covenrochester ([personal profile] covenrochester) wrote2022-09-04 05:22 pm

Herbalism, Wayside Weeds, the People's Medicine

Two common wayside weeds -- Plantain, and Goldenrod -- are also two of the great medicines of the green kingdom. I picked Plantain leaves out of my yard yesterday to make a topical liniment, for bug bites, burns, cuts, and sprains.

Today, on a walk, I took a bowl and scissors with me, and cut sufficient Goldenrod to make a quart of tincture. Goldenrod has so many uses, it takes up four pages in my Greenbook. One little-known use that Maria Treben, the great European grandmother herbalist, mentions is using Goldenrod against emotional shock or grief. The tincture can also be turned into a syrup for colds and coughs. It is good against troublesome kidney and urinary conditions. Goldenrod can be made into almost any medicinal form -- a vinegar, a tincture, an elixir, a honey, a syrup, a tea, a standard infusion, and so on.



Plantago Major, Plantain, Leaves, being made into a topical liniment



Solidago spp., Goldenrod, Aerial Parts, being made into a tincture



Armoracia rusticana, Horseradish, Root, purchased at the supermarket, being made into a tincture

The final medicine I made today was a tincture of Horseradish, for decongestion of the sinuses. The dose is small. 5 to 10 drops on the tongue will suffice.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester