HERBAL DIETA
WHAT IS A HERBAL DIETA?
We offer an immersive experience inspired by traditional plant dietas practiced in the Amazon, adjusted for the Western herbal enthusiast. During 7 days, you will directly experience the plant energetics present in the medicine you are working with.
All Herbal Dietas include 3 meals a day, 6 nights accommodation, plant baths and connection with the spagyric essence of a plant of your choice.
WHAT TO EXPECT
During our 7 Herbal Dieta, you will directly experience the plant energetics present in the medicine you are working with.
The plant is experienced in a variety of forms: Fresh daily tea; extracts such as tincture, spagyric essence and flower essences; body oiling, herbal baths and sauna steaming. Plant meditations with the living plant in our garden space allows a deeper understanding through direct communication with the medicine. As your sensitivities are refined, the plant is invited within.
The dieta regimen requires some sacrifice to truly get the most out of the experience. Dieta includes ingestion of simple food prepared with no salt, spices, or oil. Eliminating the distraction of intense flavors, our sensitivity becomes more attuned and the plant has more space to inhabit within us. The more we do to quiet the noise of the outside world, the more wisdom we may receive from the plant.
Distractions in the form of sensation are limited and the wisdom and messages of the plant seep through. Asking permission through prayer, ceremony, ritual, and offerings, we become attuned to the secrets that are whispered in the breeze, the tears that come with rain, and the warm embrace of sunshine. If we remain humble, and sensitive, we feel their presence, and we begin to lift the veils which keep the buzzing world chattering over the quiet stillness of our hearts.
WHATS INCLUDED
Initial consult & interview to determine your plant ally
Working with the Spagyric essence of your plant from Natura Sophia Spagyrics
Bottle of Casa Curativa Flower Essence
Infused oil of your choice plant
Plant journal
Suggested activities & rituals
Daily plant baths
Tea throughout the day
Private accommodations
3 Meals a day (rice and steamed veg, no salt, oil or spices)
“Plants have the ability to facilitate the healing of our bodies, the clarification of our minds, the opening and strengthening of our hearts, and the evolution of our souls.”
-Sajah Popham
WHY DO THIS?
The rich tradition of Dieta is a container for deep soul work and self-exploration, a vehicle for both emotional and spiritual maturation, an opportunity to cleanse the doors of perception, revitalize our spirits, deepen our mindfulness, speak our prayers and embody more fully the feeling sense.
It is a practice that opens the doors to a direct experience of a living and sentient world, to touch the interdependent web of connection in which we are embedded, a discipline for attuning to the ever-present river of meaning that flows beneath the outer forms we have become so accustomed to focusing on.
“Plants will, if genuinely asked, respond to you. They will teach you their medicine, as plants have always taught human beings. And though human beings may lose the knowledge of the medicinal uses of the plant, the plant always remembers what its medicine is.
And they will tell you. . . if you ask. If you approach them with an open heart, open your senses and truly allow yourself to perceive them, they will always respond.”
-Steven Harrod Buhner
All of our Herbal Dietas use powerful, intentionally prepared herbal extracts called Spagyric Essences. These medicines are meticulously extracted using ancient alchemical methods.
Spagyric Medicine for Dieta
WHAT IS ALCHEMY?
Alchemy is the art and science of transformation. The classic example of turning lead into gold is a metaphor that exemplifies metaphysical processes within each of us. Through the practice of dieta, a profound experience of shedding occurs wherein a fresh new space is encountered, guided by the wisdom and protection of a plant teacher. One discovers the gold that was in wait all along, through the act of transformation and connection with natural forces.
Spagyria is the therapeutic application of alchemy within the realm of plants, metals, and animals. There are a myriad of extraction methods within the practice of spagryia. Applying the philosophy behind alchemy, spagyrics harness the forces of nature to create medicines that have a profound impact on the development and discovery of the soul.
WHAT ARE SPAGYRICS?
Spagyrics are a very special class of herbal extract. They find their origin story within the rich history of Alchemy. Rigorously prepared and infused with universal forces, these medicines harness the power of the plants in a concentrated and effective way.
The art of spagyria is an alchemical extraction method for a wide array of preparations first devised by the alchemist, Paracelsus. The etymology of the word spagyric is Greek, and generally means to break apart, amplify, and put back together again. In this way, a substance is able to know itself and be expressed in wholeness after a complete death and rebirth process. This is an ancient version of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”: Separation. Initiation. Return.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF A SPAGYRIC ESSENCE
SOUL
SULPHUR
The aromatic body of the plant is found within its essential oil content. These oils are the first thing extracted from the plant via steam distillation on the corresponding planetary day and hour. This is the most volatile part of the plant, so just like the quick stimulating nature of fire and volatility, the steam distillation of essential oils is the first stage in the lengthy spagyric extraction process. For example, there is no other plant that smells just like rosemary does. The specific odor or essence is an individual characteristic; seen through the lens of alchemy as the mark of the “soul” of the plant. Just as humans each have souls uniquely inhabiting our physical forms while we are here on earth, plants have a similar level of consciousness which is expressed through physiological markers.
Essential Oil
SPIRIT
MERCURY
After the essential oil has been extracted, what remains—known as the plant mark—is utilized to make a wine. Sugar and yeast are added, and it is left to sit for 8 weeks. When fermentation is complete, the wine is distilled several times for purity. Alcohol can be made from any organic or carbon-based material, so the idea is that the spirit of the plant is captured through the fermentation process. This is understood as the universality of a plant which has been drawn forth, and precisely why alcoholic beverages are often referred to as ‘spirits’. This terminology reminds us of how ancient peoples conceptualized the nature of this powerful force which resides within all living things.
