Medicine making

I'm not sure which part I'd choose I love the most: the gathering, the preparing, the gentle stirring of the contents during the infusion time by rocking the jars between my hands, the filtering or the actual, finished medicine, labelled. It's one thrilling, utterly satisfying journey. Bottling smaller amounts into tiny glass bottles with pipettes. Putting some of them into our kitchen cabinet for daily use. A sigh of accomplishment and happiness - finally! Finally I'm doing this, what I was softly aching for my whole life. Turning plants into medicine, in collaboration, with the spirits of the plants. In it together.

2nd batch of herbal medicine

This time I finished making Plantain tincture, Plantain extract in apple cider vinegar, Mugwort and rose petal elixir, Mullein tincture, Mullein flower infusion in almond oil, Yarrow tincture, Elderberry elixir and Impatiens tincture.

My online study was going very slow for a period of time, as I was gathering and preparing the medicine and reading into the Plant Healer publications. Now back on track of the intermediate herbal course, enjoying it very much!

Elderberry syrup

With the crazy weather we've been having lately (cold mornings, hot afternoons), everyone in our little family is sneezing and wiping their nose every now and then.
Enter Elderberry Syrup!

At the end of August I was lucky enough to find lots of elderberries, and harvested some, leaving plenty for the birds to feast on. I didn't use sugar when making the syrup, but added runny honey instead at the end of the process. I'm storing the little bottle in the fridge, and will keep an sharp eye on it in case it should go bad. So far we've been very lucky - no one's really caught a cold yet (thank you, Elder!) and there's still plenty of the syrup left.


 Here's how I made mine:

1 part ripe elderberries + 0.5 part water (I didn't have much elderberries, maybe 250ml)
a little stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove
 2 tbspns chopped, fresh ginger

Simmer and stir occasionally for 1 hour+, or until reduced by half.

Add honey at the end, when you're done with simmering the syrup (I used 1 tbsp, it could use more).
Strain, bottle and label.

Store in the fridge.

You can take 1 tsp/hr when you feel flu coming on, or make a warm drink of it by adding hot water and some freshly squeezed lemon juice to it.

Please note: be very sure of what you harvest when wild-harvesting! If you're not 100% certain you know the plant, don't pick of it. With medical conditions always consult your medical specialist!

What's brewing?

This is what I bought home the first time during the vacation. Some Nettle roots (later I found a spot where I could harvest thick, long ones), Plantain (Pantago major), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Mallow (Malva sylvestris).

I like this photo, it is illustrating 'the first touch' so very well. Tentatively, I took home a few treasures to look at, hold and wonder upon.

Later I got more close with the herbs on the wild-grown land, and felt their generosity. And I saw the abundance! With gratitude, I picked of the plants above, and of Rose petals, Goldenrod, Mullein and Mugwort.

Some are now dried, stored in glass jars, and in my medicine drawer waiting for future direct use or medicine-making. Others are swimming in alcohol and/or honey, apple cider vinegar or oil. From 6th October onwards I will be filtering the goodness, transferring them into herbal remedy bottles.

from left to right: yarrow tincture, plantain tincture, mullein tincture, rose-and mugwort elixir and the next jar :)

The longer I'm in contact with this form of art, the more my intuition opens, and old knowledge surfaces, becomes accessible again.

As I read the books and online information on herbal medicine and am in contact with the herbs, the clearer it becomes to me: this is how it is meant to be. Our human bodies are a part of the nature of this planet. Why wouldn't the interaction with plants then heal our bodies and help us in balancing the energy flows in these bodies?

It is an ecosystem of its own, with well-balanced healing agents helping other living beings (humans, animals and other plants, in a symbiotic relationship) perfectly.