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Sustainability

Aromatherapy
Sustainability
November 29, 20228Comments

Herbal-Minded Holiday Gift Guide

The holiday season has arrived, and this is often a time when we think of giving something special to those we love and care for. However, the idea of picking
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatherapy
Bio-Regional Aromatic Medicine
Human/Plant Connection
Sustainability
April 14, 202210Comments

13 Aromatic Plants You Can Easily Grow at Home

Have you thought about growing a garden this spring? Now is a great time to start preparing! Whether you're a complete beginner, or a master in aromatic medicine making, there is
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatherapy
Human/Plant Connection
Sustainability
November 22, 202119Comments

Being A Conscious Essential Oil Consumer – Resist the EO Marketers!

This holiday time of year, there are great deals everywhere and multi-level marketing networks working overtime to sell essential oils. Don’t get me wrong – essential oils are amazing aromatic
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatic History & Lore
Plant Profiles
Sustainability
October 27, 20219Comments

Saving Spikenard: The Sustainability Struggle

Some might say that the words sustainable and essential oil can never be in the same sentence. Essential oils have dynamic health benefits, however, they’re also resource-intensive products. Hundreds to
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatic History & Lore
Human/Plant Connection
Ritual
Sustainability
July 19, 20210Comments

Smudging: An Issue of Ethics and Sustainability

Have you ever scrolled past a social media ad with an image of someone burning a smudge stick of White Sage with the caption reading something like, “Say Bye-Bye to
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Plant Profiles
Sustainability
November 25, 20190Comments

A Distress Call from the Sacred White Sage Plant

Oftentimes when trends spread like wildfire around the world, there is a great deal of misinformation or lack of understanding around them. Unfortunately, many trends these days include the use
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatherapy
Aromatic Recipes
Incense as Medicine
Sustainability
August 19, 20190Comments

Incense & Aromatics for Mental Focus & Clarity

Do you experience issues with mental focus and clarity, brain fog, or trouble with your memory? The aromatic incense plants I talk about in the video above have been used
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatic History & Lore
Incense as Medicine
Sustainability
March 19, 20180Comments

The Magic & Medicine of Aromatic Tree Resins

Tree resins have been a major part of human history and have been used in nearly every culture on Earth for thousands of years. Whether used in natural perfumery, as
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatherapy
Aromatic History & Lore
Ayurveda
Plant Profiles
Sustainability
January 23, 20180Comments

The Ancient Divinity and Healing of Sandalwood

One of the most widely used metaphysical plants in the world is the renowned Sandalwood tree. The use of this sacred tree in spirituality and ritual dates back thousands of
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatherapy
Aromatic History & Lore
Incense as Medicine
Plant Profiles
Sustainability
September 11, 20170Comments

