The Rabbit Hole

Patient Compliance

Jacksta — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:03:14 GMT

As herbalists how do we help those closest to us? meaning family- could be a mom, dad, cousin, sister, husband, wife etc.

When we prepare all the teas tinc. etc foot bath and salves to help facilitate healing and then see that it is like pulling teethe to get them to 'do it'-

Then what? in addition.. knowing that the ailment will not heal or get worse in many cases

Besides prayer I am not knowing the answer.

Trinity

Jacksta — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:23:38 GMT

anyone know when she'll be teaching that class about marketing product

Echinacea arial part and root???

Inti — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:28:20 GMT

I kow about the root as medicine. And I've got mixed reviews from teachers and such about using the arial parts. I'm growing purpurea, since angustifolia is harder to grow, and I've got flowers coming up.

so my question to you all....

Do you use arial parts and from which species. If you do... do you take it from the 1st year and/or the 2nd year. I know the root is the 2nd year.

Five Jewels

Jacksta — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:20:36 GMT

heres the five jewels form gail that alice showed her.

astragalus

codnopsis

lycium berries

chinese dioscorea

poria

it is an immune boost. cook with them, make broth, add to soups and stews or cook rice with it. is useful for gradually boosting chi and immunity.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

minimom — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:39:41 GMT

I am formulating a tincture for someone with chronic fatigue syndrome. She is being treated at a chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia clinic, and is taking bookoodles of supplements and medications, and wants to add herbs. Between her, her doctor, and me, we have come up with the following: licorice, eleuthero, ginkgo, astragalus root, nettle, ginger, milk thistle. Some of the other herbs I would have included, such as passionflower/valerian for sleep, she is already taking.

Does anyone have any ...

Burch's Day

Jacksta — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:45:16 GMT

Happy Birthday

Please Bring Strange Things

by Ursula LeGuin

Please bring strange things.

Please come bringing new things.

Let very old things come into your hands.

Let what you do not know come into your eyes.

Let desert sand harden your feet.

Let the arch of your feet be the mountains.

Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps

And the ways you go be the lines of your palms.

Let there be deep snow in your inbreathing

And your outbreath be the shining of ice.

May your mouth ...

a simple message...

Mademoiselle — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:03:27 GMT

...havent slipped down this rabbithole in some time.

i accidentally logged on to my unappreciated, and reluctant facebook page today to find a message from D.

she just dropped a simple hello.

made me feel so loved,

like i've so much love that i'd even let one of it's many sources to slip my mind for a moment, leave me in pleasant surprise.

i hope that some of you are staying in touch.

so, a general 'how is everyone?'

i send into quiet, ...

herpes preventives

Mademoiselle — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:33:49 GMT

a friend of mine is taking a valtrex about 3 times weekly as suppressive therapy for her herpes. i dont know how i feel about the whole "suppressive therapy" thing, but i did a little research.

seems that there has been a great number of studies done with sambucus and herpes. it is a powerful antiviral and has been used in concentrated dosages to treat the outbreaks, though i cant find anything specific on prolonged use for suppression. also, neem oil is often used in treatment, ...

dont just sit there...think something.

Mademoiselle — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:07:59 GMT

www.ted.com

an amazing webiste, could loose oneself for hours.

please do.

be inspired by brilliance.

cordials of lightness

Mademoiselle — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:21:13 GMT

a few birthday invites have come up in the past weeks for me. it tends to be the general concensus that as we age we needn't bring birthday gifts along to parties anymore. i refuse to succumb to these cheap, lazy ways. still i bring gifts, even if i've never met this birthday person, even if its a kegger. no matter how small, a gift is a gift. and cordials are perfect.

i made a kiwi/mango in vodka with simple syrup and a touch of agave nectar that turned out oh so very lovely. and ...

plants that save the world?

