Of all the recipes I’ve done, my favorite and one of the simplest, is to add lavender buds into the blender with the salts and grind them into it.  It intensifies the smell incredibly, but even then I’m not above adding a drop or two of lavender essential oil on top of it, and then it’s off the charts!!

Another really easy thing you can do is pick up a clear bottle with a cork stopper, I get mine at thrift stores, it’s rare not to find one.  Make enough salts to completely fill the bottle, then separate it into 2 zip-lock bags, make sure they are definitely zipped!  Prior to closing the bags add a colorant to each, maybe something that matches the bathroom colors, and two nicely corresponding fragrances.  This is where surety of closure is a must, shake the bags really hard, until the color, and oil, is mixed in well.  Grab a funnel, and just like sand art, stack stripes of alternating color.  Get it close enough to the top of the bottle that when you push the cork in firmly, all the stripes are held in place.

I’ve added blanched almonds and oats, that have also been ground in the blender, with a dash of almond scent or even almond extract.  Vanilla extract makes a really nice simple bath as well.  Obviously you can add dried herbs with the essential oils and use a tea-ball, knee-hi stocking, or any other thing that wouls allow the salts out while holding the herb’s in.  I’ve had a good time with this project in the past trying to come up with better and better recipes, although sometimes it seems like a great idea in my mind, but my nose, and anyone else’s in smelling range tells a far different story.  But like any good craft project the failures can sometimes be more fun than the success!!!!

herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It is simple, safe, effective, and free. Our ancestors used – and our neighbors around the world still use – plant medicines for healing and health maintenance. It’s easy. You can do it too, and you don’t need a degree or any special training. Ancient memories arise in you when you begin to use herbal medicine – memories which keep you safe and fill you with delight. These lessons are designed to nourish and activate your inner herbalist so you can be your own herbal expert.

In our first session, we learned how to “listen” to the messages of plant’s tastes. In session two, we learned about simples and how to make effective water-based herbal remedies. The third session helped us distinguish safe nourishing and tonifying herbs from the more dangerous stimulating and sedating herbs. Our fourth session focused on poisons in herbs and herbal tinctures, which we made and then collected into an herbal Medicine Chest.

In this, our fifth session, we will find out how to help ourselves and our families with herbal vinegars, one of the green blessings of the Wise Woman Way.

Why Use herbal Vinegars?

herbal vinegars are an unstoppable combination: they marry the healing and nutritional properties of apple cider vinegar with the mineral and antioxidant richness of health-protective green herbs and wild roots. herbal vinegars are tasty medicine, enriching and enlivening our food while building health from the inside out.

herbal vinegars are far better for the bones and the heart than soy beverages. They have a reputation for banishing grey hair and wrinkles. Sprayed in the armpits, herbal vinegars are highly effective deodorants. As a hair rinse (try rosemary or lavender vinegar) they add luster and eliminate split ends.

Anything vinegar can do, including clean the kitchen, herbal vinegars can do better.

Vinegars Seek Minerals

Minerals are important for the health and proper functioning of our bones, our heart and blood vessels, our nerves, our brain (especially memory), our immune system, and our hormonal glands. No wonder lack of minerals can lead to chronic problems and getting more can make a big difference in health in a few weeks. One of the best ways to get more minerals – besides drinking nourishing herbal infusions and eating well-cooked leafy greens – is to use herbal vinegars.

Vinegar & Your Bones

It is not true that ingesting vinegar will erode your bones. Adding vinegar to your food actually helps build bones because it frees up minerals from the vegetables you eat and increases the ability of the stomach to digest minerals. Adding a splash of vinegar to cooked greens is a classic trick of old ladies who want to be spry and flexible when they’re ancient old ladies. (Maybe your granny already taught you this?) In fact, a spoonful of vinegar on your broccoli or kale or dandelion greens increases the calcium you get by one-third. All by itself, apple cider vinegar is said to help build bones; when enriched with minerals from herbs, I think of it as better than calcium pills.

Vinegar & Candida

Some people worry that eating vinegar will upset the balance of gut flora and contribute to an overgrowth of candida yeast in the intestines. Some people have been told to avoid vinegar altogether. My experience has led me to believe that herbal vinegars help heal those with candida overgrowth, perhaps because they’re so mineral rich. I’ve worked with women who have suffered for years and kept to a strict “anti-candida” diet with little improvement, and seen them get better fast when they add nourishing herbal vinegars (and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, miso, and yogurt) to their diets.

