GLORIOUS GOLDENROD
© 2006 Susun S. Weed

I love autumn, don't you? The days shorten and fall colors thrill my senses. Perennial roots get busy storing nourishment that will last them through the winter. And the meadows bloom with purple asters and riotous goldenrod flowers.

Goldenrod (the Solidago genus, Asteracea family) is one of my favorite plants, and hopefully, soon it will be one of your favorites too.

Before you complain that goldenrod is a pest and you're allergic to it, let me set the record straight: You aren't. No one is, no one can be, allergic to goldenrod pollen. Why? It has virtually none. What little pollen it makes is sticky, all the better to stick onto insects who pollinate the goldenrod. Only wind-pollinated plants - like ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia), which blooms at the same time as goldenrod, and has an especially irritating pollen - make enough pollen, and spread it widely enough, to cause allergic reactions.

Set aside your mistaken bad thoughts about lovely goldenrod, and, if you can, visit a patch. Goldenrod is a wide-spread wild plant in North America (found from Florida to New Hampshire and west into Texas), Europe, and Asia. Goldenrod is also treasured as a garden plant from New Zealand to Germany, and has become a highly-successful weed in Japan. So, no matter where you live as you read this article, it is likely that you can find a patch of goldenrod.

It is rare to see one goldenrod plant growing alone; it multiplies by sending out root runners, so there are usually dozens of plants growing densely together. Notice all the bees and insects happily crawling about on goldenrod's numerous small yellow flowers.

There are many types of goldenrod, and you are likely to find several kinds if you look around. The species Solidago canadensis and S. odora are considered the most medicinal (and the tastiest), but all species of goldenrod are safe and beneficial and can be used to help the immune system get ready for winter.

Goldenrod tonics are easy to make. Harvest any goldenrod by cutting the top third of the plant in full flower on a sunny fall day. Or, respectfully pull the entire plant, roots and all, in the late autumn or early winter. Then follow the simple directions below. Note: You can use any size jar when making a vinegar or a tincture, so long as you fill it full.

To dry flowering goldenrod:

Bundle 2-3 stalks together and hang upside down in a cool, shady room until thoroughly dry. When the stalks snap crisply, store the dried herb in brown paper bags. One or two large handfuls of crushed leaves and flowers, steeped in a quart of boiling water for 30 minutes makes a tea that can be used hot, with honey*, to counter allergies (especially pollen allergies), fevers, sore throats, coughs, colds and the flu; or taken cold to relieve colic in babies, and gas in adults. Dried mint and/or yarrow are tasty, and useful, additions when making goldenrod flower tea.

To dry goldenrod roots:

Rinse dirt off the roots, then cut away all the stalks, leaves and dead flowers. If possible, hang your roots over a woodstove to dry; if not, place them on racks and put them in a warm place to dry until brittle. Store in glass jars. Depending on the difficulty you are addressing, goldenrod root tea may be made with large or small amounts of the roots brewed or decocted in boiling water. Or the roots may be powdered, alone or mixed with flowers, and applied to hard-to-heal wounds and sore joints.

To make a goldenrod vinegar:

Chop the goldenrod coarsely, filling a jar with chopped flowers, leaves, stalks (and roots if you have them); then fill the jar to the top with room-temperature, pasteurized, apple cider vinegar. Cap it tightly with a plastic lid. (Metal lids will be eroded by the action of the vinegar. If you must use one, protect it with several layers of plastic between it and the vinegar.) Be sure to label your vinegar with the date and contents. Your goldenrod vinegar will be ready to use in six weeks to improve mineral balance, help prevent kidney stones, eliminate flatulence, and improve immune functioning.

To make a goldenrod tincture:

Chop the goldenrod coarsely, filling a jar with chopped flowers, leaves, stalks (and roots if you have them); then add 100 proof vodka, filling the jar to the very top. Cap tightly and label. Your goldenrod tincture will be ready to use in six weeks, by the dropperful, as an anti-inflammatory, a sweat-inducing cold cure, and an astringent digestive aid. Medical herbalists use large doses (up to 4 dropperfuls at a time) of goldenrod tincture several times daily to treat kidney problems - including nephritis, hemorrhage, kidney stones, and inability to void - and prostate problems, including frequent urination.

The colonists called goldenrod tea "Liberty Tea" for they drank it instead of black tea after the Boston Tea Party. In fact, Liberty Tea proved so popular, it was exported to China! Let goldenrod liberate you, too. Herbal medicine is people's medicine, a gift from Mama Earth to us. Green Blessings.

