Eating Healing Food: From Seed to Savory Meal

Centuries ago, healers were the wise women of the village, herbalists and midwives who could halt a fever with a poultice or hasten the setting of bones by concocting a medicinal tea. The lore of growing and gathering healing herbs has been passed down for hundreds of years. A learned herbal healer knows which phases of the moon are best for planting seeds, how to plan your garden by the stars, and how to create concoctions for health and harmony.

In the grand and hallowed tradition, I learned at the knee of my aunt Edith, a very wise woman who would take me for walks through the woods and show me the uses and meanings of every flower, weed, and tree. From her, I learned that lovely Queen Anne’s lace is in fact wild carrot; that pokeberries make the finest blood-red inks; and which meadow greens and shade-loving mushrooms are safe for a noonday salad. I was in awe during our tromps through the woods, walking mile upon mile to map every acre and spy every specimen. Nature was our cathedral, our classroom, and our calendar. Every spring, we could mark April 1 by the blossoming of a solitary clump of delicate Dutchman’s breeches amid a raft of rarest wildflowers. I thought Aunt Edith was teaching me about plants and trees, only to discover years later that she had shown me the sanctity of life and passed on to me a legacy I now treasure.

Herbal healing is “earth magic.” These recipes that create both soundness of body and clarity of mind are eminently practical. They are a wonderful mix of gardening, herb lore, minding the moon and sky, and heeding ancient folk wisdom. In crafting herbal remedies for healing, you are using your magic in conjunction with the properties of the herbs—a powerful combination. It is a subtle process, growing more effective over tike through repeated practice.

Prior to modern medical science, it was believed that illness was a sign of evil spirits. A modern healer knows that most maladies come from myriad causes with such common roots as neglect, imbalance, stress, lack of sleep, and substance abuse, which includes eating the wrong types of foods. A good healer knows that prevention is always better than a cure and that self-care can greatly amplify the body’s powerful self-healing properties. Your well-being is inextricably linked to the physical and spiritual health of the people around you, which in turn is connected to the planet at large. Thus, the healing process begins with you and spirals outward. The purifying positions and restorative herbal cures recounted in these pages provide a sacred road map to bring you in harmony with yourself and with the greater forces of nature. Many plants now thought of as weeds have great healing powers and magical properties. Most of the herbs and essential oils in this book have become quite commonplace. With the new plethora of aromatherapy products now available, most oil essences and scented candles can be bought commercially. For the more unusual ingredients, try your local health food market, herbalist or metaphysical store.