Clinical Herbalist, permaculture mentor, and cultural alchemist, Sarah Wu is redefining what it means to live in harmony with the Earth. With over 23 years immersed in regenerative herbal medicine and holistic ecological systems, Sarah weaves together the ancient and the emergent—blending Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western Wise Woman traditions, Deep Ecology, and Whole Systems Design into a multidimensional educational experience for all who cross her path. As a co-founder of Costa Rica’s internationally acclaimed Envision Festival and a creator of off-grid learning sanctuaries, Sarah is a curator of transformation, both personal and planetary. She teaches not just herbs and anatomy, but also lunar rhythms, archetypal storytelling, evolutionary astrology, and the sacred power of place-making. Her work invites us to reconnect with the land, reimagine education, and reclaim the ancestral wisdom coded in our bodies and stories. In this compelling interview with Mystic Mag, Sarah shares her vision of “evolutionary anarchy”—a radical return to nature, community, and intuition. Through the lens of myth, medicine, and ecology, she calls us to listen, learn, and live with the Earth as guide and muse.
With roots in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Western Wise Woman Traditions, how do you weave these often very different philosophies together in your teaching and clinical work?
My work is very integrated. My initial studies in herbalism in the early 00s had a foundation in the energetics of Chinese Medicine, which was a way for me to connect to my own ancestral roots. Yet, what called to me even deeper was the rebirth of the Wise Woman Traditions as we see in modern witchcraft. Both practices, while they seem so vastly different, are actually quite similar in that they work with the energetic structure of the world, based on the elements and the interconnected relationship we have with our own bodies, spirit and the earth. So as I have developed my clinical and community herbalism practice over the last 25 years, I find that having a foundation in energetics is what helps me help others better. And along with that is a deep understanding of the energetics of the plants and mushrooms and how they behave in the ecosystem and inside our bodies. This allows me to formulate unique blends that suit each unique individual based on constitutional energetic patterns.
You’ve described your work as exploring ‘evolutionary anarchy.’ Can you share how that concept shows up in your permaculture or herbalism curriculum and why it matters in today’s ecological context?
I have explored a variety of political affiliations through the years and the one that always comes back to me, especially because of my work as an herbalist and in ecology is anarchism. It is a way of life that is constantly deconstructing the notions and practices of hierarchy. I have lived in a community for over 15years in various presentations, and sometimes, even in that there is a power dynamic that at times is supportive to the whole and at other times very harmful. What I witness often in the spiritual/new age community is the desire for Guruism or Mastery, neither of which I ascribe to, as I find both are rooted in systems of oppression. Where there is a master, there are slaves. In herbalism, even though I consider myself an advanced practitioner, this is based solely on my years in practice and study, yet, I would never call myself a master, I have no power over anyone, only my own power within. In the ecosystem, there are no hierarchies. Even the term “top of the food chain” is a misnomer. In progressive ecological syntax we use the term “key stone species”. This speaks to the level of dependency other organisms have on one another, yet, they are not fully reliant on them for survival. When we consider the path of anarchy, we see a lot of misunderstanding that it refers to chaos. In the evolutionary sense, we see this presenting more as smaller, bioregional community organizing that is reliant on their own capacity and resource division, and less and less upon municipal or state systems. In terms of herbalism, many practitioners do not believe in certification nor licensing, which means we do not have to answer to a board or power structure. In most cases, we self regulate each other and teach a strong foundational core ethic of do no harm, as well as act only within your scope of practice. Many young practitioners or influencers do not have solid training from seasoned herbalists, many just parroting what they hear others say or what they read and have actually very little foundation in clinical practice.
What type of services do you offer?
I work as a clinical and community herbalist. In clinical work I do long in-depth intakes and client assessments exploring the patterns and roots of dis-ease. And then I formulate herbal, mushroom, supplemental and food protocols. As a community herbalist I often answer texts and calls about health concerns from my neighbors and I dispense herbal formulas from my home apothecary. I have been practicing herbalism for 25 years and also teach all aspects of the practice, such as anatomy and physiology, medicine making, formulations, constitutional assessment, materia medica, ethnobotany, ethics, and plant spirit medicine. Lately, I most often offer Tarot readings both in person and virtually, which I absolutely love doing! I am a student of archetypal psychology, astrology, symbolism, world religion and myth with a degree in Art History. Channeling the Tarot to help people understand the energy of a situation brings me so much joy! I also have supported people in my community with space cleansing and cord cutting rituals. As a permacultures, I help people design and plan out their gardens, food forests and regenerative infrastructure like erosion prevention, rain catchment systems, composting and small animal integration.
As someone who teaches archetypal storytelling through Tarot and Evolutionary Astrology, how do these symbolic systems support personal and collective transformation within your regenerative frameworks?
I love this question. My world revolves around patterns, energetics and metaphor. I have a stellium in Pisces so it comes very natural to me to see beyond the literal. I see ecology as the foundation for all understanding of the human condition and experience, so I often turn to the ecosystem as a reference to our own behaviors and actions. When humans learn to understand the alchemical proverb “as within, so without”, we realize we are not so alone in our lives, that there are bigger things at play and also that our existence, for all its complications is also pretty simplistic. Speaking through digestible stories and metaphors helps people understand who they are in relationship to the whole, seeing themselves as integrated and interconnected. My goal is always for people to weave themselves back into the fabric of nature, which starts with connection to the elements.
With your background in Art History and altar creation, how do you integrate visual storytelling and sacred space-making into the events and learning environments you produce?
As an event producer and a Taurus Moon, I love the spaces I curate to feel deeply nourishing and comfortable. I want people to know they are safe and welcomed. I tend toward warm colors of the lower chakras, greens, warm blues and fresh plants. I also love to consider what we imbibe in our gatherings. Working with herbal elixirs, healthy food and plants. When I read the Tarot, teach about plants or ecology, I am constantly sharing the touch, taste and sensations. And I speak with my hands a lot as well as demonstrate. I understand from all my years as a teacher that people learn and absorb information differently so it is important to find how people learn and adjust to their needs, offering a variety of exercises, methods, and environments.
With so much global experience—from Central America to Europe—how do you see cultural attitudes toward land stewardship evolving, and where do you feel the most inspired by grassroots ecological movements?
I have the great privilege of my passport to be able to travel and the freedom of being without children. So having the opportunities to travel the world and offer my teachings is a huge blessing. I have been in land stewardship practices and participating in an ecological lifestyle since 2001, the same time I started working with medicine plants, studying Tarot and practicing my spirituality as a witch. Since then I have seen a huge movement toward animist, earth based spirituality and a huge embrace of herbalism. For decades herbs were shunned or considered irrelevant, now since the obvious failure of the modern medical systems to support people as whole beings we see a renaissance in herbalism. Which has its limitations as well, especially with the commodification and trends toward specific endangered species like White Sage. So while I am happy we are trending, I do not want to be trendy. I want people to learn their bioregion and community sufficiency, not buying whatever is popular to be on the train of hipness. I also want to acknowledge that I deeply honor modern medicine and medical professionals, none of them go into it wanting to cause harm, it’s the systems that are designed poorly to not be as supportive as they could be. What I see globally is that people are interested in whole systems approaches, and opening their eyes to the dire need for earth connection. Too many of us have been severed from the world soul, from our indigenous selves. We feel this deep within our bones. I believe herbalism or gardening or working with plants and soil in any regenerative capacity is our way of finding ourselves again. Of remaking, reclaiming and restoring what was systematically oppressed. What inspires me the most is seeing people motivated to unlearn what they have been taught by systems of oppression, and to put themselves in the discomfort of the growth zone.
