herbal healing | herbal health & beauty | growing herbs | magical homemaking
~a kitchen witch practices magic around the hearth and home~
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tammy November 25th, 2008
It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to come here and see all the comments and to know that people are actually reading what I write. I absolutely love it when you leave a note for me 
I’ve been working a lot the last few weeks, so haven’t had time to respond to everyone individually, but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all you readers.
Here’s some love back to YOU!
tammy November 19th, 2008
See that big rock down by woods edge? It’s a solid piece of quartz, as are all the babies around it. That’s my future meditation and medicine garden, which I plan to build up come Spring.
The big rock faces East and has a perfect little depression on the top for my behind to rest comfortably. The babies in front make perfect stepping stones up to it.
When the foliage is gone in the Fall and early Spring, I have often sat there early in the morning to meditate as the sun comes up. My plan is to clear some space and plant a medicine garden all around it so I can have access all through the Summer too.
Here is a view from atop the rock. Directly in front there is a huge rose quartz stone embedded in the ground. If you look carefully you can see the Stone Person in it.
Here is a closer view from a few weeks ago before all the foliage was gone.
It’s a powerful place, and I look forward to spending a lot of time there.
tammy November 19th, 2008
I can not believe how incredibly easy it is to grow garlic! Just look at this little plot of land that I carefully mulched over with grass clippings. There is garlic planted in there, uh-huh, uh-huh… [doing the happy dance here]
Since I use garlic almost every time I cook, as well as in medicines, this is a major, major skill for me to know how to grow it myself. For some reason, I thought it was a very complicated thing and had never yet taken the time to look into it. But my herbal email buddy, Leslie, enlightened me a few weeks ago to how easy this is, so now I’ll spread the knowledge.
You only need to buy a bulb (or two or three or four) of organic garlic from the produce section of the grocery store. Break it apart into cloves, then plant each of the cloves about 4 inches apart, pointy side up.
Like most plants that grow from bulbs, you plant garlic in the Fall (I actually planted this a few weeks ago, late October, zone 7 Eastern U.S.). It is supposed to start sending up green shoots in the Spring, and by late Summer, early Fall there should be whole bulbs under the ground everywhere I planted a clove. Leslie says that when it sends up shoots you should pinch the flower heads off so it will keep its energy down in the ground to make those bulbs fat and juicy.
There are also lots of varieties of garlic that can be special ordered. Although I’ve not ordered garlic from them before, I have gotten good seed from Southern Exposure, and will probably try some of their garlic next year.
See, I told you it was easy! I think maybe anybody can grow garlic!
tammy November 18th, 2008
Oh, I am sooooo far behind! Sarah Head at Tales of a Kitchen Herbwife awarded me the Uber Amazing Blog award some days ago, but I’ve not had a chance to post it here until today. Thank you Sarah for the award! And sorry it took so long to acknowledge. I’m so glad people are reading and enjoying what I write here.
[Note: I removed the Award graphic because I mysteriously began having some problems with my site right after uploading it, then found a bunch of weird code in my pages (which I have removed now). I'm not sure if the problems were due to this graphic or not, but just to be safe, I've taken it down.]
The rules of this award are:-
* Put the award logo on your blog or post (right click on award, save as)
* Nominate at least 1 blog that you consider to be Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.
And now, I pass the award onto… drum roll please… two of my very favorite newer blogs: Patricia at the Handmaiden’s Kitchen & Mon at Hearth Herbalist. There are so many, many fine and popular blogs out there that I enjoy, but these stand out for me as a couple of kindred bloggers and, well, I just think they are Uber Amazing!
(what does Uber mean, anyway? it must be something good, I’m sure )
tammy November 9th, 2008
A few weeks ago, I got the side of my finger caught between the tips of a pair of pliers that I happened to be squeezing together with all my might while working on something. It hurt terribly and made an instant ugly bruise swell up. Ooooh, it was throbbing, skin almost cut, a dark purple bruise. What to do? What to do? Ouch!
Somewhere from the depths of my brain came the thought that Yarrow is good for bruises (I hadn’t really used it for this purpose before, just had read about it somewhere). I happened to have some oil that I made this summer from fresh flowering tops of yarrow growing in the neighbor’s field, so I pulled it out and rubbed some over the injury – very, very carefully! did I mention how bad it hurt?
