MoraRavenCall April, 2011

Test lesson…

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.

Tags: herbs

• Classes

OSusun S. Weed April, 2011

Taking Hormones? These herbs Are for You

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.

Tags: herbs, horomones

• Herbal

MoraRavenCall March, 2011

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.

Lesson 5

herbal allergy relief

The following 5 herbs help with the cough and inflammation common to allergic reactions to pollen.

• Chalmomile – Anthemis nobilis – you will use the flowers.  This herb also helps with allergy induced asthma symptoms, headache, mucus, and sore throat.
• Elder flower – Sambucus Canadensis – you will use the flowers.  This herb also helps with allergy induced asthma symptoms, headache, mucus, sinusitis, and sore throat.
• Eyebright – Euphrasia officinalis – you will use the flowers.  This herb also helps with headache, eye’s sensitivity to light, mucus, respiratory conditions, sinusitis, and sore throat.
• Marshmallow – Althea officinalis – you will use the flower or root.  This herb also helps with allergy induced asthma symptoms, mucus, respiratory conditions, sore throat, and whooping cough.  It also make a great eyewash for dry itchy eyes.
• Stinging nettles – Urtica dioica – you will use the leaves.  This herb also helps with allergy induced asthma symptoms, mucus, and respiratory conditions.

You will combine equal amounts of each herb to make a tea.  For one glass you will need a pinch of each, or about ½ a teaspoon.  Once your tea has steeped at least 10 minutes and you are ready to drink, add about a tablespoon of honey made of your local flowers, this will also help ease symptoms.

If you are a chronic allergy suffer and would like to attempt to limit your allergies, have a teaspoon of local honey a day.  Due to the honey being made from the plants in your area, it is thought that you body’s immune system will grow accustomed to the pollen of the flowers in your area and will no long react to it.

You assignment is to make this tea twice a day at the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms are gone.  Once this has been done, email me with information regarding the length of treatment and your thoughts on the effectiveness of the honey.

Tags: allergies, herbs

• Classes

MoraRavenCall February, 2011

Madame Mora’s

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.

Lesson 4

Detox tea

These will help cleanse your insides of unwanted substances.

• Hibiscus Flower aka Musk Mallow (Hibiscus ablemoschus) you will use the dried flower – demulcent, diuretic, stimulant.  Aids digestion, enhances liver and stomach function, promotes perspiration and urine flow, stimulates menstruation.
• Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) you will use the root – anticarcinogen, antifungal, demulcent, expectorant, laxative, stimulant.  Balances blood sugar levels, decrease effects of carcinogens, enhances the cardiovascular, digestive, glandular, and hormonal system functions, as well as the liver, lung, and spleen functions, inhibits production of toxic free radicals, promotes bowel evacuation, purifies blood, restore healthy system functions and normal tone to tissues.
• Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) you will use the leaves – anticarcinogens, diuretic, nutritive.  Balances the hormonal system, cleanses whole system, decrease effects of carcinogens, enhance digestion and food assimilation, nourish and purify blood, promote urine flow, reestablish healthy system function, stimulates menstruation.
• Yucca (Yucca glauca) you will use the root – antifungal, diuretic, laxative, nutritive.  Enhances liver and stomach functions, promotes bowel evacuation and urine flow, purifies blood, and reestablish healthy system function
• Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) you will use the leaf – anticarcinogen, antioxidant, diuretic, nutritive, stimulant.  Decrease the effects of carcinogens, enhance cardiovascular system and liver functions, promotes perspiration and urine flow, restore normal tone to tissues, stimulate menstruation.
• Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) you will use the leaf – demulcent, diuretic, stimulant.  Enhances bladder function, promotes urine flow.
• Violet (Viola tricolor) you will use the leaf – anticarcinogen, antioxidant, demulcent, diuretic, laxative.   Decreases the effects of carcinogens, enhance cardiovascular system, live, lung, metabolic, and stomach functions, promotes bowel evacuation, perspiration, and urine flow, purifies blood, reestablish healthy system functions, and strengthens the urinary system.
• Marshmallow (Althaea officianalis) you will use the root – demulcent, diuretic, laxative, nutritive.  Enhance immune, respiratory, and urinary system functions, promote bowel evacuation and urine flow.
• Slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) you will use the inner bark – anticarcinogen, demulcent, diuretic, and laxative.  Decreases effects of carcinogens, enhances digestive system, reproductive system, respiratory system, and urinary system functions, promotes bowel evacuation and urine flow.

