Cures & Charms from Appalachia
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These folk practices were collected from oral tradition by a friend of mine. Below you will find charms, cures, remedies, and folk wisdom for everyday living.
Love Charm
For love, take a pair of scissors and inscribe your name on the inside of one blade, and his on the inside of the other, then bury this.
Cow Lore
Whilst white stagger grass will not harm, blue stagger grass grows in loose soil where cows readily pull the root up, which is the dangerous part of the plant. After eating the root, the cow seems to try to "walk over its head," with its head low to the ground and its back feet flailing behind it, and will stagger about, hence the name for this plant. The cow will later develop symptoms such as lying down, seizing, and rolling its eyes back into its head. Quickly blend onions, grease (bacon and/or sausage grease is most commonly handy), milk, and eggs into a liquidy substance, and pour this down
the cows throat. Fallen branches from certain trees, holding wilted leaves, will also kill a cow. Whilst cherry leaves are instantly deadly, buckeye is feared not because a cow will eat the leaves, but the buckeyes themselves. Once this happens, a cow will regurgitate the buckeye and become further poisoned. This is stopped by pouring, a tablespoon at a time, moonshine down the cows throat, until the cow is drunk and can no longer regurgitate. Protecting cows not only meant saving their lives, but also the milk which they provided. Buttercups are always avoided, as they sour a cows milk. Onion patches too, are kept far away from a fence, because a cow will eat onions and their milk will taste like just that.
Charm for Wart Removal
To rid yourself of a wart, cut a potato in half on the night of the new moon and rub one half on the wart. Place the potato back whole and bury it. As the potato rots, so will the wart rot away.
Poison Ivy Remedy
In case of poison ivy, if an oatmeal bath does not work, rub blue stone on the affected area, or "nightshed." This may work only once for some people, and may not work at all on others.
Horseshoe Charm
A horseshoe aimed downward, nailed to a barn or house, will protect those from evil and bad luck.
Bee Sting Remedy
If a bee sting threatens to make you ill, quickly after the sting, run to place vinegar on the area. This is said to draw the poison from the sting.
Burn Remedy
For a burn, it is said a potato cut in half will take the pain away, because of the starch. But it is more advisable to quickly rub mustard on the painful area.
Itching
When a certain area of your body itches, it foretells of things to come:
left eye = you will be made happy
right eye = you will be made angry
palm in general = you will receive money
back of hand in general = you will give away money fingers in general = you will receive money only to spend it quickly right palm = you will shake hands with a stranger left palm = you will handle money souls of feet = you will walk on strange grounds
Burning Ears
If your ears are burning, someone is talking about you behind your back. If you can think of this person, they will quit.
Dreams
Dreams may also tell the future: If you dream of a birth, there will be a death in your family, and vice versa. If you dream of fishing, as well, three times in a row, there will be a birth in you family.
Headache Remedy
Take mint and rub it in your hands. Cup your hands over your nose and breath deep. Do this a few times and your headache will be gone.
Sinus Remedy
To clear sinuses, take the hottest horseradish sauce, hold it below your nose, and breathe deeply through your nose until your sinuses drain.
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