Indispensable herbs

[Lynnaea]

What herbs do you always keep in your house? I thought this would be an imformative and interesting discussion . Here is my list:

BLACK COHOSH-- recommended for ladies over 50

CATNIP -- for Bast, one of our patrons since we are cat people. Also makes a mild sedative tea that is safe for children.

CHAMOMILE -- sedative qualities, safe for children, also can be used as a fungicide on seedlings.

CINNAMON -- sprinkle ground cinnamon on your stove burner to make instant room freshener,

CLOVES -- ground cloves on a toothache stops the pain until you can get to a dentist, smells nice in incense.

COMFREY-- use the dried ground roots to make a emollient poultice to heal cuts and scrapes

GINGER-- for cooking, use tea for nausea and indigestion

LAVENDAR FLOWERS -- wonderful in cooking, incense, sachets

MUGWORT -- make into dream pillows, use to cleanse your crystals and scrying mirrors, and promotes psychic abilities

PEPPERMINT -- make tea for upset tummies

RED RASBERRY LEAVES-- for excessive bleeding during our moontime

ROSE BUDS / PETALS -- save the roses your hubby gives you and dry for love magic

ROSEMARY -- all-purpose, use in cooking, any spell, incense, sachets

SAGE -- cleansing, healing, mouth wash, cooking, smudging for sacred space (actually I use White Sage for smudging but the cooking sage has been substituted by some)

VALERIAN-- roots used as a strong sedative, sleep aid, and pain killer

YARROW -- stops bleeding, sprinkle the ground leaves on the wound

[Niamh]

Greetings!
I keep many of the herbs that Lynnaea keesps, among others:
Basil
Calendula
Chamomile
Cinnamon
Cloves,
Comfrey
Ginger
Lavender
Licorice
Peppermint
rose buds and petals
Rosemary

I also keep a good stock of raw sunflower seeds and almonds as well as raw coarse oatmeal. I make a lot of my own (and husband's) skin care products. I have extremely sensetive skin, and he has excema. Not only are you getting the healing properities of the herbs and nuts, but your own healing energy!

[Lynnaea]

Niamh, I hear Calandula is good for skin ointments, I don't happen to have any right now. I'm going to try growing it this year, I found calandula seeds at Wal-Mart.

I think it is great to make your own skin preps, we need to get back to being self sufficient, besides who knows what is in the stuff you buy.

Don't tell me the rest of you don't keep any herbs around the house. Come on, what are the herbs you have to have in the pantry?

[Niamh]

Yes, Calendula is great. Right now I don't grow any. I've been moving around a lot, and I'm just now settling into a place I plan to stay in for awile. Anyhow, I get mine (organic, of course!) at a natural market.
I've made a wonderful salve with it, but am trying to figure out a way to put in into stick format; easier to apply that way the stuff is so thick and solid.

Anyhow, who else wants to share! :)

[Lynnaea]

Do you add beeswax to the salve? I havent tried it yet, but I read it is supposed to make the salve harder, the more you add the harder of course.

[Lynnaea]

oops, you meant it is already hard and you want to put it in the shape of a stick. Ok, duh, I didnt read it right.
Maybe you can get some of those tupperware popsicle molds. I used to use them when my kids were little to make popsicles. I would bet they still make them.

[Yvonne Belisle]

My son has very bad excema that covers his legs and buttocks. When it gets bad it goes up to his neck. The Doctor keeps giving us creams but they don't always work. Davon's leggs always have open soars on them from his scratching. What can we use? I'm not good with the herbs yet. I am a newbe in that area. Thank-you.

[eaglewolf]

This is a very touchy area... I suggest visiting this link :

http://www.findarticles.com/m0UMR/12_20/58239106/p1/article.jhtml

... if it works. If not I will copy what I can and paste it here.

~ew

[Niamh]

Thanks for the tupperware suggestion! I haden't thought of that, and I like it. I use cocoa butter in a tub, but I just melt that down... but silly me! :D I put my salve in a tin, so it's harder to melt (can't just pop it in the micro, you know!)
As for eczema, does it flare up because of any foods? My husband's gets worse from wheat. Read: NO BEER! It's possible that something he eats could exacerbate it a bit.

