Writings on Herbal Medicine
include both Physica – written in common German; and Causae et Curae – written
in Latin
Within her books, she had 437
claims of health benefits using 175 plants.
She used the Doctrine of Humors with the rule of fours (divine sphere,
cosmic realm, physical area, mental area).
Additionally, she believed the Doctrine of Signatures, originally
organized in the Materia Medica by Pedanius Dioscorides. It's an interesting doctrine, that God
provided us clues as to which plants were good for treating which organs, which
could include shapes, colors, similarities to diseases, etc.
She believed in Harmony
between mind, body and spirit as God is the true healer.
In October 2012, she was
declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict, four months after she was
canonized.
6 GOLDEN RULES OF LIFE (PHYSICA)
1. Draw
energy from nature's life force – Viriditas – Divine healing power of green;
nature's regeneration; God's healing plants.
2. Healthy
and balanced nutrition found from food's healing powers.
3. Regenerate
strained nerves with healthy sleep and dream regulation. This would include good mood, positive
thoughts prior to sleeping that would lead to good dreams and possibly
prophetic visions. Methods include:
a. Bedtime
rituals and schedules
b. Sleep
naturally or get out of bed. Don't make
bed a battleground.
c. Avoid
stimulants.
d. Avoid
alcohol.
e. Bed is
for sleeping, not watching TV, working, reading, eating, etc.
f. Sleep
chamber should be cool, calm and comfortable.
g. While a
20-30 minute cat nap is fine, generally avoid naps.
h. Get
regular exercise.
i. Have a
healthy diet.
j. Keep a
sleep journal by your bed. Analyze your
sleep patterns and write down any dreams.
4. Finding
the harmonious balance between work and leisure. This dealt with the humors of the body: Sanguine (blood); Choleric (yellow bile);
Melancholic (black bile); Phlegmatic (Phlegm).
Qualities were dry, wet, tepid and foamy.
a. Strengthen
the spirit – prayer, meditation, practicing talents/gifts.
b. Cleanse
the body – fasting
c. Moderation
– of behaviors, thoughts and actions
d. Sharpen
the senses – be aware, set goals, live life on purpose
5. Detox
and purification with regular fasting and sweat baths. “Moderate fasting renews health in those who
are sick or less than healthy. In addition, those who are healthy benefit from
periodic fasting, by preventing sickness that has not yet arrived.”
6. Optimism
and strength of mental defenses using the 35 subconscious virtues.
Inner love of the spiritual / Outer love of the
material
Discipline / Exuberance
Modesty / Jocularity
Compassion / Ruthlessness
Divine victory / Sloth
Patience / Anger
Belief / Cynicism
Abstinence / Feasting
Generosity / Bitterness
Benevolence / Spitefulness
Truth / Deceptiveness
Peace / Contention
Happiness / Misery
Discretion / Excess
Salvation of soul / Shiftlessness
Humility / Pride
Charity / Envy
Fear of god / Vainglory
Obedience / Disobedience
Faith / Disbelief
Hope / Despair
Simplicity / Luxury
Justice / Injustice
Strength / Numbness
Cosmic bond / Disorientation
Stability / Instability
Longing for the heavenly / worry over the earthly
Openness / Stubbornness
Freedom from Desire / Desire
Harmony / Discord
Reverence / Scurrility
Consistency / Restlessness
Worship / Crime
Frugality / Greed
Heavenly joy / World-weariness
RECIPES
Hawthorn
Berry Cordial
2
cups dried hawthorn berries
2
apples, chopped, seeds removed
2
teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2
vanilla beans, cut in half lengthwise
3
cinnamon stick
10
whole cloves
(Alternatively,
6 cardamom seeds instead of half the cinnamon and cloves)
Zest
of 2 lemons
4
tablespoons dried hibiscus
2/3
cup unsweetened 100% pomegranate juice
1
cup honey, or to taste
4
cups brandy
Mix
together in a glass jar and shake daily for 2 weeks to 1 month. Strain out the solid bits for compost pile
and store liquid in glass container out of sunlight.
Hawthorn
berry strengthens the heart, and is a blood pressure equalizer – lowering high
blood pressure and raising low blood pressure.
Rather than working to suppress the body's natural reactions, and just
treating the symptoms, hawthorn berries also treat the cause of high blood pressure – the health of the heart. Hawthorn also helps with systemic
inflammation, so keep an eye on how you feel overall to determine the proper
dosage for yourself.
Please
keep in mind that Hawthorn berries should not be used by those diagnosed with
diastolic congestive heart failure.
