Abortifacient Materia Medica

Three plants in three moons.

Plants, like people, are asking us to show up in right relationship with them. To recognize our part inside of nature and its cycles, to move slow and build trust knowing we take care of one another. This class is an opportunity to build with herbs classically used as abortifacients.

Class Desscription: "Materia medica" is the body of herbs used for various remedies. Plants have been an integral way in which people and animals have managed their fertility across time, locale and cultures. This fall we will be learning with common root plants with complicated histories and personalities.

Together this spring students will walk with some well known, yet commonly misunderstood plants: 

• Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa)
• Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)
• Angelica/Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis/Angelica spp.) 

Students can expect to grow knowledge and experience of these plants and their role as abortifacients.

Each month students will:

• Focus on one plant for a deep-dive embodied learning experience
• Receive a curated care package in the mail with herbal teas, tinctures, flower essences, and other plant material to experience the plant in their bodies and throughout their cycle
• Attend an informational class about the plant, taught by an expert with deep relationship with the plant, bringing their unique insights and passion
• Attend a plant sit class about the plant, lovingly held in connection and communion with the plant and sharing group and individual observations and integration 

Monthly care packages will feature the plant (either as a tincture or dried) along with: flower essences (to see a different side of these plants), journals for observation and reflection, original artwork, and zines. Digital folders are accessible for each plant and are full of pictures, relevant research, folklore and resources.

In this three-month immersion students will gain the confidence to research, experiment, and grow their own herbal materia medica around abortion and pregnancy release. Through a collective, horizontal learning model we will share our stories and experiences and learn exponentially more together than we would individually.

Class Details: October-December 2026

• Orientation: 
  • October 5, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (special class on a Monday)
• Classes for Black Cohosh
  • October 6, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (Plant Education)
  • October 20, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (Plant Sit)* 
• Classes for Cotton
  • November 3, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (Plant Education)
  • November 17, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (Plant Sit)* 
• Classes for Angelica
  • December 1, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (Plant Education)
  • December 15, 2-4pm PT / 5-7pm ET (Plant Sit)*

While we strongly encourage you to attend all classes live so we can build with one another as well as the plants, we know life can happen. All of the lecture-based classes are recorded and made available. Plant Sit sessions each month are not recorded due to our intimate and personal sharing (marked with an * above).

Pre-requisites: This class is best suited for people with some herbal experience. Certification or clinical training is not required, as herbal knowledge is learned in many ways. We hope that applicants can demonstrate some level of existing personal or professional herbal experience/ education, training and/or mentorships to be admitted.

Teachers: This class is held by a panel of experts bringing together a diversity of experience and insight to support a fulsome understanding of this nuanced topic!

• Daena & Cera will host orientation and plant sit classes
  • Daena is a clinically-trained herbalist, writer, and co-founder and director of Holistic Abortions, a grassroots group working to increase access, understanding and availability of various abortion methods as a means of liberation from systems of harm through education, direct care, and culture shifting work.
  • Cera (they/she) is a passionate and dedicated clinical herbalist, medicine maker, abortion doula, and fertility awareness educator. With deep reverence for the land they reside on, they embrace the profound connection between herbalism and reproductive autonomy. Guided by the wisdom of the plants, they humbly strive to empower individuals on their journey towards holistic well-being, fostering a harmonious relationship with their bodies and the Earth.
• Tessa will host the Black Cohosh Informational Class
  
  • Tessa is a midwife, herbalist, poet, and care worker. Tessa's work is based on the belief that all people should have access to personalized, comprehensive, holistic, and dignified care for the full spectrum of reproductive and generative experiences. They support clients along this spectrum: from becoming pregnant with at-home IUI, to pregnancy loss and release, to prenatal and postpartum care, out-of-hospital birth, and clinical herbal care focuses on reproductive, menstrual, and hormonal concerns. 
• Lo will host the Cotton Informational Class
• Ember will host the Angelica Informational Class
  • Ember (they/them) is a clinical herbalist and educator based in Nova Scotia, Unceded Mi'kmaq Territory. They teach from the beginner to advanced levels through Wild Current Herbalism and the Maritime School of Holistic Herbalism. Ember has over a decade of clinical experience focusing on accessible trans inclusive care and supporting people with complex chronic illness. Ember is a huge nerd about herbs for fertility autonomy, they teach about the topic widely and co-wrote “A Place for Herbal Abortion in Clinical Herbalism” published in the American Herbalist’s Guild Journal in 2022.

Cost: options for full payment and sliding scale available:

• 3 payments on a sliding scale of $335-450 (one each month), or 
• one time sliding scale payment of $1000-1350.
  
  

Cost Includes: 7 class sessions + 3 herbal care packages + extensive digital resources for a 3-month deep dive experience

Scholarships: Since this class includes many tangible items for you to explore together and beyond, full scholarships are not available. We do have limited partial scholarships (50% off) for those who need financial assistance in order to attend. Please email us to if you'd like to ask about this scholarship.

Disclaimer: All the content and materials are provided for reference, education and empowerment to you so people can make more informed decisions about their reproductive health and wellbeing. We are not licensed medical professionals, nor can we diagnose or recommend treatment. These teachings do not replace medical advice. We encourage you to advocate your needs and desires with your entire health care team, including licensed medical physicians.  

You must be 18 years or older to participate in the Fall ROOTS course. Please consult local and state laws for more information on regulations on abortion access in your area.

Please read and commit to these Community Agreements created to have a foundtion on which we can build relationships of trust, respect and safety as we expand circles and reach out on new platforms and in new ways.