Join us In this episode of the Alchemi-Culture Podcast where Ethnobotanist Ash Ritter and Phoenix discuss topics such as: -The fascinating world of the Amanita muscaria mushroom, its uses, properties, and folklore -Ash's 'Forbidden Fruits' class that delves into symbolic iconic fruits that have been labeled "poisonous" over the centuries -A look at herbalism through the lens of folklore, signs, symbols and mythology -How herbs can connect us to our ancestors -Eating herbs connects us beautifully to the intelligence of the entire ecosystem in which they lived -Phoenix's "Personal Medicine Cabinet" in Taylor Canyon, Utah -Responsible ways we can interact with our environment and engage in wildharvesting -How recognizing the harmoniousness within us can help us see the same within nature -Our bodies are the best scientists  -When mold is a GOOD thing, acting as nature's balancers -Connections between Flying Ointments, Women's Wisdom and Witches -Unique attributes of Mugwort and Thujone -The art of "Kitchen Witchery" -And much more! Ash Ritter is a west coast born, desert-dwelling ethnobotanist, educator, writer, multi-disciplinary animist, and poet in disguise as herbalist. For twenty years and counting, Ash continues to reverently devote her life to fungal and botanical studies, encompassing traditional, academic, clinical, and directly relational terrains. Ash's approach places emphasis on plants, fungi, and planet as relations, and is manifested through her practice as fostering engagement with and as the living world, rather than "using" plants as commodities. She counsels and creates in her private practice, Black Sage Botanicals. One-on-one long term apprenticeships are the cornerstone of her training, with a focus in Druid herbalism, clinical botanical medicine, Cali-Mexican curanderismo and MacGuyver-style urban and wilderness first aid. Ash also attended acupressure school, permaculture certification training, and studied journey work with Michael Harner, just to name a few of the adjunct teachings that inform her practice. Her bachelors degree thesis focused on botanical and fungal agents for initiation, and altered states as evolutionary technology. Over the years, Ash’s research has honed in on entheogenic traditions of her ancestry, mainly the folklore, physical, and energetic medicines of Amanita muscaria, and the Solanaceae-laden Flying Ointments of Europe. Ash feels blessed beyond measure to have shadowed naturopathic Dr. Kenneth Proefrock in his office for 2 years upon her relocation to the Sonoran Desert, and almost went to medical school, until coming to recognize the potency of keeping her practice out of bureaucratic matrices. Previously, she apprenticed with history buff and lineage keeper Charles "Doc" Garcia, and worked for several years as a plant-based personal chef, and apothecarist in a bustling California Bay Area clinical herbal practice. Ash currently lives in a century-old gnome house on an old ranch in southern Arizona, and enjoys tracking deer through the spiny brush, sitting with 200-year-old cacti, and waiting for monsoon season thunderstorms as she writes her first book. Ash is available for: Herbal Consultations, Public + Private Classes, One-on-One Herbal Mentorship Programs, Custom Formulated Apothecary Goods, Herbal Candy of the Month Club, and other unique edible creations. Ash's website- https://blacksagebotanicals.bigcartel.com/products Ash on IG- https://www.instagram.com/black.sage.botanicals/ Patreon link where Ash does livestream Q&As-