 |
|
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Astrologer's Notes:
Ask Carrin Martin,
Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Martin Lass,
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
The Weekly Horoscope
By Care
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
The BUT Doctor
Healing America's Real Crack Problem One Person at a Time
by Eddie Conner
Avant-Gardening:
Insights by Frank &
Vicky Giannangelo
Breaking Free:
Anne Brewer
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Memos From The
First Tabugian
Art Rosengarten, Ph.D.
The Path of Wisdom and Love
Dr. John Demartini,
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
Wind & Water:
Carole J. Hyder
In Practice:
How to Create a Successful Holistic Practice- from Start to Success
by Shaun Brown,
CMT, BA BeWell Publications
Spirit in Work
by John Livesay,
Author
The Business of Tarot
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Soulforest:
Tarot and Spirituality
Rachel Pollack,
Tarot Grand Master
Gateway to Tarot:
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Crystals, Gemstones & Minerals
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Rachel Pollack
The Kabbalah Tree
Healing & Alternative
Health:
"The Ancient Way of Chinese Medicine"
by Kevin O'Neil
Flower Essences
by Donna Cunningham
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Conscious Breathing
for Health and Self Transformation
by Dennis Lewis
Homeopathy:
by Senbita Carter,
Lecturer & Practitioner
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
Healing & Alternative Health: |
|
|
Menopausal Years...
Using Herbs Simply and Safely |
|
|
by Susun Weed |
|
|
Plants feed us, clothe us, house us, heal us, and kill us. There's no way around it, when you use herbs, you need to be alert and aware. Here are some ways to be sure you're using herbs safely:
· Identify all plants you intend to use by botanical name (e.g., Leonurus cardiaca). Only buy herbs that are labeled with the botanical name. The botanical name is specific to only one plant, while common names overlap and vary. "Sage" refers to at least five plants in at least two different families, but Salvia officinalis only means garden sage.
· Use only one herb at a time. Learn all you can about that one herb. Read books; experiment on yourself, others, pets; listen to your elders' stories. If you discover that your herbal ally likes to work with partners, pair her up with other herbs one at a time.
· Seek out the worth of the weeds on your doorstep. Learn about, eat, or use as a remedy, one wild food/medicine that grows in your yard or nearby lot this year. When you make your own medicines and healing foods you eliminate one of the possible dangers of crude herb use: mistaken identity (or right label, wrong herb). Not that you can't make mistakes, but you're more likely to catch your own mistake than someone else's. When you make your own medicines and healing foods, they are fresh, full of energy, and in tune with you and your environment. You'll also feel better as you become more aware of the vitality and abundance of nature expressing herself everywhere.
· Begin with gentle nourishing and tonifying herbal infusions and vinegars. Watch carefully for side effects during the first 24 hours the first time you use any new plant. Don't worry if it takes your system a couple of tries to figure out how to digest a new food/herb; that's normal. Use herbal tinctures after you have some grounding in the use of herbs as foods and infusions. Start with the smallest recommended dose and build up slowly if needed.
· Build up a foundation of trust in the healing effectiveness of plants by using remedies for minor problems before tackling serious concerns.
· Gather or join a support group of people interested in self-care and home remedies and consult them when you feel uncertain.
· Respect the power of plants; those strong enough to act as stimulants, sedatives, and near-drugs (such as opium) affect the body and spirit in powerful ways and may be useful only in minute doses.
· Respect the unique individuality of every plant, every person, every situation.
· Remember that you become whole and healed in your own unique way, as you will. Plants can help in this process. People can help in this process. (Animals, too.) But each individual body/spirit does the healing/wholing itself. Don't expect plants to be cure-alls.
· Respect the difference between herbs used in Step 3 - nourishing and tonifying herbs - and those used in Steps 4 and 5 - stimulating, sedating, and toxic herbs.
