What is Western Herbal Energetics?

I get asked often about herbal energetics, especially what this means? There’s quite a bit of confusion around the concept of energetics, and to be honest, I get it. Especially in Western Herbalism (the most recent form of herbalism in the world) where most herbalists are tasked with taking fairly recent information and other herbalist’s or traditional ways of working with energetics and making it their own, there’s a lot of room for doubt and confusion.

One of my long-time students once told me that when someone asks about wanting more knowledge about energetics, what they’re really asking for is to have intuition about the best herbs to choose for someone, and then how to formulate an effective product.

I think she hit the nail on the head.

In my journey as an herbalist for over the past nearly 20 years, I remember getting hung up on energetics about five years in. Then as I practiced with my clients and community, created formulations and made tweaks for individuals, my intuition did indeed, grow. By leaps and bounds as a matter of fact. Working with the medicinal plants is the BEST way to learn and internalize herbal energetics.

I have read many, many texts about the concept of herbal energetics. Some are quite simplistic. Others are very complicated. Some of them include planetary astrology, which as a Christian, is a topic most avoid. Others are logical and straight-forward. This is the style I most appreciate. With straight-forwardness, you can then bring in many nuances to make your herbal energetics understanding and knowledge your own.

“To understand a thing rightly, we must merge with it.”

— Baruch Spinoza

To merge with a concept — not conquer it, not memorize it, but to become one with its nature. Herbalism is supposed to be holistic, and the only way we can reach holism in herbal practice is by working with a person’s “whole” body, including the mind and the spirit too. That’s what great herbalism is all about. Not just reading herb books or memorizing Latin names (although those are fun too!), but feeling the plants, watching and listening to what they’re telling us over all seasons, and finally matching them skillfully with the people we work with, whether it's just our own self or many, many others.

Click HERE to enroll in our course on Western Herbal Energetics in the School of Botanical Arts & Sciences (SOBAS)

🌿 Herbal Energetics: Why It’s the Key to Becoming a Great Herbalist

Energetics might sound a little mystical at first—something airy or hard to grasp. Some even feel it's too "woo." I even heard one herbalist who works quite allopathically make the statement: “You don’t need to learn that stuff,” referencing herbal energetics. I don’t think he understood what “energetics” means in herbal practice.

The fact is, if you want to work as an effective holistic herbalist, you do need to understand and apply herbal energetics of some type of tradition in order to help others, especially when it comes to chronic health issues. Otherwise, you’re just using herbs like you would drugs and medications. And that isn’t effective herbalism.

Energetics is all about paying attention to the qualities of herbs and how they interact with the qualities of individual people and specific conditions. That is my simple definition of herbal energetics.

People are all different. Big Pharma likes to treat us all the same, to give us a small window of "normal," and to prescribe their drugs accordingly. And this is why so many of us don't feel well on drugs, have terrible side effects, or they just don't work at all.

Medicinal plants are not drugs, although they do have drug-like actions. It's up to a good herbalist to know medicinal plants well and to be able to match them with what each individual needs.

When we consider which plants to use, we’re talking about things like:

Is this herb warming or cooling?
Is it moistening or drying?
Does it move things (like stuck lymph or unpleasant emotions), or does it ground and settle?

Every herb has its own “personality,” and when we understand that, we can match it to the right person's needs at the right time.

This is the difference between giving “an herb for a headache” versus giving the right herb for that specific person’s specific type of headache.

Energetics is how we stop treating symptoms (treating herbs like drugs) and start supporting humans.

And yes—there’s real science under it all!

The Bridge Between Tradition & Modern Science

Long before herbalists had microscopes or chemical assays, they noticed patterns in plants and people: ginger made people feel warmer. Chamomile calmed both upset bellies and frazzled nerves. Peppermint cleared the mind and cooled a flushed face.

They used words like hot, dry, moist, and cold to describe what they saw again and again. These weren’t guesses or old wives’ tales—they were observations from generations of healers who worked closely with plants and people.

Fast forward to today, and science is finally catching up:

Warming herbs like ginger and cayenne stimulate circulation and activate heat-sensitive TRP channels in our cells.
Cooling herbs like violet and marshmallow contain mucilaginous compounds that soothe inflamed tissues and calm irritated mucous membranes.
Moving herbs like rosemary and tulsi can increase mental clarity and circulation, while grounding herbs like ashwagandha, motherwort, or black cohosh calm the nervous system and anchor us back into our bodies.

