Reishi Magic

I went on my first mushroom walk today. We went out specifically looking for reishi mushrooms. I first learned about reishi mushrooms last year and have been drawn to them ever since. They grow on dying hemlocks. I love hemlocks and feel a special connection to them. When I worked in wilderness therapy they were everywhere in the Georgia woods. We would always look for fallen hemlock branches to help start our fires, they work even when its wet out. We even named a special hemlock tree once, Mr. Hemmy. Being in the woods I learned about hemlocks and the wooly adelgid that is killing them. It's sad. Hemlocks are so majestic and beautiful. What caught my attention in learning about reishi is that they are found growing on dying hemlocks, like a beautiful offering from the hemlock spirits. That is just how cool hemlocks are, they are gifting us the reishi even in their last moments.

The history of reishi is interesting. The Chinese name for it is Ling Zhi,which translates to spiritual potency. It's medicinal properties have been noted for 4,000 years. Chinese royalty considered reishi to be more precious than gold. Pictures of reishi would be embroidered on their robes over their hearts and on their backs symbolizing good health and longevity.

Reishi is an antiviral, a nervine, and adaptogen. It is so seriously good! It helps strengthen the immune system, detoxifies the liver and builds the blood.

Conditions reishi helps with include:

Anxiety
Insomnia
Stress
High blood pressure
Cardiovascular disease
Arrhythmia
Arthritis
Muscle aches
Diabetes (lowers blood sugar)
Diabetic kidney disease
Protection against
stroke and heart disease
High cholesterol
ADD
Dementia
Alzheimer's
Inflammation
Acute respiratory issues
Bronchitis
Leaky gut syndrome
Constipation                                                                                
Allergies
Asthma
Cancer
HIV
Herpes
Epstein Barr
Hepatitis

and the list goes on.

I'm excited to experiment with reishi. I plan on making a tincture. I'm so grateful for both the hemlocks and the spirit of the hemlocks for gifting us with this beautiful mushroom.

Love for Lemon Balm

Lemon balm in my mind is such a common herb but one that is good for so many things. Lately I've been stressed and my body has felt under attack with cold symptoms and a herpes outbreak.  So I have turned to lemon balm and I'm so glad I have. It is a nervine that has antiviral and antiseptic properties. Also in case you didn't know it's a member of the mint family. I tinctured my lemon balm last year with much success. In fact it surprised me with just how good and useful it is. I love lemon balm!

Here is a list of things it's good for:

Stress relief

Anxiety
Dementia

High blood pressure

Eases PMS

Depression

General exhaustion

Insomnia

Stomach distress

Gas pains

Herpes (both cold sores and genital herpes)
Shingles

Headaches

Lemon balm is beautiful and amazing. Lately in addition to taking my daily tincture I've also been making tea. I just go out cut some of the plant and boil it for several minutes maybe like 7. I sweeten it with honey and I swear it has been such a comfort to have in times of stress and deadlines. It is also easy to find and and easy to grow. Next time stress happens call on lemon balm. She won't let you down!

Here a couple more pictures from my garden.

Introducing Motherwort to the Garden

This weekend is the annual herb festival. I was just chatting with a friend and told her that I had been so excited to go to the herb festival but I'm a beginner so it was difficult making choices and culling out what I really wanted, because what I really want is to make medicine. There today I realized that plants are like people. I want all these new friends, but I don't know them yet so I have to slowly get to know them. You don't just make a best friend. Friendship and plants take time to get to know/grow and I realized that I needed to get to know the ones I just met even more intimately to feel comfortable branching out, but the addict side in me wants it all NOW. I do love instant gratification! So one that I have been taking in tincture form for a while now is Motherwort. It's a great herb for strengthening and gladdening the heart. An herbalist told me once that it helps you to feel more secure like a mothering hug. Ahh, how nice. Yes, Motherwort is kind. Motherwort not only nourishes and strengthens the heart, and is good for hypertension and arrhythmia, it is also good for many women's health issues such as PMS and menopause. I use it in conjunction with Crampbark for menstrual cramps. It is also good for hot flashes, emotional outbursts, irritability and depression. It should avoided during pregnancy or if you are trying to get pregnant   Here is a picture of what I got today. It hasn't even been planted yet, but I'm so excited!

Isn't she so beautiful! Motherwort is a nervine, so it soothes the nerves. It's botanical name is Leonurus, which means lion-hearted. It's great for women who do feel like a mama lion both fierce and protective in their care. It is not a grounding herb so you could combine it with herbs such as sassafras or vitex. I took it for a couple of weeks and felt floaty, the opposite of grounded. Motherwort is a great herb to get to know and I'm so happy it will be a new addition to my garden. I'll keep you posted on the tincturing of this herb. Here is another pic.

