Ginger Is Your Go-To for Getting Better Quickly

Ginger is indicated for a sore throat and is a good addition to a hot toddy for cold symptoms. Ginger is known to alleviate indigestion, general nausea, upset tummy, morning sickness, and stomach flu. Ginger tea has a very pleasant taste, and you can either buy it in tea bags or gently simmer slices of fresh ginger root on a low burner to make the tea yourself; I recommend using the fresh ginger root for maximum taste and potency. Arthritic pain can be treated with ginger, too; three to four grams (about a tenth of an ounce) daily is recommended, and ginger can also be taken either in capsules or as tinctures.

First Aid Tip

When you are getting over an illness, eat light broths, either vegetable or chicken. Broths are easy to digest, saving your body’s energy for recovery.

Comfrey for Comfort

Comfrey is beloved by healers and is one of the best-known healing herbs of all times. It has even been referred to as “a one-herb pharmacy” for its inherent curative powers. Well-known to and widely used by the early Greeks and Romans, its very name, symphytum, from the Greek symphyo, means to “make grow together,” referring to its traditional use of healing fractures. Comfrey relieves pain and inflammation, and comfrey salve will be a mainstay of your home first aid kit. Use it on cuts, scrapes, rashes, sunburn, and almost any skin irritation. Comfrey salve can also bring comfort to aching arthritic joints and sore muscles.

Lavender Aromatherapy: The Sweet Smell of Serenity

The time you take to restore yourself is precious. Morning is the optimal time to perform a self-blessing, which will help you maintain both your physical health and provide an emotional boost. Today, lavender oil is the most popular essential oil the world over, but the benefits of lavender were actually discovered over three thousand years ago. Because of its deeply powerful calming and soothing effect as well as antioxidant, antimicrobial, sedative, tranquilizing, and antidepressive properties, lavender oil is simply wonderful—even the scent brings joy. When King Tut’s tomb in Egypt was opened in 1923, a faint perfume of lavender remained after three thousand years. In the Bible, lavender was beloved for anointing and healing. Lavender, let us count the ways we love you:

• Anxiety reduction and lessening emotional stress
• Protection against diabetes
• Improved brain function
• Healing burns and wounds
• Better sleep
• Brightens skin health and circulation
• Slows down aging with powerful antioxidants
• Pain relief
• Alleviate headaches

Daisy and Echinacea: Healing the Heart and Body

This faithful flower’s name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon daeges eage, “day’s eye,” since it closes in the evening. The daisy has been used in one of the oldest of love charms. To know if your true love will return, take a daisy and intone, “He loves me, he loves me not” until the last petal is plucked, and the answer will be revealed. This flower is not just a boon for romance, however; it also useful in herbal medicine for aches, bruises, wounds, inflammation, and soothing eye baths. As a flower remedy, it is quite helpful with exhaustion and is a highly regarded remedy in homeopathy. Echinacea, also known as purple coneflower, is a member of the daisy family that has become wildly popular as a healer for colds and as a powerful immune booster; it both increases your T cell count and helps to fight off illnesses both minor and major. Echinacea is an herb of abundance “that attracts abundant prosperity, but it can also be used in magic workings to amplify the power.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

Beloved for the heavenly sweet perfume of its flowers, hibiscus is also a powerful diuretic and can lower blood pressure. As if that is not enough, it can also help sore throats and colds. Similarly to other herbal applications, steeping a tablespoon of the dried flowers in a cup of freshly boiled water for ten minutes and drinking this infusion twice a day is the desired treatment.

Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius; P. ginseng)

Many people rely upon ginseng to relieve and avert mental and physical fatigue. This herb has been shown to reduce the occurrence and acuteness of colds. Some even claim it can help with issues of male virility. It can help to light the fire of vitality within your body; for this reason, if you have spells of feeling too warm, limit your intake of ginseng. Either dried or fresh will do, three times a day simmered in a cup of freshly boiled water for eight to ten minutes. (Note that Siberian “ginseng” is a different plant entirely and is in fact a distinct species from another plant family, Eleutherococcus senticocus; it is also useful as a nutritive and grounding adaptogen, but should not be confused with Asian or American ginseng!)

Garlic (Allium sativum)

We have all heard that the Chinese praise garlic for health benefits. It is a powerful antimicrobial, often employed to combat colds, ease sinus congestion, and stave off digestive problems that accompany traveling. It has even been shown that regular use can help gently lower blood pressure. One to two fresh cloves daily are the dose.

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

How many times did your mom tell you to drink your (usually unsweetened) cranberry juice? Turns out she was right on both counts as straight cranberry juice is very good for bladder health and benefits men’s prostates; two half cups a day, mom’s orders!

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet: Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa)

Make a tincture or use the flower essence method and take twenty to forty drops three times a day to relieve menstrual cramps and arthritic pain. Black cohosh can also help perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.

Atacamite—Venusian Healer

Atacamite is a rare green crystal from the Southern Hemisphere, specifically Australia, Chile, and Central America. As with other uncommon crystals, atacamite is only now being understood for its healing powers and is thought to be of great help to the genitals, thyroid gland, and nerves. Legend has it that it helps with “Venus diseases”—herpes and other STDs.

Cranium-Calming Crystals

Lapis Lazuli has been used to treat headaches for millennia. My dear friend Abby suffers from migraines and cluster headaches. I gave Abby some earrings with lovely blue lapis settings to help her with this chronic condition, and she has reported great success. These headaches can have many causes and triggers; my beloved amber essence oil was one until we figured that out! The main causes are stress, anxiety, and various food triggers. Oddly enough, amber in crystal form alleviated Abby’s heinous headaches, seemingly absorbing the negative energy. Amethyst and turquoise are also good for this. Several stones are good for stomach illness; citrine and moonstone create calm, in this case, that stops the stomach unrest from signaling the brain to have a headache.

Cranium-Calming Crystals

Lapis lazuli has been used to treat headaches for millennia. My dear friend Abby suffers from migraines and cluster headaches. I gave her some earrings with lovely blue lapis settings to help her with this chronic condition, and she has reported great success. These headaches can have many causes and triggers; my beloved amber essence oil was one until we figured that out! The main causes are stress, anxiety, and various food triggers. Oddly enough, amber in crystal form alleviated Abby’s heinous headaches, seemingly absorbing the negative energy. Amethyst and turquoise are also good for this. Several stones are good for stomach illnesses, including citrine and moonstone which create calm that, in this case, stops the stomach unrest from signaling the brain to have a headache.