*Note: Do not give honey to babies under 12 months old.

CHICKWEED IS A STAR
© 2007 Susun S. Weed

Snowdrops and crocus flowers herald the spring. And if you look in between them, with luck, you'll see a bright green creeping plant low to the ground with little white starry flowers: chickweed, a good friend of mine.

I say she's a star, because her botanical name - Stellaria media - means little stars. And because she really stars at helping us when we need to gently dissolve something or to cool off inflamed tissues. Chickweed not only effects physical health, she is a psychic healer too. She opens us up to cosmic energies and gives us the inner strength we need to handle those energies.

Chickweed contains soapy substances, called saponins. Saponins, like soap, emulsify and increase the permeability of cellular membranes. When we consume chickweed those saponins increase our ability to absorb nutrients, especially minerals. They also dissolve and break down unwanted matter, including disease-causing bacteria, cysts, benign tumors, thickened mucus in the respiratory and digestive systems, and excess fat cells.

Yes, you heard me correctly, drinking chickweed infusion can eliminate fat cells. I put one ounce of dried herb (I weigh it) in a quart jar and fill it to the top with boiling water. I cap it tightly and wait for at least four hours, then strain and drink it, hot or cold, with honey or miso. What I don't consume right away, I store in the refrigerator. A quart a day is not too much to drink, but even two cups a day can help you shed those unwanted pounds. (Do remember though that subcutaneous fat, the kind you can pinch, is healthy for women, so don't get too thin.)

Chickweed's ability to break cells open helps it get rid of bacterial infections when applied as a poultice. It is every mother's favorite for dealing with children's eye infections (pink eye). I crush a small handful of the fresh herb until it is juicy, then apply it directly to the troubled eye or infected wound, covering the chickweed with a small towel to keep it in place. I leave the poultice until the chickweed heats up, which indicates to me that bacteria are dying. Then I remove the poultice and throw the plant material away. It is critically important to use fresh chickweed for each application so bacteria are not reintroduced. Generally symptoms will at least start to go away after the first application, but using several more chickweed poultices, once or twice a day for several more days, will insure full healing.

Our beautiful star is superb at dissolving cysts and benign tumors. She especially shines when it comes to getting rid of ovarian cysts. Since many doctors, frightened of ovarian cancer, are fast to suggest surgical remedies for ovarian cysts, having a safe and effective green ally can save us from major surgery. Using chickweed to dissolve a cyst or benign tumor is a slow process, and requires consistency. It also requires chickweed tincture made from fresh, not dried, plant material. You can buy the tincture already made. Or make you own: Fill any jar, large or small, with fresh chopped chickweed and 100 proof vodka. Wait six weeks and it's ready to use. A dropperful of the tincture taken 2-3 times a day for 2-16 months is the usual course.

I have seen chickweed dissolve ovarian cysts as large as an orange. One women used it to get rid of a dermoid cyst (which contains hair, bones, teeth, and fingernails); for that, she combined the chickweed with motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) and cronewort (Artemisia vulgaris) tinctures in equal parts. These three plants together are an ancient Chinese remedy for many "women's problems."

Chickweed loves the cool weather of spring and autumn; she hides when summer's sun is high. This gives her a great ability to cool things off for us when we are overheated. I believe that sub-clinical inflammations are responsible for many of the chronic problems we have, including joint pain, digestive upsets, blood vessel disease, memory problems, and even some cancers. Regular use of chickweed takes the heat out and allows optimum functioning.

Women with "hot" bladders - such as those interstitial cystitis, chronic cystitis, or a bladder irritated by childbirth or abdominal surgery - adore chickweed. She soothes and cools, removes bacteria, and strengthens the bladder wall. What a star!

But don't wait for a problem to get to know chickweed. She is delicious and ever so happy to jump into your salad bowl and share her star qualities with you.

Chickweed is loaded with nutrition, being high in chlorophyll, minerals - especially calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron, phosphorus, and potassium - vitamins - especially C, A (from carotenes), and B factors such as folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine.

No wonder old-time herbals recommend chickweed for "convalescents, weak children, the anemic, and the old". Chickweed infusion is also a blessing for those recovering from surgery. (Tinctures are not nutritious.)

I'm going to grab my scissors and my basket and go outside and pick a bunch of chickweed and make this yummy spring salad: 4 cups fresh chickweed, 2 cups fresh watercress or miner's lettuce, 1 cup fresh flowers, such as violets, and 2 tablespoons of finely-chopped wild chives. I dress it with olive oil, tamari, and whatever herbal vinegar strikes my fancy, or just plain apple cider vinegar.

