Hedgewitch Inn

To help the "wealthy and wise" sleep more soundly, mattresses were stuffed with herbs, sweet grasses and even roses, and soothing herbal combinations were sewn into special sleep pillows. But medicinal pillows can do more than encourage sleep. Perhaps the best-known use of a medicinal pillow is the spelt pillow. It was recommended by the medieval herbalist Hildegard von Bingen to ease neck and shoulder pain in the twelfth century and is still used today. Early herbalists also favored hay-flower and fern pillows, and traditional medicine has long called for pillows stuffed with cherry pits, hops and chamomile. Because of the essential oils in their filling, many pillows can alleviate pain, inflammation and rheumatic symptoms. You can buy or make your own medicinal pillows.

Spelt Pillows
Fill a cotton pouch with spelt, a grain available at health-food stores, and sew or tie it closed. Warm the pillow in an oven set on low. The pillow will retain heat for up to 3 hours. When it begins to cool, shake the pillow to bring remaining hot grain up to the surface. Use the pillow for neck pain and shoulder tension. It will also help to relieve severe menstrual cramps.

Therapeutic Effect: Pillows with a stuffing of grain or other seeds retain heat well and re used to alleviate circulatory disorders, back and neck pain and headaches. Their warming qualities also relive toothaches and menstrual cramps. When herb pillows are warmed, they release essential oils responsible for many of the particular herb's healing properties. In addition, the small air pockets in the filling ensure that the pillow will conform precisely to the shape of your body.

The Best Herbs and Grains For Pillows: Herb pillows are often filled with flowers or seeds, dill, thyme, mugwort, chamomile flowers, lavender and hops. Thyme contains the mucolytic agent thymol, chamomile flowers contain an anti-inflammatory essential oil that relieves pain. Pillows with mugwort, lavender and chamomile are said to induce vivid dreams. The apparent reason that spelt in a pillow helps to relieve pain is the high proportion - up to 90 percent in some varieties - of silicic acid in the grain.

Grain Pillows for Earaches and Sinus Pain: Just before bedtime, heat a small pillow filled (but not overstuffed) with wheat grains or coarse sea salt in the oven until warm. Lie down on your side, with the painful ear against the pillow. The long-lasting warmth promotes circulation and soothes the pain of middle-ear and sinus infections.

Hops Pillows for Sleeplessness: Fill a cotton pillow with hops. You don't have to warm it; its odor is fairly strong and releases the calming active ingredients, lupulin and humulin. Add lavender to the hops to cut and sweeten the odor. Place this pillow under your regular pillow to encourage sleepiness.

A Little Lore: Traditionally, it was believed that if you kept a sprig of rosemary under your pillow as you slept, you would be protected from harm by evil spirits.

Applications

For Wounds: A pillow stuffed with chamomile can help to promote the healing of wounds. Fill a small pillowcase with chamomile flowers, which have anti-inflammatory properties, and heat it in a warm oven. Soak a cotton towel in hot water. Wring it out and place this towel on top of the pillow. Wrap with a dry terry-cloth towel, and then place the heated pillow on the affected area.

For Bronchitis and Coughing: A thyme pillow can loosen mucus and facilitate expectoration. Yo make this pillow, was a generous number of fresh thyme sprigs and pat dry with paper towels. While the sprigs are still damp, fill a small or medium-sized pillowcase. Heat in a warm oven and then place it over the rib cage. Cover with a blanket. You can reheat and use this pillow one more time.

For Colic In Children: A pillow filled with a blend of readily available herbs can help soothe colic and quiet restlessness. Make a pillow with a 5- x 10-inch cloth, folded in half and sewn. Combine 1/4 cup each of lavender flowers, hops, lemon-balm leaves, dill seeds and chamomile flowers. Stuff the herbal mixture into the pillowcase, then sew to or under your child's regular pillow.

