Herbal medicine is the medicine of the people. It is simple,
safe, effective, and free. Our ancestors used -- and our neighbors
around the world still use -- plant medicines for healing
and health maintenance. It's easy. You can do it too, and
you don't need a degree or any special training. Ancient memories
arise in you when you begin to use herbal medicine -- memories
which keep you safe and fill you with delight. These lessons
are designed to nourish and activate your inner herbalist
so you can be your own herbal expert.
In our first session, we learned how to "listen"
to the messages of plant's tastes. In session two, we learned
about simples and how to make effective water-based herbal
remedies. The third session helped us distinguish safe nourishing
and tonifying herbs from the more dangerous stimulating and
sedating herbs. Our fourth session focused on poisons in herbs
and herbal tinctures, which we made and then collected into
an Herbal Medicine Chest.
In this, our fifth session, we will find out how to help
ourselves and our families with herbal vinegars, one of the
green blessings of the Wise Woman Way.
Why Use Herbal Vinegars?
Herbal vinegars are an unstoppable combination: they marry
the healing and nutritional properties of apple cider vinegar
with the mineral- and antioxidant- richness of health-protective
green herbs and wild roots. Herbal vinegars are tasty medicine,
enriching and enlivening our food, while building health from
the inside out.
Herbal vinegars are far better for the bones and the heart
than soy beverages. They have a reputation for banishing grey
hair and wrinkles. Sprayed in the armpits, herbal vinegars
are highly effective deodorants. As a hair rinse (try rosemary
or lavender vinegar) they add luster and eliminate split ends.
Anything vinegar can do, including clean the kitchen, herbal
vinegars can do better.
Vinegars Seek Minerals
Minerals are important for the health and proper functioning
of our bones, our heart and blood vessels, our nerves, our
brain (especially memory), our immune system, and our hormonal
glands. No wonder lack of minerals can lead to chronic problems
and getting more can make a big different in health in a few
weeks. One of the best way to get more minerals -- besides
drinking nourishing herbal infusions and eating well-cooked
leafy greens -- is to use herbal vinegars.
Vinegar and Your Bones
It is not true that ingesting vinegar will erode your bones.
Adding vinegar to your food actually helps build bones because
it frees up minerals from the vegetables you eat and increases
the ability of the stomach to digest minerals. Adding a splash
of vinegar to cooked greens is a classic trick of old ladies
who want to be spry and flexible when they're ancient old
ladies. (Maybe your granny already taught you this?) In fact,
a spoonful of vinegar on your broccoli or kale or dandelion
greens increases the calcium you get by one-third. All by
itself, apple cider vinegar is said to help build bones; when
enriched with minerals from herbs, I think of it as better
than calcium pills.
Vinegar and Candida
Some people worry that eating vinegar will upset the balance
of gut flora and contribute to an overgrowth of candida yeast
in the intestines. Some people have been told to avoid vinegar
altogether. My experience has led me to believe that herbal
vinegars help health those with candida overgrowth, perhaps
because they're so mineral rich. I've worked with women who
have suffered for years and kept to a strict "anti-candida"
diet with little improvement and seen them get better fast
when they add nourishing herbal vinegars (and fermented foods
such as sauerkraut, miso, and yogurt) to their diets.
Making Herbal Vinegars
Fill any size jar with fresh-cut aromatic herbs: leaves,
stalks, flowers, fruits, roots, and even nuts can be used.
For best results and highest mineral content, be sure the
jar is well filled and chop the herb finely.
Pour room-temperature vinegar into the jar until it is full.
Cover jar: A plastic screw-on lid, several layers of plastic
or wax paper held on with a rubber band, or a cork are the
best covers. Avoid metal lids -- or protect them well with
plastic -- as vinegar will corrode them.
Label the jar with the name of the herb and the date. Put
it some place away from direct sunlight, though it doesn't
have to be in the dark, and someplace that isn't too hot,
but not too cold either. A kitchen cupboard is fine, but choose
one that you open a lot so you remember to use your vinegar,
which will be ready in six weeks.
You can decant your vinegar into a beautiful serving container,
or use it right from the jar you made it in.
Which Vinegar?