There's lots more information on the little star lady chickweed in my book Healing Wise. It's green, like chickweed, like the blessings the Earth offers us so freely. So, grab your scissors, and go harvest some chickweed for dinner tonight. You'll make a new friend who can really help when times are tough.

THE JOY OF PURSLANE
© 2006 Susun S. Weed

Herbs are powerhouses of nutrition. Used wisely and regularly, herbs can replace costly pills and supplements, and even some drugs. For example, if you currently take fish oil capsules, omega-3 oil capsules, flax oil, or antidepressants, a switch to purslane could improve your health and save you lots of money, too.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a common weed in cultivated soils throughout the United States. You won't find purslane in the supermarket or health food store (yet); you'll have to discover it in the wild, which is very easy to do if you look during the summer. In the country, look in gardens. In the city, look in flower beds and planters.

With its thick red recumbent (laying on the ground) stalks and its small fleshy green leaves, purslane looks like a tender succulent, not a hardy annual whose seeds find it easy to survive long cold winters. When you find purslane, harvest it by cutting the tender tips - as little as one inch or as much as eight inches, depending on the size of the plant.

Eat fresh purslane alone dressed with olive oil and vinegar or lightly sautéed in butter, or add it to salads and soups. Try Purslane Pickles (recipe below). Or cool off with Purslane Gazpacho (recipe below.)

Herbalist James Duke says purslane contains up to 4000 ppm of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA); that means a 100 gram serving (between 3 and 4 ounces) contains 400 mg of ALA. Purslane-fed chickens lay eggs that have twenty times more omega-3s than regular eggs. Eating purslane is tastier, safer, and more effective than taking omega-3 supplements. To increase the effect, Duke suggests adding walnut oil to your purslane.

Purslane counters depression. It is one of the five herbs - lettuce, amaranth greens, lamb's quarters greens, and watercress are the other four - richest in antidepressant substances. Purslane is a superior source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phenylalanine, and tryptophan, all of which are known to moderate the effects of depressive brain chemicals.

Purslane is loaded with nutrients. A single one-cup serving contains all the vitamin E you need in a day, as well as significant amounts of vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. Purslane is one of the very best sources of magnesium. One cup supplies your minimum daily need of 450 mg. Lack of magnesium is associated with diabetes, migraines, osteoporosis, hypertension, and asthma.

And, that one cup of fresh purslane gives you over 2000 mg of calcium and 8000 mg of potassium. Women who take calcium supplements do nothing to strengthen their bones. Women who eat foods rich in calcium - such as yogurt, stinging nettles, and purslane - have flexible bones which resist breaking.

Purslane seeds have been found in caves in Greece that were inhabited 16,000 years ago.

Does purslane have a place in your life? Remember that herbs are not drugs and they don't work in drug-like ways. Herbs nourish, strengthen, and tonify. Their effects are deep-rooted and may be slow to become visible. Because purslane is a food, it is generally considered safe to use it even if you are taking multiple drugs. As the effects of purslane become apparent, and if your medical advisor agrees, you may wish to slowly lessen the amount and number of drugs and supplements you take.

Green blessings.

PURSLANE GAZPACHO
serves 6-8

Preparation time about one hour including picking the herbs.

This dish is a late summer favorite. It looks like confetti with the purple shiso, the green basil, the white cucumber, and the red and orange tomatoes. Everyone loves it, even kids, because it has no raw onion (hooray!) and no raw garlic and absolutely no hot pepper of any kind.

Cut juicy, ripe tomatoes (if possible, half red ones and half orange ones) into half-inch squares. Carefully retain all liquid and place in large bowl with 6 cups cut tomatoes. Peel and remove pulp and seeds from young cucumbers. Cut into half-inch squares and add 4 cups cut cucumbers to bowl. Add 1 tablespoon sea salt. Mix well, cover, and set aside in the refrigerator for several hours. Just before serving, add 4 cups purslane tender tips (whole or chopped), about 20 fresh basil leaves and about 10 fresh shiso leaves (cut across the leaf into moderate-sized "shreds"), 2-3 teaspoons granulated garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. Adjust seasonings as desired.

PURSLANE PICKLES

Preparation time about 15 minutes, including picking the purslane.

