Other Herbs for Medicinal Teas

You can use the basic recipe of steeping a palmful of herbs for 5 minutes in a cup (240ml) of boiling water and use these plants either fresh or dried:

    * Lemon balm is a true aid for insomnia, anxiety, and restlessness.

    * Licorice root is marvelous for stomach and mouth ulcers.

    * Marshmallow, both root and leaf, strengthens the gastrointestinal tract and your mucus membranes.

    * Milk thistle is excellent for your liver and kidneys.

    * Mullein leaves help sore throats, coughs, and chest congestion.

    * Nettle, either fresh or dried, prevents allergies.

    * Slippery elm bark will get rid of heartburn, a bad cough, and a sore throat.

    * St John’s Wort extract is good for depression, PMS, and hot flashes.

    * Thyme is trusted to help with colds and congestion and is an antispasmodic.

Claim Your Health: A Clary Sage Incantation

Here is a handy spell for physical well-being as well as a self-esteem boost. For this witchy approach to preventive medicine, take a green candle on a Friday, dress it with clary sage oil, and speak the following three times:

    My health is mine, under this moon divine.

    I choose to be well as in this healthy body I dwell.

    No more pain and strife, vital breath of life.

    Harm to none; health to me.

    So mote it be.

Plenty of Thyme—An Herb for Physical and Spiritual Strength

You could say that thyme is a classic herb, so much so that the venerables, Virgil and Pliny, sang the praises of this medicinal mint relative over two thousand years ago. While thyme loves Mediterranean weather, it can grow elsewhere from seeds and cuttings. Good for the stomach and especially effective as respiratory relief, thyme induces sweats to remove toxins and reduce fever. Thyme honey tea is truly a sweet way to make the medicine go down, so much so you will find you drink it even when hale and hearty. Thyme is also a culinary plant, making it a delightful additive to savory dishes. When I lived in a warmer clime about ten years ago, I planted wooly thyme in among the flagstones of my front yard and let it spread as much as possible. By the hour when I came home from work, the sunny eighty-plus degree sunny weather had warmed the thyme, creating a perfumed walkway; coming home was a heavenly experience.

It has been believed for centuries that thyme brings courage and both inner and physical strength. Even when you are facing seemingly insurmountable odds, spells and smudging featuring thyme can get you on track and bring you to your goal. I think the greatest of all aspects of thyme is to rid your home and family of melancholy and overcome despair after extreme difficulty and loss. If your loved ones have experienced a catastrophe, try thyme for rituals of magic and restitution. I have no doubt that practitioners of green witchery will be singing the praises of thyme for at least two thousand more years.

Sleepy Thyme

This herb improves your quality of sleep; gather and dry thyme it to use in sachets so the divine fragrance freshens linens and laundry. A little bag of this dried “thyme tucked in your pillowcase makes for sweeter sleep. As if all that is not enough, the plant itself also repels bugs and pests but attracts honeybees! As we all know, deep sleep is a great healer.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

This revered candy classic is also a wonderful anti-inflammatory which relieves the discomfort of colds in the sinuses. It can soothe sore throats and coughs and is a curative for gastrointestinal issues. Treat licorice root exactly as you would ginger with one minced teaspoon of fresh or dried simmered low covered in one cup of water twice a day to make a naturally sweet tea. Also, you can add licorice root to other herbal teas as it will sweeten them, besides adding its medicinal virtues, which tend to combine well with those of many other basic remedies.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra, S. canadensis)

This time-tested medicinal has long been used for guarding against colds and flu. Elderberry flowers have been valued as a tonic for fever for centuries; such fruit extracts have been proven to be noteworthy antivirals, especially to support immunity. Two teaspoons of dried flowers and a cup of boiling water three times a day does the trick. Sweeten with local honey to taste. Or consider cultivating elderberry and making a syrup.

Hematite

Hematite takes its otherworldly metallic sheen from the iron oxide of which it is made. Even way back in the “Stone Age,” when I had my rock tumbler, I could quite easily come up with a silvery pebble after tumbling and polishing hematite. Occasionally, hematite has a reddish color or red speckles on the surface. This may be why hematite is named thusly: the root of the word, haima, is the Greek word for blood. Hematite has long been associated with blood, blood rituals, and medicine for treating nosebleeds, menstruation, heart disease, anemia, kidney disease, hemophilia, birth, surgery, insomnia, lung problems, and fever. Native Americans use hematite in dentistry and to treat wounds and substance abuse. Ancient Egyptians ground hematite up and put it in medicines and unguents. Egyptians loved this glistening rock, and every person could have one (which wasn’t the case with emeralds). They frequently wore hematite as an amulet, believing it could render the wearer invincible.

