Alchemy and Herbalism Part II- As Above, So Below: The Macrocosm and Microcosm in People and Plants
The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy
Sajah Popham
4.8 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2020
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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 out how this philosophical foundation is practically applied in herbal alchemy, or spagyrics.
————————————
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 is the author of Evolutionary Herbalism and the founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, where he trains herbalists in a holistic system of plant medicine that encompasses clinical western herbalism, medical astrology, Ayurveda, and spagyric alchemy. His mission is to develop a comprehensive approach that balances the science and spirituality of plant medicine, focusing on using plants to heal and rejuvenate the body, clarify the mind, open the heart, and support the development of the soul. Sajah's approach honors and acknowledges the chemical, energetic, and spiritual properties of plants for a holistic model that uses the whole herb to heal the whole person. He lives on a homestead in the foothills of Mt. Baker Washington with his wife Whitney where he teaches, consults clients, and prepares spagyric herbal medicines.
————————————
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.
————————————
WANT TO FEATURE US ON YOUR PODCAST?
————————————
If you'd like to interview Sajah or Whitney to be on your podcast, click here to fill out an interview request form.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the plant path, your window into the world of herbal medicine, with Saja and Whitney Popham, founders of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. |
| 0:23.6 | Hey there everybody, Seja here, and welcome to part two in our alchemy and herbalism series. |
| 0:30.6 | And in last week's video, I was sharing with you how, you know, throughout history, as science kind of became more of the |
| 0:40.9 | dominant worldview, we see this kind of mechanistic model and really kind of stripping the spirit |
| 0:49.4 | and the meaning out of, you know, cultures and systems and traditions, how that affects our perspective of |
| 0:57.3 | people and plants and really ultimately our practice of herbal medicine and how alchemy is this |
| 1:04.2 | incredibly potent and sophisticated system and tradition that allows us to bring those two together. But how exactly does alchemy do |
| 1:13.6 | that, right? How does alchemy unite the science and the spirituality of herbal medicine? Well, |
| 1:21.5 | that's what I want to talk about a little bit more in this week's issue in this series. And talking |
| 1:27.1 | about one of the core kind of the really the |
| 1:30.5 | philosophical foundation of alchemy as i mentioned last week you know everything in this tradition |
| 1:38.4 | is about coming to a balance of philosophy and practice right right? That there's a certain way of looking at |
| 1:48.1 | and understanding the world around us and kind of the fundamental pattern of nature that is the |
| 1:55.6 | philosophy of alchemy. And then we want to, you know, do something with it, right? We want to practically apply that philosophy and that ultimately becomes the practice, right? |
| 2:07.6 | Which really, to me, the kind of quintessential practice of alchemy really comes down to medicine, right? It comes down to preparing medicine, |
| 2:21.3 | as well as administering medicine. So there's kind of the herbal pharmacy side of things |
| 2:28.4 | and the therapeutic side of things, which is what I'm going to be talking about in part three |
| 2:33.8 | and part four of this |
| 2:35.7 | series. But first, we got to get solid in, you know, understanding this core, really the core |
| 2:42.7 | philosophy of alchemy. And I think it's summarized very nicely in the age-old adage that I'm |
| 2:49.2 | sure you've heard before, as above, so below. And this is really |
| 2:55.2 | a pretty old saying, but what does it really mean, right, as above, so below? Well, really, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sajah Popham, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Sajah Popham and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.