The healing arts, practical herbalism, personal awareness, wisdom and skills are of value to self and community at all times, mending, nourishing, empowering and enriching our lives in hard times and good... yet are perhaps most vital during periods of personal difficulty, social distress or economic hardship. Not since our ancestors depended on their alertness, self-knowledge and the lessons of the natural world for their very survival, have these knowings and qualities likely been more essential to our well being or crucial for the future of our kind.

We hope you will join us on an extended journey of exploration and meaning, through these integrated two part Animá and Medicine Woman sites. You can follow the links in the Introduction & Contents below to anywhere you want to go.

Throughout human history there have been certain women who felt called to the demanding role, as truth-sayers, healers, agents of nature and the great mystery, intermediaries between the visible and invisible or spirit worlds, and repositories of wisdom and story. Such women have been suppressed or even persecuted over the course of the past 500 or so years, and been increasingly sidelined in the modern age by invasive allopathic practices, the synthetic drug industry, and a hegemony of institutionally indoctrinated male doctors. While holistic herbalism and naturopathy are on the rise again, they often follow the same errant Heroic model of intervention and cure that besets the larger industry. Likewise, models of alternative medicine often suffer from superficiality, commercialism, well meaning nonsense and New Age superficiality. The Medicine Woman tradition is a return to earlier iconic practices, reviving the role of the Wise Woman healer who points out the lessons and benefits of trauma as well as the miraculous natural means for wellness. And like never before, this is a tradition dedicated not only to the wholeness of the self, but also to the whole of life.

The Animá Medicine Woman Tradition is a contemporary Animá practice and tradition founded by Kiva Rose with Jesse Wolf Hardin, encouraging disciplined awareness and self knowledge, personal empowerment, action and expression... for the purpose of bodily, emotional, spiritual and planetary healing. Drawing from the wisdom and mythology of the tribal Wise Woman, as well as directly from nature and the plant world, we seek to equip each other with the tools and skills needed for a full and purposeful life in these changing times.

The primary way of learning and benefitting from the Tradition is through the Animá Medicine Woman Core and Medicine Woman Herbal Correspondence courses, and you might also consider the related Path of Heart, ReWilding and Shaman Path courses, all featuring close and personal online assistance as well as substantial inspiring curricula.

Other opportunities to consider include participation in the annual Medicine Woman Gathering that’s held at the Sanctuary each Summer, the Medicine Woman and other Animá Books & Music, in-person or online Healing Consultations or Counsel with teacher Kiva Rose, a Student Resident Internship or Student Retreat or the commitment and benefits of a full-on Apprenticeship.

This site is also here as a free resource for you, with materials you can use (please credit them to us when sharing or reprinting) such an information on the Principles and Practice of the Tradition, Medicine Making, Recipes, Therapeutics & Nutrition, an evolving introduction to the unique Animá Medicine Wheel Energetics System, and extensive Materia Medica & Plant Profiles. Also featured are Kiva Rose’s Botanica Poetica, stories and poetry, as well as inspiring writings by Jesse Wolf Hardin and Loba.

Proceed to the the Membership & Support page in order to become a Member or Supporter, or to read about our Core Supporters & Allies. A list of other recommended Herbal and online resources can be found with links on the Sister Sites page.

All services and products are offered on a suggested donation basis only, with no one turned away for lack of funds. But we also have no income other than your donations and tithings, and depend entirely on your assistance for our survival and work. You can make a contribution by mail or Paypal by going to the Donations Page.

The Animá Retreat & Learning Center is a primitive Teaching and Retreat facility, Women’s Sanctuary, Botanical Preserve and Wildlife Refuge – nested in a secluded and incredibly enchanted river canyon in the Gila wildlands of Southwest New Mexico. For a detailed description, venture to the Animá Center page.

On-Site opportunities include Wilderness Retreats in rustic riverside cabins, guided Vision Quests, Personal Counsel and Healing Consultations, Student Resident Internships for women and both women-only and mixed gender Workshops... all by Donation. You can see photos of the Lodging before your visit to the Sanctuary.

Announcements and updates can be found on the Animá Blog, you can meet your hosts on the Hosts & Guides page, and we highly recommend reading Testimonials from noted Herbalists and luminaries and grateful past participants as well as current students, supporters and allies.

Upcoming MWT Event: Aug 7-12, 2009 The Medicine Woman Gathering.

“The Medicine Woman teachings touched me in a way, and at a depth, that I have never experienced before. You’ve helped to see myself as the empowered and responsible healer that I really am, and to act accordingly, making conscious choices every single ‘decisive moment’ of my life. Thank you for your amazing system of herbal healing and understanding; for affirming my connection to the amazing plant-beings and introducing me to a community of like minded sisters; and especially, for helping me to grow my purposeful Medicine Woman self. Turn me loose... I’ll never be the same!”-Deana Casper, Herbalist & Midwife

Kiva has the best medicine woman blog hands down. Her writing is brilliant. She is a true wise woman, inspiring, empowering, knowledgeable, and her plant descriptions and pictures are superb. She add a personal touch to her posts that make the reading and learning easy, fun, and thought provoking.
- Angie Goodloe, Practicing Herbalist and Medicine Woman Student

Kiva, I have occasion to read your blog and have to say that you inspire me so much. It just proves to me that the only way we can truly learn the language of plants is to learn from the plants themselves. I spent 9 years studying herbal medicine through books at a college. I have learnt more in the last 6 months from the plants themselves than what i learned in all that time in a man-made institution. After reading of your experiences with the wild green I am loathe to think that I could call myself a herbwyfe. Thank you for being an inspiration, for letting the rest of us know what it actually means to work with plants.
-Michelle Carnochan, Australia

The Medicine Woman’s Roots is a much acclaimed blog featuring information on the medicinal plants of the Southwest and beyond, how-to tips on natural medicine making, teaching stories from the Medicine Woman Tradition, poetry and photography by lauded herbalist and Animá teacher Kiva Rose.

To get new posts sent to you automatically, go to the Medicine Woman’s Roots blog and click on “Subscribe.”

The Animá Blog features inspiring teaching tales and stories of life at the Animá Wilderness Sanctuary, with profiles, event announcements, new photos of the Center and its plant and wildlife, artwork, poetry, wild foods recipes, recently published articles and exclusive excerpts from books in progress.

To get new posts sent to you automatically, go to the Animá Blog and click on “Subscribe.”

All of the beautiful botanical and Medicine Woman artwork on the following pages was hand drawn and copyrighted by Medicine Woman Tradition cofounder Jesse Wolf Hardin (along with a few of Loba's lovely watercolors). Wolf occasionally accepts commissions for illustrations, book covers and small business or nonprofit logos, and if you are interested in either art prints or a custom order contact us via email.

All photographs are (C)2009 by Jesse Wolf Hardin or Kiva Rose. To purchase rights to print for any of these images, email us with a description of the intended use, print run size and so forth. Thank you.

If you are interested in becoming a Member or Supporter, applying for either a Medicine Woman or other Animá Correspondence Course, applying for or an Apprenticeship, requesting a Healing Consultation or Counsel with Kiva Rose, or registering for a Retreat, Vision Quest, or the Medicine Woman Gathering or other group Event, please go to the relevant page on this site... then download, fill out and return the required Application or Registration Form.

You can make a donation for any service, book or event by clicking on the PayPal button on the Donations Page. Thank you!

If you need to contact us for any other reason, you can write:

The Animá Learning & Retreat Center

Box 688, Reserve, NM 87830

or email us at:

mail(at)animacenter(dot)org