I use regular pasteurized apple cider vinegar from the
supermarket as the menstrum for my herbal vinegars. I avoid
white vinegar. Malt vinegar, rice vinegar, and wine vinegar
can be used but they are more expensive and may overpower
the flavor of the herbs.
Apple cider vinegar has been used as a health-giving agent
for centuries. Hippocrates, father of medicine, is said to
have used only two remedies: honey and apple cider vinegar.
Some of the many benefits of apple cider vinegar include:
better digestion, reduction of cholesterol, improvements in
blood pressure, prevention/care of osteoporosis, normalization
of thyroid/metabolic functioning, possible reduction of cancer
risk, and lessening of wrinkles and grey hair.
Notes for Herbal Vinegar Makers
* Collect jars of different sizes for your vinegars. I especially
like babyfood jars, mustard jars, olive jars, peanut butter
jars and individual juice jars. Look for plastic lids.
* The wider the mouth of the jar, the easier it will be to
remove the plant material when you're done.
* Always fill jar to the top with plant material and vinegar;
never fill a jar only part way.
*Really fill the jar. This will take far more herb or root
than you would think. How much? With leaves and stems, make
a comfortable mattress for a fairy: not too tight; and not
too loose. With roots, fill your jar to within a thumb's width
of the top.
* After decanting your vinegar into a beautiful jar, add
a spring of whole herb. Pretty.
My Favorite Herbal Vinegar
Pick the needles of white pine on a sunny day. Make herbal
vinegar with them. Inhale deeply the scent of the forest.
I call this my "homemade balsamic vinegar."
Using Your Vinegars
Herbal vinegars taste so good, you'll want to use them frequently.
Regular use boosts the nutrient level of your diet with very
little effort and virtually no expense.
* Pour a spoonful or more on beans and grains as a condiment.
* Use them in salad dressings.
* Add them to cooked greens.
* Season stir-frys with them.
* Look for soups that are vinegar friendly, like borscht.
* Substitute herbal vinegar for plain vinegar in any recipe.
* Put a big spoonful in a glass of water and drink it. Try
it sweetened with blackstrap molasses for a real mineral jolt.
Many older women swear this "coffee substitute"
prevents and eases their arthritic pains.
Coming up
In our next sessions we will learn more about herbal medicine
making, with a focus on oils, explore the difference between
fixing disease and promoting health, learn how to apply the
three traditions of healing, and how to take charge of our
own health care with the six steps of healing.
Experiment Number One
Test vinegar's ability to absorb minerals. Put a fresh bone
in a jar and completely cover it with vinegar. What happens?
Does the bone becomes pliable and rubbery? How long does it
take? Will eating vinegar dissolve your bones? Only if you
take off your skin and sit in it for weeks!
Experiment Number Two
Make egg shell vinegar. Fill a jar one-quarter full of vinegar.
Drop crushed egg shell into it. What happens? Does the vinegar
foam? How long does it take? Egg shells are exceptionally
rich in bone-building minerals. Can you taste the calcium
in this vinegar? Add some egg shell to your other vinegars
if you wish to increase their ability to keep your bones strong.
Experiment Number Three
Make four or more vinegars with the same plant, using different
types of vinegar, including both pasteurized and unpasteurized
apple cider vinegar. (For the others, use rice vinegar, malt
vinegar, wine vinegar, or even white vinegar, but not umeboshi
vinegar.)
Taste your vinegars daily for a week, then weekly for five
more weeks. You may, if you wish, decant some of your vinegars
for use after six weeks. But you may also wish to keep observing
them as they age (for years, if you wish). I have some vinegars
which are more than thirty years old and still in good shape.
Note which stay edible the longest, and what happens to those
that become inedible.
Experiment Number Four
Buy a quart or more of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.
Use two cups to make several small herbal vinegars: one with
roots, one with leaves, and one with flowers. Boil the other
two cups. Make one herbal vinegar with the boiling hot vinegar.
Make another with the boiled vinegar after it has cooled.
Continue as in experiment number three.
Further study
* Redo experiment number two using different kinds of egg
shells -- white ones and brown ones, store-bought and farm-bought,
from caged birds and free-range birds. Can you see any differences?
Taste or smell any differences?
* Make vinegars at different times of the year and compare
them.
