How The Power of Herbs and Astrology Can Improve Your Life with Adriana Ayales [Episode #749]

This week’s topic is: How The Power of Herbs and Astrology Can Improve Your Life with Adriana Ayales

I am so excited to have my very special guest, Adriana Ayales, who is an herbalist, medicine maker, educator, and founder of Anima Mundi Herbals. Listen in as Adriana shares recommendations for starting herbal daily practices and rituals, awakening the subtle forces that herbs and plants have on our energy, and so much more!

[BULLETS]

• Recommendations when starting out using herbs…
• The nervous system, herbs and adding more color into your daily meal planning…
• Tips for daily rituals and spiritual practices…
• The connection between Astrology and Herbology…
• Awakening the subtle forces that herbs and plants have on our energy…
• Sourcing and shamanic practices and the ritual of offerings to the plants…

[FEATURED GUESTS]

About Adriana Ayales 

I am the herbalist, medicine maker, educator, and founder of Anima Mundi. I’m originally from Costa Rica and started Anima Mundi several years ago in Brooklyn as a means to bridge ancient remedies to the modern world. My heart was to create a true farm-to-pharmacy experience through the art of medicine making with herbs. We offer a wide spectrum of remedies and plants from around the world, integrating several traditions that I’ve studied over the years. I believe that by preserving these ancient forms of indigenous botany, we keep alive a very sacred aspect of our source. Anima Mundi was founded with the intention to bridge ancient healing traditions and plant remedies as a form of grassroots healthcare for today’s world.

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Adriana Ayales Interview

• Adriana’s Website

Other Podcasts you may enjoy!:

• 8 Herbs and Spices for the Fall Season to Increase Your Energy and Vitality
• Super Herbs, Spices, and Adaptogens with William Siff
• Health and Beauty Benefits Using Common Spices with Kanchan Koya
• Adventures in Sri Lanka & More on Ayurveda with the Amazing Dr. Jay!

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Transcript:

Note: The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate. This is due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. It is posted as an aid, but should not be treated as an authoritative record.

Namaste loves and welcome back to our Monday interview podcast. I hope your year is off to a wonderful start. I’ve always been fascinated by plants and nature, as you know, and plant medicines which include the foods that we eat and the ways in which we can really connect with nature to help bring us into balance and healing, which is one of the reasons I’m so excited to bring on our show today. Adriana Ayales, who is a wonderful herbalist, and she is a medicine maker. She has studied astrology and medical astrology, and one of the things that we talk about today is the intersection of herbs and astrology. And Adriana has also founded the brand Anima Mundi herbals. So I’m really excited to get into this conversation today, which is really about how we can continue to deepen our connection to Mother Nature and her natural medicines and natural plants.

Fan of the Week

But before we do wanna give a shout out to our fan of the week. Her name is Lynette_504, and she writes in my meditation the other morning, I was brought to tears while expressing, thanks for finding your article, how the foods you eat affect your face. Many years back, I was hooked since I have purchased all your books. 30 day roadmap. Listen to all your podcasts, use your meditations, the sbo, probiotics, detoxy, and facial products. And I’ve also been plant-based for almost four years. I feel great. Thank you, Kimberly. You have changed my life. Wow, Lynette_504, thank you so much and I’m so honored and I’m so, so deeply grateful that we’re on this journey together. Supporting each other really means a lot to hear from you and wherever you are, I send you a huge, huge virtual hug and embrace. I just feel so grateful and blessed to be able to connect in this way, and it really means the world to me.

Please leave a review on iTunes and Subscribe

So thank you so much. And also for you beautiful souls listening. If you haven’t yet had a chance to please leave us a review , I invite you to please do so, which would mean the world to me as well. It could be a one sentence review, but just putting that energy in is such a wonderful way to support. So I thank you so much in advance. You can also subscribe to the show, that way you stay in the flow. You can share this particular episode or any episode with loved ones, with colleagues as a way to expand and share, which I definitely encourage.

Get Your Copy Of YOU ARE MORE

And finally, I wanna mention that our new book, baby You Are More Than You Think You Are, is launching this month in the soft cover edition. So you can check it out again, wherever you like to purchase your books. And this book, if you haven’t yet read it, is about reshaping your life from the inside out. We talk about creativity, abundance, magnetism, vitality, and many other topics. And it’s practical. <laugh> I like. Practical theory is nice, but then we say to ourselves, what am I supposed to do with this? So it’s full of exercises and actual techniques to work with the energy inside of you, which will shape reshape the way that you approach food and your work and your relationships and many other things. So again, you can check it out wherever books are sold. Okay, all of that being said, let’s get into our interview today with the wonderful Adriana Iles.

Interview with Adriana Ayales

Kimberly (02:22): Well, love, it’s so great to have you on the podcast. I’ve been fascinated with your work. I’m fascinated with your philosophy and also some of the, you know, I always love to talk to working moms. I love to talk to fellow entrepreneurs just to see how, you know, other, other moms are doing it. Right. So we were just chatting a little bit before this podcast started, um, and I was sharing with you, we just got back from the red eye, which is really challenging for humans. But I also have a two-year-old and a six-year-old <laugh>.

Adriana (02:54): Yeah.

Kimberly (02:55): So both of them sleep on me and I don’t sleep. And so it really takes me a, a few days to sort of, you know, get back into my body.

Adriana (03:03): Absolutely. And with kids is just another level. I completely understand.

Kimberly (03:08): Yeah. How, how old are your little ones?