Take these 9 herbs and create a detox tea, drink twice a day, once in the morning and once at night for 1 week.  Email me you findings. (moraravencall@gmail.com)

Tags: detox, herbs

• Classes

MoraRavenCall January, 2011

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.

Lesson 3

Salve for skin iritations.

?  Aloe – Aloe barbadensis – is a known antibiotic, astringent, and antiviral.  You will use the gel.

It is used to treat acne, bruises, burns, corns, eczema, insect bites and stings, lesions, ring worm, poison oak and ivy, psoriasis, rashes, sunburns, minor wounds, and wrinkles.

?  German Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla – is a known analgesic, antibiotic, and antifungal.   You will use the flowers.

Used to treat bruises, minor burns, corns, dandruff, eczema, hives, rashes, sore nipples, and minor wounds.

?  Lavender – Lavandula officialis – is a known antibiotic, and insect repellent.  You will use the flowers.

Used to treat acne, minor burns, eczema, insect bites and stings, psoriasis, minor wounds.

?  Rose – Rosa canina -  is a known anesthetic and astringent.  You will use the flower petals.

Used to treat bruises, insect bites and stings, psoriasis, and minor wounds.

Assignment 3:

Use these 4 ingredients to make a salve.  Combine equal parts rose, lavender, and german chamomile with enough aloe to make a paste like mixture.  Apply this to minor skin irritations, such as those listed above.

Email me your findings.

Tags: herbal remedies, herbalism, herbs

• Classes

OSusun S. Weed January, 2011

In Praise of Snow

Ó Susun S Weed

Winter is my favorite season. And where I live, winter brings cold and snow. Do you like snow? I do. I like to play in the snow. I admire snow’s beauty. I’m thankful that snow protects the animals and the plants. But what impresses me the most about snow is its country name: “poor person’s fertilizer.”

What fun to sled in the snow (screaming), to ski across the snow (silently), to ride a snowboard in the snow (grinning), to ice skate (laughing), to make snow angels (shivering), to bring a snow person to life (cooperating), to have a snowball fight (competing), to make snow caves (digging), and snow forts (lying in wait).
I never fail to thrill at the sight of moonstruck rainbows glittering off the surfaces of fine snow on a sub-zero night. I love standing out in the snow when it is softly falling, watching the flakes shining in my long dark hair, and catching them on my tongue. I cherish the mornings when I awake to white skies filled with snow, snow, snow. There’s snow on the ground, snow tumbling down, nothing but snow. Even life is canceled for the day. Snow day. It’s no day. No responsibility day. Hooray. Snow!
Snow is beautiful. Each snowflake unique. Each a miniature mandala. Each one a slice of a six-sided crystal. And every snowflake, like a quartz crystal, is vibrant and vibrating. Snow is magic. Everyone feels it. Experiment this winter with using the crystalline energy of snow.
When snow falls without wind, it outlines each branch and bud of each tree and shrub.
Perhaps it is making their auras visible. Snow rounds and softens the shapes of nature. Snow connects everything with sweeping strokes. Snow blots out the details and leaves the big picture. Snow speaks to our pleasure, and our need, to erase the small stuff, to soar wide in imagination, to understand the big pattern.