Alcohol
BODY
Once the alcohol is strained and distilled, the remaining plant mark is taken and burned down, or calcined. The burnt herb matter is placed in a vessel called a crucible and fired several times, burning off the remaining carbon until eventually all that is left is a fine white ash. Once this has been achieved, distilled water is added to the powder and it is left overnight in order to extract all the water soluble salts. This water is then placed on a heating pad for a few days and slowly evaporated, leaving behind only the plant salts in the end. Finally, the salts are added back into the spagyric essence, providing a potassium/electrolyte-based delivery mechanism for the unique plant esters found in the tincture. This three-part extraction process creates medicine which is far more potent and efficacious than standard herbal medicines.
Mineral Matrix
SALT
“A few months ago, I journeyed into a Wild Rose dieta with Casa Curativa on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Life has not been the same since. During those days of communing with Wild Rose, I remembered that in nature, we are immersed in a world of intelligence, cooperation, and support; a world that’s always available to us, who responds when we meet her in humility to ask: how may I live up to my vital role in the ecosystem?”
Amanda Blain, Holistic Trauma Specialist
MEET THE PLANTS
Mugwort is like a gentle surgeon, snipping out the ways that we subconsciously deceive ourselves, all the ways we just cant see yet, and the haze that sometimes surrounds and blocks our clarity. A powerful plant ally for folks looking to shed the illusions we carry in our minds that obstruct a virtuous and balanced perception of everyday events— the bigger picture.
Finding novel ways of connecting with this plant wont be difficult, it is a powerful aid in lucid dreaming, and every night should serve as an opportunity to learn and connect via dreams.
MUGWORT
PASSIONFLOWER
“Passionflower is an essence for rewriting old stories and claiming your power as the creator of your life. This otherworldly blossom helps calm the mandala of the mind, so we can shift old habits of thinking and begin to see the medicine in the larger cycles at play. Our lives are the stories we tell ourselves— when we change the story, we change our lives. Almost supernatural in its beauty, Passionflower helps you become conscious of your ability to create your own reality and release limiting thinking about your potential. A big life is waiting for you, and you are meant to claim it.”
— ASIA SULER, ONE WILLOW APOTHECARIES
ROSEMARY
Rosemary is the ultimate guide in clarifying our life from the boggy waters of stagnancy. A powerful aromatic stimulant, Rosemary is a master in reinvigorating our creative fires, igniting our memory, and connecting us to our well ancestors.
This plant has a beautiful impact on our brains, bringing it blood flow and clearing away brain fog, Rosemary will help you gain clarity in your life. A strong ally to the forces of Matriarchy Rosemary will reconnect us to a time when women were centered in society, before Colonial Patriarchy took over the world, and connecting us to our indigenous ancestors.
WILD ROSE
“The Rose is one of the deepest remedies for healing the emotional and spiritual heart. Through embodying the essence of Love, Rose assists us in healing our past wounding and trauma around the heart and the ability to give and receive Love. Assists in the integration of the lessons past relationships presented to us so we can move forward and not repeat the patterns- brings in the soul mate and life partner.
But the Rose isn’t all just Love, it is also strength and protection of the heart, which is embodied by the signature of the thorns. She helps us to understand protection not as defending ourself, but by standing strong by our own heart and living in the ways of Love.”
— SAJAH POPHAM w/ THE SCHOOL OF EVOLUTIONARY HERBALISM
WHITE SAGE
“Imbued with guiding energy, Sage holds a kind of grandmotherly presence that helps you to believe in yourself and your unique abilities. Becalming and restorative, Sage can come to the aid of those that feel tired, overly emotional, scattered or frayed. This supremely clearing essence will help you to let go of restlessness, recognize your individuality with a clear and non-judgmental eye, and feel enriched by alone time. Fortifying for the spirit, Sage allows you to surrender to your path of destiny and understand that now is the time to begin its manifest.”
— ASIA SULER, ONE WILLOW APOTHECARIES
“This plant gives us the strength to look within ourselves (archetype of the warrior) to see our own achilles point, where our weaknesses are. Then Yarrow goes to that place and strengthens it, turning our weaknesses into our strengths and talents. It doesn’t just show us our weak spots so we can dwell on them, but actually brings transformation to those places. This is also reflected in the story of Chiron, the wounded healer, who when he healed his wound it became his unique personal medicine and greatest source of strength.”
— SAJAH POPHAM w/ THE SCHOOL OF EVOLUTIONARY HERBALISM
YARROW
Dieta Pricing By Accommodation
Riverside Cottage
-
$950 includes all accommodation, food, and dieta materials
-
$1350 includes all accommodation, food, and dieta materials
-
1620 includes all accommodation, food and dieta materials
Honeycomb Cabin
-
$950 includes all accommodation, food, and dieta materials
-
$1350 includes all accommodation, food, and dieta materials
-
1620 includes all accommodation, food and dieta materials
The Zome Home
-
$1100 includes accommodation, food, and dieta medicine, journal, and guidance.
-
$1595 includes all accommodation, food, and dieta materials.
-
$1895 includes all accommodation, food, and dieta materials.
Schedule Your Free Dieta Consult Now
Hop on a call with Julia and she can answer all your questions, give you the lowdown on what to experience, and figure out together which plant suits your needs the most.
FORGING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PLANTS
Every human has the capacity to open their hearts to plants. Each of us are born with the ability to listen to the whispers of nature. These dietas help herbalists and plant lovers deepen a sense of community with their green friends and allies. Whether you already identify as an herbalist, or whether you don’t feel you have much connection to plants at all, this process will bring the plants into your heart. You will walk away knowing that you have many new friends in your life.
