Healing Wise: Recent Episodes
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...sharing wise woman ways for overall health......this section contains questions and answers, the wise woman way...
Partner Earth by Pam Montgomery
Excerpt:
I began to know myself as a multidimensional being with more than one reality to explore. This shift in consciousness awakened my desire to know on an intimate level the very fabric of life, spirit, and all its manifestations. Again, the universe heard my desire and gave me the gift of an amazing light being, who has become one of my greatest teachers.
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Part of the Wise Woman Bookshop Summer Sale!
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Buy 1 Get 1 Free on DVDs.
20% off Select books.
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https://www.wisewomanbookshop.com/specials
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Post Viral Syndrome - Help Yourself the Wise Woman Way!
Long COVID, Chronic Fatigue, Autoimmune Diseases ..
Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation to address the long COVID crisis that is affecting more than 22 million adults and 1 million children across the United States.
Susus created this course, designed to assist individuals worldwide who are grappling with long Covid.
In this course, you will meet simple, safe, accessible green allies (herbs) that nourish, strengthen, and re-energize you from the inside out.
- Green allies for a healthy cardio-vascular system.
- Green allies for a healthy nervous system.
- Green allies for powerful immunity.
- Green allies for respiratory health.
- Green allies that counter inflammation.
Open the doors of your heart to green blessings with Susun Weed as your guide.
20 percent off Susun's online courses!
Use coupon code: SUMMER2024
www.wisewomanschool.com/p/post-viral-syndrome
Yarrow
(Achellia millefolium)
This lovely perennial weed is grown in many herb gardens for it has a multitude of uses. Cut the flowering tops (use only white-flowering yarrow) and use your alcohol to make a strongly-scented tincture that you can take internally to prevent colds and the flu. (A dose is 10-20 drops, or up to 1 ml).
I carry a little spray bottle of yarrow tincture with me when I'm outside and wet my skin every hour or so. A study showed Yarrow tincture to be more effective than DEET at repelling ticks, mosquitoes, and sand flies.
You can also make a healing ointment with yarrow flower tops and your oil or fat. Yarrow oil is antibacterial, pain-relieving, and incredibly helpful in healing all types of wounds.
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Make A Tincture/Fresh Herb
excerpt from: Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines
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I use tinctures in varied doses, from several dropperfuls at a time, to only a few drops at a time. I take tonic tinctures daily. Others as needed.
Alcohol pulls out more poisonous constituents than water.
Tinctures are superior when made from fresh plants.
These tinctures require fresh plants, no exceptions.
St. Joan’s wort flower means trouble for viruses and frowns.
Poke root stirs up the lymphatic and immune systems.
Bloodroot in tiny amounts counter periodontal disease.
Motherwort calms anxiety, eases the heart.
Skullcap eases pain and brings deep sleep.
Fill any size jar to the top with cut-up pieces of fresh, just harvested herb, then add 100-proof vodka, right to the top of the jar.
Lid well, label. Ready to use in six weeks.
excerpt from: Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines
https://www.wisewomanbookshop.com/product-page/abundantly-well-seven-medicines
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🌼 Mother's Day Sale at The Wise Woman Bookshop! 🌼
It's almost summer! A wonderful time for reading outside!
Treat your Mom, or Yourself, with Wise Woman Books!
In honor of all of the Moms, All books are 25% off!
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Use coupon code: WWBOOKS25
www.wisewomanbookshop.com
Sale ends 5/13/24
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Susun talks about Red Clover.
A clip from:
🌱 The Red Clover Conference - May 1 - 7, 2024 🌱
Join fifteen deeply green herbalists as we share our decades of personal and clinical experiences, thoughts, visions, and uses of red clover — and her sisters, white clover, crimson clover, and sweet clover (Melilotus).
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~ Live and lifetime video access before May 1 for only $50.
(After May 1st - $89)
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www.wisewomanschool.com/p/red-clover-con
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Red clover Infusion
Susun makes red clover nourishing herbal infusion. Red clover blossom infusion is one of the world's best remedies for infertility. It is highly regarded as an anti-cancer remedy. It is considered safe for consumption by pregnant and lactating women. The high vitamin content of red clover blossoms, combined with the folic acid in the leaves is especially helpful to sperm and egg production and helps prevent birth defects. Red clover's high mineral and trace mineral content helps restore and maintain good production of hormones. Its profuse and exceedingly absorbable calcium and magnesium help rejuvenate and repair the delicate tissues of reproduction.
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Join us to learn about Red Clover at:
The Red Clover Conference: May 1 - 7, 2024
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Registration is open!
~ Live and lifetime video access to The Red Clover Conference is $89.
~ Register before May 1 for only $50.
www.wisewomanschool.com/p/red-clover-con
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🌱 Learn in person with Susun at the Wise Woman Center. 🌱
It's almost spring! That means classes, workshops, work exchanges and more!
