A LIVE ONLINE COURSE
GAIA:
THE BODY AS ALCHEMICAL JOURNEY
A 7-month training in herbal and stone medicine and myth, combining meditation and ritual with the alchemical science of our wise woman ancestors.
Deepen your connection with the Earth’s intelligence and develop the embodied wisdom to heal yourself and others.
WITH CRYSTAL WOODLING
A lineage Appalachian witch, clinical herbalist, Hellenistic astrologer, yogini, poet, and former literature professor
On Thursdays, beginning October 22, 2026
7 Months over Zoom
5:00–7:00 PM PACIFIC TIME |
8:00–10:00 PM EASTERN TIME
*EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT*
Receive 11% off when you register for the course by September 16, 2026 with the code: 11GAIA
These are tough times to be embodied.
You know it shouldn't be so hard to feel well, to feel a healthy passion for life, to feel empowered to change your world for the better.
The technological age has left many of us with
- mysterious illnesses that defy conventional "treatment."
- longing to feel more safety and pleasure in our bodies
- questing for an embodied sense of trust in our purpose and our decisions.
- struggling with overwhelm and a haunting lack of faith in the goodness of humanity/the universe.
That’s why GAIA was created
GAIA, a new 7-month training with Appalachian witch and herbalist Crystal Woodling, is a framework for understanding how humanity ended up in this whole mess...as well as our way out of it.
GAIA guides us along a clearly defined map developed by our alchemically wise ancestors for healing, relating, and creating alongside Mother Earth.
Through meditation, embodied observation, and scholarly inquiry, you'll learn to feel the Earth’s intelligence and medicine flow through your body, communicate confidently with plant and stone allies, and develop the embodied wisdom to heal yourself and others.
You will leave GAIA with…
- A deeper capacity to sit with plant and stone allies through meditation and ritual, listen through your senses, and experience their intelligence directly
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An embodied and mythological understanding of the four classical elements, the humors, tissue states, and organ systems
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Knowledge of how to skillfully manipulate the elements and humors for healing and balance
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Tools for reading patterns of imbalance in the body’s tissues and organs as a part of our alchemical journeys
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The ability to work with plant and stone allies to increase your innate psychic abilities in clinical work as well as magical ritual
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Practical skills in alchemical medicine-making, compounding, and formulation
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Ways of identifying plant and stone qualities through taste, smell, color, texture, energetics, and the Doctrine of Signatures
GAIA is perfect for you if:
- You’re either new to herbalism or have bounced between herbal courses and want both a more embodied approach and more scientific rigor
- You’re drawn to tea or cacao sits and want to explore that same intimate, ritual relationship with other plant and stone allies
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You want to seamlessly blend myth, magic, science, and clinical skill in your healing practice
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You want to harness the power of the classical Western elements and work with them as allies in your healing and magical practice
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You want to re-engage with Western science and medicine through its roots as a wise-woman alchemical tradition
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You want to learn to source, formulate, and craft your own plant and stone medicines as potent alchemical rituals
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You are ready to start fully incarnating and living your purpose here on Mother Earth/GAIA’s glorious body now
What previous students say about CRYSTAL WOODLING
“I’m more content to just be. I love having conversations with the herbs. Approaching life in this way, through the foundational structure of herbs and bodily tissue states, among other things we’ve learned, has changed how I feel in general.”
Monica Steger
Professional Musician
“I’ve had huge shifts in allowing anger to exist in my body and channel it in ways that feel appropriate now. It’s been a game changer, and is a huge turning point for me! I never would have believed it possible.”
Marissa Lovelace
CEO at Metta Wellness
“I’ve experienced a noticeable hopefulness that things can change. This is very different than the complete overwhelm I had been experiencing. My mood is more elevated and I feel like the community of like-minded people in the group was supportive in ways that I appreciate.”
Kimberly Minardi
Tarot Reader at Vinegar and Glitter
“I’ve been more appreciative of the earth and the plants and find myself seeing beauty even in the winter trees with no leaves. I’ve also been closer to my family and feel less like I need to hide my beliefs.”
Nicola Weitz
RYT-500, LMT
“Crystal is an exquisite, magical, laser-like guide. It’s rare to find someone so present, caring, attuned, curious, sensitive, and empathic. She truly has genius multi-dimensional skills to support you through a deep learning process of reclaiming your power.”
Jennifer Piercy
CEO at Sacred Sleep Yoga
GAIA FEATURES:
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16 Guided Live Plant & Stone Diets complete with 16 PDFs of Materia Medica/Magica
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8 Written Lessons as PDFs with MP3 Audio Accompaniment
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8 Live Presentations on Zoom which Review and Integrate Material from the Lessons.