Additionally, if you are on medications for blood pressure, consult your
doctor before adding hawthorn to your diet.
Ginger,
cinnamon, cloves and vanilla bean also have heart healthy properties and
support hawthorn's work in this cordial.
I didn't have cardamom seeds, so I substituted additional cinnamon and
cloves for it.
If
you were to make this cordial for blood pressure problems, you would then take
about a teaspoon 3 times a day. It's
quite good when mixed with sparkling water.
Spiced
Hawthorn Pear-Plum Brandy
2
cups of brandy
1
Tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2
cinnamon stick
5
whole cloves
(Substitute
cinnamon/cloves with 1 T cardamom seeds, decorticated (no pods))
1
vanilla beans
2
pears
4
dried plums or 1 persimmon
1
cup dried hawthorn berries
¼
cup honey
Mix
together in a glass jar and shake daily for 2 weeks to 1 month. Strain out the solid bits for compost pile and
store liquid in glass container out of sunlight.
This
digestive cordial can be sipped on its own or added to hot apple cider as an
after-dinner drink. Again, this is good
for heart health and for aiding digestion.
This can also help with diarrhea and bloating.
Salves
in General
Skin
balms, salves and ointments are easy-to-make semi-solid blends of beeswax (or
some vegetable wax) with one or more liquid oils. The distinction between these
applications simply depends on their cosmetic or therapeutic properties.
In
a wide sense, skin balms are general purpose cosmetic applications, designed to
soften and nourish the skin. Typically made from oils that have superior
emollient, soothing and nourishing properties, they are ideal for hands, feet
and elbows, and to soothe extra dry, chapped skin.
Being
anhydrous (waterless), these applications are absorbed slower than creams, and
offer therefore the best choice for those skin, muscular and joint conditions
that benefit from long, slow massage. Simple skin balms, made from healing oils
(such as avocado, virgin coconut, corn, sweet almond, apricot kernel, rice
bran, and mango or Shea butter) are a great way to restore suppleness and
softness to tired feet, hands that suffer from contact with irritating substances,
chapped elbows or rough knees. The mechanical action of massage and the
friction of the massaging hands on the skin generate extra heat, which
contributes to opening the pores and making the skin more receptive to absorb
into its deepest layers the active principles contained in the wax-and-oil
blend. For this reason, skin balms are typically used as bases for healing
salves, therapeutic ointments and pomades.
When
healing herbs are infused in one of the base oils, the nourishing and warming
action is combined with the benefits of the chosen herbs, reaching the deepest
layers of the skin. It is important to keep in mind that, since possible skin
problems would be magnified by these "deep reaching" preparations,
synthetic fragrances and herbs that might cause skin irritation should always
be avoided when preparing salves and ointments.
A
simpler alternative to infusing herbs is adding, at the end of the process and
just before pouring the base balm into storage containers, a few drops of one
or more essential oils, chosen depending on skin type and desired effects
Preparing
a skin balm base
The
ingredients in a skin balm are basically two: one or more liquid oils, and some
beeswax or vegetable wax. Skin balms, salves, ointments and pomades are relatively
soft and easy to spread, and require 4 to 7 parts of liquid oil(s) for each
part of beeswax.
Measure
out the ingredients by weight into your chosen melting pot.
Place
this container into the double boiler, half-filled with water, and heat until
the beeswax is melted.
Remove
from the heat and let cool for several hours.
Once
the balm is set, check its consistency and "feel". If the balm is too
hard or feels "waxy", add an extra part of liquid oil, and remelt it
in the double boiler.
Repeat
the previous step until your balm reaches the desired consistency. Remember to
take notes, which will help you when you wish to replicate the same recipe.
When
the desired consistency has been reached, melt down the balm once more if you
would like to add any essential oils or Vitamin E, which act as a preservative
for the oil base. If essential oils or Vitamin E are used, mix well before
pouring into individual storage containers.
For
making salves you follow the recipe above for oil. After you have your herbal
oil to the scent or strength you desire you warm it up just enough so it will
melt wax. You add approx. 1 Tbls. of organic beeswax or solidified butter
(i.e., Shea) for every cup of oil. Stir your beeswax into the warmed oil until
it’s dissolved. Pour into dark glass containers and close with a lid. If you
find your salve is not as thick as you wish you can reheat it and add more
beeswax.
The
amount of wax that gets added depends on the other solidifiers that are used,
such as the Shea butter or Coconut oil, which is solid in cold form. One thing
to note if using Coconut oil is that there is more of a gel-like quality than
waxy quality to a salve made with it.
