#herb facts

[tarot-tea-cafe]

Recommended Herbs

A part two to this post, focusing on the herbs in Wild's book. There are 25 entries for herbs alone so i'll be making several posts going over 5 at a time. The entries arent exactly short but theyre not too long either.

While these herbs mentioned in this book are Recommended, they arent required or mandatory to have. most are fairly easy to get at stores and its perfectly fine to have preferences you'd rather have instead.

the pages in this post these entries are from are pages 18-24, every word under the cut is taken directly from the chapter (though there may be slight editings from me if i notice something like a typo).

Herbs And Spices

Here is your starter guide to the common herbs and spices that all witches should have in their cabinet, or should at least be aware of. This is not a definitive list but more of an introduction to help you begin learning about and using your herbs and spices to the best of your abilities. Remember, these are you tools; take good care of them.

Blackberry Leaf

Blackberries, the fruit, have a long history in witchcraft, mostly associated with European pagans. According to Celtic lore, blackberries were the fruit of the fae (fairies) and was unlucky to eat. However, many used blackberries to cure illnesses and in rituals. Just as blackberries were magical, their leaves also contain their own magical and healing properties as well.

What It Looks Like: Found on top of a blackberry, these leaves are typically light green in colour, with each leaf consisting of three or five oval leaflets.

Flavour Profile: Fruity.

Magical Properties: Healing, Money, Protection.

Health Properties: Eases sore throats, heals mouth sores and ulcers, rich in antioxidants.

Medical Warnings: Do not consume if you have any type of liver disease.

Calendula

Calendula, also known as pot marigold, is a bright, cheerful little flower with a mild taste, but it packs a magical punch. Known as the sun herb, calendula is one of the oldest known herbs in herbalism. It was used throughout ancient Greece, Egypt, India, and Arabia for various purposes, from making the skin look renewed to serving as an antidote to poisoning. During the American Civil War, doctors carried dried calendula petals in their pockets to stop the bleeding of war wounds. On the magical side of things, calendula was used in love potions, its petals were scattered under beds for protection, and upset lovers would wear a garland of the plant to show their jealousy.

What It looks Like: Pot marigolds are tall plants with bright orange petals that are straight and long, similar to the daisies. The flower is used in teas, often dried first.

Flavour Profile: Slightly bitter but earthy and floral.

Magical Properties: Protection (especially in iligal matters), spiritual powers, wealth, healing, stability, dreamwork, love, marriage.

Health Properties: Nourishes skin, hair and nails; rich in antioxidants, relieves sore throats; regulates the menstrual cycle, relieves sore muscles; anti-inflammatory.

Medical Warnings: Do not use if you have an allergy to other plants in the Asteraceae family (such as chamomile), are pregnant, or are on blood-pressure medication.

Chamomile

One of the most popular ingredients to add to tea, chamomile has been used in nighttime teas for ages as it's the perfect relaxer. Chamomile tea is made from the flowers of dried chamomile and has been used as medicine for centuries.

What It Looks Like: With its white petals and cone-shaped yellow center, chamomile looks similar to a daisy but is much smaller.

Flavour Profile: Sweet, floral.

Magical Properties: Love, banishment, purification, calming, prosperity, healing, peace.

Health Properties: Reduces anxiety, reduces menstrual pain, lowers blood sugar, reduces inflammation, prevents osteoporosis, treats cold symptoms.

Medical Warnings: Avoid using chamomile if you have severe ragweed allergies or are allergic to chamomile or chamomile products. Keep away from young children.

Cornflower

The patron herb of herbalists, cornflower is a beautiful flower to add to any tea for both its potent magical abilities and aesthetic appeal of it vibrant blue petals, worthy of any instagram picture. Another name for cornflower is bachelor's button because young men used to wear the flower on their lapel to let people know they were single and ready to go courting.

What It Looks Like: You can easily identify cornflower by the bright blue colour of its papery petals. The flower heads are surrounded by bracts, giving them their full shape. They also attract butterflies.

Flavour Profile: Slightly spicy with a touch of sweetness.

Magical Properties: Protection, love, fertility, sex, psychic abilities, abundance, self-knowledge, spirituality, growth, creativity.

