The Holistic Herbalism Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

It’s December, and here are some delightful things we’d like to share with you!

December 2025 Sale Code: CALENDULA
The code for this year’s sale is CALENDULA – use it during checkout to get 20% off everything we offer – all the courses, all the programs, anything on a payment plan, anything at all!

Browse All Courses

The discount code even works for gifts! Just make sure to check the box that says “this is a gift” and the extra gift information will pop up for you to complete.

Herbal Activity Calendar – Stacked with Holiday Help
The herbal activity calendar is a fun free way to get more herbs into your life. There are recipes, experiments, things to think about, and more – and you can set it up to autoload right into your online calendar if you want to!

You’ll find it right on your student dashboard if you’re a student, and if you’re not, just click here:

Herbal Activity Calendar

For the month of December, the calendar’s stacked up with gift ideas, recipes, and strategies for staying stress-free through the holidays.

So if you need inspiration for herby gifts you can make for the people you love, you’ll find it in the herbal activity calendar!

2025 Herbal Gift Guide
We’ve compiled a guide to our favorite herbal holiday gifts. It goes out Thursday December 4th, so watch your inbox!

This features friends and allies of ours, as well as makers & artisans who we find particularly excellent and skillful. Herbs, tea blends, remedies, mugs, and delights abound! There’s something for everyone.

If you’re on our mailing list already, then you’ll get a copy directly in your email. If you’re not on the mailing list, sign up here!

After Thursday, you’ll be able to find the gift guide in our blog – we’ll put it right at the top.

The Evergreens
We’re not leaving you without some herb talk today, don’t worry! This time we’re turning our attention back to our good friends, the evergreens.

Pine, spruce, and fir are all excellent wintertime herbs. Their volatiles give them a stimulating, activating action on our bodies – not just the lungs where it’s most obvious, but also in digestion, the kidneys & bladder, blood circulation, and even the nerves & mind.

Evergreens make excellent tea, but don’t use the needles from your solstice / Xmas tree! They’ve probably got a lot of pesticide residues. Instead, forage after a storm for a downed branch, and work with the needles from that.

Evergreens can also be prepared into steams, elixirs, an evergreen-focused fire cider or thieves’ vinegar, and of course the old reliable resin salve.

• HHP 205: Herbs A-Z: Pinus & Plantago
• HHP 146: Herbs Help Us Feel Our Way Through Difficult Times – discussion of evergreens begins ~16:50.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

A quote attributed to Hippocrates says “all disease begins in the gut.” No surprise, then, that gut-heal tea is a major part of our practice! We work with this formula – or better said, this schema for creating individualized formulae – very, very often. It’s not only a ‘digestive’ blend, it’s also a nervine formula: it operates at the nexus between the digestive and nervous systems.

But we don’t prepare it the same way every time! Variation is essential to make a blend that best suits a person’s body and needs. Today’s episode of the Holistic Herbalism Podcast is all about this flexibility in formulation.

We can adjust the blend based on the person’s energetics, the desired actions of the herbs, and special affinities they have. While we must avoid creating a ‘kitchen sink’ of insufficiently intentional herbs, there’s plenty of room for addressing the specific patterns in each person.

Here are the specific versions of gut-heal tea formulae we explored in this episode:

“the original” gut-heal tea

• calendula (Calendula off.) flower
• plantain (Plantago major) leaf
• peppermint (Mentha piperita) leaf
• chamomile (Matricaria recutita) flower
• ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome
• fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed
• licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root

a gut-heal tea for the holidays

• 1 part calendula (Calendula off.)
• 1 part chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
• 1/2 part rose petals (Rosa spp.)
• 1/2 part yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
• 1 part damiana (Turnera diffusa)
• 1 part wood betony (Stachys off.)
• 1/2 part fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
• 1/2+ part ginger (Zingiber off.)
• 5 or 6 cardamom pods (Elettaria cardamomum)

katja’s current gut-heal tea

• self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)
• chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
• betony (Stachys off.)
• catnip (Nepeta cataria)
• ginger (Zingiber off.)
• tulsi (Ocimum sanctum)

ryn’s current gut-heal tea

• yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
• saint john’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)
• centaury (Centaurium erythraea)
• peppermint (Mentha x piperita)
• ginger (Zingiber off.)
• plantain (Plantago major)
• catnip (Nepeta cataria)
• fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
• rooibos (Aspalathus linearis)
• jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum)
• gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
• lungwort (Pulmonaria off.)

We dive into gut-heal tea most fully in our Digestive Health course, though as you’ll understand after you’ve heard this episode, it’s also really relevant to Neurological & Emotional Health.

For more principles & strategies of formulation, check out our Fundamentals of Formulation course! And if you’re feeling a little uncertain about the individual herbs themselves, the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica is where to begin.

Like all our offerings, these online video courses come with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Mutual aid projects are a natural place for herbalists to gravitate, and setting one up in your community is easier than you think! Our mutual aid startup guide is a free resource we offer you to help with this. You can download it right here:

Mutual Aid Startup Guide

In today’s episode we want to emphasize two key things about this: First, it doesn’t have to be an enormous undertaking. You can start with a small circle of friends, and build from there. The keys are consistency and continuity of communication.

