Aries Astro-Herbalism with Kyle (Tippecanoe Herbs) & Michelle Lundquist
The Astro-Herbalism journey continues tonight, as we explore the plant signatures that indicate Aries attributes. Returning to enlighten us are Kyle Denton (Tippecanoe Herbs), Michelle Lundquist (Michelle's Healing Home), and Mario Garza (Symbolic Studies). It's going to be a fiery one!
Plus+InnerVerse Plus+
InnerVerse Plus+Hear every full episode
Every extended episode, the complete Plus+ archive, premium video and a private podcast feed for your app.
Cancel any time.
Get tuned with Chance
Tuning forks find where energy is stuck in the field around your body and bring it back into flow. Sessions over Zoom, recorded for you to keep.
30 Minute Consultations
Have something to look at, or looking for guidance? We can consult oracular tools, read your chart, or just talk through whatever you choose.
In this episode
Core themes
The Emperor Card and Aries Symbolism
Mario described an Emperor card breakdown from his previous stream, pointing out that the Rider Waite Emperor looked like a central world mountain and that the number four ran through the legs, the month of April and the sign. Chance opened by calling the vernal equinox the greatest burst of life force in the yearly cycle. Together the group traced rams, sacrifice and fire through the card, and Mario described the Aries glyph as a sprout and as the top of a heart shape.
Fire Correspondences and Ram Wordplay
Mario shared an elemental study packet and said he linked fire with multiplication, the X, plasma and the salamander. Kyle said his surname Denton led him to play with the words dent and identify, and the group joked about it. Throughout the night the hosts and guests swapped letter swaps and anagrams, from mace and magi to March and Mars, and Mario described how a parade drum major with a mace echoed the leading ram of the zodiac.
Cayenne and Thompsonian Medicine
Kyle presented cayenne as his Aries herb and said he linked it to the head and sinuses. He relayed a claim attributed to Dr. Christopher about first aid and credited Samuel Thompson with spreading heat based herbal practice across early America. Kyle said he had used it on cuts at his shop, and a short video of him doing so was played on the show. Michelle said she reached for nettle first for seasonal allergies and described the cayenne flower essence.
Cinnamon, Garlic Mustard and Horseradish
Michelle described cinnamon bark curling into the Aries glyph and being harvested when the leaves turn red, while another speaker linked the name cassia to Cassiopeia. Kyle argued that garlic mustard deserved an ecological rather than eradication mindset, relaying research he attributed to a Cornell scientist. Michelle then presented horseradish in her fire cider, and Chance noted that the Latin name cochlearia pointed to the spiral of the ear and a ram's horn.
Ginger, Cordyceps and Spilanthes
Kyle described ginger through the bear that wakes from winter and said he saw it as a warming root, with a note about who it might not suit. Chance added cordyceps as an Aries fit, citing the lore of goats and shepherds and the military in the species name. Michelle closed the plant round with spilanthes, the toothache plant, recalling how strongly it affected her when she first chewed a leaf, and then shared news of her full moon soap offering.
Quotes
“Aries is quite a phenomenal, super extra special sign to talk about because at least in my opinion, the vernal equinox upon which it falls or begins I should say, springs not falls, happens to also be the greatest explosion of life force energy that we see in the realm in the cyclical increase and decline of life as the year goes through.”
“There's also another fun thing that I was thinking about because I was listening to Gabe's work recently and he was talking about indentured servitude and my last name is Denton. So I was thinking about, hmm, I'm not indent, I'm dent. Does that make me free?”
“The first thing that I just have to point out is on the Rider Waite version, does the Emperor not look like he's supposed to be the central mountain, right? A world mountain, Mount Meru. So there's the stability that comes with the mountain.”
“I almost look at the X as like two fire sticks that are rubbing together. And then the way that fire multiplies, right? So I look at the state of matter as being plasma.”
“Some of the things that make me think about cayenne for this placement in Aries is its relationship to the top of the head, the sinuses, how warming it is. It's one of the most igniting plants that you can take.”
“And so I think cayenne is really instrumental for the development of the Americas in the West because it was your everyday, you know, Joe farmer guy's herb that they would use for any form of illness.”
“With the cayenne, I just love the fact that, you know, obviously it's blazing red and then that connection to blood. You can't deny that that is totally just a match made in heaven kind of thing.”
“I think it's so symbolic too, that nettle is like one of the first wild greens that pops up in the forest. So it's almost like showing you that, hey, I'm gonna be of assistance with some of the maybe seasonal allergies that pop up right away.”
“And so my question, when I see these invasive plants in our landscape is more of a holistic question, which is what is the ecological function? Like what is the reason why these things are here?”
“And now that's the flower essence of cayenne. So you can see that it carries over that same on a physical plane, what cayenne will help you do, but the flower essence carrying that same spiritual, emotional medicine for you.”
“So anyway, I just wanted to bring that weave forward. Another great example of the obvious affinity between Sanskrit and Latin that seems to go widely unnoticed, but what does it mean that horseradish is referencing this spiral cochlea snail ear shape thing?”
“And then the most interesting part about it is, maybe someone else can elucidate more about the way that cordyceps mushroom grows. But correct me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't it grow out of an insect's head? It grows out of something's head, right? So the Aries is the head. It's Cordyceps militaris. That's the name.”
Kyle Denton is a community herbalist and medicine maker from Wisconsin who founded Tippecanoe Herbs with his wife Serena Marinelli in 2015. From their Milwaukee apothecary they craft small batch remedies from locally harvested and organic herbs, working from a bio terrain philosophy that blends Ayurveda with Western herbalism. He also runs Root Radical Herbal Academy, has taught for over a decade through his annual three season class and his Milwaukee herb walks, and sees clients as the Tuning Herbalist, using tuning forks to read the biofield. His Substack and podcast, Resonature, explore the interval between vital herbalism, biofield tuning and cosmology.
See all Kyle episodes→Kyle and Serena Denton are community herbalists creating wild-crafted and organic plant medicines out of Milwaukee since 2015. I have used their teas and tinctures on an almost daily basis for years now. Kyle is a great friend of InnerVerse and has appeared on the channel more times than I can count. These products work, not in the allopathic "pharma-medicine" way, but in a terrain-support, consciousness bolstering plant-teacher sort of way.