Snow lays quietly, covering the ground, covering the plants. Snow provides an insulating blanket that protects the roots of the plants. Without snow cover, the ground heaves. It freezes at night, and expands up. Then it thaws during the day, and sinks down. This seesaw of freezing and thawing, expanding and sinking, pushes up large rocks from beneath the ground and can uproot plants. A blanket of snow keeps the ground evenly frozen, preventing frost heaves and protecting the plants from upheaval.
That blanket of snow provides safe cover for small animals, too. They can burrow beneath it, running and foraging safe from the watchful eyes of predators. Snow keeps little animals warm, too. And they find it easier to tunnel through than the frozen earth.
But it is snow’s power to bring fertility to the land that amazes me the most. Snow is water. But snow is so much more than water. Each snowflake forms around a mote of dust. That dust is an iota of soil, a minute amount of minerals. And as the snow falls to the ground, it brings with it the nourishment of that tiny bit of mineral dust.
This is true of raindrops as well. Each drop of rain coalesces around a mote of dust. I frequently hear people refer to the rain as “cleansing.” Fortunately for us all, it is not. Just think what a barren wasteland we would inhabit if, instead of nourishing the soil, rain cleansed it. When rain washes the dirt away, we call it erosion. And, without dirt, there can be no plants. Rain is not cleansing. Rain is nourishing. And so is snow.
The minerals in snow are absorbed into the soil. And, when the ground thaws, they are taken up by the plants. The weeds make exceptionally good use of the mineral wealth of snow. Oats and oatstraw consolidate the snow’s magnesium, with 1200mg in 100 grams of herb. Red raspberry grabs onto the manganese, manifesting 146mg in 100 grams of herb. Chickweed loves snow’s iron, offering 253mg in 100 grams of herb. Valerian values snow’s calcium; Skullcap thrives on snow’s copper; hibiscus sops up snow’s chromium; catnip goes for snow’s selenium; while nettle champions snow’s zinc.
Minerals provide structure and allow communication in cells, plants and animals. The healthiest soils are mineral-rich soils. They provide minerals for healthy plants. And those plants create healthy bodies. Minerals are the key to optimum health, for people, plants, and the planet.

That’s why I champion the edible weeds such as nettle, oatstraw, dandelion, burdock, lamb’s quarters, mallows, and purslane. They provide optimum nourishment, including mineral salts in many forms. They heal by nourishing.
When in Switzerland some years back, I visited a cheese factory and watched a movie about Swiss cheeses. “What makes Swiss cheeses so special?” the movie asked. Then, answering its own question, it replied: “The special plants our cows eat.” And there they were, right up on the big screen, the stars of the show: red clover and dandelion, yellow dock and chickweed, sorrel and plantain, burdock and mustard, nettle and thistle, mineral-rich weeds, fed by the snow.
Weeds are green snow. Minerals fall as snow, are taken up by the weeds, and become available to us in forms we can use as food and medicine.
Go out into the snow if you can this winter. Taste it. Savor it. Play with it. Admire it. Open your heart to its blessings. Open your spirit to its richness. Open yourself to its nourishment. You are a beloved child of the Universe and the snow is stardust.

Green blessings.

Tags: health, Herbal, herbs, winter

• Herbal

OSusun S. Weed September, 2010

Glorious Goldenrod

I love autumn, don’t you? The days shorten and fall colors thrill my senses. Perennial roots get busy storing nourishment that will last them through the winter. And the meadows bloom with purple asters and riotous goldenrod flowers.

Goldenrod (the Solidago genus, Asteracea family) is one of my favorite plants, and hopefully, soon it will be one of your favorites too.

Before you complain that goldenrod is a pest and you’re allergic to it, let me set the record straight: You aren’t. No one is, no one can be, allergic to goldenrod pollen. Why? It has virtually none. What little pollen it makes is sticky, all the better to stick onto insects who pollinate the goldenrod. Only wind-pollinated plants – like ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia), which blooms at the same time as goldenrod, and has an especially irritating pollen – make enough pollen, and spread it widely enough, to cause allergic reactions.

Set aside your mistaken bad thoughts about lovely goldenrod, and, if you can, visit a patch. Goldenrod is a wide-spread wild plant in North America (found from Florida to New Hampshire and west into Texas), Europe, and Asia. Goldenrod is also treasured as a garden plant from New Zealand to Germany, and has become a highly-successful weed in Japan. So, no matter where you live as you read this article, it is likely that you can find a patch of goldenrod.

It is rare to see one goldenrod plant growing alone; it multiplies by sending out root runners, so there are usually dozens of plants growing densely together. Notice all the bees and insects happily crawling about on goldenrod’s numerous small yellow flowers.

