Ancient alchemy, modern "medicine"

The cosmos align to reconnect us with the healing power of plants

As many of you are aware, I just shared a rare New Moon hot take— The dark garden— about the incredible, earthy energy of tomorrow’s Taurus New Moon. I’m also working on a pretty special Sagittarius Full Moon Deep Dive for release on Substack in a week or so, and am blown away by the consistent themes that keeps emerging in my work this Spring and Summer: the earth’s flora and fauna are here to help heal us.

Ancient people knew this, and we’ve lost some of this wisdom as we throw the baby out with the bathwater, all in the name of “progress”.

(Make sure you’re a premium subscriber on Substack for a pretty fire Sagittarius Full Moon Deep Dive…it’s going to be a goodie).

The dark garden

As we already shared in The dark garden Taurus New Moon post, the bizarrely mild weather, the flower essence garden teeming with life, and measurable uptick in fairy activity all seem to indicate that goddess energy— and the healing powers and properties of the earth grid— are making a hell of a comeback. And we humans are positioned to benefit mightily from this natural abundance.

It’s strange how workshops and events always seem to be “accidentally” scheduled with uncanny, perfect timing alongside these themes, as is the case for this weekend’s in-person workshop at The Herb Bar here in Austin: Ancient Alchemy, Modern “Medicine”. We really didn’t plan for this interactive event to fall right smack dab in the middle of this very TANIS-y, dark garden-themed, earth’s bounty-rific cosmic window…but here we are.

I’ve been working on the class handout and prepping the gift bags and realized something that should be kind of obvious: we all have the ability to heal ourselves with just a little bit of information and some access to nature. Like, nature is literally full of medicine.

Full stop.

The data

I know that sounds over-simplistic, but it’s actually not. As someone that has had persistent— and often painful— health issues my entire life (including more than six dozen UTI’s and kidney infections and kidney stones), I can honestly say: I’ve never been healthier than in the last three years….and, in that time, I have have had ZERO interaction with western medicine or traditional doctors and have stopped taking all conventional medicine— including birth control!

Bro. Read that again and let that sink in. I’ve had almost no contact with doctors or their “medicine” and I’ve never been healthier. It’s the honest-to-God the truth, and I would have never believed it if I hadn’t been reflecting on notes and talking points for the upcoming Ancient Alchemy, Modern “Medicine” workshop at the Herb Bar.

Now, I know some great doctors. And some of you lovely people are medical professionals, too! So I’m not ragging on the individuals that push themselves to help us heal and keep us alive. I get it.

But, as I’ve discussed privately with many of you lovely doctors and nurses, there might be a bit of a glitch in our overall medical system. No country on earth spends more money on healthcare, and we rank highly among the least healthy populations on earth— despite having access to clean water, a relatively high standard of living, and plenty of food.

And, the other day, I learned a data point that f*cking blew my mind:

“It's a well-documented fact that adverse prescription drug effects and other medical errors are the third leading cause of death in America. Adverse drug events harm 2.7 million hospitalized patients in the U.S. annually, with over 106,000 deaths. And that’s just the hospitalization data.”

WHAT?!?

Deaths from prescription drugs only lags behind cancer and heart disease in the rankings of things that kill us. Seems like it probably shouldn’t be that way, right?

Well, we actually have some agency and can make some changes, at least for our own, personal health and wellness. And, while I would never suggest that flower essences can heal a gunshot wound or cure cancer (because that’s full-on nuts), I do think that proactively bringing strategic herbal remedies into our daily practice can be a game-changer.

Ancient peoples all around the world knew some stuff. And they knew it for a long, long time (we’re talking many, many thousands of years). And, just because we enjoy the benefits of progress and new medical innovations— like penicillin, to which I can probably credit my life— it doesn’t mean that everything that came before is dog sh*t.

It’s not dog sh*t. It’s awesome, too.

Recommended readings and resources

There is a tremendous amount of resources available to read and leverage when researching potential herbal and/or dietary solutions for your unique needs. Here’s a short list of my favorite books (which I’m including in this weekend’s handout):

• Botany in a Day: the Patterns Method of Plant Identification

• Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide

• The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide

• Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine

• Medical Herbalism The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine

TOTEM Flower Essences

And, while I’m obviously biased, I do think that flower essences are a GREAT place to start any herbal protocol. Why? Well, they’re very gentle. As 80% filtered water, our TOTEM Flower Essences are way less likely to trigger any allergic reactions to herbs, plants or flowers than the super high-potency tinctures. They work in a more passive, gentle and consistent way, slowly reconfiguring your energy body to do the work on its own over time.

I also grow everything from organic seed in a super organic garden that I oversee everyday, which ensures that none of the POISON circulating in our agriculture system— like glyphosate— shows up in our dropper bottles.

In this weekend’s workshop, I’m going to share how we make these bad boys. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty analogue, and literally anyone that’s nuts enough and doesn’t mind using a bit of elbow grease can do it. We’re going to walk the attendees through everything: from the soil we use to the preying mantises we hatch to the hand-harvesting and slow mo techniques of formulating the “medicine” before bottling.

If you are in the Austin area and are interested in learning more, sign up HERE. The class is only $30 and all attendees will be getting a full-sized TOTEM Flower Essence (that retails for $50) as a gift. And Megen’s new event space is absolutely beautiful!

And, if you’re unable to join us in person at the Herb Bar’s beautiful new events space, please take a look at our TOTEM Readings ATX Etsy Shop HERE. We’re currently running a 50% off sale through the end of May, and have just stocked several *brand new* flower essences, including: Archangel, Astral Travel, AEAEA, Chill Pill and Sacred Temple- among others!

This sale expires in June to honestly give me a physical break. Formulating and bottling and stocking and wrapping and shipping at scale is a pretty demanding venture, so I’ll be slowing down and, frankly, heading out of town to enjoy my 40th birthday party.

In other words: the 50% off sale isn’t going to last that long. If you’ve been flower essence-curious, it’s a great time to get started. And, if you’re ever confused by the options or want some guidance, just reach out and schedule a TOTEM Flower Essence Consultation HERE. This service is currently half off through the end of May, too!

If nothing else, just open your mind a bit. There are so many great resources, books and even podcasts that explore alternative healing and wellness options, and it can’t hurt to just learn a little more.

Take care of yourself out there…and Happy New Moon!

-Rachel