Adriana (03:11): Uh, four and six. So pretty similar. We’re in a very similar situation. Oh, <laugh>.

Kimberly (03:18): You know, I think the six for me is a really interesting age. I have two boys and so my oldest is starting to really find his voice and he’s, you know, just starting to exert more ideas. So it’s really interesting seeing the, the transitions.

Adriana (03:34): I love it. Six and seven is the big marker, right? It’s like when they supposedly move out of their subconscious mind more in the conscious mind. So it’s a very fascinating process to witness, honestly.

Kimberly (03:46): So we’re recording this during when my youngest is napping. And so for me, I’m sort of moving in this non-linear flow of recordings during nap times and I write books. So I do it late at night. How is it with your work schedule? You’re running your brand, you’re an herbalist, you have these two babies. How do you, what are some of the things that you do with your schedule <laugh> when you have family there you mentioned?

We discuss being working moms and how we’re doing it

Adriana (04:13): Yeah, exactly. So all my family lives in Costa Rica, which is great. I was born and raised here, so that’s another reason I moved back here to the motherland because it’s just so much nicer to have family support, even if you don’t see them often, or I don’t. Yes. Um, but even if it’s little here and there, their grandmother or uncle, you know, or whatever relationship. And so it’s really special. But for me, I mean, we have wonderful support here and we live in like a village where there’s so many kids and honestly just connection of having amazing neighbors and a village you can just walk around to and share a cup of coffee or whatever with somebody is just so nice. And that creates a difference, especially when everybody’s just in the same process, having their own business with their homestead, their chickens. Yes. Whatever. And it’s just really sweet and special. Show me that. Cause we’re all on the same boat, you know, truly,

Kimberly (05:04): I feel that a lot in Hawaii where we are, the neighbors are very much part of the family and we go and feed the goats and the horses and that sort tribal aspect is so exactly nourishing. It feels so deep.

Adriana (05:17): It feels so ancient to all of us. Like no matter where or what lineage you belong to, the village concept was something all humans have shared, you know? Yes. And something that has been so lost in modern reality

Kimberly (05:29): Yes.

Adriana (05:29): That live more in cities or isolated, it can be so hard. And I can understand that. So,

Kimberly (05:35): And

Adriana (05:36): Is your, it’s so important to go back to that.

Kimberly (05:38): Is your husband Costa Rican as well?

Adriana (05:40): No, he’s from Kua from the Caribbean.

Kimberly (05:43): Oh

Adriana (05:44): Yeah. Wow. Yeah, he’s a Caribbean man. <laugh>. <laugh>.

Kimberly (05:48): And so, yes, you know, we, we’ve played this sort of dance as, as mothers and this, um, you know, I, I really feel as I’ve gotten into, you know, learning more about your work, there’s a real feminine energy, this beautiful sort of space holder energy that I love very much. And one thing as an entrepreneur that I really admire is it seems that your vision has stayed really pure mm-hmm. <affirmative> as you’ve been creating. And I love, we’ll talk about this in a moment, I love your deck, which I have in my hands and I actually keep it here in my office. And you know, I just look at the things that you’re, you’re posting and you’re creating and there’s this real heartness that I feel and, you know, on my journey, I’ve never, um, you know, or just evolving at Solluna, but I was, I never took on investors because to this point, because I wanted to keep the vision pure. So I’d love to hear a little bit about your journey as an entrepreneur and keeping your vision. And I know everything you do is so sustainable with your herbs and your plants and everything is sourced well. How have you been able to grow? I know you have boutiques in New York and you have 200 herbs and all these in incredible creations. How have you been able to really maintain that, that heart, that purity?

Adriana shares how she’s been able to grow and maintain her business

Adriana (07:05): Thank you. That’s so sweet. Thank you. That’s been really a core as to how even our name was created an i maundy as in world soul. I mean, that’s the biggest translation, but it has such a depth to it because it also resembles that which animates nature and that which animates life in anything and everything within this animate universe. Right. So that has been like the core foundation since I started as a personal private practice herbalist, working as a clinical herbalist and then kind of shifting more into accompany the birth itself. It was never really an intentioned, but it was kind of like, you know, the unknown was just saying, this is it. You just gotta follow, you know. And so it’s funny you say that about investors because we also, I have never taken on investors either purposefully, thankfully I haven’t had to or anything.

(07:47): Yes. But I feel like that really preserves, like you were saying, that really preserves a core vision that can grow without having to be perhaps, uh, influenced by other desires such as, you know, capitalizing to the next level or whatever it is. And I think keeping true to their original vision and growing sustainably like a village, you know, employees in our company too, everybody’s like a solid community feeling. And I think that has been a huge part of our success in that we work together as a family and it just feels so wonderful. And it’s mostly, we’re all mostly Latinos, which is so fun, you know, so we’re all <laugh>. You can hear the salsa in the background as everybody’s packing herbs and whatever. And it’s just so sweet. You know, everybody really does it with so much heart. And that has been fundamental, the community aspect in the company and its growth together. Yes.

Kimberly (08:38): And I love, I went on your website and I saw that one of your herbal practitioners is David Crow, who I also interviewed for this podcast, I

Adriana (08:47): Think. Oh, no way. Wonderful. A year ago. Yeah. I did some classes with him and read his, um, uh, I think it was called Buddha Medicine Book.

Adriana (08:56): Such a good book.

Kimberly (08:57): Yeah. Searching for the Medicine Buddha. I think. So when I saw him on your site, I th you know, everything is so interwoven.

