Plant Cunning Podcast

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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

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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

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

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

It's the spring 2026 “astrological New Year” episode of the Plant Cunning Podcast, with hosts AC and Isaac Hill, with resident forecaster, ZamboniFunk. Isaac shares his upcoming astrological gardening book The Zodiac Garden Guide (out April 4) and reading offerings—then review 2025 and the eclipse window’s intensity, including the Iran war escalation. Using the Aries ingress chart, we discuss Mercury retrograde stationing direct in Pisces conjunct the North Node and Mars, Sun conjunct Neptune and Saturn in Aries, and what this suggests about confused but forceful narratives, pro-war escalation, and trouble for the U.S. executive branch. We emphasize skepticism, asking better questions, managing information overload, and prioritizing nourishment, rest, and grounding practices like gardening. We also preview Uranus moving into Gemini as an acceleration of tech and AI, arguing for learning new “languages” while drawing on enduring ancient wisdom and choosing fewer battles.
00:00 Spring Equinox Welcome
00:38 Zodiac Garden Guide Update
01:38 Readings And Courses
02:38 Which Way To Wisdom
04:05 Springtime Setting The Scene
04:44 Looking Back On 2025
07:56 Eclipses And World Events
10:30 Astrology For Regular People
17:32 2026 Ingress Big Themes
17:58 Mercury Retrograde Narrative Fog
24:50 Chart Walkthrough Key Placements
30:08 Tyranny Escalation And Control
36:00 Jupiter Economy And Religiosity
43:01 Unplug Or Engage Strategically
46:49 Medicine For The Moment
47:49 Herbs For Burnout
49:35 Rest And Spirit Care
51:46 Acceleration And Uranus
54:26 Gardening As Medicine
57:57 Mercury Pisces Paradox
01:02:45 Unplugging From Opinions
01:08:42 Uranus Gemini Skills
01:10:38 Printing Press AI Lesson
01:23:52 Old Versus Ancient
01:29:13 Pick Your Battles