Here's the upcoming schedule:
APRIL
April 13-14: Work-exchange Weekend
April 19: Moonlodge
April 20: Woodland Wonders Hands-on: Meet ramps, coptis, dwarf ginseng, bloodroot, hepatica, and more
April 21: Spring Tonics Hands-on: Make nettle soup and a wild salad; find brassicas, alliums, sweet birch
MAY
May 7: Shamanic Herbal Apprentices, Late Spring Group begins
May 11-12: Work-exchange Weekend
May 17: Moonlodge
May 18: Herbal Pain Relief: Ally with cannabis, skullcap, poppies, St. Joan’s wort, arnica, sweet clover
May 19: Your Herbal Garden Hands-on: Best herbs to grow, best weeds to “cultivate,” free herbs for you to plant
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See Full schedule and get registered now:
www.susunweed.com/EventsCalendar.htm
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When we use herbs to maintain and regain health, we not only take a big step toward health independence but a small step toward peace on our planet. Instead of making war on weeds, I use them. Instead of making war on nature, I let Her guide me. Instead of making war on myself when I'm sick, I nourish myself toward greater health, greater peace.
Anti-infective Herbs
Anti-infective herbs can help us prevent the flu - and assist us if we do get sick. Colds and the flu are caused by viruses, making them more difficult to treat than bacterial infections. Viruses are more vital than bacteria and harder to kill. There are many anti-bacterial herbs -- including yarrow, echinacea, elecampane, and poke -- but few that are anti-viral. Of these, my favorite is St. Joan's/John's wort. If any herb can prevent the flu, St.J's can.
It's a good idea to have both anti-viral and anti-bacterial herbs on hand. The distinction between them is not so important once you are sick. Both types of herbs will alert the immune system to the infection and help it gather the resources needed to counter it.
Did you know that the achy muscles and headachy feeling we get with the flu is not caused by the flu itself but results from the immune system gobbling up all available resources so it can clobber the flu virus?!
Click Here to Read the rest of this article
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Winter Edible Weed.
Wild Madder (Gallium mollugo):
Pinch the tender tops of this little plant all winter for salad greens. You only get a half a bite per plant, but thankfully there is lots and lots of it, so it adds up as a nice addition to the tougher greens. Also known as bedstraw.
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Sweet Earth Soup
8-10 servings
A rich hearty soup for a main course.
3 TB olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped, 3 c
3 cloves garlic, chopped, 2 TB
1 lg. burdock root, but into thin rounds, 2 c chopped
1 large handful dried sea palm fronds or kelp, 1 1/2 c soaked
1 lg. potato, chopped, 2 c
1 lg. yam, chopped, 4 c
1 tsp sea salt
2 TB tamari or to taste
5 c water
3 tbp ground fenugreek
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander3 c raw cashews
3 c water
chopped scallions for garnish
Break the sea palm fronds into pieces no longer than 1" Soak in water to cover for 20 minutes, then drain and compost the liquid. Set aside soaked sea palm fronds.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a heavy skillet. Saute garlic and onions 5 minutes or until translucent. Add burdock root,and saute until onions are translucent. Add fenugreek and coriander and saute one minute to mix the spices in with the oil. Add sea palm fronds, yams, potatoes, salt and 5 c water. Bring to the boil, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.
Blend the 3 c water and 3 c cashews until creamy. No mash will remain. Remove cooked vegetables from heat, add 1 c of the boiling liquid slowly to the cashew cream, stirring constantly. Now add this back to the soup slowly. Taste for salt and/or tamari.
If necessary, return to a very low flame and heat to serving temperature. Take care not to boil. Garnish and serve immediately.
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How to make a nourishing herbal infusion.
One ounce (30 grams) dried herb
Always use dried herb
Always weigh the herb
In a quart (liter) of boiling water.
* Always use boiling water
Tightly covered and steeped (off the heat) for 4-10 hours.
Refrigerate.
Drink a quart a day.
- Never use fresh herb, the cell walls are intact
- Never use a handful or a cup of herb, only a weighed ounce
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Never use aromatic herbs for infusion; a pinch may be added for flavoring
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Make in a jar or a pot.
For serious situations make in a jar. - Consume hot, cold, or inbetween.
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Add anything to your infusion: honey, milk, lemon, whiskey, fruit juice, coffee. . .
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Treat infusions like blood
Infusions spoil rapidly due to high protein content.
Infusions need to be kept cold after brewing.
Making large amounts requires a way to cool the pot rapidly. -
Put spent herb in your compost pile.
Or broadcast it across your lawn.
Or mulch your house plants with it.
Or give it to a favorite tree.
Spoiled infusion is fertilizer for plants.
Learn more! Sign up for this five-session series that will give you everything you need to be juicier, happier, and healthier.
https://bit.ly/NourishingHerbalInfusions
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Are You Ready for Winter?
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Here come the colder, darker, often sicker, days of the year. Are you ready?
Colds, coughs, flu, stuffy and runny noses, and fevers are the most common winter miseries. To counter and deal with them, I need anti-infective, anti-viral, soothing, and immune enhancing herbs.
A mainstay of preparedness is having plenty of anti-infective herbal remedies on hand to prevent and treat colds, flu, and fevers. Two of my favorites are echinacea and yarrow. I also use Phytolacca (poke).