Use any size jar with a plastic lid. Narrow-necked bottles can be a problem. Fill your jar or bottle with freshly-harvested purslane cut into two-inches pieces. Leave a little space at the top. Fill the jar or bottle with room-temperature apple cider vinegar, being sure to completely cover the plant material. Cover. (Metal lids will corrode; do not use.) Label, including date. This is ready to use in six weeks; but will stay good for up to a year.

To use: A tablespoon of purslane vinegar on cooked greens, beans, and salads adds wonderful flavor along with lots of minerals. You can also eat the pickled purslane right out of the bottle or add it to salads or beans.

SACRED CORN MOTHER
© 2007 Susun S Weed

"Corn rigs, an' barley rigs, An corn rigs are bonnie;
I'll ne'er forget that happy night, Amang the rigs wi' Annie."
It Was Upon A Lammas Night by Robert Burns

The least known of the eight major Pagan holy days is Lammas, celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere on the first of August. (The other primary holy days are the Summer and Winter Solstices, the Spring and Fall Equinoxes, and the Cross Quarter Days of Beltane, May Day, and Halloween.)

Lammas, or "Loaf Mass", is the Feast of the First Harvest, the Feast of Bread. This Holy Day honors the women who created agriculture and bred the crops we cultivate, especially the grains, or corn. In the British Isles, celebrants make corn dollies from the last of the newly-harvested wheat. The corn dolly holds the energy of the grain Goddess and, when placed above the door or the mantle, will bring good luck to the household all year.

When we think of corn, we think of succulent cobs of crisp, sweet, buttery yellow or white kernels: immature Zea mays, Indian corn. You know, corn. As in sweet corn, popcorn, blue corn, decorative corn, corn bread and corn chowder. Corn!

But, did you ever wonder why it's corn? "Korn" is an old Greek word for "grain". Wheat and oats, barley and even rice, are korn. This usage is preserved in the song "John Barleycorn must die". When Europeans crossed the Atlantic and were introduced to the beautiful grain the Native Americans grew, they, of course, called it "corn”. And nowadays we think of corn as only that, but corn is Kore (pronounced "core-a"), the Great Mother of us all.

Her name, in its many forms - Ker, Car, Q're, Kher, Kirn, Kern, Ceres, Core, Kore, Kaur, Kauri, Kali - is the oldest of all Goddess names. From it we derive the English words corn, kernel, carnal, core, and cardiac. "Kern" is Ancient Greek for "sacred womb-vase in which grain is reborn".

The Goddess of Grain is the mother of civilization, of cultivation, of endless fertility and fecundity. To the Romans she was Ceres, whose name becomes "cereal". To the Greeks, she was Kore, the daughter, and Demeter (de/dea/goddess, meter/mater/mother) as well. To the peoples of the Americas, she is Corn Mother, she-who-gave-herself-that-the-People-may-live. She is one of the three sister crops: corn, beans and squash. In the British Isles she was celebrated almost to the present day as "Cerealia, the source of all food".

Honoring grain as the staff of our life dates at least as far back as Ancient Greece. Nearly four thousand years ago, the Eleusinian mysteries, which were regarded as ancient mysteries even then, centered on the sacred corn and the story of Demeter and her daughter Kore or Persephone. Initiates, after many days of ceremony, were at last shown the great mystery: an ear of Korn. Korn dies and is reborn, traditionally after being buried for three days. Corn and grain are magic. The one becomes many. That which dies is reborn.

Many Native American stories repeat this theme of death and rebirth, but with a special twist. In some origin of corn stories a woman is brutally murdered, in others she demands to be killed. No matter. Once she is dead, she is cut into pieces and planted. From her dismembered body, corn grows. Again and again, everywhere around the world, the story of grain is the story of humanity. The sacred symbolism of grain speaks loudly to the human psyche. To the Ancients, the light in our lives is the Kore, the core, the soul, the seed, of each being.

Real, whole grains sustain us. Real, whole grains are sacred. Real, whole grains reconnect us with our human lineage. When we eat them, we feel satisfied in a deep and fundamental way. When we eat them, we ground ourselves, we nourish ourselves in multiple way.

But bleached and enriched grains do not sustain life, nor are they inherently sacred. Grains that have had the bran and the germ stripped away do last longer, but have little to offer us physically or spiritually. When we eat them, we feel empty. Thus, many of us have come to equate bad news weight gain with carbohydrates, specifically, grains. Grains are the Goddess who sacrificed for us; they aren't to blame. It's the processing that does us in.

