Do You Need to Know Phytochemistry to Be a Great Herbalist?
The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy
Sajah Popham
4.8 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2024
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Phytochemistry is a fascinating study, but it can be incredibly complicated and confusing at times. Understandably, there are many herbalists who'd prefer to avoid learning it all together. The big question is: Do you really need to know phytochemistry to be a great herbalist?
There are many paths you can take as an herbalist. You can meet with clients, make herbal medicine, wildcraft, and so much more. As you'll see, phytochemistry plays a different role in each of these paths.
In today's episdode, you'll discover:
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What phytochemistry is using simple terms
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The traditional vs biochemical approach to herbalism and what it has to do with phytochemistry
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When learning phytochemistry matters as an herbalist, and when it doesn't
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Why it's essential if you're making herbal medicine
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My top three book recommendations that make learning phytochemistry easy
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ABOUT THE PLANT PATH
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The Plant Path is a window into the world of herbal medicine. With perspectives gleaned from traditional Western herbalism, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Alchemy, Medical Astrology, and traditional cultures from around the world, The Plant Path provides unique insights, skills and strategies for the practice of true holistic herbalism. From clinical to spiritual perspectives, we don't just focus on what herbs are "good for," but rather who they are as intelligent beings, and how we can work with them to heal us physically and consciously evolve.
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ABOUT SAJAH
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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. This is only achieved through understanding and working with the chemical, energetic, and spiritual properties of the plants. His 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 on a homestead in the foothills of Mt. Baker Washington with his wife Whitney where he teaches, consults clients, and prepares spagyric herbal medicines.
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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. |
| 0:24.2 | Hey there, everybody, Saja Popham here, founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism. |
| 0:29.7 | And I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to tune into the |
| 0:34.2 | channel here. And a couple weeks ago, I did a post on answering a question that someone brought to me, |
| 0:44.3 | which was, do I need to know botany to be a great herbalist? |
| 0:48.9 | And it kind of got me thinking about all these other areas of herbal medicine that people tend to get into, right? |
| 0:58.5 | And one of which is phytochemistry, right? |
| 1:01.4 | Or pharmacognisy, which, and I started thinking about that. |
| 1:05.7 | I was like, huh, do you really need to know phytochemistry to be a great herbalist? |
| 1:12.4 | Well, I thought it would make an interesting topic of discussion. |
| 1:15.4 | So that's what we're going to dig into today. |
| 1:17.6 | So phytochemistry, what exactly does that mean? |
| 1:21.4 | Well, phyto being plant and chemistry being chemicals, right? |
| 1:25.3 | Chemistry. |
| 1:26.2 | So the study of phytochemistry, or what we tend to think of as pharmacognisy is the study |
| 1:33.1 | of chemical compounds and plants. |
| 1:35.3 | From our perspective as herbalists, this typically involves looking at the medicinal constituents |
| 1:43.0 | within plants and what their medicinal actions are, |
| 1:49.9 | how those chemicals in the plants interact with the chemistry of our body to bring out a |
| 1:56.2 | particular result. |
| 1:58.7 | But the study of pharmacognisy really extends beyond herbal medicine. You know, we can look at |
| 2:05.5 | how plant chemicals influence their environment, how, what endogenous functions that the chemicals |
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