Yarrow is best tinctured in the summers, while in full flower. I never make this remedy with dried herb; it is too bitter and too harsh for me. But yarrow doesn't mind frost, and an excellent anti-infective tincture can be made with the large leaves available now. Herbalist Gretchen Gould prefers the autumn leaves when making yarrow oil. Fill a jar with well-chopped leaves. Add 100 proof vodka right to the top. Lid and label.
Echinacea roots can be dug after the first frosts and promptly tinctured. And dried Echinacea augustifolia roots can be tinctured anytime. I buy a pound of dried root and make four quarts of tincture, spaced about three months apart. I find tinctures from dried roots are best after sitting for at least twelve months.
Read this article here:
https://www.wisewomanmentor.com/healing-archive/are-you-ready-for-winter%3F-part-1
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Herbal Infusions
Herbal infusions differ from herbal teas: They are darker in color and richer tasting because their long brewing extracts many more nutrients -- especially minerals. My favorite nourishing herbal infusions for are oatstraw, red clover blossoms, stinging nettle leaves, and comfrey leaves.
To prepare your infusion: Put a quart of cold water up to boil. Weigh one ounce of dried (not fresh!) herb into a quart canning jar. Go brush your teeth and count your grey hairs until the teapot whistles. Pour the boiling water into the jar with your herb (only one herb at a time, please!), screw on a tight lid, turn off the light, and go to bed. Next morning strain out the herb and drink the liquid: cold, hot, or at room temperature. Add honey, tamari, or milk if desired.
Learn more in this online course:
www.wisewomanschool.com/p/nourishing-herbal-infusions
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Instead of Antibiotics
There are good reasons to use antibiotic drugs. That said, itis agreed that they are often overused. If the infection is not life threatening, you may wish to try herbs instead of, or in addition to, regular antibiotics.
Of the most-often used herbal anti-infectives - calendula, chaparral, echinacea, goldenseal, myrrh, poke, usnea, and yarrow - it is the lovely purple coneflower that I most often turn to.
I find echinacea as effective as antibiotics (dare I say sometimes better than!) if E. angustifolia/augustifolia), not E. purperea, is used; tincture, not capsules or teas is used; the root, and only the root, is used; and very large doses are taken very frequently.
To figure your dose of echinacea, divide your body weight (in pounds) by 2; take that many drops per dose. There are about 25 drops in a dropperful; round up to full droppers. If you weigh 180 pounds, take 90 drops/4 dropperfuls. There is no known overdose of echinacea tincture.
With acute infection I take a full dose every 2-3 hours. When chronic, a full dose every 4-6 hours.
excerpt from 'Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way'
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Purslane Gazpacho
Recipe serves 6-8.
In a large bowl place:
6 cups tomatoes cut into into ½ squares plus their juice
4 cups cucumbers, peeled, seeded, cut into ½ squares.
1 tablespoon sea salt
2-3 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Mix, cover, and refrigerate for several hours. Then add:
4 cups purslane tender tips, chopped
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
10 fresh shiso leaves, chopped
Adjust seasoning and serve, garnished with edible flowers..
Excerpt from: Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines.
www.wisewomanbookshop.com/product-page/abundantly-well-seven-medicines
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Menopause celebration part 7
We are Celebrating Over One Million copies sold of New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way!
Join us in celebrating with awesome special discounts!
www.wisewomanbookshop.com/menopause
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8 great ways to eat Garlic
Short and sweet and quick to eat.
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1. Garlic Toast: Mince a garlic clove. Toast a piece of whole wheat bread. Butter it. Add the minced garlic. Eat.
2. Garlic Dip: Mix 1-3 teaspoons of granulated or powdered garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt into ½ cup yogurt and ½ cup cream cheese. Spread on crackers or use as a dip with chips.
3. Garlic Greens: Cook a pot of greens for at least one hour. While the greens are still hot, add 2-6 cloves thinly-sliced or minced garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 tablespoon tamari or miso. Eat hot or cold.
4. Garlic Honey: Put unpeeled (Important! Leave peels on!) fresh garlic cloves in a small jar. Cover completely with honey. Lid and label. Ready to use in 24 hours.
5. Garlic Vinegar: Fill a jar with your choice of whole or cut fresh garlic or garlic scapes or flowers. Fill jar to the top with apple cider vinegar. Use a non-metal lid; plastic, glass, rubber, cork are fine. Ready to use in 7 days.
6. Forever Garlic Vinegar: As above, but pasteurize the vinegar first by boiling it briefly in a non-metal pot, then cooling completely before pouring over garlic. This vinegar will stay good for up to five years, as opposed to the previous vinegar, which is good for no more than 6 months.
7. Garlic Oil: Mince fresh garlic and add to a small jar of extra virgin olive oil. Lid and label. Ready to use in 24 hours Do not use in food after a month, but okay to use as an antifungal on your feet or other places if it gets too old.
