Explore every episode of the podcast Plant Cunning Podcast

Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast, witch, seer, musician and host of Coffee & Divination Joanna Farrer returns to discuss her book The Diviner’s Path. She shares why she wrote it, to map the shared “grammar” across divination systems so readers can learn new tools more easily and practice more skillfully. She explains divination as an active, interpretive process, emphasizes humility and preparation, and offers guidance on asking better questions using a “bowl” metaphor for balancing overly broad vs overly narrow inquiries. Farrer surveys tools she uses—pendulums, runes, Greek alphabet divination, cartomancy/tarot, dreams, omens/augury, and trance work as a priestess of Apollo—highlighting the blend of technique and intuition. The conversation covers spiritual hygiene, boundaries, cleansing methods like a “factory reset” of tarot, the structure and risks of omen walks, working with land spirits in farm decisions, consequences of ignoring signs, and avoiding overreliance on divination.

00:00 Meet Joanna Farrer

01:14 Why Write This Book

03:26 Shared Divination Principles

07:02 Asking Better Questions

09:55 Choosing Divination Tools

14:53 Barn Pendulum Story

17:19 Who Answers Divination

22:57 Spiritual Hygiene Basics

30:59 Cleansing Decks and Tools

32:08 Resetting Your Deck

33:16 Omens Versus Tools

34:10 Building Symbolic Lexicon

37:48 How to Do Omen Walks

42:11 Discernment and Saying No

46:28 Attention and Gorilla Test

49:35 Travel Mode Awareness

51:46 Meeting Local Land Spirits

57:19 Divination on the Farm

01:02:15 Sacred Chickens and Augury

01:04:24 Sacred Chickens Warning

01:06:06 Humility in Divination

01:06:52 Tarot Second Guessing

01:07:40 Designing With Land Spirits

01:09:20 When Systems Disagree

01:12:15 Pond Siting Case Study

01:15:33 Beavers Join the Project

01:18:10 Overusing Divination Signs

01:23:34 Agency and Future Readings

01:27:30 Where to Find Joanna

01:29:38 Why Everyone Needs Divination

01:31:16 Final Thanks and Wrap

ZamboniFunk is back to talk fall forecast 2026! We talk about conference season, the effects of the eclipse season we just went through, the Venus and Mercury retrogrades, Jupiter-Mars-Ketu conjunction, and a little weather prediction.

Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast we talk with UK herbalist and teacher Ali English, author of Wild Medicine (Aeon Books), about her path from childhood gardening and Culpeper’s Herbal to formal training and later teaching in the Lincoln College herbal medicine degree program. Ali describes how the course is structured (therapeutics, anatomy and physiology, evidence and critical thinking, pharmacy/community practice, and intensive clinical training and exams), and discusses gaps like limited outdoor time. She explains her practical approach to medicine making (teas, syrups, salves, tinctures, decoctions, and combined extracts), her interest in energetics, planetary correspondences, and hedge-witch “small magics,” and how she evaluates plant associations through both tradition and experience. The conversation also covers plants like knapweed, scabious, rosebay willowherb/fireweed, and blue flag, plus dosing differences between the UK and US, and Ali's upcoming projects, consultations, workshops, and mentoring.

00:00 Meet Ali English

00:36 Finding the Plant Path

04:35 Early Herb Books

05:55 Training at Lincoln College

06:43 Making Herbal Remedies

08:37 Inside the Degree Program

11:54 Clinical Exams and Practice

15:15 Fieldwork and Plant ID

18:12 Why Write Wild Medicine

24:02 Witchcraft and Energetics

28:41 Planetary Plant Links

31:38 Local Herbs Over Imports

33:23 Harvesting Knapweed Medicine

34:18 Decoction and Double Extracts

36:48 Astrology in Tincture Craft

38:59 Knapweed as Liver Tonic

39:57 Fireweed Uses and Fermented Tea

43:26 Blue Flag Dosing and Trauma

45:53 Why Herbal Dosage Differs in the UK and the US

52:30 Teaching Energetics in Clinic

55:30 New Projects and Offerings

57:19 Consults Workshops and Farewell

Today Isaac & AC welcome herbalists Kimberly Gallagher of LearningHerbs and Lauren Morgan of Herbs & Dreams to the show. Lauren recounts starting with a botanical medicine apprenticeship and now runs a community practice, circles, an apprenticeship, and the Herbs & Dreams podcast, weaving dreams into herbal work. Kimberly describes learning herbs alongside her late husband John through apprenticeships and family healing, then building LearningHerbs with remedy kits, Wildcraft, and Herb Fairies. They discuss Kimberly’s book The Aphrodisiac and a broadened view of aphrodisiacs (including nervines and nutritives like damiana, oats/oatstraw, rose, cacao, fenugreek), plus plant dreaming, dream incubation (including mugwort), nightmares, and notable plant dreams (marshmallow and hawthorn). They introduce their 7-week course Rhythms & Relationships (Rhythms and Relationships: A Feminine Way Into Herbalism), starting the last Saturday in September, with weekly modules and live sessions, and share how it was inspired by Lauren’s dreams.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

01:01 Plant Path Origins

03:16 Learning Herbs Journey

06:50 Herbal Sensuality Work

11:38 Rhythms Course Vision

16:20 Circles Moon Lodge Rites

18:31 Meeting During Covid

21:02 Dream Weaving Course Birth

25:32 Dreaming With Mugwort

31:16 Plant Dreams Marshmallow Hawthorn

36:47 The Generosity of Hawthorn

37:58 Dream Incubation Basics

38:43 Dream Rattle Ritual

41:47 Why Dreams Matter

43:45 Nightmares as Medicine

48:40 Scary Plant Dreams

52:22 Reciprocity With Plants

54:18 Embodied Learning Path

01:00:43 Course Logistics

01:05:15 Who This Course Serves

01:08:37 Links And Farewell

On this episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, herbalist and astrologer Cameron Allen returns to discuss his recent travels and to share updates on his ongoing studies in Ayurveda and Unani Tibb. Cameron explains Unani Tibb as Greco-Arabic (Greek) medicine, clarifying the distinctions between elements, temperaments (mizaaj), and humors, and emphasizes temperament as a dynamic intermixture shaped by environment, time, and life experience. The conversation explores why blending medical and astrological systems can create confusion, how modern astrology often reduces meaning to psychology, and why coherence and consulting skills matter. They examine North American “dryness” as a cultural and lifestyle pattern, discuss practical ways to work with melancholic imbalance and grief, and Cameron previews his upcoming UAC talks on luminaries in medical astrology and remedy-generation approaches.00:00 Welcome Back Cameron00:32 Summer Travels And Retreat01:36 Embodied Sexual Leadership03:32 Ayurveda And Unani Studies06:42 What Is Unani Tibb10:34 Modern Western Astrology Debate14:34 Mixing Systems In Herbalism19:22 Coherence And Elemental Language22:19 Temperament As Intermixture26:19 Core Vs Changing Constitution29:31 Environment As Medicine32:51 Consulting Skills And Teaching Vision36:12 Why We Get Dry38:08 Diet and Drying Foods38:38 Hot vs Cold Metabolism40:17 Reading Dryness in Charts42:38 Purging and Nourishing Traditions44:41 Warming Melancholic Gently48:14 Grief as Melancholic Medicine50:38 Helping Grief Move Through53:31 Saturn and Grief Mastery56:20 Temperaments Elements Humors58:57 Body Types by Temperament01:01:27 Planetary Degrees and Venus01:04:03 Planets as Elemental Landscapes01:05:35 Moon Layers Explained01:06:23 Moon Phases Temperament01:08:46 Physiognomy Rising Signs01:11:43 Reading Bodies Nonverbal01:15:14 Movement Practice Evolution01:18:34 Astrology Community Healing01:23:35 UAC Talks Preview01:26:33 Honest Synthesis Ahead01:28:56 Closing Thanks

Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast we welcome Madison Murphy Barney—doula, two-spirit Indigenous sister, public health storyteller, and author of Our Ancestors Want Us to Be Mushrooms: Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Planet and Each Other. Madison shares how mushrooms offer blueprints for reconnecting with ourselves, community, and the planet through traits like connection, decomposition, adaptability, and humility, emphasizing moving forward with “original instructions” rather than trying to return to the past. They discuss relating to ecosystems anywhere (including cities) through curiosity and noticing, mushrooms’ role in composting and rebuilding systems, and how doula work applies beyond birth and death to divorce, career change, and other transitions by honoring grief, support networks, and cycles. Madison also mentions ceremony, favorite mushrooms, and where to find her work online.

01:19 Meet Madison and Book Launch

02:27 Plant Path Origins

04:05 Why Be Mushrooms

06:26 City Nature Connection

09:00 Why Mushrooms Matter

12:53 Doula Calling and Expansion

17:20 Guiding Change and Grief

22:38 Ancestral and More-than-Human Support

24:33 Living in Cycles28:51 Cycles and Comfort

29:27 Native Plants Debate

30:37 Love of Place

32:05 Mushrooms and Protection

33:33 Adaptability and Neighbors

37:18 Humility in Ecosystems

42:01 Fungi Favorites Today

44:13 What Comes Next

45:25 Who the Book Is For

47:25 Connecting and Closing

Today on Plant Cunning, Christopher Warnock returns to discuss his new book, Telesmanica, an comprehensive, operative manual of astrological magic. He explains how the book expands beyond technique into worldview, methodology, causality, and the internal logic behind elections, arguing that many contemporary approaches are “bricolage,” mixing techniques without coherent structure or testing. Warnock contrasts modern atheistic materialism with traditional spiritual-first worldviews, using models like ecological “patterning” and mapping to explain how models are tested for usefulness. He outlines his approach to talismans—prioritizing timing, images, and mathematical ratios over materials—emphasizing practical constraints, rigorous selection of key chart factors, and a devotional practice focused on relationship with celestial spirits rather than guaranteed outcomes.

01:04 Why did Christopher Warnock write Telesmanica?

08:59 Worldview and Spiritual Reality

15:02 Models, Meaning and Belief

26:40 Bricolage in Modern Astrology

33:20 Astrology as Language and Intuition

37:32 Getting Readings Wrong

38:25 When Magic Doesn’t Fit

39:17 Worldview and Causality

40:10 What a Talisman Is

41:05 Picking the Right Election

42:41 In Picatrix, Context Matters

45:50 The Cookbook Perspective

52:57 Devotional Angel Practice

54:46 Reality Warping and Limits

56:02 Camouflage Magic Explained

57:54 Modern Anxiety and Ritual

59:10 Problematic Images and Archetypes

01:02:16 Ducks and Spiritual Freedom

01:08:24 Hermetic Lineage History

01:12:52 Reviving a Lost Tradition

01:15:16 Robert Zoller's Advice

01:16:10 Daily Devotional Power

01:17:09 Tradition Beyond Social Media

01:18:36 What Traditional Really Means

01:20:20 Medieval Renaissance Lineage

01:23:32 Applying vs Separating Aspects

01:24:58 Bricolage and Chart Noise

01:26:28 Meta Perspective and Meaning

01:30:00 Why does Christopher Warnock prioritize election and image over materials in the creation of talismans?