To prevent theft:
Gather the same number of keys as the ones you need for your house.
These can be spares, old keys or a representation eg. picture or model

Moving slowly through your house, take a key, touch it to the door and say:

"Lock out thieves in the night.
Lock out thieves in the light.
Lock out thieves out of sight."

Repeat this until you have touched each and every key to each door. Then, tie them with a red ribbon and hang over front door.
Remember to visualize them keeping away thieves!

Remember, never leave your bed empty for too long.
Doing so may cause unwanted negative energy to settle in your place.
When heading off, clean the bed and tuck a broom into it, bristles on the pillow. If you are in a strange place you might want to bring along a blue candle. Burning blue while you sleep will help protect you. Mirrors are great protection in the bedroom, as it repels negative influences. So put a small one on the headboard of your bed, or at least facing the door, and you should stay safe throughout the night.

Stag is a term for the male deer.

Horned deer have been connected with magic and the Gods since the earliest of times. Antlered human forms are to be found in cave paintings and as religious icons around the world. Gods have been depicted or associated with the Stag from the Inuit to the Inca.

Probably the best-known forms today are Cernunnos and Herne. Cernunnos literally means 'horned one', and he is often depicted as a seated human form with antlers, holding a snake in one hand and a torc in the other, and often accompanied by wild animals. He is a God of animals and fertility. The best-known depiction of Cernunnos is on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Herne is the more anglicized form of the same God. It is thought that his name comes from the call of the hind in the rutting season. Herne the hunter is said to appear in Windsor Great Park at times of national crisis. In Wales a similar God form who also leads the Wild Hunt is called Gwyn. Little written information is available to us on either Herne or Cernunnos, probably because it was the Horned Gods which gave rise to the concept of the devil bearing horns and even having cloven feet. However, he is mentioned in the Song of the Irish bard Amergin as the Stag of 7 times, i.e. branches on the antlers. Probably the best way of coming to an understanding of this God form is to spend time meditating on him in the woodlands which are his home.

"If you smother love it will die."

~from the Real Witches Year by Kate West

Cerberus is best known for playing a part in Hercules' final labor. Hercules had to go to the Underworld and bring Cerberus back to the surface of the earth without using his arrows or his club.

Hercules grabbed Cerberus by the throat and dragged him to Mycenae through a crack in the surface of the earth. Having accomplished this, Hercules dispatched Cerberus to guard one of the secret groves of Demeter but the dog eventually made his way back to Hades where he still guards the entrance.

In another legend, Orpheus makes the same journey to the underworld to bring back his lover, Eurydice. He manages to soothe Cerberus with his lyre.

In the Aeneid, the Trojan hero, Aeneas descends to Tartarus to visit his father Anchises. He is escorted by the Bybil of Cumae, and upon encountering 'huge Cerberus barking from his triple jaws, stretched at his enormous length in a den that fronts the gate,' she throws him a cake seasoned with honey and poppy seeds. Now Cerberus, “his neck bristling with horrid snakes, opening his three mouths in the mad rage of hunger, snatches the offered morsel, and spreads on the ground, relaxes his enormous limbs, lies now extended at the vast length over all the cave. Aeneas, now that hell's keeper is buried in sleep, seizes the passage and swiftly over-passes the bank of that flood whence there is no return.”

Quote :
Virgil described him by saying:

'No sooner landed, in his den they found the Triple porter of the Stygian sound, Grim Cerberus, who soon began to rear His crested Snakes, and armed His bristling hair.'

'Orcus' warder, blood-besmeared, Growling o'er gory bones half-cleared Down in his gloomy den.'