Palo Santo – Holy Wood

Palo Santo (Holy Wood) has been used throughout Central America and many northern territories of South America for thousands of years for purification and cleansing of the physical, energetic, and
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
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What if your astrological chart could change the w What if your astrological chart could change the way you work with plants? Most people think astrology begins and ends with their sun sign. But your birth chart is so much more than a horoscope! It’s a blueprint of your constitution, your personality, and even potential imbalances within the body and mind. For centuries, physicians and herbalists studied astrology to better understand plants, people, and patterns of health. This was the art of Medical Astrology, a system that saw the cosmos, the human body, and the plant world as deeply interconnected. When you look at a birth chart beyond the surface, you begin to see: ✨ How planetary energies correlate with temperament and constitution ✨ Why certain imbalances show up the way they do ✨ Which plants may resonate more with an individual Astrology can amplify aromatic medicine. It moves you beyond “use this for that” remedies and into a more intentional and personalized plant practice. And it doesn’t stop there… The plants themselves carry planetary signatures. From their physical form and habitat to their energetics and actions, they reflect celestial patterns. When you begin to see this, plant work becomes an art form of celestial matchmaking. If you’ve ever felt like there might be a deeper layer to herbalism and aromatherapy… there is. In our blog, we explore: • Why your sun sign is only the beginning • How planetary correspondences guide plant selection • How astrological timing can potentize your preparations • And why working with cosmic cycles can transform your practice If you’re ready to expand how you see plants, people, and the world around you… 🌙 Tap the link in our bio and read the full article now. ________ #astrology #herbalism #astroherbalism #astrologicalchart #medicalastrology #sunsign #astrologysigns
A Rescue Remedy for Flu Season: Herbal Steaming 🌿💨 A Rescue Remedy for Flu Season: Herbal Steaming 🌿💨 Cold and flu season is still here…and congestion, heaviness, and fatigue often come with it. Before reaching for an over-the-counter spray with ingredients you can’t pronounce, consider returning to this time-honored tradition. Herbal steaming is an age-old therapeutic practice used across cultures to support the respiratory system and ease cold and flu symptoms. While it’s often praised in skincare rituals, its roots run much deeper, as a gentle, effective way to work with aromatic plants and their volatile oils. To create an herbal steam, aromatic plants (fresh or dried) are added to hot water. As the water heats, it releases the plant’s volatile compounds into the air (much like a simple distillation), allowing you to inhale their therapeutic properties directly. Steam is naturally warming, opening, and moistening. When combined with aromatic plants, it can gently penetrate the mucosal tissues, helping to soothe congestion and invite clearer breathing in a localized, supportive way. Certain aromatic plants also offer immune support alongside antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory qualities, helping ease sore throats, sinus pressure, fatigue, and that run-down feeling that often comes with seasonal illness. ✨ Ready to try it yourself? All you need is a pot, hot water, a towel, and a handful of aromatics. Comment “STEAM” and we’ll send you our free Herbal Steaming Guide, complete with step-by-step instructions and our top 10 aromatic plants for herbal steams (+ their benefits!).
Did you know that astrology can be more than horos Did you know that astrology can be more than horoscopes… and actually serves as a powerful tool for working with plants in your aromatherapy or herbal practice? For centuries, the study of the planets and celestial forces has been a core part of aromatic and herbal medicine. This is the ancient tradition of Medical Astrology, a system used to classify plants, understand bodily constitutions, and create remedies that align with both the individual and the cosmos. ​​​​​​​Far from being outdated, these celestial patterns still influence our health, the plants we work with, and the world around us. And when you learn to work alongside them, your plant practice can become deeper, more precise, and more potent, just as practitioners have known across cultures for ages. In our blog post, we dive into the fascinating relationships between astrology, plants, and people. You’ll discover how incorporating astrology can: ▪️ Illuminate the root causes of imbalance and illness ▪️ Guide you in matching people with the remedies that will benefit them most ▪️ Even enhance the potency and effectiveness of your plant preparations You might never look at your astrological chart (or your apothecary) the same way again! 🌿✨ Click the link in our bio to read the full article. ___________ #astrology #herbalism #astroherbalism #medicalastrology #birthchart #astrologicalmagic
Have you ever worked with a plant that was technic Have you ever worked with a plant that was technically the right match for someone – aligned with their constitution, indicated for their symptoms, supported by everything you’ve studied – and yet something about it still felt slightly off? In your mind and on paper, it made sense, but in practice, it didn’t have the impact you'd hoped for. There’s a layer of plant work that lives beyond symptom-matching and even beyond basic energetics. And you don't have to be a wizard to figure it out! It has to do with patterns... the deeper architecture of a person, and the deeper signature of a plant. When I first began exploring the relationship between planets and plants through my buddy Sajah’s work, I was drawn in by how mystical it all felt. But what struck me was how simple and observational it actually was. You can literally see planetary qualities in the way a plant grows, in its structure, its scent, its taste, the direction it moves in the body, and the kinds of imbalances it addresses. And once I started putting it all into practice, everything shifted. Suddenly, the famous alchemical saying “As above, so below” stopped sounding symbolic and started functioning like a super-accurate diagnostic lens. In Lesson 2 of his free Astro-Herbalism Mini-Course, Sajah lays out the exact framework he uses to determine a plant’s planetary signature, and shows how to see which herbs truly correspond to a person’s underlying patterns, not just their surface symptoms. If you’ve ever felt like there’s a deeper pattern at play in plant medicine, something that explains why certain remedies truly resonate, this training can give language to what you’ve already sensed and help you find greater depth, meaning, precision, and confidence in your plant work. ✨ Join the free Astro-Herbalism Mini-Course online using the link in our bio. (It's only available for a limited time, so check it out soon!). ___________ #astroherbalism #astrology #herbalism #herbalist #plantsandastrology #planetsandplants #evolutionaryherbalism
