Evolutionary Herbalism: Science, Spirituality, and Medicine from the Heart of Nature

(Paperback)

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Weaving together herbal and medical traditions from around the world into a singular cohesive model, this ground-breaking book guides herbal practitioners to a comprehensive understanding of the practice and philosophy of healing with herbs. Written by one of the most exciting up-and-coming teachers in the field, this book presents a wide-angled and innovative approach to herbalism that truly considers both the plant and the human in a holistic context. Sajah Popham teaches a method of heart-centered contemplation--in which we relate to the plant with our hearts, rather than our heads--that allows practioners to access and honor the psychological, emotional, and spiritual qualities of a plant in conjunction with its physiological properties, resulting in a transformative level of healing. Organized in five parts that lead the reader from the microcosm to the universal, this work--grand in scope and profound in its understanding--encompasses indigenous wisdom, Ayurveda, alchemy, Chinese medicine, astrology, and clinical herbalism to address physical as well as spiritual levels of well-being. Aimed at both the student herbalist and the experienced practitioner, as well as a readers interested more generally in ecology and spirituality, Popham's teachings, both practical and philosophical in nature, guide readers to a more intimate, synergistic, and intuitive relationship with the plant kingdom and the healing medicine that is found there.

Reviews

This is no simple compendium of herbal recipes and cures, but a book that digs deeply, exploring the roots of humanitys spiritual and physical illness and the amazing power of plants to heal. Evolutionary Herbalism masterfully blends the metaphors of science, metaphysics, medical astrology, and alchemy into a deeply insightful journey that takes us to the very heart and soul of herbalism and provides a holistic model for understanding people and plants.
Rosemary Gladstar, author of Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide

Well researched at the scholarly level, Evolutionary Herbalism includes the authors own profound experiential knowledge of the subject. Pushing the boundary of modern herbal medicine, this book provides us with a new vision of the herbal realm teeming with life and intelligence that will work with us as a partner and powerful ally once we understand how to initiate that contact. Sajah Popham provides us with a wealth of hard-won tips and guidance to open that wider vista of the herbal realm.
Robert Allen Bartlett, author of Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy

Sajah Popham has written an intelligent and genuine book in which his deep caring for the world and the suffering of people shines through. Evolutionary Herbalism is a wide-ranging, synergistic exploration of multiple systems of traditional herbal healing.
Stephen Harrod Buhner, author of Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm

Sajah Popham powerfully presents a holistic model of plant medicine that weaves traditional knowledge, science, and an integration of the heart and mind to guide you toward transformational health.
Rosalee de la Fort, author of Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal

Popham crystallizes complex healing traditions and modalities, simplifying and making them palatable. Practical tips abound on merging observations of the human and differentiating to match the plant to that human, whether in relation to astrology, elements, principles, holism, or whichever concept is being shared. Chapters are infused with Pophams own delightful herb profiles.His humor grounds the education shared, creating a sense of ordinary, necessary knowledge. Essential for serious practitioners.
Margi Flint, RH, author of The Practicing Herbalist

Pophams evolutionary approach to herbalism provides a detailed blueprint to guide aspiring herbalists as well as those already walking the Green Path in the bringing together of plants and humans to inspire wholeness and affect healing. Firmly grounded in ancient wisdom and expertly distilled by the author before being recombined with his own clinical experiences, Evolutionary Herbalism offers medicine for transforming the root of our individual and cultural dis-ease.
Scott Kloos, author ofPacific Northwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 120 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness

An incredibly beautiful weaving of herbal and esoteric traditions creating a rich tapestry of what author Sajah Popham calls Universal Herbalism. This is a comprehensive study of not only the principles of various modalities but also the patterns inherent within them and how they intersect with each other. This is a must-read for anyone looking to have a comprehensive understanding of the expansive nature of healing and how to move into a new herbalism.
Pam Montgomery, author of Plant Spirit Healing and founder of Organization of Natures Evolutionaries (ONE)

A tireless confederacy of dedicated souls strive to preserve and pass forward our
collective herbal, alchemical, and astrological knowledge. Within each generation a few pioneers arise to forge new schools or mediate divergent approaches. Sajah Popham has achieved a remarkably synthetic paradigm, integrating previous historic stages of herbal practice with his profound understanding of energetic systems, Eastern and Western.
Judith Hill, producer of the Renaissance Medicine Conference and author of Medical Astrology: A Guide to Planetary Pathology

Author Bio

SAJAH POPHAM is the founder of Organic Unity, where he creates and sells herbal tinctures, and of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism; he produces a video/writing blog; a podcast, The Plant Path; and an online monthly subscription teaching program, Materia Medica Monthly. Along with his degree in herbal sciences from Bastyr University, he has studied with a wide variety of clinical herbalists, medical astrologers, and practicing alchemists, including Matthew Wood, Paul Bergner, Judith Hill, and Robert Bartlett.