Podcast
Plant Cunning Podcast
Hosted by Plant Cunning Podcast · EN
Plant Cunning Podcast brings together people wise to the ways of plants, fungi, healing practices, & the natural world to explore the mysteries of Nature. Co-Hosted by astrologer, gardener & musician, Isaac Hill and herbalist & educator A.C. Stauble-Hill. We invite herbalists, mages, mycologists, gardeners, community organizers, healers, spiritual seekers & all kinds of other interesting people to the microphone to share their wisdom. We like to bridge different worlds, make connections, inspire, and at times, have our minds blown by our amazing guests. Enjoy!
39episodes
Episodes
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Ep. 240: William Padilla-Brown
2d ago00:52:41Tap to summarizePlant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026MycoSymbiotics Mushroom & Art Festival July 29- August 2d, 2026Today on the podcast, AC & Isaac Hill interview mushroom citizen scientist and community builder William Padilla-Brown about his path into mycology, from early curiosity about consciousness and “plant medicine” to diet-driven health struggles that pushed him into growing his own food, foraging, and functional mushrooms. He credits discovering online superfood and medicinal-mushroom content (including David Avocado Wolfe) as a turning point, then explains how mushroom videos took off on YouTube and led him to start MycoSymbiotics and launch MycoFest in 2015 to create a lasting community and legacy for his family. Will recounts cultivating cordyceps after finding a specimen at the first festival, rejecting the idea that it was “impossible,” and learning through observation—treating life as a readable language. He describes MycoSymbiotics’ cutting edge work: wild strain selection, DNA barcoding, cultivation, extraction, third‑party analytics, and making potent products affordable. The conversation also covers ecological literacy through mushrooms, conservation concerns like Pine Barrens development and matsutake habitat loss, the importance and diversity of native truffles (including training a dog to find tuber canaliculatum), aroma as a form of “medicine,” modern distraction and nervous-system hijacking, and adapting to AI by leaning into uniquely human creativity. He closes with MycoFest details (first weekend of August; July 31–Aug 2; MycoFest.net; Artemis, PA; code MYCOMMUNITY), plus MycoSymbiotics sites, classes, a farmer co‑op, and local projects.00:00 Meet William Padilla-Brown01:55 Origins in Plant Medicine06:03 Health Wake Up Call09:09 David Wolfe and Medicinals11:28 Myco Symbiote to MycoFest13:12 Nothing Is Impossible15:30 Learning From Living Signs21:05 Mycology Cutting Edge Today23:44 Matsutake and Habitat Threats25:29 Truffles as Ecological Gateway27:16 Native Truffles in Pennsylvania30:14 Truffles and Sensory Depth30:41 Overstimulation and Numbness31:54 Aroma as Medicine33:58 Capitalism and Responsibility36:16 Distraction Casino Reality38:53 Using the System for Good40:53 Social Media and Rage Bait44:27 AI Music and Human Spark48:55 MycoFest and Community Wrap
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Ep. 239: Dreaming Herbs & Scientific Inquiry into Astrology with Will Morris
1w ago01:14:03Tap to summarizeToday on the Plant Cunning Podcast, Isaac and AC welcome back Will Morris, PhD, DAOM, MSEd, LAc, RH, a interdisciplinary healer and scholar whose work spans traditional Western and Vedic astrology, Chinese medicine, pulse diagnosis, sound healing, and education. Will explains his compulsive, spiritually driven path across traditions and how transdisciplinary study reveals shared underlying structures, including medical frameworks of location, process, and severity and recurring 12-fold patterns across nature and culture. He critiques mainstream scientific testing of astrology as method-driven, politically shaped, and often logically flawed, arguing the right assessment