Making herbal Vinegars

Fill any size jar with fresh-cut aromatic herbs: leaves, stalks, flowers, fruits, roots, and even nuts can be used. For best results and highest mineral content, be sure the jar is well filled and chop the herb finely.

Pour room-temperature vinegar into the jar until it is full. Cover jar: A plastic screw-on lid, several layers of plastic or wax paper held on with a rubber band, or a cork are the best covers. Avoid metal lids – or protect them well with plastic – as vinegar will corrode them.

Label the jar with the name of the herb and the date. Put it some place away from direct sunlight, though it doesn’t have to be in the dark, and someplace that isn’t too hot, but not too cold either. A kitchen cupboard is fine, but choose one that you open a lot so you remember to use your vinegar, which will be ready in six weeks.

You can decant your vinegar into a beautiful serving container, or use it right from the jar you made it in.

Which Vinegar?

I use regular pasteurized apple cider vinegar from the supermarket as the menstrum for my herbal vinegars. I avoid white vinegar. Malt vinegar, rice vinegar, and wine vinegar can be used but they are more expensive and may overpower the flavor of the herbs.

Apple cider vinegar has been used as a health-giving agent for centuries. Hippocrates, father of medicine, is said to have used only two remedies: honey and apple cider vinegar. Some of the many benefits of apple cider vinegar include: better digestion, reduction of cholesterol, improvements in blood pressure, prevention/care of osteoporosis, normalization of thyroid/metabolic functioning, possible reduction of cancer risk, and lessening of wrinkles and grey hair.

Notes for herbal Vinegar Makers

{   Collect jars of different sizes for your vinegars. I especially like baby food jars, mustard jars, olive jars, peanut butter jars and individual juice jars. Look for plastic lids.

{   The wider the mouth of the jar, the easier it will be to remove the plant material when you’re done.

{   Always fill jar to the top with plant material and vinegar; never fill a jar only part way.

{   Really fill the jar. This will take far more herb or root than you would think. How much? With leaves and stems, make a comfortable mattress for a fairy: not too tight; not too loose. With roots, fill your jar to within a thumb’s width of the top.

{   After decanting your vinegar into a beautiful jar, add a spring of whole herb. Pretty.

My Favorite herbal Vinegar

Pick the needles of white pine on a sunny day. Make herbal vinegar with them. Inhale deeply the scent of the forest. I call this my “homemade balsamic vinegar.”

Using Your Vinegars

herbal vinegars taste so good, you’ll want to use them frequently. Regular use boosts the nutrient level of your diet with very little effort and virtually no expense.

{   Pour a spoonful or more on beans and grains as a condiment.

{   Use them in salad dressings.

{   Add them to cooked greens.

{   Season stir-fries with them.

{   Look for soups that are vinegar friendly, like borscht.

{   Substitute herbal vinegar for plain vinegar in any recipe.

{   Put a big spoonful in a glass of water and drink it. Try it sweetened with blackstrap molasses for a real mineral jolt. Many older women swear this “coffee substitute” prevents and eases their arthritic pains.

Coming Up

In our next sessions we will learn more about herbal medicine making, with a focus on oils, explore the difference between fixing disease and promoting health, learn how to apply the three traditions of healing, and how to take charge of our own health care with the six steps of healing.

Experiment Number One

Test vinegar’s ability to absorb minerals. Put a fresh bone in a jar and completely cover it with vinegar. What happens? Does the bone become pliable and rubbery? How long does it take? Will eating vinegar dissolve your bones? Only if you take off your skin and sit in it for weeks!

Experiment Number Two

Make eggshell vinegar. Fill a jar one-quarter full of vinegar. Drop crushed eggshell into it. What happens? Does the vinegar foam? How long does it take? Eggshells are exceptionally rich in bone-building minerals. Can you taste the calcium in this vinegar? Add some eggshell to your other vinegars if you wish to increase their ability to keep your bones strong.

Experiment Number Three

Make four or more vinegars with the same plant, using different types of vinegar, including both pasteurized and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. (For the others, use rice vinegar, malt vinegar, wine vinegar, or even white vinegar, but not umeboshi vinegar.)