Nourishing herbs are the safest of all herbs; side effects are quite rare. Nourishing herbs may generally be taken in any quantity for any period of time. They are foods, just as leafy greens, garlic, and carrots are. They provide high-level nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, starches, simple and complex sugars, bioflavonoids, carotenes, and essential fatty acids (EFAs). The nourishing herbs in Wise Woman Ways for the Menopausal Years are: alfalfa, borage, calendula, chamomile, chickweed, cornsilk, comfrey, elder blossoms or berries, fennel, fenugreek, lemon balm, mallows, nettles, oatstraw, plantain, raspberry, red clover, seaweeds, sweet briar (rose hips), St. Joan's wort (Hypericum), slippery elm, and violet.
Tonifying herbs act slowly in the body and have a cumulative, rather than immediate, effect. They are most beneficial when they are used in small quantities for extended periods of time. Side effects are slightly more common with tonics. (Note that many herbalists equate stimulating herbs with the tonics, leading to misuse and unwanted side effects.) The more bitter the tonic tastes, the less you need to take of it. Bland tonics may be used like nourishing herbs, in quantity. Nearly half of the herbs in Wise Woman Ways for the Menopausal Years are tonics, including: birch, black cohosh, blackstrap molasses, chaste tree, dandelion, dong quai, echinacea, false unicorn, ginseng, hawthorn, horsetail, lady's mantle, motherwort, peony, sarsaparilla, spikenard, wild yam, and yellow dock.
Sedating/Stimulating herbs cause a wide variety of usually rapid reactions, some of which may be unwanted. Long-term use can lead to dependency, so sedating/stimulating herbs are best used in moderate doses for fairly short periods of time. Side effects are frequent; there may be loss of tone or a rebound/manic effect when the herb is no longer taken. Some parts of the person may be stressed in order to help other parts. the sedating/stimulating herbs in Wise Woman Ways for the Menopausal Years are: catnip, cinnamon, ginger, hops, licorice, myrrh, passion flower, poplar, primrose, sage, skullcap, uva ursi, valerian, vervain, willow, and wintergreen.
Toxic herbs are potential poisons and potent medicines. They activate intense effort on the part of the body and spirit. Toxic herbs are taken in tiny amounts for very short periods of time. Unexpected side effects are common when toxic herbs are used without regard for their power. Increase your herbal knowledge and sense of security when contemplating use of a toxic herb by consulting other herbal references and several experienced herbalists. It is especially important to check on the possible side effects of toxic herbs if you are allergic to any foods or medicines. The toxic herbs in Wise Woman Ways for the Menopausal Years are: cayenne, cotton root, goldenseal, liferoot, poke root, rue, sweet clover (Melilot), and wormseed.
Green blessings!
Susun Weed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Susun Weed,
Healer
|
 |
Susun S. Weed has no official diplomas of any kind; she left high school in her junior year to pursue studies in mathematics and artificial intelligence at UCLA and she left college in her junior year to pursue life.
Susun began studying herbal medicine in 1965 when she was living in Manhattan while pregnant with her daughter, Justine Adelaide Swede.
She wrote her first book -- Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year (now in its 29th printing)-- in 1985 and published it as the first title of Ash Tree Publishing in 1986.
It was followed by Healing Wise (1989), Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way (1992), and Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (1996).
In addition to her writing, Ms Weed trains apprentices, oversees the work of more than 300 correspondence course students, coordinates the activities of the Wise Woman Center, and is a High Priestess of Dianic Wicca, a member of the Sisterhood of the Shields, and a Peace Elder.
Susun Weed is a contributor to the Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women's Studies, peer- reviewed journals, and popular magazines, including a regular column in Sagewoman.
Her worldwide teaching schedule encompasses herbal medicine, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, psychology of healing, ecoherbalism, nutrition, and women's health issues and her venues include medical schools, hospital wellness centers, breast cancer centers, midwifery schools, naturopathic colleges, and shamanic training centers, as well as many conferences.
Susun appears on many television and radio shows, including National Public Radio and NBC News.
This article is an excerpt from "Healing Wise" by Susun Weed, who graciously granted us permission to bring you this reprint.
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
www.susunweed.com
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