Well, within seconds, the pain was diminished, so I kept rubbing the oil in a bit deeper. A couple more seconds and the pain was completely, completely gone! And the bruise seemed less ugly too. For the rest of the day, everytime it would begin to hurt again, I rubbed some more in. By the next morning I could barely see the bruise, and I had no more pain, so no more need for repeat applications.
Okay, so everything I’ve read about Yarrow being a good bruise remedy and its ability to move stagnant blood was proven true first hand. But I kept thinking about that surprising pain relief I had experienced. As someone who must sit at a desk all day for her day job, and who tends to do hard physical work outside of the job, I can get quite stiff and sore very often. Plus, as a massage therapist in training, I know that chronic pain is an extremely widespread problem. Something that can bring this kind of pain relief is very exciting to me, to say the least.
It has a sort of numbing, anesthetic quality, but not in a way that completey removes all sensation. You can still feel touch, just not the slightest bit of pain.
Now, I use Goldenrod oil regularly for deeply sore muscles, and in addition to the way that helps heal strained muscles, it also has a similar pain relieving effect as does the Yarrow, but not nearly as strong.
Hmmmmmm, went my little brain… maybe they could complement each other. I decided to mix the two oils together, and wow, am I ever glad I did.
This is the muscle pain reliever that beats EVERY single thing I’ve ever used for this problem. In my estimation, it’s at least ten times more effective than the Goldenrod alone, and about a hundred times more effective than most other remedies I’ve used.
And the best thing is, it’s not just a pain reliever that addresses surface symptoms. It also really helps the muscles to repair. I hurt my shoulder lifting and carrying something that was too heavy for me a few months ago, and then dutifully sat at my desk job week in and week out, with the injured shoulder unnaturally strained forward clicking a mouse all day, every day. Needless to say, what could have been a fairly minor injury turned into a major problem after a couple of months.
After ignoring the very painful and spasming muscles over many weeks (the spasms would come and go at first), hoping it would go away on its own, I finally decided to see a chiropractor when it kept yelling louder and louder and was getting worse each day. His treatments and prescribed exercises are helping me to realign my muscles and posture to prevent further injury, but what is really helping to speed the healing is my Goldenrod & Yarrow oil.
I didn’t use it the first week I was seeing the chiropractor, and I was having a LOT of pain between appointments. After I started rubbing out the spasms a couple times a day with the oil, I noticed that after just a few days of regular use, I needed to apply it less and less frequently. The muscles are pain free AND they are healing quickly.
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve also had the opportunity to use it on several massage clients needing relief from severe spasms, and have gotten similar awesome results for them as well. It doesn’t necessarily dissolve the spasm — you still need to work it out manually in most cases (though with less effort than you might otherwise need). But it does remove all the pain and gets the blood flowing and the healing started immediately. (Caution to therapists: Be careful not to work too deeply if using this oil, as your client won’t be able to sense pain and tell you if you are going too deep.)
Oh how blessed I feel to have discovered this combo!
tammy November 1st, 2008
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
They had fun trick-or-treating last night. From left to right, Kelsea was a beautiful princess, Shaun was a super power ranger, Jelani was a fuzzy duck, and Avery was a scary zombie. Now they’re all loaded up on sugar for the weekend… yikes!
tammy October 30th, 2008
After my recent post on Tree Medicine my friend, Sarah Head, suggested I make my own set of Ogham Sticks. She was even kind enough to send along detailed instructions from the classes she teaches on the topic. I had not heard of Ogham Sticks before, but was immediately intrigued when I learned they were a divination tool made from trees. Thank you Sarah! What a creative, healing, and so very appropriate project for me to do over these upcoming Winter months!
As I learned from Sarah, to make a set, you only need to respectfully and reverently collect sticks of the size and shape desired from a variety of trees of your choosing, then polish and decorate the sticks as you like, being sure to mark the name of the tree (or other symbol) so you can remember which stick represents which tree. The finished product can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. I liked Sarah’s suggestion to take wood from fallen branches already offered by the tree. If taking from the live tree, she suggests doing so while the tree sleeps during the cold months.
