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.