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Chronicles of a Witch in Training
Herbalists and other autonomous women operating outside of the patriarchy were labeled "Witches" in the Middle Ages. It is thought that upwards of a million women were systematically killed, many of them were Herbalists. This ended the practice of Herbalism in Continental Europe. This is also when "Western" Medicine was born.
In Ireland, being an Herbalist, being educated, having a profession, owning land or property, speaking Irish, practicing your religion, and even playing the harp became illegal under British Colonization and the Penal Laws of 1695. That's when the Hereditary Herbalism practices of my ancestors ended.
Becoming an Herbalist is an act of resistance, a political statement, and a powerful feminist move. I descend from two Irish Hereditary Herbalism Families who practiced from 1100 to 1695. I have reclaimed my ancestral knowledge, my DNA. This is the story of how I went from Registered Nurse to Mom, Artist, and Herbalist, what I've learned and continue to learn along the way. In this blog, I share what I discover and remember — to help you heal yourself.
169. Exploring the Benefits of Organic, Natural Herbal Remedies in Brooklyn
Brooklyn herb shop and apothecary at 810 Washington Ave, Prospect Heights. Organic herbal remedies from a clinical herbalist and former RN.
Donna Cleary
1 day ago4 min read
193. The Cycle of Samhain: Reclaiming Balance from Dominance
A Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist traces the Neolithic roots of Samhain — when the feminine and masculine were equally divine — and the ancestral medicine that carries that balance forward
Donna Cleary
Oct 99 min read
97. Halloween? How about Samhain instead - the origin of Halloween. (This is a repost)
Samhain (pronounced So-wan) is the ancient Irish Celtic festival that became Halloween — a threshold moment when the boundary between worlds thinned, the dead were honored, and winter began. Discover its Neolithic origins, Druidic traditions, and why Irish immigrants brought it to America.
Donna Cleary
Oct 30, 20233 min read
91. We visited Ireland this past March, traveled to The Bend In The Boyne and Lough Crew
Spiral Herbal Remedies owner Donna Troy Cleary traces her Hereditary Herbalism ancestry through Ireland's Neolithic passage tombs — Loughcrew Cairns and the Bend in the Boyne — where 5,000-year-old spiral petroglyphs inspired her logo and Druidic equinox ceremonies honored the harvest.
Donna Cleary
Sep 22, 20232 min read
90.Discover Plant-Based Healing: A Journey with Master Herbalist, Donna Troy Cleary in Brooklyn, NY.
In the heart of Brooklyn, Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary descends from Hereditary Herbalism Families in ancient Ireland and brings that ancestral knowledge to Spiral Herbal Remedies — where organic plant-based healing, personalized consultations, and community herbalism classes meet modern science."
Donna Cleary
Sep 13, 20233 min read
88. Today is the celebration of Bealtaine.
Bealtaine marks the beginning of summer in the ancient Celtic calendar — and 5,000 years ago, Druids lit a great bonfire at Uisneach, the sacred navel of Ireland, spreading its flame across the entire country. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary explores the ritual, the mythology, and how to honor this ancient tradition today."
Donna Cleary
May 1, 20233 min read
79. Spwing has Spwung
May Day marks the beginning of summer in the ancient Irish Celtic calendar — a time of bonfires, maypoles, and blessings of the land. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary shares the Irish traditions behind this ancient festival and how to weave them into your own spring ritual."
Donna Cleary
Apr 11, 20234 min read
78. "There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls." George Carlin
Flying to Ireland on a full moon sent Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary down a rabbit hole of Celtic lunar wisdom — Grandmother Moon, the Tuatha de Danann, and the 5,000-year-old passage tombs at Loughcrew and Newgrange that align with the Spring Equinox. Ancient Ireland, alive and howling.
Donna Cleary
Mar 5, 20233 min read
77. Imbolc (pronounced Imbulk) is February 1st.
Imbolc — February 1st in the ancient Celtic calendar — marks the first stirring of spring: plants redirecting energy to their roots, days lengthening, and the Irish goddess Brigid awakening the land. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary shares the Neolithic origins of this sacred festival and the herbs that support renewal, intuition, and connection."