There are many types of goldenrod, and you are likely to find several kinds if you look around. The species Solidago canadensis and S. odora are considered the most medicinal (and the tastiest), but all species of goldenrod are safe and beneficial and can be used to help the immune system get ready for winter.

Goldenrod tonics are easy to make. Harvest any goldenrod by cutting the top third of the plant in full flower on a sunny fall day. Or, respectfully pull the entire plant, roots and all, in the late autumn or early winter. Then follow the simple directions below. Note: You can use any size jar when making a vinegar or a tincture, so long as you fill it full.

To dry flowering goldenrod:

Bundle 2-3 stalks together and hang upside down in a cool, shady room until thoroughly dry. When the stalks snap crisply, store the dried herb in brown paper bags. One or two large handfuls of crushed leaves and flowers, steeped in a quart of boiling water for 30 minutes makes a tea that can be used hot, with honey*, to counter allergies (especially pollen allergies), fevers, sore throats, coughs, colds and the flu; or taken cold to relieve colic in babies, and gas in adults. Dried mint and/or yarrow are tasty, and useful, additions when making goldenrod flower tea.

To dry goldenrod roots:

Rinse dirt off the roots, then cut away all the stalks, leaves and dead flowers. If possible, hang your roots over a woodstove to dry; if not, place them on racks and put them in a warm place to dry until brittle. Store in glass jars. Depending on the difficulty you are addressing, goldenrod root tea may be made with large or small amounts of the roots brewed or decocted in boiling water. Or the roots may be powdered, alone or mixed with flowers, and applied to hard-to-heal wounds and sore joints.

To make a goldenrod vinegar:

Chop the goldenrod coarsely, filling a jar with chopped flowers, leaves, stalks (and roots if you have them); then fill the jar to the top with room-temperature, pasteurized, apple cider vinegar. Cap it tightly with a plastic lid. (Metal lids will be eroded by the action of the vinegar. If you must use one, protect it with several layers of plastic between it and the vinegar.) Be sure to label your vinegar with the date and contents. Your goldenrod vinegar will be ready to use in six weeks to improve mineral balance, help prevent kidney stones, eliminate flatulence, and improve immune functioning.

To make a goldenrod tincture:

Chop the goldenrod coarsely, filling a jar with chopped flowers, leaves, stalks (and roots if you have them); then add 100 proof vodka, filling the jar to the very top. Cap tightly and label. Your goldenrod tincture will be ready to use in six weeks, by the dropperful, as an anti-inflammatory, a sweat-inducing cold cure, and an astringent digestive aid. Medical herbalists use large doses (up to 4 dropperfuls at a time) of goldenrod tincture several times daily to treat kidney problems – including nephritis, hemorrhage, kidney stones, and inability to void – and prostate problems, including frequent urination.

The colonists called goldenrod tea “Liberty Tea” for they drank it instead of black tea after the Boston Tea Party. In fact, Liberty Tea proved so popular, it was exported to China! Let goldenrod liberate you, too. herbal medicine is people’s medicine, a gift from Mama Earth to us. Green Blessings.

*Note: Do not give honey to babies under 12 months old.

