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Cailleachs Herbarium
Exploring Scottish Folk Practices and Traditions
Kin based medicine
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Hangovers and Hogmanay Regrets – Herbal Hangover cures
The fear creeping up on you when your still in bed... the taste of a small animal that has crawled into your mouth used it as a toilet and the subsequently died there without any last rites or a word from their relatives. Open one eye, light cracks from between the curtains instantly hurt... headache pounding, stomach churning and perhaps even a little room spin to go with it all? Any feelings of regret are creeping over your imagination, did I really do that? did I really drink that much? did I really tell them THAT story ?… then the hint of whiskey comes back to mind and the queasy feeling gets worse … Yeah is definitely a Hogmanay Hangover … best close your eyes and pretend it never happened …
ByScott
The Keg of Butter, or don’t trust anyone at Christmas.
It’s the time of year when we are around family and we celebrate the holidays and the winter moves in. As the winter comes fast and hard we huddle with our nearest and dearest and folk we might not have seen for…
Herbal dry cough tea and cough drop recipe
Cough cough sputter its cough season in our house. Both myself and my better half have caught a wee cough and so it was time to bring out the good old cough cures! In Celtic times it was thought that…
Rowan Berry “Wine” Recipe, or Diodgriafel.
Ah the majestic and humble Rowan Tree. I have to say this is one of my favourite trees, its flowers in May, and the way its leaves turn fantastic colours of red in autumn. Rowan is best known for its…
Valerian Hot Chocolate
With the Blood Harvest Moon tonight it got me thinking about autumn and Valerian hot chocolate. The leaves start to turn their beautiful shades of red and golden yellows and the mornings start to become crisp, my head and heart…
The Clever Apprentice (or the downfall of a pretentious man)
On my travels through both life, herbalism and academia I have the pleasure of meeting a lot of people, on the whole everyone is delightful, down to earth, filled with wit and mirth, splashes of brilliance and amazing to be around, but there is on occasion, a time when you meet someone who makes such haughty claims to things mundane, that i just can't help to ...
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones – Herbal Bone balm ( for care of bone ornaments)
Our bones that we have on display need as much care as the bones in your body but in a different way. For this is I have created what I’m terming a Bone Balm, and this blog looks at how it is made, the ingredients that are part of it and how to apply the balm for best care.
Spin the wheel and seal your fate – Spinning and weaving in folk magic practice
Island Spinning Song Hullamackadoo, hooravahee Hoorovahinda, hoorovahinda, Hullamackadoo, hooravahee, O dicko-o-deck-o-dandy When will someone come to me? Will he come by land or sea Will he my own lover be? O, tell me truly, wheel. Wheel o’ fate what is’t…
The Beltuinn Bannock, Bonnach Bealltainn.
Traditionally a Bealltainn/Beltane/Beltuinn bannock (a ‘bannock’ is a whole oatcake, whilst a ‘farl’ is a quarter) is made and eaten on Beltane morning, to ensure the health of your crops and your herds. This involved a simple ritual of sorts where the bannock is separated into nine ‘knobs’, each one dedicated to something they felt preserved their livestock or perhaps the agent of their destruction (usually a wild animal). Facing a fire...