Advanced work
* Unpasteurized vinegar can form a "mother." In
a jar filled with herb and vinegar, the vinegar mother usually
grows across the top of the herb, and looking rather like
a damp, thin pancake. Kombucha is a vinegar mother. Does your
local health food store sell mothers? kombucha? What is a
vinegar mother? Is it harmful?
* What is an ionic form of a mineral?
* What is a mineral salt?
* How do our bodies uptake and utilize minerals?
Plants
That Make Exceptionally Good-Tasting Herbal Vinegars
Apple mint (Mentha sp.) leaves, stalks
Bee balm (Monarda didyma) flowers, leaves, stalks
Bergamot (Monarda sp.) flowers, leaves, stalks
Burdock (Arctium lappa) roots
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) leaves, stalks
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) leaves, roots
Chives and especially chive blossoms
Dandelion (Taraxacum off.) flower buds, leaves, roots
Dill (Anethum graveolens) herb, seeds
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) herb, seeds
Garlic (Allium sativum) bulbs, greens, flowers
Garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis) leaves and
roots
Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) flowers
Ginger (Zingiber off.) and Wild ginger (Asarum canadensis)
roots
Lavender (Lavendula sp.) flowers, leaves
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) new growth leaves and
roots
Orange mint (Mentha sp.) leaves, stalks
Orange peel, organic only
Peppermint (Mentha piperata and etc.) leaves, stalks
Perilla (Shiso) (Agastache) leaves, stalks
Rosemary (Rosmarinus off.) leaves, stalks
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) leaves, stalks
Thyme (Thymus sp.) leaves, stalks
White pine (Pinus strobus) needles
Yarrow (Achilllea millifolium) flowers and leaves
Weedy Herbal Calcium Supplement
Use one or more of the following plants to make an herbal
vinegar that can reverse and counter osteoporosis. Dose is
2-4 tablespoons daily.
Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus) leaves
Cabbage leaves
Chickweed (Stellaria media) whole herb
Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) leaves
Cronewort/Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) young leaves
Dandelion (Taraxacum off.) leaves and root
Kale leaves
Lambsquarter (Chenopodium album) leaves
Mallow (Malva neglecta) leaves
Mint leaves of all sorts, especially sage, motherwort, lemon
balm, lavender, peppermint
Nettle (Urtica dioica) leaves
Parsley (Petroselinum sativum) leaves
Plantain (Plantago majus) leaves
Raspberry (Rubus species) leaves
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) blossoms
Violet (Viola odorata) leaves
Yellow dock (Rumex crispus and other species) roots
Herbal
Vinegars Where You Eat the Pickled Plants, too
Burdock
Chicory
Dandelion
Purslane
Yellow Dock
Rosehips
Raspberries/blackberries
For permission to reprint this article, write to: susunweed@herbshealing.com
Healing
Wise
by Susun
S. Weed
Introduction by Jean Houston.
Superb herbal in the feminine-intuitive mode. Complete instructions for using common plants for food, beauty, medicine, and longevity. Seven herbs -- burdock, chickweed, dandelion, nettle,
oatstraw, seaweed, and violet -- are explored in depth.
A Special Tenth Anniversary edition of this
classic herbal, profusely illustrated. 312 pages.
Retails for $12.95
Read a Review
Order HEALING WISE in our Bookshop
I just started reading your book, Healing Wise. Your
humor and approach to life seem so "down-to-earth",
just like your favorite powerful weeds. Thank you for sharing
and nourishing! ~ Diane
Study
with Susun Weed in the convenience of your home! Choose from
three Correspondence Courses: Green Allies, Spirit & Practice
of the Wise Woman Tradition, and Green Witch - includes audio/video
tapes, books, assignments, special mailings, plus personal
time.
Learn more at www.susunweed.com
or write to:
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com
and www.ashtreepublishing.com
For permission to reprint this article, contact us at: susunweed@herbshealing.com
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered
an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures,
teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges
conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her
vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly
pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging
and often profoundly provocative.
Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal
medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four
best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and
well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions
of women around the world. Learn more at www.susunweed.com
Welcome sisters, you are invited to join us, announcing:
Green
Goddess Apprentice Weeks
$800-1000 per week; $100 deposit Enrollment limited to ten
women.
For ages 14 and up.
