Herbs

Tea Tree Oil

Photo by Arthur Chapman

Australian aborigines relied on the leaves of the tea tree to fight infections, it has been used for centuries as an antiseptic and anti-fungal agent. Tea tree oil comes from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a plant native to Australia. Today, it is used throughout the world at an antiseptic. Scientist have confirmed that it combats harmful bacteria and fungal infections.

What it does:

• Used topically to treat a variety of infections.
• Once applied, the oil makes it impossible for many disease-causing fungi to survive.
• Studies show that it fights various bacteria, including some that are resistant to antibiotics.
• Tea tree oil mixes readily with skin oils, allowing it to attack the infective agent quickly and actively.

Benefits:

• Tea tree oil’s antiseptic properties are excellent for treating cuts and scrapes, as well as insect bites and stings.
• The oil promotes healing of minor wounds, helps to prevent infection and minimizes scarring.
• Tea tree oil fights the fungus Trichophyton, which is the main cause of athlete’s foot, jock itch and certain nail infections.
• It can also be effective against Candida albicans and Trichomonas vaginalis, two of the organisms that cause vaginal infections.  These infections can be hard to treat, in this case, your doctor will have to prescribe a more potent antifungal medication.
• Tea tree oil may be beneficial in the treatment of acne.
• It is sometimes suggested as a treatment for warts. Although, studies have not confirmed this use.

Forms:

• Oil
• Gel
• Cream
• Vaginal suppository

Common Uses:

• Disinfects cuts and scrapes
• Minimizes scarring
• Insect, spider bites and stings
• Athlete’s foot
• Fungal nail infections
• Yeast infections
• Dandruff
• Acne
• Eczema
• Psoriasis

How to take it?

Athlete’s foot, skin wounds/irritations or nail infections:

• Apply a drop or two of pure, undiluted tea tree oil to affected areas of the skin or nails two or three times a day.  Tea tree oil creams and lotions can also be used.

Yeast infections:

• Insert a commercially available tea tree oil vaginal suppository every 12 hours, for up to five days.

Acne:

• Mix 5 parts tea tree oil to 95 parts water and apply to area.

Dandruff:

• Mix 10 drops of Tea Tree oil for every 8 oz. of shampoo.
• Apply a few drops of Tea Tree oil directly to your scalp before you shampoo your hair. Shampoo as normal and then rinse thoroughly.

Shopping Hints:

• There are a number of commercial shampoos, soaps and other skin-care products that contain tea tree oil, but they generally have such a small amount that that there is little or no bacteria-fighting effect.
• When buying commercial products be sure it’s derived from Melaleuca alternifolia, as there are several types of tea tree. Oil from other species can be high in cineole content.

Warning:

• Tea tree oil is for topical use only.  Never take tea tree oil orally.
• Before using the oil for the first time, dab a small amount onto your inner arm with a cotton swab.
• In undiluted form, it can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes.

References:

• The Complete Guide to Natural Healing

Note: Consult with a Physician or certified herbologist if you are seeking medical remedies. The information is not intended as medical advice. PagansWorld.org is not liable for the misuse of the oil listed above.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Folk Names: Garden Sage, Red Sage, Sawge

Powers: Immortality, Longevity, Protection, Wisdom,  Wishes

“SAGE make green the winter rain, Charm the demon from my brain.”

Photo by dnnya17

SAGE is a member of the Mint family. and is closely related to MUGWORT, WORMWOOD, and SOUTHERNWOOD. Native Americans use Sagebrush for blessing, cleansing, and purification and burn it during religious and personal ceremonies.

Native sages are Artemisias, but when used for spiritual purposes the two are treated by most people as relatively interchangeable. Salvia is used by many peoples to fumigate or cense a sacred space, bringing purification and cleansing.

Black Elder

Botanical Name: Sambucus Nigra

Photo by Vietnam Plants & America plants

This European plant also known as “bourtree”, has Pre-Christian documents attributing protective and healing powers to the black elder. In England, it was believed bad luck to cut its branches for fear of showing disrespect to the mother elder, who was thought to inhabit the tree.

Plant Facts:

• It is a member of the honeysuckle family and can grow to a height of 33 ft.

St. John’s Wort

Botanical Name: Hypericum perforatum

Photo by Hunda

St. John’s Wort is native to the United States and Europe, and is a perennial plant that grows beside country paths and on sunny edges of woodlands. The use dates back to the ancient Greeks, Hippocrates recorded the medical use of St. John’s wort flowers. It was given its name because it blooms around June 24th, the birthday of John the Baptist. The medicinal benefits of the plant stem from a high concentration of hypericin, a red pigment that exudes from the flowers, and from pseudohypercin. Hypercin is thought to be responsible for the known antidepressant effect of St. John’s Wort. In addition, the plant has antibiotic and antiviral capabilities and has long been used to help heal wounds.

Rose (Rosaceae)

Powers: Healing, Love Divination, Luck, Protection, Psychic Powers

ROSE buds and petals are a symbol of love, romance and sexual attraction, as well as to draw good fortune in matters of the heart. ROSE hips are symbols of overall luck. ROSE oil appears in many love formulas and in some for luck.