Taste your vinegars daily for a week, then weekly for five more weeks. You may, if you wish, decant some of your vinegars for use after six weeks. But you may also wish to keep observing them as they age (for years, if you wish). I have some vinegars which are more than thirty years old and still in good shape. Note which stay edible the longest, and what happens to those that become inedible.

Experiment Number Four

Buy a quart or more of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. Use two cups to make several small herbal vinegars: one with roots, one with leaves, and one with flowers. Boil the other two cups. Make one herbal vinegar with the boiling hot vinegar. Make another with the boiled vinegar after it has cooled. Continue as in experiment number three.

Further study

1. Redo experiment number two using different kinds of eggshells – white ones and brown ones, store-bought and farm-bought, from caged birds and free-range birds. Can you see any differences? Taste or smell any differences?
2. Make vinegars at different times of the year and compare them.

Advanced work

{   Unpasteurized vinegar can form a “mother.” In a jar filled with herb and vinegar, the vinegar mother usually grows across the top of the herb, and looking rather like a damp, thin pancake. Kombucha is a vinegar mother. Does your local health food store sell mothers? Kombucha? What is a vinegar mother? Is it harmful?

{   What is an ionic form of a mineral?

{   What is a mineral salt?

{   How do our bodies take up and utilize minerals?

Plants That Make Exceptionally Good-Tasting herbal Vinegars

Apple mint (Mentha sp.) leaves, stalks
Bee balm (Monarda didyma) flowers, leaves, stalks
Bergamot (Monarda sp.) flowers, leaves, stalks
Burdock (Arctium lappa) roots
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) leaves, stalks
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) leaves, roots
Chives and especially chive blossoms
Dandelion (Taraxacum off.) flower buds, leaves, roots
Dill (Anethum graveolens) herb, seeds
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) herb, seeds
Garlic (Allium sativum) bulbs, greens, flowers
Garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis) leaves and roots
Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) flowers
Ginger (Zingiber off.) and Wild ginger (Asarum canadensis) roots
Lavender (Lavendula sp.) flowers, leaves
Mugwort (emisia vulgaris) new growth leaves and roots
Orange mint (Mentha sp.) leaves, stalks
Orange peel, organic only
Peppermint (Mentha piperata and etc.) leaves, stalks
Perilla (Shiso) (Agastache) leaves, stalks
Rosemary (Rosmarinus off.) leaves, stalks
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) leaves, stalks
Thyme (Thymus sp.) leaves, stalks
White pine (Pinus strobus) needles
Yarrow (Achilllea millifolium) flowers and leaves

Weedy herbal Calcium Supplement

Use one or more of the following plants to make an herbal vinegar that can reverse and counter osteoporosis. Dose is 2-4 tablespoons daily.
Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus) leaves
Cabbage leaves
Chickweed (Stellaria media) whole herb
Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) leaves
Cronewort/Mugwort (emisia vulgaris) young leaves
Dandelion (Taraxacum off.) leaves and root
Kale leaves
Lambsquarter (Chenopodium album) leaves
Mallow (Malva neglecta) leaves
Mint leaves of all sorts, especially sage, motherwort, lemon balm, lavender, peppermint
Nettle (Urtica dioica) leaves
Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) leaves
Plantain (Plantago majus) leaves
Raspberry (Rubus species) leaves
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) blossoms
Violet (Viola odorata) leaves
Yellow dock (Rumex crispus and other species) roots

herbal Vinegars Where You Eat the Pickled Plants Too

Burdock
Chicory
Dandelion
Purslane
Yellow Dock
Rosehips
Raspberries/blackberries

Study with Susun Weed in the convenience of your home! Choose from three Correspondence Courses: Green Allies, Spirit & Practice of the Wise Woman Tradition, and Green Witch – includes audio/video tapes, books, assignments, special mailings, plus personal time.  Learn more at http://www.susunweed.com or write to:

You will need 1tsp. of each of the following herbs:

Lavender, Chamomile, and Jasmine

You will also need about 1 cup of lemon juice.

