicated space for workshopping formulas, sharing tips, asking questions, and generating ideas.Periodic live Q&A and Formula workshop
Monthly through July then bimonthly
At these sessions we will practice formulation together. This practice is invaluable for learning to formulate with confidence.
Janet Kent is a lead instructor at the Terra Sylva School and a clinical herbalist at River Island Community Herb Clinic. She has been crafting well-loved, life-changing formulas that shift health patterns and help people move through difficult times for 15 years. Formulation is one of her favorite parts of being an herbalist and she loves sharing this skillset with others. Her formulas have been widely shared and imitated and translated into new forms and she is grateful to see these recipes ripple out.