The Plant Path: Clinical Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy

Distillation is one of the primary alchemical processes used in the production of true spagyric extracts. The 2 primary methods of distillation used are for essential oils, which extracts the Sulfur (Soul) of the plant, as well as for alcohol, which extracts the Mercury (Spirit) of the plant.

This episode shares some more detail around the deeper meaning and symbolism of distillation as a critical method of creating transformational forms of herbal extracts.

Get our FREE mini-course on the synergy of the Western Alchemical Tradition and Herbalism here: www.evolutionaryherbalism.com/herbal-alchemy-training-2

Get the full blog post here: https://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com/2017/10/24/the-art-of-distillation/

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

I always tell my students, "don't just be an armchair herbalist!" That means in order to be a true herbalist, you need to have something more than book knowledge of plants- you need to take your understanding from an intellectual level in the mind to a wisdom that is grounded in experience. Oftentimes when I talk about having a deeper connection and relationship with plants, I speak of it in a more spiritual perspective. But in this video I wanted to take a TOTALLY non-spiritual approach for how to deepen your relationship with herbal medicines (even though each of these 5 tenets I outline here are spiritual to me).

Check out the full blog post here: https://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com...

Download the Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Or on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/saja...

In our modern day culture of excessive stress, not enough sleep, and the overall stimulating nature of the world, the human nervous system is taxed like it's never been before.

Luckily, we have a set of herbal medicines that are specific for not just relaxing tension, but replenishing, rebuilding, and restoring the nervous system- these are generally referred to as nervine trophorestoratives.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

One of the key distinguishing characteristics of the practice of true holistic herbalism is the understanding of herbal energetics juxtaposed with the human constitution. These 2 areas of study are the crux of traditional systems of herbalism and natural medicine, and are likely the most overlooked aspects of people and plants in modern medicine- both pharmaceutical and herbal.

In this lecture from the 2016 Portland Plant Medicine Gathering, you will learn the key that unlocks all systems of herbal energetics and constitutional models- revealing to you the underlying pattern behind all of them. This key enables you to see the universality of these seemingly different systems and how you can integrate them into a cohesive model of how to use herbs effectively, holistically, and get out of an allopathic way of using plants.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

From anti-spasmodics and nervines, demulcents and emmenagogues, there are a wide category of herbal medicines which are considered to be ruled by the Moon. In this lecture from the 2017 Renaissance Medicine Conference, Sajah shares some key correspondences and patterns found in our Lunar Materia Medica- including herbal actions, tastes, energetics, along with some specific plant examples.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

Let's face it, people want deeper levels of healing these days. Most are starting to realize that a physical symptom in the body is actually and oftentimes directly influenced by the mind and emotions. Some are even thinking that maybe their physical symptoms are there because of their psychological and emotional state!

This is revolutionary to say the least. Because for a very long time we have always thought of the body and the mind as separate- that they are distinct entities and couldn't possibly influence one another. Not only do most of experiences contradict that kind of thinking, but modern science does now too. It is showing that the body and mind are in fact not separate, but are 2 ends of one spectrum.

So if we think about herbal medicines within this context, we could infer that because a plant is working upon the body then they are also working upon the mind. From flower essences and plant spirits, to spagyrics and other alchemically prepared medicines (and by alchemically prepared I mean done according to the western tradition of real alchemy), many herbalists are starting to address their clients psychological and emotional well being with plants.

Unfortunately, most herbalists do not have psychology degrees, or any sort of system that connects their plants to how to address the mind. This is where astrology truly shines!!

A core premise of alchemically prepared medicines is not just rejuvenation of the physical body, but also a purification and revitalization of the human psyche and spirit. Through this deeper level of healing spagyric medicines provide, they are said to contain an "initiatic virtue," meaning that they are initiating us into a "higher" level of consciousness, self-awareness, and integration with the patterns of nature and the cosmos.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

From a constitutional perspective, it appears that most herbal medicines have a drying effect upon the tissues. Whether it's from increasing urination, exocrine gland secretions, sweating.... there are many ways that herbs lead to fluids leaving the body and this ultimately has a net drying effect.

Thus, knowing your moistening materia medica is critical for success as an herbalist and a formulator, especially in our modern world where there is a great prevalence of constitutional dryness.

