One of the things I love most about Spagyric work is the possibilities it opens up for subtle and complex connection with plants. Processing a plant in our lab, feeling its intelligence change as it opens up, and then tasting its new being when it is completed is a journey I never get tired of! Maybe it never seems boring to me because there are so many different ways to direct the process and affect the outcome- and I’m talking about two such options today, which I am calling Planets and Plant Bits.
We’ll start with Plant Bits- my silly way of describing the different parts of a plant. This is something that most herbalists think about when they work with plants and consider which parts might be useful in healing. For instance, we work with the roots of Turmeric and Ginger, the leaves of Sage and Rosemary, and the flowers of Chamomile and Albizia. This might be personal preference of the herbalist, or because a long history of use has shown which parts are most medicinal.
Sometimes, though, that history is not as full a picture as it could be and modern herbalists and researchers find medicine in plant parts that are normally not considered “active”. Ginseng is a good example of this- it is traditionally used as a root, but in the past several years more information has come out showing that the leaves contain much more of some of its medicinal compounds, while also being more sustainable to harvest.
We also find this dynamic is with our various Astragalus Spagyrics. Astragalus is an herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for its tonic effects on the immune system and other defenses, and as a rejuvenative energy tonic. It’s also well-known outside of TCM because of its effectiveness, delicious taste, and balanced and safe profile.
In both Chinese and Western herbalism, it is Astragalus Root that is used, extracted in many ways for boosting and supporting immunity. The way it is described in TCM really explains its energy: it is used to strengthen the defensive energy that surrounds the body, called Wei Qi, and to protect against “external pernicious influence“. That external influence can be understood as many different things, from germs and microbes to pollutants and allergens and even to negative spiritual or energetic forces and beings.
With such a wide range of action, from the very material physical immune system to the subtle body and its defenses, it makes sense to extract Astragalus root in specific ways for the intended use, and that is what Spagyric processing allows us to do.
For our Essence of Astragalus, we draw out the physical characteristics of the root- its polysaccharides, flavonoids and saponins that give it immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory and rebuilding properties. This Essence is a great support for cold and flu season, especially if you start taking it before the season starts, which is also a good way to use it for allergy season.
Our Spiritualized Essence of Astragalus was created at a more concentrated and refined level, targeted to the Mercury or Spirit level of being, which is the energetic body of general vitality, as well as the mind and emotional body. This is also the level of Spagyric I have found most useful for spiritual practices, both as an altar and offering materia and to tone my own energy as part of ritual.
At this Spirit level of being, Astragalus’ protection against “external pernicious influence” is really seen within magickal work, as it’s one of the best defenses we’ve worked with to keep any unwanted energies or entities at bay. It has very noticeable effects on the Wei Qi, creating a feeling of being shielded by a flowing and responsive force field all around the body.
As I discussed in my talk Power to the (Plant) People, I’ve used our Astragalus Spiritualized to create a zone around me that seems to deflect other people’s negative attention and belligerence. Taking it and going into a crowded or hostile situation seems to make me less of a target for hotheads and troublemakers, as well as protecting me from the mundane illnesses that float around in crowds.
Our Astragalus Spiritualized Essence is also a wonderful long-term immune tonic, useful for folks who catch every illness that goes around, or for more constant allergies that happen in all seasons. This is because the Mercury level of being is also where our vital energy is held, governing all our strengths and how we adapt to adverse conditions.
Moving to a different “bit” of the Astragalus plant, we find that the seed is a traditional herb in Taoist alchemy and magical practice. We can understand this use by thinking of the seed and root as having an inverse relationship, as if each is the other, but inside out. A seed breaks open and expands into a root, and a root gathers all the nutrients of the soil and sends them up through the plant into the flower and eventually the very condensed form of the seed.