Two one-week apprenticeships for aspiring herbalists who want
to learn from and play with the Green Goddess. And for past
apprentices to share their wisdom and knowledge. Here in the
safety of the Wise Woman Center we will play with the fairies,
dance with the devas, sing with the stars, and reweave the
healing cloak of the Ancients. We hope you can join us!
"I learned more from spending one day with Susun than
I have in months of study with others."
The fee includes all meals, lodging, instruction, textbooks,
and supplies.
* Organic vegetarian meals (dinner Monday through lunch Sunday)
* Camp site or shelter in our tipi or studio
* Twenty hours of class time with Susun
* All supplies, including materials for making herbal medicines,
and textbooks valued at more than $100: Field Guide to Wildflowers
(Peterson)
Healing Wise (Susun Weed)MoonDays (Premo-Steele)
City Herbal (Silverman)
Witches, Midwives, Nurses (Erenreich)
Natural Health Bible
* Tarot reading with Susun
* Classes with visiting teachers and past apprentices
* Campfire singing circles
* Yoga instruction
* Tai chi instruction
* Moon lodge gathering
* Talking stick ceremony
* Optional initiation as a green witch
During your Green Goddess Apprenticeship you will also:
* Learn how to identify plants
* Learn how to use common plants for food and medicine
* Learn about plant families and botany
* Make one or more herbal remedies to take home
* Enjoy Goddess archetype presentations
* Go for walks in the woods
* Connect deeply with plants and the planet
* Be supported by the spiral of sisters
In addition to studying you can:
* Swim in the pond or the river
* Paddle the canoe
* Visit Woodstock, Colony of the ArtsSchedule
Your Green Goddess Apprentice week begins at noon on Monday
and ends about 4pm on Sunday. You may arrive as early as 11am
if you wish to settle in first. If you are flying in, please
check with us about options for arriving early or staying
later. There is a $5 pickup fee to get you from the bus in
Woodstock or Saugerties.
Our days begin with breakfast (out from 8:30 until 9:30),
followed by class (10am - 1pm), then lunch and talking stick
(1:30 - 3:30), afternoon class (3:30 - 6pm), dinner (6:30
- 8pm), and finally evening campfire circle of stories and
songs (8pm - 10pm). On Monday, we will choose our goddess
archetypes and our green allies and pick a wild salad for
an early dinner. On Friday, we will also eat one hour earlier
since the moonlodge starts at 7pm. On Sunday, we will have
a lavish high magic ceremony followed by a late lunch and
a final talking stick. Many surprises await us on all the
days in between.
To
Register
Please send your name, age, address, phone number, e-mail
address, and letter of application (words or images) with
your $100 deposit -- which will be returned if we cannot accept
your application. A color photograph is helpful if you can
include one. Tell us which week you wish to attend and whether
or not you could come to the other week if your first choice
is full. Payment for this event may be made in installments
charged to your credit card. All Green Goddess Apprentices
must be paid in full ten days prior to their arrival.
Mail your application to :
Wise Woman Center PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax questions to: 1-845-246-8081
Work-exchange
There are three work-study positions open at each Green Goddess
Week. Each position requires 50 hours of work over an eight
day span (the seven days of the green goddess week plus the
day before it begins or the day after it ends) plus a payment
of $500. You will not miss any class time if you do work exchange;
you will be busy from 8am to midnight. To apply for one of
these positions, please write. Tell us of your willingness
to work and your desire to participate.
You may use work-exchange credits from any work exchange weekend
toward this event.
Past Apprentices
Are you a past apprentice of Susun's? If so, you qualify for
a special discount at the Green Goddess Weeks. All past live-in
apprentices may come for two days and nights free; further
days are half price at $70 each, or $50 plus 3 hours of work.
(Offer good only to apprentices who graduated.) If you completed
a live-out apprenticeship, you may take 25% off , bringing
your cost to $600-750 for the week.
Class Size
We will accept ten students in this program, plus three work-exchange
students, plus apprentices who may be here already as well
as visiting apprentices. Please register early.
Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.susunweed.com
To register for Wise Woman Center workshops and intensives,
send deposit (see specific workshop for deposit amount) and
indicate which workshop you want to attend and contact info:
Wise Woman Center PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax questions to: 1-845-246-8081
You may also choose to pay by credit card: www.ashtreepublishing.com
Please send us email,
to confirm availability, before registering online.
