Working with the Whole Plant
The Plant Path: Herbalism, Medical Astrology & Spagyric Alchemy
Sajah Popham
4.8 • 570 Ratings
🗓️ 15 November 2023
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As you begin your herbal exploration, you'll notice that there are a lot of books out there that either talk about a plant's spiritual or medicinal aspects–but rarely both. This separation of science and spirit mirrors the allopathic approach used in conventional medicine. The problem is that this separation doesn't exist!
The more I studied the alchemical perspective, the more I learned that an herb's physical and spiritual properties are connected. When you study herbs this way, you start to see them beyond what they treat, and into their core medicinal qualities instead so you can use the whole plant to treat the whole person.
In this week's episode, you'll learn:
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How alchemy and herbalism connect and create a pathway to becoming a holistic herbalist
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About the herbal 5 keys, which make it easier to learn about herbs
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What energetic architecture is, and how it forms a strong foundation for learning about any herb
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Some of my best tips for studying herbalism when just starting out
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CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY
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To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:
http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com
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Get a free 5-week course when you buy a copy of the book, Evolutionary Herbalism:
https://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com/evolutionary-herbalism-book/
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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. |
| 0:24.1 | Hey there, everybody, Sagea Popham here again, founder of the School of Evolutionary Erbilism. |
| 0:29.4 | And welcome back here to the sixth part of your series here, kind of laying the foundations for you of the evolutionary herbalism paradigm |
| 0:40.7 | and kind of my approach to herbal medicine, you know, which I feel like it's an important |
| 0:45.6 | thing when you're kind of exploring options for your herbal education to kind of get to know |
| 0:51.5 | a little bit, your instructor and their approach and their way of thinking about things and approaching things. |
| 0:57.9 | So just make sure that it's a good match for you and what your interests are and what you want to learn on your plant path. |
| 1:04.5 | So continuing on here, kind of continuing on with what I was discussing with you in the last episode where I was |
| 1:11.8 | talking with working with the whole person and the importance of really having a model |
| 1:18.1 | of understanding the human being in a way that allows you to see the relationships |
| 1:24.4 | between, you know, the physical body, the emotional state, the psychological |
| 1:30.2 | state, and even the spiritual side of life. Well, if we're going to have a holistic paradigm, |
| 1:36.0 | we got to do that with plants too. And so in the same way that last week I was talking about |
| 1:41.3 | kind of that core triune pattern in the alchemical tradition of sulfur, |
| 1:46.5 | mercury, and salt, or soul, spirit, and body. So too does that same map apply to our understanding |
| 1:54.6 | of plants. And so plants too have sulfur, mercury, and salt. The plants have a soul, a spirit, and a body. |
| 2:03.3 | Or another way that I like to think of it is like they have consciousness, they have intelligence, |
| 2:09.7 | and they have a form. They have a physical structure and form that is the vehicle through which that, |
| 2:16.9 | that intelligence and that consciousness operates through. |
| 2:20.8 | And to me, we have to approach plants in a holistic way, right? |
| 2:25.8 | That we have to understand our remedies in terms of their wholeness. |
| 2:30.8 | And this is one of the main things that helps keep us out of, you know, |
... |
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