applying nuance in energetics...

When we think about applying herbal energetics, what we're doing is creating protocols/suggestions that are focused on how an individual person is doing at a given moment of time. It's not just that different people present differently, its also that the same person will present differently during different stages of an infection. We look at what we see, and create a formula/protocol to address that. If what we see changes, we change our formula/protocol to reflect that.

Also, when we consider energetics its important we don't get trapped in binary thinking, like "I see heat signs so that means I can't use warming herbs/formulas." Binaries exist in nature, but by no means is nature defined by binaries. People often present with mixed signals.

For example, if I were to see someone presenting with stuck heat and dryness in their lungs but with a low grade fever and weak outward circulation, what would I do? The low grade, weak fever suggests the use of warming aromatics, but those are often drying, so would that aggravate the lungs? Would cooling, moistening demulcents help the lungs but leave the fever response unaddressed? Would using warming drying herbs together with cooling moistening herbs "cancel each other out"? Probably not. If we don't limit our thinking to binaries and opposites, we can think about these therapies complimenting each other, rather than working against each other: the aromatics support stimulate outward circulation and support the fever response, but in doing so may be drying to the lungs. If we add respiratory demulcents, we offset that reaction. And we can add to that a steam inhalation, giving us another way of increasing moisture in the lungs to offset any dryness caused by the aromatics. So we see that the drying quality of the aromatics doesn't necessarily contraindicate their use, it just means we need to use them within a protocol that takes it into account.

This is the kind of reasoning and consideration that energetics can provoke in us. Its something I've worked at a lot over the course of my work teaching to make less confusing and more accessible.

If this interests you, if you want to learn more, I have offerings available at herbcraft.podia.com. There's a 200 page pdf file that gives my take on understanding energetics under the "read" section, and my long lindera course on energetic herbcraft, where we focus on this model of understanding herbs and apply it to both plants and many of the body's organ systems.