The Path of Poisonous Plant Medicine (Intro)

As I have learned more and more about plant medicine through the years, I have just now recently found myself drawn to “poisonous plant medicine” — a seemingly dangerous yet actually healing path.

The energy of most plant medicine is very “love and light,” but the path of poison is dark and forces you to confront your shadow self.

Working with transformative energy and the shadow self.

Death is not “the end,” but a stepping stone into a whole new world — a more accurate word is “transformation.” True healing requires the death of our past selves. If you want to be better, you have to welcome change in order to become someone new.

First off, poisonous plants are not simply here to be feared and avoided. In contrary, when taken wisely in miniscule amounts, they can carry more healing energy than any other nontoxic plant. Another factor is simply by being in the presence of a toxic plant, just by observing it with your eyes without any physical contact, can be tremendously beneficial.

Personally, I find it so beautiful and touching to take something that is so feared and turn it into something that can be adored. With toxic energy also comes deep transformation — and we cannot heal ourselves without becoming a new person, shedding our negative ways behind.

A healthy amount of fear — which comes from awareness and respect.

Poisonous plant medicine requires the highest research, awareness, and responsibility. Knowing that a plant has the power to kill you requires you to approach it with caution — a healthy amount of fear that keeps you humble — but not so much fear that it manifests as avoidance. If you want to walk down this path, you are required to drop your arrogance and invincibility-complex.

Most humans like to believe that they are indestructible. You’ve seen it through the pandemic — people who risked their lives just to enjoy a night on the town, people who refused to sacrifice their comfort for wearing a mask, and so on. You’ve seen it in natural disasters — people who get in their car and drive during deadly snowstorms, people who stand on the beach to watch the waves during a tsunami. And you see it every day — people who take things for granted, who make unhealthy choices, and so on. It seems to be part of human nature. I’m certainly guilty myself of forgetting my mortality from time to time.

Toxic plants are not “evil” — but “misunderstood.”

The path of poisonous medicine, therefore, will humble you. It serves as a vital reminder that humans are easily defeated by the simplest of things. However, it’s not all morbid and gloomy! Before my research, I questioned toxic plants — what is their purpose, but to kill us!? Who placed them here — the devil!? In contrary, when you do your research and understand how helpful they can be (when used correctly) it shatters your perception completely. These so-called “evil” plants are actually here to help! They’re just misunderstood — due to people who disrespect them. So perhaps it’s true, that all “evil” is only an illusion.

I believe all women can relate to this. There was a point in history when women were seen as nothing but evil, when interpretation of the Bible blamed woman on original sin. The late Midieval witch trials specifically targeted women and prosecuted them. Even today, women are constantly disrespected. Some things haven’t changed at all. Women are objectified — from Hollywood stars to everyday ladies just trying to walk down the street. The second a woman fights back against the disrespect she faces, she is deemed as psychotic. Similarly, a toxic plant ingested with ignorance strikes back and then becomes feared.

The calling of the path…

Another aspect that connects me to the path of poisonous plants are the Scorpio qualities inside of me. The sign of death, destruction, mystery, transformation, and rebirth goes hand in hand with toxic plants. Scorpios are naturally drawn to darkness, to digging deeper and looking beyond superficial illusions in order to seek the truth — no matter how taboo or disturbing that truth may be.

Of course, you do not have to be female or Scorpio to find yourself drawn to this world. Everyone has their own personal reasons. Chances are that these reasons are unexplainable — it’s something you feel passionate about beyond logic. And that’s reason enough.

This path is puzzling to outsiders. With so many nontoxic plants that offer a vast amount of benefits — why stray down that path? Everything I have previously mentioned should summarize that. This is for those who are brave enough to see through the illusion of “evil,” who are turned off by toxic positivity and “love and light,” who crave a healing so deep and transformative that non-deadly plants cannot offer, who are ready to confront their shadow selves, who desire to feel humbled through ego death… The list goes on.

Who is NOT intended to go down this dark and lonely road? This is NOT for those who like “dark and creepy” simply for the gimmicks and aesthetics of it, NOT for those who dislike doing their own research or asking questions, NOT for those who desire to follow trends and be a part of the mainstream, NOT for those who are easily disturbed, NOT for those who believe that ignorance is bliss, NOT for those who hope these plants will offer them a “quick high,” NOT for those who are unwilling to acknowledge and work with their shadow selves.

It’s not for everyone.

I cannot stress enough that this is not something to be explored by everyone. But anyone who knows me can trust me about this. I am extremely cautious, in many ways I am far too cautious. I am the type of person who requires an extensive amount of research before jumping into anything. This is not something I necessarily choose to practice (at this point) but something I want to learn more and more about. I would never, ever just pop a toxic plant into my mouth and hope for the best — that would be arrogant and ignorant. But as mentioned before, simply looking at a toxic plant comes with incredible healing powers. And so many plants found in perfumes and salves only become toxic at a high dosage. Anyway, this is me making my point about carefulness regarding my interest in this subject.

As I continue to learn, I’m excited to share more with others about poisonous plant medicine.