Making a Believer

Superman has been a bit slow into coming around to my herbal ways.  He has always been supportive of my beliefs and my use of natural medicine, but when it comes to using them himself he has been a bit reluctant.  That is changing slowly, but the proof is in the pudding and he just can't deny when my methods work. 

A few days ago, we were out in the yard and he was restringing my clothes line.  A sudden rain storm caught my towels out to dry last week and the weight of the drenched fabric snapped the already frayed lines.  Unbeknownst to him, the bees had built a hive in the pipe across top and as he pulled the rope through he disrupted the community.  Fortunately, it was a cool day and only one bee ventured out to investigate, but Superman ended up getting stung in the palm of his hand.  Since I was standing right over a bunch of Plantain I simply snatched up a leaf, gave it a quick chew, and spit it on the throbbing bite.  A few minutes later, he wiped the green goo off and continued his task with out pain or stiffness.  He is now a believer in the power of Plantain.  Add that to his acceptance of ginger for stomach aches and his positive reaction to my Achy Joint Salve...I'm making progress! 

I Think I Did Something Right!

 

 

This past week, I made my husband an achy joint salve that does so  much more.  Let me 'splain. 

 

Using herbs medicinally is nothing new to me, but this was my first attempt to try and incorporate the magical properties of herbs.  My husband has been having increasing pain in nearly all his joints, so I needed to make him a salve. My previous knowledge of herbs told me that ginger and a touch of cayenne should soothe and reduce inflammation, but I wanted to go a bit further this time.  Using my resources for magical herbalism, I decided to try adding a trio of magical herbs for energy; cinnamon, carnation, and dragon's blood.  When my trip to the local health food store only turned up one of the three special ingredients, I decided to incorporate it all the same. 

 

So we are talking about a simple salve of ginger, cayenne, and cinnamon. It sounds pretty basic. Not having the other two magical elements I expected the cinnamon to do little more than add aroma and maybe a touch of heat to the warming element of the salve.  All the same, I charged my ingredients and proceeded to create my salve. 

 

The following morning, hubby woke up more achy than usual and I proceeded to rub the new salve into his hands, feet, and back.  Medicinally, it was spot on.  As I worked in the salve, I could feel the tightness recede and the inflammation drain away.  What happened next is where the surprise came in.  My previously achy, far side of forty-year-old husband started acting like a teenage boy. 

 

After a nap that resulted in very little rest, my husband turned to me and asked, "Wow!  What was that."  I had to grin just a little as I told him,

 

"It must have been the cinnamon." 

 

It wasn't a fluke either, I felt it to a lesser degree from the contact with my hands and we have tested it since with the same outcome.  Yes, I had known that one of the magical properties of cinnamon is to incite sexual passion, but since that was not my intent and it was a single herb working alone I had dismissed it's power.  I doubt I'll make that mistake again, but I will be making more achy joint salve.