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Apis (Honeybee) Apis is the Latin word for Honeybee

Photo by SidPix

An acient treatment for joint pain, was a live bee sting. Today, Apis is a homeopathic remedy that contains bee venom and used to treat insect bites and conditions resembling stings.

Historical Origins:

Hippocrates, (in the fifth century B.C.) noted that diseases could be cured by “similars”: What causes a disease may also cure it, or “like cures like.” The German doctor Paracelsus, (in the 1500s) also followed this principle, prescribing tiny doses of poisons thought to cause disease. Closely related to homeopathy’s Law of Similars, this belief states that a substance which can cause symptoms of illness in the healthy can also be used to cure those symptoms in the sick. Thus, venom from a bee treats its “similar” beestings.

Thai Chicken with Basil Stir Fry

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ready In: 35 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
• 1 quart water
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4-5 chili peppers
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced (I use Galangal, If you can find it)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh basil leaves

Preparation:

Patchouli (Botanical Name: Pogostemon Cablin) Folk Names: Kablin, Pucha-Pot

Powers: Fertility, Jinx-Breaking, Lust, Money

Patchouli is a species from the genus Pogostemon and an herb of the mint family. It is cultivated extensively in India, Madagascar, Sumatra and the Seychelles for steam distillation of oil and used to manufacture perfumes, incense, soaps, hair tonic, tobacco and cosmetics. The essential oil has a lusty, earthy scent and may be used during the Great Rite, as a candle dressing, or mixed into sexual lubricants.

Click photo to enlarge

A Prayer for Spring

I pray to you, Demeter, to remind you of the spring,

for Persephone has come home to you,

your little girl, now a great queen.

Show us your joy, mother of grain, at her homecoming.

Warm the Earth, make the ground soft,

so we may walk barefoot again in the grass

and plant the seeds that will grow all summer

until the harvest, when your full power will be known

Honeysuckle

More than 50 years ago, English physician Edward Bach developed the healing floral remedy from Honeysuckle. (along with 38 other floral essences) Honeysuckle is intended to promote emotional healing, as well as help patients regain hope and live for the present. It is usually recommended for those who dwell on an idealized past and who obsessively focus on the missed opportunities of life.

True Honeysuckle:

The true honeysuckle used to prepare this floral essence belongs to the genus lonicera. The petals of the flowers are red on the outside and white on the inside, once pollinated turn yellow. Honeysuckle is a climbing plant that can grow up to 12 feet. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China, with only about 20 in Europe, India and North America.

Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus is a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae, and most likely first discovered by the Aborigines, the native inhabitants of Australia. (There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus) The essential oil is obtained from the branches and leaves. A steam distillation process is used to extract the oil from the tree parts, and some 110 pounds of plant material is required to produce about 2 pounds of eucalyptus oil. The medicinal properties of eucalyptus oil is an effective remedy for skin problems and fever, and has long been called the “fever tree”. Modern herbalists rely on eucalyptus oil to treat colds, fever, respiratory diseases, joint and muscle pain, migraines and bladder problems. The oil has strong germicidal and antibacterial effects.

How to make a corn doll for your altar, this is the doll I made for Lughnasadh.

Next time you’re having corn for dinner, keep your husks. Be sure to dry them in the sun for one to three days. If you’re using dried-out husks, soak them for a couple of hours to soften. (There is no special preparation if using fresh husks).

Materials:

• Corn husks (Available in grocery store)

Lasagna

8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Stand Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup minced onion

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

• 2 jars Tomato & Basil Sauce

• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

Oak

Botanical Name: Quercus Alba

Folk Names: Jove’s Nuts, Juglans (Latin)Duir, White Oak

The oak is revered as a sacred tree, to the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Slavs and Teutonic tribes it was associated with the supreme god in their pantheon. Also, sacred to Zeus, Jupiter, Dagda, Perun and Thor, each of these gods had dominion over rain, thunder and lightning. It is no coincidence that oak trees seem to be more prone to lightning strikes than other trees, whether it be because of the wood’s low electrical resistance or the fact that they are often the tallest in the landscape.

News:

Call for PNG to repeal sorcery act after West Sepik deaths Papua New Guinea’s Constitutional and Law Reform Commission says it wants the Sorcery Act repealed by the end of this year.

Last year, the Commission released a review of the Act, after an increase in the number of false accusations of sorcery were slammed by human rights groups.

But it’s making headlines again as six people accused of sorcery or witchcraft were killed in West Sepik Province by people who had taken the law into their own hands. Read full story from radioaustralia.net.au