Rainbow Medicine 2014

Rainbow Medicine 2014

First aid tincture list, herbal categories, and protocols for commonly seen conditions at the Rainbow Gathering. (From 7song’s medicine kit/ class notes, compiled by Jiling Lin- LinJiling(at)gmail.com)

A Brief Key

gtt= drops. 1 tsp= 5 mL= 3.3 dropperfuls

1 dropperful (dp)= ~30 gtt= 1.5 mL= 1/2 tsp.

LD= loading dose. NP= not for pregnancy.

X= low dose herb/ use caution

Tinctures

Acute respiratory tincture

(Yerba Santa, Grindelia, Mullein lf, Osha rt)

antiviral, anti-infective. 30 gtt every 2 hrs

Anemone (Anemone spp.)

X. For acute panic attacks, trauma. 5 gtt at onset, then more as needed. Max= 15 gtt

Antimicrobial throat spray

(Calendula, Echinacea, Osha, Wild Indigo, Goldenseal, Propolis, Thyme EO, veg. glycerin)

antiviral, antibacterial, relieves strep throat- spray as needed. For strep, take 30-60 gtt 4 times a day.

Antiseptic wash

(Propolis, Goldenseal rt, Myrrh, Witch Hazel bark)

antimicrobial for ext. use, esp. cleaning staph wounds, and as antiseptic wound covering.

Antispasmodic compound

(Black Haw, Crampbark, Trillium, Wild Yam, Skullcap, Clove, Cinnamon, Orange peel)

smooth muscle relaxant, usu. for menstrual cramps. 15 gtt as needed. NP

Arnica (Arnica spp.)

X. Acute anti-inflammatory. 1-3 gtt every 2 hrs

Beggar ticks (Bidens spp.)

Decongestant. 30-60 gtt as needed.

Black cohosh (Actea racemosa)

skeletal muscle relaxant, affects female reproductive system, stops hot flashes, may affect moods. NP. LD 15 gtt, then 30-60 gtt every 2 hrs

Black haw (Viburnum prunifolium)

antispasmodic, relieves menstrual cramps. 15 gtt

Blackberry root (Rubus spp.)

astringent, stops diarrhea. Use as tea/ decoction.

Calamus (Acorus calamus)

digestive, increase focus

California poppy (Eshscholtzia spp.)

anxiolytic, helps ground after trauma, relaxant, sedative in large doses. Dose dependent. 15- 30 gtt

Cardamom (Elattaria cardamomum)

corrigent, warming, digestive

Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana)

X. Laxative, relieves constipation. 5-10 gtt

Chaparral (Larrea spp.)

Strong ext wash/ int disinfectant, anti-biotic, anti-parasitic, antioxidant. 30 gtt Limit to 2 wks int usage.

Chaparro amargosa (Castela emoryi)

anti-parasitic, laxative. Take 30 gtt at 1rst sign of loose stools. Wait ½ hr, then take 1 tsp activated charcoal powder. Repeat in 4 hrs.

Cinnamon (Cinamomum spp.)

corrigent, warming, digestive, demulcent

Clematis (Clematis spp.)

X. For cerebro-constricted/ nothing-works headaches. Use 5-10 gtt as needed.

Cotton root (Gossypium spp.)

emmenagogue, traditional abortifacient (do not use as such). 15- 60 gtt every few hrs. Rarely used. NP.

Decongestant aid

(Yerba Santa, Wolfberry)

dries up congestion, stops cold/ flus, anti-phlegm

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea)

immune-booster, anti-microbial. LD 60- 90 gtt, then 30 gtt every 2-4 hrs at 1rst sign of infection

Eyebright (Euphrasia spp.)

antihistamine, relieves itchy eyes, cough, runny nose. 15 gtt as needed

Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium)

headache relief. Top pre-migraine herb. 10-30 gtt at onset. Take 15 gtt until symptoms plateau.

German chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

GI anti-inflammatory, digestive relaxant. 15-30 gtt

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)

broad-based antimicrobial. For toothache powder, eye infection, int/ ext wound care. 30-60 gtt LD for infections. 30 gtt every 2 hrs

Hops (Humulus lupulus)

sedative, anti-pitta herb, relaxing digestive.10-20 gtt

Jamaican dogwood (Piscidia piscipula)

emotional/ physical pain relief, nervine, sleep-aid, not sedative, augmenting herb. 15 gtt

Kava kava (Piper methysticum)

Sedative relaxant, inhibitor that shuts off overthinking mind. 15-60 gtt as needed. Overdose may cause mental dullness/ impaired faculties.

Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

X. digestive nervine, relaxant, antioxidant. EO topically soothes acute burns, and aromatically restores calm during seizures. 3-5 gtt

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

put EO directly on herpes sores. Digestive relaxant, non-sedating. 15 gtt

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza spp.)

anti-infl, corrigent, adaptogen, “great harmonizer,” demulcent. Can raise blood pressure via water retention

Lobelia (Lobelia inflata)

X. Augmenting herb, deobstruent, breaks stagnation (ie. digestive, headache, mental). Best broncho-dilator (ie.For asthma). 1-5 gtt Overdose can cause nausea

Ma huang (Ephedra sinica)

X. decongestant for clear runny mucus. Stimulant, broncho-dilator, raises blood pressure, increases sympathetic tone. 5-10 gtt as needed/ 3x a day

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

Digestive relaxant, anti-inflammatory, good with Chamomile, gentle tea. 30-60 gtt as needed

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

nervine, emmenagogue, eases menstrual cramps and emotional lability, anziolitic. NP. 15-60 gtt as needed

Oregon grape (Berberis spp.)

int/ ext use. Antimicrobial, anti-protozoal. LD 30 gtt, then 60 gtt every 4 hrs for infection

Osha (Ligusticum porteri)

Antibacterial, anti-venomous, broad-based anti-microbial. Inhibits respiratory viruses, relieves altitude sickness (chew on rt) . 60 gtt LD, 30 gtt every 2-4 hrs

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Relaxes over-thinking mind. Relaxes people on “bad trips.” Anxiolytic. May stimulate some, sedate others. 15-30 gtt, or 30 gtt every 2 hrs

Pedicularis (Pedicularis spp.)

skeletal muscle relaxant, augmenting herb. 30-60 gtt

Peppermint spirits

(4 Peppermint tea: 1 tincture; 1 EO: 20 tea/ tinc)

X.Digestive relaxant, eases nausea/ vomiting. 1-3 gtt

Propolis

antiseptic wound covering, usu. ext use. Int: helps throat infections

Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

anti-histamine for type 1 hypersensitive reaction allergies. 15-30 gtt LD, 30 gtt as needed

Silk tassel root bark (Garrya spp.)

X. best anti-spasmodic for smooth muscle cramping. Is strong; use black haw 1rst for cramps, general pain relief- 5 gtt each time. Don’t exceed 60 gtt

Skullcap (Scutellaria spp.)

nervine for phys/emo pain, smooth/ skeletal muscle relaxant, anxiolytic, sedative tea for insomnia, augmenting, trauma herb. Idiosyncratic.

Skeletal muscle relaxant

(Black Cohosh, Pedicularis, Skullcap) NP. 15-60 gtt

St Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum)

Ext: vulnerary and nerve repair. Int: anti-depressant, trauma aid. Over-usage may cause photo-sensitivity

Staph dismissed tincture

(Chaparral, Licorice, Witch Hazel, Propolis)

Ext: for staph infections. Alternate with activated charcoal twice a wk

Sundew (Drosera spp.)

cough suppressant for uncontrollable coughing

Tooth and gum rinse

(Yerba Manza, Myrrh, Goldenseal, Self-Heal, White Oak, Propolis, Glycerin)

astringent, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, demulcent. Use as needed.

Turkey rhubarb (Rheum spp.)

X. relaxant- use a few drops before sleep. As laxative, use 5 gtt every 15 minutes.

Turmeric (Curcuma spp.)

anti-inflammatory, warming, safe high dose herb

Un-headache tincture

(Feverfew, Skullcap, Chamomile, Blue Vervain, Valerian rt) 15-60 gtt as needed.