In Dante's Inferno, Cerberus was the tormenting genius of the third circle. There the gluttonous and incontinent souls could be found immersed in turbid water. Hail and snow poured down through the dark air upon their grimacing faces. Cerberus took care to see that each soul received its due share of torment:

'Cerberus, a monster fierce and strange, with three throats, barks dog-like over those that are immersed in it. His eyes are red, his beard greasy and black, his belly wide, and clawed his hands; he clutches the spirits, flays and piecemeal renders them. When Cerberus, the great Worm, perceived us, he opened his mouth and showed his tusks: no limb of him kept still. My guide, spreading his palms, took up earth; and, with full fists, cast it into his ravening gullets. As the dog, that barking craves, and grows quiet when he bites his food, for he strains and battles only to devour it: so did those squalid visages of Cerberus the Demon, who thunders on the spirits so, that they would fain be deaf.

Description
According to Horace, Cerberus possessed one hundred heads. Hesiod wrote that he had fifty, while most sources agree to only three. The center head was in the shape of a lion, while the other two were in the shape of a dog and a wolf, respectively. He also had a dragon's tail and a thick mane of writhing snakes.

Origin
It is generally thought that Cerberus was born to Echidne, a half-woman, half-serpent, and Typhon, the most fierce of all creatures.

Cerberus has a brother, Orphus, which is also a monstrous dog with two heads. Cerberus’ Egyptian correspondent is Anubis, the dog who guarded the tombs and conducted the souls to the underworld.

A similar dog, Garm, is guarding the house of deaths in the Norse mythology. These monsters were probably inspired from the dogs that haunted the battlefields in the dark of the night, feasting on the bodies of the fallen warriors.

Symbol
The three heads relate to the threefold symbol of the baser forces of life. They represent the past, the present and the time yet to come. Dante described Cerberus as “il gran vermo inferno” thus linking the monsters with the legendary worms and orms.

Role
Cerberus is the watchdog of Hell. He is often pictured with Hades, his master. He can be found on the banks of the river Styx, where he had the task of eating any mortals who attempted to enter, and any spirits who attempted to escape.

Magic
As Cerberus vehemently resisted Heracles, barking furiously, his saliva dripped on the ground, giving birth to a poisonous plant called aconite; thus named because it flourishes on bare rocks. It is also known as 'hecateis,' because Hecate was the first to use it. Medea tried to poison Theseus with it, and the Thessalian witches used it in preparing the ointment that enabled them to fly. The modern name for aconite is wolfsbane.

Ancient Greeks and Romans placed a coin and a small cake in the hands of their deceased. The coin was meant as payment for Charon who ferried the souls across the river Styx, while the cake helped to pacify Cerberus. This custom gave rise to the expression 'to give a sop to Cerberus,' meaning to give a bribe or to quiet a troublesome customer.

The Wishing Tree of Prince Edward County

by Dallas Jennifer Cobb

~from Llewellyn's Magical Almanac 2005

Once upon a time a magical maple tree grew near West Lake, in Prince Edward County, Eastern Ontario, Canada. At the time, it was said to be the largest maple tree in the world, and the last great maple east of the Rocky Mountains.

An easily recognized landmark, the tree was a meeting place for the Native people of the area. Elders and leaders met under the tree while the tribe gathered nearby preparing food and making temporary camp. The children and youth would play close to the tree, gathering small bits of bark from the ground and tossing them up into the tree. Of the bark caught on a branch or in a nook, then the thrower of the bark was granted a wish - hence the tree's name: the Wishing Tree.

Mohawk and Algonquin peoples met in the shade and shelter of the magical tree. They traded crafts, tools, horses, and food. Seasonally the tribes gathered for feasts and pow-wows, giving thanks for the abundance and creating opportunities for young people to meet their mates. Throughout North America, the Wishing Tree was renowned in many Native Communities as the site of gatherings and celebrations, Tribes also resolved conflicts, negotiated territory, and formed trade agreements at the tree. It is said that in the sixteenth century the Wishing Tree was where local Mohawks negotiated their joining with the Iroquois League.

In the eighteenth century, when Europeans settlers came to the area they, too, discovered the Wishing Tree and met there with Native leaders to trade and negotiate land rights. As the population grew, the path to the tree was widened to accommodate horseback travelers and a larger volume of visitors.