Second, getting started can be very simple! So often, people feel hesitant to begin – thinking they need a fully fleshed-out concept and perhaps some financial backing before they start. But mutual aid can be something that fits into your schedule and that lifts you up instead of burning you out.

We discuss three examples to show what mutual aid can look like at different scales: a small personal support network, a medium community fix-it club, and a larger community disaster response team.

We hope this episode inspires you to get started, and if you have any questions, reach out to us!

Everything’s on sale in July!

All our offerings are self-paced online video courses. They all with free access to twice-weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to current & future course material, open discussion threads integrated in each lesson, an active student community, study guides, quizzes & capstone assignments, and more!

Use code HAWTHORN at checkout to get 20% off!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

As herbalism is becoming more popular, the sustainability of plants themselves needs to be a primary focus for all of us. But like all issues of environmental sustainability, it’s not just about individual decisions and habits. We must pay special attention to the activities of large corporations, because they can have much larger impacts than single people – for good or for ill.

One company working for good in this way is Mountain Rose Herbs. They are one of the biggest herbal suppliers in the United States, so it’s important that they’re taking seriously the impact their business has on plant populations. That commitment leads them to make some business decisions that put plants ahead of profits – just the way it should be!

Mentioned in this episode:

• Mountain Rose Herbs
• CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)
• United Plant Savers
• HerbalGram’s 2020 Herb Market Report
• Foster Farm Botanicals
• Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 109: Sustainability for Herbalists

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

There are so many medicinal plants! In an effort to pay some more attention to herbs that aren’t quite our favorites, we’re profiling all of the herbs we keep on the shelves in our apothecary. (Check out the podcast stream for previous episodes!)

Angelica, Angelica archangelica, is an herb who thrives in extremes. Long days or nights, hot and cold temperatures, wind, rough soil – these conditions make strong angelica. We draw on that strength when we drink decoctions of the roots. When we make infusions of the seeds, they carry a light uplifting scent right into the spirit. Both parts are at least as much nervines & restoratives as they are emmenagogues, so don’t restrict angelica to “an herb for slow periods”!

Tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus, is the tastiest little dragon around. It’s less bitter and much more aromatic than wormwood, or even mugwort (two close relatives who we’ll be profiling next week). Tarragon is great in chopped cranberry relish, and it makes a lovely tea for calming anxiety while improving digestive motility.

These quick plant profiles done off-the cuff & on-the-spot. If you enjoyed them, we have more! Our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Every herbalist has their core favorite herbs. Sometimes we lose sight of the vast array of plants we have to work with. In an effort to not neglect our less-than-favorites, we’re profiling all of the herbs on the shelves in our apothecary. (The herbs go marching two by two, hurrah hurrah!)

This week our pair of herbs is two plants who are both very helpful with the regulation of fluids in the body. First up is alder, Alnus incana and other species. Alder is a plant with excellent integrity: it holds itself together in watery areas, and it can help us hold water where we need it – or disperse it from where it’s stuck. Got swollen lymph nodes? Got varicosities & edema? Alder can help.

Marshmallow, Althaea officinalis, is our #1 demulcent herb. It’s very helpful whenever dryness is the defining state we’re trying to shift. But marshmallow is also an excellent wound healer, and a surprisingly powerful antimicrobial too! We quite like to work with the leaf, despite that the root is a bit more famous and common as an herbal remedy.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Alnus incana profile at GoBotany, an excellent plant ID site, especially for the New England area.
• Althaea officinalis at GoBotany.

Enjoyed these herb profiles? These were done off-the cuff & on-the-spot, but our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This week we’re continuing our review of herbs in our current apothecary, from A to Z by their botanical Latin names. We want to give all our herbs an opportunity to get in the spotlight and share their particular talents.

Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) is neither an anise nor a hyssop! Its flavor and digestion-warming actions may remind you of fennel, or of black licorice candy (which is anise-flavored). Its capacity to relax respiratory tension and quell coughs may remind you of hyssop (without the bitterness). But it is an herb all its own, and one of our favorites for improving the taste of our formulae.

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) is a protective and comforting plant for anyone – not only ladies – who needs to cultivate feelings of safety. On the physical level it has a measured and helpful tonifying effect on the pelvic floor; it also improves fluid circulation in this part of the body. A flexible herb that pairs well with others to adjust its effects in the direction needed.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Holistic Herbalism Podcast, Episode 156: Herb of the Month – An Essential Herbalism Learning Method

Enjoyed these herb profiles? These were done off-the cuff & on-the-spot, but our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.

If you have a moment, it would help us out if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Hi everyone! We’re back from a brief hiatus, and kicking off a new series on our podcast feed. We’re going to be profiling every one of the herbs on the shelves in our home apothecary. Why? Because we definitely have our favorites, herbs we work with really frequently – and these also tend to be the herbs we talk about most on the show. So we want to make sure everyone gets a bit of attention!