depends on the question and may require qualitative approaches. The conversation explores intuition, divination versus science, horary use in clinical settings, dreamwork and oneirobotany, mugwort’s shamanic origins, catnip’s “wind” associations, and Will’s upcoming books, including Evidence Ecology: Science and Astrology.02:10 Why Study Many Traditions?03:39 Life Path Music to Astrology08:36 The Benefits of Transdisciplinary Studies12:00 The Science Industry and Astrology13:13 Is Astrology Divination or Science?19:31 Testing Astrology Properly27:59 Clinical Astrology in Practice31:07 Book of Dreams and Yesod32:48 Dreamwork Pulse and Herbs36:59 Sedative Herbs Mix37:10 Catnip and Wind Pathology39:08 Eight Winds and Charts40:32 Wind as Science Debate41:23 Dream Plants: Mugwort42:17 Dybbuk Clearing Story44:58 Artemisia and Dreamwork49:08 Cycles and Plant Motion51:47 Pan Celestial Thesis01:01:24 Land, Climate and Relocation01:05:16 Universalism vs Relativism01:08:15 Books and Future Projects01:13:45 Closing Thanks
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Ep. 238: Ceremonial Magic in Mexico with Jorge Nájera
2w ago01:02:13Tap to summarizeIn this episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, Isaac and AC interview Jorge Nájera in Guadalajara about Mexico’s ceremonial magic scene and his role leading the Fraternidad del Círculo Dorado (Circulo Dorado Web) a mystical and magical school founded in 1986. Najera recounts how a small study group grew through work with BOTA, Golden Dawn-style ritual, Freemasonry, and later affiliation with the Servants of the Light (SOL) lineage of Dion Fortune and Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki. He describes meeting Ashcroft-Nowicki, trips to Egypt, learning to build an “astral temple” and inner contacts, then adapting SOL material for Spanish-speaking students by creating their own structured curriculum centered on astrology, Hermetic and Sephardic Kabbalah, and coherent symbolism. He explains the school’s three-degree model, its emphasis on lived experience and service, and how COVID shifted much of their work online, including new digital tools.01:04 Meet Jorge in Guadalajara01:55 Founding the School in 198603:08 Early Growth 05:02 Joining Servants of the Light08:11 Egypt Trip and London Temple11:06 Astral Temple Training13:11 Adapting SOL for Latin America14:56 Building the Curriculum16:07 Kabbalah as Foundation19:22 Courses and Temple System21:05 Jorge’s Early Influences25:10 Astrology Awakening and Teaching29:58 Fruits and Mission of the School33:26 From Rituals to Creativity34:57 Information vs Wisdom37:34 Mystery Schools Go Digital42:14 How does a Mystery School work in the Age of Aquarius?46:10 The Importance of Coherent Symbolic Training50:52 The Degrees of Initiation56:24 The Ideal Student01:00:02 How to Connect and Closing
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Ep. 237: From Soil to Soul with Laurie Szott-Rogers: Plant Archetypes, Tarot & the Council of Plants
3w ago00:44:39Tap to summarizeGet your tickets for the Plant Cunning Conference here: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Find out more about Laurie here: Laurie Szott-Rogers Bio - Self Heal DistributingThis episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast features herbalist, author, gardener, and educator Laurie Szott-Rogers discussing her new book, From Soil to Soul, and her blend of herbalism, astrology, archetypes, tarot, and dreamwork. Laurie shares how dandelion first drew her into plant medicine, her path from early interests and government work to partnering with her husband Robert Rogers, and what her current life looks like in Alberta’s cold climate gardening. She explains her “24 herbs” framework, the Plant Council concept, and how she writes from the plants’ perspectives using attunement, trance, drumming, and automatic writing. The conversation also addresses AI-generated imagery, explores