The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy

A number of medicinal plants directly influence our nervous system and can have an influence on healing our mind and our psychological state. ———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY ———————————— To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:  http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com Get daily inspiration and plant wisdom on our Facebook and Instagram channels: http://www.facebook...

Comfrey is an important plant in traditional Western herbalism, as well as in modern herbalism, but there's a stigma around it too. People seem to be a bit scared of comfrey because of some research showing some of the constituents are potentially dangerous.    But this is an herb that has been used in Western herbalism both topically and, yes—believe it or not—internally as well for a really long...

Oftentimes with medicinal plants, there will be other species in a particular genus that can be used in the exact same way as the standardly accepted species that we typically use in herbal medicine. ———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY ———————————— To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:  http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com Get daily inspiration and plant wisdom o...

As herbalists, we tend to rely pretty heavily on alcohol as one of our main ways for extracting and preserving the medicinal properties of plants. Herbal tinctures are one of the most commonly used forms of herbal medicine.  In modern herbalism, we tend to think of alcohol as great for dissolving herbal constituents and preserving things well. They last indefinitely if the percentage is higher tha...

Bitter herbs have been gaining a lot of popularity over the years, and they're sometimes seen as a magical cure, especially for the digestive system. Some people say that everyone should be on bitters because they're so amazing for digestion. Many people these days have a lot of issues with the digestive system, primarily because our GIs are under assault from a lot of different angles from antibi...

One of the biggest fears that we have as herbalists and as practitioners is that not only will our remedies potentially not work or heal the person that we're working with, but that they might actually do harm, that we might give someone a plant and it creates an issue for them in their body, or they have a really bad reaction to that herb. What are some of the different ways that that can happen...

Upper respiratory allergies can sometimes be a little bit tricky to work with as an herbalist. In this post, we'll focus on giving some lists of some remedies to consider for treating upper respiratory tract allergies, but really on a deeper level, looking at core actions and energetics and categories of remedies that you would consider, and I'll also share what can be literally a life-saving simp...

Astrology is a holistic system that sees not just the whole plant or the whole person but their connection to the whole cosmos, to the wholeness of nature. It's looking at the wholeness of life itself and the connections between the various expressions of life.    Astrological tools can help you to understand your plants more holistically and to be able to see that connection between their physica...

On this week's podcast episode, I talk with my good friend Jason Scott. We talk at length about astrological herbalism, the doctrine of correspondences and the doctrine of signatures, and especially how Jason uses those doctrines in his work with mushrooms. We also discuss the best way to study and understand alchemical herbalism, one of the most common questions I receive from new students of alc...

In this episode, Robert and I have a deep discussion on the differences between chemistry and alchemy. Robert reveals how chemistry has had a profound impact on his study of alchemy and spagyrics, what his work as a chemist allowed him to do that other alchemists couldn't (and what he hopes future alchemists can do to build on his work), his answer to a question I get from a lot of new spagyricist...

When we're thinking about herbal medicine making, some of the topics that generally come up amongst herbalists are linear in their approach to how we prepare herbal medicine. It's not common that the dynamic of intention is discussed in standard herbal medicine making, but it's an important part that's discussed quite openly in the alchemical tradition. There are a couple ways that I think are imp...

Modern biomedicine tends to view the human body like a machine made up of multiple "gears." When something goes wrong, we simply need to fix the broken part. This mechanistic view of the body is significantly different from more traditional perspectives on our anatomy and physiology.  Central to the vitalist traditions of herbalism is the perspective that the body is a reflection of the natural wo...

A list of things that are good for all herbalists to have on hand, from wildcrafting gear to medicine-making equipment to essential books, to ways of setting up your apothecary and some of those material items that can be helpful to have on hand. ———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY ———————————— To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:  http://www.evolutionaryherbali...

In this podcast, I want to share a little bit about some of the dynamics around the taste of herbs. In traditional systems of medicine, the way an herb tastes, whether it's bitter or pungent or astringent or sour or sweet, is a really strong indication of the medicinal properties of a plant. If we add a whole bunch of things to an herbal formula that changes its taste, is that going to change the...

In this week's post, I want to talk about the state of the world right now how everything seems to be turning upside down. Everything is changing very rapidly in terms of the picture of human health and what's going on culturally and what's going on in nature. So how do we as herbalists change along with that? What are the things that we as herbalists can be doing to make sure that our practice of...

In today's episode Coast Salish ceremonial leader, singer, speaker and environmental activist, Chenoa Egawa shares an important message for our times, bringing awareness to the water and sharing how we can be raising the next generations to care for the elements that give all beings life. She shares about the healing power of water as our first medicine and more teachings about the sacredness of o...

———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY ———————————— To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:  http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com Get daily inspiration and plant wisdom on our Facebook and Instagram channels: http://www.facebook.com/EvolutionaryHerbalism https://www.instagram.com/evolutionary_herbalism/ Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube....

———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY ———————————— To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:  http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com Get daily inspiration and plant wisdom on our Facebook and Instagram channels: http://www.facebook.com/EvolutionaryHerbalism https://www.instagram.com/evolutionary_herbalism/ Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube....

This week in Part II of the Alchemy and Herbalism blog series, I'm going to lay out for you what I see as the philosophical foundation of alchemy: the macrocosm and the microcosm.  I'll be covering an overview of the alchemical worldview and it profoundly shifts your perspective on people, plants, and your practice of herbalism. We're hitting it at a high level this week, and next week I'll lay ou...

Welcome to the first part of a four-part series discussing alchemy and herbalism. The tradition of alchemy is a tradition dear to my heart. I'm excited to share some of these teachings with you, because the alchemical tradition was the missing piece of the puzzle on my quest for a holistic system of herbal medicine. One of the main ways that it sparked something deep within me is the way that alch...

There's something that I've been thinking a lot about lately. I've been looking at the state of the world and everything that's been going on politically and culturally. With the fires that we've been having out here on the West Coast, it feels like things are heating up—literally—on planet earth right now. I've been thinking about human beings' relationship to nature, our relationship to the eart...

Root determinants are the big-picture, general things that we do each and every day that determine our relative state of health or lack of health. These are important things to know when working with clients, but sometimes they're overlooked by practitioners because they're considered basic and rudimentary and because there are so many other things to cover in a client intake.  So how do you do an...

The word "tonic" is frequently used in herbal medicine and in the alternative health world. We hear about health tonics, rejuvenative tonics, nutritive tonics, bitter tonics, and chi tonics. But what does "tonic" mean?  "Tonic" is a nebulous term and one of those terms in herbalism that can use some clarification to make sure that we're all on the same page when we say "tonic." What's the differen...

This week, we're going to talk about addressing allergies. This is something that a lot of people struggle with, especially in terms of seasonal allergies. We're in the early stages of summer here. This is the time when a lot of people get affected by a lot of the pollens in the air and dealing with upper respiratory stuff. So not only is it pertinent at this time, there's also the question of why...

In this week's blog post, we have a question from a student that I thought would be good to share with the greater Evolutionary Herbalism community. The question is about integrating a spiritual approach to your work with your clients, specifically in regards to praying with and for your clients.  This isn't something that I talk that much about, but it's actually a critically important part of my...