Bring approximately ¾ of a gallon of water to a boil and add the herbs.  Remove the pot from the heat and steep the herbs for a minimum of 5 minutes (longer if you want a stronger flavor).  Strain the mixture and place in a pitcher, add the lemon juice and ½ to 1 cup of sugar or other desired sweetener and stir.  Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Serve over ice and enjoy.

Madame Mora’s herbal

This class is designed to show the practical application of herbs to assist with everyday needs.  The lessons printed will not outline “magical” uses for the herbs, but, if questions on this topic rise, please feel free to ask.

Also, please remember, the information in this class is a look at herbal therapies that may show promise as adjunctive treatments to conventional medical approaches, and is not meant to give specific recommendations or advise for the treatment of a specific illness, nor is it intended to be a replacement for good medical diagnosis and treatment.

I love herbs, as most witches do.  They give so much and ask so little, and under the right circumstances, can these bad boys pack a wallop!  In this type of venue our readers can be beginners, or seasoned veterans so it’s a challenge to write something that will hopefully have something for everyone.

There are different methods of working with herbs, but before you begin trying different uses I cannot emphasize safety enough!  If you don’t already have one, invest in a good herbal reference book.  There are 2 by Scott Cunningham, Magical

Methods of working with Herbs

Infusion: An infusion, or potion is basically soaking herbs in hot water to be drunk, put into a bath, wiped on surfaces, sprinkled around, and applied to the body.  If you have an old coffee maker that you won’t be making coffee in, the paper filter does a great job of straining the herbs, and heats the water quickly.

* For every one cup of water, use one teaspoon of herb.

*  Cover the infusion so no steam evaporates and let it stand about 10 minutes

NOTE: Be absolutely certain that any herbs used in this manner are safe!!!

Bath: Bathing in herbs is a simple way to utilize their power.  Either use a cheesecloth sachet, (half to one cup of herb) or a strained infusion to put into the bath.

Ointment:  An ointment is made by using lard or vegetable shortening, which smells way better than lard.  I have experimented and used coconut oil, it is solid contrary to the name, and have used vaseline.  Wander the cosmetic aisles and I’m sure the possibilities are endless.  Apply the ointment to the body, usually to the pulse points.

Sachet:  Also known as charm bags, mojo bags, or gris-gris bags.  You can either carry them personally or place them in a particular location.  You can use either a small pouch or bag and add the appropriate herb, or mixture of herbs, or you can simply lay the herbs in the center of a piece of cloth, or handkerchief and tie it closed.  Usually a tablespoon of herbs is sufficient

This brings us to herbal incense which is burned on a charcoal block.  Just as the coffemaker is a tool of convenience, if you grind a lot of herbs, a coffee grinder works well.  I recently received a helpful tip from my niece however, if you’ll be using it alot make sure to get one with multiple speeds, the simple on/off variety can’t take the strain.

The simplest way to use herb power is to light a candle of your choice and sprinkle  the herbs around the base.

Be brave, use blends that appeal to you, see what kind of wild herbs you have in your area, be certain they’re safe then add them.  If you’re lucky enough to live where you can get lily of the valley flowers and mint mix it with coconut oil and you’ll have a skin cream that blows the high dollar brands out of the water!!!

For this recipe you will need 20oz of granulated white sugar, 4oz oil (olive, mineral, etc…), and the essential (can substitute scented) oils of lavender, chamomile, and rose.

Take half the sugar and half the carrier oil and mix, once mixed add 8 drops each of the lavender, chamomile, and rose oils and mix again.  Then take the remaining half of the sugar and carrier oils and mix them with the already mixed portion and add an additional 8 drops each of the flower scents and mix another time.

At this point, smell the mixture and add more scent if desired.

Once complete use in the tub or shower on particularly rough patches of skin or all over to exfoliate.

Madame Mora’s herbal

This class is designed to show the practical application of herbs to assist with everyday needs.  The lessons printed will not outline “magical” uses for the herbs, but, if questions on this topic rise, please feel free to ask.

Also, please remember, the information in this class is a look at herbal therapies that may show promise as adjunctive treatments to conventional medical approaches, and is not meant to give specific recommendations or advise for the treatment of a specific illness, nor is it intended to be a replacement for good medical diagnosis and treatment.

Part 1

herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It is simple, safe, effective, and free. Our ancestors knew how to use an enormous variety of plants for health and well-being. Our neighbors around the world continue to use local plants for healing and health maintenance.  You can too.

