When I started studying medicine-making, I thought there was going to be one set of rules to follow with regard to formulation. As I dug into my study of various traditions, I realized there are almost as many formulation strategies as there are plants. It was rather bewildering and at times somewhat confusing…then it was absolutely thrilling!
When you realize that formulation is actually part-science, part-mathematics, and part-art the whole process becomes far more experimental and playful. Just like constructing a sonnet, having a set of rules or guidelines to get you started is helpful. It gives you something to lean into as you’re learning how the plants work together. It also gives you a simple place to go if the case before you is complex and perplexing. As you begin to work with the plants and watch them work together, you’ll naturally begin to develop formulas that work. Some of them may flex the basic guidelines or completely break them. That’s okay. You’ve always got the basics to return to when the formulation strategy you’re using isn’t serving you as well as it once did.
Keep it Simple: Basic Formula Guidelines
I like to stick to fairly simple formulas as much as possible, using three to five herbs at a time. Traditional Chinese Herbalists create formulas with a team in mind, although often each position in the team can be played by another sub-team of players. While their formulas can be extremely effective and powerful, they’re hard to replicate at home, in the moment, with a small pantry of herbs.
The Head or Emperor in Herbal Formulas
When I’m creating my formulas, I think of one or two herbs as my Heads or Emperors as in the tradition of Chinese Herbalists and TCM. The Head or Emperor handles the most important aspect of the work. In the case of that runny nose formula, Sage would be the Head or Emperor because Sage addresses the most troublesome aspect of the symptoms; the runny and cold nature of the symptoms are handled by the drying and warming qualities and the anti-microbial nature of Sage specifically has an affinity for the common cold and related illnesses.
The PA or Assistant in Herbal Formulas
The Head or Emperor is accompanied by a PA or close Assistant, which tackles the most troubling symptom by supporting the qualities of the Head or Emperor. In this case, Rosemary acts as an the PA by offering some heat (stimulation) and broadening the anti-microbial nature of the formula. The idea is to offer the kind of support that allows the Head or Emperor to really shine as it gets to work in restoring balance to the body.
The Manager in Herbal Formulas
After I’ve chosen my Head or Emperor and PA or Assistant, I choose a Manager to help ensure the flow of energy is in harmony with the direction the Head or Emperor will take. Sometimes, this herb’s job is to mitigate or soften the action of the rest of the formula and sometimes it’s a boost that adds a new dimension to give the whole formula a subtle shift in one direction or another. In the case of our runny nose formula, Yarrow serves as the Manager. Yarrow offers an added dimension of anti-microbial action and drying or astringent action while also setting the direction of the motion – up and out through open pores due to its diaphoretic nature.
The Fool or Activator in Herbal Formulas
If I’m feeling particularly creative, I may add one more player to my team: The Fool. The Fool serves the same position as the Activator in TCM and other Traditional formulas. I like to think of this job as The Fool in Shakespearean terms; it offers a counterpoint to the main action that both stimulates and jostles in such a way as to destabilize the illness or imbalances present and make way for the formula to do it’s work. In short, The Fool shakes it up a bit so the formula can work more powerfully. Usually, I stick to Lobelia or Cayenne/Chili Pepper or Licorice when choosing The Fool. Lobelia and Cayenne or Chili Pepper were favored in Traditional Western Medicine, particularly by practitioners in North America. Licorice is favored by TCM formulators. I’ve found all three quite good at shaking it up, although I admit I rarely reach for any of them if I’m needing a quick-and-dirty fix for a sudden and likely short-lived illness like the onset of a cold. If, however, that cold has turned into a two-week affair that may well be edging into sinus infection territory, I’m likely to include The Fool in my formulation. It’s all about the situation, the immediate need, and a bit of artful formulating.
Example: Simple Formula for Runny Nose
Emperor: Sage, 3 parts
PA/Assistant: Rosemary, 1 parts
Manager: Yarrow, 1 parts
Fool/Activator: 1/2 part
Tips for Good Formulation
Simples: Get to know a small number of herbs really well. Spend a month or more with just one at a time. Work with it is as many ways and forms as you can. Study what a variety of teachers and traditions have to say about it and its use. Sit with it at least once (preferably many times) in plant/live form if you can but if you cannot if whatever form you can find. Homeopathic and homepathic-influenced herbalists like Matthew Wood commonly work solely with singles. The depth of healing you can get from just one plant is astounding, and you really get to know the plant best by working with just that plant and no others for awhile. It’s a bit like building a really good friend; learning as much as you can about each plant you use will help you considerably when you’re facing a crisis and need to know which plant friends to call on!
Keep ’em Handy: As you build your circle of plant friends, make a space specifically for them. Your herbal pantry or herb cabinet can be a corner of the kitchen pantry or it can be a cabinet unto its own. It can be super small, like a corner of a drawer, or take over your whole living space. Whatever form it takes, having an herbal pantry or cabinet where you can easily find your plant medicines makes formulating on-the-fly much easier.
Label, Label, Label: Use labels on all your herbals, including the stuff that’s super obvious. Even the dried Calendula flowers and Oat Tops should be labeled. The licorice root and Cayenne, too. Everybody gets a label. Why? Because you may need to rely on an assistant to help you with formulation at some point, like when you’re the one who’s sick and it’s up to your partner to actually make the medicine. It’ll be loads easier to direct the medicine-making of others if you don’t also need to haul yourself out of bed to show them which plants are which. Labels also help ensure neither you nor your helpers forget what you’ve got in your cabinet. It’s too easy to assume you’ll remember when you’re happily drying, garbling, and stashing away those herbs, but months later even the best of us stands a mighty high chance of having forgotten which was which.
Keep a Record: Even when you’re formulating and making medicine strictly for yourself, keeping a record of what you’ve done is wise. Write down each formula you create, including all the ingredients, proportions used, and any extra techniques or considerations for that particular remedy. Include the date and, if you’ve made a lot of it, a lot number or id of some sort so you can connect the remedy back to the record later. It’s helpful to leave a bit of space for notes on how well the formula worked and what you’d like to adjust for next time, too. That’ll help you grow and learn to formulate more effectively. Just the act of writing it down helps your brain to create more neural pathways, so even if you never actually look back at your notes you’ll have given yourself a significant boost toward better future formulation by keeping a record.
Small Batches: Even if it’s a formula you know you’ll want to use again and again, make a small amount each time. Small batches allow you to adjust the formula. When you’re formulating for a crisis condition, like a flu-like virus, the illness will progress through its stages rapidly (hopefully!). That means you’ll need to address different symptoms tomorrow than you did yesterday. It also means the body and body systems that need the most support will also be changing, as will the conditions they’re dealing with. Making a small batch that’ll last a few days allows you to move in harmony with the body’s healing process. The same holds true with chronic conditions, especially when you’re addressing a set of underlying or root causes. With a longer-term healing project, the batches will be larger than for the crisis condition, of course. Think of the perspective of the whole healing experience (months or years verses a week or two) and keep the batches you make small within that context. If, for instance, you’re working with a chronic digestive condition like Crohn’s Disease, create your formulations to last a month or two at most. That will give the body time to integrate the herbal healing you’re offering, stabilize again, and then show you the next layer. Typically, long-term or chronic conditions are heavily layered and sometimes those layers are woven together like a complex tapestry. Just as with the shorter-term crisis conditions, you want to formulate in harmony with the body’s healing process. Small Batches allow you to do that effectively.
