A Very Useful Herb

On my altar right next to the re-rooting rosemary sprig is a bottle of rosemary oil.  It is very likely the most used magickal item in our house.  I use it to anoint my family for protection, I rub it on my husbands temples for clarity of thought while studying and I use it to anoint my own forehead for purification before ritual and divination.  Some days, everyone in the household smells of rosemary.

Additionally, I also use dried rosemary leaves blended in an incense for divination and in spell work. Magickaly, rosemary is touted as being the herb that can be used in place of any other herb, but I have yet to put that to the test.  I prefer to substitute a similar herb when I must.  However, the magickal properties of rosemary are diverse, from protection to clarity of thought to love and even to purification.  Scott Cunningham even suggests burning rosemary to promote healing, which is where things get really interesting.

Burning rosemary, especially when combined with juniper, is effective at killing germs and preventing infections.  Before modern antiseptics, this combination was often burned in hospitals to keep illness from passing between patients.  Magickal and medicinal in one!

Just today, I smudged my home with rosemary grown by my oldest daughter.  We've been fighting a nasty cold for over a week now and everytime I think we've kicked it, things take a turn for the worse.  I knew I needed to do something to stop the cycle, but it is just too chilly to open the house up for a good airing.  So, I smudged and in smudging I tapped into both the magicakal and the medicinal uses of rosemary I don't have any juniper right now.

After lighting my charcoal disk and getting a nice billowy smoke from my dried roseamary, Miss Busy and I walked through the house with the smoking bowl.  As we made our small tour, we chanted,  "Smoke of rosemary, billow and blow.  Smoke of rosemary, germs must go."   Simple magick, but magick that I know works.

From a purely medical standpoint, our steadfast belief in rosemary as a helper in clear thought and concentration is a proven truth.  Rosemary stimulates circulation to the brain and gives us sharper memory and cognition. Because of this stimulation, it is also effective for relieving headaches associated wth stress and will minimize the symptoms of a cold.  For medicinal purposes, rosemary is best ingested raw, but if you can't stomach chewing on a rosemary leaf try a cup of rosemary tea or adding a sprig or two to a pot of soup.

Rosemay is additionally used to treat a vast array of women's issues, heart problems, and sluggish digestion.  It also tastes delicious in a homemade vegetable soup, chopped and sprinkled on top of homemade bread before popping it in the oven, or included in a chi tea blend.  Oh, and oven roasted chicken and potatoes with a sprinkling of fresh rosemary...delicious!

While I realize there is a lot more that I could say about this herb, I will just leave you with a suggestion to keep a few sprigs or a plant on hand for all purposes magickal, medicinal, and culinary. I have in no way exhausted the use of rosemary in this post, so do a bit of reading and find the uses that best suit your individual needs.

Hay is For Horses

Alfalfa Plant: Photo by the UofA Cooperative Extension Service

 

 



...every child  knows that!  Furthermore, growing up rural, just about every child knew that good  hay generally meant alfalfa.  It is high in vitamin C, protein, chlorophyll, and calcium to name a few.  Equine folks will swear that it is the number one choice for feeding horses and, in fact, the word alfalfa comes from the Persian word asparti which means "horse fodder."

On my river walk the other day, alfalfa was one of the plants I was excited to find growing nearby.  My first reaction was nostalgia as I picked a handful to pop into my mouth and transport myself back to childhood.  Ahh. One of those moments to get lost in time.   AHEM!  Back to the adult world...a baby fussing in the stroller does that. Beyond my childhood memories of idyllic alfalfa fields, there is a very real reason to get excited about this plant.  It is chock full of good things and is very useful to maintaining good health. 

In spite of the fact that the Arabs refer to alfalfa as "the father of herbs," I consider it more of a woman's plant.  It is high in calcium which is essential to women of childbearing age.  Has naturally occurring fluoride to help maintain teeth and bone structure (something that many women struggle with as they age).  Is full of vitamin K that helps battle the  morning sickness that many of us suffer with in the early stages of pregnancy.  Finally, because of it's high nutritional content, alfalfa is also used to boost lactation. 

Besides all of the lady specific uses I have mentioned, alfalfa is also good for numerous other herbal and nutritional applications.  It is revered by vegetarians as an excellent source of B-12 vitamins.  It is also an acid reducer and is used for various stomach and blood ailments.  Several years ago, when I was struggling with some allergy and asthma problems, I used alfalfa in my concoction of herbs to manage symptoms affecting my breathing. 

With all the benefits of alfalfa and its delicate flavor, it would be tempting to ask why we don't just set out a bowl full of it to eat like spinach.  Unfortunately, alfalfa is too fibrous to be digested comfortably by the human system.  The best sources of alfalfa are in the form of sprouts and dried leaves infused as a tea.  Adding it to an already healthy diet could be very beneficial for any of us. 

Any witch would be remiss not to explore the magical properties of an herb, but magically, there is very little said about alfalfa.  The only information I found on this front was in The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl where it is mentioned that alfalfa has been used as a ward against money anxieties and is considered by some as a herb of protection.