01:32:35 Occult Virtue and Platonic Ideas

01:36:43 Practical Talisman Use and Care

01:41:58 Meaning, Nihilism, and Collapse

01:45:37 Preserving Esoteric Texts in an age of Decline

01:47:20 Consciousness Beyond Humanity

Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026

MycoSymbiotics Mushroom & Art Festival July 29- August 2d, 2026Today on the podcast, AC & Isaac Hill interview mushroom citizen scientist and community builder William Padilla-Brown about his path into mycology, from early curiosity about consciousness and “plant medicine” to diet-driven health struggles that pushed him into growing his own food, foraging, and functional mushrooms. He credits discovering online superfood and medicinal-mushroom content (including David Avocado Wolfe) as a turning point, then explains how mushroom videos took off on YouTube and led him to start MycoSymbiotics and launch MycoFest in 2015 to create a lasting community and legacy for his family. Will recounts cultivating cordyceps after finding a specimen at the first festival, rejecting the idea that it was “impossible,” and learning through observation—treating life as a readable language. He describes MycoSymbiotics’ cutting edge work: wild strain selection, DNA barcoding, cultivation, extraction, third‑party analytics, and making potent products affordable. The conversation also covers ecological literacy through mushrooms, conservation concerns like Pine Barrens development and matsutake habitat loss, the importance and diversity of native truffles (including training a dog to find tuber canaliculatum), aroma as a form of “medicine,” modern distraction and nervous-system hijacking, and adapting to AI by leaning into uniquely human creativity. He closes with MycoFest details (first weekend of August; July 31–Aug 2; MycoFest.net; Artemis, PA; code MYCOMMUNITY), plus MycoSymbiotics sites, classes, a farmer co‑op, and local projects.

00:00 Meet William Padilla-Brown

01:55 Origins in Plant Medicine

06:03 Health Wake Up Call

09:09 David Wolfe and Medicinals

11:28 Myco Symbiote to MycoFest

13:12 Nothing Is Impossible

15:30 Learning From Living Signs

21:05 Mycology Cutting Edge Today

23:44 Matsutake and Habitat Threats

25:29 Truffles as Ecological Gateway

27:16 Native Truffles in Pennsylvania

30:14 Truffles and Sensory Depth

30:41 Overstimulation and Numbness

31:54 Aroma as Medicine

33:58 Capitalism and Responsibility

36:16 Distraction Casino Reality

38:53 Using the System for Good

40:53 Social Media and Rage Bait

44:27 AI Music and Human Spark

48:55 MycoFest and Community Wrap

Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast, Isaac and AC welcome back Will Morris, PhD, DAOM, MSEd, LAc, RH, a interdisciplinary healer and scholar whose work spans traditional Western and Vedic astrology, Chinese medicine, pulse diagnosis, sound healing, and education. Will explains his compulsive, spiritually driven path across traditions and how transdisciplinary study reveals shared underlying structures, including medical frameworks of location, process, and severity and recurring 12-fold patterns across nature and culture. He critiques mainstream scientific testing of astrology as method-driven, politically shaped, and often logically flawed, arguing the right assessment depends on the question and may require qualitative approaches. The conversation explores intuition, divination versus science, horary use in clinical settings, dreamwork and oneirobotany, mugwort’s shamanic origins, catnip’s “wind” associations, and Will’s upcoming books, including Evidence Ecology: Science and Astrology.

02:10 Why Study Many Traditions?

03:39 Life Path Music to Astrology

08:36 The Benefits of Transdisciplinary Studies

12:00 The Science Industry and Astrology

13:13 Is Astrology Divination or Science?

19:31 Testing Astrology Properly

27:59 Clinical Astrology in Practice

31:07 Book of Dreams and Yesod

32:48 Dreamwork Pulse and Herbs

36:59 Sedative Herbs Mix

37:10 Catnip and Wind Pathology

39:08 Eight Winds and Charts

40:32 Wind as Science Debate

41:23 Dream Plants: Mugwort

42:17 Dybbuk Clearing Story

44:58 Artemisia and Dreamwork

49:08 Cycles and Plant Motion

51:47 Pan Celestial Thesis

01:01:24 Land, Climate and Relocation

01:05:16 Universalism vs Relativism

01:08:15 Books and Future Projects

01:13:45 Closing Thanks

In this episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, Isaac and AC interview Jorge Nájera in Guadalajara about Mexico’s ceremonial magic scene and his role leading the Fraternidad del Círculo Dorado (Circulo Dorado Web) a mystical and magical school founded in 1986. Najera recounts how a small study group grew through work with BOTA, Golden Dawn-style ritual, Freemasonry, and later affiliation with the Servants of the Light (SOL) lineage of Dion Fortune and Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki. He describes meeting Ashcroft-Nowicki, trips to Egypt, learning to build an “astral temple” and inner contacts, then adapting SOL material for Spanish-speaking students by creating their own structured curriculum centered on astrology, Hermetic and Sephardic Kabbalah, and coherent symbolism. He explains the school’s three-degree model, its emphasis on lived experience and service, and how COVID shifted much of their work online, including new digital tools.

01:04 Meet Jorge in Guadalajara

01:55 Founding the School in 1986

03:08 Early Growth

05:02 Joining Servants of the Light

08:11 Egypt Trip and London Temple

11:06 Astral Temple Training

13:11 Adapting SOL for Latin America

14:56 Building the Curriculum

16:07 Kabbalah as Foundation

19:22 Courses and Temple System

21:05 Jorge’s Early Influences

25:10 Astrology Awakening and Teaching

29:58 Fruits and Mission of the School

33:26 From Rituals to Creativity

34:57 Information vs Wisdom

37:34 Mystery Schools Go Digital

42:14 How does a Mystery School work in the Age of Aquarius?

46:10 The Importance of Coherent Symbolic Training

50:52 The Degrees of Initiation

56:24 The Ideal Student

01:00:02 How to Connect and Closing

Get your tickets for the Plant Cunning Conference here: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Find out more about Laurie here: Laurie Szott-Rogers Bio - Self Heal DistributingThis episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast features herbalist, author, gardener, and educator Laurie Szott-Rogers discussing her new book, From Soil to Soul, and her blend of herbalism, astrology, archetypes, tarot, and dreamwork. Laurie shares how dandelion first drew her into plant medicine, her path from early interests and government work to partnering with her husband Robert Rogers, and what her current life looks like in Alberta’s cold climate gardening. She explains her “24 herbs” framework, the Plant Council concept, and how she writes from the plants’ perspectives using attunement, trance, drumming, and automatic writing. The conversation also addresses AI-generated imagery, explores dandelion’s archetypal qualities, and dives into tarragon’s dragon mythology and its King of Swords tarot association, along with practical uses like tarragon pesto.00:00 Meet Laurie Szott-Rogers00:23 Plant Cunning Conference Plug01:41 Her Plant Path Origins02:25 Dandelion First Love03:47 Astrology Meets Herbalism05:43 Life in Alberta Garden09:04 Store Products and Teaching10:17 Council of Plants Concept13:29 Attunement and Plant Rituals16:02 Writing as the Plants17:23 From Soil to Soul and AI Art21:08 Recipes and Dandelion Archetype22:42 Dandelion Resilience Medicine25:05 Planetary Archetypes in Dandelion26:43 Bitterness Shadow and Renewal28:08 Why Humans Love Archetypes29:48 Plant Surprises Mint Myth31:28 Tarragon Dragons and Growing32:55 Tarragon Pesto Kitchen Uses35:03 Tarot Links King of Swords38:42 Neoshamanic Plant Journeying41:07 Next Projects Oracle Deck42:27 Where to Find the Book43:21 Closing Thanks and Farewell

Find out more and get your tickets for thePlant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026 here!Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast, hosts Isaac and AC Hill interview nutritionist, health coach, herbalist, and educator Andrea Beaman. She shares how she healed her thyroid through diet and lifestyle changes and later navigated a debilitating 2012–2013 illness she associated with Lyme after recurring lung infections, joint pain, and depression. Beaman discusses fear of herbs as cultural residue from witch trials and modern medical suppression, encourages experimentation with time-tested remedies and kitchen herbs, and stresses grounding, meditation, and heart-based intuition (including muscle testing). She outlines thyroid imbalance symptoms, links many cases to nutritional deficiency and stress, touches on autoimmune thyroid issues and parasites, recounts powerful experiences with trees and ayahuasca, and invites listeners to her courses and Health is Wealth community at andreabeaman.com.

01:29 Meet Andrea Beaman

02:50 A Health Crisis Begins

06:07 How did you find out it was Lyme disease?

09:01 Breakthrough with Teasel

13:09 Herb School and Self Testing

14:16 Trusting Herbs and Tuning In

19:04 Healing Beyond Food

21:47 Thyroid Healing Origins

23:00 Thyroid Signs and Root Causes

32:41 Herbs for Mind and Spirit

34:12 Ayahuasca and Plant Connection

36:06 Do Plants Speak?