Urinary tract tincture

(Dandelion lf, Chickweed, Cleavers, Parsley, Marshmallow, Corn Silk, Uva Ursi) For UTI: LD 90 gtt, then 60 gtt 3x/ day.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Sedative, hypnotic, anodyne, nervine. Sleeping aid. Sedates most, stimulates 1/10 of people. (try 1 gtt test, 1rst) 15-30 gtt as needed. High doses may cause grogginess.

White oak (Quercus alba)

Astringent. 15-30 gtt as needed

Wild cherry (Prunus serotina)

respiratory sedative, for nonproductive coughs. 15 gtt

Wild lettuce (Lactuca spp.)

X. pain relief, by reducing awareness of pain. Sedative, relaxant, anodyne, anxiolytic, trauma herb. 1-15 gtt until symptoms relieved. 30 gtt every 3-4 hrs

Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa/ D. quadranata)

GI anti-spasmodic, NP. 15 gtt as needed

Willow (Salix spp.)

general anti-inflammatory. 30 gtt LD for acute inflammation, then 30 gtt every 2 hrs

Yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica)

Antimicrobial, astringent

Categories

Anti-infective (inc. Antiseptic, Anti-microbial)

 Antiseptic wash (Propolis, Goldenseal, Myrrh, Witch Hazel)

 Chapparal

 Chapparo amargosa

 Echinacea

 Garlic (Anti-viral)

 Goldenseal (Anti-viral)

 Oak

 Oregon graperoot (Anti-viral)

 Osha

 Propolis

 Staph dismissed tincture (Chaparral, Licorice, Witch Hazel, Propolis)

 St. Johnswort

 Yarrow

Anti-Allergenic

(See Decongestants and Anxiolytics)

Ephedra

Eyebright (anti-histamine)

Lobelia

Nettles

Osha

Ragweed (anti-histamine)

Anti-inflammatory

Arnica

Birch (contains salicylates)

Chamomile

Ginger

Licorice

Meadowsweet (contains salicylates)

Poplar (contains salicylates)

St. Johnswort

Turmeric

Willow (contains salicylates)

Yarrow

Anti-nauseant

Catnip, Fennel, Ginger, Peppermint spirits

Antispasmodic (smooth muscle relaxant, NP)

· Antispasmodic compound (Black Haw, Crampbark, Trillium, Wild Yam, Skullcap, Clove, Cinnamon, Orange Peel)

· Black haw

· Crampbark

· Silk tassel root bark

· Skullcap

· Valerian

· Wild yam

Astringent

Blackberry root

Geranium

Rose family plants

White oak

Witch hazel

Yellow dock

Yerba manza

Augmenting herbs (improves other herbs’ actions)

Cayenne, Cinnamon, Jamaican dogwood, Lobelia, Skullcap, Licorice

Corrigent (improves flavor)

Cardamom, Cinnamon, Licorice

Decongestant

Beggar ticks

Decongestant aid (Yerba Santa, Wolfberry)

Ephedra

Ragweed

Demulcents

Aloe, Licorice, Mallows, Oatmeal, Prickly Pear

Digestive

(See Antispasmodics, Astringents, Constipation, Diarrhea)

· Bitter herbs (Dandelion, Burdock, Yarrow, Gentian)

· Calamus

· Cardamom

· Fennel (carminative)

· Ginger (carminative)

· Mint family plants

· Digestive relaxants:

· Chamomile

· Catnip

· Hops

· Lavender

· Meadowsweet

Eye cups

· Irritation: wash with saline solution/ water / Slippery elm

· Conjunctivitis: wash with saline solution/ water/ 2 gtt Goldenseal tinc. Take Goldenseal int, too.

· Allergies: wash with saline solution/ water/ 2 gtt Eyebright.

Hemostats (stops blood flow, from ext wounds)

Cayenne, Cinnamon, Shepherd’s purse, Yarrow, Yunnan Paiyao

Immune Support

Echinacea, Osha, Ginger, Elder

Relaxants (inc. Nervines, Sedatives)

Anemone (trauma aid)

Blue vervain (trauma aid)

California poppy (trauma aid)

Chamomile

Hops

Jamaican dogwood

Kava kava

Lavender (EO: trauma aid)

Lemon balm

Lobelia (trauma aid)

Motherwort

Oats

Passionflower

Rose

Skullcap

St Johnswort (trauma aid)

Valerian

Wild cherry

Wild lettuce (trauma aid)

Respiratory

(See Demulcents and Anti-infectives)

· Acute respiratory tincture (Yerba Santa, Grindelia, Mullein, Osha)

· Antimicrobial throat spray (Calendula, Echinacea, Osha, Wild indigo, Goldenseal, Propolis, Thyme, glycerin)

· Licorice

· Lobelia (broncho-dilator, for asthma)

· Ephedra (broncho-dilator, for asthma)

· Osha

· Sundew

· Wild cherry

· Etc: Baptisia, Boneset, Coltsfoot, Elecampagne, Grindelia, Horehound,

Skeletal muscle relaxant

Black cohosh

Kava kava

Pedicularis

Skeletal muscle relaxant compound (Black cohosh, Skullcap, Pedicularis)

Skullcap

Wild lettuce

Vulneraries (wound healing)

Aloe

Arnica

Calendula

Comfrey

Mallows

Plantain

Slippery elm

St Johnswort

Washes (external use)

Antiseptic wash (Propolis, Goldenseal, Myrrh, Witch Hazel)

Chaparral

Goldenseal

St Johnswort

Staph dismissed tincture (Chaparral, Licorice, Witch Hazel, Propolis)

Willow

Yarrow

Conditions

Burns

1. Cool it down

2. Give internal medicine to decrease pain and increase immunity: Echinacea (30-60 gtt), pain-relief (Hops, Wild Lettuce), trauma aid (Piscidia, St Johnswort, Lemon Balm)

3. Clean: Remove external material in wound

4. Rehydrate patient

5. Wash burn with disinfectant (Oregon graperoot, Goldenseal) and astringent herbs (tea of Willow, Oak, Potentilla, black tea soak)

6. Cover: Apply poultice/ compress of demulcent/ drawing agents (Opuntia, Aloe, Lavender EO, clay, honey)

Constipation

The Laxative Continuum:

(Try each thing 1rst, before moving down the line. These herbs/ techniques increase in strength.)

1. Tonification laxative (ie. Rumex spp.) 1rst, use mechanical laxatives, ie. Demulcent foods/ herbs, increasing water/ fiber uptake, digestive relaxants

2. Turkey rhubarb (chemical laxatives are #2-4. Use before sleep. Don’t become dependent. 5 gtt)

3. Cascara sagrada (Use 5-10 gtt)

4. Senna (Cassia spp.) (purgative laxative)

Dehydration

Rehydration Fluid: 1 qt water, 4 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt

Eat well-cooked, easily digestible foods.

Diarrhea

1. Let diarrhea run its course, then rehydrate patient.

2. Give Chapparo amargosa, Oregon graperoot or other anti-parasitics to kill GI bugs.

3. Wait 30 minutes, then give 1 tsp activated charcoal to adsorb/ expel causes.

4. If diarrhea stops, then start eating easily digestible foods again, slowly. Nourish the system.

5. If the diarrhea’s continued for a few days, then consider astringents to stop it. But, this only abates symptoms. Find and treat the cause.

Diarrhea and vomiting

Ease vomiting with anti-nauseants, then rehydrate person. Treat diarrhea after vomiting is resolved.

Dog bites

1. Soak in Yarrow/ Chaparral disinfectant tea

2. Give Echinacea internally, maybe trauma aid

3. Activated charcoal poultice on wound

4. Have patient return the next day. If wound’s inflamed, then re-soak. If no inflammation, then apply Propolis and cover.