Learning About Herbs

Information on herbs and their uses has been passed down to us in many ways: through stories, in books, set to music, and incorporated into our everyday speech. Learning about herbs is fun, fascinating, and easy to do no matter where you live or what your circumstances. It is an adventure that makes use of all of your senses. Reading about herbal medicine is fascinating, and a great way to learn how others have used plants. But the real authorities are the plants themselves. They speak to us through their smells, tastes, forms, and colors.

Anyone who is willing to take the time to get to know the plants around them will discover a wealth of health-promoting green allies. What stops us? Fear. We fear that we will use the wrong plant. We fear poisoning ourselves. We fear the plants themselves.

These fears are wise. But they need not keep us from using the abundant remedies of nature.  A few simple guidelines can protect you and help you make sense of herbal medicine. This series of short articles will offer you easy-to-remember rules for using herbs simply and safely. When you have completed all eight parts of this series, you will be using herbs confidently and successfully to keep yourself and your loved ones whole/healthy/holy.

Survival is a Matter of Taste

Virtually all plants contain poisons. After all, they don’t want to be eaten!  Because we have evolved eating plants, we have the capacity to neutralize or remove (through preparation or digestion) their poisons. Not all poisons kill, and even poisons that are deadly often need to be taken in quantities far larger than can easily be obtained from foods. (Apple seeds contain a lethal poison but it takes a quart of them to cause death.)

Our senses of taste and smell are registered in the part of the brain that maintains respiration and circulation – in other words, the survival center. Plants (but not mushrooms) advertise their poisons by tasting bad or smelling foul. Of the four primary kinds of poisons found in plants – alkaloids, glycosides, resins, and essential oils – the first two always taste bitter or cause a variety of noxious reactions on the oral tissues, and the last two usually do, especially when removed from the plant or concentrated.

Sometimes the taste of the poison in a plant is hidden by large amounts of sweet-tasting starch. Fortunately, human saliva contains an enzyme that breaks down these carbohydrates, exposing the nasty taste of the poison. Since even tiny amounts of some poisons can have large effects, for safety sake, take your time when tasting.

Safety First

Because our sense of taste protects us against poisonous plants, it is always best to take herbs in a form that allows one to taste them. Consuming just one plant at a time, with as little preparation as possible, gives us the greatest opportunity to taste poisons and is therefore the safest way to use herbs.

One herb at a time is a “simple.” When we ingest a simple herb – raw, cooked as a vegetable, brewed fresh or dried in water as a tea or infusion, steeped in vinegar or honey, dried and used as a condiment – we bring into play several million years of plant wisdom collected in our genes. When we ingest many plants together, or concentrate their natural poisons by tincturing, distilling, or standardizing, we increase the possibility of harm. Powdering herbs and putting them in capsules is one of the most dangerous ways to use them, especially those containing poisons. For ultimate risk, play with essential oils; they are far removed from the plant, very concentrated, and as little as one-quarter ounce can kill.

Safety Second, Too

In the next installments we will continue to learn how to use herbs simply and safely. We will explore nourishing and tonifying herbs, the difference between fixing disease and promoting health, how to apply the three traditions of healing, and how to take charge of your own health care with the six steps of healing.

Experiment Number One

You will need the following plants, all of which contain poisons that you can taste: a head of lettuce (taste the leaves and the core separately), some black or green tea (unbrewed), a fresh dandelion leaf, strong chamomile tea (steep it overnight), a can of asparagus, some fresh mint, a spoonful of mustard seeds, and a bottle of vanilla extract.

Approach tasting a plant as you would tasting a wine. Begin by inhaling the aroma. Release the bouquet by squeezing the plant until your fingers are moist (or chew briefly and spit into your hand). Do you feel enticed, repelled, or neutral? Does your mouth water? Does your throat clench? Observe how you react to the smell. Does it sting your eyes? Irritate your nasal tissues? Do you want to taste it?

We do not gulp our wine, nor do we merely wet our tongues; for best effect, taste and smell a reasonably large piece, but don’t stuff your mouth. As you chew, move the plant material around in your mouth. Roll it around with your tongue. Make contact with it for a full minute but DO NOT SWALLOW. No, no, spit it upon the ground, or into your hand, or the sink, or wherever you can, but do not swallow. SPIT IT OUT.