8. Garlic Tonic: Mix together equal parts garlic honey and garlic vinegar. Put in a dropper bottle and take by the dropperful, as needed, to prevent or treat colds/flu.
www.wisewomanmentor.com
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Chickweed Poultice
*Apply the fresh herb, washed, directly onto sores, closed eyes, wounds.
or *Cook the greens and stalks, especially when using older plants or treating deeply; cool somewhat before applying.
or *Simmer chickweed in half water, half vinegar for about five minutes, cool and apply. Then cover chickweed with a cotton towel or a thin layer of clay, and poultice for five minutes to three hours. Replace when poultice feels hot to the touch and oozes. (Yes, hot! Though most poultices are applied warm and removed when they cool, chickweed poultices actually heat up as they draw out infection and heat.)
Relief often begins within a few hours of the initial application, with pain and swelling diminishing steadily as treatments continue.
Poultices used on infections, such as pinkeye, must be thrown away after use. Poultices used on clean wounds and unbroken skin can be reused several times if chickweed is in short supply.
Read more:
www.wisewomanmentor.com/healing-archive/chickweed-recipes
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Dried Tomato Pate. Spread on crackers, spoon into soup, add to omelets. excerpt from Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines Pack dried tomatoes into a one-cup measure. Add boiling water to just barely cover. When tomatoes are soft, strain out the soaking...
Make an Herbal Vinegar excerpt from Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines Use herbal vinegars on salads, in marinades, on beans, on greens. Dandelion leaf/root/flower vinegar prevents heartburn. Mint vinegar aids digestion. Garlic vinegar builds immunity. Burdock root vinegar clears the skin,...
Mint Honeys Fill a jar with fresh mint, best if you cut it fairly fine. Pour real honey over the herb in the jar. After you have filled your jar with fresh herb and honey, put a tight lid and...
Goji berries! Goji berries are very healthy for the eyes, are loaded with nutrition and packed with vitamins. Learn more about Goji berries in the online course - Adaptogens: Herbs for Energy, Longevity, and Optimum Health. 🌱 💻
Summer at the Wise Woman Center!
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JUNE
June 10-11: Work-exchange Weekend
June 20: Shamanic Herbal Apprentices, Early Summer Group begins
June 23: Moonlodge
June 24: Herbal Anti-infectives Hands-on: Get tough with echinacea, usnea, yarrow, and poke
June 25: Chronic Problems the Wise Woman Way: Breathe better, digest better, think better, feel better, be better
JULY
July 1-2-3: Work-exchange Weekend
July 6-9: Green Witch Holiday
July 7: Moonlodge
July 29-30: Work-exchange Weekend
AUGUST
July 31-August 6: Green Goddess Apprentice Week
August 4: Moonlodge
August 8: Shamanic Herbal Apprentices, Late Summer Group begins
August 19-20: Work-exchange Weekend
August 25: Moonlodge
August 26: Magical Plants Hands-on: Visionary herbs, dream pillows, flying oils, love potions
August 27: The Great Remedies Hands-on: Identify, harvest, prepare and use the greatest herbal remedies.
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See Full schedule:
www.susunweed.com/EventsCalendar.htm
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Chickweed Poultice
*Apply the fresh herb, washed, directly onto sores, closed eyes, wounds.
or *Cook the greens and stalks, especially when using older plants or treating deeply; cool somewhat before applying.
or *Simmer chickweed in half water, half vinegar for about five minutes, cool and apply.
Then cover chickweed with a cotton towel or a thin layer of clay, and poultice for five minutes to three hours. Replace when poultice feels hot to the touch and oozes. (Yes, hot! Though most poultices are applied warm and removed when they cool, chickweed poultices actually heat up as they draw out infection and heat.)
Relief often begins within a few hours of the initial application, with pain and swelling diminishing steadily as treatments continue.
Poultices used on infections, such as pinkeye, must be thrown away after use. Poultices used on clean wounds and unbroken skin can be reused several times if chickweed is in short supply.
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Excerpt from Healing Wise
www.wisewomanbookshop.com/product-page/healing-wise
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Twilight salad
Buy a nice bunch of arugala or watercress. Or, better yet, harvest your own. Chop into 1½-inch lengths.
Collect 30-40 large first-year garlic mustard leaves and tear them into thirds or quarters.
Collect 25-30 hedge mustard leaves and tear them in half.
Collect ¼ cup creeping Jenny tops and mince.
Toss all greens together.
Garnish lavishly with Queen of the Night blossoms, periwinkle flowers, and purple pansies.
Serve – at twilight, of course – with tamari, herbal vinegars*, extra virgin olive oil, and gomasio.
* Garlic mustard root vinegar and garlic pigtail vinegar are especially good choices
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☀️ It's almost Time!! ☀️
The Hypericum Conference: Time to End the Nonsense
St. John's/Joan's wort
May 1-10, 2023
Hypericum perforatum is one of my favorite herbs. It makes me sad (and mad) to see it banned, outlawed, and feared. Come on! Let's end the nonsense. Join me, Susun Weed, and 21 other lovers of St. John's/Joan's wort, while we share our decades of personal and clinical experiences, thoughts, visions, and research.