Gut parasites

· Giardia- protozoal. 5-7 day incubation. Symptoms: Frothy diarrhea, bad gas. No vomiting. Never blood in stool. Treatment: Chapparo amargosa, activated charcoal.

· Shigella- bacterial. 2 day incubation. Symptoms: Usu. blood in stool, vomiting and diarrhea. Self-limiting, so will stop itself. Treatment: Peppermint spirits, Oregon graperoot, Chaparral.

· E. coli- bacterial. Symptoms: vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes w/ red blood in stool. Treatment: Peppermint spirits, Chaparral, Chapparo amargosa, Oregon graperoot, activated charcoal.

Headaches

(See Anti-inflammatory, Relaxants, Skeletal Muscle Relaxants)

· Black cohosh (tension/ frontal lobe headaches. 5-15 gtt)

· Chamomile (GI/ stress h-aches. Tea/ 15-90 gtt)

· Clematis (cerebro-constricted/ nothing-works headaches. 5-10 gtt)

· Eyebright (allergy-headaches. 15-60 gtt)

· Feverfew (1rst choice pre-migraine. 15-30 gtt)

· Lobelia (dull aching headaches. 5 gtt at a time)

· Meadowsweet (infection/ digestive headaches. 15-60 gtts/ tea for GI headache)

· Skullcap (stress headaches)

· Un-headache tincture (Feverfew, Skullcap, Chamomile, Blue vervain, Valerian rt)

· Willow (unknown origin dull h-aches. 15-90 gtt)

Staph infections

Antibiotics will treat it faster, but herbs offer an alternate solution.

1. Clean with soap and water, or soak in disinfectant wash to remove pus and dead skin.

2. Internal: immune stimul and antibiotics (Echinacea and Goldenseal/ Oregon graperoot/ Chaparral). LD 90 gtt Take 60 gtt every 4 hrs.

3. External: alternate between activated charcoal and “Staph dismissed” tincture (Chaparral, Witch hazel, Oregon graperoot, Goldenseal)

4. Wrap with vet wrap or other non-sticking material, to prevent further opening the wound. Instruct patient in caution with physical interactions, to prevent spreading infection.

Viruses

Takes 24-48 hrs to manifest symptoms: achy body, fever. Treatment: Oregon graperoot, Garlic, Goldenseal.

Other Medicines

· Arnica liniment (for acute inflammation)

· Lobelia vinegar

· Yunnan paiyao

· Ginger chews

Syrups

· Osha honey

· Wild cherry honey

Oils

· Castor oil

· Ear oil (Mullein fl, Garlic, vita E oil, EV olive oil)

· Poplar bud oil

· Trauma oil (St johnswort, Arnica, Valerian, Wintergreen EO, Tea tree EO, vita E oil, EV olive oil)

Essential oils

· Clove (numbs tooth pain; antiseptic)

· Lavender (for acute burns, and relaxation)

· Tea tree (antiseptic, astringent)

Powders and capsules

· Activated charcoal powder (adsorbent)

· Clay (adsorbent/ drawing agent)

· Goldenseal root (disinfectant)

· Licorice (demulcent, etc)

· Slippery elm (demulcent, nutritive)

Single herbs

· Osha root

· Tobacco

· Licorice root

· Chapparal

Go here to view and download this, as a PDF document: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7LKnt2hzJ4ZSl91N0VPLXRuRzg/view?usp=sharing

(Pictured is the first aid tent at the 2014 Rainbow Gathering in the Wasatch-Cache NF of northern UT. Photo credit: 7song) 

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Zingiber officinale (Zingiberaceae) Ginger

(“Sheng Jiang” in Chinese, “Singabera” in Sanskrit)

Vitalist Actions and Energetics

Very hot, dry, vital stimulant, tonic, spicy, diffusive, warming diaphoretic

Clinical Actions

(Rhizome) aromatic, stomachic (salivary and gastric secretagogue effect), GI tonic and antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, platelet aggregation inhibitory, carminative, cholagogue, cholesterol reducing, mild cardiotonic, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antifungal, rubefacient (effects due to volatile oil and pungent principles), diaphoretic, anti-emetic, anti-spasmodic. Affects circulatory and digestive systems. Circulatory stimulant, digestive stimulant, emmenagogue, antiseptic.

Common Forms and Dosages

Tincture: 1:2 95% fresh rhizome. Take 30-60 gtts for acute nausea. Add to formulas as needed. (from 7song/ Michael Moore ratios)

1:4 60-80% dried rhizome (from Lisa Ganora’s book, “Herbal Constituents”). Energetically “hotter” (more stimulating) than fresh rhizome tincture.

Infusion: 28 g herb to 100 mL water, standard decoction- decoct fresh or dried rhizome for 20 minutes, then strain and add your other herbs and/ or honey. Drink as needed or desired.

Poultice: fresh sliced rhizome, placed directly on skin- see below in “primary uses”

Capsules: for morning sickness, take a 75 mg capsule every hour.

Essential oil: dilute 5 drops in 20 drops carrier oil and apply as needed (for arthritic aches and pains)

Primary Uses

Tea: during yoga teacher training, we drank ginger lemon tea every morning, after our morning kriya (cleansing) practices (usually neti). We started our days before the sunrise, meditating, cleansing, praying, and then practicing yoga asanas as the sun rose. The ginger lemon tea was very welcome in the morning cold. The ginger and lemon are both digestive stimulants. I could feel the heat of the ginger running all the way down to my extremities, and making my cheeks ruddy and pink. I would have regular morning poops, and be nice and hungry for breakfast!

At the first sign of sickness, my mom would make a lemon ginger decoction for me and my sister to drink. It helps to “move” the sickness or fever through the body more quickly by increasing circulation, and improving digestion and excretion.

Also used for nonulcer dyspepsia (with fullness, flatulence, minor cramps, heartburn, nausea), GI inflammation (chronic diarrhea, sluggish bowels, irritable bowel syndrome), and upper respiratory tract conditions (common cold, bronchitis, dry coughs), minor fatigue, high cholesterol, rheumatic complaints, and primary dysmenorrhea (take 1-2 days before menstruation, then 1-2 days into the cycle).

Food: used in Chinese cooking a lot, especially with toasted sesame seed oil and soy sauce. My grandmother says that vegetable dishes are commonly cooling, thus the ginger and sesame oil combo, which are both heating. The ginger is also a digestive stimulant and carminative. It is used throughout the year in traditional Chinese cuisine, but is especially prominently used in the winter, for increasing the core heat, and general circulation.

Ayurvedic Trikatu powder is sprinkled on food to stimulate digestive fire, with its diffusive and digestive qualities (equal parts ginger, black pepper, and long pepper)/

Tincture: for first aid, ginger tincture (30-60 gtts) and ginger candy is helpful with acute nausea, such as car-sickness. The stimulating hot nature of ginger makes it helpful to put into formulas as a “mover” too, to carry the medicine through the entire body, and to “warm” up people who are constitutionally or even emotionally “cold.”

Honey: Lisa Ganora puts ginger in her Arabic honey paste. (black pepper, tumeric, and ginger powders infused in honey.) The Arabic honey stimulates circulation, and is anti-inflammatory. Ginger honey can be used as a warming carminative treat, or can be rolled into honey balls (like ginger candy), for first aid use (or as a decadent indulgence). Ginger is also touted as an aphrodisiac, and commonly found in aphrodisiac formulas, which are usually sweet. The warming circulatory stimulant nature of the ginger infused in honey lends itself well to “heating up” the bedroom and making things “spicy.”

Essential oil: warming circulatory stimulant, topical analgesic (use in small quantities). Use for arthritic aches and pains, muscle soreness or spasms (warming anti-spasmodic), physical coldness, etc. My friend and teacher Lucy Mitchella put ginger with birch essential oil in her “Achey Brakey Salve,” along with comfrey, arnica, St. Johnswort, and yarrow infused in olive oil, beeswax, cayenne, and vitamin E. You can also add 5 drops into a bath for a circulatory stimulant bath. Or, 1-2 drops into a foot soak, to bring heat to your feet and extremities, before going to bed on a cold night, for a constitutionally cold or sick person.