dandelion’s archetypal qualities, and dives into tarragon’s dragon mythology and its King of Swords tarot association, along with practical uses like tarragon pesto.00:00 Meet Laurie Szott-Rogers00:23 Plant Cunning Conference Plug01:41 Her Plant Path Origins02:25 Dandelion First Love03:47 Astrology Meets Herbalism05:43 Life in Alberta Garden09:04 Store Products and Teaching10:17 Council of Plants Concept13:29 Attunement and Plant Rituals16:02 Writing as the Plants17:23 From Soil to Soul and AI Art21:08 Recipes and Dandelion Archetype22:42 Dandelion Resilience Medicine25:05 Planetary Archetypes in Dandelion26:43 Bitterness Shadow and Renewal28:08 Why Humans Love Archetypes29:48 Plant Surprises Mint Myth31:28 Tarragon Dragons and Growing32:55 Tarragon Pesto Kitchen Uses35:03 Tarot Links King of Swords38:42 Neoshamanic Plant Journeying41:07 Next Projects Oracle Deck42:27 Where to Find the Book43:21 Closing Thanks and Farewell
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Ep.236: Don't Be Afraid of the Herbs: Andrea Beaman on Natural & Spiritual Healing
4w ago01:09:38Tap to summarizeFind out more and get your tickets for thePlant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026 here!Today on the Plant Cunning Podcast, hosts Isaac and AC Hill interview nutritionist, health coach, herbalist, and educator Andrea Beaman. She shares how she healed her thyroid through diet and lifestyle changes and later navigated a debilitating 2012–2013 illness she associated with Lyme after recurring lung infections, joint pain, and depression. Beaman discusses fear of herbs as cultural residue from witch trials and modern medical suppression, encourages experimentation with time-tested remedies and kitchen herbs, and stresses grounding, meditation, and heart-based intuition (including muscle testing). She outlines thyroid imbalance symptoms, links many cases to nutritional deficiency and stress, touches on autoimmune thyroid issues and parasites, recounts powerful experiences with trees and ayahuasca, and invites listeners to her courses and Health is Wealth community at andreabeaman.com.01:29 Meet Andrea Beaman02:50 A Health Crisis Begins06:07 How did you find out it was Lyme disease?09:01 Breakthrough with Teasel 13:09 Herb School and Self Testing14:16 Trusting Herbs and Tuning In19:04 Healing Beyond Food21:47 Thyroid Healing Origins23:00 Thyroid Signs and Root Causes32:41 Herbs for Mind and Spirit34:12 Ayahuasca and Plant Connection36:06 Do Plants Speak?41:17 Central Park Tree Spirit43:11 Why People Fear Herbs45:03 Witch Trials Trauma Echoes47:49 Reclaiming Plant Confidence50:40 Kitchen Herbs and COVID54:00 Fear Physiology and Hospitals57:33 Trust Your Heart Intuition01:01:17 Meditation Cracks the Heart01:03:11 Rethinking Education and Nature01:04:34 Where to Learn With Andrea01:08:17 Simple Recipes and Farewell
Transcribe →Ep. 235: Summer 2026 Astrological Forecast with ZamboniFunk
Jun 1700:50:00Tap to summarizeFind out more about the Plant Cunning Conference at Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Astrologer ZamboniFunk returns to talk about the astrological forecast for summer 2026! We discuss the Cancer Mercury retrograde as a loud season for mistakes, delays, review, and serendipity, followed by Mars entering Gemini and conjoining Uranus, trining Pluto in Aquarius, heightening anxiety, disruption, experimentation, and possible tech/cybersecurity volatility. Jupiter’s move into Leo is framed as more defensive support amid “pirate season” boundary-testing, with a key July 29 Jupiter cazimi opposite Pluto alongside a full moon conjunct Pluto, suggesting power plays and revelations. The episode closes with herbal support for stress and heart strain: harvesting motherwort, and combining it with hawthorn and rose for courage, boundaries, grief, and tension.00:00 Podcast Welcome00:20 Conference Announcement01:17 Summer Forecast Begins01:55 Mercury Retrograde Setup03:38 Mars Uranus Volatility06:25 Experimentation Pirate Season08:41 Mercury Retrograde Lessons14:04 Jupiter Enters Leo20:04 Jupiter Pluto Power Plays23:03 Nodes Shift Authority24:18 Era of Air Metaphor24:58 Redistribution Scenarios26:36 Mutual Aid Power27:19 Jupiter Pluto Togetherness28:28 Eclipses Chaos Reset29:37 Robots Hive Mind31:09 Adaptability Job Shakeup34:46 Pirate Season Skills35:29 Motherwort Heart Medicine38:18 Hawthorn Boundaries 40:44 Courage Against Tech Future43:05 Delusion & Hope47:37 Conference And Farewell
