00:25 -
Posted by wicca -
A good friend who is also the significant other of my apprentice has been lavishing me with both the poisonous and healing gifts of Nature's bounty. A wonderful combination of Hermeticist, witch and shaman, so far he's brought me Tree Datura seeds, Atropa Belladonna berries, Bittersweet Nightshade, Black Nightshade, and Castor Beans. The first two poisonous plants are the most common ingredients in traditional flying ointments, so using very careful dosage I will be testing out a couple ointments. I will probably end up making a non-toxic one for the Botanica to aid in flight, but without the annoying side effects of paralysis, hallucinations, and vomiting (only other trad witches will think that's funny). Also, just last week the same friend dropped off a large bag of fresh Devil's Club from deep in the mountains above Nelson for me to use in my healing. It grows like a weed in the mountains and he cuts it back every year to clear a trail, so he figured why waste it when there's a witch who can use it! My lovely apprentice was there with him and made sure to do proper petitioning and supplication to the spirit of the plants before digging them up. Now my house smells of nothing but Devil's Club - a bitter scent somewhere between ginseng and ginger.
Another friend of mine suffers from hypoglycemia, so I am testing out a tea for them using Devil's Club bark and Huckleberry leaves - both of which have shown in scientific studies to reduce or inhibit the symptoms of diabetes and hypoglycemia by stabilizing blood sugar. If it works, then it will become a healing tea to be sold regularly in my Botanica. I'm currently developing other healing teas as well, my "Sleep-Aid" tea has already been tested and found very effective and I am also working on a cold & flu tea, a headache tea, and a stomach/indigestion tea. My previous recipe for the stomachic tea had Devil's Club in it, but I might take it out and use it for an internal healing wash instead as it caused some mind-altering results in one of my test subjects, by no means at the hallucinogenic level, just a shift in perception that freaked the poor fellow out a bit. It was drunk by the local shamans to help them travel to the spirit world after all so hmm, perhaps for a magical tea instead.
Today I awoke to a perfect spooky foggy fall morning
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