In the later 1700s, a wave of United Empire Loyalists, felling the American Revolution, settled in Prince Edward County. Crossing Lake Ontario, they landed in the area. They stayed because they enjoyed the fertile lands and the island's isolation.

The increased settler population brought change to the area. Native communities moved away into hunting lands that were still fertile and abundant. The settlers built permanent homes and buildings. Increased population also brought increased travel along the path where the Wishing Tree stood. When a road was built to accommodate wagon travel, it was constructed around the tree.

Like the Native inhabitants, the settlers regarded the Wishing tree as a sacred place, a place of peace. Many families traveled to it for family picnics and outings. It was popular with young lovers who would go sit quietly under its lush branches and wish on true love. Almost everyone who came would gather bark, throw it into the tree, and if it stick make a wish.

In the late 1800s, the girth of the Wishing Tree was measured at over eighteen feet. It was documented to be over 160 feet in height, and then estimated to be roughly 670 years old. The Wishing Tree had witnessed many changes: the gathering of Native peoples, the arrival of European settlers, the arrival of the Empire Loyalists, and the gradual departure of the Native peoples. As the residents of the area changed, the Wishing Tree remained - a place of peace and magic.

In 1925, the Wishing Tree was hit by lightning. Local residents trimmed off the damaged branches and limbs in an attempt to save the tree. Ay this time, the age of the tree was then confirmed to be more than 700 years. In 1953, the Wishing Tree finally died. It was cut to the ground leaving only a massive stump. With the stump exposed, the growth circles of the tree were counted - confirming its age to be 731 years. But after living and working magic for so many years in Prince Edward county, the Wishing Tree did not just die and fade away. In fact, it was reincarnated in Wellington, Ontario. Tow residents and parents were involved in rehabilitating an decrepit old playground in the town park. Rather than purchase shiny plastic playground equipment, the community members wanted something else.

Relying on the commitment of more than two hundred volunteers, the playground's design was considered. Dreams and wishes were sketched out and mulled over. Slowly a theme emerged - the historical roots of Prince Edward County.

Researching local history, the story of the Wishing Tree was rediscovered and incorporated into the theme of the playground. Designers quickly realized the tree was symbolic of many inhabitants of the area, their wishes and dreams, and the peace that continually negotiated. The mythology and history surrounding the Wishing Tree was thrilling and paralleled the energies that propelled the community-based park project.

The salty, boggy soils of Asia, Europe and North Africa were the native lands of the plants that gave us today's varieties of celery. The ancient Greeks and Romans used celery as a medicinal plant and an herb for cooking; then even dedicated it to one of their gods. Medieval physicians and scholars later used celery to treat problems of the liver, kidneys, bladder and spleen, and as a remedy for digestive complaints and nausea. The herb is traditionally used for painful urination and as a diuretic for edema. Celery is said to be a sexual stimulant and is also reputed to reduce intoxication and a hangover. In Ayurvedic medicine, the plant is known to aid digestion and stimulate the appetite; it's also effective against bloating and colds. In the kitchen, celery is a versatile ingredient, as well: It is eaten as a vegetable and used as a seasoning in sauces, vegetable dishes and stuffing.

A Celery Blend to Lower Blood Pressure

Clinical tests demonstrated that celery in the diet lowered blood pressure as it improved sleep, reduced dizziness and relieved headaches. To make a healthful celery drink, wash fresh celery leaves and stalks in cold water, and then liquefy them in a juicer. Add an equal amount of vinegar and blend the mix. Sweeten with honey, to taste. Drink 2 oz. of the juice at room temperature. up to 3 times a day.

Therapeutic Effect: In natural medicine, celery is used primarily as a diuretic therapy for kidney and bladder infections or stones for prostate complaints. It has also been used traditionally as a treatment for arthritis, nervous restlessness, chronic lung problems and gout, as well as for cleansing the blood. Celery may help alleviate eczema and warts. The seeds of the plant act as a stimulant for the metabolism.