Photo by alfaneque

Deities: Aphrodite, Adonis, Aurora, Cupid, Demeter, Eros, Harpocrates, Hathor, Hulda, Isis, Venus

Element: Water (Dreams, Fidelity, Friendships, Healing, Love, Meditation, Prophetic Dreams, Purification, Sleep)

Quince (Cydonia Vulgaris)

Powers: Happiness, Love, Protection

Quince is a member of the genus Cydonia and native to Asia in the Caucasus region. It’s a small, deciduous tree, growing 5–8 m tall and 4–6 m wide. Related to apples and pears, and like them has a pome fruit. When mature, it is bright golden yellow and pear-shaped, ranging about 7–12 cm long and 6–9 cm broad.

Quince is sacred in many cultures, the Greeks believed it to be sacred to Aphrodite, and Pliny the Elder recorded that it warded off the evil eye. The Roman counterpart to Aphrodite, Venus, is often shown holding a quince, it is said, it was given to her by Paris to show his love. This association was later transferred, in some areas, to Mary, mother ofJesus. In Pompeii, the quince was often found in artwork and tile mosaics, and frequently shown in a bear’s paw. The oldest record of it’s religious use is with Hebrews. Grieves believed it sacred to these peoples and writes in A Modern Herbal that many “consider that the Tappuach of Scripture, always translated apple, was the Quince. It is also supposed to be the fruit alluded to in the Canticles, ‘I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste.’”

Borage

Botanical Name: Borago Officinalis

Photo by madlyinlovewithlife

In the late Middle Ages, Physicians recommended Borage; they believed it supplied courage, confidence, cheerfulness and restoring life. Today, we know that it stimulates the production of adrenaline, which prepares the body to handle stress (the medieval beliefs were well founded). Other names for Borage: “good cheer”, “dear friend” and “sparkling eyes”. This reflects borage’s ability to brighten the mood. Rich in a polyunsaturated fatty acid, Borage seed oil is used to address metabolic problems from obesity to premenstrual complaints. It also promotes lactation, helps break a fever by inducing a sweat and breaks up phlegm while easing sore throats and coughs.

Help for viral infections:

• A Borage and Echinacea tea have a calming effect.
• Reduces fever and induces sweating.
• Helps combat measles, mumps, chicken pox, colds and flus.
• Mix equal amounts of fresh borage leaves and powdered Echinacea root. Brew in hot water, steep for 10 min. and sweeten with honey. Drink 1 cup 3 times per day.

Therapeutic Effect:

• Borage leaves are diuretic, it increase sweat and urine.
• It acts as an adrenal stimulant, useful for countering stress and lingering effects of steroid therapy.
• Tea made from Borage soothes sore throats and irritated coughs.

Components:

• The seed oil contains gamma linoleic acid. Found primarily in vegetable oils and used as a dietary supplement for treating problems with inflammation and auto-immune diseases.
• The acid is used to to treat metabolic disturbances, including obesity, premenstrual syndrome, eczema, high blood pressure and alcoholism.
• Recent evidence suggests Borage may be useful for treating heart disease and cancer.
• The leaves are a good source of vitamin C, organic calcium and potassium, essential oils, tannins and mucilages. It’s also has saponins that strengthen resistance and flavonoids that prevent infection.
• The silicic acid in Borage stimulates hormone production and balances mood swings.

For lactation:

• A Borage tea will help promote healthy milk flow while you’re nursing.
• Add a generous handful of fresh Borage leaves to ½ gal. of lemonade, or to the same amount of a mild hot tea, which ever flavor you enjoy - chamomile, fennel, nettle and violet blossoms are Excellent choices.
• Let steep for at least 20 minutes, then strain through a paper filter. Drink a cup 3-4 times a day for best results.

From your garden

• Borage is hard to find commercially. If you plan to make it a regular part of your diet, plant it in your garden. It attracts honeybees, ensuring pollination of other plants.
• Plant the herb in sandy soil in which water drains rapidly. Sow in mid-or late spring, in full sun or partial shade, and again in early and midsummer.
• Borage is an annual, it will die at the end of the season, but self sown seedlings germinate for replacement plants.
• For medicinal use, the leaves are best gathered before the flower buds appear. The plant is easily bruised, so handle gently and use right away. The young leaves have a prickly texture that are edible.

Kitchen Hints

• Preserve Borage in vinegar or in an alcohol tincture. It does not dry or freeze well.
• Capture the flavor of Borage over the long term by making a blue vinegar from the blossoms or an emerald green vinegar from the leaves. These vinegars make wonderful gifts in decorative bottles.
• “Cucumber herb” is another name for borage, and complement plain and pickled cucumbers. It adds flavor to salads, soups and summer stews. Try with eggs and fish.
• The pretty blue blossoms are also edible. Remove the green sepals on the undersides before using, then sprinkle the flowers over soups and salads.
• Freeze the flowers in ice for a garnish for punches and other summer drinks.
• For cooking, use young leaves that are no larger than a half dollar. For teas, the bigger leaves are fine.
• Borage is an essential ingredient to many Italian dishes. Borage risotto is very popular, as is ravioli stuffed with borage.
• To enhance the flavor of dishes, sprinkle Borage leaves or stir them in before serving. It loses much of it’s flavor and aroma, once cooked.

Tip: Cut borage leaves into thin strips and mix into strawberry punch. Strain the punch through a paper filter before serving.

References:

• The Complete Guide to Natural Healing

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.

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.

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.