Adriana (09:05): That is so interesting. I love David. He’s an incredible teacher we’ve taught together online as well. And he’s just a wonderful, wonderful teacher. And he’s just a mess or this aromatherapy practice and yes, it’s just, he’s a lovely person to go to. He offers personal consultations. And so for anybody looking to really deepen in that sense, you know, their herbal practice, it’s just so poor to find it with the right herbalist. Yes. Like mind you, cause nowadays it’s getting so popular, right? Herbs are just everywhere and there’s all these brands and everything and everybody always asks like, how do I know if it’s pristine or if it’s made with love or if it’s well sourced. And it really, you really can see for, in my opinion, see through it because you can really see what’s made with that love that heart. Yes. And how that’s preserved in branding, even though this greenwashing situation is going haywire. But just like seeing true masters with their talent, doing what they love from that core heart is fundamental.

Kimberly (10:01): Yes. You can feel the love and the connection, right? The connection to the heart, the connection to the plants. It’s not just this mental heady, oh look, you know, ashwagandha’s trending, so let’s jump on that bandwagon, right. With like in a soulless way, but really this deep, profound respect. Exactly. Humility, reverence for the plants.

Adriana (10:22): Exactly. And you’ve integrated a lot of herbs within your nutrition and dietary

Kimberly (10:27): Process. Yes, yes. So I’ve studied Ayurveda primarily, well my, my teacher here in LA for over four years. And I, you know, I, he comes on the podcast regularly as well. He is Ayurvedic herbal master, Viya J so I’m more familiar with the Ayurvedic herbs. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but I love, you know, in your deck and also in your, um, incredible, um, uh, just your, and you know what to call, they’re just these magical combinations. I know there’s Ayurvedic herbs, there’s

Adriana (10:59): So Special

Kimberly (11:00): Western, there’s Chinese herbs. So one thing, Adriana, if people are interested in herbs and they even, you know, look at some of your incredible concoctions, it can be a little bit overwhelming. I say, oh my gosh, there’s hundreds of different herbs. I don’t even really know where to start. For me, it’s almost like my personal thing I’ll, I’ll say is, you know, with like crystals, I feel like, cuz I have several of your wonderful formulas and I reach for what I feel drawn to. It’s not so heady for me. It’s more, you know, hard based. But what would you, what would you recommend as an herbalist?

Recommendations when starting out using herbs

Adriana (11:33): Yeah, that’s such a good question. We get asked that all the time. We even started this chat on our website where people ha can chat for free with an herbalist and they can get, you know, advice on the spot safe advice for per specific situations. Obviously not like an in-depth analysis for 15 minutes on a chat, but just like basic things on how and where to start. Yeah. So I always say, say to my number one go-to is mushrooms. They’re extremely safe, they’re mostly adaptogenic, they’re incredibly, you know, nutritious. You can add it into anything you can add into a broth, you can add it into your smoothie or your, or your juice or, so it’s just so nice to work with mushrooms. And I love it for kids too. Like since my kids were born, I’ve been infusing mushrooms into everything that they eat.

(12:14): Wow. I feel like that’s been like their natural quote unquote antibiotic in a way cuz it’s just so powerful and nutrient dense, which is so important nowadays. Even organic food, you know, can be so depleted that I feel like that added nutrition of herbal herbalism is just fundamental. And everybody even ask is like, how do I get herbs in my kid and they won’t drink a pill or whatever Of course. Which I’m not a huge fan of. But obviously even still depending on the situation, there’s so many broths and herbs and teas, you can add it into kids, everything. Like lemonades, even like a natural popsicle you make at home, you infuse herbs into that. Or you, some people love to make gummies at home, you know, like sugar free or whatever it is. So there’s so many fun ways to work for kids especially, or people that just don’t like the taste of herbs.

(13:00): There’s other recipes. We love to, we love to create recipes like on our Instagram we share that on purpose, like fun everyday reality type of recipes that you can just infuse medicine into, which I think is so powerful tune. But right now, since it’s like the beginning of the year, I think the most important ones to focus, which everybody’s onto, they’re like, I wanna lose weight, or I wanna detox, or you know, I wanna like start feeling good, what do I do? Or brain fog is major cuz of the whole covid thing. There’s so many hers for that specific section. So nutrient dense ones, burdock, dandelion, alfalfa, uh, red clover, blood cleansers. Yes. Right. Those great like foodie herbs that you can really add into your meals easily. And they’re fantastic.

Kimberly (13:44): You know, I have to say, one of my, um, one thing I’m really drawn to more and more is, is really that, you know, the more calm we are and the more intuition rises up, that’s really where the, that’s really where the answers are, the wisdom. So I really love the the nerve soothing ones. Yeah. So my personal favorite is the butter fly pea flour. Nice. I drink it in the evening and I just, it feels <laugh>. There’s no words. And it just comes back to centering. Cuz center here is where we really are. Right? This is where our powers, this is where creativity is. So sometimes we think we’re trying to get all this stuff, but really if we just let all the layers, the eco settle down, things come out of us. Yes. So yes,

Adriana (14:28): As you know, that’s a very big Ayurvedic ally too. You know, in India, the different practices around butterfly p like obviously that blue color is just so spiritual in its nature. Yes. Associated to the crown chakra as well as all they call it the ra, the medi RAs, the brain boosting rejuvenative, which butter is, and it’s just so powerful. That’s what it does. You know, it just increases that mental alertness, that spiritual connection, the clarity. A great herb for manifestation, for manifestation practice as well, which I really like.