41:17 Central Park Tree Spirit

43:11 Why People Fear Herbs

45:03 Witch Trials Trauma Echoes

47:49 Reclaiming Plant Confidence

50:40 Kitchen Herbs and COVID

54:00 Fear Physiology and Hospitals

57:33 Trust Your Heart Intuition

01:01:17 Meditation Cracks the Heart

01:03:11 Rethinking Education and Nature

01:04:34 Where to Learn With Andrea

01:08:17 Simple Recipes and Farewell

Find out more about the Plant Cunning Conference at Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Astrologer ZamboniFunk returns to talk about the astrological forecast for summer 2026! We discuss the Cancer Mercury retrograde as a loud season for mistakes, delays, review, and serendipity, followed by Mars entering Gemini and conjoining Uranus, trining Pluto in Aquarius, heightening anxiety, disruption, experimentation, and possible tech/cybersecurity volatility. Jupiter’s move into Leo is framed as more defensive support amid “pirate season” boundary-testing, with a key July 29 Jupiter cazimi opposite Pluto alongside a full moon conjunct Pluto, suggesting power plays and revelations. The episode closes with herbal support for stress and heart strain: harvesting motherwort, and combining it with hawthorn and rose for courage, boundaries, grief, and tension.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:20 Conference Announcement

01:17 Summer Forecast Begins

01:55 Mercury Retrograde Setup

03:38 Mars Uranus Volatility

06:25 Experimentation Pirate Season

08:41 Mercury Retrograde Lessons

14:04 Jupiter Enters Leo

20:04 Jupiter Pluto Power Plays

23:03 Nodes Shift Authority

24:18 Era of Air Metaphor

24:58 Redistribution Scenarios

26:36 Mutual Aid Power

27:19 Jupiter Pluto Togetherness

28:28 Eclipses Chaos Reset

29:37 Robots Hive Mind

31:09 Adaptability Job Shakeup

34:46 Pirate Season Skills

35:29 Motherwort Heart Medicine

38:18 Hawthorn Boundaries

40:44 Courage Against Tech Future

43:05 Delusion & Hope

47:37 Conference And Farewell

Find out more about the Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Today, AC & Isaac interview Trista Haggerty, author of When the Dark Mother Calls, about her path into mysticism after a dark night of the soul and two decades of mentoring with a German mystic while traveling to sacred sites in places such as Peru and Ireland. They discuss what makes power spots sacred, stone circles as “acupuncture,” and caves as initiation spaces, plus practices for trusting intuition through body-based discernment. Trista shares her work at Hawk Circle, a couple-hundred-acre land project where she’s building stone circle, trails, and a perfumery inspired by Egyptian temple recipes to fund youth nature programs. The conversation also explores fairies, dragons, the “threefold path,” and her upcoming talk at the Plant Cunning Conference (July 24–26) alongside other speakers.

01:38 Trista Meets Her Mentor

03:31 First Sacred Site Journeys

06:21 Earth-Based Mysticism Lessons

08:22 What Makes Sites Sacred

11:26 Primal Earth Energy Work

15:08 Mystic Path and Hidden Teachings

19:07 Trusting Intuition in Noise

23:51 Hawk Circle Vision and Land

29:51 Perfumery and Temple Scents

31:49 Essential Oils Impact

32:04 Ritual Perfumery Journey

33:11 Fairy Lore Explained

37:15 Threefold Path Teachings

40:14 Dragons and the Land

42:08 First Dragon Encounter

43:45 Connecting With Dragons

47:39 Awakening Landscape Dragons

48:38 Dragon Humor and Myths

53:31 New Earth Vision

56:41 When the Dark Mother Calls

Learn more about the Plant Cunning Conference at:Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026On this episode, Isaac and AC welcome community herbalist, author, and teacher Mary Blue to talk about the "hot tincture method" and why applying a hot water extraction can dramatically improve tincture color, aroma, taste, and effectiveness while saving plant material, storage space, and time. Mary shares her path from environmental and protest activism into herbalism, her day-to-day running an herb shop and farm, and the mentors and experiences that shaped her teaching focus on herbal actions and solvency. They discuss safety lessons learned from heating alcohol, plant-specific considerations (including mushrooms, marshmallow, comfrey, and milk thistle), glycerins and oils, and how herbalism functions as a form of activism through accessibility, community support, and sustainable practice.

02:23 Meet Mary Blue

02:55 Activism To Herbalism

04:46 Running Farmacy Herbs

06:14 Mentors And Training

08:01 Teaching Solvency Basics

09:55 Common Solvency Confusions

11:26 Accessible Teaching Methods

13:53 The "Hot Tincture Method" Explained

16:19 Why It Works Better

23:09 How Mary Blue almost burned down her apothecary

28:01 Tincture Ratios

31:24 When Not to Tincture

31:50 Comfrey Safety Debate

33:12 Liniments and Compresses

34:43 Glycerins and Pre Extraction

36:01 Heating Oils for Extraction

36:29 Classes and Farm Intensives

37:46 Hosting Herbal Events

39:25 Herbalism as Activism

40:55 Burnout to Micro Activism

47:02 Fulfillment Through Service

47:58 The Future of Herbalism

s52:55 Creativity and Community Play

Get your tickets for the Plant Cunning Conference here: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Today on the show, Isaac & AC welcome David Holmgren, co-originator of the Permaculture concept.In this episode, David describes life at Melliodora in Central Victoria with three semi-autonomous households sharing work and produce, and recounts how he came to the “plant path” through plant ID, foraging, and early research for Permaculture One. He tells the story of meeting Bill Mollison in 1974 and how the idea of agriculture functioning like a forest became a seed of permaculture, while reflecting on Mollison’s charisma and difficulty. The conversation explores holistic thinking versus reductionism, DIY self-reliance, cycles of skill loss and renewal, COVID’s impact on interest in permaculture and RetroSuburbia, “enlightened self-interest,” energy descent and relocalization, household-scale resilience including health capacity, and where to find Holmgren’s essays and websites.

02:11 Meet David Holmgren

03:47 Finding the Plant Path

06:04 Chance Meeting with Bill Mollison

08:15 Permaculture Seed Idea

12:12 Working with a Charismatic Genius

15:31 Patterns vs Practice

21:13 DIY Skills and Tasmania Culture

24:27 Cycles of Self Reliance

28:17 COVID and RetroSuburbia Spike

30:07 Enlightened Self Interest Explained

37:29 Humans as Keystone Species

38:26 Hierarchy and Elite Corruption

40:35 Predators and Power

41:25 Fossil Fuel Hierarchy

42:42 Globalists vs Sovereigntists

44:11 Household Resilience Basics

45:35 Health as Weak Link

47:44 Bigger Households Work

52:17 Household Beats Consensus

55:23 Food Growing Mindset

59:09 Jack of all trades, Master of One

01:03:06 Why Intentional Communities Fail

01:06:49 Brown Tech Uncertainty

01:08:32 Tower of Babel Reality

01:12:35 Long Descent Balance

01:16:29 Essays and Resources

01:19:30 Final Thanks and Wrap

Sign up for the free Herbal Dental Care class here: https://courses.herbrally.com/a/2148265685/vCybToz9

Get The Zodiac Garden Guide here: Amazon.com: The Zodiac Garden Guide: A Handbook of Astrological Gardening: 9798253036525: Hill, Isaac Alexander, Cole, Freedom: Books

Get your tickets for the Plant Cunning Conference here: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Today, Isaac and AC welcome Gary P. Caton, the "Hermetic Astrologer" to discuss embodied astrology—going outside to directly observe and relate with the planets. Caton recounts his father teaching him to plant by the Moon, a 1993 dream tied to a Sun–Venus conjunction, and his experience with Project Hindsight translations that renewed interest in sky-based practice. He describes conversations and synchronicities with Venus and plants, argues astrologers have an ethical imperative to know the sky firsthand, and explains practical entry points like tracking Venus’s seven Moon conjunctions and working with new/full moons for intentions. The conversation also explores ethics, seasonality, civilization cycles, and “seed people.”

03:15 Meet Gary Caton

03:36 Origins in Astrology

05:32 Venus Dream Awakening

08:57 Planets and Plants Talk

11:45 Why "Embodied Astrology"?

13:59 Civilization and Planets

18:12 Hermes Myth and Charts

23:22 Start Embodied Astrology

26:25 Venus Cycle Dates

29:17 Moon Cycles and Seeds

31:01 Dark Moon and Ethics

34:16 Waning Moon Decrease

36:08 Disseminating Phase Seeds

37:15 Rudhyar Autumn Metaphor

39:07 Science and Hermeticism

40:38 Becoming Seed People

44:58 The Elements, Love and Strife

47:22 Ape Hierarchies Embodiment

51:38 Sunrise Ritual Nature Healing

55:37 Quiet Desert Homecoming

57:31 Where to Find Gary

59:47 Biodynamic Planting Calendar

01:02:33 Wrap Up and Thanks

Today AC & Isaac welcome herbalist and teacher Olatokunboh Obasi back to the Plant Cunning Podcast for a second interview, now speaking from outside Nairobi, Kenya. Obasi shares that she’s finishing a doctorate in clinical nutrition while working toward opening an integrative women’s health clinic, and explains how nutrition, changing food systems, and modern indoor life affect herbal outcomes. She discusses divination and geomancy, genetics as “codes” responding to environment, and how she navigates multiple traditions—Yoruba as her root, alongside Taíno and Kenyan indigenous practices—without collapsing them into one. They explore Kenyan healing culture, including lineage-based herbalism, diviners, birth workers, and bone-setting (lila) meridian work, plus a story of discovering an East African betony for headaches. Obasi also defines traditional African medicine as diverse, spiritually centered, and regionally distinct, and critiques material reductionism in Western herbalism while pointing to figures like Culpeper and Hildegard as bridges back to spirit.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:45 Ola’s Life in Kenya

03:50 Why Clinical Nutrition

05:52 Divination and Genetics

09:31 Lineages and Training

11:41 Navigating Multiple Traditions

16:47 Plants Calling in Kenya

22:15 Healing Culture in Kenya

24:40 Bone Setting and Lila

28:32 Community-Based Medicine

34:32 Defining African Traditional Medicine

36:16 Spirit First Healing

36:47 Lineage And Bioregions

37:45 Cross Cultural Herbal Exchange

41:37 Reclaiming Spirit In Herbalism

44:02 Traditional Western Medicine

45:44 Astrology, Culpeper, Hildegard

50:17 Centering Over Scrolling

53:07 Rest Boredom And Reading

54:07 Rethinking Academia And Art

58:27 Craft Culture And Kenya

In this Plant Cunning Podcast episode, AC & Isaac interview Kimberly Steele about her first book, Sacred Homemaking, on making the home a sacred space through everyday practices. Steele shares her path from a casual Christian upbringing and decades of atheism into Druidry and daily spiritual discipline, including meditation and long-term practice of Sphere of Protection rituals, and discusses gratitude and generosity as transformative forces. She explains perceiving multiple “planes” (physical, etheric, astral, spiritual) and how tidying, thanking household objects, cleaning (especially the toilet), and avoiding both hoarding and sterile perfection can shift a home’s “vibe.” Steele offers practical suggestions such as removing “haunted” objects, using sprays and salt, and placing symmetrical sacred geometry patterns as “demon traps,” critiques materialism and doomscrolling, and introduces the idea of “astral pyramids” and group spirits.00:00 Show Intro and Announcements00:39 Meet Kimberly Steele01:27 Her Spiritual Origin Story05:27 Gratitude and Generosity09:09 From Atheism to Spirit10:27 Planes of Existence Explained12:45 Sacred Homemaking Basics18:44 Spirits at Home and Influence22:21 Protection and Banishing25:22 Sacred Geometry Demon Traps29:41 Order vs Sterile Living33:48 Toilet Cleaning and Money Luck35:26 Recognizing the Spirit of Place37:34 Gratitude Improves Relationships38:25 Marriage Scorekeeping Trap39:42 Sacred Beauty And Illusion40:31 Looksmaxing And Dysmorphia41:39 Ozempic And Willpower44:38 Health Complaints Culture46:10 Astral Dumpster Fire47:46 Screens With Boundaries49:08 Kids Gaming And Enchantment52:19 Kung Fu Daily Discipline54:38 Gratitude Raises Consciousness59:16 Home Vibe And Spirit Of Place01:00:56 Astral Pyramids And Egregores01:06:40 Music As Prayer And Earworms01:11:22 Book Wrap Up And Where To Find Her

In this episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, hosts Isaac & AC Hill talks with Sian Sibley—witch, author of Black Paths and Green Cathedrals, and founder of the Dragon Oak Coven in Wales—about building real relationships with plant and tree spirits, including mugwort as an initiator and yew as a teacher around death and continuity. Sian shares how to approach trees respectfully, how to recognize a clear “no,” and why taking plant material without permission can undermine magical work. They discuss key allies like hazel, apple, hawthorn (including timing Beltane by local hawthorn bloom), and elder’s seasonal “three faces,” plus practical astral/meditation safety and grounding. The conversation also critiques modern pagan and wellness habits that harm ecosystems—crystals, frankincense, wasteful candles, and commodified entheogens—calling for smaller, more local, less consumerist practice.

