Plant Cunning Podcast

Plant Cunning Podcast
  • 4.9 (50)
  • ALTERNATIVE HEALTH
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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!

  1. Ep. 231: Embodied Astrology with Gary Caton

    3D AGO

    Ep. 231: Embodied Astrology with Gary Caton

    Sign up for the free Herbal Dental Care class here: https://courses.herbrally.com/a/2148265685/vCybToz9 Get The Zodiac Garden Guide here: Amazon.com: The Zodiac Garden Guide: A Handbook of Astrological Gardening: 9798253036525: Hill, Isaac Alexander, Cole, Freedom: Books Get 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 Caton 03:36 Origins in Astrology 05:32 Venus Dream Awakening 08:57 Planets and Plants Talk 11:45 Why "Embodied Astrology"? 13:59 Civilization and Planets 18:12 Hermes Myth and Charts 23:22 Start Embodied Astrology 26:25 Venus Cycle Dates 29:17 Moon Cycles and Seeds 31:01 Dark Moon and Ethics 34:16 Waning Moon Decrease 36:08 Disseminating Phase Seeds 37:15 Rudhyar Autumn Metaphor 39:07 Science and Hermeticism 40:38 Becoming Seed People 44:58 The Elements, Love and Strife 47:22 Ape Hierarchies Embodiment 51:38 Sunrise Ritual Nature Healing 55:37 Quiet Desert Homecoming 57:31 Where to Find Gary 59:47 Biodynamic Planting Calendar 01:02:33 Wrap Up and Thanks

    1h 3m
  2. Ep. 230: Traditional African Medicine with Olatokunboh Obasi

    MAY 6

    Ep. 230: Traditional African Medicine with Olatokunboh Obasi

    Today AC & Isaac welcome herbalist and teacher Olatokunboh Obasi back to the Plant Cunning Podcast for a second interview, now speaking from outside Nairobi, Kenya. Obasi shares that she’s finishing a doctorate in clinical nutrition while working toward opening an integrative women’s health clinic, and explains how nutrition, changing food systems, and modern indoor life affect herbal outcomes. She discusses divination and geomancy, genetics as “codes” responding to environment, and how she navigates multiple traditions—Yoruba as her root, alongside Taíno and Kenyan indigenous practices—without collapsing them into one. They explore Kenyan healing culture, including lineage-based herbalism, diviners, birth workers, and bone-setting (lila) meridian work, plus a story of discovering an East African betony for headaches. Obasi also defines traditional African medicine as diverse, spiritually centered, and regionally distinct, and critiques material reductionism in Western herbalism while pointing to figures like Culpeper and Hildegard as bridges back to spirit. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:45 Ola’s Life in Kenya 03:50 Why Clinical Nutrition 05:52 Divination and Genetics 09:31 Lineages and Training 11:41 Navigating Multiple Traditions 16:47 Plants Calling in Kenya 22:15 Healing Culture in Kenya 24:40 Bone Setting and Lila 28:32 Community-Based Medicine 34:32 Defining African Traditional Medicine 36:16 Spirit First Healing 36:47 Lineage And Bioregions 37:45 Cross Cultural Herbal Exchange 41:37 Reclaiming Spirit In Herbalism 44:02 Traditional Western Medicine 45:44 Astrology, Culpeper, Hildegard 50:17 Centering Over Scrolling 53:07 Rest Boredom And Reading 54:07 Rethinking Academia And Art 58:27 Craft Culture And Kenya