Kimberly (15:02): Wait, tell me a little bit about your work, how it relates to color. Because one of the things about your brand, it’s, you know, there’s just a real through line, these, these beautiful colors which are sometimes bright but muted and soft and soothing. And you create, you know, you see these, these bright herbs around. So sometimes when you’re making, um, concoctions and you’re making mixes, it’s the properties. But does color also play a, a part of

The nervous system, herbs, and adding more color into your daily meal planning

Adriana (15:26): Course. Absolutely. Yes. It’s just so amazing to work with color. Right? I feel like when you’re making a plate, it’s so nice to even just balance it out with the right colors. Like instead of just eating just one single color or two colors. Yes. And I think it’s just so healing to work with colors and colors speak for themselves. Like in herbalism the doctrine of signatures, which means plants resemble what they heal or do mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so is already signaling a huge vibrational power on what it might be healing energetically or literally in our organs, you know, so butterfly, p being blue, for example. We as if somebody sees blue, for the most part, you can think, you know, like the brain. Yes. Like the, the other frontier, the unseen, the spiritual world, you know, which is what it literally does. Or the nervous system. Right. This, this whole sensory organ that rules everything we do <laugh>. And

Kimberly (16:19): So exactly like we were saying, when your nervous system calms down, it can help that vision open up the third eye beyond this daily stressful toil. Right. The delusion of daily life.

Adriana (16:29): Yeah. And that’s such a big thing right now, the nervous system. It’s like everybody really connects to that. When people are looking for what to do with herbs, where do I start? I’m like, nervous system. I think 99% of the time, some people, most people need, myself included, need help with that. You know, it’s just mothers out there, single moms, single parents, single. Yes. Everything. It’s just so powerful to restore the nervous system.

Kimberly (16:54): You know, I have this, um, lately I’ve had a lot of young women coming forward, 16, 17, 18 years old, messaging me in the community, um, you know, talking about my new book and which is really about connecting to self. And I feel like for that age group particularly, there’s a lot of confusion and stress and becoming an adult, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So it’s like even before you get to that mothering stage, the world is so fast paced now. And when I started, you know, reading and studying yoga now over 12 years ago, there was so much about the nervous system and I was, you know, back then I was like, what are they talking about? What about immunity or what about energy? But now we realize our nervous system, which is connecting us to the world. If that’s, you know, that’s a shot. That’s, you know, just overstimulated. We don’t really feel the love. We don’t feel the power inside.

Adriana (17:45): Yeah. Like the heart gets blocked. Literally. If we don’t allow that regeneration aspect to the sympathetic nervous system, then you’re just like on survival mode all day long. Yes. Anxiety going off the charts, you know, and we don’t get to connect to that clarity, that intuition, that mystical state that we go to every night of our lives, whether we like it or not, you know, we just decompress, go in and there is nothing else to it. <laugh>. Yeah. Right. Which I think meditation is so powerful in that way. Like you immediately just activate the latent nervous system and you really start getting all these visionary experiences, these aha moments, this connection

Kimberly (18:22): To heart

Adriana (18:22): And to others, to your family, to yourself. And yes, it’s so important. Right.

Kimberly (18:28): That’s right. I read a quote the other day by Deepak Chopra who, where he said prayers where we’re speaking to spirit, but meditation is when God and Spirit is speaking to us. Right?

Adriana (18:40): Oh, I love that.

Kimberly (18:41): Going into that silence and actually listening and seeing what’s, what, what is coming up out of us. Um, so

Adriana (18:49): That is so true and it’s

Kimberly (18:50): So is that profound

Adriana (18:51): To crawl out of bed and sit and just close your eyes? Sometimes it’s like the hardest thing to do <laugh>, you know?

Kimberly (18:57): Yeah.

Adriana (18:58): It’s, it’s hard to include that practice in your every day, especially if we’re so used to operating, you know, on that other mode, right. When this parasympathetic nervous system is nowhere near and your nervous system is just running on so much energy, it’s hard to sit down and pause, which should be everybody’s January. It’s like resolutions move over <laugh>. Just sit down, quiet down, connect. That’s it.

Kimberly (19:22): That’s it. Yes. Yes. You have this wonderful herbal coffee, which I love the taste of. It’s, it’s, again, there’s just this gentleness. So I was curious, do you not consume any caffeine at

Adriana (19:34): All? I do love caffeine. Okay.

Kimberly (19:36): That makes you feel better. Cuz I love my black tea <laugh>.

Adriana (19:40): It’s so funny cuz I created that recipe just for the days that I’m like, okay, I need to chill out. Okay.

Kimberly (19:46): Okay, good. Thank you. <laugh>,

Adriana (19:48): It’s so hard, especially in Costa Rica, there is just such good coffee and people producing such good quality. Yeah, excellent coffee that I’ve been a huge lover my whole life. And of course it needs to be done in moderation. Yes. Like anything, right? Like sugar, like whatever. And so I think coffee, like if it’s done in proper doses, you know, at the right time with the right meal in your belly and not just drinking coffee till you’re collapsing at midday and then you’re running for lunch. And I love that people are now calling that intermittent fasting. They’re like, oh, I do intermittent fasting and I just drink coffee all morning. No <laugh> just slamming fasting <laugh>.