Health Properties: Lowers fevers, decreases bloating, relieves chest congestion, helps with weak eyes.

Medical Warnings: Avoid if you are pregnant, are breastfeeding or have Allergies to ragweed or daisies.

Dandelion

Long the villain to many lawn care fanatics, dandelions have gotten a bad rep by being labeled a "weed". However, every part of this lovely yellow flower has been used in herbalism for centuries, with the root being especially prized for its healing and magical properties. So put away your weed killer and start saving your dandelions.

What It Looks Like: While the dandelion has a bright yellow head, its root it found deep in the earth and is shaped like a long, white carrot. The root can be cut up, dried, or ground into a powder. The leaves can also be dried and used in teas.

Flavour Profile: Toasty and nutty

Magical Properties: Divination, wish-granting good luck, psychic powers, dream magic, spirit work, cleansing, air magic.

Health Properties: Can be used as a diuretic, reduces inflammation, reduces cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, reduces constipation, boosts the immune system.

Medical Warnings: Do not take if you have a weed allergy, are pregnant or nursing, or are taking antidepressants, diuretics, estrogen-based contraceptives or antibiotics.

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thank you for reading! i hope you have fun with your herbs <3

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have a good day/night and remember to drink water!

[meirimerens]

pathologic fest day 19

"In the Darkness"

where nobody dwells but the earth herself

[3oclockoccultis]

Collective Reading for Leo Season 2022

Sometimes you don’t realize a situation bothered you, until you take a moment to process it

I hope everyone had a wonderful Cancer Season. I know for myself, that it was eye-opening and a time for me to reanalyze my thinking process. Sometimes you don’t realize a situation bothered you, until you take a moment to process it. I learned to make room to address whatever was bothering me at the moment; no matter when the situation happened. That’s the beauty of Cancer Season; checking in on…

[ask-but-beware-the-consequences]

You might say Nathan is the prettier friend and "I have never seen two pretty best friends"

But Nathan's pov is this. He tossed a green cloth on him.

Without text and cut and mtl reference:

[judilyart]

I drew a couple simple pieces for patreon tiers! spring bloom and autumn harvest 🍑🍂

I wanted something inspired by still life for these little icons, like you're walking into the kitchen at different times and viewing that subtle change on the table ���️ I think it's cute

[nulfaga]

all the paintings of suspects for the dance of death in act iii...

[notacluedo]

Teenage war criminal #2 Pyrrhus

[saturncoyote]

is there a story behind sage being called the brush burner?

Oh there is ! Well, let's just say he has a tendency to.. burn the evidence

[vamp-a-day]

day 28

Just 2 drinks As a social courtesy. We can raise a glass to our past fraternity

[bonefall]

Question: what’s your source on the phytoestrogens? Bc the only times I’ve ever heard that claim, they all source back to this one study on sheep in like the 40s, which… well it’s not very well supported

(Although maybe you don’t care about that, which would be fair. These are fictional cats after all not clinical studies)

You're probably coming from Hbomberguy when he was specifically addressing lunkhead chuds, who pass around the claim that phytoestrogens lower human fertility and sex drive. The "soyboy" claim.

Human studies on the effects of phytoestrogens are pretty lacking overall, but what does exist doesn't back up that claim-- because humans don't graze on red clover in west australia like a sheep. What that means is that it doesn't impact human fertility the way a terrified conservative brain stem thinks it does.

(ESPECIALLY not in a plate of soybeans, which has significantly lower levels of phytoestrogen than red clover.)

But what it DOES do is bind to the estrogen receptors in your body (and acts as a really good antioxidant but that's neither here nor there) which can mean it can act AS estrogen... or as an antagonist.

If you want to know more (especially if you have a background in chemistry, this source talks a lot about the structural similarities between estrogen and phytoestrogen and the mechanism of action) then go dive into PHYTOESTROGENS IN FUNCTIONAL FOOD by Fatih Yildiz, which collects together many of the studies that we do have on the matter and omits controversial ones.

