Christine Buckley is the author of Plant Magic: Herbalism in Real Life.

More on Asclepius - https://www.ancient.eu/Asclepius/

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CHRISTINE: This is advice that's attributed to, I think a demigod.

ZAK: The only demigod I know is Maui from Moana.

CHRISTINE: Oh yeah, that's a good Demigod. I should watch Moana tonight.

ZAK: It's really good. Who is this demigod?

CHRISTINE: I actually don't know how to pronounce his name but Asclepius of Thessaly. He was the son of Apollo.

ZAK: I looked it up. It's actually Asclepius. He was also the Greco-Roman God of Medicine.

CHRISTINE: My name is Christine Buckley. I'm a community-based herbalist and professional cook.

ZAK: So, Asclepius' advice went like this. First the word, then the plant and lastly, the knife.

CHRISTINE: This is all in regard to some kind of therapy for your body or mind.

ZAK: First the word, then the plant and lastly, the knife. What is an actual, real-world application for this principal?

CHRISTINE: Ok, so right now, lots of us are alone and on top of that we're dealing with many other things. So, as an herbalist my advice would be to just step outside and to see that you're part of this earth where there are trees growing and flowers beginning to form. So I think that would be the first step to ease this loneliness.

ZAK: Right, so that's the first part of this advice. First the word. The word in this case being...go outside.

CHRISTINE: The next thing is, ok, maybe that's not enough. We're gonna put some plants in our body. Then in this context that would be things like, nerviness to calm your nervous system to help alleviate the anxiety and stress that you're feeling.

ZAK: So that's step two, the plant. And if that's still not enough.

CHRISTINE: Then you move on to the next strongest thing which is like, maybe you need to take a Tylenol PM to help you sleep. Or maybe you need that beer to help you calm down. Like, see how it gets progressively stronger? That's what we're talking about. We don't just jump right into the strongest thing first. We move through little shifts because what happens in little shifts are windows into change that can be longer lasting. Whereas like, the further you get down the line, it makes you feel better immediately but it doesn't really solve the foundational problem.

ZAK: First the word, then the plant and lastly, the knife. Christine Buckley's new book is called Plant Magic: Herbalism in Real Life. If you're finding this show valuable, consider sharing it with a friend. I really appreciate it. We live at BestAdvice.Show. Talk to you soon.

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