Kimberly (20:26): Yes. I know. I’ve noticed that the intermittent fasting, a lot of the people following that are just having so much coffee to get through and to sort of quell that hunger.

Adriana (20:36): Yeah. And then you’re like, sh your body is just like going crazy. No, it’s, that can destroy your gut and you really have to take the time to recover. And that’s where I feel like prebiotics are essential. So I’ve noticed that like when I definitely do my caffeine, like time of, you know, not doing for at least a week, and I kind of do it on and off. I do a lot of prebiotics, kind of like the, it’s a bunch of prebiotics that really help soo the colon from all that, you know, gut irritation from caffeine. Yes. And once you really suit the gut, you kind of don’t crave it anymore. It’s like this weird, like, it kind of like pushes a, puts a nice blanket over the addictive ation gut frenzy that you kinda have to calm down, <laugh>

Kimberly (21:18): Come back to balance.

Adriana (21:20): Yeah. Yeah. But I’m sure in Hawaii you have excellent coffee near you as well. And

Kimberly (21:25): So we’re, we’re starting to grow cacao, which is as you know, so, so sacred. And we’re taking, um, we have a nursery, so now we’re migrating our babies, which are about six months out into the pasture. Beautiful. And each one feels so, so sacred to touch that plant. Yeah. And I, I wondered, Adriana, what are some of your daily rituals, practices, spiritual practices, you know, that you w because you’re working with all these amazing plants every time you’re drinking an elixir or you connecting or you doing things with your family

Tips for daily rituals and spiritual practices

Adriana (21:57): Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I, I love to do connection with plants very alone. I take a lot of alone time. Um, I love doing different like walking meditations, especially if I’m like drinking some special beverage. I love cacao. I love ceremonial cacao. Mm. Yes. And yeah, I mostly love to like really intake all these different potions in a very mindful way in, you know, in, in isolation. And I try to do it every morning, you know, every morning I go for like a walk. I love to listen to subconscious reprogramming type meditations or just like, you know, interesting music that just kind of like really activates these beautiful inner processes. Right. And, and I love to like kind of sip my tea either as I’m walking or whether I’m sitting in nature or go somewhere to sit in nature and kind of have like a tea party with myself, uh, somewhere <laugh>.

(22:47): And I really love that kind of like the forest bathing concept, you know? Mm-hmm. Yes. Just immers nature and just, you know, cultivating nothingness and just being connected, drinking your herbs and feeling that restoration. And I love visualization practices as well. Mm-hmm. Like love when I go wildcrafting in the area here, we have amazing hiking trails around our house. And so I kind of go there and if I find plants, I kind of do offerings. I connect, I sit in meditation, like walk with it or beautiful very little basket and just connect with it. And I feel like I’m like connecting with friends, you know? I feel like I’m really converging with nature’s mind and it’s really lovely. It’s a lovely process. So when I go into that silence, it’s when I feel like I can really listen and connect and kind of into it my own life, other people’s lives and people around me, my own family, you know. So it just, it’s a lovely way, it’s one of my favorite like daily, daily ish routines. Of course, we’re moms, right? We sometimes those routines are impossible to create in our lives, and you just have to kind of ride the flow <laugh>. And,

Kimberly (23:53): But I agree that that time for me, that silence stillness alone time is so nourishing. And even though, you know, we are hands on moms and there’s a lot going on, I, I know I’m a better mom if I can really give myself some space every day that, that really fills my cup up. So I don’t have that frazzled nervous system.

Adriana (24:13):
It’s so true. Self-care, it’s fundamental. I resisted it for so long. I remember I was always just like, go, go, go, go, go, go. And then my body was just like keeping up somehow. It just like, I had this, like, I’ve always been very strong to the point that I’m like, okay, I’m like killing myself when I’m like overdoing, you know, taking on too many projects and I love to write as well, like you, and it’s just so hard to say no. And then all of a sudden family life kind of gives you that reality check that you’re like, okay, you just kinda have to here now and play <laugh>. Yes. Play with kids and enjoy life and take a breather and

Kimberly (24:49): Yeah.

Adriana (24:49): Thank you for yourself.

Kimberly (24:50): Everything works out. You know, I just, for me, timelines used to feel really stressful. And now I’ve really, um, given up numbers in my life. I used to weigh myself all the time and I had be conscious of calories and times and I just sort of moved into this place beyond numbers and it’s so freeing, right. It’s just energy. And so it’s just energy. You know, projects will happen. Some branches of the tree will fall naturally. That’s okay. You

Adriana (25:19): Know? Exactly. That’s beautifully said. And that’s so true. I was listening to that in your podcast actually, and I was really enjoying that like your process of like how you used to, you know, track the calories and Yes. Like, like heavy duty, nutritional, you know,

Kimberly (25:33): Very heady.

Adriana (25:34): Exactly. And then moving into an intuitive process with your body is just so important. And I love that people are really, I feel like that’s becoming more of a trend. Thank God that people are Yes. Intuitively listening and not like calorie counting anymore. And it’s just, it’s irrelevant. Like what’s the point, right? It’s like this crazy modern system that,

Kimberly (25:55): You know, I, I feel like there’s like two ends of the spectrum. There’s, there’s those of us that are really feeling the intuition in the heart and then on one end it’s almost getting hyper measured. All these devices and tracking and everything is really measured. And that’s the journey some souls are on as well. My husband is actually more in that category. So we have these, we kind of have these giggles because he’s like, yeah, you just meditate six hours a day and do your thing. And he has all his um, biohacking stuff, you know? So That’s

Adriana (26:25): Amazing. I really like that too. It’s cool. I feel like if it’s done with the purpose of like, oh this is cur curious, interesting. Yes. How am I doing? What’s going on? Oh, I do see a change. But still fundamentally feeling into what you need to do for yourself. I think it’s

Kimberly (26:41): Yes,

Adriana (26:42): Yes. Feel like the governing force, you know?