01:24 Meet Sian Sibley

01:54 Springtime Blackthorn

02:29 Finding the Plant Path

03:07 Mugwort Opens the Gate

06:06 Yew and Death Mysteries

08:53 Patience and Plant Consent

09:37 Blackthorn Says No

13:57 When Plants Reject You

14:37 Buttercup and Monks Hood

17:30 Who Is Charubel

19:54 Sigils and Personal Practice

22:55 Astral Safety Basics

26:33 Protective Tree Allies

27:41 Hazel, Apple, Elder, Hawthorn

28:20 Elder Medicine and Folklore

30:45 Elder Initiation Poem

32:22 Pruning and Asking Permission

34:37 Elder Tree Lore

35:41 Hazel Nuts Wisdom

36:29 Hawthorn Beltane Timing

39:51 Local Time Cycles

42:44 Circadian Clock Health

47:13 Rest, Boredom & Imagination

47:43 Eco-Spirituality Critique

48:55 The Ethics of Crystals and Frankinscence

57:21 Living Smaller Solutions

01:04:20 Closing Poem

01:06:06 Where To Find Sian

Get The Zodiac Garden Guide on Amazon (available in any country)

Book a Vedic astrology consultation with Isaac by emailing him at askisaachill@gmail.com

On the Plant Cunning Podcast, Isaac & AC Hill interview Alan Chapman (at Barbarous Words.com) —magician, mystic, and writer—about his path from chaos magic to teaching Magia, a Western tradition oriented around awakening. Chapman describes a deepening in 2013 following awakening in India (in Tiruvannamalai) that led to his book Magia and a shift toward a more “miraculous” view of realization beyond standard nonduality frameworks. They discuss delusion as mistaken identity, “silent knowing” as the impulse behind seeking, transmission and its seductions, the limits of maps versus the need for cosmology, and a gardening metaphor for traditions that avoids both perennial “mush” and rigid traditionalism. Chapman shares how he works with students through practices that let experiences disclose their nature, and he points to his site and retreats for further study.

01:29 Meeting Alan Chapman

02:45 Baptist's Head Era

05:17 Awakening Deepens 2013

13:12 What I Know Sure

17:29 Silent Knowing Faith

21:15 Gnosticism Labels Rejected

24:21 Traditions as Garden

27:42 Universals and Particulars

31:44 Fear and Running Away

37:37 Delusion and Trust Thread

44:24 Morality After Awakening

46:01 Ramana Self Inquiry Myth

47:09 Who Am I Inquiry

48:34 Transmission Explained

49:46 Seduction of Control

52:24 Guru Yoga and Institutions

54:43 Why Teachers Help

56:28 What We Really Seek

58:04 Entrainment and Dependency

01:00:17 Cautionary Guru Stories

01:04:42 Maps Versus Cosmology

01:06:07 Let It Disclose

01:07:12 Gardening the Path

01:13:36 Faith and Silent Knowing

01:19:13 Practice and Awakening

01:22:44 Enjoying the Garden

01:23:33 Extreme Awakening Chasing

01:24:06 Two Worlds One Heart

01:26:09 Farming Incarnation Metaphor

01:27:39 Transmission Life and Death

01:30:28 Minimal Tree Cosmology

01:32:35 Unbinding Practice Steps

01:34:41 Mounting Cosmology Stages

01:36:49 Journal Envy and Comparison

01:40:37 Dry Paths and Fireworks

01:48:25 Cosmological Binding Method

01:49:28 Unconditional States Test

01:58:29 Cutting Down the Tree

01:59:21 Resources Retreats Farewell

Get The Zodiac Garden Guide.

Sign up for Pam Montgomery's free class here: https://plantcunning--wakeuptonature.thrivecart.com/co-creative-partnership/699392e4e6629/In this episode of the Plant Cutting Podcast, Isaac & AC welcome back Gordon White of Rune Soup to discuss his life between his permaculture homestead in Tasmania and travel in South America, including training in Bolivia and Peru. Gordon shares updates on regenerating depleted soil, orchard yields, and plans for a first cider vintage, plus reflections on seasonal living. He describes Paraguay’s everyday herbal culture around tereré and fresh medicinal bundles, and recounts a powerful Amazonian dieta with the master plant teacher Piñón Blanco, including diagnostic Shipibo weavings and a peak mystical encounter that reframed ideas of unity, imagination, and reality. The conversation explores universals vs. local correspondences in magic, discernment amid modern “performative” scenes, and where magical culture may be headed.00:00 Welcome and Guest Tease00:36 Book and Consults Plug01:16 Pam Montgomery Gateway Herbs03:18 Gordon Returns to the Show03:54 Tasmania Farm and Travel Split07:04 Homestead Updates and Harvests08:25 Permaculture Wins and Cider Plan14:17 Why South America Calls17:15 Paraguay Mate and Herb Culture26:30 Dieta and Plant Spirit Rules27:56 Pinon Blanco God Encounter35:11 Weavings as Plant Signatures38:02 Ancestors Tolkien and the Real40:47 Same Truth Different Paths41:26 Ayahuasca Cosmic Medicine42:46 Universals Beyond Language46:21 Directions and Relationality50:21 Instagram and Right Relation53:05 Cunning Traditions Everywhere58:49 Magic After the Golden Age01:02:49 Beginner Discernment Online01:05:54 Cringe Initiation Story01:08:35 Fourth Turning Magic Depth01:11:27 Chaos Magic Reframed01:15:26 Next Wave in Magic01:19:38 Fallen World Cunningcraft01:23:21 Paraguay Lessons Letting Go01:26:00 Book Update and Farewell

Today the Plant Cunning Podcast features farmer, and magician Todd Elliot, author of The Cunning Farmer. In the interview, Elliot describes his path from nature-loving childhood in Philadelphia to homesteading and CSA vegetable farming in Kentucky, his interest in ethnobotany and plants like datura, and key influences in farming and esoteric practice. He explains his eclectic “cunning” approach, combining ancestors/underworld, land and nature spirits, celestial/astrological forces, and angelic magic, plus reiki-based energy healing for crops. We discuss lunar timing versus weather realities, agricultural talismans, offerings to land spirits, animal signs, the state of industrial agriculture, and where to find Elliot’s website and Substack.

00:00 Show and Book Updates

01:23 Meet Todd Elliot

02:48 Todd’s Plant Path Origins

05:11 Datura and Entheogenic Plants

09:09 Teachers and Influences

12:07 Cunning Farmer Identity

14:09 Land Spirits Awakening

18:28 Sacred Farming and Ritual

23:35 Corn Reverence and Monoculture

30:58 Worldview and Four Realms

33:44 Land Trauma and Ancestors

38:46 Reiki for Crops

42:47 Reiki for Seedlings

43:04 Moon Timing for Planting

43:43 Weather Versus Almanac

46:48 Eclipses and Weed Killing

47:57 Trees and Lunar Mansions

48:56 Talisman Success Stories

51:40 Offerings to Land Spirits

54:34 Animal Signs and Omens

57:24 Deer Pests and Cernunnos0

1:06:24 Advice for Cunning Farmers

01:12:21 Protection and Haunted Places

01:15:00 Ghosts and Deified Ancestors

01:17:58 Where to Find the Book

Today on the show we welcome herbal educator and longtime practitioner Betzy Bancroft—co-founder and teacher at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Sage Mountain neighbor, United Plant Savers advisory board member, and author of "The Herbal Pharmacy: The Science and Magic of Preparing and Administering Plant Medicine". We discuss distilling decades of teaching into a foundational medicine-making book designed for different learning styles. She shares her path from New Jersey to studying with David Winston, working at Herbalist & Alchemist, and being inspired by mentors including Rosemary Gladstar and William LeSassier. Betsy explains VCIH’s tuition-supported sliding-scale clinic and Zoom-based student mentoring with SOAP notes, safety, and formulation review, then covers formulation principles (triangle theory), taste in teas, extraction decisions (surface area, time, heat, solvent, agitation), vinegar/oxymels and constituent solubility, polyphenols and gene expression, subtle influences and intention in medicine making, and current plant allies like mushrooms, chaga, reishi, and self-heal, plus upcoming events and where to find her book.00:00 Meet Betzy Bancroft01:05 New Book Overview02:22 Teaching Superpowers04:03 How Betzy Learns06:53 Finding Herbalism08:47 Mentors and Lineage10:21 Founding VCIH Clinic13:49 Clinic Mentoring Process18:13 Formulation Triangle Theory21:59 Vinegar and Oxymels27:42 Polyphenols Flip Genes31:42 Extraction Tips Solubility35:11 Book Marketing And Website37:03 Subtle Energies In Medicine39:47 Astrology And Intention41:47 Tea Intention Experiments47:07 Learning Through Plant Time50:06 Mushroom Remedies And Chaga55:14 Self Heal Plant Profile01:00:28 Classes Events And Wrap Up

It's the spring 2026 “astrological New Year” episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, with hosts AC and Isaac Hill, with resident forecaster, ZamboniFunk. Isaac shares his upcoming astrological gardening book The Zodiac Garden Guide (out April 4) and reading offerings—then review 2025 and the eclipse window’s intensity, including the Iran war escalation. Using the Aries ingress chart, we discuss Mercury retrograde stationing direct in Pisces conjunct the North Node and Mars, Sun conjunct Neptune and Saturn in Aries, and what this suggests about confused but forceful narratives, pro-war escalation, and trouble for the U.S. executive branch. We emphasize skepticism, asking better questions, managing information overload, and prioritizing nourishment, rest, and grounding practices like gardening. We also preview Uranus moving into Gemini as an acceleration of tech and AI, arguing for learning new “languages” while drawing on enduring ancient wisdom and choosing fewer battles.

