Southern Arizona fruits and flowers

Barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii) in second bloom, thanks to monsoons

Harvesting Opuntia englemanii fruits (tunas) to juice, wine, and jam

Mesquite (Prosopis velutina) pods: dry and pound into flour

Pollinators love milkweeds (Asclepius asparula)

Mirabilis longiflora (Look, and SEE) 

August writing prompt: Childhood

Return to the mindset of your child self, and fill in this statement: 

"When I grow up, I want to be..." 

Allow yourself to stream-of-consciously write, without editing. 

Afterwards, examine what you wrote--- and notice the values, interests, and passions of your child self. How have you changed over time? How does the activities and energies of your current job, life, or career compare with that of your childhood dreams? If anything is not to your satisfaction, then what can you change? 

Allow for a second stream-of-consciousness flow, exploring these questions. 

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)