August is a good time to make peace with the Corn Mother. Switch to organic corn chips; some supermarkets carry them. Try out whole wheat pasta; my simple recipe below makes the best lasagna you ever ate; you won't believe it's whole wheat. Explore millet, kasha, quinoa, teff, kamut, spelt, wild rice, brown basmati, and my dietary mainstay: Lundberg organic short-grain brown rice. Cheer Ceres. Throw your own whole grain Carnaval!

Grains are medicine, too. Corn silk is an important remedy to help bladder woes. A handful of rice or barley boiled in several quarts of water is a folk remedy for anyone who lacks appetite or who has digestive woes. We're all familiar with the heart-healthy effects of eating oats. And oatstraw infusion, made from the grass of the oat plant, is considered a longevity tonic in India.

Celebrate the Corn Mother any way you can. Invite Her into your life as food, as medicine, as decoration. And don't be surprised if you feel happier and healthier than ever before. The green blessings of the grains are special blessings indeed.

The Best - and Easiest - Lasagna Ever
serves 6 generously

1 package, 8 ounces, whole wheat lasagna noodles (uncooked)
2 quarts organic tomato sauce (fire-roasted if possible)
¾ pound ricotta
½ pound feta, crumbled
¾ pound mozzarella, grated

Heat tomato sauce to a simmer. Spoon a thin, even layer into your deepest, largest baking pan. Cover with a layer of raw lasagna noodles. Add one-third of each cheese, sprinkling to make an even layer. Repeat two more times, ending with cheese. Cover with waxed paper; then cover with foil. Bake at 300F for 1½-2 hours. Allow lasagna to settle while you spread pesto on whole wheat sourdough bread and pop it into the hot oven for 15 minutes. I usually serve this with cooked greens (kale or mustard greens are excellent choices) and a big wild salad.

PINE KEEPS YOU FINE
© 2007 Susun S. Weed

If you live in any of the temperate regions of the world, whether at sea level or high in the mountains, some pine tree is likely to be growing very near you. If you live in the desert, you may have to get to the mountains before you find a pine. But wherever you live, north or south, east or west, so long as it isn't the tropics, you will find pine trees. And since they are evergreen, you can find them easily right now, in the deep of winter, when deciduous trees are bare of leaves. So the next time you take a walk or go for a drive, be on the look out for pines.

Why? Because pines are useful - for things as diverse as medicine, food, caulking boat seams, winter decorations, and pine-needle basketry - and because pines have many stories to tell. The people of the Great Peaceful Nations (Iroquois Confederacy) still honor the "Great Pine of Peace", where they buried their weapons. I sometime refer to the "Pine of the Great Mistake", for there might not be white people living in North America except for the gift of the Native Peoples, who told the Europeans they needed to eat pine needles during the winter to ward off disease.

That's because pine needles are rich in vitamin C. Hundreds of years ago many people died of lack of vitamin C, not directly, but indirectly, from opportune infections that thrived because their immune system lacked critical vitamins. Pine needles still provide vitamin C to help us stay healthy in the cold season. They can be chewed, brewed into a tea, or, my favorite, prepared as a vinegar.

I preserve all the vitamins found in fresh pine needles by soaking them in apple cider vinegar for six weeks. I fill a wide-mouthed jar with pine needles and pour room-temperature, pasteurized apple cider vinegar over them until they are completely covered. A plastic (or non-metal) lid and a label with the name of the plant and the date completes the preparation. I call this tasty vinegar "home-made balsamic vinegar" and you will be surprised at how much it tastes like the store bought stuff - "Only better," say many, with a smile.

Soft pines, like my favorite medicinal pine, Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) have less harsh "pitch" than hard pines such as Monterey (P. radiata) or Ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa). They make internal medicines that are mild-tasting yet fast-acting. When I visit out west, I use another soft pine - pinon pine (Pinus edulis) - to make a tasty, health-promoting pine needle vinegar.

Don't worry if you don't know a soft pine from a hard pine, or even what kind of pines grow around you. Pines are safe so experiment with them. If you choose a pine with too much pitch, your preparations will taste like turpentine or a strong cleaning product! It will be obvious to you not to use it - or to use it in tiny doses.

Did you ever see "Pine Brother's" cough drops? They're still sold, although they no longer contain the pine that gives them their name. Pine sap, like many resins, is strongly antibacterial. Pine sap medicines slightly irritate the lungs, increase the effectiveness of coughs, kill bacterial infections, halt coughing, and improve breathing.

You may have said nasty things about pine sap if you ever got it on your clothes, for it leaves a hard-to-remove black stain. But tinctures, honeys, and salves of pine sap/pitch are uniquely effective medicines.

Pine resin is a component of propolis, a mixture of tree saps collected by bees.