    1h 7m
  3. Ep. 229: Sacred Homemaking with Kimberly Steele

    APR 29

    Ep. 229: Sacred Homemaking with Kimberly Steele

    In this Plant Cunning Podcast episode, AC & Isaac interview Kimberly Steele about her first book, Sacred Homemaking, on making the home a sacred space through everyday practices. Steele shares her path from a casual Christian upbringing and decades of atheism into Druidry and daily spiritual discipline, including meditation and long-term practice of Sphere of Protection rituals, and discusses gratitude and generosity as transformative forces. She explains perceiving multiple “planes” (physical, etheric, astral, spiritual) and how tidying, thanking household objects, cleaning (especially the toilet), and avoiding both hoarding and sterile perfection can shift a home’s “vibe.” Steele offers practical suggestions such as removing “haunted” objects, using sprays and salt, and placing symmetrical sacred geometry patterns as “demon traps,” critiques materialism and doomscrolling, and introduces the idea of “astral pyramids” and group spirits.00:00 Show Intro and Announcements00:39 Meet Kimberly Steele01:27 Her Spiritual Origin Story05:27 Gratitude and Generosity09:09 From Atheism to Spirit10:27 Planes of Existence Explained12:45 Sacred Homemaking Basics18:44 Spirits at Home and Influence22:21 Protection and Banishing25:22 Sacred Geometry Demon Traps29:41 Order vs Sterile Living33:48 Toilet Cleaning and Money Luck35:26 Recognizing the Spirit of Place37:34 Gratitude Improves Relationships38:25 Marriage Scorekeeping Trap39:42 Sacred Beauty And Illusion40:31 Looksmaxing And Dysmorphia41:39 Ozempic And Willpower44:38 Health Complaints Culture46:10 Astral Dumpster Fire47:46 Screens With Boundaries49:08 Kids Gaming And Enchantment52:19 Kung Fu Daily Discipline54:38 Gratitude Raises Consciousness59:16 Home Vibe And Spirit Of Place01:00:56 Astral Pyramids And Egregores01:06:40 Music As Prayer And Earworms01:11:22 Book Wrap Up And Where To Find Her

    1h 14m
  4. Ep. 228: Black Paths & Green Cathedrals with Sian Sibley

    APR 22

    Ep. 228: Black Paths & Green Cathedrals with Sian Sibley

    In this episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, hosts Isaac & AC Hill talks with Sian Sibley—witch, author of Black Paths and Green Cathedrals, and founder of the Dragon Oak Coven in Wales—about building real relationships with plant and tree spirits, including mugwort as an initiator and yew as a teacher around death and continuity. Sian shares how to approach trees respectfully, how to recognize a clear “no,” and why taking plant material without permission can undermine magical work. They discuss key allies like hazel, apple, hawthorn (including timing Beltane by local hawthorn bloom), and elder’s seasonal “three faces,” plus practical astral/meditation safety and grounding. The conversation also critiques modern pagan and wellness habits that harm ecosystems—crystals, frankincense, wasteful candles, and commodified entheogens—calling for smaller, more local, less consumerist practice. 01:24 Meet Sian Sibley 01:54 Springtime Blackthorn 02:29 Finding the Plant Path 03:07 Mugwort Opens the Gate 06:06 Yew and Death Mysteries 08:53 Patience and Plant Consent 09:37 Blackthorn Says No 13:57 When Plants Reject You 14:37 Buttercup and Monks Hood 17:30 Who Is Charubel 19:54 Sigils and Personal Practice 22:55 Astral Safety Basics 26:33 Protective Tree Allies 27:41 Hazel, Apple, Elder, Hawthorn 28:20 Elder Medicine and Folklore 30:45 Elder Initiation Poem 32:22 Pruning and Asking Permission 34:37 Elder Tree Lore 35:41 Hazel Nuts Wisdom 36:29 Hawthorn Beltane Timing 39:51 Local Time Cycles 42:44 Circadian Clock Health 47:13 Rest, Boredom & Imagination 47:43 Eco-Spirituality Critique 48:55 The Ethics of Crystals and Frankinscence 57:21 Living Smaller Solutions 01:04:20 Closing Poem 01:06:06 Where To Find Sian

