The Journal

Essays from Dr. Carina Lopez and Sakis Stamou, the founders of Vitalist Healing Traditions Society, on herbalism, homeopathy, healing foods, Eastern dietetics and reading the body as it presents itself.

Read by tradition: homeopathy, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, herbalism, Eastern dietetics and iridology and sclerology.

A hand-coloured botanical plate of Arnica montana: three golden daisy-like flower heads on tall stems above a rosette of broad green leaves and a short brown rootstock, with small studies of single florets at the edges.

HHomeopathyArnica Montana: The Mountain Remedy in Homeopathyby Dr. Carina Lopez/November 7, 2026/11 min read/26 views/0 commentsExplore Arnica montana in homeopathy: the mountain daisy, Hahnemann's proving and portrait, his method of preparation, and how to read a 30C label.

A cubist still life of purple pasque flowers with feathery green leaves in a pale pink jug, set on a folded brown cloth beside a dark bottle, a green candlestick and a small blue matchbox, against a grey dappled wall.

HomeopathyWhat Is a Constitutional Remedy? Homeopathy’s Whole-Person Portraitby Dr. Carina Lopez 02

A Chinese woodblock print of a standing figure seen from behind, with lines marking the places for gua sha strokes at the back of the head, along both sides of the spine and behind the knees.

Chinese MedicineGua Sha and Cupping: How to Use Chinese Medicine’s Hands-On Traditionsby Dr. Carina Lopez 03

An oil painting of a sandy village lane in summer, with elder bushes in white flower leaning over a weathered wooden fence beside thatched red cottages.

HerbalismElderberry Syrup: The Folk Recipe and Its Historyby Sakis Stamou 04

An engraving of Father Sebastian Kneipp speaking from a raised lectern in a long timber hall, before a dense crowd of listeners in hats and bonnets.

NaturopathyHydrotherapy: Sebastian Kneipp and the Art of Waterby Dr. Carina Lopez

A medieval painting of a walled garden in bloom: women read, gather cherries and draw water among irises, lilies, roses and small flowering herbs, with birds along the wall.

Herbalism

The Medicinal Herb Garden: What to Grow and Gather

Sakis Stamou/October 24, 2026/9 min read

A medicinal herb garden brings the old apothecary to your door. Discover which medicinal herbs to grow, where to plant them, and how to harvest and dry them.

Botanical plate of yarrow from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887), showing the white flower heads, feathery leaves and roots with detailed studies of each tiny flower.

Herbalism

What Are Herbal Actions? How Plants Work With the Body

Sakis Stamou/October 22, 2026/9 min read

Herbal actions describe what a plant does to living tissue: it tightens, moistens, warms, relaxes, wakes digestion or opens the […]

Foundations Calm & Clarity Herbs & Teas

A round sixteenth-century drawing by Jörg Breu the Elder of the four temperaments, figures gathered in a wooded landscape beneath a Latin inscription.

Herbalism

The Four Temperaments: How Herbalists Read Constitution

Sakis Stamou/October 22, 2026/9 min read

A constitution is the steady baseline of a person: how they tend to run across a lifetime. The four temperaments […]

Deep Dive Constitution & Temperament Herbs & Teas

Painting of an apothecary's distillery in Amsterdam, with shelves of jars, a copper kettle and figures at work in soft window light.

Herbalism

The History of Herbalism: From Apothecary to Pharmacy

Sakis Stamou/October 22, 2026/8 min read

The history of herbalism runs through nearly all of recorded time: for millennia the healing arts were herbal, and pharmacy […]

History & Lineage Herbs & Teas

Botanical plate of goldenseal from Millspaugh's American Medicinal Plants (1887), with its broad lobed leaf, raspberry-like red fruit and golden root.

Herbalism

Respect for the Plants: Potency, Sustainability and Learning Well

Sakis Stamou/October 22, 2026/8 min read

Every serious herbal tradition teaches respect for the strength of plants. Many of the herbs that history remembers became remedies […]

Foundations Herbs & Teas

Homeopathy

Homeopathy vs Naturopathy: What Is the Difference?

Dr. Carina Lopez/October 18, 2026/18 min read

Homeopathy is a specific system of individualized remedies; naturopathy is a broader whole-person approach that may include it. Compare their history, published research and how to choose.

Comparison Homeopathic Remedies

A dim seventeenth-century apothecary workshop: a bearded man pours liquid into blue storage jars, surrounded by copper bowls, a sack of fresh leaves and a copper still.

Herbalism

Building a Home Apothecary: Ten Herbs Worth Keeping

Sakis Stamou/July 30, 2026/8 min read

A home apothecary is a small, well-chosen shelf of dried herbs. Meet ten classic apothecary herbs and learn how to start, label and store your own.

How-To Guide Herbs & Teas

Van Gogh painting of three women picking olives in a grove of twisted trees, one on a wooden ladder and two standing beside it, under a sky of pink brushstrokes.

Herbalism

What Is Cold-Pressed Oil? The Living Fats That Nourish

Sakis Stamou/July 30, 2026/10 min read

Cold-pressed oil is pressed with no heat applied, so its colour, aroma and character survive. Here is how it differs from refined oil and how to keep it.

Deep Dive Digestion & Nourishment Foods & Recipes

A seventeenth-century painting of an alchemist's workshop: an old bearded man in a fur cap reads a book and stirs a small pot while an assistant kneels at a brick furnace beside copper and glass stills.

Herbalism

What Is Spagyric? Herbal Alchemy and the Spagyric Tincture

Sakis Stamou/July 30, 2026/8 min read

Spagyric is the alchemical art of separating a plant into its parts and reuniting them, salts and all. Here is what the word means and how a spagyric tincture is made.

How-To Guide Tinctures & Spagyrics

Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi (c. 1540): a poised noblewoman with clear, direct eyes in red velvet.

Iridology & Sclerology

Sclerology Chart: Reading the Whites of the Eyes

Dr. Carina Lopez/July 30, 2026/10 min read

A sclerology chart maps the white of the eye like a clock face. Here is how the chart is drawn, how a reader moves around the whites of the eyes and where the practice comes from.

Foundations Constitution & Temperament

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