The finished sticks can be kept in a special bag or other container, and then when you need tree medicine, you can “draw” one or more sticks from the bag. Together with an understanding of the symbolism and energy of the tree(s) you have drawn, very useful insight into your situation can be gained. This is similar to drawing Runes or Tarot, or even meditating upon a random Bible passage — ALL spiritual traditions have some means of consulting a higher wisdom through symbols or story for the purpose of growth and understanding in ones everyday life. It is “Story Medicine,” as Susun Weed calls it.
Though traditional Ogham Sticks can be a part of well-defined ritual and ceremony, where there are the Ogham alphabet symbols engraved on them, a certain number of sticks, and specific types of trees to use, I do not plan to follow those particular guidelines to make mine. At this point in my path, I’m not looking for traditional meanings so much as I am wanting to develop a very personal tool to help with my own growth and understanding of tree medicine, and a way to connect more meaningfully with that wisdom.
Instead of making a traditional set, I will allow my own set to evolve over time from those trees that I develop a special connection to right here in my own backyard, one tree at a time, over as many years as it takes to meet all the Tree People I need to meet! I think it will be very fulfilling for me to do in-depth research on each tree as I go along (meditative, books, science, all together) and then translate that understanding lovingly into the symbolic form of an Ogham Stick to represent each Standing Person.
I am going to start my set with the lovely Sweetgum, which has star shaped leaves that smell heavenly when crushed.
She really stands out along the edge of the forest in the summer because of the unique shape of her leaves. She practically shouted for me to pay attention to her as I walked past one day. She is no less quiet in the Fall. Just look at that fire! A good place for me to begin, I think.
tammy October 22nd, 2008
We’ve had our first few light frosts this week! This morning I went looking to see if the Sassafras roots would be ready for harvesting anytime soon. Nope. Not yet. But I did learn something about the true colors of Sassafras.
Some Sassafras is yellow…
Some Sassafras is orange…
Some Sassafras is red…
And some Sassafras is still green!
I will wait until the leaves have fallen to dig the roots — some to make root beer, some to dry for teas and infusions. I think I will also tie a matching-colored string around several plants so I can remember which were which, and see if the different varieties make different tasting brews. Hopefully, I’ll have an update on that for you in a couple months.
Right now, I’m sipping some Sassafras tea made from leaves I dried last spring. Mmmmmm…
(I was so excited to find Sassafras trees earlier this year that I got ahead of myself and dug Spring roots and made root beer with them, and dried the leaves for tea – read about that here)
tammy October 16th, 2008
In the spiritual tradition of my Native American ancestors, the trees are known as the Standing People. They are the great and wise chiefs of the Green Nations. Their roots run deep into Mother Earth and their branches reach high toward Father Sky. They are deeply connected to both the physical and spiritual realms, wise and generous. I spent some time among them this morning seeking wisdom, peace, rest.
As I lay gazing upward at the quivering, multi-colored leaves, an occasional gust of wind would send the brightest ones spiraling down like dry rain to catch in my hair and caress my face. I tried to get a photo of one of these leaf showers, as it was an achingly beautiful sight, but it was a Zen moment that simply could not be captured.
Here is another view from my hammock instead.
I’ve been feeling generally stuck for some months now in several major areas of my life, desiring a big change, not knowing what to do or how to make myself feel better. Each small step I have managed forward seems overwhelmingly insignificant compared to the thousands more that must yet be walked. Lots of thinking going on in my mind these days about what is really important to me and how I want to live the second half of my life. A midlife crisis perhaps?
It must be time for the medicine wheel to turn… a new stage of life approaches. The Standing People are making this journey now also. They have many lessons for me, I think.
tammy October 5th, 2008
When I get sick, my first thoughts usually turn to, how can I make this GO AWAY!! NOW!! But I’m learning through experience that this approach is not always the best way. It seems the more I push at an illness, the more it pushes back, and the longer I have to deal with it.
If you remember from a previous post how sick I was recently, and how well Butterfly Weed helped me, you may be surprised to learn that I got another virus just as that never-ending one cleared up. I went to the doctor to rule out a more serious infection like pnuemonia and such. Clear mucous, no fever… probably just another opportunistic cold virus catching hold while my immune system was still weak and vulnerable — from my recent illness and also from racing through life at a frantic pace without enough rest or self care!
