One thing that has struck me over the years is that the science and spirit of herbalism are commonly taught separately. The problem with this approach is that they are two sides of the same sheet and their separation leads to a fractured and incomplete understanding of herbalism. The alchemical philosophy brings them together to create a holistic perspective that can transform your herbalism practice into a truly holistic one that honors the physical, energetic, and spiritual qualities of people and plants.
In today’s blog post you will learn:
- About the roots of alchemy and how it led to the modern scientific system used today
- How alchemy combines science and spirituality
- How alchemy can help you become a holistic practitioner
- On the benefits of a holistic approach to healing
- What true well-being is and how to achieve it
Welcome to the first of a four part series in which you will learn about the intersection of alchemy and herbalism. Alchemy has been around for centuries and at its core this philosophy is all about unity and that body, mind and spirit are ultimately one and cannot be separated. The alchemical paradigm of unity combines the modern scientific, traditional energetic and spiritual teachings that surround herbal medicine and gives us a comprehensive understanding of humans, plants and nature as a whole.
From a scientific perspective, plants are studied based on their chemistry. Alternatively, traditional approaches emphasize the importance of considering the energetics of plants, e.g. B. how they affect temperature, humidity and tone in various organs in the body. Finally, the spiritual approach focuses on how to use subtle medicines like flower essences or the spirit of the plant to help the emotional, psychological and even physical part of the person.
The problem behind separate teaching is that they are inherently connected and form a larger whole. Sharing them gives you a fragmented perspective on herbal medicine. Alchemy helps us see them as a unified system. By studying the relationship between humans and plants and how herbal medicine affects you on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels, you can learn how to recognize core patterns and heal people at the root level. This truly holistic approach restores vitality and health to body, mind and soul.
The Separation from the Spirit
The word “chemistry” has its roots in alchemy, the first science to study the inner workings of nature. Alchemy was a sacred practice that involved observing and investigating the natural virtues of the heavenly and earthly worlds. This ancient practice focused on uncovering the sentience and intelligence that lies behind everything in the natural order of life.
From an alchemical perspective, body, mind and spirit are one – a concept that extends to plants and humans alike. Alchemy sees that the body is the most solid attribute of the soul and that the soul is the most ephemeral part of the body and the spirit mediates between the two and unites them together. However, over time the scientific aspects of alchemy were separated into iatrochemistry, which became chemistry, and further into modern pharmacology, while leaving behind the spiritual basis. This reductionist approach led to the scientific model that exists today. I tend to think of it as a de-evolution process as alchemy gave way to chemistry, astrology to astronomy and herbalism to modern pharmaceutical medicine. In each of them the spirit has been torn out of the system, the deeper meaning removed from the form and the relationships between the part and the whole degraded.
Unfortunately, as science became the dominant driving force in the world, the millennia-old cultural and traditional methods of herbal medicine were dismissed and written off as invalid. Despite this divide, the herbal alchemical tradition serves as a bridge connecting the past to the future, science to the spirit, and biochemical herbalism to the plant sentience to form a holistic system.
People today are looking for healing that will support their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. And because plants have chemistry, intelligence, and consciousness, they have the ability to heal us on each of these levels. The alchemical philosophy offers an elaborate and refined system for finding healing that encompasses every part of your being.
Science and spirituality – two sides of the same sheet
The cultural divide between science and spirituality is being felt around the world, and herbalism is no exception. The alchemical philosophy played a crucial role in my herbalism practice in bridging the gap between these two paradigms and I think this is an approach that can play a crucial role in the future development and refinement of herbal medicine.
At one end of the spectrum, some herbalists rely solely on the biochemical model, ignoring the energetic and subtle aspects of plants that cannot always be scientifically quantified (though sometimes it is clinically possible). On the other hand, some practice primarily from a spiritual perspective, such as flower essence practitioners who incorporate the spiritual side of plants into their practice.
The problem is that there is a lot of knowledge to be explored between these two perspectives. And while many herbalists fall somewhere in the middle, that divide gives the impression that you have to choose sides.
The alchemical philosophy taught me that you don’t have to do that. By seeing the unity between science and spirit, you can benefit from both and integrate this information into your practice to become a holistic practitioner. You begin to see that you understand the science of a plant on a deeper level by engaging with its spirit and vice versa. By embracing this unified perspective, you can integrate all of the different parts of herbal medicine into your practice to receive the full spectrum of healing through plant medicine.
For example, if you practiced herbalism strictly using the scientific approach, you would focus solely on the chemistry of plants, their bioactive compounds, and how they bind to receptors in the body to result in a physiological and chemical reaction. Much of how herbs are used for humans depends on modern research, double-blind placebo-controlled studies, and the like. In all honesty, there are very few herbalists who practice this way, as most incorporate traditional approaches alongside a scientific understanding.
Alternatively, if you were going with the traditional approach, you would consider the energetics of the plant and how it affects your constitution in terms of temperature, humidity and tone. They would have a less physiologically grounded understanding of the body and how plants heal and would see things more ecologically. In contrast, the spiritual approach, like working with flower essences, addresses how herbs affect the mind and emotions and is strictly ‘vibratory’ in its functioning.
Alchemy offers a holistic lens that allows you to see the dotted lines that connect the different layers of the body to emotions, mind and spirit. This approach empowers you, the herbalist, to develop a deeper understanding of plant medicine by incorporating both the physical and spiritual properties of plants. This makes your herbal medicine more effective because you support the whole person.
true wellbeing
True wellness goes beyond your physical body. It encompasses your connection to yourself, to nature and to all of life. Healing is not just the absence of disease, but a state of wholeness in itself. As you heal your physical, mental, or emotional patterns, you emerge on the other side in greater harmony with your healthiest self.
Alchemy offers you a holistic approach to achieving health by uniting your physical, psychological and spiritual aspects with those of plants. For example nettle leaf (Urtica dioica) is diuretic from a scientific point of view, cooling and drying from a traditional point of view, and balances excess patterns of Mars in the spiritual tradition. With the three combined, you get a much more holistic understanding of how nettle (Urtica dioica) affects body, mind and soul.
Just as every human being has a core and unique essence, so do plants. When you take herbal medicine, it’s not just the biochemical components that affect you, but your spirit as well. Its influence touches your body, mind and spirit – leading to a much greater result than its biochemical action alone.
In fact, from the alchemical point of view of health, the plants are not only used to cure diseases, but also to support the evolutionary process of the soul. We are all born here with certain lessons that we must learn in this life in order to grow and be in greater harmony with ourselves and nature. These life lessons or life patterns are understood through the lens of astrology archetypes, specifically the 7 planets. By understanding the archetypes that we most understand and need to learn from, we select plants that are associated with them and work spagyrically with them to integrate these life lessons into our daily lives.
A holistic lens
Herbal medicine is a vast and complex field that you can approach from a variety of angles. Traditional, scientific, and spiritual perspectives each have their strengths and limitations, but they all play a role in understanding the healing powers of plants. The challenge is to integrate these perspectives into a coherent and effective approach to plant medicine. This is where the philosophy and practice of alchemy comes into play, as it brings together seemingly distinct and separate pieces and parts into a unified whole.
With alchemy, you can appreciate the complex chemistry of plants, the energetics that underpin their actions, and the subtle psycho-spiritual effects they have on your emotions, mental states, and consciousness. By seeing how these different levels work together, you can develop a comprehensive and holistic approach to plant medicine that addresses the whole person by understanding the whole plant.
By cultivating reverence and understanding of the interconnectedness of all things, you can use your insight and knowledge to support your own healing and evolution, and the healing of the planet as a whole.
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