Stars of the Earth
Astrological Herbalism + Flower essence Retreat

with Lupo & our Friends at Wild Ginger Community Herbal Center

February 12-20 2024

study the plants & the planets in the heart of the Caribbean…

Join us in the abundant Talamanca region of Costa Rica (again!) for an Introduction to Astrological Herbalism. This eight night intensive will be spent working with the astrological elements, modes, planets and signs as well as the flowers essences our beloved plant allies. As we honor the ancient dance of both earth and sky, we will be taking what we learn from the jungle and native plants and couple it with the time worn wisdom of the stars and the planets. Working directly with the beautiful tropical flora that surrounds the Caribe Sur we will build a deep and meaningful relationship to this long proven pairing. Additionally, we will be nourished well and learn local herbal and foodways with an amazing local Afro-Costa Rican herbalist!

Each participant will help create over a dozen Astro inspired Tropical Flower Essences to take home to use for years to come! This is a certificate program in Astro Herbalism and Tropical Flower Essences. All participants will be awarded a certificate of completion.

Lupo Passero is a Community Herbalist and Educator and the Director of Twin Star Herbal Education and Community Apothecary. She has been traveling and teaching in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica for a decade and brings with her 25 years of knowledge of building intimate relationships with, and deep understanding of the plants, the planets and the flower essences. While Lupo has had the honor to learn from many teachers and lineages of plant medicine throughout Europe and Central America, she centers and draws deeply upon her own Mediterranean Basin, Sicilian/Italian and Irish ancestral knowledge.

Stars of the Earth Astro-Herbalism & Essences

Register today, and leave the rest to us. We will pick you up, just outside Juan Santamaria San Jose Airport and bring you directly to your new Caribbean home, at the Wild Ginger Herbal Center. Our perfect, warm and sunny days will be filled with all things plants and planets! You will find yourself immersed deep in the heart of the Caribbean, where the jungle meets the sea, surrounded by an unbelievable amount of both tropical flora and fauna (yes, that means daily sighting of monkeys, sloths and more!). Your days will be filled with new friends, fantastic food and a plethora of classes and activities that will fill and activate your heart, mind and spirit!

Wild Ginger Herbal Center work centers around relationship, with the plants, the land, and with each other. In addition to the classes taught by Lupo, this experience in an amazing opportunity to truly immerse yourself in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica. Together we will explore plant medicine while surrounded by the infamous natural beauty.  Our program will include a balance between field studies to local Black and Indigenous traditional herbalists and farms, classes at our center, and time spent exploring plants with amazing teachers who have dedicated their lives to plant medicine local to Costa Rica.  You will stay at our traditional wooden rustic group Caribbean cabinas, one block to the sea! 

2024 Astro herbalism Schedule:

Monday February 12
2:30 Meet outside Juan Santamaria San Jose Airport and depart for Wild Ginger Herbal Center

Tuesday February 13
9:30 Welcome & Introduction to Astrology, Herbs and Essences
Our first morning together will be spent pairing the trifecta of the planets, the plants and the essences. We will begin to lay the ground work for hw all thre of these aspects play into modern Herbalism via the lens of tradition and history. Numerous connections will be made and our relationships with the plants and how to best understnad them fr healing purposes will be highlighted. We will cover the basic history of astrology, herbalism and flower essences and how throughout more recent times they have been separated and more importantly, how we can begin to weave them back together.
12:00 Group Lunch 
2:00 pm  Class with Lupo
Exploring the Elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire
The elements go beyond their physical energy and manifest as personality traits and energetic forces in both the plants and people. Sitting with the 7 Sacred Directions: East, South, West, North, Above, Below and Within tells one of the oldest stories, how botanicals, humans and Spirit relate. Shared commonly with cultures around the world, getting to know the elements and directions gives us a better idea of how we sit with the Earth. It offers a greater understanding to our connection to the plant world, which plants and essences can help us navigate each ancestral direction.
5:00 Group Dinner

Wednesday February 14
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Afro Costa Rican Plant Walk with Alda
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Class with Lupo Plants, Planets & The Sun & Moon Looking through a botanical lens, we will explore the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and the plants and essences that they rule. We will also explore the energies and making essences with both the Sun & Moon
5:00 Group Dinner Free Evening

Thursday February 15
8:00 Breakfast
8:45 Depart for BriBri - Indigenous Herbalism and Traditional Chocolate Making
Hike & Swim at Waterfalls
5:00 Group Dinner

Friday February 16
8:30 Breakfast
9:30 Class with Lupo How Plants Speak We will stroll along the Caribbean Sea and into the Jungle to discover the Doctrine of Signatures and through close and careful observation will learn to interpret the Language of Plants. We will practice deepening our intuition and our relationship to the plant world building upon ancient techniques and principles utilized by humans for millennia.
12:00 Group Lunch
2:30  The Zodiac and Corresponding Herbs and Essences for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo! We will spend the afternoon in our oceanfront classroom getting to Know the 12 signs of the Zodiac & the botanicals that correspond with and physically and energetically support them.
5:00 Group Dinner

Saturday February 17, 2024
8:00am Breakfast
9:00 Trip to Local Farmers Market in Puerto Viejo - Explore Market
Free Time in Town of Puerto Viejo
1:00 pm Return Back to Wild Ginger on Group Bus 
FREE EVENING

Sunday February 18
9:00 Breakfast
The Zodiac and Corresponding Herbs and Essences for Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces! We will spend the morning, beachside getting to Know the 12 signs of the Zodiac & the botanicals that correspond with and physically and energetically support them.
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Tropical Plants, Utilizing Planetary Herbs & Essences We will take a deep dive into the plants that the jungle of Talamanca so generously offers and will be making tropical flower essences with some of our favorite plants, highlighting their planetary correspondence, including Coffee (Mercury), Cacao (Sun), Ginger (Moon), Black Pepper (Mars), Ylang Ylang (Venus), Macuna (Jupiter), Nutmeg (Uranus), Nettle (Saturn), Passion Flower (Neptune). Each participant will help create over a dozen Astro inspired Tropical Flower Essences to take home to use for years to come! 
5:00 Group Dinner

Monday February 19, 2023
7:00 Breakfast
7:30 Walk in National Reserve with Local Naturalist
12:30 Lunch
2:30 Class Birth Charts & Closing Ceremony We will end our time together exposing our own individual Natal Charts and the plants that support our true Soul Path. All participants will receive a printed copy of their natal birth chart and together we will explore the plants, remedies and essences that can best support us on our journey.
6:00 Group Despedida and Cooking Class

Tuesday February 20 - Depart from Wild Ginger Herbal Center to San Jose Airport