Energetics isn’t the opposite of science—it’s just another language to describe what’s happening in the body, with the plants' actions, and the specific situation.

Why Understanding Herbal Energetics Makes You a Better Herbalist

Have you ever given someone an herb that worked wonderfully for you, but didn’t do a thing for them? Or worse, seemed to make them feel off?

Let’s look at a quick example to understand why this is.

Say two people both have digestive issues.

One is always cold, tends to feel bloated and sluggish after meals, and describes their digestion as “slow.”
The other runs warm, feels flushed and irritable after eating, and says spicy foods make things worse.

Both might benefit from herbs that help digestion—but not the same herbs.

🌶️ For the cold, sluggish person, a warming carminative like ginger, cinnamon, or cardamom might be perfect. For some, even a touch of cayenne is the best choice. It just depends.

❄️ For the warm, irritated person, a cooling and calming herb like chamomile, fennel, or marshmallow root could bring relief. Again, it depends on the person.

Same “symptom,” but with a different energetic state. When we understand that, everything changes.

Energetics helps us go from “What’s the best herb for bloating?” to “What does this person need right now?”

That’s where the real healing and health happens.

That was a very simplistic example, and there's obviously a lot more that goes into creating herbal formulations or making the best choices for an individual, but it gives you an idea of what a holistic herbalist considers.

We cover energetics often, organically, and specifically inside the Confident Herbalist Tribe! In fact, we’re finishing up an entire course on Western Herbal Energetics taught in our live special sessions inside the Tribe. I hope you join us for ongoing, active support and a massive library of videos, texts, and courses.

Here’s Something I Love About Energetics

It brings intuition and logic together.

You get to use your senses—taste, touch, smell—and also bring in biochemistry, anatomy, and modern knowledge. It involves both the head and the heart.

When you taste astringency in blackberry leaf, you can feel its toning action. When you notice how chamomile calms tension, you will also begin to notice your own body relaxing, too. That’s when you know you’re not just reading about herbs—you’re living them.

And the more you play with this, the more confidence you’ll gain. I promise.

Try This: Start Noticing the Energetics in Your Daily Life

Want a great and easy way to dip your toes into herbal energetics?

Here are three simple things to try:

1) Taste your herbs mindfully. Brew a single-herb tea, pay attention to what’s happening in your body/mind, and ask yourself:

Is this warming or cooling?
Does it feel moistening or drying?
Does it make me feel energized or calm?
2) Notice your body’s patterns. Do you tend to run cold? Dry? Do you feel better in warm weather or cool air? This will help you discover your own constitution.
3) Watch how different herbs affect different people. One person might love the lift of peppermint, while another finds it too stimulating. There’s no one-size-fits-all in herbalism—and that’s what makes it beautiful!

If You’re Feeling Overwhelmed…

All good herbalists feel this way once they realize there's a LOT more to learning and using medicinal herbs than treating the plants like a drug and asking, "What herb for x,y,z need."

Herbal energetics isn’t something you have to master overnight either. You can be an effective herbalist even while learning, especially if you have support from a wonderful mentorship community, like the Confident Herbalist Tribe.

Herbalism is a journey of observation, curiosity, consistency, and care. The more you work with plants for medicine, the more you’ll begin to know just how to match them to the moment, situation, and person.

I’ve found over the years that learning energetics is like getting glasses after years of blurry vision—you suddenly see your herbal world with crystal clarity. This requires learning about plants, though, and understanding some phytochemistry, and this is what the Confident Herbalist Tribe is built around: In-depth, highly researched plant masterclasses.

If you’ve ever wondered why some herbs click with your body while others don’t… or why one remedy works beautifully for your friend but not for you…

Now you know the secret: it’s all about energetics. 🌿

Understanding this not only makes you a better herbalist — it makes your relationship with herbs deeper, more joyful, and more intuitive.

Let’s keep walking this path together, one plant at a time. I hope you’ll join us inside the Confident Herbalist Tribe!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. If you’re at the beginning of your herbalism learning path, I’d like to invite you to join us in one of our Family Herbalism courses: Ditch the Drugstore or the Family Herbalist Certification program!

P.P.S. And be sure to join our newsletter! You’ll receive free weekly herbal education, formulas, updates, and lots more!

What is Western Herbal Energetics: Science or "Woo?"