What do you feel now? In your stomach? Your throat? Your head and nose?  What is your gut feeling? What sensations accompany the taste of this plant?

It is best to wait until the previous taste is completely gone before going on to the next plant. If you are doing advanced work with wild plants, wait at least a day before you use or consume the plant in case you have a delayed reaction to some component.

Experiment Number Two

Taste as in experiment one, but use these inedible (poisonous) parts of common foods: lemon inner rind, apple seeds, rhubarb leaves, lettuce root, the inner soft pit of a peach.

Experiment Number Three

Taste as in experiment one, these poisonous plants (fresh or dried): wormwood leaf, goldenseal root, yellow dock root, Echinacea root, eucalyptus leaf, motherwort leaf.

Experiment Number Four

Aromatic plants are rich in essential oils. We often use them to season and preserve food. In small quantity, these oils are not harmful, but concentrated, they threaten the liver, kidneys, and life itself. Smell and taste, as in experiment one, as many aromatic plants as you can: thyme, rosemary, oregano, lavender, sage, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg. Brew strong teas (steep overnight) of these plants and taste.  Can you see, smell, or taste more essential oils? Smell or taste one drop of the extracted essential oil of any of these plants.

Further study

1. What is an alkaloid? Medicinal plants often contain groups of alkaloids. Name seven plants rich in alkaloids (specify the part); then name at least three of the alkaloids in each plant.
2. What are glycosides? Name at least four glycosides and describe the effect each has.  Name seven plants rich in glycosides; specify the part of the plant and the kind of glycoside.
3. What are resins? Name four or more plants (specify part) rich in resins.
4. What are essential oils? Name a dozen or more plants rich in essential oils (specify part).
5. What is the difference between a poison and a medicine? Are all drugs poisons?

Advanced work

²  Give the botanical name (genus and species) for each plant you named in the further study section.

²  Taste a variety of plants that grow around you. Warning: It is possible to experience uncomfortable or harmful effects from this experiment. A book on poisonous plants can reassure you that the plants you taste will not kill you. It is best not to put plants such as poison ivy or poison oak in your mouth. DO NOT TASTE HOUSEPLANTS.

For this you will need the flower and or leaves of the following 4 herbs:

Chamomile

Lavender

Peppermint

Rosemary

Put 1/8 cup of each herb and approximately 4 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Remove from the stove and pour into a glass bowl.  Take a towel and place it over your head and place your head 6-8in. above the steam.  Allow your head to remain this distance above the steam for no more than 5 minutes.  Rinse your face with cool water and apply a skin moisturizer if you feel it necessary.

Caution: It is not recommended you do this more than 1-2 times a week and no longer than 5 minutes at a time.

Madame Mora’s herbal

This class is designed to show the practical application of herbs to assist with everyday needs.  The lessons printed will not outline “magical” uses for the herbs, but, if questions on this topic rise, please feel free to ask.

Also, please remember, the information in this class is a look at herbal therapies that may show promise as adjunctive treatments to conventional medical approaches, and is not meant to give specific recommendations or advise for the treatment of a specific illness, nor is it intended to be a replacement for good medical diagnosis and treatment.

(Alliaria petiolata)

Garlic Mustard grows throughout the UK and in most of Europe.  In the USA it is abundant in the mid western and north eastern states, but can also be found as far south as Kentucky and North Carolina.

In early spring, the light green leaves start to show in the hedgerows and woodland.  The plants can vary in height from 5-8 inches up to 3ft.  The broad, heart shaped leaves are toothed, and at the base of the plant grow on fairly long stalks.  Near to the top the leaf stalks are shorter and the leaves have prominent veins.  The flowers have four tiny white petals that grow at the top of the plant in a cluster of tight green buds and white flowers.  Much smaller unopened flower heads spring from the angle of the leaf stalks and main stem.

Common names are: Hedge Garlic, Sauce-all-Alone, Jack-by-the-Hedge and Poor Man’s Mustard. When bruised the whole plant has a smell of onion rather than garlic.

In 1657 William Coles wrote that is was eaten by many country people as sauce to their salt fish, and helped well to digest the crudities and other crude humours that are engendered by the eating thereof.

