We hope you have had a chance to check out our new, improved website.  Many thanks to our web designer, Kim Tanasichuk, for her talents and patience as she guided us through the changes.

Congratulations to our certificate and diploma students graduating in July. We wish you all the best with your future endeavors and may your path be filled with vibrant health, wisdom, happiness and love.

Don’t forget to scroll down to read articles from the teachers as well as find out which programs we are offering this Fall.

Reminder! We are interviewing for our programs (scroll down to calendar) which begin this Fall. Most of our two or three year programs only start once every three years so don’t miss your chance to enroll.

If you are not interested in a full program many of the courses within a program as well as our general studies and specialty courses can be taken individually.

Essential Oils- This is Essential to Know

Laurie Szott-Rogers

Should I take essential oils orally?  

There has been a movement for individuals to take essential oils internally. This must be done very carefully, or better yet, not at all.

The urge to ingest is usually precipitated by a belief that essential oils will help protect and heal. Essential oils can be very healing, but they are extremely potent.

To illustrate their strength, visualize that in some cases it takes a pound of plant to make a drop of essential oil. This is very different than consuming tinctures, infusions or teas, which are significantly weaker and safer for internal use. This issue of concentration is important!

Another point to consider with safety is the plant itself. Some are gentler than others. Essential oils can be deadly when ingested.

Eucalyptus, one of my favorites for cleaning and the steam room can be fatal at a 4 mls if taken internally. For this reason, keep your essential oils locked away from children.

Age and condition matter when looking at the practice of internal consumption. Are you pregnant, epileptic, asthmatic, allergic, or on medications)? All of these variables are relevant. Anyone under the age of 4 should not be using essential oils, except for the mildest ones, like lavender, in very low concentrations. And never internally!

If you are pregnant use very little essential oils for the first 6 months. If you are breastfeeding, do not use them at all.

Essential oils are safest when used in a diffuser, where you breathe them in, or topically, diluted to a ratio of .5-5%.

Oregano is a very aggressive essential oil and there are many conflicting opinions about how to use it. I recognize oregano as a warrior. It is called to action when there is a cold or flu threatening to invade. Use it on the soles of your feet. It will absorb. Taking it internally can be hard on the liver, especially if done over a significant period of time.

Frankincense is a wonderful essential oil, many people use it for cancer treatment.

According to Robert Tisserand an expert on toxicology, the essential oil is less effective for cancer and less safe, than the herbal tincture. The tincture is much milder and suitable for internal. Use frankincense, in essential oil form in the air for heightening spiritual connection.

Essential oils are extremely useful for healing, but should be used intelligently.

We are passionate about essential oils, as they are sensual, healing and wildly enjoyable. We have sold essential oils, The Scents of Wonder line, for nearly 30 years.

We have taught classes on aromatherapy for nearly this long.

Our courses at Northern Star College have evolved, as people’s needs have changed.

We still teach Practical Potions, Aromatherapy as part of our Earth Spirit Medicine Diploma Program, to students with deep interest in alternative health. These students will also take herbology, wild crafting, flower essences and iridology. Our aromatherapy course has recently shape shifted into an e-course format. The three year, part-time, Earth Spirit Medicine Program, which includes aromatherapy, starts in September, 2017. We are still taking students.   

Want to learn about Earth Spirit Medicine follow the link

Why I Love Astrology

 Catherine Potter

I was talking to a client the other day who is in the middle of significant changes in her life. When I asked how she was,  she replied “that although things had been challenging the session we had a few months prior helped give her a context and understanding of what was occurring”.

I remember when I was studying astrology and was going through significant inner development, knowing what was happening and the various suggestions my teacher made on how to work with the astrological cycle helped.

This is one of the many reasons why I love astrology. It gives us some parameters and guidelines for what is taking place. It also orients us to the present day awareness and the current version of our-self.

What do I mean by this? Some astrological cycles will only occur once in a lifetime but the majority of them repeat. For example we may begin a cycle at 12 years old and then experience that cycle again at 24.

We are in a different point in our development and have more inner and outer resources at 24 than we had at 12 years old. However, all our experiences are stored in our unconscious mind so we may be relying on a 12 year’s level of experience and perception to work with the cycle.

A well trained astrologer  can orient you to present day awareness, skills and resources as well as make suggestions on how to work with your cycles.

The same is true for a person’s natal chart. Much of the information we are born with (our previous lives and biological inheritances) sits beneath our conscious awareness.

