The Herbal Equation: Plants AND People
I know how it goes when you first start studying herbalism, you get SO excited about learning about all of these beautiful amazing plants. I mean after all, isn’t that what usually gets us into herbal medicine to begin with, an absolute love for plants? But they are just one half of the “herbal equation.” It’s…
The Human Body: Machine or Ecosystem?
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 (or replace it in some instances). This mechanistic view of the body is significantly different from more traditional perspectives on our anatomy and physiology. Central to the…
Developing Your Herbal Competence and Confidence
As we walk the plant path, there eventually comes a time when we come up against certain blocks that prevent us from reaching that next level in our practice of herbalism. While it’s critical that we learn the external skills, strategies, principles and practices to become an herbalist, there is also an internal component…
Preventative Medicine With Astro-Herbalism
One of the main problems with modern medicine isn’t just based on the fact that pharmaceutical drugs can often cause more problems than solutions, but rather, it’s a problem of philosophy which directly influences the way medicine is practiced. The overarching philosophical approach to modern medicine is based on the treatment of symptoms. It is…
A Guide for Building your Herbal (and Alchemical) Library
We get asked all of the time “what are your favorite herb books?” – so we thought it’s about time we just compiled a list and posted it here for everyone to enjoy. It can be incredibly helpful while on the plant path to know where to go to get valuable and reliable information about…
5 Ways to Deepen Your Connection to Herbs
I got a great e-mail the other day from someone who was asking me how to have a deeper connection with herbal medicines… but from a non-spiritual perspective! This was such an awesome question that I decided the answer would make a much better video than e-mail, and I thought I’d share it with…
Clinical Patterns vs. Herbal Uses
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…
What Exactly is Herbal Energetics?
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…
Why You Should Stop Taking Everything for 6 Weeks!!
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…
My Top 5 Herbs for Mental Clarity
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…