Best Herbs and Natural Medicine

The Scarlet Sage Herb Co.

1173 Valencia (at 23rd Street), 821-0997, www.scarletsageherb.com

Scarlet Sage is a treasure trove of holistic knowledge, containing everything an herbal enthusiast could ever want -- sans the hollow New Age trappings. Don't get sidetracked by the voluminous selection of tarot decks and scented candles: Scarlet Sage is, first and foremost, a retail store specializing in medicinal herbs from Native American and Western European healing practices. Its owners display a passion for the healing properties of herbs and a desire to educate people through an impressive array of wares (more than 300 herbs and 100 combination remedies) and a slew of affordable classes, from homeopathy to "Ancient Forest Healing." The aromatherapy section is particularly sizable, including candles made with pure essential oils and supplies for creating your own products. Everyone who works here is a trained herbalist, so natural-medicine neophytes who don't know their valerian from their Indian snakeroot can know they're in good hands.