91 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
91 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
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ADVICE TO THE BEGINING HERBALISM STUDENT
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Before I take this any further, and before I begin my
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posts on herbs and their applications, I want to make it
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clear that my training in this is yet incomplete. Much of
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what I am going to cover is taken from notes from the many
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teachers I have had, some very useful reference books and
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experience. I will pass on what I have, in hope that those
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who have more may add to the knowledge, present their own
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experiences and generally SHARE our most important community
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commodity - INFORMATION. The idea is to expand ourselves,
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thru free exchange of this information and by doing so help
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the entire Pagan community survive in the long run. Please
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feel free to distribute the information I post here in this
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and other message areas and in files to as many people as
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might be interested!
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Herbalism, like midwifery skills, is one of the oldest
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parts of teaching within the craft, but is also one where we
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have lost a huge amount of information and where science
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has yet to catch up. Every pagan culture has utilized the
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herbalism of its particular region, and I have found no one
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source or teacher who could possibly know about every herb
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that grows on the Earth. Yet today we have the opportunity
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to perhaps achieve this within a lifespan or two, using the
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electonic communications at our fingertips. Science is now
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slowly begining to learn the improtance of the natural herbs
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in healing, but they will take centuries to figure it all
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out because of the way they go about things, unless nudged.
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The first step in herbalism is to gather the tools you
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will need, and that is the main point of this first message.
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I have found the following useful and in many cases vital
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to learn and practice the use of herbs.
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1) A Good mortar and Pestile, one of stone or metal is
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prefered. If wood is used you will need two, one for
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inedibles and one for edibles - make sure they do not
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look identical, as you do not want to accidentally
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poison anyone!!!
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2) Containers. Although you can buy dried herbs over the
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counter in many places these days, do not store them
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in the plastic bags they come in, as these are usually
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neither reuseable nor perfectly airtight. Rubbermaid
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style plastic containers are good, but expensive. I
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have used glass coffee and spice jars/bottles to good
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effect, as well as some medicine bottles. The more you
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recycle the better ecologically, just make sure they
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have been thoroughly washed and dried before placing
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anything inside them.
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3) Labels. This is vital! None of us in this day and age
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can possibly recognize each herb in its various forms
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simply by sight. Always label your containers as you
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fill them, and if possible date them when they were
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filled so you don't keep spoiled stock on the shelf.
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4) Tea Ball. A good metal teaball of the single cup
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size can be very useful in the longrun when your are
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experimenting, and when you are making single person
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doses of teas and tonics.
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5) CheeseCloth : Useful for straining a partially liquid
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mixture and occasionnally for the making of sachets.
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6) A Good sized teakettle. Preferably one that will hold
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at least a quart of water.
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7) A Good teapot for simmering mixtures. I use one from
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a chinese import store that has done me well.
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8) A good cutting board and a SHARP cutting knife for just
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herbal work.
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9) A notebook of some sort to record the information in
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as you go, both successes and failures. Always record
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anything new you try that may or may not work, and
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also and research information you get from various
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sources (like this echo!)
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10) An eyedropper.
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11) White linen-style bandages. Some ace bandages are also
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useful in the long run.
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12) A metal brazier of some sort, or a metal container
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that can withstand heavy useage and heat from within
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or without, useful for several things including the
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making of your own incenses.
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13) Reference sources. Shortly you should see a list of
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books that I have read from in the past that I
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consider useful, build from this as a starting point
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to others and to your teachers help.
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Thats it to start, you'll pick the rest up as you go. Take
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your time studying, take lots of notes, compare your sources
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and your own personal results on each herb and on herbal
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mixtures of any kind.
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