There is so much to do at the Hypericum Conference.
* Every new day brings new presentations on ways to prepare, use, and think about Hypericum.
* And every day each presenter is available to answer your questions in live a zoom session.
* There will also be Hypericum Shorts, Hypericum Marketplace, the Hypericum Kitchen And more!
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Only $49.50! (price will increase to $99 after May 5th)
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Learn more and Register Now:
https://www.wisewomanschool.com/p/sjwcon
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Plantain Ointment
Pick Plantago leaves when they are vibrant and green. Chop them coarsely and pack loosely into a clean, very dry jar. Add olive oil, dislodge air bubbles with a knife or chopstick until the jar is filled to the very top. label and cap securely. Let sit out of direct sunlight, on a surface that won't be marred by oozing oil.
Decant after six weeks, pouring off the oil and squeezing out what remains in the plant material. Discard the herb. Grate one tablespoon of beeswax for every ounce of oil. Stirring constantly, heat the oil and beeswax until the wax melts, usually within a minute. Pour the liquid into small, wide-mouthed jars (a good excuse for buying marinated artichoke hearts) and cool.
Use this ointment lavishly for diaper rash, insect bites, all itches, and minor wounds. It heals, stops itching, checks bleeding, and eases pain.
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Excerpt from Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year.
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Herbed Burdock
4 cups/1 liter burdock root
3 tablespoons/45ml olive oil
3 tablespoons/45ml butter
4 oz/125ml fresh herbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs/30ml lemon juice
2 tablespoons/30ml tamari
Read full instructions on Susun's Mentorship website:
www.wisewomanmentor.com/recipe-archive/herbed-burdock
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Winter Wellness
Nourish Immunity with Food
Sauerkraut: A spoonful daily is the best preventative of colds and the flu. If you didn't make it last fall, it's not too late to do it now. It's ready to eat in a few days. Store bought doesn't work as it has been pasteurized.
Ginger: has shown activity against numerous infectious pathogens. Most notably, fresh ginger inhibits viruses that commonly cause respiratory infections.
Garlic: has been used to prevent infection for thousands of years; and it still works! No need to upset your stomach (and loved ones) by eating it raw; cooked garlic retains its antibacterial powers, so long as you eat enough of it. During plague times, some healers wore a stiff cone of paper or bark stuffed with garlic and spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) tied over the nose to ward off contagion. That's a little cumbersome for modern times, but inhaling the aroma of a cup of spicy chai tea sweetened with garlic honey could help you stay well.
Mullein infusion
To brew mullein infusion, I fill a quart canning jar about half full of cut and crushed mullein leaf and stalk pieces. (If using commercial herb, I use one ounce by weight.) I fill the jar to the top with boiling water, cap tightly, and let it sit at room temperature for four hours, or overnight.
Mullein leaves are fuzzy, and mullein infusion can be too. To protect my throat, I always strain my mullein infusion through tightly-woven cloth (like a handkerchief) before drinking. The dose of mullein infusion is 1-4 cups a day.
Mullein infusion will last for 5-6 days refrigerated. It brews up to a dark brown liquid with a smoky flavor that I find quite appealing, especially with milk and honey.
To relieve acute lung problems, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, SARS, even coughs, 2-4 cups of mullein infusion a day, plus elecampane, echinacea, and/or poke root tinctures are consumed until health has returned. To strengthen the lungs, or to restore health to lung tissues after "assaults" such as tobacco smoke or radiation: 1-2 cups of mullein infusion daily for six weeks is suggested. To relieve allergies and asthma, 2-4 cups of mullein infusion every day for 6-8 weeks is amazingly effective.
www.wisewomanmentor.com
Foods that Lower Blood Pressure.
Fruits: apple, banana, blueberry, cranberry, fig, grape, orange, pomegranate.
Vegetables: beets, broccoli, celery, dandelion greens, garlic, mushrooms, parsley, potatoes, seaweed, spinach.
Drinking eight ounces (a cup) of beetroot juice a day decreases blood pressure about as quickly and about as much as most drugs. It is loaded with nitrate, which turns into nitric oxide in the body. Nitro widens blood vessels and increases blood flow.
Read the rest of this article:
www.wisewomanmentor.com/wisdom-archive/foods-that-lower-blood-pressure
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External Uses of Infusions
What to do when your infusions are past safe for drinking.
A soak consists of an infusion that has been rewarmed after the plant material has been strained out. The affected body part is then soaked in the warm infusion.
If you soak your feet in an herbal infusion, it's a foot bath, an excellent way to soothe and heal the entire body, and absorb herbal benefits.
A sitz bath is a big soak! Two or more quarts of infusion are usually needed to fill a shallow bowl or pan big enough for you to "sitz" in.
A bath is an enormous soak, like steeping your body in an infusion. You can prepare an herbal bath by putting the herbs directly in the tub, but my plumber made it clear to me that herbs and drains are incompatible. Some herbals say to put the herbs in a cloth and allow the bath water to run over them but I find the resulting bath too weak. If you want a strong herbal bath, try it this way: Infuse two quarts of your favorite bath herb, strain, and add the liquid to your hot bath. Ahhhhh!