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16 Live Plant and Stone Dieta Opening Rituals and Meditations
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Monthly Dreamwork Circles to develop sensitivity to messages we will receive in dreamtime from our new allies
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Ample myth and folktales to help ground our studies in the most human and connected way possible
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Access to The School of Heaven and Earth & Sibyl's Cave and a dedicated Mighty Network channel to hold you accountable in your studies and craft.
SECTIONS OVERVIEW
All sessions will occur live on Thursdays at 8pm ET /5pm PT and will be approximately 2 hours. Replays will be available if you miss a live call.
Each lesson in GAIA spans approximately two weeks wherein we will form relationships through "diets" with accompanying herbs and stones associated with the seven planets and the fixed stars.
SECTION 1 | Foundations of Alchemy, Western Science, and Grounding in Lineage
SECTION 2 | Initiations into the Elements
SECTION 3 | The Humors and Tissue States
SECTION 4 | A sensuous study of The Body systems and her allies
SECTION 5 | The Alchemical Makeup of the Body and Universe
SECTION 6 | Alchemical Medicine Preparation & Ritual
SECTION 7 | Formulation & Compounding
SECTION 8 | The Work of Ritual, Story, & Community
MEET CRYSTAL WOODLING
Crystal was born into a deep lineage of Appalachian medicine women and spent her childhood harvesting medicines and befriending the fae and primordial elementals of the world's most ancient hills and waterways.
She is co-director of The School of Heaven & Earth, founder of Sibyl's Cave, a yogini with over 2 decades of dedicated daily practice, a full-time teacher with 20 years experience, and a skilled herbal & astral witch and journey-work practitioner who has helped hundreds of clients and students escape pain and build lives they are passionate about living.
After leaving her career as a creative writing and literature professor and performing artist, she spent over a decade studying with and hosting healers at and elders from various folk and indigenous cultures around the globe at her wellness center in Western Pennsylvania.
Crystal has spent many long nights in prayer, weeks in sacred fasts and plant dietas, and months walking alone across the US in the elements for the wisdom and power she generously grants to her clients and students. She has also studied and apprenticed with the very finest minds in the Western herbal medicine world: Ola Obassi, Julie McIntyre, Ashley Litecky-Elenbaas, Matthew Wood, Margi Flint, and she is now studying David Winston.
GAIA is Crystal's flagship course in healing through earth medicines.
Course Schedule
(all classes are from 5:00pm - 7:00pm Pacific Time on Thursdays with lifetime access to replays.)
October 2026
- Thursday, October 22
- Thursday, October 29
November 2026
- Thursday, November 5
- Thursday, November 12
- Thursday, November 19
- November 26: No class, Thanksgiving
December 2026
- Thursday, December 3
- Thursday, December 10
- Thursday, December 17
- December 24: No class, Christmas Eve
- December 31: No class, New Year’s Eve
January 2027
- Thursday, January 7
- Thursday, January 14
- Thursday, January 21
- Thursday, January 28
February 2027
- Thursday, February 4
- Thursday, February 11
- Thursday, February 18
- Thursday, February 25
March 2027
- Thursday, March 4
- Thursday, March 11
- Thursday, March 18
- Thursday, March 25
April 2027
- Thursday, April 1
- Thursday, April 8
- Thursday, April 15
- April 22: No class, first day of Passover
- April 29: No class, final day of Passover
May 2027
- Thursday, May 6
- Thursday, May 13
- Thursday, May 20
- Thursday, May 27
June 2027
- Thursday, June 3
FAQ
Can a complete beginner to herbalism and alchemy take this course?
Will this course teach me to be a practicing herbalist?
What is Crystal's education and experience?
What's the time commitment for this course?
Will classes be recorded?
What is the refund policy?
Secure your spot!
(Space is limited.)
INCLUDES:
* 28 2-hour classes
* Lifetime Access to Recordings
* Community Group
*EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT*
Receive 11% off when you register for the course by September 16, 2026 with the code: 11GAIA
Additional Payment Plan Options
REGISTER NOWAre you ready...
Whether you're deepening an existing herbalism & stone healing practice, or new to the path and want a strong elemental foundation for beginning your journey- this is the course for you.
This course is a more sensuous and storied approach to herbalism and elementalism, with equal parts scientific and clinical rigor, for those ready to fully live their purpose here on Mother Earth/GAIA.
If you are ready to open your being to be a vessel for the wisdom and desire of planet earth herself, we welcome you!