Early herbalists used the leaves for dropsy and to induce sweating.  The herbalist Sir John Hill recommended that they should be boiled with honey to make a syrup as a remedy for coughs and hoarseness.  The leaves were also believed to have antiseptic properties and were applied as dressings to open sores and ulcers.

Eaten as a fresh seasonal food it is good for the digestion and as a spring tonic for the whole body.

Sometimes you can find garlic mustard with exceptionally large leaves. These may have large, whitish, fleshy taproots, which taste like horseradish. They are good from late autumn to early spring, before the flower stalks appear. Use them like horseradish, grated into vinegar, as a condiment.

The pungent, mildly bitter basal leaves are good from late autumn to early spring, the plants seem to become more bitter as they mature. However the arrowhead shaped stem leaves are more pungent and less bitter in the spring along with the tasty white flowers, than the basal leaves.

Use garlic mustard raw in salads, mixed with more mild greens. It’s also good steamed, simmered, or lightly fried. It can also be used in sauces. Cook no longer than five minutes, or the leaves will become mushy.

Garlic Mustard Pesto

4 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons garlic mustard taproot

¾ cup parsley

1 cup garlic mustard leaves

1 cup basil

2 cups pine nuts

½ cup stock

1 ¼ cups olive oil

Chop the garlic and the garlic mustard roots finely, preferably in a food processor.

Add the parsley, garlic, garlic mustard leaves and basil and chop.

Add the pine nuts and chop coarsely.

Add the olive oil and the stock gradually and process until you create a coarse paste.

Magickal Properties: (use as you would garlic)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Mars

Element: Fire

Powers: Protection, healing, exorcism, lust, anti theft

Please go back through all the lessons you have received so far, review the ingredients and what the listing is for what they do.

Compare similarities regarding ingredients and purpose of the teas.

I then want you to take at least one ingredient from each tea and create a new remedy, list the purpose and make.  Taste what you have created and give it a name.

Email me with your tea and its purpose.  moraravencall@gmail.com

Madame Mora’s herbal

This class is designed to show the practical application of herbs to assist with everyday needs.  The lessons printed will not outline “magical” uses for the herbs, but, if questions on this topic rise, please feel free to ask.

Also, please remember, the information in this class is a look at herbal therapies that may show promise as adjunctive treatments to conventional medical approaches, and is not meant to give specific recommendations or advise for the treatment of a specific illness, nor is it intended to be a replacement for good medical diagnosis and treatment.

ÓSusun S. Weed

More and more American women are using herbal remedies to help them with menopausal problems. Those who do take ERT (estrogen replacement) or HRT (hormone replacement) may be surprised to discover that herbal medicine has a lot to offer them as well.

Herbs for women on ERT/HRT include those that alleviate side-effects as well as those that counter problems caused by the hormones.

herbal Helpers Counter Side-Effects

Water Retention is the symptom most often cited for dissatisfaction with hormone replacement. herbal tinctures and tea, such as dandelion or cleavers, and ordinary foods can not only relieve the distress, they will go to the root of the problem and help prevent recurrences.

²  Dandelion root tincture (Taraxacum officinale) strengthens the liver and helps it process out the excess hormones you are taking. When the liver works well, the kidneys work better, and tissues no longer bloat. A dose is 10-20 drops in several ounces of water or juice 2-3 three times a day. If you have any digestion problems, take your dandelion before meals; otherwise, anytime is fine. You can safely take dandelion daily for months or years if you need or want to.

²  Cleavers herb tincture (Galium molluga) tells the lymphatic tissues to get moving. Relief from edema is usually rapid when 20-30 drops are taken in several ounces of water or juice. Repeat up to six times at hourly intervals if needed. Cleavers is especially helpful for easing swollen, sore breasts.

²  Foods that relieve water retention include (in order of effectiveness): asparagus, nettles, corn (and corn silk tea), grapes, cucumbers, watermelon (and watermelon seed tea), parsley, celery, black tea, and green tea.

Headaches are the second most common side-effect of hormone use. Unfortunately, they are common among menopausal women not taking hormones, too. Herbs that help relieve headache without a drug-like action – such as dandelion, yellow dock, milk thistle, burdock, garden sage, skullcap, and St. John’s/Joan’s wort – are generally considered safe to take with hormones.