Kimberly (26:45): Yes. And then, well another aspect I wanted to ask you about Adriana is your connection between astrology and herbology, which is something we really don’t hear much about. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and there’s western astrology and then there’s veic astrology and um, you know, I just, again going back to your herbal astrology oracle deck, which is so beautiful. And sometimes I simply ask, you know, what plant just one I pull one card, you know, what plant or what medicine, you know, do I do I need to hear from today? So can you talk a little bit about the connection? Because sometimes we don’t think that they’re so connected. Everything is connected per se. Exactly. Of course. But astrology and plants. Yeah.

The connection between Astrology and Herbology

Adriana (27:25): Well what really piqued my interest is when I learned how ancient science, ancient medical structures are literally rooted in astrological analysis. Mm. And most people cannot even believe that. So for example, Greek physicians, which is some of the texts that we have in physical form to this day, I’m sure it predates that. But Greek physicians have literally astrological charts of specific people that they would review prior to any medical diagnosis. So for example, like wow, uh, astrological chart. And a lot of people are like, but how are they reading astrology? You know, there’s all, there was all these systems they had in place that were rooted from ancient times since Mesopotamia, technically they had these systems of understanding on movements of planets. Even in ve in the ves, you see it, the movement of planets in understanding how they’re influencing us vibrationally through frequency and how that literally affects like from the plants you eat from potentials of pathologies within your chart to potential, uh, karmic patterns inherited through family.

(28:22): And all that was seen in charts. So what I think is fascinating is like those physicians were literally analyzing charts and then they asked the questions and then they would diagnose. And at that time there was no pharmacy, there was no pharmaceuticals, so they would be doing herbs, everyone was an herbalist. It was just all doctors were herbalist, you know? Yes. It was, well it was not like this cool new thing like, oh, herbalism. It’s like herbalism was the medicine used to prescribe based on analysis of these charts. So I think it’s just incredible. Like they had so much knowledge, like they would see Mars in specific placements noting specific inflammations in different parts of the body or Venus’ placements, same with mercury and so on. So they were tracking this and they were able to really not only prescribe but also assess potentials of the field of disease that might be happening to you.

(29:14): So I think that’s really powerful because if you can analyze potentials that might happen down the line for you in your life, then you can obviously create preventative measures in your diet and your herbs and your, everything truly prevent disease from unfolding. Right. So it’s really incredible. So when we did, when I did the deck, um, and it was lovely to review how to break it down. It was so hard to narrow down on 55 plants. I was like, can we do 200 plants or whatever, you know? Cause it would be so awesome to have like a master file. But a lot of these plants were written about since those times and they were tracked based on archetypal bodies. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So a lot of the planets that resemble these plants were associated to specific plants. So for example, mercury, herbs of mercury, which I know Mercury retrograde is like this whole thing right now.

(30:00): And it becomes like this, like everybody <laugh> Instagram. Yes. They’re blaming their whole life on mercury regimen. Yes. <laugh>. And, but herbs and mercury are usually herbs that activate the brain and the nervous system. So mercury is said to activate our mind, our brain and everything in relation to our nervous system. So a lot of these plants either activate the nervous system or decompress the nervous system and they often fall under the rulership of mercury, for example. Hmm. So same in Theves, they have specific herbs for mercurial. Mm-hmm. Situations or rejuvenative, which are more of like a Jupiter aspect, which is the opposite of a mercury. And then same with the solar herbs, Venus herbs and so on. So it’s a really wonderful way to understand plants, archetypally and understand how these personalities can be used to help heal or fulfill a part of your healing journey. Right. So it really helps to get that. And I know a lot of people get overwhelmed. They’re just like, I don’t know, I don’t wanna learn astrology. This is like so complex. And it definitely can get complex chart analysis, especially. Yes.

Kimberly (30:59): They’re just

Adriana (31:00): Categorizing herbs as to what they can do for the body within these 12 general archetypes is really powerful and almost a way to really understand what herbs to use for what specifically, right. Like lunar herbs for the emotional body

Kimberly (31:15): And so on.

Adriana (31:16): Mm-hmm.

Kimberly (31:17): <affirmative>, which um, astr astrological system do you work with the most or do you combine? Cause I remember I did my Vedic chart and it was really in depth <laugh> and I haven’t, I’ve never been as, as I don’t know as much about western astrology. I just learned my, I’m a Aquarius and I just learned my, the rising, I think the rising sun or the moon is in Aries, which I literally just did a few weeks ago, but when I did my Vedic chart, it was so in depth and took hours with this person doing it.

Adriana (31:50): Yeah. That’s amazing. I think the veic chart is really beautiful. I’ve had also readings and, and yeah, it can be very intensive. What I love about the veic chart analysis is just the transits are very different than western astrology. Like transit analysis, it’s a lot like bigger picture. I mean of course it can get very detailed, but it’s like bigger picture, like for the next seven years this kind of like sole process might be happening or whatever. Or like the north node and south node, which is also obviously from the Vedas. Um, it’s just a beautiful way to also understand like your dharma and your karma for example, in your chart. And I think those writings are so powerful. Like people, especially when they’re looking for what am I here to do? What is my spiritual purpose or what should I do in my life?