Read the rest here:
www.wisewomanmentor.com/recipe-archive/external-uses-of-infusions
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Linden Infusion
Linden is the world’s leading anti-cold and anti-flu herb.
It prevents and heals all respiratory distresses (but is not an anti-infective). It is a cooling and strengthening herb. Linden is considered safe for children and elders.
Linden is primarily used as a tea, though I prefer the curative powers of a strong infusion.
* One-half ounce of linden blossoms
* One quart of water
Steep for four hours. I strain off the first brew and refrigerate it, then rebrew the wet linden flowers by adding two cups of cold water to them in a saucepan. I bring this rebrew to a boil, cover, and let sit for four hours to extract the healing mucilage that is triggered by the cold water.
www.wisewomanmentor.com/recipe-archive
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Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Nutmeg
The aroma of winter is wood smoke and evergreen. But winter holidays smell spicy. Herbs that grow only in the tropics — such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, allspice, and vanilla — are called spices. Their aromatic oils and volatile esters entice us with delicious smells and mouth-watering tastes. And spices warm us from the inside, as if we had ingested the tropical sun on a cold day. Spices help preserve food and counter a variety of illnesses, too. Come, sit and warm your feet by the fire. Close your eyes and imagine the dense green forests where aromatic spices grow. ..
* A cup of Cinnamon tea .. eases menstrual cramps, soothes sore joints, relieves gas pain, and allays that feeling of fullness after a big meal. A sip or two of cinnamon tea before meals improves digestion and prevents acid reflux. Those who drink cinnamon tea regularly will have less cavities, stronger gums, and fewer insect bites.
* Chewing cardamom seeds freshens the breath and improves digestion. Herbalists consider cardamom effective for helping the liver, the appetite, the stomach, and the intestines.
* Modern medicine validates Nutmeg’s ability to inhibit diarrhea and slow down the action of the gastrointestinal tract. Folk medicine agrees, using nutmeg against diarrhea, dysentery, inflammation of the mucus membranes, flatulence, and vomiting. Nutmeg has also been shown to effect prostaglandin synthesis and to be a particularly potent antimicrobial. It may also be anti-rheumatic.
Green blessing are everywhere, especially in your spice chest.
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Happy Holidays!
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Winter edible weed: Cronewort (Artemisia vulgaris)
The little leaves of my friend cronewort (AKA mugwort), minced, will add a savory, slightly bitter bite to our salad. Just a few will do the trick. Yes, you can still make a cronewort vinegar, with leaves or roots and leaves, if you can find young growth, which is generally easy.
Elder Remedies Cold and flu season is approaching. Here's some Elder remedies to help keep you healthy. * Dried Elder Berry Tincture Fill any size jar no more than half full of dried elder berries. Fill jar to the top...
Nettle Sesame Salt A delicious low-salt seasoning 1 cup/250ml sesame seeds 1/4 cup/60ml dried nettle Roast sesame in heavy pan over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. When browned to your liking, pour into blender or mortar with a...
Goldenrod (Solidago species) I like to make a jar or two of goldenrod vinegar as a fall tonic. The taste is earth-y and pollen-y and sunshine-y. The goldenrod is a late fall favorite of so many insects, I figure it...
Oat Tart with Date Filling by Juliette de Bairacli Levy Filling: Two pounds stoned dates, one orange, one lemon (small). Grate the peels off the orange and lemon, then squeeze out all the juice. Pour the juice over the dates...
Wise Woman Bookshop Sale on Juliette de Bairacli Levy's books. Juliette de Bairacli Levy, was a world renowned herbalist, author, and pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine. If you've been wanting to read Julliette now is a great time to get...
Skullcap tincture Susun talks to a caller on blogtalkradio about skullcap. She explains how to make the tincture and talks about the plants properties and it's use as an anti-viral for Lyme. This audio is just under 4:00 minutes long....
Dried Tomato Pâté {excerpt from: Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines} Spread on crackers, spoon into soup, add to omelets. * Pack dried tomatoes into a one-cup measure. * Add boiling water to just barely cover. When tomatoes are soft, strain out...
Plantain Honey Used to counter coughs and improve digestion. * Harvest vibrant green plantain leaves at any time of their growth. * Chop them finely and fill a jar with the fresh chopped leaves. * Slowly pour honey over the...
Blessed Lammas The least known of the eight major Pagan holy days is Lammas, celebrated on the first of August. (The other primary holy days are the Summer and Winter Solstices, the Spring and Fall Equinoxes, and the Cross Quarter...
Mint Honeys Fill a jar with fresh mint, best if you cut it fairly fine. Pour real honey over the herb in the jar. After you have filled your jar with fresh herb and honey, put a tight lid and...
Edible weeds Some of my favorite edible weeds: • Burdock (Arctium lappa) Roots of non-flowering plants harvested after frost make a vinegar that is deep, and richly flavorful as well as a world-renowned tonic. Petioles of the leaves and the...