    1h 7m
  5. Ep. 227: Alan Chapman and the Garden of Awakening

    APR 15

    Ep. 227: Alan Chapman and the Garden of Awakening

    Get The Zodiac Garden Guide on Amazon (available in any country) Book a Vedic astrology consultation with Isaac by emailing him at askisaachill@gmail.com On the Plant Cunning Podcast, Isaac & AC Hill interview Alan Chapman (at Barbarous Words.com) —magician, mystic, and writer—about his path from chaos magic to teaching Magia, a Western tradition oriented around awakening. Chapman describes a deepening in 2013 following awakening in India (in Tiruvannamalai) that led to his book Magia and a shift toward a more “miraculous” view of realization beyond standard nonduality frameworks. They discuss delusion as mistaken identity, “silent knowing” as the impulse behind seeking, transmission and its seductions, the limits of maps versus the need for cosmology, and a gardening metaphor for traditions that avoids both perennial “mush” and rigid traditionalism. Chapman shares how he works with students through practices that let experiences disclose their nature, and he points to his site and retreats for further study. 01:29 Meeting Alan Chapman 02:45 Baptist's Head Era 05:17 Awakening Deepens 2013 13:12 What I Know Sure 17:29 Silent Knowing Faith 21:15 Gnosticism Labels Rejected 24:21 Traditions as Garden 27:42 Universals and Particulars 31:44 Fear and Running Away 37:37 Delusion and Trust Thread 44:24 Morality After Awakening 46:01 Ramana Self Inquiry Myth 47:09 Who Am I Inquiry 48:34 Transmission Explained 49:46 Seduction of Control 52:24 Guru Yoga and Institutions 54:43 Why Teachers Help 56:28 What We Really Seek 58:04 Entrainment and Dependency 01:00:17 Cautionary Guru Stories 01:04:42 Maps Versus Cosmology 01:06:07 Let It Disclose 01:07:12 Gardening the Path 01:13:36 Faith and Silent Knowing 01:19:13 Practice and Awakening 01:22:44 Enjoying the Garden 01:23:33 Extreme Awakening Chasing 01:24:06 Two Worlds One Heart 01:26:09 Farming Incarnation Metaphor 01:27:39 Transmission Life and Death 01:30:28 Minimal Tree Cosmology 01:32:35 Unbinding Practice Steps 01:34:41 Mounting Cosmology Stages 01:36:49 Journal Envy and Comparison 01:40:37 Dry Paths and Fireworks 01:48:25 Cosmological Binding Method 01:49:28 Unconditional States Test 01:58:29 Cutting Down the Tree 01:59:21 Resources Retreats Farewell

    2h 1m
  6. Ep. 226: Gordon White on Cunning Traditions, Modern Magic, and Piñón Blanco

    APR 8

    Ep. 226: Gordon White on Cunning Traditions, Modern Magic, and Piñón Blanco

    Get The Zodiac Garden Guide. Sign up for Pam Montgomery's free class here: https://plantcunning--wakeuptonature.thrivecart.com/co-creative-partnership/699392e4e6629/In this episode of the Plant Cutting Podcast, Isaac & AC welcome back Gordon White of Rune Soup to discuss his life between his permaculture homestead in Tasmania and travel in South America, including training in Bolivia and Peru. Gordon shares updates on regenerating depleted soil, orchard yields, and plans for a first cider vintage, plus reflections on seasonal living. He describes Paraguay’s everyday herbal culture around tereré and fresh medicinal bundles, and recounts a powerful Amazonian dieta with the master plant teacher Piñón Blanco, including diagnostic Shipibo weavings and a peak mystical encounter that reframed ideas of unity, imagination, and reality. The conversation explores universals vs. local correspondences in magic, discernment amid modern “performative” scenes, and where magical culture may be headed.00:00 Welcome and Guest Tease00:36 Book and Consults Plug01:16 Pam Montgomery Gateway Herbs03:18 Gordon Returns to the Show03:54 Tasmania Farm and Travel Split07:04 Homestead Updates and Harvests08:25 Permaculture Wins and Cider Plan14:17 Why South America Calls17:15 Paraguay Mate and Herb Culture26:30 Dieta and Plant Spirit Rules27:56 Pinon Blanco God Encounter35:11 Weavings as Plant Signatures38:02 Ancestors Tolkien and the Real40:47 Same Truth Different Paths41:26 Ayahuasca Cosmic Medicine42:46 Universals Beyond Language46:21 Directions and Relationality50:21 Instagram and Right Relation53:05 Cunning Traditions Everywhere58:49 Magic After the Golden Age01:02:49 Beginner Discernment Online01:05:54 Cringe Initiation Story01:08:35 Fourth Turning Magic Depth01:11:27 Chaos Magic Reframed01:15:26 Next Wave in Magic01:19:38 Fallen World Cunningcraft01:23:21 Paraguay Lessons Letting Go01:26:00 Book Update and Farewell