(Plus it's an easy read for such a science-heavy publication imo)

Though I have to stress that my HRT guide is, y'know, fake cats! Nothing in nature replaces modern medicine***, but I wanted to make a good resource for WC fans with trans cats who wanted a little bit of scientific accuracy, wanted to cut herbs that cast Liver Failure 1000 on felines, and could reasonably be found in a temperate environment

***= Except medicinal maggots. Medicinal maggots are literally magical. Nothing debrides necrotic tissue like green bottlefly larvae and as far as I'm concerned they're the closest thing to divinity we have on this earth. And medicinal leeches I love you leeches im so sorry that anyone has ever called you a pest you're cherubic angels and she doesnt deserve this </3

[katiajewelbox]

Meet the original source of the flavouring know from toothpaste, mouthwash, and chewing gum - the spearmint plant (Mentha spicata). This plant thrives in shady spots in the garden during the summer. The distinctive taste and scent comes from the naturally occurring chemical R-(-)-carvone. The taste of genuine spearmint is far richer and more complex than its artificially flavoured version, and spearmint plants have been bred to have many different shades of flavour such as “chocolate mint” and “pineapple mint”. It’s an excellent tea herb and it combines well with many other fresh herbs from the garden. There is medical research supporting spearmint’s herbal medicine uses for digestive system issues and antimicrobial properties.

[meirimerens]

thinking about how mishandled the herb brides are because like. The Text tells us they're not sexual beings (P1 mentions them being virgins, engaged to the Earth, and not to be touched even by their husbands, almost, for a lack of a better word and to conjure an image more than anything, priestess-types) and that their dances are nonsexual and sacred (all all true and correct) WHILE. giving them detailed / 3D modeled nipples. topless. clothes very conveniently torn [in ways that would be unrealistic for actual dancing like in the fucking moshpit]. all pretty thin hairless white-passing blemishless 20-something women. being already sexualized as white-passing asian women, but if they looked more like other NPC models/members of the Kin like the Kayura models (which to me would make more sense because they are never mentioned to be mixed in the way Artemy, an indigenous man who's blonde blue eyes due to being mixed, is [while still very much being indigenous and it being a central part of his story]), it would be even more obvious and would steer even more into Very Blatant fetishization of asian women. and then one asks, are they white-passing because they're sexualized? are they sexualized because they're white-passing? was it an admission of guilt to not make them look like Kayura model, because it would be too obvious then? or is it an admission of lust for women more white-passing? is it about beauty in the eye of the beholder?

then there's bewildering and dehumanizing lore of members of the Kin being non-humans, through the existence of the Worms (literally half-soil), them being a (more or less literal) hivemind, and that being "less human"/closer to the earth (nice_dichotomy_what_lies_outside_of_it png but also... the game touches on that...) immunizes them to the Earth's disease... and yet the Brides look like women... pretty thin hairless white-passing blemishless 20-something women who someone found wise to give 3d modeled nipples to, still good for the ritual cutting... do you hear how i'm going mad yet...

edit to add because while i was so mad and it WAS in my mind i just didn't have the strength to add it when i first wrote:

and they're bought and traded between the odonghs they pair with (again, closer to cattle or things) ... ladies there's so much. there's too much.

[high-guardian-herbs]

So sometimes when I don’t feel like drawing an actual drawing, or feel art blocked, I usually make a doodle/sketch page, where I draw whatever that comes to hand with a blank mind, or just try different coloring techniques and styles

Anyway this page that’s I’ve made for HGS have been filled, and it was fun drawing in it and coloring these characters, usually my doodle pages are more doodle like, but I felt like I should post something so here to go

All of these are characters in the show with slight differences in design and some headcanons of mine sprinkled in and I think I did nice on some of these doodle

[theprayingteacher]

#Strength

[risingsunresistance]

forming an army

[trippygalaxy]

Okay but to me, Hyrule totally has a strange fascination with flowers and herbs. It’s not just about the appearances (even though he greatly enjoys how pretty they are), he loves to learn the meanings and possible magical properties they might have! From this fascination, he began to gather and press these plants into a leather bound book. Every page has multiple foot notes such as, where the flower/herb can be found (including who’s Hyrule), if locals have other names for it, the meaning or history behind it and what magical attributes it might have (if any).

And when this adventure comes to an end, he’ll have a keep sake from every place he visited. A keep sake of flowers and memories.