So, if the root builds a barrier against outer energies, the seed can be seen as building a container for our inner energies, and this is why Taoist magical medicine uses it for people who “leak energy”. This can be used for tonic effects for people who are so depleted that the usual tonic roots don’t help, and I like to use it when I take Ginseng for this reason. It’s also helpful for those of us who get tired and worn from lots of socializing, or for people who tend to get “vampirized” by others who draw energy from them.
Magickally, our Astragalus Seed Initiatic helps to build and focus whatever internal energies you’re working with, as I covered in my Planetary Materia Magicka talk. This can be your own Qi in practices like Tai Qi or Qi Gong, or any other quality you might want to invoke or embody. We’ve heard reports of people using it for Reiki and other practices of channeling energy, literal channeling of spirits, and invoking the planetary intelligences as part of ceremony or talisman making.
Sometimes the difference in plant “bits” is not about anatomy, but about time. The season an herb is gathered in can make a huge difference in its medicinal qualities, as most herbalists know when they talk about the spring buds of poplar or the fall gathering of roots. This is the case with our two types of Ginkgo Spagyric- an Essence and Spiritualized Essence of the green leaves and a Spiritualized Essence of leaves collected in autumn.
The green leaves carry the properties that most people are familiar with: tonic to brain and thought and beneficial to blood flow to the brain and throughout the body because of its blood-thinning properties. The Essence is a good tonic for short-term use as with studying for an exam or preparing for a presentation or other mentally-taxing work. This physical level Spagyric also seems to carry more of Ginkgo’s circulatory stimulant properties, while being less stimulating to energy and the mind, relatively speaking, than the Spiritualized Essence.
Our Spiritualized Essence of Ginkgo also has mind- and thought-stimulating properties, but at this higher level of being, it’s the one we recommend for long-term tonic use, especially to protect the aging brain and circulatory system. This Spagyric is also fairly stimulating to the mind, and so most people find it better to take early in the day so it doesn’t interfere with sleep.
Our Autumn Ginkgo Spiritualized Essence still has all the Mercurial intelligence of this ancient tree’s effects and gifts, but in a more subtle way. This is because, as the leaf ages with the end of summer, the terpenoid compounds break down- they are responsible for much of the mental stimulation that the green leaves cause. Instead, the flavonoids are the dominant constituent as the leaf yellows- “flavonoid” comes from the Latin word for “yellow”. Flavonoids are an important part of plant defenses against insect and environmental damage, and are also powerful anti-oxidants.
This makes Autumn Ginkgo a good adjunct to the other Ginkgos, protecting the health of the brain and nerve tissues that the green leaves stimulate and rebuild. It’s also a great alternative for people who need the tonic properties of Ginkgo, but who are overstimulated by the green type. Autumn is still a good herb for building energy over time, but it has a much more grounding effect, clarifying instead of sharpening.
Another aspect of how time affects our work is in the planetary consecrations we do as we work in our lab. Every Spagyric we make is dedicated to a planetary intelligence, and then imbued with that energy by doing all our transformative work at certain days and times, moments ruled by Mercury, Saturn, Sun, Mars, and all the other planets.
Planetary attributions can be slippery to define, since, if we look hard enough, we can probably find something of each planet’s influence in every plant. The art in this is to explore the plant being worked with, physically and energetically, and to create a collaboration between what it offers and what we need from it. This collaboration is the theme of my talk “Chronos and Kairos“, in which I discuss the idea of time as an ingredient, and share ways to work with it in a home herbal lab.
The tricky part is deciding which planetary consecration to go with, and we don’t always get that right! Classic references such as Culpeper’s Herbal discuss European plants, but herbs from the rest of the world are up for grabs as far as attribution goes. We can look at the plant’s habitat, appearance and medicinal properties, as well as scrying into its effects in our own bodies looking for a planetary energetic match, but in our work, we find the most useful criteria is to think about what the final Spagyric will be used for.
Goji is an example of this process and how it can vary according to what’s needed, and how it can be directed to aim at that need. These tasty little red berries are a time-honoured tonic in Asian herbalism, and a delicious snack we loved when we were working long days at our booth or in the garden. They’re full of nutrition- amino acids, minerals, vitamin c, carotene, and medicinal polysaccharides. This balanced tonic profile is a signature of Solar herbs, mirroring the Sun’s quality of bringing warmth and life to all beings it shines on.