Poultice (topical): (used in folk Chinese medicine, along with acupuncture and moxibustion on the same points, by laying the ginger over the acupuncture points, needling the points, then setting moxa on fire, atop the needles. Or, the moxa can just lay directly on the ginger.) This is used in cases of extreme dampness or coldness, where much stimulation is desired at a certain point. The circulatory stimulant effect of the ginger accentuates the moxa and acupuncture treatment with added heat, further drawing the focus of the treatment to the said area.

Constituents

Volatile oil (zingiberene, bisabolene, etc), pungent principles (mostly aryl-alkanones: gingerols, shogaols, diaryl-heptanoids), lipids, glycolipids, starch, etc. Shogaols are more pungent than gingerols. They’re formed from gingerols during drying and storage of the root in good conditions, and during the production of the oleoresin. Poorly dried and stored ginger mostly just contains the non-pungent zingerone. Dried ginger is more heating than fresh ginger.

Cautions and Contraindications

Check with health professional before using with gallstones.

Personal Experience

I never really thought of ginger as a medicine. Growing up, it was always just “that root” that we dug out of every meal, grimacing as we accidentally chewed into it, always surprised with the strength and heat of its bite. “Why do you put ginger into everything?” I’d ask my mom, gingerly picking even the smallest pieces out of my food. She’d shake her head, with no answer.

After traveling to Taiwan and spending time with my grandmothers Ama and Nainai, I finally realized why ginger went into all of our meals, and was always present on the kitchen counter: my grandmothers do the same thing. Their mothers and grandmothers probably did the same thing, too. Ginger is a staple of the Chinese and Taiwanese diet. Racist yet realistic: what makes Chinese food, well... Chinese food? Answer: ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce. These things that I have eaten all my life, and consequently carry with me wherever I wander, too. Roots run deep. Rhizomes spread wide...

Ama and Nainai both put extra ginger into the foods that they cooked for me. They’d grate the raw root over less well-cooked dishes, but usually it was just the fresh root cut into big slices, about 1-3 slices thrown into each place of vegetables, or soups. They explained that because I am vegetarian, my body tends toward cold. Vegetable dishes tend toward cold energetics. Putting ginger in the food helps to warm it, to balance the foods as they enter the body. They would put in extra ginger during the winter season, too. When I got sick, my mom would make ginger decoction, with a splash of lemon thrown in at the end, and honey to balance it out. I remember drinking a whole pot of this tea once when I was sick, then getting wrapped into blankets and sent to bed. I woke up hot, sweaty, uncomfortable... and over m ffever.

We often use ginger tincture in formulas to “move” the formula through the entire body, via its heating and circulatory stimulant actions. Ginger is a great corrigent, a rhizome to help bring balance and unity to a formula, “activating” or “potentiating” the formula.

Wild ginger flowers (unsure if Zingiber spp.) grew profusely along the trails of the Yangmingshan mountains above Taipei, Taiwan. They enjoy the edge of jungle, between the wilderness and civilization. They smell intoxicating: powerfully sweet, almost cloying, completely exuberant. My elder Aji would pick these flowers (called “Ye Jiang Hua” in Chinese), and place just one sprig in the center of her house. The bright white color of the flowers with the almost neon green stem of the plant, with its graceful lines and shapes, would visibly brighten up the energy of the old wooden room, with all its earthen ceramic tea cups and pots, and all the old instruments sitting against walls, the grass mat on the floor where I practiced yoga. Within a few minutes of placing the flowers in the room, the entire room would smell like the Ye Jiang Hua aroma, and the smell and beauty would last for about a week. (I checked online on the National Taiwan Normal University plants database site, and found 5 Zingiber species plants in Taiwan.)

7song likes to carry ginger candy with him on roadtrips, and in his first aid kit. Most of the first aid medicine are strong tinctures, quick acting and slightly allopathic. The ginger candy is sweet though, something I’d chew on whether or not I needed it. It’s one of his favorite medicines for car-sickness or nausea, one of the first lines of defense against these things, then secondarily backed up with peppermint spirits, if needed.

It’s one of my favorite tinctures to use in “Gas-Ease” tincture blends, or digestive bitters: to stimulate digestion, heat the body, ease putrid gassiness due to undigested food, and energetic coldness stemming from the GI.

Through these two weeks of working with ginger, I made ginger vinegar, and used that as my salad dressing. It helped to heat the cold energetics of the salad, and I find the warming slightly spicy taste of ginger delicious, and pleasing. I drank ginger teas, put it into my kombucha, and continued to cook with it everyday. I like pairing it with other heating herbs during cooking, to bring more heat into my food, with slightly different tastes. The weather is still mostly cool, so this helps with the current temperatures. I paired it with tumeric, black pepper, and rosemary, in its powdered form (which provides more heat). I finely chopped ginger into my beet-carrot-ginger-kraut, which turned out delicious, warming, and nourishing.

My body tends toward cold, since I am a vegetarian, and grew up in a warm climate (my body is used to a warmer environment.) Eating ginger daily is part of my life. For clients, I would use ginger for people with cooler constitutions as well, or to balance, potentiate, or heat a formula. It’s a commonly found plant that is a food, medicine, and pretty well known.

My next steps with this plant: grow an indoor ginger plant, rub myself down with ginger oil tonight, take a ginger bath, take an energetic dose of ginger tincture, then go to sleep.

Spicy gingery dreams to you! Yeow!

Pairs and Triplets

Zingiber officinale and Amygdalus (scalding urine- Cook)

Zingiber officinale and Apocynum, Pimpinella (sluggish liver without irritability, wiry pulse, or piles- Cook)

Zingiber officinale and Arctium (for diffusive effects- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Caulophyllum, Dioscorea (colic- Cook)

Zingiber officinale and Gentiana (digestive bitter- DHC)

Zingiber officinale and Gentiana, Rheum palmatum (digestive bitter- BHP)

Zingiber officinale and Juglands cin. (chronic constipation- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Leonurus, Caulophyllum (premenstrual tension, congestive amenorrhea, or dysmenorrhea- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Lobelia (fever- Cook)

Zingiber officinale and Matricaria, Alpinia (suppressed menstruation- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Commiphora, Aloe spicata (emmenagogue, cathartic- Cook)

Zingiber officinale and Nepeta (childhood fevers- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Prodophyllum, Glycyrrhiza (jaundice- Shook)

Zingiber officinale and Rheum off., Dioscorea (full catharsis- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Valeriana, Dioscorea (colic- Priest)

Zingiber officinale and Apocynum, Rhamnus purshiana (jaundice- Clymer)

Zingiber officinale and Myica (circulatory stimulant and diaphoretic- Clymer)

Formulas

Formula 1- 大補湯 (“Da Bu Tang”- Big Nourishing Soup) (decoction)

Zingiber Officinale (ginger) (4 slices of fresh root)

Angelica sinensis (dang gui) (1/2 slice dried root)

Lycium barbarum (goji) (1/2 handful)

Ziziphus jujuba (jujube dates) (8 dates, per person)

Astragalus membranaceous (astragalus) (8 slices dried root)

Codonopsis pilosula (dang shen) (4 slices dried root)

Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng) (2 slices dried root)

Proportions are for a 3 Liter pot of soup. They are not written in grams, because the amounts of each herb are so small, that it’s difficult to measure. Handle this recipe according to the folk method, get used to the herbs, and figure out a way that works for you. Also traditionally, some things like the Jujube are not meant to be overeaten... it’s said that you can only eat 8 jujubes everyday. Otherwise, it’s too heating, and you may develop mouth blisters over time.

Directions:

Soak all the ingredients either overnight or all day, then bring the water to a boil. Let decoct on low heat for at least 30 minutes, if not longer. (The longer, the better.) You can add more vegetables and/ or protein sources to the soup, or make extra and freeze it as soup stock. It tastes good ladled over noodles for a Chinese Medicine noodle soup, but my favorite way to make this (it feels most nourishing) is with a diversity of vegetables and protein sources thrown in, for a hearty Medicine Stew.