Malva leaves, flowers, and seed pods (Malva neglecta) This mallow is prostrate and so often overlooked. All parts of it are delicious in salads: leaves, flowers, and seeds. The seeds look like a little gouda cheese, thus giving the plant...
Herbal Flower Wine Equipment you will need: 6 or more 750ml wine bottles (reused is fine, no need to buy) 8 or more real corks of a size to fit your bottles (reused is fine, no need to buy) 1...
Weed walk: Garlic mustard - Alliaria officinalis Eat it up before it flowers. Yummy in salads or cooked More Weed walks at Personal Mentorship: www.wisewomanmentor.com/healing-wise *
The Comfrey Conference was amazing! We hope you enjoyed all of the presentations, Comfrey shorts, and Live Zooms by our 16 amazing Presenters and multiple contributors of shorts. If you didn't finish all of the content, or didn't sign up...
Comfrey in Water Water extracts many important plant constituents including minerals, proteins, sugars, starches, polyphenols, volatiles, and vitamins. Some alkaloids are extracted by water, including allantoin and PAs. Water-based remedies include, teas, infusions, decoctions, poultices, compresses, soaks, baths, and fomentations....
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) * Ease stressed nerves, relieve anxiety Motherwort calms, supports, and strengthens you the way the smell of your mother did when you were very young. Used regularly, motherwort feeds your nerves and your good common sense, relaxing...
Stout-hearted Soup Serves 4 - 6 These ingredients feed your immune system and lower your cholesterol. * Chop 1-2 large onions and saute in olive oil until soft. * Mince 10-12 cloves of garlic and saute for a few minutes...
Herbal medicine is people’s medicine. Herbal medicine is the primary medicine of most people on this planet, right now. It’s not something old and dusty. It's not a bunch of doctors and chemists figuring out how to use herbs like...
Lusty Herbs for Valentines Saint Valentine groans, no doubt, at the bawdy day crowned with his name. He was, of course, celebate, and our celebration of love and lusty connections surely stands as a mockery to his forbearance. The original...
External Uses of Infusions What to do when your infusions are past safe for drinking. A soak consists of an infusion that has been rewarmed after the plant material has been strained out. The affected body part is then soaked...
Elder and Saint Joan's Wort Susun talks about Elder Berries and Saint Joans Wort herbs. Two of the best anti-viral herbs. Easy Online Courses! Join Susun Weed with her new easy video based courses. Learn how to be happy, healthy,...
Joyous New Year to all! How to Lead a Joyous Life: I aspire to be a joyous human being. As with most aspirations: It is easier said than done. Easier imagined than put into practice. Easier to search for than...
Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Nutmeg The aroma of winter is wood smoke and evergreen. But winter holidays smell spicy. Herbs that grow only in the tropics — such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, allspice, and vanilla — are called spices....
Vegetable Soup Stock A quart of this in the freezer guarantees hearty winter soups in half the time. Skins and ends from 4-6 onions Stalks from a bunch of parsley Dill stalks and seed heads Optional: Dried or fresh celery...
Horseradish tincture Makes your eyes water and clears your sinuses. Intense! Slice horseradish root into thin even disks. Cut disks into thin even strips. Chop strips into a small dice. Fill jar to the top with diced horseradish. Add 100...
Purslane Gazpacho Recipe serves 6-8. In a large bowl place: 6 cups tomatoes cut into into ½ squares plus their juice 4 cups cucumbers, peeled, seeded, cut into ½ squares. 1 tablespoon sea salt 2-3 teaspoons granulated garlic 2 tablespoons...
Eating Abundantly Well excerpt from Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines • Enjoy your meals; make them sacred. • Eat to connect: with your body, your family, your home, your friends, and Nature. • Adjust your diet to the season. • Eat...
Herbal Syrups Herbal syrups are sweetened, condensed herbal infusions. Cough drops are concentrated syrups. Alcohol is frequently added to syrups to help prevent fermentation and stabilize the remedy. Cough drops and lozenges, having less water, keep well without the addition...
Goldenrod (Solidago juncea) This photo shows a lovely example of early goldenrod, the first of the goldenrods come into bloom as the days shorten. Many others will follow it, for there are more than 60 species of goldenrod in my...
Herbed Burdock
Preparation time: With precooked burdock, 15 minutes at the most.
Add another 45 minutes to soak and cook burdock. Serves 6-8.
4 cups/1 liter burdock root
3 tablespoons/45ml olive oil
3 tablespoons/45ml butter
4 oz/125ml fresh herbs
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs/30ml lemon juice
2 tablespoons/30ml tamari
Soak and parboil burdock root or stalk. If you use chilled, already cooked burdock, warm it.
Heat oil and butter.
Add burdock, then garlic and herbs.
Stir and heat together for a minute, then add tamari and lemon juice. Serve hot.
