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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.
192. Easy Pee-sy | Organic Herbal Support for Men's Urinary & Prostate Health
By their 50s, half of all men show signs of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary breaks down the peer-reviewed research behind every plant in Easy Pee-sy — why one of them matched Flomax in a 2020 meta-analysis of 1,080 men and why our blend works better.
dartny091
1 day ago7 min read
191. Liver Friendly Tincture | Why Your Liver Is the Real Key to Healthy Cholesterol
Your liver runs 500 functions — including the one that controls your cholesterol. Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary shares the science, her personal story, and the herbs that support
dartny091
Sep 2210 min read
190. Gone Viral Tincture | Why Timing Is Everything
Gone Viral Tincture works best when you take it at the first sign of symptoms — not after you're already sick. Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary explains the loading-dose protocol and why timing is everything
dartny091
Sep 174 min read
64. New Location!! May 5, 2021
fter Artists & Fleas, Broadway, Union Square, SoHo, and a pandemic closure, Donna Troy Cleary found her home at 810 Washington Avenue in Crown Heights Brooklyn. The story of searching, building, and finally landing in exactly the right place — with a plant-based chef in tow."
dartny091
Jan 21, 20223 min read
62. What next? April 13, 2021
Easter 2021 — the first day in over a year that felt almost normal. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary reflects on the fear, the relief, the family gathering, and what's coming next: a new Brooklyn shop, a puppy, and the slow return of hope.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20223 min read
61. Young Adults in Crisis. Feb 17, 2021
ovid hit young adults particularly hard — no jobs, no independence, no rites of passage. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary offers 7 practical ways to cope, from a Buddhist monk's seconds-long anxiety technique to forest bathing, CBD, and Ashwagandha — and a reminder that none of us are in this alone.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20223 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.
dartny091
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.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20223 min read
54. Herd Immunity and Hurdles. August 20, 2020
NYC flattened the curve. But this post is really about what happened before recorded history. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary discovers her parents carry more Neanderthal DNA than 68–88% of the world — and wonders whether her ancestors were healing people when Ireland's stone circles were built 5,000 years ago."
dartny091
Jan 21, 20224 min read
53. We're OPEN!! Yay! Yippee!! Woohoo! Wow!!!We're OPEN!! Yay! Yippee!! Woohoo! Wow!!! June 20,2020
After months of Covid lockdown, Spiral Herbal Remedies reopened its doors in June 2020. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary reflects on interconnection, Black Lives Matter, the planet healing itself when industry stopped, and why plants contain medicinal properties that work in human bodies.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20224 min read
51. Recovering from Covid. May 28, 2020
Covid recovery is taking weeks, sometimes a month. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary explains why — cytokine storms, lingering virus, immune dysregulation — and what her organic herbal remedies do to help the body find its way back: Reishi, Gone Viral, Reclaim Your Lungs, CBD, and more.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20225 min read
50. Let's revisit CBD May 21, 2020
A lot of people tried CBD and gave up because the product they bought didn't work. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary breaks down what CBD actually does, why lab testing and concentration matter, and why Spiral Herbal Remedies is one of NYC's top 10 CBD vendors."
dartny091
Jan 21, 20224 min read
48. How to Safely Run Errands During Covid. May 6, 2020
A step-by-step video walkthrough. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary demonstrates exactly how to handle groceries and run errands safely during Covid — practical guidance from someone who spent 13 years as a Registered Nurse."
dartny091
Jan 21, 20220 min read
47. Brain Health April 18,2020
800 people a day were dying in Brooklyn. And yet the air was cleaner than it had been in decades. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist, former RN, and artist Donna Troy Cleary reflects on what Covid revealed about reciprocity, the planet, and the infinitely flexible human brain — alongside her 2020 sculpture Brain Health, made from yarn and upcycled plastic waste.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20223 min read
45. The Corona Virus March 13, 2020
March 2020. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary translated the science in real time — flattening the curve, masks, hand washing, immune support, and the herbal remedies that help your body fight back. One of the earliest and most comprehensive Covid guides published by an independent health practitioner in NYC.
dartny091
Jan 21, 202211 min read
44. conflict resolution Feb 28, 2020
Conflict is unavoidable. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary shares what a Women's Entrepreneur Conference taught her about peace pacts and conscious contracting — and how CBD got her through a heated meeting when her body literally shut her mouth. Plus a Mildred's Lane residency, a Textile Art Center award, and a permaculture garden."
dartny091
Jan 21, 20225 min read
43. Witch? December 4, 2019
The women burned as witches weren't evil. They were herbalists — powerful, autonomous, at the center of their communities — eliminated by a law written to destroy them. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary traces that history to her own Irish hereditary herbalism ancestry, and explains why opening Spiral Herbal Remedies is both a reclamation and a radical act.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20223 min read
42. Weeds December 4, 2019
The plants with the most powerful medicinal properties are the ones we pull out of our gardens and consider weeds. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary reflects on ethical wildcrafting, Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, and what a snow-covered oregano plant taught her about resilience, reciprocity, and why weeds are superheroes.
dartny091
Jan 21, 20225 min read
41. Why I went into the woods (or in this case Prospect Park). March 31, 2019
Stressed and ruminating, Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist Donna Troy Cleary took her own advice and walked to Prospect Park. What followed was a meditation on mugwort, turkey tail mushrooms, and why slow walking is underrated — told through dictated notes, a dying phone, and the sculpture Hybrid, made from crocheted yarn and a mannequin body."
dartny091
Jan 21, 20225 min read
40. Let's talk about the Microbiome and other gooey things... December 31, 2018
90% of the cells on and in your body are not human. They are bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea — and without them, you cannot survive. Brooklyn Clinical Herbalist and former RN Donna Troy Cleary wrote the definitive guide to the microbiome: what it is, why it matters, what destroys it, and exactly what to eat, take, and avoid to keep it thriving.
dartny091
Jan 21, 202210 min read
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