Components: Celery furnishes coumarins, glycoside apiin, silicic acid and minerals, including manganese and iron. Eating 3 to 4 ounces of raw celery root provides one-third of the body's minimum daily requirement of potassium, a vital mineral for heart and kidney health. The essential oil in celery seed, which is believed to offer diuretic, antiarthritic and carminative actions, contains limonene, sedaneolide ad palmitic acid.

Use Caution: Celery can cause dermatitis and other allergic reactions in sensitive people. It is a diuretic, so eat only small amounts if you are pregnant or suffering from bladder or kidney inflammation.

Extra Tip: To ease symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis or gout, pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1/2 tsp. of crushed celery seed and 2 tsp. of dried alfalfa leaves. Steep 15 minutes, strain and drink 2-3 cups per day. The tea can also be applied topically as a hot compress.

Kitchen Hints

Stores Carry Celery Hearts, celery root, leaf and celery seeds. Celeriac is a variety of celery that is preferred for its large, fleshy and mildly flavored root.

Raw Celery Root Quickly Becomes Discolored, turning to grayish brown. Slice it just before using, or drizzle it with lemon juice to preserve its color.

The Stalk, Seeds and Root Are Dried and then ground for use in herb salts and herbal blends. To maintain optimum freshness, store dried celery in a dark, tightly sealed container in a cool place.

Celery's Small Brown Seeds Add a Slightly Sweet, Pungent Note and intensify other flavors when used in cooking. Popular in Indian dishes, the seeds are used as seasoning in bread and salty baked goods. The spice is potent, so use sparingly,

Celery Seed Should Always Be Stored Whole, to maintain flavor and safeguard nutrients. When needed, grind the seeds in a mortar or lightly crush them.

Celery Is a Common Seasoning in Soups. Celery root, leaf celery and rib celery are excellent in sauces or stuffing, fresh or cooking in salads or as vegetable accompaniments.

Because It Is High In Potassium - which has been shown to reduce blood pressure - celery is a popular seasoning for people on low-salt diets due to high blood pressure.

Summer Celery Soup

Serves 4.

2 medium onions, diced

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into 2-inch slices

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

6 ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters

1/4 cup semisweet white wine

1 tsp. honey

3 cups chicken stock

1 tsp. celery seed

Pinch of sugar, salt and pepper

In a 4-quart soup pan, sauté' the onions in the olive oil on low heat for 15-20 minutes, until they turn a light golden color.

Add the celery, lemon rind and juice, tomatoes, wine, honey and stock. Place the celery seed in a muslin bag, secure and add it to the other ingredients. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat and cool. Discard the bag of celery seeds.

In a blender, purée' the soup until smooth; season it to taste with sugar, salt and pepper, and then chill. If desired, serve with a garnish of yogurt or sour cream and a wedge of lemon or a sprinkle of fresh, chopped tomatoes.

September 23 - October 23

Divine Influence: "I BALANCE"
Libra's Message = "Moderation in all things"

KEY to Understanding Libra = Moderation

Element = Air
Quality = Mutable Sign

Ruling Planet = Venus
The Command of Venus = "Love Conquers All!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MAGICAL BALANCE

The sign of Libra begins at the Vernal Equinox when the Sun stands in balance, with all the days and nights of equal length. The glyph of Libra, the scales, represents this nature of seeking balance. Librans are always seekers after harmony and equity. The lesson of their seeking is to see their quest, and from it learn what they sense so well -- that harmony is one of the greatest secrets of Wisdom.