Dosage:

You can drink this once a week, or once every other week. Taken too often, it might be too heating and stimulating. It depends on the person’s constitution.

Other suggestions:

For vegetables, I like to add root veggies, such as carrots, daikon radish, potatoes, etc. Seaweed, black fungus, and mushrooms are traditionally added into this stew, too. Protein is usually added in the form of meat or tofu, though I like to add half a cup of beans or grains to thicken the stew. Miso complements the above tastes well.

Fallopia multifora (He Shou Wu, or Fo Ti) can be added to the above ingredients to create a dark richly colored soup with a slight astringency and bitterness, and deep Earthy grounded nature; intense and delicious. I’d add 2 slices of the He Shou Wu to the above ingredients for a different stew.

To make a sweet soup, I would take the above ingredients, and additionally add lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) seed and/ or root, brown sugar or honey, raisins, more goji and jujube, Bai mu er (Tremella fuciformis), longan (Dymocarpus longana), and rice. (Pick and choose from the above ingredients. I wouldn’t add all of them. But I gave you this list, so that you have options.) I would would cook it for a long time, to make a congee (rice porridge).

I love traditional Chinese food, especially foods that integrate medicine with nutrition... which is what most traditional Chinese foods do, balancing energetics and deliciousness. Hooray for ancestral knowledge!

Client Description 1

This soup is helpful for bringing circulation and warmth to the entire body as a nourishing chi tonic and gentle stimulant. It’s helpful for releasing cold: helping with people of cold constitutions, helping get warm in cold temperatures, etc. Ginger, Dang Gui, and Ginseng are all strongly heating. Goji, Jujube, Astragalu, and Dang Shen are more gently warming. But, the entire soup formula heats the system. It’s helpful for someone who is weak, has lack of tone or energy, and is prone to cold or sickness. It’s said to increase resistance to both physiological and emotional stress.

Contraindications:

Do NOT drink this soup if you are sick. The heating and tonifying herbs in this soup are too stimulating for one who is sick already. If one has an auto-immune disease, then consult with your healthcare provider before drinking this soup, as it contains immuno-modulating herbs.

Also, do not drink this soup during menstruation. The Jujube and Dang Gui are emmenagogues, and may increase menstrual flow. They are said to “overheat” the body during menstruation.

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Formula 2- Digestive Bitters (Tincture)

Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort)- 0.5 pt (7.5 mL)

Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion root)- 1 pt (15 mL)

Arctium lappa (Burdock root)- 0.5 pt (7.5 mL)

Zingiber Officinale (Ginger rhizome)- 0.25 pt (3.75 mL)

Achillea millefolium (Yarrow leaf and flower)- 0.25 pt (3.75 mL)

Echinacea purpurea (Echinacea root)- 0.25 pt (3.75 mL)

Filipendula ulmaria (Meadowsweet flower and leaf)- 0.25 pt (3.75 mL)

Matricaria recutita (Chamomile flower)- 0.5 pt (7.5 mL)

Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi leaf)- 0.25 pt (3.75 mL)

Cinnamomum cassia (Cinammon bark)- 0.25 pt (3.75 mL)

Proportions are for a 2 oz. bottle of tincture, to carry around.

Dosage:

Take 30 gtts (1 dropperful) 10 minutes before meals, while traveling, or while feeling constipated.

Client Description 2

This digestive bitters travelers’ tincture is for myself. It is also helpful for anyone who tends toward a cold constitution, or tends to eat more energetically cold foods. (I am a vegetarian). It’s a rather complicated formula. Many things can be taken out or lumped together; I just wanted to attack symptoms and support the being on many different levels, thus all the ingredients. The Dandelion or Burdock can be substituted for one another, as can the Meadowsweet or Chamomile. The Tulsi and Chamomile help the client deal with the stress of travel, while Echinacea boosts the immune system, and Yarrow helps to kill negatory organisms in the body, and provide an energetic boundary to negatory influences. Cinnamon and Ginger are warming corrigents that help to circulate the bitters through the system. The stimulating nature of Ginger helps to carry the bitters Mugwort, Dandelion, Burdock, and Yarrow through the body. All of the herbs in this formula hhave a relationship with the digestion. The leading herbs are the bitter, stimulant, and nutritive herbs: Mugwort, Dandelion, and Burdock. The adjuvant herbs in this formula are vulnerary, relaxant, and carminative: Meadowsweet, Chamomile, and Tulsi. The corrigents of this formula are immune support, antibiotic, and circulatory stimulants: Yarrow, Echinacea, Cinammon, and Ginger. This formula helps when one has lack of diversity in foods during travel, while ingesting more potential food allergens that cause gaseousness and a tendency towards constipation or bloating. There is a feeling of never being fully satiated with food, lack of proper balanced nutrition. I would give cold-constitution constipation-prone traveler this digestive bitter formula, along with directions for preparing good travel food: dried nuts, seeds, and fruits, and a good supply of chia and spirulina.

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Formula 3- Aphrodisiac Elixir

Rosa rugosa (Rose petal honey)- 2 pts (333 mL)

Damiana turnera (Damiana leaf tincture)- 1 pts (166.5 mL)

Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi honey)- 1 pts (166.5 mL)

Theobroma cacao (Cacao infused into all)- 0.5 pts (83.25 mL)

Lepidium meyenii (Maca infused into all)- 0.5 pts (83.25 mL)

Zingiber Officinale (Ginger rhizome tincture)- 0.25 pts (41.6 mL)

Amomum costatum (Cardamon infused into all)- 0.25 pts (41.6 mL)

Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamon tincture)- 0.25 pts (41.6 mL)

Vanilla planifolia (Vanilla bean infused into all)- 0.25 pts (41.6 mL)

Capsicum annuum (Cayenne)- 2 drops tincture per 1 oz medicine (33 gtts)

Directions for making the elixir:

Mix Damiana and Ginger tincture together, then add to the tincture: Caco, Maca, Cardamon, Cinnamon, and Vanilla. Let infuse for two weeks, then strain out the herbs.

Add all of the tinctures infused (brandy or other tasty alcohol preferred) together, then stir in the Rose and Tulsi honeys and Capsicum.

The proportions are for 1 Liter (1000 mL) of Elixir. I would keep a 2 oz bottle of this Elixir near the bedside, within easy reach.

Dosage:

Take 30 gtts as needed or desired.

Client Description 3

This warming and gently stimulating Aphrodisiac Elixir helps “warm up” constitutionally cold people. Rose, Damian, and Tulsi are relaxing, whereas most of the other herbs in this formula are various stripes of stimulating. Cacao and Maca also add some grounding nutritious support to the blend. Ginger, Cardamon, and Cinammon are commonly occuring herbs in chai, which is a warming circulatory stimulant. Cacao, Maca, Rose, and Damiana are traditionally used in Aphrodisiac formulas. Rose gently opens the heart. Damiana is a lovely combo of relaxing and exciting. Tulsi provides some digestive support, and opens the heart through relaxing the belly, as a mild carminative. Cacao is exciting, Earthy, grounding, and sexy. With vanilla also in the formula, there is a richness of tone. Cacao, rose, and ginger make a great trio: stimulating, relaxing, and warming. Ginger and Cayenne are the two energetically “hottest” herbs in the formula, circulatory stimulants that get the blood moving to where it needs to go: everywhere! The energetics of the formula are pretty well balanced, but slightly more warming, rather than cooling. But, it’s a gentle enough formula for anyone who wants a little bedroom support, a luxurious and delicious Elixir to increase enjoyment through simultaneous stimulation and relaxation of the heart, body, mind, and spirit. YUM!

Contraindications:

For a person who is already over-stimulated or overly “hot,” such as a person of vata tendencies, I may reduce the amount of honey in this formula, and add more of the relaxing herbs, less of the stimulating herbs. Otherwise, enjoy. It’s a safe formula, and absolutely delicious... in a very sexy way.