Tags: goldenrod, Herbal, herbs

• Herbal

Mary DAlba June, 2010

Sunflower

Sunflower (Helianthus Annus) is also known as Corona Solis, Marigold of Peru and Solo Indianus.    Sunflowers are very common as happy gifts and there are in many gardens but Sunflowers have some wonderful magickal uses.  The Sunflower energy can be used by anyone who is trying to channel the energy of the Sun and to get in touch with any fire or sun deities.
Sunflower was sacred to the Aztecs.  They considered it a religious herb and to honor the Sun God, they would carry and adorn themselves with sunflowers.  In Peru, the temples were decorated and honored with sunflowers.
Some of the lore around sunflowers is interesting.  If someone is trying to become virtuous or preserve their virginity, they can anoint themselves with Sunflower oil or juice pressed from the stems of the sunflower.
In addition, if you’re trying to find out the truth, sleep with a sunflower under the bed and the truth of any matter will be revealed to you.  Also, if you cut a sunflower at sunset and make a wish, the wish will come true before another sunset.  But make sure to ask for a wish within reason.  Anything unreasonable or farfetched will not be brought to you.
To protect against smallpox, wear sunflowers seeds in a bag around the neck, either in a pouch or create the seeds into a necklace.  If you’re trying to correct clumsiness, speak with the sunflower deva to help with that and keep you safe.
For women who are trying to conceive, they eat sunflower seeds to encourage fertility and happiness.  Also, it can be used in foods – eating sunflower seeds or adding it into cakes.
It is also a protection herb.  When sunflowers are planted in the garden, it protects against pests and brings luck to the person doing the gardening.  It can also protect energy – someone will not be allowed to send malicious or nasty energy to someone else.  For folks that like working with dragons and lions, the powerful energy of sunflowers can be helpful in working with those fiery beings.
Sunflowers help with depression or unhappiness.  You can always bathe in sunflower oil to help with sadness, attract joy and also to lift the spirits.  Sunflower oil can also be used to anoint ritual robes or tools, especially crystals and stones in healing.
So remember, when working with the Sunflower herb, make sure you’re using it to help with positivity and joy.
Remember, this is not a substitution for medical advice so always check with a medical professional to make sure working with herbs or oils are safe for you.

Keywords for Sunflower:
Magickal Uses/Spells:  Health, Wisdom, Happiness, Wishes, Wisdom, Fertility, Releasing Sadness
Deities:  Apollo, Demeter
Planet:  Sun
Signs:  Leo, Virgo
Gender:  Masculine
Element:  Fire
Tarot Correspondence:  Sun

Tags: herbs, sunflower

• Herbal

OSusun S. Weed May, 2010

An Abundance of Greens

I didn’t lose it all with Bernie Madoff, but, like many others, I watched my material wealth shrink this past year. Am I worthless because I’m worth less? Of course not. I’m worthwhile, no matter what I’m worth financially. Having less money doesn’t have to mean having less joy or less abundance. I didn’t lose my job – since I am self-employed, I know I won’t be laid off – but work has slowed down, giving me time to appreciate the many ways abundance pops up in my life.

An abundance of things is not fulfilling or satisfying. Having many things can be a burden. It takes time to care for them, leaving less time to enjoy them. Things can be lost, stolen, or broken, giving rise to anxiety about loss. To find abundance, give something away. Trust that the empty hand will be filled.

Abundance is nurtured by sharing. Abundance is not wasteful. Keeping it all for myself is not abundant. Abundance is not proud. Abundance is open and flowing. Abundance loosens my grip on life and reminds me that every breath is a give-away dance. I am surrounded by abundance. Abundance is free. Abundance is a gift. Where is your life abundant?

My goats give me an abundance of milk. So much milk, I have to make cheese every other day. Abundance is hard work. Abundance is usually the result of effort.

My friend fed a stray cat. Now my friend has an abundance of cats to feed. Abundance can appear unexpectedly. Feed abundance and it will multiply.

My peach tree ripened an abundance of fruit last year. One branch, loaded with a hundred pounds of peaches, broke – even though we propped it up in an effort to prevent breakage. Abundance pushes boundaries, it breaks through the levees, it is not orderly or tame. Abundance is demanding.

There are an abundance of weeds in my garden. If I let them grow, my tomatoes would suffer. I must remove one abundance in order to cultivate another. Abundance requires attention. One abundance may prevent another abundance.

I don’t really weed my garden, though; I harvest the weeds for food and medicine.

Some weeds – such as purslane, garlic mustard, catnip, chickweed, wild oregano, oxalis, and chives – are delicious in salads. Others – such as lamb’s quarter, amaranth, dandelion, chicory, and sorrel – are better cooked.