Libra's divine influence is taken straight from those scales: "I Balance." The Libran is the original and expert "fence sitter." These folks are so anxious to keep things in balance that they can be frequently seen hanging up right on dead center. There is a virtue in this, for the person who balances all things and weighs them carefully before moving will not be caught out in left field when the ball goes to right. Balance means maintaining an equality of forces, and mentally it refers to emotional equilibrium. This is so desirable that we refer to the sound individual with the comment that he is a well-balanced person. Libra people have this capacity. They are calm and hold themselves in good balance at all times, even if this means that they are sometimes hard to convince, and at worst become indecisive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KEY to Understanding LIBRA: "MODERATION"

Aristotle, a student of Plato, the wisdom initiate, heavily emphasized the desirability of moderation as a primary concept in the life of Wisdom. Recognizing the virtue of moderation as that which enabled a person to walk most easily upon the Way and avoid the many pitfalls of extremism, Aristotle formulated moderation as the "Golden Mean" which kept all life in balance.

"Moderation in all things", he said, and this has come down to us as one of the truisms in which much wisdom is encased, and which, because they are platitudes so often heard, fail to impress us as they should. All great truth is simple but we tend to look nowadays for truth in complexity and thus become more confused than enlightened. "Be moderate" is the key of the Libran and by this means do we find our balance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more on the lessons of LIBRA see: http://druidcraft.net/astrology.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RULER of LIBRA: VENUS

This is a lovely month, as are all those that come under Venus' rule. Let Venus speak of her loving rulership to you and feel her sway of love in this world. Ogden Nash said, "Love is an active verb, and thus a "doing" thing. It is well to speak softly of love, but it is a Way of Learning to practice Love. Now in Libra extend yourself through your actions to love those around you. The gentle smile, the helping hand, the sharing of a load or whatever you can do to please another will be your doing of love and thus you can harmonize yourself with Venus whose month this is to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The COMMAND of VENUS: "LOVE CONQUERS ALL"

Libra is a lovely month, as are all those that come under Venus' rule. Let Venus speak her rulership to you and feel her sway of love in this world. Ogden Nash said, "Love is an active verb, and thus a doing thing. It is well to speak softly of love, but it is a Way of Learning to practice Love in all we do.

Now in Libra extend yourself through your actions to love those around you. The gentle smile, the helping hand, the sharing of a load or whatever you can do to please another will be your doing of love and thus you can harmonize yourself with Venus whose month this is to be.

Let us emulate these balanced people -- these Librans -- their judgments, guided by Venus' way of love. Let us live and love in Libra, doing love and keeping our balance. Life is good!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BALANCE: QUOTES Of The DAY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day."
~ Robert Fulghum

"What I dream of is the art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue."
~ Henri Matisse (1869-1954) Artist regarded as the most important French Painter and Artist of the 20th century.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEALTH THROUGH BALANCE
Everything In Moderation

Because life is short, the temptation to overindulge is ever-present. We want to glean as much pleasure as possible from everything such as what we eat or what we do. Or, conversely, we are so driven to stay healthy or be successful that we throw ourselves into exercise or work with abandon. But the true means of achieving what you want lies not in overdoing it, but in moderation. A balanced life does not lean in one direction, but contains a measure of each element: work and play; friends, family, and solitude; pleasure and abstinence; and necessities and indulgences. The ancient Greeks practiced moderation in all things, believing that in excess, virtues became vices. And so it is. Things that benefit your body and soul in one amount, whether it is medication, nutrients, forethought, or introspection, can be harmful in higher amounts.

The concept of moderation is embodied in the middle ground between all extremes and is thus a source of steadiness. It is simply the capacity to exercise self-control. Living moderately often means forgoing short-term pleasures in favor of deeper, long lasting happiness and considering all aspects of your actions. It also means never categorizing anything in terms of 'always good' or 'always bad.' For example, sleeping in for hours may seem a wonderful idea until you consider the daytime lost and the difficulty you may have sleeping later. Avoiding all sweets feels like the healthiest choice, but may not be if it's making you feel deprived. A strong sense of thrift can become stinginess just as a strong sense of generosity can become a tendency to spend beyond your means. The benefits of moderation are said to be a healthy body, a clear mind, increased vigor, and a welling up of positive emotions.