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Resources Cited

Herbal Vade Mecum, Skenderi, pg. 169

Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, Chevallier, pg. 155

Planetary Herbology, Tierra, pg. 153-154, 244

Herbal Pairs Database, Bergner, pg. 34-35

Actions Database (http://naimh.com/Actions/naimh-actions-database.htm)

National Taiwan Normal University plants database (http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/PlantInfo.php)

(photo from during the ginger honey making process) 

Roses (Rosa spp.)

Rosa spp. (Rose)

There are 100 Rosa species worldwide, with 54 species in North America.

(“Mei Gui Hua” in Chinese, “Satapatri” in Sanskrit)

 

Family

Rosaceae (Rose family)- 5 petals, 5 sepals, (usually) numerous stamen, several to numerous simple pistils (or united at the base). Oval, serrated, alternate leaves.

Worldwide, about 100 genera and 3000 species. 50 genera in North America.

Rose family produces many edible fruits. Tannins common, giving astringent properties. Cyanide compounds often found in leaves and fruits of some species.

 

Vitalist Actions and Energetics

Cool and moist (fresh plant), cool and dry (dried plant), vital stimulant, relaxant

Petals: sweet, slightly bitter, warm

Meridians/ organs affected: liver, spleen, heart

Tissues affected: skin, mucous membranes, GI glands, heart, nerves

 

Clinical Actions

Cardiotonic, nervine tonic, intestinal tonic (Bergner)

 

Rosa rugosa Petals: carminative, stimulant, emmengagogue, aromatic stomachic, aperient. Dries cold, clear mucous discharges, releives constrictive feelings of the chest and abdomen (stuck liver chi), treats poor appetite, harmonizes blood, and is used for irregular menstruation and pain caused by blood stagnation. (Tierra)

 

Rosa chinensis petals: promotes blood circulation. Treats painful, delayed, or stopped menses. Add brown sugar when treating stopped or light menses accompanied by pain, emotional tension, and possible constipation. (Tierra)

 

Rose hips: same properties as vitamin C. Vitamin C effects enhanced by flaonols, with their antioxidant and “Vitamin P”- like effects (helps normalize an increased microvascular permeability and fragility). Mild stomachic, laxative, and diuretic effects. (Diuretic effects attributed to the seeds). (Skenderi)

 

Rose petals: aromatic, anti-microbial, astringent, anti-inflammatory. (Skenderi)

 

Any part of any rose can be used to ease headaches, relieve dizziness, nourish the nerves and heart, invigorate the entire being, remedy menstrual cramps, strengthen the bones, and moderate mood and hormonal swings during menopause. Rose hips are an excellent source of flavanoids. (Weed, 48)

 

Constituents

Rosa rugosa petals: linalool, L-p-menthene, cyanin, gallic acid, beta-carotene (Tierra)

 

Rose hips: vitamin C, organic acids (malic and citric acids), flavanoids (mostly quercetin, rutin, kaempferol), pectin, sugars (invert sugar, etc), tannins (proanthocyanidins), carotenoids (carotenes, lutein, etc), etc. (Skenderi)

 

Rose petals: volatile oil (geraniol, citronellol, eugenol, terpenes, nerol, 2-phenylethanol, etc), tannins, flavanoids (anthocyanins, flavonols), organic acids (quinic acid, etc), etc. (Skenderi)

 

Hips: vitamins B1, B2, C, E, K, beta-carotene, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silicon, sulfur, zinc, polyphenols, tannins, pectin, vanillin (Mars)

 

Common Forms and Dosages

 

Tincture: 1:2 60% fresh petals. 7song doesn’t use Rose tincture much in his practice. The medicine goes well with a sweet menstruum, such as glycerite or honey. 7song more often gives it as part of an infusion formula.

Oil: folk method infusion of fresh dried petals. Helpful for relaxing massage.

Infusion: standard infusion of dried petals. Works well as a corrigent for various other formulas. The taste is light, flowery, mildly sweet and astringent, and subtle. It takes more roses to get the taste, in a formula.

Standard infusion of dried hips. Sour, tastes well alone or in formulas. Not to be decocted, as the vitamin C loses its potency that way. Super high in vitamin C and antioxidants.

Wash/ soak/ sitz/ bath: with dried petals, essential oil, tincture, or infused oil. Astringent, mildly disinfectant. Useful for boggy tissues, oiliness, and other conditions where astringents are helpful.

Poultice: with crushed up fresh petals. Astringent.

Essential oil: called “Rose attar.””

Properties: mild sedative, anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac, soothing, comforting, uplifting, regulating, heart tonic, astringent, antiseptic, choleretic, cicatrizant, depurative, hemostatic, hepatic, laxative, appetite regulator, stomachic

Scent: floral, rosy, rich, sweet, warm, tender, tenacious.

Uses: skin care (thread veins, dry, mature, and sensitive skin, wrinkles, eczema, herpes). Circulatory stimulant. Nervous system (depression, impotence, insomnia, frigidity, headache, nervous tension, stress). Reproductive system (irregular menses, leukorrhea, menorrhagia, uterine disorders). (Lawless)

Flower essence: helps move energy through difficult times, while maintaining a positive outlook.

Honey: folk method of covering a jar filled with petals, with honey, then letting sit. Delicious heart medicine.

Glycerite: 1:2 fresh petals to glycerite.

Sugar: also known as rose Gulkand (Ayurveda). Add alternating layers of petals, sugar, petals, sugar... until the jar is filled. Let sit. The sugar will absorb the rose constitutents. Over time, it will turn into syrup. Both the syrup and petals are delicious.

Wine: let the rose sugar sit until it ferments into wine. Or, my mom’s technique: fill a jar with petals, add sugar on top, then fill the jar again with spring water. Let sit, until it ferments into wine.

Rose water: astringent, useful as a skin-care toner, and mild antiseptic astringent for cuts and scrapes. There are two recipes for this in the “others’ formulas” section of this article.

Hydrosol: useful in skin-care/ creme recipes. Gentle sweet rosy scent.

Vinegar: another useful topical astringent.

 

Historical usage

Native Americans used all parts of the Rosa species. The seeds were cooked and eaten for relief from muscular pains. The roots were used as a general astringent for diarrhea, sore throat, conjunctivitis, and as a syptic. The petals were used as bacteriostatic, protective bandages on burns and minor wounds and to treat colic and heartburn. A leaf poultice was used for insect stings and bites. Rose petal wine was used to ease labor pains, in folklore. (Tilgner)

 

Roses have been cultivated since antiquity. Sappho, the 6^th century BC Greek poet, described the red rose as the “queen of flowers.” It was used in Roman festivities, and eaten as food. Arab physician Avicenna (AD 980-1037) invented the process of distillation, and was the first to distill rosewater. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, rose was used as a depression remedy. The name, “Rose” comes from the Greek “rodon,” which means “red.” In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was said to pierce her foot on a white rose, bleeding onto it and turning it red, while running to save her lover, Adonis. Egyptian Queen Cleopatra bathed in rose water, and used the essential oil of Rose absolut to seduce her Roman lover, Antony. In Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna’s favorite flower was said to be rose. Hindus wash and clean their altars with rose water. In Christian stories, Jesus was said to have worn a crown of rose thorns.

 

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the rose bud to alleviate emotional stagnation (especially frustration and resentment), and depression. There are nine Rosa species covered in the Grand Dictionary of Chinese Medicinals. It was first mentioned in the Materia Medica for Food, published in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as sweet, slightly bitter, warm, and non-toxic. It’s said to promote the movement of Chi and relieve constraint in the form of liver-stomach disharmony, with pain and distention in the flanks and epigastrium, belching, and poor appetite. It harmonizes the blood, and disperses stagnation such as irregular menses, pre-menstrual breast tenderness, menstrual pain, and trauma-induced stasis.