Our Goji Essence is full of the warm, vitalizing Sun energy that it was made under, and it’s a supportive Spagyric for the body and many of its functions. It’s nutritive and anti-inflammatory, providing nourishment and open flow to most of the body’s organs and systems. Its mineral constituents are especially well-extracted by our Spagyric process, and this brings a centering quality to its energy that is an archetypal quality of Sun-ruled plants.
Cheer and uplift are also Solar properties- not surprising when we think about what it feels like when the Sun breaks through after a cloudy day. Goji is famous for brightening the mood and lifting depression, so we also wanted to work with it on the Mercury and Spirit level to target the emotional body with its effects.
These effects in Goji are actually listed as warnings in some of the old TCM books- with the caution that overconsumption of Goji can cause “excessive mirth”. Of course, this says a lot about the culture of seriousness that these texts come from, but it is also a hint towards another planetary connection we could make- to Jupiter. The big planet rules expansive emotions like joy, benificence, and mirth. Jupiter’s name gives us a word for the state that Goji can create- jovial- and it’s that rulership that our Goji Spiritualized was dedicated to.
Joviality is present in our Spiritualized Essence of Goji in great measure, and it is a reliable bringer of cheer to even the most downturned moods. We’ve seen it make some seriously cranky people dissolve into giggle fits over the years, and while that may not solve all the world’s problems, some extra mirth to go around is a welcome thing most days.
In this post, I talked about the Body/Salt level of being, and how Spagyric work targeted to that level focuses on the minerals of the plants, extracting them in ways that no other method can. I mentioned this for our Goji Essence and its mineral constituents, but we see this even more in mineral-based medicines.
The most well-known mineral medicine that we work with is Shilajit, a resin or pitch that is found exuding from the rock faces of the Himalayas. This black, sticky substance is thought to be a result of all the plant life that lived and died in an area, broken down and concentrated by time, weather, and the plants’ own chemistry, most notably benzoic acid. This plant acid gives Shilajit its incense-like scent and much of its medicine.
Benzoic acid is found in many sacred resins such as Frankincense and Benzoin, where it gets its name. It contributes preservative, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties to these medicines, along with its sweet balsamic scent. The sacred resins it is also found in and its higher-level properties of bringing calm, meditative states led us to create our Shilajit Spiritualized Essence under the rulership of Sun. This Spagyric has a strengthening, centering energy, bringing confidence and an invincible quality to the mind and spirit. It’s also a great long-term tonic and rejuvenative, boosting the vital energy of this level of being.
But what about Shilajit’s considerable mineral content and the healing that level of nutrition can bring? Once again, our Spagyric Essence process is the way to reach this aspect of the plant, and for our Shilajit Essence, we called on Saturn’s help for focusing the medicine. Saturn is the planet of structure, restriction, and physicality, and in some ways, it’s an octave of the earth energy of our planet. And just as the scent of benzoic acid makes a connection to the Sun through other resins like Frankincense, Shilajit’s other scent note speaks of Saturn- dry, dark, and intense.
This other note is called “agrestic” in perfumery, or more simply, “barnyard”. It’s the scent of a place where animals have lived for a long time, but perhaps not recently. To speak a little crudely, it’s not fresh dung, but the old stall where decades of animal waste has broken down into something different.
Chemically, this note is from humic acid, the acid of “humus”, the stable form of organic matter after it has thoroughly decomposed. Humic acid is the scent of good soil and finished compost, and it’s black like Shilajit, the sacred colour of Saturn. It’s the structure of the soil, and it’s what dissolves the minerals that the plant juices picked up in their journey through the earth to become Shilajit. Our processing makes those minerals even more available, especially the iron content, making our Shilajit Essence a good support for this deep layer of health and wellness.