(32:34): And all those questions, I feel like that kind of chart process, especially the nodes can be such a beautiful way to start understanding a little bit of these processes and ancient discoveries. They’re just incredible. Hmm. So, but we do, I do western astrology, a lot of the western astrology practices is what I’ve been kind of like branching from. But I do do a lot of Vedic integration. I love, for example, the notes, like I was saying, I just love that. I also love the different interpretations of Saturn and Jupiter embedded astrology versus western astrology, which can be slightly different, but you know, I think it’s just a different emphasis. For example, just the, so the north node is considered like what you’re here to do in your future and basic terms. South node is like where you come from, carma heritage and so on. Mm-hmm. For what gifts you bring from other lifetimes, right? Mm-hmm.

(33:24): And in Theves, the south note is very much worshiped. It’s like beautiful gifts from your past, right? Like let’s say you’re just born a natural artist or you’re born a natural writer. And then in western astrology, the north node is like heavily prized. It’s like your future self. How cool is that? What are you here to do? And it’s just, that just shows how the two cultures are just so different. <laugh>, you know? Yeah. It’s like what the western world is like really always going forward looking for the next and then better world is more like, wow, what treasures did you learn in your lifetime Yes. Into this one,

Kimberly (34:00): Right? So Right. Which is here now

Adriana (34:01): All the perspective. Exactly,

Kimberly (34:04): Yes.

Adriana (34:04): It’s all about perspective. And that’s how the interpretations are so different based on what system you follow.

Kimberly (34:10): Interesting. So me as a Aquarius, Adriana, I know you’re very intuitive and I, I am very Vata, you could probably tell like a lot of air, right. Sometimes space, um, creative. So I feel you

Adriana (34:22): Actually would be a Pisces. I was like, I feel like you’re a Pisces. I was feeling into that. I don’t know why. <laugh>.

Kimberly (34:27): Yes. Perhaps. It’s interesting. My first son was two weeks late. He went, I went to 42 weeks. So he crossed from Pisces to S and he’s very

Adriana (34:35): Fir so he’s right in the cusp.

Kimberly (34:37):Yeah. Yeah. He, well he was spo he was supposed to be born on March 15th and then he was born on the 26th. So. Wow. So for me, Adrian, as an example, if you know Aquarius and big pick, you know, a lot of expansiveness, maybe more grounding herbs.

Approaching preventative medicine through Medical Astrology

Adriana (34:55): Exactly, exactly. More grounding herbs. Absolutely. So for example, mercury, we were talking about it, the last thing you probably need is mercury herbs. Mm-hmm. Because naturally you already have mental faculties like going in your service at all times. So that’s wonderful. Yes. So you can, the opposite would, which would be Jupiter, right? Which a lot of those are like rejuvenative, a lot of them are grounding herbs on an organ level it would be more like the liver aspect versus like, let’s say the nervous system aspect to it. So that would be like a natural opposition within the medical chart, medical astrology chart.

Kimberly (35:29): Oh yes. Medical astrology. And, and, and that’s a whole other aspect. You know, there’s all these medical intuitives now that we hear about and that’s a really interesting way of, um, approaching preventative medicine and also a deeper energetic way of healing.

Adriana (35:46):Exactly. So those physicians, what they practice as medical astrology and although I wasn’t exactly called that back then, hundreds of years ago, but they were just integrating astrology more for medical purposes. It wasn’t for psychological diagnosis, which is so much what it is now. You know, like, oh you’re a Pisces so you like this, this and that, or you know, so it’s more before Yeah, it was used more for strictly medical processes, which I think is interesting. Or analysis of greater cycles. Like, oh, we’re entering this cycle. Right. Or this might be happening. It wasn’t so much like psychological understanding.

Kimberly (36:21): Wow.

Adriana (36:22): Yeah. But medical astrology is incredible and there’s so many living masters and great books like Nicholas Cool Pepper is one of the renew medical astrologers, uh, back in the 18 hundreds. So a lot of the, you know, a lot of what he wrote is what is used today. Like in the cards, like when you see the cards, there is like the main uh, astrological sign at the very top of the card. Like in, you can see like right here, very top of the card has the main ruler planet and then sub rulers that might be like in correlation to the plan’s quality. So I

Kimberly (36:55): Mean

Adriana (36:55): That’s is there essentially appointed to the plant’s medicinal qualities. And so yeah. A lot of the books written from them is what is used nowadays for medical astrology and now astrological herbalism.

Kimberly (37:09): Yeah. It’s just so the artwork is so beautiful. It’s incredible.

Adriana (37:13): Yeah. Josephine, it was a pleasure to collaborate with her. She’s an incredible artist and herbalist, uh, Nordic herbalist. And we literally would sit down, we were like talking on WhatsApp all the time on like what symbol to use for each archetype and how to really break it down in a way for people to feel the plant’s spirit and healing qualities through, through the image.

Kimberly (37:34): Wow. And you just helping people really awaken to all these subtle forces, the herbs, the plants have such an influence on our energy. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, and I started as a nutritionist and then really, you know, expanded the lifestyle cuz I, you know, everything works together. Our mindset, me meditation, our, our spiritual practices as well. But the effects of what we put in our bodies is, is undeniable. And so many people are looking at it, you know, in a very, uh, me as well years ago, quantitative way calories, how many carbs am I eating versus the energetic aspect, which is such a deep form of self-care.

