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HERBS & ROOTS FLOWERS & LEAVES GRASSES & BARKS STALKS & BERRIES  5000 Years Of Herbal History
Over the centuries the healing properties of plants, herbs and roots has not changed. What was a healing plant, root or herb five thousand years ago is still a healing plant, root or herb. Because great confidence was placed in them, healers, midwives, cunning folk and witches of the ancient world were expected to know their herbs. Plants gave healing powers to those who studied them, worked with them, and respected them. In many lands and in many times, those who practised the healing arts spent a good part of their lives in the fields and forests gathering green medicines. They remembered and wrote down what they learned, passing it on.
Today we have the opportunity to benefit from the accumulated herbal wisdom of the ages. This advantage allows us to peer back through history, harvesting for our own benefit those herbs that have stood the test of time. But even the herbal uses that didn't pan out as expected are fascinating. While the story of healing herbs has it's comic episodes, it is also a dramatic story of human sacrifice, complete with medical heros; men and women whose work deserves to be recognized. Much of this credit in my opinion should go to the Witches of the past because they are the ones who essentially began the work of learning and understanding herbs and their benefits. However when the male physicians arrived on the scene, they essentially benefited from the inquisitions and burnings, claiming the right to and credit for this knowledge. The topic of how modern drug companies have distorted this knowledge for profit is an area I probably shouldn't delve into, but what the heck, the truth generally only hurts if it ought to...
Many of the synthetic medicines on the market today owe their existence to natural substances occurring in herbs, roots, plants and trees. The original pain killer marketed just a little over 100 years ago is a derivative of White Willow Bark, what is it's name? Asprin. It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that the only reason the major drug manufactures synthesize these drugs is because you cannot patent a naturally occurring substance. Obviously there isn't much profit in something that everyone has access to producing. Ultimately the drug manufacturers create a substance that copies the healing properties of these herbs, plants, roots and trees, then market it to the world while downplaying the benefits of the natural herb. Currently the drug industry is the single most profitable business in the United States spending over $5 BILLION per year on advertising and marketing alone! Much of this goes into providing perks for the doctors who prescribe their magic potions, many of which are completely useless at effectively treating the problem or cause serious side effects. But for the drug manufacturers there is an up side to the negative side effects because that provides them with the opportunity to create new drugs to counteract the side effects their product produced to begin with.
I do not want to get on a soap box and throw rocks at modern medicine and the drug industry; since they have provided fine benefits and in many cases cured terrible diseases. The point is though, there are alternatives which are quite often a better choice if we would only take the time to learn, and understand nature's own cures, then take responsibility for our own health. Copyright © The Celtic Connection. All rights reserved.
The preparation, medicinal and magickal use of herbs.   For information on GROWING herbs: 
 IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Knowledge is power; But only as powerful as the mind which grasps it, the heart which believes in it, and the hands which wield it. The owners and managers of Pagan Crossroads and those who post infromation within are in no way liable for the accidental or intentional (mis)use of the information here. All information is for educational purposes only.  | | | |
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