Herbal Energetics

When people first start working with herbs, they often focus on the names and uses of the individual herbs. For example, peppermint is good for digestion or chamomile helps you relax.  Although it is helpful to have an overview of how different herbs can be used, this approach only scratches the surface. To truly connect with herbal medicine, it's important to understand herbal energetics - an ancient system that reveals HOW and WHY herbs work in the body.

Herbal energetics originated in traditional systems like Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Western Herbalism. It describes the qualities or energetic properties of a plant and explains how it interacts with your body’s internal state. At its core, herbal energetics helps us match the right herb to the right person by looking at more than just symptoms. It considers temperature, moisture, and tension patterns in both the person and the plant.

The Four Basic Energetic Qualities

1. Temperature (Hot vs. Cold)

Some herbs warm you up (like ginger), while others cool you down (like peppermint). Use hot herbs for cold conditions, such as sluggish digestion, poor circulation and chills. Use cooling herbs for hot conditions, including inflammation, fever and irritability.

2. Moisture (Dry vs. Moist)

Herbs can dry tissues out or moisten them. Drying herbs (like sage) are useful for damp conditions in the body, like excess mucus, while moistening herbs (like marshmallow root) help with dryness, e.g. dry coughs or constipation.

3. Tension (Relaxing vs. Stimulating)

Some herbs calm the nervous system or relax muscles (like chamomile or skullcap) while others increase tone or stimulate activity (like rosemary or coffee). Match relaxing herbs to tension and spasms, and stimulating herbs to sluggishness or weakness.

4. Tissue State Patterns (Western Herbalism concept)

This is a concept used in Western Herbalism and is used to describe imbalances in terms like: hot/dry, cold/damp, stagnant, tense, atrophic, etc. The goal is to bring the body back to a state of balance, which is called homeostasis.

Examples of Herbs & Their Energetics

Ginger – warming, stimulating, slightly drying – great for cold digestion, nausea, and chills.

Peppermint – cooling, drying, slightly stimulating – good for headaches, indigestion, and heat conditions.

Chamomile - cooling, moistening, relaxing – perfect for stress, tension, and digestive upset.

Licorice root – moistening and slightly warming – helps with dry throats and adrenal support.

Sage – warming and drying – useful for excess moisture like night sweats or wet coughs.

Why Energetics Matter

Without understanding energetics, you might simply use the wrong herb for the underlying condition. For example, using drying herbs when your body is already prone to dryness could make your symptoms worse. Similarly, using cooling herbs when your vitality is low and your hands are cold may actually reduce your energy even further.

How to Start Using Energetics

1. Observe your body

   Do you tend to run hot or cold?

   Is your skin dry or oily?

   Do you feel tense or sluggish?

   
   

2. Taste your herbs

   The taste often gives clues to its energetics.

   Bitter herbs cool and drain while pungent herbs stimulate and warm.

   
   

3. Start simple

   Try one herb at a time and pay attention to its energetic effects.

   
   

4. Keep a journal

   Write down how each herb affects you.

   Do you feel more relaxed? Energized? Warmer? Drier?

   
   

Learning herbal energetics is like learning a language - the language of your body and the plants. With time, practice, and attention, you'll begin to sense not just what individual herbs do, but how they work and when they are best suited for you.

Understanding herbal energetics helps you move from memorising lists of herbs and remedies to practicing true herbalism. Energetics adds depth and nuance to your herbal toolkit, allowing you to tailor remedies more precisely, more safely and much more effectively providing an intuitive, balanced, and deeply personal approach to wellness.