Author: Court Conwell
What are mushroom essences?
Vibrational medicine has been explored for a very long time, but Robert Rogers (The Fungal Pharmacy) is the first to document his experiences with mushroom essences.
Mushroom essences are an energetic and vibrational medicine that hail from the fungi kingdom. Unlike their solar cousins, flower essences, mushroom essences are made under lunar and specific astrological influences. Most of the essences are made from gilled and cup mushrooms as well as polypores and a few lichens using colloidal silver or rain water and are left out sometimes for an entire lunar cycle.
As each planet emits an energetic field, these planetary energetics are physically and vibrationally manifested through each mushroom by color, texture, appearance, and surrounding environment, also called the doctrine of signatures. Essences are not only made under specific astrological lunations, but also taken under specific lunations to enhance and support the planetary influences of the medicine.
For instance, Cinnabar polypore essence is made under the influence of the full moon in Aries, a fire sign often associated with hot headedness, leadership, and impatience. This essence supports those dealing with anger, frustration, and victimhood by allowing us to have discernment and patience as we navigate situations where we can choose to express our anger negatively or have the self-awareness to think the situation through before acting. The Cinnabar polypore mushroom is bright orange in color, a color often associated with the sacral chakra, the chakra of emotions and expression and is also associated with transformation.
How do they support us?
The lunar influence gives these essences a darker more yin energy than flower essences, allowing us to dive deeper into our shadow selves. They tend to rattle the parts of ourselves that may be difficult to confront or even feared, have been systematically suppressed, or traumatized. They represent what lies beneath and our primal truths giving us the awareness to grant ourselves permission to learn from these more clandestine self-realizations.
Due to the exact nature of mushrooms, mycelium and the fact that we share a common ancestor (opisthokonts), I believe they give us a connection to our ancestors, past life experiences, and a collective wisdom. They help us gain an awareness of the mythology of ourselves we have created and peel back the layers exposing the true exalted self.
Mushroom essences are taken for an entire lunar cycle and pair very well with flower essences as they can balance both the light and lunar energies. Flower essences can be the light that assist us in feeling grounded and not overwhelmed by the journey of self-discovery.
They sound very magical don’t they? Well, as much as they are a beautiful ally for us they do not do all the work. They offer support and gently nudge the door open for us and invite us to peer through the crack to find what is on the other side. We must be ready to do this work and use them as a tool because the true champion of these journeys is ourselves and the only thing that prevents our growth is fear.
Resources
Mushroom Essences, Robert Rogers
The Language of Plants: A Guide to the Doctrine of Signatures, Julia Graves
Medical Astrology, Judith Hill
Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert A. Johnson