Tincture of pine sap (or propolis) is easy to make and a useful ally to have on hand to counter winter miseries such as colds, coughs, and bronchitis. For this remedy you will need 198 proof alcohol, sometimes called grain alcohol, or Everclear. This high proof alcohol contains no water, and pine sap "fears" water ("hydrophobic" is the technical term). Vodka, the alcohol I prefer to use to make tinctures, contains quite a bit of water - 80 proof vodka is sixty percent water; 100 proof vodka is fifty percent water - so the pine sap will not dissolve in it.

Collect pine sap from wounds in the trees, or scrape it off pine cones. Barely cover the sap with 198 proof alcohol in a tightly-lidded jar. Label with the name and date. Your remedy will be ready to use in six to eight weeks - in 5-10 drops doses.

Pine sap honey is made by cooking the two ingredients together until they merge, then cooling the goo in individual globs on waxed paper.

Direct applications of pine sap or liberal use of a pine sap salve is a renowned healer of all sorts of wounds. The bark from pine saplings can be used in place of a cast to stabilize broken bones, and as a binding in place of stitches to help grave wounds mend.

Even the pollen of pines is medicinal. Stephen Buhner, herbalist and speaker for the earth, reports that pine pollen is exceedingly high in testosterone. Ingestion of the pollen itself, or the tincture of the pollen in dropperful doses, seems to gradually increase libido in those susceptible to its action.

Find a pine nearby. Inhale that special pine scent. Let you heart and spirit be invigorated and uplifted with the gifts of the pine. Let the green blessings of the Earth nourish you deeply.

MYSTERIOUS MUSHROOMS
© Susun S Weed

As summer nights lengthen into autumn, the forests of the Catskill mountains in upstate New York fill with magical, mystical, medicinal mushrooms. "Toadstool" is a quaint name for the many mushrooms that spring forth between rains, while "fungi" is the more technical term. Fungi are plants, but plants without flowers or roots or chlorophyll (which makes plants green). Strange shapes (some quite sexually suggestive), the ability to grow (and glow) in the dark, and psychedelic colors make mushrooms an obvious addition to any witch’s stew. But you will want some other reasons to make mushrooms a steady part of your diet. Is outwitting cancer a good enough reason?

It's true. All edible fungi - including those ordinary white button mushrooms sold in supermarkets - are capable of preventing and reversing cancerous cellular changes. We aren't exactly sure why. Perhaps it's because fungi search out, concentrate, and share with us the trace minerals we need to build powerful, healthy immune systems. Or perhaps it's because of their wealth of polysaccharides - interesting complex sugars that appear to be all round health-promoters. It could be because mushrooms are excellent sources of protein and B vitamins with few calories and no sodium. Or we could single out the anti-cancer, anti-tumor, and anti-bacterial compounds found in the stalk, caps, gills, and even the underground structures (mycelia) of every edible mushroom.

Be sure to cook your mushrooms though; avoid eating them raw. Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical School found that mice who ate unlimited amounts of raw mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) developed, over the course of their lifetimes, significantly more malignant tumors than a control group.

Everywhere I go in August and September - whether walking barefoot on vibrant green mosses or stepping lightly across the deeply-scented fallen pine and hemlock needles; whether climbing rocky outcrops festooned with ferny whiskers or skirting swamps humming with mosquitoes; whether following the muddy bank of a meandering stream or balancing on old stone walls inhaling the scent of righteous rot - I am on the lookout for my fungi friends.

My woods are especially generous to me with chanterelles, beautiful cornucopia-shaped mushrooms with a delectable taste. I find both the delicious little black ones - jokingly known as "trumpet of death" due to their eerie coloration - and the very tasty and much bigger orange ones. Sometimes we return home naked from our mushrooms walks - if we find more 'shrooms than we have bags for, we have to use our shirts and pants as carriers to help haul dinner home.

The bright orange tops and sulfur yellow undersides of sulphur shelf mushrooms (Polyporus sulphuroides) are easy to spot in the late summer forest. Growing only on recently-dead oaks, these overlapping shelves make a great-tasting immune-enhancing addition to dinner. I have harvested the "chicken of the woods" in oak forests around the world. In the Czech Republic, I saw a particularly large example as we drove a country lane. Stopping, I found a portion of it had been harvested. I took only a share, being careful to leave lots for other mushroom lovers who might come down the lane after me.