    1h 28m
  7. Ep. 225: The Cunning Farmer with Todd Elliot

    APR 1

    Ep. 225: The Cunning Farmer with Todd Elliot

    Today the Plant Cunning Podcast features farmer, and magician Todd Elliot, author of The Cunning Farmer. In the interview, Elliot describes his path from nature-loving childhood in Philadelphia to homesteading and CSA vegetable farming in Kentucky, his interest in ethnobotany and plants like datura, and key influences in farming and esoteric practice. He explains his eclectic “cunning” approach, combining ancestors/underworld, land and nature spirits, celestial/astrological forces, and angelic magic, plus reiki-based energy healing for crops. We discuss lunar timing versus weather realities, agricultural talismans, offerings to land spirits, animal signs, the state of industrial agriculture, and where to find Elliot’s website and Substack. 00:00 Show and Book Updates 01:23 Meet Todd Elliot 02:48 Todd’s Plant Path Origins 05:11 Datura and Entheogenic Plants 09:09 Teachers and Influences 12:07 Cunning Farmer Identity 14:09 Land Spirits Awakening 18:28 Sacred Farming and Ritual 23:35 Corn Reverence and Monoculture 30:58 Worldview and Four Realms 33:44 Land Trauma and Ancestors 38:46 Reiki for Crops 42:47 Reiki for Seedlings 43:04 Moon Timing for Planting 43:43 Weather Versus Almanac 46:48 Eclipses and Weed Killing 47:57 Trees and Lunar Mansions 48:56 Talisman Success Stories 51:40 Offerings to Land Spirits 54:34 Animal Signs and Omens 57:24 Deer Pests and Cernunnos0 1:06:24 Advice for Cunning Farmers 01:12:21 Protection and Haunted Places 01:15:00 Ghosts and Deified Ancestors 01:17:58 Where to Find the Book

    1h 20m
  8. Ep. 224: The Herbal Pharmacy of Betzy Bancroft

    MAR 25

    Ep. 224: The Herbal Pharmacy of Betzy Bancroft

    Today on the show we welcome herbal educator and longtime practitioner Betzy Bancroft—co-founder and teacher at the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Sage Mountain neighbor, United Plant Savers advisory board member, and author of "The Herbal Pharmacy: The Science and Magic of Preparing and Administering Plant Medicine". We discuss distilling decades of teaching into a foundational medicine-making book designed for different learning styles. She shares her path from New Jersey to studying with David Winston, working at Herbalist & Alchemist, and being inspired by mentors including Rosemary Gladstar and William LeSassier. Betsy explains VCIH’s tuition-supported sliding-scale clinic and Zoom-based student mentoring with SOAP notes, safety, and formulation review, then covers formulation principles (triangle theory), taste in teas, extraction decisions (surface area, time, heat, solvent, agitation), vinegar/oxymels and constituent solubility, polyphenols and gene expression, subtle influences and intention in medicine making, and current plant allies like mushrooms, chaga, reishi, and self-heal, plus upcoming events and where to find her book.00:00 Meet Betzy Bancroft01:05 New Book Overview02:22 Teaching Superpowers04:03 How Betzy Learns06:53 Finding Herbalism08:47 Mentors and Lineage10:21 Founding VCIH Clinic13:49 Clinic Mentoring Process18:13 Formulation Triangle Theory21:59 Vinegar and Oxymels27:42 Polyphenols Flip Genes31:42 Extraction Tips Solubility35:11 Book Marketing And Website37:03 Subtle Energies In Medicine39:47 Astrology And Intention41:47 Tea Intention Experiments47:07 Learning Through Plant Time50:06 Mushroom Remedies And Chaga55:14 Self Heal Plant Profile01:00:28 Classes Events And Wrap Up

    1h 6m
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4.9
out of 5
50 Ratings

About

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!

Information

  • Creator
    Plant Cunning Podcast
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    231
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Plant Cunning Podcast
  • Show Website
    Plant Cunning Podcast

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