And many are superb medicines. Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is a prolific weed that I harvest and tincture when in flower. A dose of 5-25 drops can be used to ease and eliminate menstrual cramps, relieve even extreme anxiety, lower blood pressure, strengthen the heart, counter blood vessel inflammation, and moderate menopausal flashes.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a generous and abundant plant who offers her roots, leaves, stalks, and flowers as food and medicine. Dandelion wine, cooked dandelion greens with fresh garlic and olive oil, and dandelion root tincture and vinegar are a few of our favorite ways of using this weed. A few drops of the root tincture just before a meal aids digestion and prevents heartburn.

Yellow dock (Rumex crispus) also offers an abundance of food and medicine. We add her leaves to salads, make a vinegar of her red seeds, and dig the root early in the spring or late in the fall to tincture. A dose of a dropperful of the tincture (or a teaspoon of a vinegar) of the roots, taken two or three times a day, is one of the best ways to increase the amount of iron in the blood. Yellow dock tincture is considered to be the very best agent for helping those who need an aid to maintain regularity. Since it is not a laxative, it’s safe to use daily, if you wish.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis) is the essence of abundance. It covers roadsides as well as blanketing the garden. This biennial plant gives her roots for horseradishy condiments – just blend the spring-dug roots with vinegar – and her leaves for salads and cooked greens. Being in the cabbage family, garlic mustard is part of an important and established means to prevent cancer. (Four servings of cabbage family plants a week reduces overall cancer risk by fifty percent.)

Some weeds – such as grasses, wild geraniums, ragweed, clear weed, smartweed, knotweed, and beggar ticks – are too tough or too bitter for me to eat. I feed them to the rabbits, whose droppings enrich the garden soil and nurture the weeds.

Using my weeds gives me abundance in abundant ways. I save about $500 a year by eating my weeds instead of buying greens and vegetables. I save more than $2000 a year by eating my weeds instead of buying vitamin and mineral supplements. And I can’t even guess at how much I save by using weeds as my primary health care. My entire health care expense is about $100 a year. That buys me all the vodka, vinegar, oil, and honey I need to make the tinctures, vinegars, ointments, and honeys I use to maintain and regain health.

Harvesting and drying the herbs I use for teas and infusions not only saves me money on health care, it saves me money on entertainment. Instead of going to a movie or the mall, my family spends time together picking anti-cancer red clover, hanging memory-boosting comfrey to dry, harvesting St. Joan’s wort for muscle-easing oil and anti-viral tincture, gathering wild grapes and elderberries for heart-healthy wines, and preserving the abundance around us for winter.

Material, physical things are finite and limited. Feelings and thoughts and weeds are not. I may have less money and less ability to buy things, but there’s no price on joy. Smiling creates brain chemicals that make us happy. Cultivate an inner smile. Look for the silver lining. An abundance of love is always available, if we avail ourselves of it. Accept and make use of the earth‘s green blessings.

Abundance is free.

Abundance is a gift.

Abundance is open and flowing.

Abundance can appear unexpectedly.

Feed abundance and it will multiply.

Abundance is demanding.

Abundance is wild.

Abundance is hard work.

Abundance is not proud.

Tags: greens, herbs

• Herbal

Hearthkeeper May, 2010

Basic herbs

We all need to have some basic herbs in our pantries. Not for magickal uses only. But for flavoring our foods as well… I have chosen the following herbs that I feel are Basics that I MUST have in my kitchen, and I will give the food and the magickal info on them, as I know it and can research it. This may be incomplete as some do not have traditional correspondences. You will also remember that you will use this as YOU see fit.. not as I do or someone else does. If what I have written here does not suit you, feel right, or sounds crazy. Disregard it and research for yourself to get what does feel right.

Basil- (mundane) The strong, clove like flavor is essential to many Italian recipes and is most often paired with tomatoes. Basil is primarily used in sauces, pizzas, salads and pasta dishes. It is also the main ingredient used in pesto.

(magickal) it’s element is fire, use for clairvoyance, commanding, divination, harmony, honesty, love, protection, psychic development, purification, wealth. Use in love and prosperity spells. Carry to attract wealth. Sprinkle basil over your sleeping lover to assure fidelity. Use it in a ritual bath to bring new love in, or to free yourself of an old love. Also used for purification baths. Sprinkle on the floor for protection, and burn as an exorcism incense.