Arnica
Salve
From Angelika’s
Diary:
There are certainly times that I can
understand why the physicians are gaining ground in popularity. I met a woman at a crossroads faire, and
found that although she had some effective treatments, she really didn’t know
what she was talking about. I fear that
someday, she will be accused of witchcraft, and not even know that she’s simply
ignorant.
Working with the Archers of
Ravenwood, I learned quickly to have a large amount of arnica salve on hand,
for a more bruised group of people I’ve never met. You would think it was a badge of honor for a
new archer to earn an “archer’s tattoo”!
What it means is that you’re too new to shooting to understand how to
get the rest of your arm out of the way of being hit by a string traveling fast
enough to propel an arrow hundreds of yards, and immediately, a large welt rises,
followed shortly thereafter by most colorful bruising. It pains me to look upon it, and yet daily,
I’m called to ease the sting and speed the healing.
One day the woman I talked about was
visiting, and upon being presented with the arm of yet another brave, but
forgetful (for he’d forgotten his armguard) warrior, she brought out a butter
of her own that she called Toad Ointment to aid the healing of the bruise. I asked her how she made it, and she
described the barbaric ritual of taking four good-sized toads, boiling them in
a pot of water and simmering it down to half a pint, then adding a pound of
butter, and a goodly amount of arnica tincture.
While she was describing this, I used my own salve on the lad and sent
him on his way, much relieved that the sting had disappeared so quickly. The woman looked rather surprised, and asked
what I did differently that it would work so much faster than what she
made. I explained that if one skipped
the toads and the butter, there’s much less to work through to get to the
skin. I’m afraid she didn’t appreciate
my criticism of her methods, and she took her leave rather quickly after
that. Toad ointment! Can you imagine such a thing?
Arnica can be a formidable opponent
in fighting off bruises, muscle aches and pains, sprains, and for archers, the
dreaded bow rash. There are
approximately 28 varieties of Arnica, all, of course, from the daisy family,
but not all having the same medicinal effects.
Arnica montana plants have bright yellow, daisy-like flowers that bloom
between June and August. Other names for the plant are leopard's bane, mountain
arnica, mountain tobacco and mountain daisy.
Arnica stimulates blood circulation,
and can raise blood pressure, particularly in the coronary arteries. Used externally
only, it contains anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that reduce
pain and swelling, improving and speeding wound healing. It works by
stimulating white blood cell activity, which digests congested blood, and
disperses trapped, disorganized fluids from bumped and bruised tissue, joints
and muscles. Using the flowers, hundreds
of preparations are made from the plant, particularly in Germany. Most useful for our purposes is a preparation
of the arnica flower in a gel or cream form. Two methods of preparation are
listed below. Arnica is on the list of strictly protected plants, and is
threatened with extinction. Please obtain either the dried flowers or
pre-prepared formulas from reputable dealers.
While arnica, which was initially
discovered by goat herders, who saw their charges eating the plants when they’d
been injured, is good for goats and cows, it’s not good to use internally for
humans. For us, it can cause vomiting,
weakness, increased heart rate and nervous disturbances!
Preparations:
Angelika’s Salve: Using a cold pressed oil (made by covering
the herb with a good olive oil, keeping it out of the light, and shaking the
jar twice daily for four months before straining out the solid bits), add
enough solidifiers (beeswax, butters, fats) to make a good salve. (I’ve found that adding a little tea tree oil
– not known in Angelika’s time, of course – will make the salve work even
faster.)
Tincture: Prepare the
tincture ahead of time by placing 4 ounces of the dried flowers in a glass jar
with a tight fitting lid. Add two cups 100 proof vodka or Everclear, and leave
in there for 2 weeks, shaking the jar occasionally. At the end of that time,
strain the mixture through a cloth into a brown glass bottle, and keep it
tightly closed. Tinctures are useful when you don't have time to heat water to
create compresses. Mix 15 drops of the tincture with a cup of water, soak a
cloth in it and place it on the affected area for 2 minutes. Don't let arnica
sit on the skin for too long.
Cream/Gel: This is a blend of
oil, beeswax and water. You can make your own (see below) or purchase an
unscented, water based cream. Add 2 ounces of arnica flowers to a cup of the
cream, mix well and simmer in the top of a double boiler for 30 minutes. Strain
before it cools into a container with a tight lid.
To
make your own cream, melt 2 ounces of beeswax in a double boiler. Add 1 cup
olive oil or other vegetable oil and blend. Add 2 ounces of the herb and mix
well. For a lighter cream, add a little water. Simmer for 20 minutes, mixing
well. As a preservative, add a drop of tincture of benzoin. Strain through a
cloth into sterilized jars.
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