Donna Cleary
Jan 27, 20232 min read
76. Scientists at MIT observed that life begins with a Spiral!
MIT scientists filmed the moment of fertilization — and spirals swirled across the surface of the egg. The same spiral is carved into 5,000-year-old Neolithic passage tombs across Ireland. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary shares why this stopped her in her tracks.
Donna Cleary
Dec 16, 20221 min read
75. What do thankfulness and hallucinations have in common?
Before Santa, there were Sami shamans in red and white fur, collecting sacred mushrooms from under evergreen trees and entering yurts through the smoke hole. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary traces the ancient solstice roots of Christmas — from Newgrange to Lapland — and gives thanks for another year.
Donna Cleary
Nov 29, 20223 min read
74. We associate Halloween with costumes and candy but once, it was a sacred day.
Halloween didn't start with candy and costumes — it started with Samhain, the ancient Irish Celtic new year, when the veil between worlds thinned, ancestors crossed over, and festivalgoers disguised themselves as ghouls to avoid being dragged into the underworld. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary traces Halloween back to its Irish roots.
Donna Cleary
Oct 20, 20223 min read
72. The Summer Solstice is upon us.
5,500 years ago, the builders of Newgrange in Ireland aligned its passage with the solstice sun. Today is the longest day of the year — and Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary traces the global tradition of solstice ceremony from Stonehenge to Chaco Canyon, and what this sacred transition means for us now.
Donna Cleary
Jun 21, 20223 min read
69. We could all use a little Leprechaun magic right about now.
What is magic? Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary connects Irish mythology — Leprechauns, the Tuatha de Danann, and the Otherworld — with Stanford neuroscience on mindset, positive thinking, and how what we believe shapes our health. A St. Patrick's Day post worth reading any day.
Donna Cleary
Mar 18, 20223 min read
68. Happy Imbolc
Imbolc marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox — when Irish Neolithic passage tombs align with the rising sun and the land begins its quiet awakening. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary shares the Celtic rituals, the herbs for this transitional energy, and why this ancient festival still matters.
Donna Cleary
Feb 1, 20221 min read
67. Witch?
Chronicles of a Witch in Training started as Donna Troy Cleary's account of discovering her Hereditary Irish Herbalism ancestry, the family medical school that ran in Munster from 1400–1700, and the Malleus Maleficarum that burned over a million women healers at the stake. Becoming an herbalist is a reclamation. And a radical feminist act.
Donna Cleary
Jan 21, 20223 min read
66. Halloween? How about Samhain instead? Yes, it's the origin of Halloween. Nov 2, 2021
Halloween's ghost costumes, trick-or-treating, and offerings of candy all trace back to Samhain — the ancient Irish Gaelic new year celebrated on October 31st, when the veil between this world and the Otherworld thinned and the dead came home. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary tells the real story.
Donna Cleary
Jan 21, 20222 min read
60. Crisis Competence Jan 30, 2021
Every crisis we survive makes the next one less frightening. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary draws on her years as a nurse — witnessing people navigate the ultimate crisis — to explore why 2020, as brutal as it was, may have been exactly the kick we needed.
Donna Cleary
Jan 21, 20222 min read
56. The History of Witches Oct 30, 2020
The women burned as witches in medieval Europe weren't practicing dark magic — they were herbalists, financially independent healers who organized resistance against land grabs and healed without the Church. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary traces their story to her own Irish hereditary herbalism ancestry, and why teaching herbalism today is an act of defiance."
Donna Cleary
Jan 21, 20222 min read
55. Irish Shamanism - Sli an Croi Sept 20,2020
What did Irish Shamans know about the gut that science is only now confirming? Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary traces her ancestral herbalism roots into Irish Shamanism and Druidism — and finds Quantum Physics, the microbiome, and the Gundestrup Cauldron waiting at the bottom of the rabbit hole.
Donna Cleary
Jan 21, 20223 min read
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