Mademoiselle — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:39:09 GMT

as you know, i am a big fan of ted.com

came across this talk the other night. he speaks on mushrooms, their medicinal and restorative properties, and how we can use them to make big changes.

enjoy.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/258

related talks will come up on the bottum of your screen. a great one on 'plants eye view', and other's under the heading 'inspired by nature' are quite good, and quite relative to our field of study.

the next cosmic serpent

Mademoiselle — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:44:03 GMT

i posted something a while back on Jeremy Narby's book The Cosmic Serpent. i'm reading it a second time now, going through highlighting the important bits, trying to retain the imformation to the point of being able to share it. (always a feat for me)

his latest book, Intelligence in Nature, is also quite amazing. i can't put it down. many references to the sentience of plants, proven by their ability to compute imformation and make decisions. he also explores the relationship of ...

adolescent acne

Mademoiselle — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:26:29 GMT

is anyone well-versed with the acne thing? my cousin, 13 year-old girl, has little bumps all over her arms and legs. little white prickly ones.

my first thought was the vitamin a deficiency back-of-the-arms thing, but perhaps there is something more because of the hormones...?

a chuckle... the doctor told her to put lotion on it. like everyday bath and body works teenager lotion. pitiful.

any advice? if anyone is still out there.

Whiskey Cupcakes

Jacksta — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:40:39 GMT

Haven't tried this yet but am just imagining all the things we could do to this Recipe for these amazing Whiskey Cupcakes:

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup brewed coffee

1 cup of American whiskey

2 Sticks of unsalted butter cut in to one inch pieces.

2 Cups of sugar

2 Cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoons salt

2 Large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Put oven rack in middle posistion and preheat oven to 325F.

Heat

coffee, whiskey, ...

It's Minimom's B-day soon

Inti — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:09:46 GMT

Start celebrating now and get those cordials ready!

Tincture Press

minimom — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:11:22 GMT

Has anyone out there ever used a homemade tincture press, or made one? I think there's a permanent cramp in my hand...

Dividing Perennials: Tools, Techniques, and Timing

Jacksta — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:59:07 GMT

Here's a useful little write up on dividing yer perennials:

Dividing Perennials: Tools, Techniques, and Timing

Oracle/Orach/French Spinach/Mountin Spinach

Jacksta — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:49:33 GMT

We are growing this as one of our greens.. really lovely plant

Oracle

Butterbur

minimom — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:15:56 GMT

I had been supplying a friend back home with feverfew tincture for his migraines. It was helping alot! That is, until he developed a rash. So now he's not taking it and is having the worst headaches ever. So I'm researching butterbur. Anybody have any info?

ted talks...

Mademoiselle — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:31:29 GMT

if i haven't mentioned to ya'll... www.ted.com is an amazing webiste, showcasing seemlessly endless 20-minute lectures given by brilliant 'thinkers and doers'

this one is right up our alley.

echoes of steven harrod buhner's lost language of plants, and the other book (name i cant recall) that reviews the four plants; rice, corn, potatoes and...? maybe someone can remind me.

he speaks of the intricate interplay of people and plants. are we in charge here?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/214

...

growing tobacco

Diane — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:06:15 GMT

i would like to put a nicotiana plant in my garden. does anyone have any suggestions/seeds/ideas on species for this area?

Rosemary's talk last night

Diane — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:30:08 GMT

I went to see Rosemary speak for the herb exchange benefit last night in Santa Rosa. As you can of course imagine, it was so wonderful to be in her *presence.*

But not to worry if you missed out. She told many of the stories she told us when she came to class last year as she gave a history of Sonoma County herbalism from her point of view.

Daniel opened and closed the evening with songs on his guitar, which was nice. Guess what? The bus is officially retired and our class was the last ...

Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology

Admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:46:54 GMT

Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology

required book for 2nd year CSHS

Marshmellow tincture chemistry Help!

Inti — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:56:55 GMT

If this happened to anyone please tell me what you did to correct it or a better way of tincturing.

So I tinctured Marshmallow as per Richo's instructions, only using 25% alcohol in the menstrum. I now have pressed it out and it is very gelatinous too thick to put in a bottle and to use a dropper. So my thought was to add alcohol to it to water it down without lowering the alcohol % so it will still preserve. As soon as the alcohol hit the tincture it hardened even more. so now I have a gelatinous ...

Astragalus Tincture or decoction?

Inti — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:50:54 GMT

As per Richo's instruction I made a strong decoction of astragalus and preserved it in 20% ETOH. He said tincturing doesn't do it well. But for some reason I feel it's not great.. kinda watery. I thought i decocted a strong batch but maybe not.

Anyone have experience with this? and any suggestions?

How strong a decoction would you use?

thnx