If you're ready to go deeper with your herbal studies, join Susun on her New Improved Mentorship website. Get new content every week, such as, the expanded herbal ezine, videos, audio of Susuns past lectures, Q&As, many articles, and even personal one on one mentorship from Susun.
www.wisewomanmentor.com
Using Herbs Simply and Safely
Are herbs "dilute forms of drugs" - and therefore dangerous? Or are they "natural" - and therefore safe? If you sell herbs, you probably hear these questions often. What is the "right" answer? It depends on the herb! These thoughts on herbs will help you explain to your customers (and yourself) how safe--or dangerous-- any herb might be.
To prevent problems when selling or using herbs:
- Be certain you have the correct plant.
- Use simples.
- Understand that different preparations of the same herb can work differently.
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Use nourishing, tonifying, stimulating, and potentially poisonous herbs wisely.
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Be certain you have the correct plant.
One of the easiest ways to get into trouble with an herb is to use the "wrong" one. How could that happen? Common names for herbs overlap, causing confusion as to the proper identity. Herbs that are labeled correctly may contain extraneous material from another, more dangerous, herb. Herbs may be picked at the wrong stage of growth or handled incorrectly after harvesting, causing them to develop detrimental qualities.
Protect yourself and your customers with these simple steps:
• Buy herbs only from reputable suppliers.
•Only buy herbs that are labeled with their botanical name. Botanical names are specific, but the same common name can refer to several different plants. "Marigold" can be Calendula officinalis, a medicinal herb, or Tagetes, an annual used as a bedding plant.
•If you grow the herbs you sell, be meticulous about keeping different plants separate when you harvest and dry them, and obsessive about labeling.
- Use simples
A simple is one herb. For optimum safety, I prepare, buy, sell, teach about and use herbal simples, that is: preparations containing only one herb. (Occasionally I use will add some mint to flavor a remedy.)
The more herbs there are in a formula, the more likelihood there is of unwanted side-effects. Understandably, the public seeks combinations, hoping to get more for less. And many mistakenly believe that herbs must be used together to be effective (probably because potentially poisonous herbs are often combined with protective herbs to mitigate the damage they cause). But combining herbs with the same properties, such as goldenseal and echinacea, is counter-productive and more likely to cause trouble than a simple. A simple tincture of echinacea is more effective than any combination and much safer.)
Different people have different reactions to substances, whether drugs, foods, or herbs. When herbs are mixed together in a formula and someone taking it has distressing side effects, there is no way to determine which herb is the cause. With simples, it's easy to tell which herb is doing what. If there's an adverse reaction, other herbs with similar properties can be tried. Limiting the number of herbs used in any one day (to no more than four) offers added protection.
Side effects from herbs are less common than side effects from drugs and usually less severe. If an herb disturbs the digestion, it may be that the body is learning to process it. Give it a few more tries before giving up. Stop taking any herb that causes nausea, dizziness, sharp stomach pains, diarrhea, headache, or blurred vision. (These effects will generally occur quite quickly.) Slippery elm is an excellent antidote to any type of poison.
If you are allergic to any foods or medicines, it is especially important to consult resources that list the side effects of herbs before you use them.
Read more here:
http://wisewomanezine.com/March18/greenblessings.html
Garlic Honey
(pictured with a sprig of rosemary, thyme, or oregano)
One of my favorite remedies to have on hand for the winter is garlic honey. It is super easy to make and ready almost immediately to counter sore throats, colds, the flu, lung congestion, and sinus problems.
I use a smallish jar (4-8 ounces/125-250ml) with a good lid. First I fill it with unpeeled garlic cloves. If I have some tiny onions from the garden, I add those too. Then I pour honey over it all, using a chop stick to poke the honey down into the garlic. After screwing on the lid, I label the jar with the contents and date. ...
Read the rest of this recipe on Susun's New Mentorship website:
www.wisewomanmentor.com/recipes-3
Make An Infused Oil/Fresh Herb
Oil and animal fat coax a variety of healing compounds out of fresh plants. Dried plants, with a few exceptions, will never make a great oil.
- Calendula oil calms inflammation and irritation.
- Chickweed oil softens and dissolves cysts and scars.
- Comfrey oil is tricky from fresh; heals tears and breaks.
- Plantain oil stops itching, hastens deep wound recovery.
- St. Joan’s wort oil eases burns, muscle soreness, nerve pain.
Fill a dry jar almost full with finely-chopped fresh herb, then fill with any edible oil/fat.
Cap tightly. Label (on lid). Put in a small bowl to catch ooze.
Steep, out of direct sunlight, for six weeks.
Sieve plant material from oil, squeeze well.
excerpt from: Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines
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Simple Green Pesto
excerpt from Abundantly Well: Seven Medicines.
This simple pesto has only four ingredients. It keeps up to three years in the refrigerator.
Pesto preserves the herbs antioxidant power.
Dandelion leaf pesto is bitter and tangy.
Chickweed pesto is mellow and grassy; use new growth.
Shiso or tulsi pesto is aromatic and romantic.
Garlic mustard pesto is bitter and spicy and delicious.
Garlic scape pesto is heaven on earth.
There are no specific amounts; use what is abundant. ...
- Read the rest of this recipe on the New Improved Mentorship site:
www.wisewomanmentor.com/recipe-archive/simple-green-pesto
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