00:00 Spring Equinox Welcome

00:38 Zodiac Garden Guide Update

01:38 Readings And Courses

02:38 Which Way To Wisdom

04:05 Springtime Setting The Scene

04:44 Looking Back On 2025

07:56 Eclipses And World Events

10:30 Astrology For Regular People

17:32 2026 Ingress Big Themes

17:58 Mercury Retrograde Narrative Fog

24:50 Chart Walkthrough Key Placements

30:08 Tyranny Escalation And Control

36:00 Jupiter Economy And Religiosity

43:01 Unplug Or Engage Strategically

46:49 Medicine For The Moment

47:49 Herbs For Burnout

49:35 Rest And Spirit Care

51:46 Acceleration And Uranus

54:26 Gardening As Medicine

57:57 Mercury Pisces Paradox

01:02:45 Unplugging From Opinions

01:08:42 Uranus Gemini Skills

01:10:38 Printing Press AI Lesson

01:23:52 Old Versus Ancient

01:29:13 Pick Your Battles

In this episode, AC & Isaac welcome natural healing practitioner and teacher Peter Jackson-Main to discuss Natural Healing, his background in the Dr. John Christopher lineage, founding The Natural Center in the UK, and his clinical approach using structured case-taking alongside tongue and pulse diagnosis and iridology. They focus on what detoxification is, why it matters in a toxic environment, and how he supports organ-by-organ elimination (bowel, kidney, liver, lymph), including a gentler polarity-based liver flush using apple juice, lemon, garlic, ginger, olive oil, and a dandelion-root detox tea, plus seasonal timing in spring and autumn. Peter contrasts herbs with supplements, emphasizes patient commitment in chronic illness, and shares views on fasting as spiritual and physical medicine. He previews his forthcoming book The Medicine of Plants on ecology, exchange with plants, and plant intelligence, and shares favorite allies like astragalus, burdock, nettle, artemisia, and horsetail.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:34 Guest Intro and Announcements

03:01 Defining Natural Healing

04:29 Origin Story and Training

08:33 Building the Natural Centre

10:25 Herbal Preparations and Teas

12:51 Clinical Intake and Intuition

20:56 Detox Basics and Rationale

23:58 Organ by Organ Detox Strategy

28:41 Liver Flush Protocol

34:55 Seasonal Detox and Herb Choices

36:16 Warming Detox Tea

37:25 Fasting Basics and Benefits

40:17 Fasting as Whole-Being Practice

41:17 Handling Chronic Illness Cases

46:01 Eclectic Herbal Lineage

47:50 Rethinking Research and Reality

51:45 Supplements Versus Living Herbs

55:00 Plant Allies and Local Substitutes

58:47 New Book The Medicine of Plants

01:04:44 Closing and Where to Find Him

Find out all about Olga and her Greece trips at Smugtown Mushrooms

AC and Isaac welcome returning guest Olga Tzogas of Smugtown Mushrooms, calling in from California where she’s teaching frequent classes, connecting with mushroom and herbal communities, and harvesting no-spray citrus for an east-coast fruit share. They discuss shifts in mushroom education interest, regional and international mushroom diversity tied to trees and rainfall, and favorite Greece finds like shaggy parasols and almond-scented wild Agaricus, plus simple grilling methods with olive oil, oregano, and lemon. Olga explains truffles—trees they associate with, how quickly they can be found with trained dogs, why prices are high, preservation challenges, and ways to use them. Olga shares details on her Greece trips in May and October (including truffle hunting, medicine making, hydrosols, dyes, and food), early bird timing, and mentions the upcoming New Moon Mycology Summit in September.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:33 Guest Intro and Teasers

01:50 Greece Trip Announcement

03:33 Olga in California

06:55 Teaching on the Road

08:27 Mushroom Trend Talk

10:09 Foraging Origins and Fungi Magic

11:48 California Mushroom Season

14:00 Mushrooms Around the World

18:49 Greece Mushroom Favorites

22:23 Citrus Share and Bitters

25:51 Peels Oxymels and Aronia

31:04 Sea Buckthorn and Ojas

36:16 Thorns Hawthorn and Cornelian Cherry

37:52 Wild Fruit and Wood

38:47 Truffles and Host Trees

39:46 Cultivating Truffles Fast

41:30 Training Truffle Dogs

43:24 Truffle Prices and Shelf Life

44:43 Preserving Truffle Aroma

47:09 Cooking With Truffles

50:13 Greece Foraging Trips

56:28 Trip Dates and Lodging

01:00:15 Workshops and Slow Travel

01:07:20 Why Greece Feels Free

01:12:28 New Moon Summit Update

01:16:35 Early Bird and Giving Back

01:18:39 Final Thanks and Farewell

Find Dana at The Druid's Garden: Spirit Journeys in Healing the Land, Permaculture, Sustainable Living, and Creative ArtsFind out more about the Plant Cunning Conference at Plant Cunning Conference – Save the date – July 24-26, 2026Book a Vedic astrology reading with Isaac by emailing him at AskIsaacHill@gmail.com

AC and Isaac welcome back Dana O’Driscoll—Grand Archdruid of Ancient Order of Druids in America, co-director and founder of the Pennsylvania School of Herbalism, author, artist, and creator of the Druid’s Garden blog—to discuss her new book, "Eco Spirituality in the 21st Century," co-authored with Nate Summers. They talk about the book as a practical roadmap for difficult times, rooted in nature spirituality and community, and built around seven themes: reconnection, respect, rewilding, regeneration, resilience, re-enchantment, and revisioning. Dana explains how she and Nate collaborated (long conversations to develop the framework, then dividing chapters by strengths), how the book uses a Druid-inspired structure (Bard/ovate/druid as community/creative practice, nature-based practice, and cosmology/magical theory), and why storytelling and visioning are central as acts of magic that shape reality. The conversation explores animism and agency in the natural world, the role of gratitude and offerings in reciprocal relationships with land and plants, the need to pair magical work with practical action, and the importance of rebuilding local, in-person community through shared meals, fires, mutual aid, and tool shares as larger systems strain. Dana also shares details on upcoming events (Plant Cunning Conference July 24–26 in central New York; Hawthorn Botanical Gathering in June) and where to find her work, including the book via major booksellers, her site (thedruidsgarden.com), and the Pennsylvania School of Herbalism (paherbschool.com).

01:10 Conference and Support Updates

02:32 Seasonal Check In

03:20 Why This Book Now

08:01 Co Writing the Book

11:34 Meeting Nate and Shared Druidry

15:17 Seven Rs Framework

22:18 Storytelling as Magic

28:19 Agency Action and Enchantment

33:52 Stories Shape Reality

34:13 Deprogramming Cultural Beliefs

35:28 Seven Rs Roadmap

38:44 Enchantment Without Overload

42:25 Respect Through Animism

44:29 Offerings and Deep Gratitude

52:15 Reindigenizing Daily Life

54:09 Rebuilding Local Community

59:01 Herb School and Book Links

01:02:43 Final Thanks and Wrap

AC and Isaac welcome John Michael Greer back to the Plant Cunning Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on mundane astrology and the Saturn–Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries on February 20. Greer explains mundane astrology as astrology applied to world events, emphasizing traditional tools like ingress charts for solstices and equinoxes, eclipse charts, and great conjunctions, and describing astrology as an empirical craft built from long historical observation. The episode explores why 0° Aries functions as a zodiac “reset button,” why Saturn (form, limits, structure) combining with Neptune (dissolution, unity, imagination, delusion) suggests major shifts. They discuss competing ways of timing the Age of Aquarius, including the 2020 Jupiter–Saturn conjunction in Aquarius as a possible “dawn” marker, and critique utopian 1960s portrayals of Aquarius, noting traditional rulership by Saturn and the difficult, disruptive qualities associated with Uranus (and Rahu as co-ruler in Vedic astrology). Greer ties Uranus-in-Gemini cycles to U.S. history and “elite replacement” periods, framing current politics as another transition that may include bureaucratic contraction and social conflict without necessarily implying “the end of everything.” Additional themes include long-term decline versus sudden collapse, climate volatility, ice-sheet destabilization, karmic causality as “action and consequence” rather than retribution, and esoteric ideas like Dion Fortune’s “initiation of the nadir” as a potential collective turning point amid peak global population.

02:53 Mundane Astrology

101: The Oldest Branch of Astrology & How It Works

04:26 Tools of Mundane Astrology: Ingresses, Eclipses, and Great Conjunctions

06:29 Why 0° Aries Matters: The Zodiac ‘Reset Button’

08:27 Saturn Meets Neptune: Form vs Dissolution—and Why This One’s Unprecedented

11:50 Axial Age Echoes: Religion, Philosophy, and What Might Change Next

15:50 Age of Aquarius: Uranus Energy, Myths of Utopia, and Saturn’s Reality Check

21:07 Tech, AI, and Civilizational Fragility

26:25 When Did the Age of Aquarius Begin?

5:26 Wheels Within Wheels: Stacking Cycles and What We’ll Notice in Our Lifetimes

36:42 Historical Parallel: Early Democracy, and How Big Shifts Start Small

37:56 Athens’ Democratic Experiment & the Rise of a Cultural Powerhouse

38:36 Thales and the Birth of Philosophy: Reason Replaces Myth

39:34 Where the Next Breakthrough Comes From: Fringe Ideas That ‘Work’

41:07 Screens, AI, and a Return to Being Human (in a New Way)

42:46 The Star of Bethlehem, Magi as Magicians, and Modern ‘Messiah’ Speculation

44:37 Aquarius vs Pisces: Why We Can’t Imagine a Truly New Age

45:11 Reading Dead People: Ancient Epics as a Portal to Other Mindsets

46:20 Kali Yuga vs Satya Yuga: Are We in the Spiritual Winter?