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Ep. 234: Earth Energy, Dragons and Faeries with Trista Haggerty
Jun 1001:03:45Tap to summarizeFind out more about the Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Today, AC & Isaac interview Trista Haggerty, author of When the Dark Mother Calls, about her path into mysticism after a dark night of the soul and two decades of mentoring with a German mystic while traveling to sacred sites in places such as Peru and Ireland. They discuss what makes power spots sacred, stone circles as “acupuncture,” and caves as initiation spaces, plus practices for trusting intuition through body-based discernment. Trista shares her work at Hawk Circle, a couple-hundred-acre land project where she’s building stone circle, trails, and a perfumery inspired by Egyptian temple recipes to fund youth nature programs. The conversation also explores fairies, dragons, the “threefold path,” and her upcoming talk at the Plant Cunning Conference (July 24–26) alongside other speakers.01:38 Trista Meets Her Mentor03:31 First Sacred Site Journeys06:21 Earth-Based Mysticism Lessons08:22 What Makes Sites Sacred11:26 Primal Earth Energy Work15:08 Mystic Path and Hidden Teachings19:07 Trusting Intuition in Noise23:51 Hawk Circle Vision and Land29:51 Perfumery and Temple Scents31:49 Essential Oils Impact32:04 Ritual Perfumery Journey33:11 Fairy Lore Explained37:15 Threefold Path Teachings40:14 Dragons and the Land42:08 First Dragon Encounter43:45 Connecting With Dragons47:39 Awakening Landscape Dragons48:38 Dragon Humor and Myths53:31 New Earth Vision56:41 When the Dark Mother Calls
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Ep. 233: The Hot Tincture Method with Mary Blue
Jun 300:55:13Tap to summarizeLearn more about the Plant Cunning Conference at:Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026On this episode, Isaac and AC welcome community herbalist, author, and teacher Mary Blue to talk about the "hot tincture method" and why applying a hot water extraction can dramatically improve tincture color, aroma, taste, and effectiveness while saving plant material, storage space, and time. Mary shares her path from environmental and protest activism into herbalism, her day-to-day running an herb shop and farm, and the mentors and experiences that shaped her teaching focus on herbal actions and solvency. They discuss safety lessons learned from heating alcohol, plant-specific considerations (including mushrooms, marshmallow, comfrey, and milk thistle), glycerins and oils, and how herbalism functions as a form of activism through accessibility, community support, and sustainable practice. 02:23 Meet Mary Blue02:55 Activism To Herbalism04:46 Running Farmacy Herbs06:14 Mentors And Training08:01 Teaching Solvency Basics09:55 Common Solvency Confusions11:26 Accessible Teaching Methods13:53 The "Hot Tincture Method" Explained16:19 Why It Works Better23:09 How Mary Blue almost burned down her apothecary28:01 Tincture Ratios 31:24 When Not to Tincture31:50 Comfrey Safety Debate33:12 Liniments and Compresses34:43 Glycerins and Pre Extraction36:01 Heating Oils for Extraction36:29 Classes and Farm Intensives37:46 Hosting Herbal Events39:25 Herbalism as Activism40:55 Burnout to Micro Activism47:02 Fulfillment Through Service47:58 The Future of Herbalisms52:55 Creativity and Community Play