 

“Love is like a rose, and roses are not made within days. Years are needed for full development, and each bloom has a slow unfolding.” (Juliette De Barclay Levy) She used the wild roses that grew in regions where she traveled for medicine.

 

Roses were used in Mayan tradition after births. A pot of plants, including roses, would be heated as an infusion. The new mother would sit on a chair with a hole in the seat, covered with a cloth from the neck downwards, as the pot of steaming plants was placed underneath her (an elaborate sitz bath). Roses were said to speed the healing process with its anti-inflammatory properties, drawing out excess afterbirth fluids, and soothing the mother’s emotions. After that healing process, rose was used as an aphrodisiac for the new mother.

 

In Ayurveda, rose is said to balance Sadhaka Pitta, which is the sub-dosha of Pitta. Sadhaka Pitta governs the emotions and their effects on the heart. Roses soothe the heart and emotions, and is gently cooling, stringent, and neutralizing. It further balances the mind, by enhancing the coordination between Sadhaka Pitta and Prana Vata. Prana Vata is the sub-dosha of Vata that governs the brain, chest, respiration, sensory perception, and mind.

 

Cautions and Contraindications

None reported, when used properly. When drinking rose hip tea or infusion, make sure you strain properly, to filter out the irritating hairs.

 

Personal Experience

 

Glycerite- 1:2 fresh petals. Took 30 gtts. Such a strong, sweet taste! Almost burns the back of my throat with its sweetness. Energetics drops downwards. Feel relaxation, and a “sweet” emotion. Colors brighter, feeling gentler. Now is a good time to ask me for a favor.

 

Honey- Feel expansion of chest, like I can sing, fill myself with breath, embrace the whole world. Chest sensation expands to head. Heady, almost “high” sensation. Feel tingles, wiggly in my fingers and toes. A giddy, giggly, happy teenager high-on-life feeling. Ecstatic, loving, delightful. Sweet taste sticks to the back of my throat. Feels digestive. Feeling in head moved down to jaw. Feel jaw loosening, like I could smile more easily. Uplifted feeling.

 

Wine- recipe listed above. Made by my Ma from organic home roses, unknown species. Initial feeling of heat, from the alcohol. Feeling of satiation, warmth, nourishment, well-being. Feel heat primarily in the chest area, then spreading downwards and outwards: into the bellies, and out in the extremities. I can feel my cheeks getting pink. I could happily get tipsy in love with this. Soon afterwards, extremities cooled down. Only drank 1 tsp.

 

Sugar- this sweet rose medicine feels the most gentle. Its smell was strongest, color reddest. Once again, feeling similar feelings as the honey. Chest expansion, small head rush, joy inducing, giddy bringing. Taking this at 10 PM. It’s the final of the three rose sweet medicines that I am taking, after a few minutes interval between each. Felt high, but have now crashed. Am sleepy. Will take a rose oil bath.

 

Medicine making notes- Remove the rose hip seeds before using them (drying, making jams or infusions, etc). If you don’t, then it is much more difficult to remove afterwards.

 

Overall Experience

 

I grew up with rose bushes lining the edges of our front and back yard in southern California. Besides roses, my parents just grew fruit trees, and the usual American lawn of grass. I developed a complex love-hate relationship with this plant, which grew more complex, as the years went on, and I continued to deepen my relationship with plants in general, as an herbalist and amateur botanist. 

I have strong memories of playing soccer as a kid, and screaming with disappointment each time our soccer ball inadvertently landed amongst the thorny rose bushes, almost immediately popping ball after sacred ball. I would often ask my parents, "Why do you grow those things?" woefully presenting them with yet another popped soccer ball. My mom would simply answer, ""They are beautiful, and I love them," and, "Be more careful next time. Don't play around the roses." 

 

We picked rose flowers when they bloomed in the spring and summers, placing them around the house in colorful, aromatic arrangements. I enjoyed the softness of the petals, the sweetness of the aroma, and the beauty of the bright colors bedecking the house. I remember lying on the grass under the rose bushes on balmy nights, watching the stars, dreaming up stories, and inhaling deeply the rosy perfume wafting mysteriously through the night air. 

 

When I moved to the northeast, I became intimately familiar with the invasive and ever-present Rosa multiflora, who dogged my steps as I ran barefoot through the forest with my pack of feral student children. We made wild rose chocolates for our spring feast, spoons, hands, and faces covered with chocolate essenced with wild roses that had been strenuously picked and de-seeded by about 2 dozen small, exuberant, and deliciously dirty hands. In the winter, when everything lay silent in different shades of white and grey, only the little red dried rosehips and barberry berries colored the dull landscape. We picked them, placing them in beautiful arrangements for the fairy folk to find. 

In my second summer in Connecticut, I deeply connected with a beautiful herbalist, Lucy Mitchella. We visited a local beach for her yearly Rose collecting party, where thick-petaled pink Rosa rugosa bushes vigorously grew out of the stones that stood upon a small peninsula jutting straight into the ocean. We picked bag after bag of petals, intoxicated by the scent of the petals, the smell of the salty ocean, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and the sunshine infusing the essences of ocean, roses, and summer glee deeply into our beings. Later, as we drove home with a car full of rose petals steeping in the hot sun, we couldn't stop giggling. We stopped for coconut ice-cream, infusing the petals into coconut milk, and mushing the petals into the ice-cream. I remember sitting in the middle of a parking lot with the door wide open, our skirts blowing in the wind, rose aroma wafting out of the doors of Lucy's truck, licking my fingers of sticky rose-infused ice-cream and coconut milk, and just laughing and laughing. 

 

This to me, is the essence of rose medicine. Pure delight, born of an immediate connection with the world around me. An uncontrollable radiance of womanhood, manhood, humanhood. An opening of previously unidentified inhibitions, releasing into imitable love, joy, and even ecstasy. The feeling of pure beauty, magic, and wonder as a child. The presence of pain, and direct encountering of emotions. Thorns that set clear boundaries that allow for deeper opening, deeper enjoyment, deeper humanity. Deeper, ever deeper. Open my heart wider, ever wider. The sensorial delight of more presence, more perfection, more reality in all its thorns and flowers, suns and seas, and stories that continue to expand through relationship and connection. 

 

Roses are red, violets are blue. Dear rose species, I love you! 

The easiest way to get some Rose action into your life: pick them, and place them in your room, in a visible and smellable place. Sleep next to them, allowing them to infiltrate your dreams. If you can find or grow organic roses, then try making some of the recipes suggested in this article. It’s easiest to just directly eat the petals on their own, or in sandwiches, salads, and smoothies. It’s also easy to make and enjoy rose honey, rose sugar, and rose wine.

 

Herbal Pairs

Essential oil: Rose attar absolute blends well with jasmine, orange flower, geranium, bergamot, lavender, clary sage, sandalwood, patchouli, benzoin, chamomile, clove, palmarosa, cacao, vanilla, cinammon (Lawless)

 

Regardless of client symptoms and constitution, rose is helpful for almost everyone. Many conditions have underlying roots in our emotions. Rose is a gentle loving hug for the nervous system. It complements most formulas. I didn’t find any historical pairs with rose. I think it is because it is often overlooked as a potent medicine. Henriette’s Herbals only notes it as being a “delicious additive” to formulas, without noting roses’s own medicine.

 

7song used rose a lot at the Ithaca Free Clinic, especially in teas and glycerites. I came to really appreciate this medicine. It is honestly a plant that I would love to put into every medicine that I make, but its flavor is generally weak, and easily overpowered. Thus, I like it as an essential oil (though it is expensive).

 

Below are some categories and pairs that I feel rose especially shines in:

 

Rose in nervine/ relaxant formulas, paired with Chamomile, Lavender, Tulsi, St. Johnswort, Kava, etc.

Rose in aphrodisiac formulas, paired with Damiana, Cacao, Vanilla, Ginger, etc.

Rose in female reproductive system formulas, paired with Raspberry leaf, Red Clover, Motherwort, Mugwort, etc.