48:43 26,000-Year Cycles, Ancient Dread, and ‘This Is as Bad as It Gets’

52:33 Saturn’s Lesson: Endure, Do Your Dharma, and Get to Work

54:34 Initiation of the Nadir: Hitting Rock Bottom and Rounding the Buoy

58:48 Uranus in Gemini & America’s Elite Replacement Cycles (Revolution–Civil War–WWII)

01:05:43 Mundane Astrology Methods: Updating Planetary Meanings for the Modern World

01:09:06 Mars vs Mercury Masculinity—and What a Future Dark Age Might Look Like

01:13:20 Post-Collapse Cities in ‘Star’s Reach’: A Byzantine-Style Future

01:14:06 What Determines the Shape of a Dark Age? Printing, Farming, and Resilient Tech

01:15:33 Amish & Appropriate Tech: Keeping Urban Life Alive After Collapse

01:18:30 Collapse as Slow ‘Ragged Decline’: Gas Prices, Frogs, and the Long Slide

01:21:48 Punctuated Shocks: Lockdowns, 9/11, and Climate Tipping Points

01:24:05 Astrology as a Tactical Tool: Daily Transits, Timing, and Better Decisions

01:29:29 Intuition, Past Lives, and Skill Carryover: From Mozart to Tarot

01:33:33 Karma Explained: Action, Consequences, and What Charts Can Reveal

01:37:03 Remedies & Magic: Planetary Charity, Talismans, and Natal Chart Mandalas

In this episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, hosts AC and Isaac Hill are joined by Amelia South, known as "the No BS Herbalist." Amelia shares her journey into the world of plants and natural healing, inspired by the birth of her daughter and her early experiences with herbs. She delves into her practical approach to herbalism, emphasizing the importance of understanding the root causes of health issues, rather than just addressing symptoms with herbs. Amelia introduces her latest book, 'Think Like an Herbalist,' a practical guide aimed at those looking to deepen their understanding of herbalism and natural health practices without becoming professional herbalists. The conversation also touches on her upcoming book focused on mental health and subconscious healing, and the importance of mental wellbeing for both practitioners and clients. Tune in for a rich discussion on plant wisdom, personal healing journeys, and the intersection of physical, mental, and emotional health.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:34 Meet Amelia South: The No BS Herbalist

03:38 Amelia's Journey into Herbalism

06:45 Teaching and Foraging Adventures

12:24 Amelia's Cookbook and Bone Broth Tips

33:10 Healing the Gut: Cabbage and Beyond

40:10 Understanding the Root of Addiction

41:23 The Role of the Subconscious Mind in Healing

43:28 Client Consultations and Setting Boundaries

44:29 The Importance of Willingness in Healing

47:09 Addressing Deep-Seated Beliefs

49:18 The Challenge of Helping Others

01:07:28 Balancing Personal and Professional Life

01:14:19 Streamlining Communication and Services

01:17:48 Future Plans and Final Thoughts

In this episode, co-hosts Isaac and AC Hill sit down with Jamie Paul Lamb, a distinguished astrologer, magician, and author. Jamie dives deep into his new book, 'The Astrological Goetia,' which examines the ancient method of dividing the zodiac into five-degree sections known as the Quinaries. Together, they explore how this system brings a fascinating blend of traditional astrology and astrological magic to the forefront. Discover the historical and mystical roots of the Quinaria, delve into the attributes of angelic and demonic spirits associated with these divisions, and uncover the intricacies of chart delineation using this lesser-known technique. Whether you're an astrology enthusiast or a seasoned practitioner, this episode offers unique insights into the intersection of astrology, magic, and the platonic worldview. 00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:34 Guest Introduction: Jamie Paul Lamb

01:48 Astrological Insights and Book Discussion

04:34 Journey into Astrology and Magic

11:09 Historical Figures and Esoteric Traditions

17:20 Divisional Charts and Spiritual Entities, Devatas, Angels and Demons

41:25 Astrological Rectifyication Techniques

41:45 Exploring Profections and Dashas, and other Timing Techniques

45:34 Western vs. Vedic Astrology Approaches

56:33 Astrological Remediation and Talismans

01:03:41 Philosophical Insights and Conclusion

In this episode, hosts AC and Isaac Hill welcome Brigit Anna McNeil. Bridget, a writer, eco psychotherapist, and herbalist, shares insights from her newly released book 'The Wild Within.' We explore her personal journey influenced by two incredible grandmothers, the importance of seasonal cycles, and the significance of telling and retelling stories that connect us back to nature. Additionally, Bridget discusses her beliefs on rewilding and how creative practices and rituals can be tools for personal transformation. Don't miss this thought-provoking episode that bridges the gap between the natural world and our inner selves.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

01:44 Brigit's Journey to Herbalism

06:45 Influential Teachers and Mentors

07:55 The Concept of 'The Wild Within'

09:25 Cultural Perceptions of Wildness

18:46 Rewilding and Connection to Nature

27:31 Seasonal Cycles and Beginnings

37:24 Rituals and Personal Growth

40:03 Winter Herbal Allies

42:08 The Enigmatic Yew Tree

46:15 Eco-Psychotherapy Explained

50:48 The Healing Power of Creativity

01:03:05 Imagination and Inner Child

01:09:22 Imbolc Traditions and Reflections

01:11:17 Conclusion

In this episode, we welcome Akiva Silver of Twisted Tree Farm. Our discussion wanders into the creation of lotus ponds, the selective use of nitrogen-fixing plants, and the importance of "hardening off" in the North. Akiva shares his journey from wilderness survival enthusiast to professional nurseryman, emphasizing the importance of having a 'conversation with the land.' He also touches on the philosophy behind his work, the benefits of diverse plantings, and the practicalities of building DIY ponds. Akiva's insightful perspective on managing land and fostering biodiversity is a must-listen for anyone interested in sustainable farming practices.00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast01:06 Upcoming Events and Announcements02:00 Akiva Silver's Journey and Philosophy03:12 The Art of Working with Land07:27 Planting Strategies and Observations15:34 Exploring Akiva's Farm and Plant Varieties22:11 Challenges and Learnings in Permaculture30:21 Balancing Experiments and Resilient Plants31:01 The Resilience and Early Production of Hazelnuts31:36 Chestnuts: A Versatile and Historical Nut35:36 Managing Abundance and Wildlife on the Farm37:59 Building and Maintaining Ponds Yourself39:53 The Benefits of Ponds for Wildlife and Recreation41:20 Specializing Ponds for Different Uses44:12 Renting Equipment and DIY Pond Construction48:38 The Importance of Taking Action and Learning by Doing49:47 Current Projects and Inspirations50:37 Books and Philosophies on Nature and Life53:14 Reflections on Modern Challenges and Resilience55:37 Conclusion and Farewell

In this episode we are joined by the esteemed astrologer, teacher, and author, Stormie Grace. We discuss everything from Stormie's personal journey into astrology at a young age, her career transition from radio to YouTube, and her unique approach to reading charts. Stormie elaborates on how she incorporates the natal and progressed lunar phases, the significance of the nodal story, and the intricate dance of the sun and the moon to guide her astrological readings. Stormie also talks about the challenges and opportunities in the YouTube astrology space, and the process and insights behind her new book on aspects. Tune in to hear Stormie's inspiring story and her wisdom on growing through life's cosmic cycles.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:31 Meet Stormie Grace: Astrologer and Teacher

01:32 Stormie's Journey into Astrology

04:01 The Saturn Return: A Turning Point

11:31 Stormie's Transition to YouTube20:14 Astrology Techniques and Insights

22:34 Understanding Moon Phases in Astrology

31:02 Introduction to Nodes in Astrology

31:41 Understanding the South Node

32:17 Balancing the North and South Nodes

34:44 Nodes in Different Signs and Degrees

37:14 The Role of Houses and Planets

39:16 Lunar Phases and Life Seasons

43:37 Winter Seasons and Personal Growth

47:16 New Book on Aspects in Astrology

47:32 Astrology as a Language

49:38 Practical Applications of Aspects

53:04 Writing the Book and Future Research

58:30 Conclusion and Where to Find More

In this episode, hosts AC and Isaac Hill sit down with herbalist Kyle Denton. Kyle shares his journey from a bike accident to becoming an herbalist and teacher, diving deep into his passion for astrological herbalism and biofield tuning. Discover the story behind Kyle's herb shop, Tippecanoe Herbs, and its evolution from a farmer's market stall to a comprehensive healing space with a kitchen, cafe, and herbal clinic. Kyle also explains his unique approach to bio terrain vitalism and holistic health, incorporating the elements of nature with modern herbal practice. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone interested in plant-based healing, natural medicine, and the intricate relationships between plants, astrology, and our biofields.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:31 Meet Kyle Denton: Herbalist and Teacher

01:14 The Journey of Tippecanoe Herbs

01:58 Herbal Shop and Community Space

04:32 The Connection Between Alcohol and Herbs

06:15 Kyle's Path to Herbalism

11:14 Ayurveda and Western Herbalism

14:13 Understanding Bio Terrain Vitalism

20:09 Exploring Biofield Tuning

31:05 The Power of Naming Plants

31:42 Biofield Tuning Techniques

33:28 Integrating Healing with Herbs

40:44 Astrology and Herbalism

42:38 Aromatic Astrology and Incense Making

49:21 The Role of Myths in Healing

01:02:29 Concluding Thoughts and Resources

Today we are joined once more by the renowned herbalist and author Robert Dale Rogers. Known for his extensive research on mushrooms and lichens, Robert is here to discuss the fascinating world of ferns and his latest book, 'The Fern Pharmacy.' We explore the medicinal wonders of ferns, discover their unique lifecycles, and learn some surprising historical and practical uses. Robert shares insights from his journey and research, including the importance of proper preparation for medicinal efficacy and his personal experiences with various fern species. Whether you're an herbalist looking to expand your knowledge or just curious about the hidden potentials of these ancient plants, this episode offers a wealth of information. Stay tuned as Robert also teases his upcoming works on mosses and medicinal cacti.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:31 Welcoming Robert Dale Rogers

01:41 Researching the Fern Pharmacy

03:56 Ferns in History and Culture

06:30 Medicinal and Edible Ferns

17:02 Practical Uses of Ferns

20:44 Ferns in Traditional Medicine

23:06 Decoctions and Infusions: Using Ferns for Health

23:46 Traditional Uses of Ferns in Indigenous Medicine

25:15 Favorite Ferns and Their Medicinal Benefits

28:24 Ferns in Global Practices and Personal Anecdotes

34:37 Silica and Bone Health: The Role of Ferns

36:26 Upcoming Projects and Future Research

It's the 2026 astro forecast focusing on the winter quarter with guest astrologer Zamboni Funk! Key topics include the Neptune and Saturn conjunction at zero degrees Aries, its historical significance and potential spiritual implications, and major planetary movements such as the pile-up in Capricorn, Uranus entering Gemini, and Mars/Uranus conjunction. We also explores broader themes of changing religious paradigms, the influence of technological advancements, and strategic personal and global adaptability in an uncertain year ahead. Zamboni Funk also highlights major astrological events and provides practical advice for leveraging the energies of 2026.00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast00:34 Astro Forecast for 2026: Key Highlights01:48 Special Offer on Vedic Astrology Readings02:27 Thank You to Our Listeners02:47 Astro Forecast with Zamboni Funk: Winter Quarter Insights03:45 Capricorn Season: Ambition and Challenges06:39 Jupiter Retrograde and Capricorn Pile-Up09:04 Planning and Strategy During Retrogrades17:53 Power Plays and Deception in Aquarius21:22 Saturn and Neptune Conjunction: Historical Significance32:03 Exploring Metaphors and Aphorisms33:57 Astrological Insights: Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter35:14 Practical Applications of Aphorisms35:55 Eclipses and Their Implications44:51 Uranus in Gemini: A Global Shift49:40 Adapting to a Changing World57:24 Astrological Events and Personal Growth

Today we host herbalist, mycologist, and alchemist Jason Scott from Feral Fungi. In this episode, Jason shares his journey into the world of fungi, hermetic alchemy, and ethobotanical studies. We explore the complexities of the mushroom supplement industry, planetary correspondences of mushrooms, and the art of making potent, intentional mushroom medicines. Jason also reveals his favorite methods for double extraction and discusses the importance of supporting local economies. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more deep dives into the mysteries of nature and the plant world!