Dill – (mundane) a totally unique spicy green taste. Add whole seeds to potato salad, pickles, bean soups and salmon dishes. Ground seed can flavor herb butter, mayonnaise and mustard. The leaves go well with fish, cream cheese and cucumber.

(magickal) it’s element is fire use for Love, lust, money, protects children. Hang in the doorway to protect your home, or carry to protect your person. Can be used in money spells. Add to a ritual bath to become irresistible to the one you desire. Use in love and lust spells.

Lavender - (mundane) Flowers and leaves can be used fresh, and both buds and stems can be used dried. Lavender is a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage, and thyme. It is best used with fennel, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, and savory. To use in cooking, use 1/3 the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. Because of the strong flavor of lavender, a little goes a long way. Wonderful in cookies.

(magickal)it’s element is air, use for chastity, love, peace, happiness, clairvoyance, longevity, sleep, protection

Marjoram- (mundane) While fresh marjoram is excellent with salads and mild flavored foods, it has is better tasting when dried. Marjoram has a slightly more delicate flavor than Oregano. Marjoram because it is more delicate should be added toward the end of cooking so its flavor is not lost. Marjoram goes well with pork and veal and complements stuffing for poultry, dumplings and herb scones or breads.

(magickal) protection, love, happiness, health, money

Oregano – (mundane) Oregano goes well with vegetables, roast beef, lamb, chicken and pork. It is generally used to season Mexican, Italian, Greek and Spanish dishes. Oregano has a warm, aromatic scent and robust taste. It’s uses include seasoning soups, stews, meat pies, pasta sauces and shellfish.

(magickal)

Parsley - (mundane) Parsley has a delicate favor that combines well with other herbs like basil, bay leaves, chives, dill weed, garlic, marjoram, mint, oregano and thyme. Flat leaf or Italian is used primarily in cooking because of its more robust flavor and curly parsley is used primarily for garnish. Add at the end of cooking for better flavor.

(magickal) purification, protection, lust

Rosemary- (mundane) Rosemary’s aromatic flavor blends well with garlic and thyme to season lamb roasts, meat stews, and marinades. Rosemary also enlivens lighter fish and poultry dishes, tomato sauces, and vegetables. Dress fresh steamed red potatoes and peas or a stir fried mixture of zucchini and summer squash. Rosemary has a tea like aroma and a piney flavor. Crush leaves by hand or with a mortar and pestle before using. Also wonderful in bread.

(magickal) it’s element is fire, use for good memory, friendship, fidelity, youth, protection, love, lust, purification, sleep. Burn to purify and cleanse. Use in love and lust incenses and potions. Use for healing of all kinds. A tea of rosemary causes the mind to be alert.

Sage - (mundane) Sage enhances pork, lamb, meats, and sausages. Chopped leaves flavor salads, pickles, and cheese. Crumble leaves for full fragrance. Use ground Sage sparingly as foods absorb its flavor more quickly. Sage is a wonderful flavor enhancement for seafood, vegetables, stuffing, and savory breads. Rub sage, cracked pepper, and garlic into pork tenderloin or chops before cooking.

(magickal) it’s elements are Earth and air, use for Longevity, prosperity, Spirituality, protection, wishes, healing, Use in healing and money spells, purifying, use as incense during sacred rituals-walk the smoke to the four corners of the room to repel and rid negative energies and influences. Especially good when moving into a new home. Heals wounds, aids digestion, eases muscle and joint pain

Thyme - (mundane)- Thyme is included in seasoning blends for poultry and stuffing and also commonly used in fish sauces, chowders, and soups. It goes well with lamb and veal as well as in eggs and croquettes. Thyme if often paired with tomatoes.

(magickal) it’s element is water, use for health, courage, purification, attracting faeries relives giddiness and nightmares. Burn for good health and use in healing spells. Burn as purification incense. Wear to increase psychic powers.

Until next month

Merry Cooking and Blessed Eating

The Hearthkeeper

PS. If there is anything you would like to see here.. please email me at thehearthkeeper@gmail.com

Blessed be…

Tags: herbs

• Herbal , Recipes