Awakening the subtle forces that herbs and plants have on our energy

Adriana (38:11): Exactly. It’s like the whole psychosomatic experience. Right. And that’s what I love about herbs. They all have this vibrational frequency of course. Like everything in nature. Yes. Including ourselves, animals, elements, water, air, you know, there’s vibrational realities everywhere. And when you heal vibrationally that’s when you can really see that you’re really like getting to the core of it all. Most imbalances. Right. It’s just incredible.

Kimberly (38:37): Yeah. And I love, you know, with um, with your brand, you’re really working with the sourcing and I remember Dr. Jay talking about, you know, the traditional veic doctors would go in the forest and he said they would ask the plants if they wanted to work with them. Right. There’d be this sort of communication and seeing if they wanted to come <laugh>. Yeah. Right. And they do that in the rainforest I’m sure as well in the shamonic practices, some of the things you’ve studied.

Sourcing and shamanic practices and the ritual of offerings to the plants

Adriana (39:02): Absolutely. Yeah. That’s how they have received all their knowledge. Like the ero, the shamans that I’ve worked with, they specifically know that even for what they’ve inherited within their lineage and same for themselves, they always have this ritual of offering to the plant. So there’s from tobacco to all these sorts of different potions and menstruals they create to offer the plant to see if the plant is willing to disclose its reality secrets and so on. And it’s just incredible cuz once they do, if the plant accepts, they receive incredible knowledge about what the plant can do. And to this day, scientific discoveries have proven what they’ve known for hundreds or thousands of years of, you know, medicinal qualities that ha they didn’t have like a lab where they were assessing these contents, you know, but they knew because of this transmission of shared information with these spirits.

Kimberly (39:51): Yes. And

Adriana (39:52): It’s beautiful.

Kimberly (39:53): We all Ayurveda came from the Rishi is the Sears.

Adriana (39:56): Exactly. And

Kimberly (39:57): Came recorded.

Adriana (39:59): Yeah. And you can see it like in Aveta, like the poetic language about each plant. Yes. It’s like, you can tell there is like this deep archetypal influence of a certain energy personality being perceived. It’s not just used for medical purposes. You know, there was so much more to that analysis and that download that they received that it’s not just for, oh this is what is gonna heal X, Y, Z. It’s more like this spiritual energetic connection.

Kimberly (40:25): Hmm. Well this is a beautiful birthing that just happened, this incredible herbal astrology oracle. We’ll put a picture in the show notes over at mysolluna.com. So what’s, what else is, um, on the horizon, Adriana, with Anima Mundi, these incredible formulas you’re creating? Any projects we sh we can look out for?

Adriana shares what’s coming up on the horizon for Anima Mundi

Adriana (40:47): Yes, so there’s quite a few things cooking up. I most likely will be doing a deeper book for this deck cuz I know there’s so much more to express about each plant that this tiny little wonderful could have enough to hold. Um, we’re looking to also move to more of a farm operation center, which is great. We’ve been always wanting to grow some of our own herbs in the US so we’re exploring, uh, hopefully this year we will officially move to like a bigger farm factory project where people can come and have like factory tours

Kimberly (41:21): And Amazing Well where would it be?

Adriana (41:23): Yeah, well we’re heavily looking into the Hudson Valley or North Carolina, so let’s see what happens.

Kimberly (41:29): Not Costa Rica. I was gonna say we, we should have a reason to go to Costa Rica.

Adriana (41:33): I know, right? We do collaborate with farms here and it’s such a treasure. Like the Ashwaganda here is really special. And Passionflower and Mouna another mercurial amazing plant and yeah, there’s so many incredible rainforest serves. I mean it’s unbelievable but it’s, we have to be in the US unfortunately the export reality is complicated. So we wanna be up there for manufacturing and being able to have more of a place where people can come see. And so yeah, so we’re hoping to do that big move this year, which is gonna be pretty, pretty special.

Kimberly (42:06): Wow. Well that is so exciting.

Adriana (43:19): Thank you. It also lovely to hear what you love and thank you for being such a light to this world. You’re so special and I love your confide and your writing is so magical and oh it’s just beautiful. Thank

Kimberly (43:29): You. Thank you so much love. Thank you so much sister. I’m really just in awe of everything that you do and you can really feel the truth, the authenticness of what you’re creating and there’s an energy to it. Like I said, when I’m drinking your formulas, it’s soothing, it’s not jarring. The combination is really masterful. So thank you so much. And also everybody, I can’t recommend enough this herbal astrology oracle just to keep around on your, um, you know, your bedside table at your desk and just to be able to connect with the plants whenever you feel called. So thank you so much love and look forward to connecting with you more.

Adriana (44:06): Likewise. Thank you so much.

Kimberly: I hope you enjoyed my interview today, our discussion with Adriana. As much as I loved speaking with her, please be sure to check out the show notes over@myluna.com where we’ll link to more information on Adriana, other podcasts I think you would enjoy, and recipes and our practical enlightenment meditations, which are free and articles. If you aren’t yet aware, I’ve started back into my very raw blogging over at Kim’s corner, Kimberly’s Corner. So there’s a whole section for that as well. Please let me know. Any questions, comments, anything you wanna share with me. There’s a section there on the website as well where you could submit, I’m always listening, or you can reach out to me on social. We’ll be back here Thursday for our next Q&A podcast. Till then, take care and sending you so much love and so much gratitude. Namaste.