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ancient tracks
The Green Arte is a sacred grove where you can connect deeply to our verdant allies through ritual, medicine, magic, and journey. Here, you’ll find inspiration and initiation into the Old Ways of the plant spirit path. If you’ve felt called to work with the verdant beings of forest and garden, you’re welcome here.
When you join our Patreon community and help support my work there, you’ll get instant access to all past offerings plus everything new as it comes out! This includes:
monthly plant spirit journeys with monographs, rituals, audio meditations, and more
monthly advanced classes & workshops
over 125 high-quality video classes with audio-only options
on-demand courses you won’t see presented anywhere else
book club & community chats
unreleased classes & presentations
discounts on live workshops and events
& so much more
herbwise ancestors
herbwise ancestors
Connect to the blessed dead of your own ancestral line, the land you steward, and the spiritual traditions you practice and see how the green blessings flow! In this special class we’ll explore who the herbwise ancestors are while learning powerful ways to connect with them, honor them, and work with them.
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There are countless expressions of walking with the plants from cultures, traditions, and perspectives across time and space- but one common stream that runs through them all is a deep, personal connection to the person of the plant spirits. Walking this path means we relate to the plants as arcane spirits who are full of consciousness, wisdom, and power. Through this relationship, we work with them to call in harmony to self, community, and cosmos.
The plant spirit path is a broad spiritual tradition where the plants take center stage. They are our guides and guardians, saints and allies. It is through our sorcerous connections to the verdant ones that we accomplish acts of magic, medicine, ritual, and transformation.
All plant spirit paths and traditions are fiercely animist in their ways- understanding and experiencing that we all live in a world full of persons, only some of those persons being human. The plants carry the deep wisdom of the beginning, and those who work with them find an initiation into the depths of nature’s mysteries.
The Green Arte is one way of working the plant spirit path that has been informed by my own ancestral plant lore from (mostly) Northern & Western Europe- especially that preserved in various streams of ancient Fairy Faith, my personal experience with the bioregional plants of where I live now, and the direct, hard-won teachings of the plant spirits and their guardians over many years of doing this work. My wish is to share these green blessings with you so that you can bring them into your own verdant spirituality and walk the spiral plant path in your own way.
Learn The Green Artes & Ways of The Plant Spirit Path
I offer a robust selection of free classes that will take you from the first steps of plant spirit work all the way into advanced practices and applications. If you feel called to the wild ways of the green artes, I think you’ll find what you’re looking for here!
For those who want to go even deeper, you’re invited to explore my immersive courses which provide initiatory-level wisdom, experience, and education in modern plant spirit path working.
About Your Guide
Josh Williams is a traditionally-trained clinical herbalist, occult botanist, herbal educator, author, and follower of the Old Ways. He’s been involved with the ways of the plants for over 20 years and is in full-time private herbal practice in Salt Lake City, Utah. Josh is a 2024 candidate for Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild.
Josh is the author of two books published by Aeon in London: Spiritual Herbalism and The Green Arte. He’s created over 150 free community classes on YouTube, and is a passionate teacher of the green artes.
The Green Arte is Josh’s most valued work- a living, breathing plant spirit path that is rooted in the beautiful traditions of Celtic Fairy Faith while being fully adaptable to the here and now.
The reweaving of what is magic and what is medicine in the realm of plant work is essential to the way Josh explores the plant path. He also centers deep, personal connection to the plants, their protectors, and our herbwise ancestors as a means to cultivate dual-citizenship in the world of human and the world of the green.
You can also explore Josh’s Hortus Viridios project <here> where his priesthood work for the ancient green man can be found.
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I am a big fan of Josh and his work. Taking both of his courses, I find him to be not only a great teacher who is extremely well spoken and poignant, but also delivers his teachings with heart and care. He made me think about not only plants, but the world in a whole new way with his animistic viewpoint which I now live my life by. I refer to my class notes almost weekly and have watched classes numerous times due the amount of information contained in them. I will forever be grateful to Josh and his teachings. If you haven't guess it by now, I highly recommend The Green Arte School.
Cheryl, USA
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Josh Williams as a teacher is pretty straight forward and concrete, which is something that's rarely found in general. His lectures are well prepared and organized and you simply know he’ll be there to back you up if you needed it. I really appreciate Josh's authenticity, attitude and energy. He pass on his vast knowledge in a very approachable and simple ways. What attracted me to Josh is his legitimacy and “down to earth” feel to him. I could feel that plants themselves talk trough him. Josh as a teacher transforms learning into a truly “easy to follow” adventure.
Marija, Bosnia & Herzegovina
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Josh’s multi-dimensional herbal knowledge and ability to communicate and teach to a wide range of learners is second to none as is his relationship with the plant kin-dom! What I have learned from him has enhanced my life and he inspires me to deeper levels of knowledge and relationship with the plant spirits every time I take part in one of his wonderful workshops .
Sarah, UK
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I had spent many years studying herbalism. Went to various schools, completed a variety of programs etc. I learned a lot and appreciated it all…..but there was always this hollow place within me which was holding space for something missing. That something missing was an actual connection with the plants themselves. I would read and hear about people sitting with plants, talking to them, making offerings to them. But I just couldn’t connect with that. I would go outside, sit on a chair amongst the trees and flower—and nothing. That all changed when I started taking classes with Josh. He provided the materials and inspiration I needed to create a framework in which I could work towards building relationships with plants. And it worked, and my world was changed forever. I can’t give enough praise to the courses he offers. They are life changing and are unlike any I have ever come across before.
Sharon, USA
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I have always felt a call to the plants and herbal medicine, which I sadly ignored for most of my life. At the time of writing this I have been watching Josh’s free content for two years and a patreon member for nearly a year. When he began offering his Spiritual Herbalism course I immediately enrolled. I knew it was going to be incredible, but I was completely blown away. Josh is one of those rare people who has a great gift for teaching. After his classes I walk away not only feeling like I learned something, like I acquired the data, but he has this incredible way of instilling the confidence to do something with the knowledge he teaches. He presents all of his lessons in an approachable, and easily understood way that anyone can come to regardless of spiritual path or experience level. Whether he’s discussing botany, herbalism, or spirituality there is always a wealth of knowledge presented, and you can tell he’s truly passionate about what he’s teaching. Following his methods of plant work has allowed me to enter into real reciprocal relationships with the plants, the land, and the spirits around me and has not only given me the knowledge and the confidence to craft herbal medicine, but also deepened my own spiritual practice, and helped me cultivate more peace and harmony and improve all other relationships in my life. His courses are truly something special, and I can’t recommend them enough.
Chase, USA