Medicine Cypher

In this episode we hear from Angelique Sobande Greer who is a world traveled speaker, herbalist, teacher, consultant, author & spiritual life coach delivering high energy presentations delivered with inspiration, humor, and a down to earth style. ​ Since 1992, Natural Choices Botanica has stood at the forefront teaching students the art of herbalism & holistic health. What began as an herb catalog business quickly blossomed into a successful retail store. By 1999, the store was devastated by a tornado and she was forced to reshape the vision. Sobande began teaching classes and workshops at colleges & conferences. The founder's living room and backyard became the hub for retreats & holistic studies while her kitchen quickly blossomed into an amazing herbal apothecary. The NCB School of Herbalism & Holistic Health is the oldest African American School of Herbalism & Natural Health in the United States that teaches the art of healing the old fashion way. Sobande is also the visionary founder of Sacred Waters Herbal Retreat for Women Color & the Annual Afro Botany Immersion Conference in Costa Rica. In this Episode: Herbalism and Ancestors African Roots of Herbalism Granny Medicine, Sitting at the Feet of Our Elders Oral Transmission & African Styles of Learning Divine Contracts Reflecting Our Goodness as African People Being Honest About Who We Are Sankofa Relearning Survival Basics & How To Sustain Ourselves Thinking & Operating With Longevity Afro Botany Conference and Immersion Sacred Waters Women of Color Retreat ​ Featured Plant Ally: Cotton (Gossypium) ​ Resources and Links: www.naturalchoicesbotanica.com www.sacredwatersretreat.com ​ Music: Rain, David K Rain, Sunday Service Choir Love Is The Message, Yussef Dayes & Alfa Mist ​ Shout Outs: Angelique Sobande Greer Kalliopeia Foundation George Peterson Jr. Maneesh Madahar

Welcome to Season 2 of Medicine Cypher with your hosts Maya Blow and Bae laurel! Join us for this season as we explore what it means to grow into the wildest, brightest dreams of our ancestors. Over the course of 13 episodes, we bring together interviews with herbalists, farmers, artists, change makers, and teachers of African descent who are shining, vibing, and sharing their light and gifts in powerful ways. Season 2 is a weaving across time and space with recordings from before the pandemic as well as new interviews fresh of the press! This season is a gathering of wisdom to help us manifest the dreams that have been planted by generations of our ancestors before and to honor the new growth that is blooming right now for all of us! The show is grown locally in the SF Bay Area and taps into the larger network of African diaspora across the U.S. and world.

Join us as we sit down with the one and only Yeye Luisah Teish. Not only a teacher, dancer, storyteller, and high priestess, Yeye Teish is also a prolific author, most notably of Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, her father was an African Methodist Episcopal  and her mother was a Catholic, of Haitian, French, and Choctaw heritage. Yeye Teish is an Iyanifa and Oshun chief in Yoruba tradition. Yeye Teish is one of the most well known Yoruba priestesses worldwide, who is celebrated internationally in Goddess circles as a writer and ritual-maker. She quite literally a legendary woman of great character and exceeding positive impact for this generation and all time. In this Episode: Cutting open the path for our work Marie Laveau and spiritualism Growing up with psychic experiences War with Exxon and Monsanto Coming up as a young, black woman in the civil rights and black power era Repressed energy & memories coming out through dance  Healing women survivors of childhood sexual abuse, incest, sexual enslavement, battery, domestic abuse and surgical alteration Providing a safe space for people to have their memories Listening deeply Creating a cavalry of women dedicated to healing other women Taking back power Following the ancestors, New Orleans, Haiti, West Africa The journey to Iyanifa and priesthood Initiation to Oshun The stories of orishas are spiritual physics codified Indigenous traditions on the rise  Responisbilities and the delicate dance of elderhood Supplimenting the discoveries of the younger generations Rituals for the everyday sacred ​ Featured Plant Ally: Rue (Ruta graveolens) ​ Resources and Links: Yeyeluisahteish.com Marie Laveau Katherine Dunham Sacredwatersretreat.com ​ Music: Sister in Yellow by Omar Sosa, El Houssaine Kili, Gustavo Ovalles · Martha Galarraga, Sub-Z, Yassir Chadly Bullerengue para un Angel by Orita Cantora Water Drumming by Baka women of Cameroon Pour me Water by Mr. Eazi ​ Shout Outs: Yeye Luisah Teish Sacred Waters Retreat George Peterson Jr.

Welcome to Episode 4 of Medicine Cypher where we interview our incredible friend and mentor Michele Elizabeth Lee, author of "Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African-American Healing". A native of Oakland, Michele was raised in a family of traditional healers from the South. She's worked for over 30 years in the integrated arts field as an artist, curator, administrator, educator, and writer. She currently lives and works in Oakland, where she teaches art in a public school. In this episode Black Folk Medicine Being on your hustle Preventative healthcare Oral traditions, treasures of stories Chalk & clay as medicinal detox Herbs for survival Cod liver oil as a superfood Growing up in the art world Artist residencies in indigenous communities Pushing the visual dialogue Queen Quet, Gullah nation Earth systems update We are immortal 1750- connections of pre industrial period when CO2 began rising Bearing witness to change Global warming & environmental degradation Adaptogenic herbs and plants for daily flushing, detox, fortification and resilient health ​ Featured Plant Ally: Castor (Rinicus Communis) ​ Resources and Links: workingtheroots.blogspot.com hannahmayree.com blackbanjoreclamationproject.org queenquet.com ​ Music: all music in this episode by Hannah Mayree ​ Shout Outs: Michele E. Lee George Peterson Jr.

