The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy

I always tell my students that for the client that is stressed and exhausted to give them herbs for the nervous system before even thinking about touching the adaptogens which are typically administered for these common complaints. Too many herbalists use adaptogens out of their clinical indications and traditional context of usage and overlook the potency and healing quality of the nervine materi...

It's common for people to conjure up images of plant spirits or think that energetics is some far out there esoteric "woo-woo" concept in herbalism. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, before modern science came into fruition and chemical theory of medicinal plants came into being, energetic models permeated literally every culture and tradition of plant medicine across the world. A...

We've all seen it before. You get super excited about a new herb and want to learn more about it. So you pull your herb books off the shelf and open it to the monograph on that plant. Unfortunately what you end up with is oftentimes only a few paragraphs, many of which begin with "This herb is good for…." followed by a list of symptoms. While this type of information can be useful, for me, it's ju...

Leaky gut syndrome is a byproduct of our modern world- from antibiotic trauma to inorganic, processed and genetically modified foods- the human gastrointestinal tract has undergone some serious changes, and not necessarily for the better. I would say approximately 98% of all of my clients have some sort of digestive symptom, most have taken antibiotics, and were raised on the S.A.D. (Standard Amer...

Pain is one of the #1 reasons people go to see the doctor these days. But aside but over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs, benzodiazepine based muscle relaxants, or opiate based pain meds, modern pharmaceutical and allopathic medicine has very little to offer for the treatment of pain.  And unfortunately people think plants are just kind of "cute" when it comes to treating pain. But the truth i...

In part II of this two part lecture, you will learn some of the practical applications of alchemical philosophy in the preparation of herbal medicines, a practice referred to as "spagyrics."  You will learn how the 3 philosophical principles of Sulfur, Mercury and Salt are represented in the plant kingdom, how to extract, purify and recombine them to produce different types of spagyric medicines....

Throughout the Renaissance Era of medicine, it was standard practice for not only herbalists, but university trained physicians to utilize medicine astrology in their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. As science desacralized ancient traditions, the usage of astrology for medical purposes has diminished into obscurity. The link between plants and planets is both ancient and universal, with cul...

Throughout the Renaissance Era of medicine, it was standard practice for not only herbalists, but university trained physicians to utilize medicine astrology in their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. As science desacralized ancient traditions, the usage of astrology for medical purposes has diminished into obscurity. The link between plants and planets is both ancient and universal, with cul...

In the modern world of herbalism, strongly influenced by information from Google and the phytopharmaceutical and supplement industries, there is an increasing lack of traditional knowledge in the common mindset and usage of plant medicines. This had led to an allopathic approach to herbalism and "holistic amnesia," where we treat plants like drugs and not sentient beings.  Ultimately, plants canno...

Many modern practitioners of herbal medicine have a calling to heal not on the body with plants, but also the more subtle levels of the mind, emotions and spirit. While many reach for flower essences to work on this vibrational level of the human, this form of preparation is lacking in the physiological attributes of the plants through their chemistry. Spagyrics is a form of herbal pharmacy with i...

The art of herbal formulation is… well just that- an art!! The #1 mistake too many herbalists make when it comes to formulating is that they think about what organ system they want to work with and BAM- throw every herb they can think of that does  something to that system and  hope that it will work. I don't want you to be a  hope  formulator!! Rather I want you to be a strategic and intelligent...

This episode comes from the 2015 NW Herbal Symposium, on Whidbey Island, WA. Be sure to check out Part II!! ———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH ———————————— 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.instagra...

This episode comes from the 2016 Breitenbush Herbal Conference.  ———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH ———————————— 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 su...

I always say one of the best things we can do as herbalists is not only study the plants with consistency, but to really know  how  to study them. What are the critical pieces of information you have to know about every plant you work with? When you are doing your research on a particular herb, what are the essential things you want to look for, write down, and compile in your own notes? That is w...

I always say one of the best things we can do as herbalists is not only study the plants with consistency, but to really know  how  to study them. What are the critical pieces of information you have to know about every plant you work with? When you are doing your research on a particular herb, what are the essential things you want to look for, write down, and compile in your own notes? That is w...

In part 2 of The Elements in People and Plants, we explore some the Elemental patterns as they exist within the botanical kingdom. From the perspective of ancient traditions, everything in the manifest universe contains  all  of the four Elements of nature: Earth, Water, Air and Fire- that is, the only way something can physically exist is if it contains these Elemental forces. That being said, ev...

This episode is from the 2017 Alchemical Herbalism Workshop. Traditional medical systems see that the body is not simply composed of atoms, molecular structures, or even organs, systems, and tissues. Rather, they saw that the human body is a microcosm of the macrocosm- that is, we contain the wholeness of life and nature within us. One of the primary ways this was seen traditionally is through the...

This episode is from the 2017 Alchemical Herbalism Workshop. One of the essential foundations of a holistic model of herbal medicine is understanding the importance of the vital force both as a concept as well as a practice. You will learn what the vital force is and how it has been expressed in various cultures and traditions from around the world, along with its relationships to 7 inner planets...