Moderation eschews rigid control in favor of allowing you just enough of any one thing for it to be satisfying, but not enough for it to be detrimental. Thus, it unlocks a healthy lifestyle without denying any pleasures, any ambitions, or your changing will, through equilibrium and equanimity in all things. Living a balanced life leads to rewarding experiences that not only heal and nurture, but can also fulfill you to a fantastic degree.
© Reproductions Permitted: http://www.DailyOM.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?

To learn more about the teachings of the Druidic Craft of the Wise, visit the "Courses" page on the website: http://druidcraft.net

You are a blessed being!

Misty-Eve*
Druidic Craft of the Wise
The American Rite
http://druidcraft.net

"The turning point of life is when you recognize the relationship between consciousness and results."
~ Alan Cohen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A WORD TO THE WISE
A Newsletter of Astrological Reflections from The Druid Perspective
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If this newsletter has been forwarded to you and you would like

To Subscribe visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aWordToTheWise/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Share A WORD TO THE WISE with those you care about.
Reproductions are permitted with the use of the following tag line:
(C) Reproductions Permitted: http://druidcraft.net

Knotted roots give bistort its name, which is derived from a Latin term meaning "twice twisted." The roots are frequently used to treat bleeding gums, sore throats, diarrhea and skin conditions. In addition, bistort leaves, shoots and roots may be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Plant Facts: Bistort, a perennial, is a member of the Polygoncaea, or buckwheat, family. The plant grows to a height of 1-2 feet and has a thick, fleshy reddish-brown root that is twisted into an "S" shape. Bistort's long, lance=-shaped leaves are a mossy dark green; the delicate flowers range from white to pink. The plant is nearly odorless and has a sharp, strongly astringent taste.

Origin: Bistort is native to many mountainous areas in North America, to northern Europe and to the northern regions of Asia and Japan. The plant prefers cooler temperatures and thrives at higher elevations, often growing about 10,000 feet. Bistort can also be found in open alpine meadows where it is wet and boggy, as well as along the banks of high mountain streams.

Parts Used: For medicinal preparations, the dried root of the plant is most commonly used.

Components: The root stock's high tannin content, averaging 20 percent at the end of the plant's growing season, accounts for bistort's potent antiseptic and astringent properties. Flavonoids, gallic acid and gum resins are also found in the root, which contains starch, making it an excellent baked or roasted vegetable.

Indications: Bistort is often used for its powerful astringent effects and its ability to stop minor bleeding. It is also prescribed for diarrhea, hemorrhoids, sore throats, bleeding gums and mouth ulcers. The plant is used topically for skin abrasions, minor cuts and scrapes and other small skin wounds. Caution: Bistort's high tannin content causes stomach upset in some people.

Around the House: Harvest bistort in the fall, after the plant has gone to seed. Wash the root well, slice it lengthwise and spread it in an open box. Dry the root in a warm place, away from direct light, and store it in a jar.

Methods of Administration

Decoction: A decoction is a useful treatment for diarrhea. Place 1 tsp. of chopped dried root into 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes and strain Sip 1 cup, 2-4 times daily, until symptoms subside.

Powder: This styptic powder stops bleeding and can prevent infection in minor skin injuries. Powder 1/4 cup of chopped, dried root in a spice mill or blender with sturdy blades. Sprinkle the powder on bleeding wounds, cuts or scrapes. Repeat if bleeding starts again. Caution: Powder is not for serious wounds needing medical care.

Skin Wash/Mouthwash: A bistort rinse reduces inflammation in mouth ulcers, bleeding gums, abrasions and minor wounds. Prepare the decoction (above). For gum or mouth ailments, rinse your mouth with 1/4 cup of the liquid. For skin wounds, dip a cloth in the mixture; apply to the affected areas 3 times daily.