In this duo cast we share what it is like at our Central NY homestead as we prepare for our third winter on this land, shout out our Patrons, talk about media fasting and elimination diets and discuss the upcoming online class with Botanicwise we are excited to share. Learn more about the program Food for Optimal Health with Paul Bergner using our affiliate link: https://www.botanicwise.com/food-for-optimal-health-with-paul-bergner/?ref=32 The program starts next Tuesday, November 9th so be sure to sign up today if you're interested.  AC will be in Brooklyn, NY this weekend vending her Traveling Herb Farmer herbal products at the FAD Early Bird Holiday Market if you're in NYC come say hello. 

Stephen Pollington is an accomplished author and historian with a focus on the Anglo-Saxon period and the Old English language. He's written many books on these subjects and today's episode is about, "Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plant Lore and Healing." We learned how difficult it is to translate these old texts with discrepancies among the various copies and missing sections, it's like you have to be part detective as well to figure out what plant they were actually talking about. Stephen gave us some insights on Medieval understandings of the origins of disease and some of the main types of healing modalities they used such as spell healing, knife healing, and herb healing. We discuss animist ideas (as we do) regarding how folks would chant directly to the plants themselves rather than pray or chant to a divinity or god in the 9 Herbs Charm. We highlighted a bit about runes, chants, plants and the thundergod Thor or Thunar. Stephen is a joy to listen to and we hope you learn as much from this episode as we did. 

We welcome widely respected author, occultist, druid and blogger John Michael Greer back to the Plant Cunning Podcast to talk about the new edition of his book The Wealth of Nations: Economics as if Survival Mattered, what wealth is, how the whole economy is very much dependent on nature, how to invest in a declining economy, and why moving to the country to start a commune from scratch doesn't work out most of the time. For those of you who wish to hear more, we have a bonus episode in which JMG discusses biochemic cell salts, homeopathy, 19th and early 20th century occultism and the energy body at Patreon.com/plantcunning for our $9 and up patrons.  You can buy JMG's book at Foundershousepublishing.com and read his blog at Ecosophia.net

Bevin is an herbalist, educator, homesteader and author of several books, including The Artisan Herbalist, which is a really good manual for making teas, tinctures, salves, oils, and start an herbal products business. He also has a book called Saving Our Seeds about seed saving. We talk about both of these books, about how to balance getting stuff done with not burning out, and paying the bills with making inexpensive, but high quality locals products. We also talk about how he and his partner press their own oils from seeds, and we have a great time. His website is https://www.smallhousefarm.com/  And our Patreon is Patreon.com/PlantCunning

In this episode we dig deep into spiritual ecology with Pam Montgomery, talking about plants as elders, who can help guide us towards right relationship with the Earth, the Spirits of plants, nature spirits, and the whole more than human world. She also gives some very practical advice for plant communication, and shows how you can work with Plant Spirit Allies using many different modalities.  You can find Pam's website at wakeuptonature.com and be sure to get her classic book Plant Spirit Healing (which you can do at her website!) And you can find part two at patreon.com/plantcunning for Patrons of $9 + Pam Montgomery is an herbalist, author, international teacher and plant spirit healing practitioner who has passionately embraced her role as a spokesperson for the green beings and has been investigating plants and their intelligent spiritual nature for more than three decades.  She is the author of two books one of which is the highly acclaimed Plant Spirit Healing; A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness. She teaches internationally and virtually on plant spirit healing, spiritual ecology and co-creative partnership with nature. She is a founding member of United Plant Savers and more recently the Organization of Nature Evolutionaries or ONE. Her latest passion is to engage ceremonially in full symbiosis within the plant/human matrix where the elder common plants initiate and guide us into being truly human.

In this episode, AC and Isaac talk about plans for the podcast, the wonderful harvest season and all the globular fruits (puffballs, apples, pumpkins, potatoes, hawthorns, etc), the amazing daikon radish, the amazing wine cap stropheria, some of our favorite master recipes (hot and sour soup, "palaak paneer", pesto), the glorious sun, and cleaning out the barns! Let us hear your feedback by emailing plantcunning at gmail.com And join our fantastic patrons at Patreon.com/PlantCunning

We have a great time with Mountain Mel, talking about each of our plant paths, how to run an herbal business (she has a successful one!), and what's in our herbal library. Check her out at: The Herbalists's Path Support us at Patreon.com/PlantCunning

We welcome the village witch of Asheville back to the podcast and have a lovely, but deep and heavy chat about seasonal celebrations, cycles, death, loss and acceptance. This is part 1 of the interview, part 2 is available for our $9 and up patrons at Patreon.com/plantcunning. Find Seasons of a Magical Life:A Pagan Path of Living at any local bookstore! Byron on IG @ByronBallard5789 on Facebook, Twitter and MyVillageWitch.com

In this episode we speak with Neal Peterson, who has devoted over 40 years to breeding pawpaws (Asimina triloba). We talk about how he first fell in love with this delicious fruit, how he tracked down the remnants of the early 20th century pawpaw collections just in time, and selected 7 superior pawpaw cultivars out of 1,500 seedlings. You can find his website at: Petersonpawpaws.com And support the podcast at: Patreon.com/plantcunning

In  this episode we speak with Eric about some more of his favorite plants, including sweet potato, hickory and chestnut, about how to start a DIY nursery, selecting genetics for nursery stock, the secret of how to eat sunchokes so you don't gas out all your friends, and some very important appropriate technologies. You can find him on facebook as Eric Joseph Lewis, and on Instragram at @ericjosephlewisplants, and the nursery he is affiliated with is Plant Path Nursery You can support the podcast at Patreon.com/plantcunning