Cross comparing different traditional models of dryness, we see that in Chinese Medicine it is referred to as Yin Deficiency. In Ayurveda dryness is governed by the Vata Dosha, which also tends to be cold and tense. From the perspective of our western herbal energetic model, this would be classified as the Dry/Atrophy tissue state, characterized by weakness, emaciation, withering tissues that are malnourished and loosing function. I remember one time Michael Tierra commented in a lecture that Yin Deficiency is likely one of the most overlooked patterns by western herbalists and will usually be an obstacle to cure. If the herbs you are giving aren't working and should be working then it's likely you have an underlying Yin Deficiency to correct.

In regards to herbal formulation, knowing your moistening remedies is critical because most herbal remedies are drying in nature. There are often times you want to give someone a certain herb, but the moisture quality of the herb may not match that of the person. It doesn't mean you can't give that herb to them, you simply need to formulate it in a way that will bring it into greater balance for that person.

This is a formulation principle we see in the Unani-Tibb system (Arabic medicine) called corrigents. This is oftentimes seen as just adding certain herbs to formulas to make them taste better, but in actuality the principle of corrigents is adding remedies to an herbal formula to correct its underlying energetics or constitutional actions.

In this episode, I share some core concepts of dryness in the body, how and why to use moistening remedies and a few of my favorite examples.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

When our minds aren't clear it's hard to accomplish anything- we scatter into the winds or sink down into the low energetic state of brain fog. But when our minds are clear, focused, disciplined, and engaged, we tend to feel uplifted, positive, productive, and more present.

There are definitely certain plants that we can work with to support clarity within our minds, strengthening cognition, memory, and focus, but there are also some simple lifestyle dynamics that can be at the root of an unclear mind.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.

Okay okay, I know the title of this post seems really weird coming from an herbalist. But here me out on this one, because I think there's some important stuff to consider here.

People are taking more vitamins, minerals, supplements, and herbs than ever before, and I sometimes wonder as to whether this could be not as healthy as we imagine. I've had clients taking literally up to 15 different capsules of different isolated nutrients, co-factors, amino acids, minerals, supplements and other "phytopharmaceuticals" costing them over $200 a month!!

And a lot of the times they don't know why they are taking it or what it is doing in their bodies.

To me, this isn't good.

We want to have a relationship with the medicines we work. We want to have an understanding and awareness of what we put into our bodies, and why we are putting it into our bodies, so we can assess whether it is actually helping us in the ways we need.

It's also important to allow our bodies time to readjust to certain health protocols. If we just jump from one thing to the next consistently over time, our physiology doesn't have time to find its new baseline, making it sometimes difficult to assess where we are at in our lives as a whole. This is why I always encourage my clients and students to every now and then take a 6 week hiatus from any herbs, supplements, etc., and just eat a super wholesome simple diet to allow your body settle and find its physiological baseline.

————————————

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.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ

————————————

ABOUT SAJAH

————————————

Sajah Popham, founder of Organic Unity and The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, is committed to creating a new paradigm of plant medicine anchored in herbal, medical, and spiritual traditions from around the world. His work integrates the science and spirit of herbal medicine, creating a system that is equally holistic, healing and transformational. His unique synthesis bridges herbalism not only east and west, but north & south, above & below, into a universal philosophy that encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, western Alchemy and Spagyrics, Astrology, clinical herbalism, and modern pharmacology.

Sajah's vitalist approach utilizes plants not only for physical healing and rejuvenation, but for the evolution of consciousness. He never allopathicallyl focuses on just what a plant is "good for" but rather who the plants are as sentient beings. Sajah's teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife where he teaches at his school, makes spagyric medicines, and practices his healing art. For more information about his products and programs, visit www.organic-unity.com & www.evolutionaryherbalism.com

————————————

ABOUT THE PLANT PATH

————————————

The Plant Path provides unique perspectives for the modern practitioner of herbalism that doesn't just want to "fix what's broken" in the body, but seeks to serve others with deeper levels of healing and transformation with herbal medicines.

A unique synergy of clinical herbalism, alchemy, medical astrology, and herbal traditions from around the world, The Plant Path focuses on giving you a truly "wholistic" perspective on herbal medicine so you never fall into the trap of allopathic herbalism.