From 2/12, as part of "Love of the Paranormal" Lecture by Briar Forestheart

What is herbal medicine? Also called botanical medicine, Herbalism has a long tradition of use outside of conventional medicine. it is slowly becoming more and more mainsteam as science provides quality research showing the affectiveness of using a plants seeds, berries, foots, leaves, bark, and flowers for medicinal purposes.

Historically, plants have been used for medicinal purposes long before actual recorded history.Ancient chinese papyrus writings describe medical uses for plants going back as far as early 3000 BC. Many indegenous cultures of the modern age still use herbs in their healing rituals. Other culturual uses have evolved and developed into full on medical systems, sych as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Recently, the world heath orginization did a study on what percentage of people worldwide relied upon herbal medicine for some part of their primary health care. The results were staggering- 80% of all people worldwide that responded reported useing herbalism in their health care regimes.

The modern use of herbs has greatly increased over the past thirty years, with the majority of growth being from Herbal Supplements. Herbal supplements are classified as dietary supplements by the U.S. Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. That means herbal supplements -unlike prescription drugs- can be sold without being tested to prove they are safe and effective. However, herbal supplements must be made according to good manufacturing practices. Special care must be taken to ensure that the herbs you are taking do not conflict with any medication or perscriptions that you are currently on. Before starting an herbal regime, please talk with your general healthcare provider.

Herbs can be used not just to cure illness, but can also be used to help with a wide varity of problems. For example, the Bach Flower System specifically targets mental and emotional difficulties, rather than health ailments. Today, we will be focusing in on herbs that can be used for love. Not just love for another, but also love of yourself.

To begin with, you first must identify what your end goal is. do you suffer from a lack of self confidence, or more so suffer from a lack of physical companionship? Do the issues stem from a specific situation, or has the issue developed over time? Once you can identify these things, you can begin to identify herbs that will help you address those issues.

We will first discuss herbs that can be used to help develop love of one's self. If you are suffering from a lack of self love, you may feel unconfident, and unsure of your decisions. you may feel depressed, and have a lack of energy. You may seclude yourself away from others, and limit your contact with the outside world. If you identify with feelings on this spectrum, you would greatly benefit from some of the herbs we will be discussing in this section.

To begin with, Gardenia is a very common flower that is known for attracting love into your life in all forms, and is said to be very calming to the heart. This is a great remedy to start with, as it can often be freshly obtained from your local organic nursery or florist. This is also a very easy to use remedy- simply inhale the fragerence throughout the day, and focus on it reaching into your heart. imagine your heart opening up like a flower, blossoming in the warmth of the sun.

Another common herb is Oregano. Many of you may already have this in your kitchen cabinet! Oregano signifies joy and happiness; to use, simply include this spicy scented herb in any tea mix and focus on bringing that joy and happiness into your soul. You can also create a ritualistic herbal hair rinse, to wash away negitive feelings for yourself, and refresh your heart with feelings of joy.

To create an Oregano Hair rinse, simply steep oregano in a 1/2 cup of water until it is cool. Strain the oregano out of the infusion. Add the herbal infusion to 1/2 cup of white vinegar and one quart of purified water.

To use the mixture, simply pour the hair rinse over your hair and scalp, massaging it in. while you do this, imagine all of your negitive emotions washing off of you, leaving you feeling purified. now, as the massage the hair rinse in, see yourself becoming filled with joy and happiness, and feelings of positivity. when you are finished, towel dry your hair.

I also highly reccomend the use of Rose Hips for self love. They are very high in vitamin C, and can help to raise ones self esteem. Rose hips are best used as an herbal tea.

To brew Rosehips tea, boil dried or crushed rose hips for about 10 minutes, using 2 tablespoons of berries per pint of water. You can add in a 1/2 teaspoon of mint to lessen the bitter flavor, or add in a 1/2 teaspoon of hibiscus flowers to sweeten the tea. Once it is finished brewing, strain out the herbs. Drink 1-2x a day, each time focusing on taking in positivity, and seeing yourself in a better light.

now, we will move onto herbs that can be used for love of another. This can be a lot of fun, and we will cover herbs that will enhance an exsisting love life, as well as bring fruition to a new blossoming relationship.

To begin with, Rose buds and petals are the first herb most people think of when it comes to herbs and love. The Rose is the flower of seduction. however, most do not realize that rose also symbolizes mysyical love, and will help to attract soulmates to you. Rose is also very healing to the heart, and can help you to more easily move from one relationship that has ended onto a new one. Rose petals are also commonly used in love spells. You can use fresh flowers and inhale the scent, or use dried ones within a love spell. You can also use rose oil on your skin to help keep the power of the rose with you at all times.

Another flower that many of you may be familiar with is Lavender. it is best known for its calming properties- but it is also an herb of romance. I love using lavender within an exsisting relationship, as it symbolizes devotion and undying love. You can use lavender to help strengthen the bond between you and your lover. One of the best ways to use dried lavender is in the bath. simply sprinkle dried lavender on top of a warm bath, and climb in. this works especially well if the other person is also bathing with you. You can ritualize this process, and read out letters you have written to eachother, or discuss plans for the future. You can also create a lavender sachet and place it in the drier with your bed sheets, to imbue them with the calming scent.

Here's one for the adults in the room- Horny Goat Weed! Just as the name implies, this is a very popular aphrodisiac, and can often be found within herbal supplements to boost libido. Wonderful both both men and women, I highly reccomend that anyone in a relationship considers using this wonderful herb at some point. You can take 1/2-2 grams of the pure powder up to three times a day to greatly enhance your sex drive. I encourage only using this on days in which you are free to explore with your partner, as your desire to will be much stronger than normal.

Some love spells encourage the use of Salt Petre, to keep your mate from straying. I would like to caution against the use of salt petre in love spells, as it would be much more affective against your enemies. Salt petre, when consumed, can prevent men from being able to release during intercourse. This is historically used in prisons with problematic prisoners. At the end of the day, if you love the person you are trying to spell, you do not want to imbue such an affect upon them.

Going back to exsisting relationships, cinnamon can be used to spice up a relationship that seems to have come to a stand still. if you are wanting a new and exciting change to your relationship, I suggest using cinnamon in tea, and also a spice while cooking. You can add cinnamon to tea by adding one whole cinnamon stick to any brewed tea to enhance the flavor.

Now for the fun part- Here's how to create a wonderful herbal love mixture that can be used in spells, ritual baths, etc. You'll want to use Rose petals and buds, Dried lavendar flowers, and cinnamon. Additional optional ingredients can include Rosemary (for a pure love), Horny Goat weed (for exciting and passionate love), or patchouly ( to strenghten bonds of love). Add even parts rose, lavender, and cinnamon (and 1/2 as much of any optional ingredients) to a mortal and pestle, and crush and blend the herbs together. While you are doing this, imagine yourself and the one you wish to affect blending and twisting together to become one. Once finished, you can use the herb mixture in any love spell of your choosing, add it to a ritual bath, or place in a satchet under your pillow.

Thank-you for sharing this information!!!!

I bookmark it for future reference!!!!!

starfire :dragons::

Thank you for posting this. I appreciate it. i will bookmark as well:)