You don't have to live in the woods and find your own mushrooms to enjoy their health-giving benefits. You can buy them: fresh or dried for use in cooking and medicine; and tinctured or powdered as well. Look for chanterelles, cepes, enoki, oyster mushrooms, portobellos, maitake, reishii, shiitake, chaga, and many other exotic and medicinal mushrooms in health food stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, and Oriental markets.

Maitake (Grifolia frondosa) is more effective than any other fungi ever tested at inhibiting tumor growth. It is very effective when taken orally, whether by lab rats or humans dealing with cancer. The fruiting body of the maitake resembles the tail feathers of a small brown chicken, hence its popular name: "Hen of the Woods". If you buy maitake in pill form, be sure to get the fruiting body, not the mycelium.

Reishii (Ganoderma lucidum) is one of the most respected immune tonics in the world. Reishii is adaptogenic, revitalizing, and regenerative, especially to the liver. Even occasional use builds powerful immunity and reduces the risk of cancer. In clinical studies, use of reishii increased T-cell and alpha interferon production, shrank and eliminated tumors, and improved the quality of life for terminal patients. Reishii and shiitake are great partners, the effects of one enhancing the effects of the other. Reishii is best taken as a tincture, 20-40 drops, 3 times daily.

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) is highly medicinal and tastes good enough to eat in quantity. I go to an oriental market and buy the big, big, big bag of dried shiitake mushrooms for a fraction of what I would pay for them in a health food store. To use, I just rehydrate them by pouring boiling water over them or by dropping pieces into soups. Those who make shiitake a regular part of their diets increase their production of cancer-fighting alpha interferon, reduce inflammation throughout their bodies, prolong their lives, and improve their ability to produce and utilize vitamin D.

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a rather ugly and intensely hard fungi found on birch trees. Baba Yaga and other Russian herbalists favor it as an immune nourisher, cancer preventive, and an aid to those dealing with melanomas.

Mushrooms are not just for food and medicine; they are renowned for their ability to alter our perceptions of reality. Psychoactive psilocybin mushrooms were used by the famous shaman/healer Maria Sabina in Mexico. The red-capped mushroom with white dots usually drawn next to the witch's house is the mind-altering Amanita muscaria, sometimes called manna, and widely used in Siberian shamanic rites.

Whether you use fungi to make a mushroom soup or as a remedy for someone dealing with cancer, whether you stir them up in a witch's cauldron of spiraling power or sew them into a spirit bag, mushrooms offer magic and mystery, good health and good cheer.

SAGE THE SAVIOR
© 2006 Susun S. Weed

Does the odor of sage evoke warmth, cheer, and holiday feasts for you? Sage has long been used to add savor, magic, and medicine to winter meals. Culinary sage is available at any grocery store, and sage is one of the easiest of all herbs to grow - whether in a pot, on a windowsill, or in the garden. So, grab some sage, inhale deeply, and let me tell you more about this old friend.

Sage is Salvia, which means "savior". As a member of the mint family, it has many of the healing properties of its sisters. Of special note are the high levels of calcium and other bone-building minerals in all mints, including sage, and the exceptionally generous amounts of antioxidant vitamins they offer us.

Everywhere sage grows - from Japan to China, India, Russia, Europe and the Americas - people have valued it highly and used it as a preservative seasoning for fatty foods and a medicine for a variety of ills. The volatile oils in sage are antimicrobial and antibacterial and capable of countering a variety of food-borne poisons, as well as other infections.

A tea of garden sage can help:

• prevent and eliminate head colds
• soothe and heal sore throats
• clear the sinuses
• speed up immune response to the flu
• ease asthma and heal the lungs
• aid digestion, especially of fats
• improve sleep and ease anxiety
• insure regularity
• invigorate the blood
• strengthen the ability to deal with stress
• counter periodontal disease and tighten the gums
• reduce profuse perspiration
• help wean baby by reducing breast milk

The easiest way to use sage as medicine is to make a tea of it. The addition of honey* is traditional and wise, as honey is a powerful antibacterial in its own right and magnifies sage's ability to ward off colds, flu, and breathing problems.

If you have dried sage, a teaspoonful brewed in a cup of boiling water for no more than 2-3 minutes, with an added teaspoonful of honey, ought to produce a pleasant, aromatic tea. If it is bitter, the tea was brewed too long, or the sage was old or too-finely powdered, or you have the wrong sage.

If you have fresh sage, use a handful of the leaves and stalks, brew for about five minutes, and add a spoonful of honey. Fresh sage tea is rarely bitter. Or, you can make a ready-sweetened sage tea by using your own home-made sage honey.