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

01:59 Guest Introduction: Jason Scott of Feral Fungi

02:51 Jason Scott's Journey into Mycology and Alchemy

08:21 The Influence of Teachers and Mentors

17:22 Doctrine of Signatures and Planetary Correspondences

25:22 The Art and Science of Spagyric Medicine

42:23 Traditional Wisdom and Modern Society

42:57 Intentional Product Creation

43:14 Complexities of Life and Medicine

44:12 Scaling a Company with Integrity

46:14 Medicine Making Techniques

47:16 Soxhlet Extractor Explained

49:46 Alcohol and Water Extraction Methods

55:36 Challenges in Mushroom Industry

01:01:54 Consumer Awareness and Quality

01:08:41 Local Sourcing and Revolutionizing Herbal Medicine

01:19:36 Microbial Concerns in Smoothies

01:20:21 Mushroom Processing for Effectiveness

01:21:20 Absorption Differences: Powders vs. Tinctures

01:22:44 Challenges in Mushroom Research

01:24:34 Chinese Herbalism and Mushroom Medicine

01:28:39 Astrological Correspondences of Mushrooms

01:39:04 Planetary Associations of Specific Mushrooms

01:46:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast, we have Alexis J. Cunningfolk, author, educator, and herbalist, on the show. Alexis shares their journey into herbalism, beginning with a profound connection to a koala at a young age and progressing through various life experiences and influential teachers. We delve into Alexis' new book, 'The Apothecary of Belonging,' which explores seasonal rituals and practical herbalism, and emphasizes the inherent sense of belonging. From the importance of storytelling in herbalism to practical tips and cherished plant allies for the winter season, this episode is packed with wisdom and inspiration. Tune in to learn about the deep relationships between people, plants, and the land they live on.00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast00:31 Meet Alexis J Cunningfolk: Author, Educator, and Herbalist01:07 Alexis' Journey to the Plant Path02:01 The Influence of Family and Early Experiences02:56 Discovering Herbalism and Spiritual Practices05:07 College Years and Further Exploration11:34 The Role of Storytelling in Herbalism15:26 Teachers and Mentors in Herbalism22:39 Writing 'The Apothecary of Belonging'28:45 Commodification of Herbalism vs. Relationship with Nature29:59 The Importance of Belonging and Connection30:25 Personal Experiences and Community Work32:52 Healing and Activism36:00 Winter Herbal Practices and Plant Allies46:19 Exploring Plant Allies and Their Benefits49:59 Creating Oracle Maps of Belonging58:17 Conclusion and Resources

Today we welcome herbalist and founder of Wooden Spoon Herbs, Lauren Haynes. You can find Wooden Spoon Herbs at: https://woodenspoonherbs.com/We delve into Lauren’s journey into herbalism, starting from her early fascination with plants to her formal studies with herbal mentors. Lauren shares insights into her product development, including her acclaimed magnesium blue lemonade and other herbal remedies, as well as her approach to accessibility and education in herbalism. The discussion also covers the history and regulations of herbal medicine, business practicalities for herbal entrepreneurs, and Lauren’s favorite plants and future endeavors.00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast00:31 Meet Lauren Haynes: Herbalist and Educator01:27 Lauren's Journey into Herbalism03:27 Early Influences and Mentors05:15 From Passion Project to Business08:30 Wooden Spoon Herbs: Vision and Products14:00 Magnesium: The Essential Mineral19:44 Teaching and Herbal Business Insights22:04 Historical Context of Herbal Medicine25:30 The Flexner Report and Its Impact on Medical Schools26:40 The Pure Food and Drug Act of 190627:57 The Rise and Regulation of Herbal Medicine28:25 Understanding the DSHEA Act and Its Implications31:54 Starting and Protecting Your Herbal Business37:01 Scaling and Systematizing Your Herbal Business41:21 Pricing Strategies and Market Relationships48:17 Favorite Plants and Final Thoughts

You can find out all about Robin Rose's new course that launches December 1st at https://www.robinrosebennett.com/.Today Isaac and AC welcome back the renowned herbalist, author, and green witch, Robin Rose Bennett for an insightful and heartwarming conversation that delves into the vital role of herbalists during these tumultuous times. Robin shares her wisdom on how herbs help connect us to nature, support our communities, and guide us through personal transformation. Discover Robin's children's book, 'The Young Green Witch's Guide to Plant Magic,' designed to inspire the younger generation to explore the wonders of herbalism. Plus, learn about meaningful rituals with plantain and other plants, and the importance of bridging human connection through nature's gifts. This episode is filled with stories, wisdom, and practical advice for anyone looking to deepen their relationship with plants and strengthen their role in the web of life. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe! Share this episode with friends and leave us a five-star review if you enjoyed it. 🌿 00:00 Introduction and Welcome02:03 Guest Introduction: Robin Rose Bennett02:55 The Role of Herbalists in Today's World05:26 Personal Stories and Plant Connections17:55 Community and Connection Among Herbalists22:02 Urban Foraging and Gardening27:26 Astrology and Personal Insights29:30 The Importance of Wholeness31:19 Embracing All Parts of Ourselves32:11 Involving Younger Generations32:57 Introducing the Children's Book35:10 Highlighting Plant Magic37:04 The Spirit and Physical Connection of Plants41:50 Respecting and Learning from Plants46:40 Upcoming Projects and Courses51:44 Concluding Thoughts and Future Plans

Book a Vedic Astrology reading with Isaac by emailing info@plantcunning.com Today we host Dr. Christie Smirl (https://www.healthiervibrations.com/) an Ayurvedic practitioner and yogi, to discuss the intricate relationship between Ayurveda, mental health, and spiritual wellness. Dr. Christie shares her journey from Western hospital medicine to embracing Ayurvedic practices, highlighting the profound impact of plant-based remedies on restoring health. She elaborates on the fundamental differences between Western and Ayurvedic medicine, the importance of understanding one's dosha, and the healing properties of specific herbs like Tulsi and Ashwagandha. The conversation sheds light on how diet, lifestyle, and spiritual alignment play critical roles in holistic healing. Join us for an enlightening discussion that explores the deep wisdom of Ayurveda and its relevance in today's fast-paced world.00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast00:31 Meet Dr. Christie: From Western Medicine to Ayurveda01:38 Discovering the Power of Ayurvedic Medicine05:47 Ayurveda vs. Western Medicine: Comparative Insights13:04 Understanding Doshas and Their Impact on Health21:10 The Role of Gunas in Mental and Spiritual Health33:03 Addressing Psychological and Psychosomatic Conditions36:50 Avoiding Certain Foods and Lifestyle Adjustments37:13 Understanding Your Body and Mind as a Car38:30 Mental and Physical Doshas40:15 Implementing Lifestyle Changes41:44 Addressing Modern Lifestyle Diseases44:58 The Impact of Screen Time on Mental Health45:56 Ayurvedic Practices for Mental Balance51:26 Herbs for Mental Health: Tulsi and Bacopa01:00:17 Ashwagandha: A Modern Essential01:06:03 The Importance of Plant Relationships01:08:16 Conclusion and Resources

Welcome to the Plant Cunning Podcast! Today, we are thrilled to chat with Richard Mandelbaum, an herbalist, teacher, writer and one of the founders of ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism (https://www.arborvitaeny.com/). You can find him at https://www.richardmandelbaum.com/. In this episode, Richard shares his journey into the world of plants and herbalism, his experiences studying botany, and his insights into clinical herbalism. We delve into the importance of slowing down and truly observing the plants around us, the nuances of plant energetics, and the value of crossing scientific and traditional herbalist knowledge. Richard also talks about the dynamics of teaching field botany, working with clients, and the recent exploration of mosses.00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast00:31 Guest Introduction: Richard Mandelbaum00:53 The Herbal Community and Mutual Aid03:27 Richard's Journey to the Plant Path12:14 Learning and Teaching Field Botany27:21 Challenges in Plant Identification30:03 Working with Hawthorne in Herbal Practice36:22 Understanding Herbal Energetics38:13 Discovering Herbalism and Integrating Science38:43 The Value of Multiple Perspectives in Medicine40:41 Astrology and Energetic Systems41:59 Clinical Practice and Herbal Formulation45:53 Challenges in Mainstream Medicine51:44 The Importance of Clinical Experience01:00:28 Reflections on Field Botany01:09:17 Current Practice and Teaching01:13:04 Final Thoughts and Upcoming Events

Book a Vedic astrology reading with Isaac by emailing info@plantcunning.com.

In this episode we talk with herbalist, teacher and distiller Cathy Skipper, who you can find at https://aromagnosis.com/⁠. Cathy shares her journey into the world of plants and herbalism, influenced by her family's rich history in natural medicine and gardening. She discusses her deep connections to the plant path and how it has become a family tradition. Cathy delves into her work on menopause, influenced by her personal experiences and Carl Jung's depth psychology. She talks about the alchemical journey of menopause and the concept of the 'sovereign woman', emphasizing the importance of embracing the transformation through menopause. Cathy also explores how essential oils and aromatherapy can be powerful tools in this spiritual and emotional journey. In addition to her insights on menopause, Cathy shines light on her distillation practice. She narrates the meticulous process of harvesting and distilling plants, focusing on the significance of using plants from the high desert and maintaining the integrity of essential oils. This episode is packed with wisdom on holistic healing, the power of plant medicine, and the deep connections we share with nature. Whether you're an herbalist, therapist, or simply someone curious about the mysteries of nature and personal transformation, this conversation with Cathy Skipper is sure to inspire and enlighten.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:43 Cathy Skipper's Journey to Herbalism

03:09 The Alchemy of Menopause

11:11 Aromatherapy and Its Healing Power

18:22 The Art and Science of Distillation

24:01 Self-Healing and Jungian Concepts

30:23 The Integrity of Essential Oil Practitioners

31:46 The Importance of Small Distillers

32:25 Aromatherapy in Psychedelic Therapy

33:53 The Brutality of Industrial Harvesting

34:26 The Reality of Monocrops

35:52 Personal Experiences with Distillation

39:29 Forgotten Plants and Their Significance

53:15 The Healing Power of Aromatic Plants

57:28 Upcoming Projects and Resources

Today we dive into the world of the cunning folk with the knowledgeable and charismatic Dr. Al Cummins. Dr. Cummins, a historian and practitioner of magic, shares his journey from Birmingham, UK to the United States and his extensive research on service magicians, folk magic, and modern adaptations of these ancient practices. Join us as we explore the use of medicinal herbs like rosemary for spiritual and physical healing, the intricacies of geomancy, the ethics of divination, and Dr. Cummins' hands-on experiences with necromancy. This episode is packed with insights into the modern-day application of traditional magic, methods for diagnosing and protecting against negative influences, and unbewitching herbs. We hope you enjoy the show!