Yarrow’s Latin name, Achillea millefolium, honors Yarrow’s Latin name, Achillea millefolium, honors Achilles, the great warrior of Greek myth who used Yarrow to tend his soldiers’ wounds in battle. Just as Yarrow helps seal physical wounds, it can strengthen energetic boundaries & support empaths who absorb others’ emotions. But to truly understand Yarrow's emotional support, we have to go back to the myths that helped shape its name. In Greco-Roman lore, Chiron, the wise centaur who taught Achilles about medicine, was struck by a poisoned arrow & (though immortal) was condemned to endless suffering. His pain became a lifelong teacher, shaping his ability to tend the wounds of others with unmatched compassion. He was known as the wounded healer. Achilles, on the other hand, embodies the archetype of the wounded warrior. His mother dipped him in the River Styx to make him invincible, but his heel remained exposed and vulnerable – the famous “Achilles heel.” Through these stories, Yarrow became known as the herb of the wounded healer & wounded warrior: uniting strength & vulnerability, courage & compassion. So many people find their way to aromatic medicine and herbs through a similar story; drawn in, as Chiron was – sometimes not by choice but by necessity – to find healing. Through that search for relief and meaning, we learn not only how to mend ourselves but how to support others with hard-won understanding & skill. This is the essence of the wounded warrior-healer: wisdom earned through suffering, then generously shared. Yarrow honors that inner transformation. It reminds us that to serve as a steady presence for others, to truly support others, we must continue tending to our own wounds, too (because that work is never truly finished). In our new video blog, we'll dive into the whole story of Yarrow together: ✨ The mythology & folklore behind its name ✨ How it supports digestion, circulation, skin & uterine health ✨ Its role in aromatic medicine (essential oil, hydrosol, incense, tea, tincture) ✨ Why so many empaths & healers feel called to work with it 🌿 Comment “YARROW” to get the full Yarrow vlog. ________ #yarrow #herbalism #aromatherapy #empaths #herbalfolklore #greekmythology
Absolutes vs essential oils: what’s the difference Absolutes vs essential oils: what’s the difference? Essential oils are extracted in various ways, most often through steam distillation, but also solvent extraction, and other methods. Steam distillation extracts the volatile oils from plant materials using a process of heating and cooling water vapor. The end products of this process are essential oils and hydrosol. Absolutes, on the other hand, are highly concentrated aromatic substances similar to essential oils. They are obtained through a solvent extraction process instead of steam distillation. This method is typically used for delicate or highly fragrant plant materials that cannot be effectively distilled using steam distillation. In the solvent extraction process, plant materials are submerged in a solvent, such as ethanol, hexane, or carbon dioxide, to release their aroma. The solvent mixture dissolves the aromatic compounds of the plant and releases them into the liquid, and then the solvent is removed, leaving behind a fragrant, concentrated mixture known as an absolute. It's important to note that absolutes may or may not contain trace amounts of the solvent used in the extraction process. Some folks choose to avoid using absolutes for this reason, others feel the amount is too low to be impactful in any way. By definition, both absolutes and essential oils are highly concentrated liquid extracts containing volatile chemical compounds from medicinal and aromatic plants. Absolutes are often more expensive than essential oils due to the complexity of the extraction process and the amount of raw material required to produce them. Typically, you'll see bottles of essential oils and absolutes sold side by side in stores. To know whether it’s an essential oil or absolute, carefully read the label and look for the word “absolute,” and often you can also find the solvent that was used listed as well. Some examples of aromatic plants that are commonly processed into absolutes include Jasmine and Rose. __________ #essentialoils #absolutes #aromatherapy #essentialoileducation #aromaticmedicine #aromatherapytips #AromatherapyEducation
Have you ever had a physical symptom you knew was Have you ever had a physical symptom you knew was directly related to your emotions, thoughts, or something even spiritual? Or maybe had an intuitive sense that the root cause of someone's problem wasn't exactly physical? If you've ever wondered how to trace these relationships between the body, mind, and soul — to make it easier to use herbs to help people on these more subtle levels — you're in luck! My good friend Sajah Popham just did all the hard work and put it all together in the Astro-Herbalism Mini-Course. Ancient physicians and founding herbalists like Paracelsus and Nicolas Culpeper understood that the most effective path of healing with herbs was through the understanding of the stars and planetary bodies. The School of Evolutionary Herbalism is carrying on this powerful tradition — offering important insights into exactly how astrology and herbalism correspond to each other in their free series. You'll learn how to see the connections between the body, emotions, thoughts, and the evolutionary process of the soul — and how to translate these into finding the specific remedy, whether that's incense, essential oil, or herbs, that gets to the roots of our health problems. If this speaks to you, sign up via the link in bio and start watching the first lesson now. You'll gain a higher perspective about your work with plants that will change everything. 🌿✨ This mini-course is only available for a limited time — if you're curious about the connection between the stars and the plant kingdom, now's your chance! #herbalmedicine #astroherbalism #astrologyandherbalism #astrology #holistichealth
Forest Bathing at Home 🌲 You don’t need to visit Forest Bathing at Home 🌲 You don’t need to visit a forest to reconnect with nature. Place a few sprigs of Pine, Cedar, or Fir in hot water on your stove, or a few drops of EO in your diffuser. Inhale deeply. Exhale fully. Repeat. These aromatic evergreens can reduce stress, clear the mind, and uplift your spirit…all from the comfort of home. What's your favorite forest scent? _____________ #forestbathing #forestsmell #forestenergy #forestbathingtherapy #forestscent #pine #cedar #fir
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