A Different Look at Mushrooms – Introducing Feral Fungi
At Community Pharmacy, we’ve long embraced and educated customers about the healing and fortifying properties of mushrooms. They are some of the most useful and powerful medicines in the natural world. We’re now thrilled to offer a line of mushrooms that reaches beyond the physiological benefits different fungal species can offer. Introducing Feral Fungi, a line of spagyrically prepared, uniquely holistic extracts.
What is a spagyric?
Spagyric (spa-jeer-ik) is a term coined by the 16th century Swiss chemist, physician, and alchemist, Paracelsus. Meaning to separate and re-combine, it comes from the Greek Spao (to separate) and Agiero (to recombine/re-awaken). Unlike standard tinctures, spagyric tinctures include the addition of purified mineral salts from the material being tinctured. Spagyric preparations of a plant medicine also consider the cosmology of the material being used. Spagyric preparations are rooted in Alchemy.
What makes Feral Fungi different?
All Feral Fungi tinctures are dual extracted, using gentle heat, from the fruiting body of mushrooms. This yields a high concentration of healing primary and secondary metabolites (polysaccharides, terpenes, sterols, and phenols) and a full complement of constituents. It also ensures the capture of the subtle volatile compounds that would otherwise escape, helping to create full-bodied and dynamic tinctures. Additionally, each tincture is imbibed with the purified mineral salts extracted from the tincture’s mushroom material. These mineral salts philosophically stand as the body of the mushroom and physiologically are a complex of trace minerals.
Feral Fungi makes its preparations in accordance to a system of planetary associations,carefully considering each mushroom’s unique cosmology. Traditionally, different plants are associated with different planets and worked with accordingly. At Feral Fungi, each mushroom has been assigned a planetary correspondence based on its physical appearance and attributes, physiological properties and qualities, and energetics. Each mushroom is processed under that planetary influence to exalt the final tincture. This framework for looking at fungi through the lens of traditional Alchemy was developed by Feral Fungi founder Jason Scott and is known as AlcheMycology.
Sourcing the Mushrooms
All of Feral Fungi’s raw mushrooms are either ethically wild-harvested or sustainably cultivated in North America. Feral Fungi works closely with mushroom farmers and foragers in the Pacific Northwest to attain most of the mushrooms they use. Chaga is the one exception; it comes from foragers between the Midwest and Alaska.
Feral Fungi Products
We currently carry the following Feral Fungi tinctures, and we’re excited to share our knowledge about them with you. Stop in to speak to staff members about their experiences with these amazing extracts.
Lion's Mane -- Supports the entire nervous system, especially pathways and connections in the brain and stomach. Can help the body adapt to stress and pain. Supportive of healthy inflammation response.
Reishi -- “Mushoom of Immortality.” Supportive of a healthy immune response, circulation, cholesterol, and overall vitality. Helps the body adapt to stress and nourishes the nervous system.
Cordyceps -- Promotes healthy oxygenation, as well as healthy kidney and liver function. Shown to promote vitality and stamina and a healthy inflammation response.
Chaga -- Supports the innate function of the immune system and assists the body with oxidative stress.
Usnea -- Supports the respiratory system and urinary tract through acute infection, as well as the body’s innate immune response.
Myco-Breathe -- A combination of Reishi, Cordyceps, Usnea, Chaga, and Artist Conk, this formula supports respiratory function. It uplifts and energizes the body by helping it naturally access oxygen that it needs.