Our natal blueprint, which indicates our astrological archetypes, as well as unseen generational stories gets activated as we go about our daily life. We make millions of decisions that end up becoming the creation of our health, wealth, relationships and work.

An astrologer can help identify that blueprint and again make suggestions on how to best work with a particular type of gift or weakness in order to create the most nourishing, fulfilling life possible.

Astrologers aren’t psychics.  Although it is not uncommon for people who have strong intuitive abilities to be attracted to the study of astrology, the practice of astrology isn’t about psychic prediction.

Astrology is part science and part art. The science part is that an astrologer can tell you what your cycles are right up till the day of your death. Those cycles are predictable.

The art of astrology is helping you understand the nature of the cycle, what  area of your life will be impacted and suggestions on how to best work with it. The rest is up to the individual as we all have freedom of choice.

A well trained astrologer can  encourage conscious choice-making as well as suggest resources to help get the most out of even the more challenging astrological cycles.

Want to learn more about Astrology click here

MY TOP FIVE GEMSTONES

Skye MacLachlan

As a gemstone therapist I’m often asked what my favorite gemstones/crystals are to work with.  Such a difficult question … because every gem has unique strengths and as we change, the gemstones that are most uplifting to us will also change.  So for the present time, here are my favorites, in no particular order.

1. Pink Tourmaline. This gemstone calms and balances the hormonal system.  It helped me sail through menopause with almost no hot flashes.  It’s also an amazing stone for shielding from negative outer energies and electromagnetic smog.  And because it works on both the physical and emotional bodies, it’s a feel good stone that helps to uplift my mood and enjoy life!
2. Green Tourmaline. The tourmalines are such powerful gemstones and green tourmaline offers an amazing energy boost when I’m feeling tired and depleted.  It’s even been used successfully by olympic athletes to improve their performance records!  The Chinese believe that green tourmaline is a formidable gemstone for healing cancer.  I always put this stone on in the early morning and remove it by mid-afternoon – otherwise it tends to keep me energized and awake all night long.
3. Amethyst. I’ve always loved amethyst.  It’s an amazing stone for calming the nervous system and it’s especially helpful for intuitives who might pick up other’s energy vibrations – a hazard of my occupationJ  It helps me to have empathy but not energetically ‘carry’ another’s load.  It’s also wonderful for easing pain and lulls one to sleep.  When I was in elementary school my English teacher told us about an ancient ritual.  He said that if we slept with a piece of amethyst under our pillow at night and asked to see our future husband/wife, we’d see them in our dreams.  Just recently when I was helping to clean out my parent’s home after my father’s death, I found many of my childhood dream diaries.  Wow, was I surprised when I read the perfect description of my husband Leo after doing that ritual.  The only catch is, the ancient writing says that you must be a virgin when doing this ritualJ
4. Yellow Sapphire. This gemstone is uplifting, like soaking up sunshine on the brightest day of the year.  It’s especially good for people who are impacted by S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder).  It also helps me to stand in my power and trust that spirit is guiding my path – even when the signs feel discouraging.  It’s a great gemstone for leaders and business owners.  It’s even said to help one attract greater financial abundance!!  I’ve never been very good at absorbing the sun’s rays, I tend to burn quickly.  Yellow sapphire has helped me to tolerate heat and sunshine while protecting me from the sun’s radiation.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s a gorgeous shade of lemony yellow!
5. I’m going to cheat a tiny bit with my last choice and pick the Beryl Several luscious gemstones are part of this clan, but these are the ones that call to me most often: emerald, aquamarine and morganite.  Without a doubt, emerald is the most powerful gemstone for healing the physical body.  It continually works to neutralize disease and uplift the weakest aspect of our physical bodies.  Emerald has helped me to overcome malaria over and over again throughout my life.  Aquamarine reminds me of the relaxing energy of the ocean.  Wave by wave it unwinds the stress in our minds and helps us to see issues from a brand new perspective.  Aquamarine has been a big ally for me when I’ve needed to shift stuck energies and open up to new possibilities.  It’s a threshold gem – helps us to step thru the opening and into a new reality.  Morganite is extremely nourishing for the emotional body.  If gemstones were edible, I’d gladly gobble up morganiteJ  It carries the most loving, accepting, and uplifting emotional vibrations.

I hope you found my favorites helpful for you in your own gemstone adventures.  Remember, always work with the gemstone helpers that you have.  Simply sit quietly with a gem and let it know what kind of support you’re requiring.  Speak from your heart and the gemstone will hear you and uplift you.  Gemstone blessings to each one of you!

Want to learn more about gemstones click here 

July 2017

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

January 2018