 

Formulas

 

EarthSong Chai

 

Decoct for 10 minutes:

- Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) (2)(166 g)

- Astragalus root (Astragalus membranaceus) (2) (166 g)

- Cinnamon bark (Cinamomum cassia) (1) (133 g)

- Cardamom whole seed (Amomum castatum) (1) (133 g)

- Cloves whole seed(Syzgium aromaticum) (1) (133 g)

- Ginger dried rhizome (Zingiber officinale) (0.5) (26 g)

 

Add afterwards, then let simmer for 3 minutes:

- Tulsi leaves (Ocimum sanctum) (2) (348 g)

- Rose petals (Rosa spp.) (2) (348 g)

- Roasted barley, roasted chicory root, roasted dandelion root, or green/ black tea (1) (174 g)

- Cacao powder (Theobroma cacao) (or carob (Ceratonia siliqua)) (0.5) (87 g)

- Black pepper (Piper nigrum) (0.25) (43 g)

- Vanilla bean (Vanilla planifolia) (1/2 to 1 dried bean, or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

- Stevia or honey, to taste

 

Dosage

Amounts are noted in parts. Next to the proportions (parts), amounts are listed for a 1000 g jar of dried herbs to decoct, and a 1000 g jar of dried herbs to infuse.

 

Directions

To make 1 L of EarthSong Chai tea, add 14 g each of the decoction (first) and infusion (second) formula to 1 L of water.

Boil 1 L of water, then add 14 g of the decoction formula to decot for 10 minutes at medium heat. Make sure you cover the pot.

Then, add the 14 g of the infusion formula to simmer for another 3 minutes at low heat.

Strain, and drink as desired. Remember to share with your friends and loved ones!

 

Uses

This tea is a delicious, grounding, nourishing, warming, and relaxing sensory celebration. Traditional chai ingredients include black tea (which I prefer to replace with substitutes that are more nourishing, less stimulating, and equally tasty), cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, black pepper, and cloves. Most of these plants are warming circulatory stimulants, digestive stimulants, and anti-inflammatory. Earthy- flavored Chaga complements the taste of the chai, and provides an extra nutritive and immunity boosting underlayer to this multi-layered chai. Cacao and vanilla also complement existing flavors, while providing an extra richness and sweetness that draws out the more subtle flavors. Cacao, rose, and tulsi are “heart medicines” that target the emotional body: releasing anxiety, restoring a delightful sensation of calmness and joyous well-being. They elicit a sense of rich decadence that complements the more excitatory nature of the chai. Astragalus doesn’t have much of a taste, but is partnered with Chaga to boost the immune system in a more gentle way, as a nutritive tonic.

 

This tea is for everyone! It tends toward warming energetics, but is pretty well-balanced energetically, and offers nutritional and immune support, with an emphasis on increasing one’s sense of well-being and groundedness.

 

Contradindications

If you are prone to insomnia, then don’t use green/ black tea. You may also consider leaving out cacao powder, if you are super sensitive to stimulants.

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SereniTea

- Rose (Rosa spp.) (2)

- Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) (2)

- Oatstraw (Avena sativa) (1)

- Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) (1)

- Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) (0.25)

- Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) (a pinch)

 

Dosage

Add 28 g of formula to 1 L of water. Let steep for 20 minutes, then strain. You can re-use the strained marc a multitude of times, finally doing an overnight standard infusion, to extract all the last bits of medicine out of it. Drink as often as desired. For one with nervous system and/ or emotional upset, drink after eating dinner, at least 2 hours before sleep. Chamomile and tulsi get bitter in an overnight infusion, which is why I suggest using the formula first, before doing the overnight infusion.

 

Uses

All of the herbs in this formula are relaxing. Rose and tulsi are nervines. Tulsi, chamomile, and lavender are relaxing digestives. Oatstraw is a relaxing nutritive that provides a great anchor (slightly demulcent, and grounding) to the rest of the more flowery tastes in this tea. This tea helps to relax an over-busy or stressed mind, bring quiet presence to the present moment, draw awareness and enjoyment to one’s body, and soothe on all levels: heart, mind, body, and spirit.

 

Contraindications

If you are sensitive to Chamomile, then do not drink this tea in the morning, as it may be too calming. Also, watch for Asteraceae sensitivities.

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SunnyElixir

Tinctures:

- St. Johnswort flowers (Hypericum perforatum) (1)

- Hawthorne flower (Crataegus spp.) (1)

- Motherwort flowers (Leonorus cardiaca) (1)

- Cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum cassia) (0.5)

- Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale) (0.5)

 

Honeys

- Rose petal honey or glycerite (Rosa spp.) (3)

 

Infuse into the above:

- Vanilla (1/2 to 1 bean pod) (Vanillin plannifolia)

 

Dosage

Take 30-60 gtts as needed. For times of trouble, carry around this tincture to use on an “as needed” basis, and complement with the SereniTea nightly.

 

Optional additions

Nutritive immune boosting herbs such as Chaga, Ashwagandha. Nutritive alteratives such as nettles or burdock. Flower essences such as yarrow, chaparral, or white chestnut.

 

Uses

Something sunny and cheerful for those dark days, when everything seems to be going wrong. If it’s for pre-menstrual symptoms, then you can add such female tonic plants, such as Raspberry leaf or red clover flowers, to the tea or tincture. One could also increase the intake of such nourishing plants as Nettles and Oats, in the form of infusions.

 

If the sadness stems from unknown sources, then I would accompany this tincture with journaling, introspection, and whatever else nourishes you through these times. Increase exercise and whole foods intake, decrease sugary or processed foods, and find someone to talk to, a therapist if need be.

 

There are four different kinds of flowers in this tincture. Flowers are the reproductive system of plants, full of energy, and bursting with life potential. In this tincture, they lend their joyous celebratory nature to the “sunny” medicine of the formula. The formula is about half rose honey, and half alcoholic tincture mix. It’s a “sweet” medicine, including warming and relaxing vanilla, that opens the spiritual and emotional heart, releases woes, and exposes sunlight into the dark areas of the soul.

 

I included so much rose honey/ glycerite in the formula, because of rose’s nervine, soothing, relaxing, and sweetening heart qualities. Rose complements sweet flavors very well, as rose is mildly astringent but energetically sweet. They balance each other out in a lovely way, and I always experience such a decadent feeling of self-love and satisfaction, as I ingest any form of rose sweets.

 

St. Johnswort is famous in this country as an herbal anti-depressant. I include it in this formula partially for that reason, but primarily because the sunny yellow flowers are literally like floral sunshine. Soothing, anti-depressant, and gently joy-inducing, they are perfect married with the similar nature of rose, and heart-opening Hawthorne, and nourishing digestive Motherwort.

 

Cinnamon and ginger potentiate the formula, bringing a little more circulation into the system, to kickstart some adrenaline and endorphins, and hopefully spark some incentive to go out for some actual sunshine and enlivening exercise.

 

Enjoy the tincture, but don’t become dependent on it. Allow it to support you, develop tools and techniques that work for you, and then set out on your own.

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Resources Cited

Herbal Vade Mecum, Skenderi, pg. 321-322

Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, Chevallier, pg. 262

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory Tilford, pg. 162

Planetary Herbology, Tierra, petals pg. 257, 282, hips pg. 343, 130

Actions Database (http://naimh.com/Actions/naimh-actions-database.htm)

7song

Menopausal Years The Wise Woman Way (Susun Weed) p. 48

Aromatherapy (Lawless) p. 204

Healing Herbal Teas (Brigitte Mars) p. 85- 87

Botany in a Day (Thomas Elpel) p. 91

Herbal Healing for Women (Rosemary Gladstar)

http://www.redrootmountain.com/the-rise-of-the-wild-rose-2/123 (Red Root Mountain school)

http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Wild-As-A-Rose.htm (Susun Weed)

A Modern Herbal, by Mrs. M. Grieve (https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/roses-18.html)

Rose Magazine (http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles04/roses_love/)