²  Chinese herbalists say headaches are caused by liver stress. My favorite liver-strengthening herbs are dandelion, yellow dock, milk thistle seed, and burdock. I use one at a time, a 15-25 drops of the tincture several times a day, for two weeks. If symptoms continue, I switch to a different herb.

²  A strong tea of garden sage leaves (Salvia officinalis) offers immediate relief from headaches and helps prevent future ones. It also reduces night sweats.

²  Tinctures of skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) and St. Joan’s/John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) ease pain and relieve muscle spasms. Use 5-20 drops of skullcap and a dropperful of St.J’s at the very first sign – no, the very first thought – of a headache. Repeat the doses every five minutes until pain free. Skullcap can be quite sedative, especially in large doses.

herbal Allies That Prevent Problems Caused by Taking Hormones

Breast Cancer risk is increased 20% in women who use ERT for five or more years. Use of HRT for five or more years increases breast cancer risk by 40%. Each five years of continued use increases the risk. In addition, women who take ERT are far more likely to get uterine or endometrial cancers. All women on hormones increase their risks of lung and ovarian cancer, too. Nourishing herbs such as red clover, and foods such as beans and yogurt, offer easy ways to stay cancer-free.

²  Red clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense), when dried and brewed into a strong infusion (one ounce herb steeped in a quart of boiling water for at least four hours) prevent cancer by providing phytoestrogens that counter the cancer-promoting effects of oral hormones. Usual dose is 2-4 cups a day. The infusion tastes like black tea and can be flavored with mint if you like.

²  Beans, especially lentils, but also yellow split peas, black turtle beans, baby limas, Anasazi beans, and red kidney beans are also rich sources of anti-cancer phytoestrogens. Since uncooked beans and unfermented soy contain anti-nutritional factors that may promote bone loss and dementia, soy “milk” and tofu are not recommended. Miso and tamari definitely help to prevent breast cancer but soy isoflavones may promote it.

²  Yogurt helps build powerful immunity. Women who eat a quart of yogurt a week have 700% less cancer than women who eat no yogurt.

Dry eyes afflict more than 9% of women using ERT and over 7% of those on HRT. Risk increases by 70% for every year of continued use. And the longer a woman uses hormones, the greater her risk. Herbs such as oatstraw, chamomile, and chickweed can help relieve and prevent this problem.

²  Oatstraw infusion (Avena sativa) cools and moistens your eyes from the inside out, builds strong bones too. Use one ounce of dried herb in a quart jar; fill to the top with boiling water and cap tightly. Let steep four or more hours. Dose is 2-4 cups a day. Refrigerate after straining.

²  Cucumber slices ease dry eyes; so do chamomile tea bags.

²  The ultimate ally for women with dry eyes is fresh chickweed (Stellaria media), applied as a poultice to the closed eyes. Leave on for five minutes, or until the plant material feels warm (it will heat up). Repeat as needed.

Stroke and Heart Attack are actually increased by use of ERT/HRT, though modern medicine has long proclaimed the opposite. Every major double-blind study done to date has created a larger and larger gap between ERT/HRT’s supposed ability to help cardiovascular health and its actual results. Protect you heart with nourishing and tonifying herbs and foods such as motherwort, hawthorn, and cherries.

²  Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) tincture helps the heart. The Japanese claim it is their secret of longevity. A dose is 5-15 drops, twice a day. Motherwort also relieves hot flashes, calms tachycardiia, and eases anxiety. It’s an all-in-one remedy for menopausal women.

²  Hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha) flowers, leaves, and fruits are all used to maintain heart health and control fluid build-up in heart tissues. A dose is 20-30 drops of tincture 2-4 times a day, or a cup of tea with meals. This widespread shrub is considered one of the finest heart tonics in the world.

²  Cherries are even better than apples at keeping the doctor away. Dried cherries and cherry juice, even tincture of cherries.

More than three-quarters of the women in America over the age of fifty have refused ERT/HRT. If you want to join them, taper off your dosage slowly, while continuing to use nourishing and tonifying herbs such as dandelion, motherwort, red clover, oatstraw, and seaweed. And pick up a copy of New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90. Meanwhile, these Wise Woman hints can help you stay healthy and counter the detrimental effects of hormone replacement.