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Recently I went to the short workshop on Taoist Tonic Herbs, described here: http://thedaobums.com/topic/38494-gate-of-life-taoist-tonic-herbalism/ Rehmannia Dean Thomas arrived with many large bags of herbs, which he proceeded to unpack and then pass around for taste/smell/ examination while he told us about his tradition, Gate of Life Herbs, and the individual herbs. His website is ShamanShackHerbs.com Rehmannia apprenticed with Ron Teeguarden for 8 years. His little book, Elixirs of Immortality, (114 pages) has most of the history, theory, and herbs he discussed at the workshop, and I'd say is worth the $12, certainly to a newbie. The workshop was really interesting. He said tonic herbs were meant to be taken long term, to build the body and chi up, not so much to address specific symptoms, although the herbs will tend to eliminate symptoms over time. He discussed jing/qi/shen and herbs that supported each. Especially interesting to me were his comments on a traditional Chinese healers' tea, consisting of 4 herbs (dendrobium, goji, schizandra, and licorice root), intended to replace the energy hands-on-healers tend to lose as they practice. The main healers' herb was Dendrobium, but Rehmannia's healer tea, "Recharge," has a couple other herbs too, over and above the 4 traditional herbs. My interest might have ended there, but Rehmannia also offered a custom herb blend based on a pulse reading. He did a pretty good analysis by pulse, and then grabbed handfuls of different herbs (including LOTS of dendrobium!) into a fat quart size bag, which I took home to brew. Nearly 3 weeks later, I am impressed. I'm gonna be doin' this for awhile for sure. I don't know anything much about Taoist tonic herbs over and above this workshop, and will be happy to hear from others their experiences and comments. (Also happy to have this thread combined with the other current Taoist herb discussion in the thread titled "Vegan", but not under that thread title. )