We begin this week with Achillea & Acorus. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an herb with complex energetic qualities, particularly along the warming/cooling axis. It’s what we call a “polycrest” herb, one with impacts on several different body systems and the capacity to help out with a wide variety of health issues.

Calamus (Acorus calamus) could perhaps be reductively described as “a digestive herb”, but it’s much more than that. Calamus acts notably on the vagus nerve – and so, on all the many internal organs which are connected to it. It eases transition into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state, and opens the senses into wide-angle perception.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The 2021 AHG Symposium is coming up soon -October 15th-17th – and tickets are still available! Katja will be presenting on Recovering Health in the Context of Chronic Illness; Ryn is presenting on Oneirogenic Herbs & Dreaming.
• Herbstalk, Boston’s local herb conference, will this year will be one day only, September 25th. We’re presenting a class on herbal management of chronic pain.
• Achillea millefolium profile at GoBotany, an excellent plant ID site, especially for the New England area.
• Acorus calamus profile at GoBotany.
• M Grieve attributes “sell your coat and buy betony” to “an old Italian proverb”. She also cites a Spanish saying. A number of other places (including Wikipedia) repeat the two in tandem without further citation… which makes us think she popularized, if not originated, these sayings! You’ll sometimes find it attributed to the Romans, too, and in fact we found a couple places claiming it for Wiltshire or Sussex, England. The thing Ryn was thinking of is the Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum, 12th-13th century; it doesn’t look like the quote comes from there.
• Thetis is Achilles’ mother.
• jim mcdonald’s profile on calamus has an excellent explanation of the asarone hepatotoxicity question, and also good clarifications on the botanical varieties of the plant.

Enjoyed these herb profiles? These were done off-the cuff & on-the-spot, but our organized & comprehensive presentation of our herbal allies is in the Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course. We have detailed profiles of 90 medicinal herbs! Plus you get everything that comes with enrollment in our courses: twice-weekly live Q&A sessions, lifetime access to current & future course material, discussion threads integrated in each lesson, guides & quizzes, and more.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

Climate change affects everyone, and that includes the plants. Medicinal herbs and food plants growing across the world are changing, moving – and sometimes, struggling or dying – as a result of the changing climate. As herbalists, and as stewards of medicinal plants, we need to recognize these shifts and respond in ways that will help protect & sustain our herbal allies as much as possible.

Three steps any herbalist can take in this effort include:

1. Observe & recognize the changes in the local wild plant populations, and stop wild harvesting early when you see signs of stress.
2. Cultivate & steward the plants you depend on, so that you can harvest without impacting the wild populations.
3. Work with the new plants – often designated as “invasive” – who are coming in with the changing climate. Many of these are potent medicinals, and they’re so abundant that it’s safe to harvest them freely without worrying about damaging the population.

Changing our habits – of harvesting behavior, and even of perception – is difficult. But it’s incumbent on us as humans to interact with our environments in a responsible way. Every member of an ecosystem plays a role in it, and this is ours!

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 77: Urban Wildcrafting Ethics & Guidelines
• Episode 90: 3 Medicinal Invasive Plants
• Episode 109: Sustainability for Herbalists
• Invasive Plant Medicine, Tim Scott

Herbs discussed include: self-heal, st john’s wort, mugwort, calendula, solomon’s seal, fleabane, evening primrose.

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

This episode was sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs. We thank them for their support!

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!

This is #3 in our series on herbalism & climate change! Fires are most devastating where they occur, but the smoke and particulates they release into the air affects vast areas of space. So it’s good for all of us to be aware of the problem and have practical solutions to protect ourselves.

In addition to practical DIY methods for improving air quality in the home, herbs can be very helpful. Some of the herbal actions & specific herbs discussed in this episode include:

• gentle herbs for steaming – chamomile, lavender, mint
• demulcent herbs to protect mucous membranes and maintain hydration – marshmallow, mullein, linden, violet, fennel, licorice, pleurisy root, purslane, okra
• expectorants to get mucous out of the lungs – mullein, horehound, hyssop, elecampane
• respiratory relaxants for tense lungs & constricted airways – fennel, mullein, lobelia
• nervine herbs to cope with the stress of fires – lobelia, blue vervain, linden, hawthorn, goldenrod
• adaptogens for long-term stress resilience – codonopsis, jiaogulan, goji, reishi

Whether you’re in a fire path or affected by the drifting smoke & particulates already, or worried this is on the horizon, these herbs can help. But they’ll only be helpful if you have them on hand, prepared & ready to go – and know how to work with them! – when you need them. So planning, preparing, and learning ahead of time is critical.

Our Emergent Responder program is a complete guide to holistic disaster response & preparedness. Learn how herbal first aid, long-term care strategies, and emergency clinic management unfold in austere environments. Get the skills you need to be confident and ready to care for yourself, your family, and your community – even if help never comes. Once enrolled, your access never expires – and you get any updated material we add in the future, free of cost!

If you have a moment, it would help us a lot if you could subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen. This helps others find us more easily. Thank you!!

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

Support the show

You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!