As the cold comes on and frosts threaten, I make my major mint-family harvests of the year, including pruning back the sage. Where I live, the frost won't kill the sage, but it will blacken the leaves and cause them to fall off. Before that happens, I take my scissors and cut the plants back by at least half. I coarsely chop the stems and leaves and put them in a jar. (For best results, I choose a jar that will just contain the amount of herb at hand. If there is unused space in the jar, oxidation will occur, and components of the herb can be damaged or altered.) Then, I slowly pour honey over the chopped herb, poking with a chopstick to eliminate air bubbles, until the jar is nearly full. A SAGE HONEY label completes the preparation. All that is left to do is to store it in a cool, dark place and wait for six weeks. From then on, or sooner if you really need it, the sage honey is ready to use. Just dig in! Put a heaping tablespoonful in a big mug of boiling hot water, stir and drink. Or let it brew for a few minutes, strain and drink.

Be sure to use Salvia sages, the ones with pebbly-fleshed ovate leaves, not Artemisia sages which have white hairs on the backs of the ferny leaves. White sage, frequently sold as a "smudge" herb (that is, an herb whose smoke is used to create a protective field around a space) is a Salvia sage but it is too strong for use as a food or medicine.

I make honeys of other fresh mint family plants, too. (No, dried plants don't make good honeys.) Besides fresh sage honey I often make peppermint honey, lemon balm honey, rosemary honey, thyme honey, oregano honey, marjoram honey, shiso honey, and bergamot honey. They all help me stay healthy throughout the winter, and they all taste ever so good.

Although the tincture and essential oil of sage are available, I find them too concentrated and too dangerous for general use. Households with children do best when there are no essential oils on hand; fatal accidents have occurred.

I do make sage vinegar: by pouring room temperature apple cider vinegar over a jar filled with chopped fresh sage. Sage vinegar is not as medicinal as the tea but, with olive oil and tamari, it makes a delicious and healthy salad dressing. Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily can reduce your risk of adult onset diabetes by half; two tablespoons of sage vinegar daily might just keep you alive forever - as the saying goes: "Why die when the Savior grows in your garden?".

Using herbs as allies to stay healthy and to counter life's ordinary problems is simple and easy, safe and effective. Herbal medicine is people's medicine. Green blessings grow all around you.

*Note: Do not give honey to babies under 12 months old.

Green Blessings

Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081

Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.ashtreepublishing.com
For permission to reprint this article, contact us at: susunweed@herbshealing.com

Susun S. Weed is the author of four highly-acclaimed books on herbs and women's health: Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, Healing Wise, New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way and Breast Cancer? Breast Health! the Wise Woman Way. Ms. Weed lectures world-wide on women's health and herbal medicine. From her home in New York State's Catskill Mountains, she directs the activities of the Wise Woman Center, acts as editor-in-chief of Ash Tree Publishing, personally oversees the work of 400 correspondence students, and trains herbal and shamanic apprentices. Susun has lived the simple life for nearly 40 years as an herbalist, goatkeeper, homesteader, and feminist. She has been called "a true radical - deeply rooted," "a modern pioneer," and "one of the founding mothers of herbal medicine in the United States”.

Susun Weed’s books include:

http://www.ashtreepublishing.com/bookshop/

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year

Author: Susun S. Weed. Simple, safe remedies for pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and newborns. Includes herbs for fertility and birth control. Foreword by Jeannine Parvati Baker. 196 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $9.95 Order at: www.ashtreepublishing.com

Healing Wise

Author: Susun S. Weed. Superb herbal in the feminine-intuitive mode. Complete instructions for using common plants for food, beauty, medicine, and longevity. Introduction by Jean Houston. 312 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $12.95 Order at: www.ashtreepublishing.com

NEW Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way

Author: Susun S. Weed. The best book on menopause is now better. Completely revised with 100 new pages. All the remedies women know and trust plus hundreds of new ones. New sections on thyroid health, fibromyalgia, hairy problems, male menopause, and herbs for women taking hormones. Recommended by Susan Love MD and Christiane Northrup MD. Foreword by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. 304 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $12.95. Order at: www.ashtreepublishing.com
For more info on menopause, visit: www.menopause-metamorphosis.com

Breast Cancer? Breast Health!

Author: Susun S. Weed. Foods, exercises, and attitudes to keep your breasts healthy. Supportive complimentary medicines to ease side-effects of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or tamoxifen. Foreword by Christiane Northrup, M.D. 380 pages, index, illustrations. Retails for $14.95 Order at: www.ashtreepublishing.com