With that original illness, I had thrown everything herbal at it that I could think of. Lots of tincture taking and impatience as the symptoms hung on and on. Even the more nourishing remedies, such as hot bone broth soup, were administered with a forceful attitude. I was wanting to get back to my busy life at full speed, but I felt like shit. My thoughts were, what can I take that will zap this thing out of me and let me get on with it????
Susan Weed teaches a lot about “problems as allies.” The idea is that when an illness shows up, your body is trying to speak, to get your attention. It’s not an enemy to be thwarted, but an ally that can help you move toward greater wholeness and health. What was my body saying to me? When I became sick again so soon after just starting to get well, I decided to stop “fighting off illness” and embrace it so I could pay more careful attention to my body’s voice. It was saying that I needed sleep. I needed comfort and warmth. I needed nourishment. I needed some TLC and gentleness.
So…
I took a couple days off from massage school and a day off from work. Through those days and into the weekend, I slept a lot more than I had in months.
After waking up from a nice long sleep on one of the days, feeling pretty relaxed, but cold and congested, I went to my herb cupboard and picked out herb for a hot steam. Calendula flowers, yes, that’s what I wanted. Some may think of the more aromatic herbs as the most appropriate here, but for some reason, I just wanted the calendula. I boiled some water and poured it over the dried flowers into a bowl and then covered my head with a towel to breath in the warm steam, letting in cool air as needed. Pure bliss, deeply penetrating warmth and comfort for my lungs and sinuses. When the water had cooled enough, I took some of the warm moist flowers and laid them over my eyes and sinuses, absorbing their healing energy.
My lungs were still feeling weak after these many weeks, still hanging on to a lingering, nagging cough. My glands and lymph were still swollen a bit. I went back to my herb cupboard a little later for infusion ingredients – to soothe my symptoms, not force them well, just soothe them. And I FOUND SOME MULLIEN!! I had thought I was out, but there it was, this wonderful lung tonic. Into the infusion jar went a small handful. Mellow oatstraw was calling to me also, so a handful of that next. Hmmm… dried elderberries… I briefly wondered if they would be good as infusion (I’d only been taking it as tincture so far). I thought yes, so a few of those added to the jar, too. Finally, some more of the yellow calendula petals (just petals, not the whole flower head; just what my body seemed to want). Pour boiling water over, cap, and leave for a few hours. Strain and drink. The taste is smooth, mellow, slightly fruity, divine. Everything elderberry is supposed to do for a cold or flu seemed magnified ten times over compared to the tincture. The the taste of mullien is like something I’ve been craving for a long time. The infusion soothes my cough. It relaxes and nourishes me deeply. I make this brew again the next day and the next and the next.
Chicken soup several days in a row, made with bone broth, lots of sage and thyme and pepper and salt. The warmth down my throat, the herbs, the minerals, all work together to start weaving back together my frayed system.
Several hot baths with bundles of herbs thrown in. Red clover blossoms and, once again, sunny calendula. Bone penetrating warmth, just as I needed.
By Monday, I felt rested and relaxed and just about back to my old self. My lungs felt healthy and strong, all my upper respiratory passages felt moist and at ease. An interesting side note – the tennis elbow I’ve had for months now STOPPED HURTING ALSO! Somehow through this process, that elbow got what it needed, too, so it stopped yelling at me.
This experience was two weeks ago. I’ve been mostly well since then, but everytime I start to over do it, scrimp on sleep, or fail to nourish myself properly with fluids and good food, that little tickling cough starts to creep back, and I understand the message immediately.
Notice all the water-based, warm, nourishing herbal remedies I instinctively reached for when the focus became listening and nurturing, instead of squashing and conquering. This is kitchen medicine at its best. A great lesson this whole experience has been for me in the art of Healing Wise
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Welcome to my Witchen Kitchen! I hope you find tons of inspiration and useful herbal information and wise woman wisdom here! Just grab a cup of your favorite herbal tea (or coffee...I love coffee too!) and pull up a chair. I've got a tasty soup bubbling on the stove, herbal medicines in the cupboard, and lots of information to share. Happy reading and green blessings!! 