[Lynnaea]

Originally posted by Yvonne Thomas
snip... Davon's leggs always have open soars on them from his scratching. What can we use? I'm not good with the herbs yet. I am a newbe in that area. Thank-you.

Ground comfrey root made into a paste with water heals open sores very quickly because it stimulates the skin cells to grow. It is also very soothing, but don't ever use it on a deep puncture wound, the skin will heal before the bottom of the wound heals and may trap infection inside. Also don't use it if you suspect skin cancer, for obvious reasons.

I have healed old skin ulcers, a year old, on my elderly mother-in-law's back. Nothing else would help, but they were healed in a few days with comfrey.

Comfrey makes a good facial too.

[Amethyst Rose]

Most of the herbs I have are your typical kitchen cooking herbs, because I don't use them very often, but I figured I might as well give out my list...

Star Anise
Comfrey root
Mustard Seed
Kelp
Camomile
Mugwort
Rosemary
Cinnamon
Thyme
Nutmeg
Oregano
Cloves
Parsley
Sage
Cayenne

See :) Not very extensive.

[Amethyst Rose]

I also have rosebuds/petals, and tulip petals :)

[Lynnaea]

Amethyst, your list is long enough. We don't have to have shelves and shelves, they would get old from not using them fast enough anyway. All the herbs on your list can be used for magic and healing, even the ones we consider "cooking" herbs. I think it is best to develop a small inventory of herbs you are familiar with, most have more than one use anyway.

[Amethyst Rose]

Heh, yeah, I suppose you're right :)

I guess I've always imagined myself, with my own little witchy room.... with shelves full of dusty glass bottles, filled with rare herbs....
Hehe.... some day when I'm an old crone, I have decided that people will be able to call me a witch, just from what my house looks like! :)

[Wildwood]

Hi

Thought I'd add my bit.

Being at Uni. I don't really have the capacity to grow a lot of
herbs, so mine are mainly dry. I tend to use essential oils
for health stuff since they're easier to use and transport
about (I have to move all my stuff six times a year - twice
a term).

Cooking purposes though I use:

Margoram - all the time, especially with mushrooms, it makes
them taste so incredibly sweet.

Cardomom - Sometime I cook porridge in a saucepan with
soya milk and a couple of cardomom pods. Mmmm!

Black Peppercorns - they add lots of flavour to my mainly
pasta and tuna based diet.

Cinnamon - a little bit sprinkled on melon.

See what you think

Wildwood

[belladonna23]

Let's see. Well, I have quite a bit of lavender, oregano, basil, rosemary, peppermint, chamomile, valerian, cinnamon, lemon grass, and orange blossoms my mom sends me from her tree. I just don't have the space to have everything I would like. I would just love to get my hands on some eucalyptus leaves, but have been unable to find them. I also use essential oils quite a bit for health and skin care, like Wildwood, because they are quite a bit easier to use, but I use my own herbs for cooking and most medicinal uses.

[BrightStar]

Hi all!
Just thought I'd list a few of my herbs:
The ones that I'm growing
Basil
Parsley
Rosemary
Garlic
Echinacea
fern
These grow semi- wild in my yard
wild onion
garlic
roses
althea
honeysuckle
dandelions
mint
crepe myrtle
mimosa
quince
wild mustard
Mulberry tree
Poplar trees(silver and cottonwood)
ivy(ground and climbing)
apricot tree
pear tree
Then each year I grow
Tomatoes
cilantro
onions
peppers
(The 4 above are for my salsa)
In my cabibet
cumen
oregano
giner
coriander
sage
cinnamon
cayenne
Are all these herbs?I'm unsure.But I've found mentions of them all with magical uses in one list or another.(Except maybe the tomato)I'm sure I've left a few out.
Peace and love
Rain BrightStar

[BrightStar]

Oops!
I forgot Vervain,marigold,chamomille,and lavender.
BrightStar

[Yvonne Belisle]

Bounce here's a good list of what to plant so you have them.