Yay for friends, old and new!

Rhodochrosite and Rhodonite

Most folks who know me know how much I love rocks. I recently went to a class that focused on the healing properties of both 'rhodos.' For those of you who are skeptical or who don't have experience with rocks I recommend you get to know a rock or crystal. It's true that we are drawn to the rocks or crystals we need. Rhodo is the Greek word for rose. So I was introduced to Rhodochrosite by my dad. He gave me his rock collection and there was a beautiful slab of Rhodochrosite in it and I immediately felt drawn to it. It's funny because the Rhodochrosite was my dad's rock and for Christmas this year I gave him Rhodonite. At the time I didn't know that they had some similarities. Personally I feel more drawn to Rhodochrosite than Rhodonite but they both soothe anxiety issues. Here is a picture I took of the rocks. The Rhodochrosite is on the left (polished) and on the right (the slab) and the Rhodonite is the rock on the top and bottom.

My favorite the Rhodochrosite is good for acute anxiety and has an affinity for the heart and liver. It opens your heart to love. My favorite rock book is The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall. In it she says, "This is a stone that insists you face the truth, about yourself and other people, without excuses or evasion but with loving awareness" (245). This is why I love this rock.

Rhodonite is better for long standing chronic anxiety issues and it has an affinity for the heart, lungs and the kidney. It helps anchor the heart.  I learned in the class that in Chinese Medicine anxiety is due to not having enough heart blood. This rock calms and seals the leakage of Qi, which is life force, and helps with sealing any drafts in the heart. Any chronic vulnerability creates chronic anxiety. This is fascinating to me, and makes sense!

This is just a snippet of info on these rocks. I encourage you to get out there and find the rocks that speak to you! I'd also like to know your experience with either one or both of these rocks.

Kloss's Liniment

I recently got into some Sista Ivy. Other folks know her as Poison Ivy, but I'm seriously doing my best not to further piss her off plus I met a plant medicine woman once who told me to call her that. I do what I can. My coworker is a herbal woman (she might laugh at that reference) and told me about Kloss's Liniment.
A liniment is made in the same way as a tincture, but it's for external use only and made with either witch hazel or rubbing alcohol as the solvent.
I had remembered seeing the recipe in Rosemary Gladstar's book Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Heath. I thought it was an awesome idea to whip up a batch until I came to the part where it says to let sit for 4 weeks!! I didn't have four weeks, I needed it now. So I got all the ingredients together today. The recipe is pretty straightforward and easy. I bought all the herbs at the local co-op and they had a scale there so I measured everything out in the store.

So these are the supplies. The recipe from Rosemary Gladstar's book calls for:
1 ounce echinacea powder
1 ounce organically grown goldenseal powder (she suggests that if you can't find organic sub chaparral or Oregon grape root)
1 ounce myrrh powder
1/4 ounce cayenne powder
1 pint (16 ounces) rubbing alcohol

It's so easy!

That's it. Gladstar recommends leaving a good two inch margin above the herbs. Then sealing the jar with a lid and leaving it to sit for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks strain and bottle and don't forget to write FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY!!!

I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. Hopefully there won't be a need but this recipe is supposed to be good for bug bites too, which are guaranteed. She also says it's good for inflamed muscles.


Props given to Dr. Jethro Kloss (I'd love to meet an herbalist named Jethro!! hells yes!!!) and to Rosemary Gladstar.

Gladstar, Rosemary. Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.

Dandelion Vinegar and Tincture

I walked outside today and noticed a hundred of beautiful yellow dandelion flowers. They were seriously calling my name and saying, "you gotta use me NOW!!!"  I've also been taking dandelion lately for my liver, skin allergies, and just defense against allergies in general. So what came out of the harvest is a little jar of tincture and a big jar of vinegar! I'll let you know how it turns out in six weeks! Yay, Spring!! And yay Dandelion!! I'm so grateful for your help!! What is your medicinal experience with dandelion? I'd love to know.

So what I did was just gather a lot of dandelion flowers and a few leaves and stuffed them in my mason jars. For the vinegar I just filled it up with Bragg's Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar and capped it with a plastic canning lid...cause the vinegar will rust the regular metal lid. For my small bottle of alcohol based tincture, I did the same thing, stuffed the flowers in the jar and topped with 100 proof vodka. I would like to experiment with other alcohols such as brandy and organic grain alcohol cause the vodka is harsh, but I stink at calculating and just buying the 100 proof is so easy all you do is pour! The steeping process is 6 weeks and during that time you shake each jar gently everyday. You can also say a prayer or set an intention while you are doing this.