Dr Alexander Cummins is a consultant, diviner, writer, contemporary cunning-man, and historian of magic. His magical specialities are the dead (folk necromancy), divination (geomancy) and the grimoires.

Dr Cummins’ published works include An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magicke (Scarlet Imprint, 2020) with Phil Legard, The Starry Rubric: Seventeenth-century English Astrology and Magic (Hadean Press 2012), A Book of the Magi: Lore, Prayers, and Spellcraft of the Three Holy Kings (Revelore Press, 2018), as well as contributions to collections by Three Hands Press, Scarlet Imprint, and Hadean Press. He is a founding editor of Revelore Press’ Folk Necromancy in Transmission series, and co-hosts the podcast Radio Free Golgotha.

The Good Doctor is a frequent speaker on the international circuit, consults for clients and organisations, and provides training, workshops, and coaching in many aspects of magical theory, history, and practice. Originally from the Midlands of the UK, Al now makes his home in New Hampshire.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:31 Meet Dr. Al Cummins: Scholar and Practitioner

01:28 Al's journey to the US and His Background

03:28 Exploring the History and Practice of Cunning Folk

07:18 Astrology, Magic, and the Role of Cunning Folk

19:05 The Intersection of Learned Magic and Cunning Craft

25:56 Astrological Magic and Practical Applications

33:30 Geomancy: The Earthy Sister of Astrology

41:53 Unbewitching Herbs and Plant Magic

45:44 Exploring Humoral Theory and Herbal Combinations

46:08 Astrological and Folk Charm Practices

46:42 The Power of Rosemary in Magic

47:32 Purifying Herbs and Their Significance

49:02 Working with Spirits and Rituals49:45 Practical Uses of Rosemary and Other Herbs

51:27 Dealing with Curses and Spiritual Protection

01:02:01 Divination and Its Importance in Magic

01:17:26 The Evolution of Cunning Traditions

01:22:26 Working with Spirits and Ancestors

01:27:05 Navigating Relationships with Spirits

01:28:33 Upcoming Events and Resources

Join us on this spooky edition of the Plant Cunning Podcast as we welcome Coby Michael, author of 'The Poison Path Herbal: Baneful Herbs, Medicinal Nightshades, and Ritual Entheogens', 'The Poison Path Grimoire: Dark Herbalism, Poison Magic, and Baneful Allies' and proprietor of The Poisoner's Apothecary. Coby delves into the mystical world of poisonous plants and their role in herbalism and magic. Discover the fascinating uses of plants like Belladonna, Henbane, and Aconite, and learn how Coby's journey intertwined with these potent allies. Coby also talks about the upcoming Botanica Obscura Conference and offers insightful advice for those curious about the Poison Path.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

01:23 Meet Coby Michael: Author and Herbalist

02:04 Coby's Journey into the Poison Path

05:27 Influences and Mentors in the Poison Path

07:12 The Allure and Caution of Poisonous Plants

09:25 Working with Poisonous Plants Spiritually and Practically

12:34 Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Poisonous Plants

19:27 Belladonna: The Witch's Swiss Army Knife

31:48 Exploring Protection Magic

32:32 The Mystique of Belladonna

35:30 Henbane: A Poisonous Favorite

46:35 The Intriguing World of Aconite

48:51 Botanica Obscura Conference

51:29 Final Thoughts and Advice

In this episode, we welcome back herbalist and teacher Meghan Rhodes and chat about the relationship between Ayurveda, the changing seasons, and how our constitutions are affected. We dive deep into the three doshas—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—linked to the five elements: Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Meghan shares her journey into Ayurveda and offers practical advice for balancing our systems as we transition through the seasons.

Learn more about Meghan's intensive herbalism course - Awaken Herbal Wisdom - applications open each spring - https://bit.ly/43qbNxg
Join her mailing list for updates on current cohorts and when applications open - https://bit.ly/4kqdWQi
Instagram - @heritageschoolofherbalmedicine (https://www.instagram.com/heritageschoolofherbalmedicine/)Meghan Rhodes is a qualified herbalist and the founder and director of Heritage School of Herbal Medicine, where she guides students on a unique sense-based herbalism course and journey, Awaken Herbal Wisdom, for up to three turnings of the wheel.
Meghan’s practice of herbalism is rooted in the belief that we must remember, reclaim and relearn our knowledge of our bodies, our autonomy and how to work with plant medicine in order to bring control of our own health back into our families and homes for a sustainable future for ourselves and the planet. Through her herbalism school, Meghan facilitates the development of confident, empowered herbalists, attuned to the messages of their bodies and the natural world. Living the deep wisdom of herbal medicine within themselves, their homes and their communities, they uplift themselves and others, creating a stronger society organically.
Meghan is a member of both the College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy and the Ayurvedic Professionals Association.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:31 Meet Meghan Rhodes: Herbalist and Teacher

02:18 Seasonal Changes and Ayurvedic Doshas

07:19 Understanding Ayurveda: From Elements to Doshas

15:29 Identifying Doshas in People and Seasons

21:33 Balancing Doshas and Health Implications

28:02 Seasonal Cycles and Ayurvedic Practices

30:13 Adapting Ayurveda to Local Climates

34:02 Crafting with Paper Plates

34:27 Flexibility in Seasonal Patterns

34:36 Craft Time and Homework Ideas

35:09 Balancing Doshas with Local Environment

37:15 Seasonal Changes and Dosha Effects

38:04 Preparing for Fall: Tips for Kapha Types

40:19 Warming Foods and Drinks for Cold Seasons

43:26 Herbal Remedies for Different Doshas

46:20 The Importance of Seasonal Eating

57:53 Fasting and Seasonal Resets

01:03:10 Herbal Wisdom Course Overview

For our 5 year anniversary and 200th episode, we asked co-director of the Actaea Institute for Herbal Medicine and Aromatherapy, and well known author, herbalist and educator Gabriel Mojay to ask us some questions!

00:00 Introduction and Milestones

00:57 Special Guest: Gabriel Mojay

02:08 Reflecting on the Podcast Journey

04:04 The Origin Story

13:27 Transition to Video and Social Media

20:57 Guest Selection and Production Insights

24:53 Exploring the Living Cosmos

27:31 Trust in Plant Healing Modalities

29:34 Holistic Healing and Spirituality

35:29 Favorite Podcast Episodes

40:29 Personal Transformations and Learning

45:21 Future Plans and Aspirations

52:33 Celebrating Milestones and Gratitude

In this episode we sit down with Craig Williams, L.Ac., AHG; esoteric author, Ayurvedic practitioner, and expert in traditional Chinese medicine. Craig shares his journey into the herbal medicine, influenced by his mother's early health food habits and his lifelong interest in Asian studies, including Qigong, Tai Chi, and Kung Fu. Craig delves into the importance of understanding the five elements, diagnosis, and the often overlooked concept of spiritual disease. He emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to health that integrates physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing. Craig also discusses his new book, the Aghora Verses, inspired by a profound experience at Mount Kailash. This episode is packed with insightful nuggets on herbalism, acupuncture, and the vital role of spiritual practices in achieving holistic health. Tune in for a deep dive into the mysteries of nature, plant relationships, and much more. Don't miss it!

00:00 Introduction and Announcements

00:48 Meet Craig Williams: Esoteric Author and Practitioner

03:21 Craig's Journey to the Plant Path

04:39 Exploring Mystical Experiences and Cultural Influences

08:38 The Importance of Minimalism in Herbalism and Medicine

13:41 Integrating Multiple Traditions and Systems

23:44 The Role of Diagnosis in Health and Healing

31:28 Understanding Patient Vitality in Ayurveda

32:21 Infertility Cases and Energetic Systems

33:03 The Role of Diagnostic Schema

33:49 Basic Health Checks and Energetic Systems

35:05 The Controversy of Dry Needling

36:22 Empowering Patients with Energetic Systems

37:00 Spiritual Healing and Diagnosis

38:52 The Importance of Spiritual Practice

40:53 Spiritual Sickness in Western Medicine

45:26 The Role of Vedic Astrology in Healing

52:04 The Power of Mantras and Spiritual Tools

52:22 Introducing the New Book: Aghora Verses

56:26 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Welcome to the Fall Forecast for 2025 with ZamboniFunk! Tune in as we discuss everything from Mars in Scorpio and eclipse season to strategies for building personal power and forecasting key astrological events for Q4 2025. Zamboni covers notable alignments, including the challenging aspects during Libra and Sagittarius seasons, and provides valuable advice for navigating these turbulent times. We also touch on exciting events such as the upcoming Plant Cunning Conference and the launch of a new herb school program. This episode is packed with astrological wisdom and practical tips to enhance your understanding and approach to the unique cosmic energies of this season.

00:00 Introduction to the Plant Cunning Podcast

00:31 Fall Forecast Overview with ZamboniFunk

01:41 Upcoming Events and Announcements

03:38 Astrological Insights for Q4 2025

04:24 Mars in Scorpio and Planetary Movements

09:55 Eclipse Season and Solar Eclipse Discussion

19:03 Neptune in Aries and Political Violence

22:04 Saturn's Influence and Retrograde Movements

27:33 Personal Growth and Spirituality

34:14 The Impact of Witchcraft and Public Perception

43:09 Plant Cunning Conference and Isaac's Musical Talent

44:26 Cultivating Personal Power with Mercury and Mars in Scorpio

45:19 Mars and Scorpio: Strategic Victory and Talismans

48:40 Electional Astrology and Practical Applications

57:54 Navigating Mercury and Mars in Sagittarius

01:02:51 Venus in Libra: Negotiation and Diplomacy

01:06:21 Jupiter in Cancer: Abundance and Faith

01:15:14 Final Thoughts and Encouragement