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Ep. 232: David Holmgren on Permaculture's Origins & Building Resilient Households
May 2701:19:46Tap to summarizeGet your tickets for the Plant Cunning Conference here: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Today on the show, Isaac & AC welcome David Holmgren, co-originator of the Permaculture concept.In this episode, David describes life at Melliodora in Central Victoria with three semi-autonomous households sharing work and produce, and recounts how he came to the “plant path” through plant ID, foraging, and early research for Permaculture One. He tells the story of meeting Bill Mollison in 1974 and how the idea of agriculture functioning like a forest became a seed of permaculture, while reflecting on Mollison’s charisma and difficulty. The conversation explores holistic thinking versus reductionism, DIY self-reliance, cycles of skill loss and renewal, COVID’s impact on interest in permaculture and RetroSuburbia, “enlightened self-interest,” energy descent and relocalization, household-scale resilience including health capacity, and where to find Holmgren’s essays and websites.02:11 Meet David Holmgren03:47 Finding the Plant Path06:04 Chance Meeting with Bill Mollison08:15 Permaculture Seed Idea12:12 Working with a Charismatic Genius15:31 Patterns vs Practice21:13 DIY Skills and Tasmania Culture24:27 Cycles of Self Reliance28:17 COVID and RetroSuburbia Spike30:07 Enlightened Self Interest Explained37:29 Humans as Keystone Species38:26 Hierarchy and Elite Corruption40:35 Predators and Power41:25 Fossil Fuel Hierarchy42:42 Globalists vs Sovereigntists44:11 Household Resilience Basics45:35 Health as Weak Link47:44 Bigger Households Work52:17 Household Beats Consensus55:23 Food Growing Mindset59:09 Jack of all trades, Master of One01:03:06 Why Intentional Communities Fail01:06:49 Brown Tech Uncertainty01:08:32 Tower of Babel Reality01:12:35 Long Descent Balance01:16:29 Essays and Resources01:19:30 Final Thanks and Wrap
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Ep. 231: Embodied Astrology with Gary Caton
May 1301:02:44Tap to summarizeSign up for the free Herbal Dental Care class here: https://courses.herbrally.com/a/2148265685/vCybToz9Get The Zodiac Garden Guide here: Amazon.com: The Zodiac Garden Guide: A Handbook of Astrological Gardening: 9798253036525: Hill, Isaac Alexander, Cole, Freedom: BooksGet your tickets for the Plant Cunning Conference here: Plant Cunning Conference – In-Person in New York – July 24-26, 2026Today, Isaac and AC welcome Gary P. Caton, the "Hermetic Astrologer" to discuss embodied astrology—going outside to directly observe and relate with the planets. Caton recounts his father teaching him to plant by the Moon, a 1993 dream tied to a Sun–Venus conjunction, and his experience with Project Hindsight translations that renewed interest in sky-based practice. He describes conversations and synchronicities with Venus and plants, argues astrologers have an ethical imperative to know the sky firsthand, and explains practical entry points like tracking Venus’s seven Moon conjunctions and working with new/full moons for intentions. The conversation also explores ethics, seasonality, civilization cycles, and “seed people.”03:15 Meet Gary Caton03:36 Origins in Astrology05:32 Venus Dream Awakening08:57 Planets and Plants Talk11:45 Why "Embodied Astrology"?13:59 Civilization and Planets18:12 Hermes Myth and Charts23:22 Start Embodied Astrology26:25 Venus Cycle Dates29:17 Moon Cycles and Seeds31:01 Dark Moon and Ethics34:16 Waning Moon Decrease36:08 Disseminating Phase Seeds37:15 Rudhyar Autumn Metaphor39:07 Science and Hermeticism40:38 Becoming Seed People44:58 The Elements, Love and Strife47:22 Ape Hierarchies Embodiment51:38 Sunrise Ritual Nature Healing55:37 Quiet Desert Homecoming57:31 Where to Find Gary59:47 Biodynamic Planting Calendar01:02:33 Wrap Up and Thanks
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