What has struck me over the years is that the science and spirit of herbal medicine are often 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 herbal medicine. The alchemical philosophy brings them together to create a holistic perspective that can transform your herbal healing practice into a truly holistic practice that honors the physical, energetic, and spiritual qualities of humans 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 more about the intersection between alchemy and herbalism. Alchemy has been around for centuries and at its core this philosophy is all about unity and the realization 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 surrounding herbal medicine and provides us with a comprehensive understanding of humans, plants and nature as a whole.
The scientific approach studies plants based on their chemistry. Alternatively, traditional approaches emphasize the importance of looking at the energetics of plants, such as how they affect temperature, humidity, and tone in various organs of the body. Finally, the spiritual approach focuses on how to use subtle medicines like flower essences or the spirit of the plant to benefit the emotional, psychological and even physical part of the person.
The problem with teaching separately is that they are inherently connected and form a larger whole. Dividing them gives a fragmented perspective on herbal medicine. Alchemy helps us see them as a unified system. By examining the relationship between humans and plants and how herbal medicine affects you at the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels, you can learn to recognize core patterns and heal people at the root level. Through this truly holistic approach, you will restore the vitality and health of your body, mind and spirit.
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 involving the observation and study of the natural virtues of the heavenly and earthly worlds. This ancient practice focused on discovering the sentience and intelligence 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 enduring feature of the soul and the soul is the most ephemeral part of the body, and that the spirit mediates and unites the two. However, over time the scientific aspects of alchemy were divided into later iatrochemistry, which morphed into chemistry, and further into modern pharmacology, while the spiritual basis remained. This reductionist approach led to the scientific model that exists today. I tend to think of it as a de-evolution process as alchemy turned into chemistry, astrology into astronomy, and herbalism into modern pharmaceutical medicine. In each of them the spirit has been removed from the system, the deeper meaning removed from the form, and the relationships between the part and the whole deteriorated.
Unfortunately, as science became the dominant force in the world, the millennia-old cultural and traditional methods of herbal medicine were dismissed and invalidated. Despite this divide, the alchemical herbal tradition serves as a bridge, connecting the past to the future, science to the spirit, and biochemical herbalism to the botanical sensibility to form a holistic system.
Today people 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 a sophisticated and refined system for 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 felt around the world, and herbal medicine is no exception. The alchemical philosophy played a crucial role in my herbal healing practice in bridging the gap between these two paradigms and I think it 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 clinically it can). 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, this divide gives the impression of choosing sides.
The alchemical philosophy taught me that you don’t have to do that. By realizing the oneness between science and spirit, you can benefit from both and integrate this information into your practice to become a holistic practitioner. You begin to realize that by engaging with its spirit, you understand the science of a plant on a deeper level, and vice versa. By adopting this unified perspective, you can integrate all of the different parts of herbal medicine into your practice to utilize the full spectrum of herbal medicine’s healing powers.
For example, if you were to practice herbal medicine using only 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 trigger a physiological and chemical response. Much of the way 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 actually practice this way, as most incorporate traditional approaches alongside a scientific understanding.
Alternatively, if you were to focus on the traditional approach, you would consider the energy of the plant and how it affects your constitution in terms of temperature, humidity and tone. They would have a less physiological understanding of the body and how plants heal and would see things more ecologically. In contrast, the spiritual approach, such as working with flower essences, deals with the effects of herbs on the mind and emotions and is purely “vibrational” 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 allows you, as a herbalist, to develop a deeper understanding of plant medicine by incorporating both the physical and spiritual properties of plants. This will make your herbal medicine more effective as you support the whole person.
true wellbeing
True wellness goes beyond your physical body. It encompasses your connection to yourself, nature and all of life. Healing is not just the absence of disease, but a state of wholeness unto itself. When 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 your 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. When you combine all three, 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 a unique essence, plants also have a core. When you take herbal medicine, not only the biochemical components affect you, but also the mind. Its influence touches your body, mind and soul – and produces a far greater result than its biochemical action alone.
In fact, from an alchemical perspective on health, plants are not only used to cure disease, but also to support the soul’s evolutionary process. 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 associated with them and work spagyrically with them to help integrate these life lessons into our daily lives.
A holistic lens
Herbal medicine is a vast and complex field that can be viewed from many different 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 disparate and unrelated bits and pieces into a unified whole.
With alchemy, you can appreciate the complex chemistry of plants, the energy that underlies 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 insights and knowledge to support your own healing and evolution, and the healing of the planet as a whole.
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