Hematite is most frequently found in North America, Sweden, Britain, Switzerland, Italy, and Brazil. Hematite is almost like the “Magic Metals” previously discussed (see chapter two) because it contains high levels of iron, driving its blood-cleaning capabilities. It is also a protective rock and fortifies tissue regeneration. Hematite shores up self-image and self-belief. It also transforms negative energy into positive. Hematite is considered to be yang, a more male energy. My preferred aspect of this shiny wonder is that it assists with both legal problems and astral projection. Hematite is a creativity crystal and a marvelous mental enhancer, increasing the ability to think with logic, to focus, to concentrate, and to remember more clearly and completely. Hematite draws anxiety out of the body and creates calm. In addition to all of these aspects that project outward, hematite contributes to inner work: self- knowledge, deeper consciousness, and wisdom. Like the iron in the earth from which it is formed, hematite grounds. If you feel spacey or disconnected, you should wear hematite.

You now know that hematite can be found fairly commonly in North America and parts of South America, but you may not be aware that it can be found in plenitude on Mars! Yes, Mars has a bad case of “rust” dust due to the gray hematite in a massive patch on the surface near the Martian equator, proving that Mars had water or at least water vapor at some point. This has led to tantalizing theories from scientists about possible hot springs that were once active on our red neighbor planet. I discovered this while cruising the NASA Web site. How do they know it was hematite? Through an infrared-imaging system known as THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) I also discovered a quote by Victoria Hamilton, a planetary geologist at Arizona State University, explaining that “all materials vibrate at the atomic scale...each mineral has a unique infrared spectrum that identifies it as surely as the fingerprints of a human being.” Fascinating!

Coral

Coral is another stone formed from organic material. In this case, it is the skeletons of many sea creatures. Coral can be found all around the world in our oceans. Ancient cultures revered coral for its medical benefits and its beauty. The ancients attributed much religious significance to coral as well. Coral comes in a nearly infinite number of shapes, and the colors range almost as widely—from white to black. The different colors of coral have different properties:

* Pink is comforting

* Red is invigorating

* Gray brings accord

* Black absorbs energy

* White brings constancy

Coral abets the bones and the blood and is a cleanser, good for inner organs and mental processes. Edgar Cayce used it to pacify and soothe. Since coral is made up of many generations of organisms, it is a gateway to the past. Because it was so readily available—by washing up on shore and being easily harvested from the seas—ancient man believed sailors could calm the waters with it. It was commonly worn as an amulet or pendant, with the most powerful coral having been freshly taken from the ocean unbroken. The ancients believed the living being remained inside the coral until it was broken, giving it enormous power. Moonlight is supposed to intensify the healing power of coral. Use the color guidelines above to help you choose the coral you need at any given time. You should provide yourself with an entire wardrobe of corals in all shades. Wear a red coral necklace to rid yourself of a chest cold; wear gray if you are squabbling with your mate. Wear white if you need more “Zen” in your world.

An Integrative Approach

I believe one of the primary reasons crystals populate our planet is for healing. I was a bit oblivious to this wonderful gift from the universe until I faced a serious health crisis of my own. Now, I am keenly interested in the healing power of crystals, and I am quite amazed at the extensive array of curatives crystals offer. However, do not ever replace traditional medicine with a crystal-only approach. If this sounds like a disclaimer, it most certainly is. I believe in a combination of Easter and Western medicine, inclusive of gem and crystal healing, is the best way to cover all of your bases for health and wellness. I believe that gem-healing magic can be the difference between feeling okay and feeling GREAT. And, who doesn’t want to feel wonderful.

Clary Sage Clarity Incantation

Here is a handy spell for physical well-being as well as a self-esteem boost. For this witchy approach to preventive medicine, take a green candle on a Friday, dress it with clary sage oil, and speak the following three times:

My health is mine, under this moon divine.
I choose to be well in this healthy body I dwell.
No more pain and strife, vital breath of life.
Harm to none; health to me.
So mote it be.

Flower Remedy Ritual

Flower essences restore emotional balance and aid physical harmony. Naturopathic doctors and healers recommend using Dr. Bach’s flower remedies, which were originally created from the morning dew found on flower petals. These subtle medicines are available in most health food and metaphysical stores. To know which essences are right for you, take a pendulum and write the essence names on paper in a wheel formation. Holding the pendulum in the middle, wait for it to select one name while chanting:

Spirit of the flower, help me this day
To keep disease and depression far at bay. Blessed be.

To prepare the following remedies, mix two drops of flower essence in 30 milliliters of distilled water. Take four drops of the remedy daily until your health is restored. You can also apply the remedy to your pulse points: wrists, temples, behind the ears, back of knees. You can also add it to your bath, or spray it into the air. Following is a guide to healing flower remedies:

Addiction: skullcap, oregano

Anger: nettle, blue flag, chamomile

Anxiety: garlic, rosemary, aspen, periwinkle, lemon balm, white chestnut, gentian

Bereavement: honeysuckle

Depression: borage, sunflower, larch, chamomile, geranium, yerba santa, black cohosh, lavender, mustard

Exhaustion: aloe, yarrow, olive, sweet chestnut

Fear: poppy, mallow, ginger, peony, water lily, basil, datura Heartbreak: heartsease, hawthorn, borage

Lethargy: aloe, thyme, peppermint

Stress: dill, Echinacea, thyme, mistletoe, lemon balm Spiritual blocks: oak, ginseng, lady’s slipper