In this episode of Medicine Cypher, we sit down with Jada Imani, a dynamic MC and teaching artist from the Bay by way of East St. Louis. ... Jada encourages people to dig into their truths, celebrate their authentic selves and experiences. Her work is mirrored in community through music showcases, artist talks, and workshops.  She intends to assist the cultural and structural evolution of groups and individuals who are seeking healthier ways of (co)existing. Jada builds coalitions with communities of poets, Hip-Hop heads and entrepreneurs alike. ​ In this Episode:  Self Image Psychology Pushing the Boundaries of What We Think is Possible Patterns & Personal Power Using Our Limbs in the Spiritual World Accessing the Home Within You Everything Exists in Everything Angels, Guides, We Choose Our Parents... Feeding Your Ancestors Trust- You'll Fall Exactly Where You Need To Be Living in Fear is Deep Suffering Courage is Necessary Living With Intention Trust in Your POWER Five Element Astrology Childlike Insistence Fox Energy: Adaptability, Becoming Like the Wind Art of Oneness  Featured Plant Ally: Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) Resources and Links:  Tatuvision.com Psycho Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz & Dan Kennedy Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot The Quietest Revolution, Amber Khan Tom Kenyon ​ Music:  Family Over Everything by Jada Imani prod. Jaleel Carter Drip by Jada Imani prod. MejiWahn Who Else by Jada Imani prod. Baghead Though U Knew by Jada Imani prod. Mcstravick Some Breathe Smooth by Jada Imani prod. Baghead Sometimes I Feel Like by Jada Imani prod. Baghead Freestyle, Jada Imani ​ Shout Outs:  Jada Imani George Peterson Jr.

Join us as we sit down with Afia Walking Tree, M.Ed. Percussionist, Educator, Ritualist is a world-class cultural drummer, ambassador, spiritual activist, leadership development advocate and trainer. She founded Spirit Drumz in 1994 in Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Walking Tree’s drum-songs are prayers of gratitude for the generosity of spirit. Her lyrics are evolutionary teachings, addressing present day issues of social justice, wellness, and self-love resiliency rooted in liberation of the global Family. Afia Walking Tree's destiny prioritizes Expressive and Healing Arts modalities: African Diasporic Drum and Dance, Permaculture, Holistic Nutrition, and Environmental Justice to activate collective responsibility and transform injustices facing our peoples.  In this Episode: The Power Returns Reactivating, Rejuvenating, Restoring Drumming for Women & Girls of Color The Most Potent Way to Bring the Medicine Connecting with Our African Ancestors Women's Retreats in Jamaica Personal Soul Journeys Staying Young, Healthy & Supple Water As A Healer Water Fasting Super foods, High Vibration Nutrition Permission to Use Our Voices Ending Violence And Healing Sexual Trauma for Women & Girls Healing Is A Fire Burning Through Our Veins ​ Featured Plant Ally: Moringa (Moringa Oleifera), drumstick tree ​ Resources And Links: Afiawalkingtree.com Reverbnation.com/afiawalkingtree  ​ Music: All music and drumming by Afia Walking Tree and Spirit Drumz from her album Soul Affirmationz ​ Shout Outs: Afia Walking Tree George Peterson Jr

In episode one we hear from Bae Laurel and Maya Blow as they share their paths and talk about their work, as well as, the conception and intentions of this podcast. Guided by the teachings of mullein, this episode is an activation on the path of fire and love. In This Episode: Introductions Sustainable Living, Farming, Herbal Medicine Gridwork Sharing our unique medicine & owning our magical gifts Being in the flow of our dharma Sacred land connection Being a Beacon of Light Activation Waking each other up over & over again Trust in the perfection of the moment Recording healing stories & wisdom ​ Featured Plant Ally: Mullein (verbascus thapsus) ​ Resources & Links: soulflowerfarm.com starrootmedicine.com ​ Music: We Welcome You, Damba Primary School, Zimbabwe Koffee, Gratitude Oakland, Naru Kwina ​ Book Recommendations: Woman on the Edge of Time, Marge Piercy After the First Full Moon in April (Ethnobotany), Beverly Ortiz & Josephine Peters Island Beneath the Sea, Isabel Allende Wild Seed, Octavia Butler Jambalaya, Luisah Teish Sastun, Rosita Arvigo Traveler's Joy, Julliette de Bairacli Levy Song of Increase, Jaqueline Freeman Being a Green Mother, Piers Anthony ​ Shout Outs: Yasir Cross, Mom & the Cross Boys Bae's Family & Friends Abi Huff- The Stinging Nettle Marc Robbi & Corrina Cohen- Fruitwood Nursery Teri Chanturai & Grant Gilkison Forest Cypher Friends- Jasmin Rendon, Amelia Azul, Tamu Mosley, Tadayuki Furui, Jennifer Navarro Flores