|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Now don’t be scared off by that word “witch.” Its true definition is “Wise One.” She was the natural healer and midwife for many centuries, using herbs and skills passed down through many generations to help peasant populations. She birthed the babies, assisted the dying, and helped heal the sick. The witches were often the only practitioners of medicine for entire villages. Many of their remedies are still used today.
Hundreds of years ago, European ruling classes began training men at the university level to become physicians. This brought on the medical profession as we know it today, which is based on science. This fascinating history is well-researched and reported in a book called Medicine Women: A Pictorial History of Women Healers by Elisabeth Brooke.
Women had been deeply involved in the healing arts for centuries. In the midst of the new practice of medicine based on science, they continued their own healing practices, using extensive knowledge of plants, herbs, and roots. To their ultimate detriment, they also relied heavily on what could be called intuition, a 6th sense. For the new ruling class, this was all too mysterious. It seemed to go against the interpretation of God’s law.
Along with the cultural change that the new European ruling classes inspired came the notion that healers were not following a proper code of conduct. Indeed, some of their practices were so strange (rituals, nighttime celebrations, and so forth) they could very well be assisted by the devil himself. Healings that occurred in ways that didn’t make sense were deemed too magical, unnatural, and thus against God.
During this time, woman-as-healer was turned into the wicked witch she is caricatured as today, complete with evil intentions, scary spells, a big crook nose, dark draped clothing, a broomstick, and a loud cackle. In a Google search to define the word witch, a variety of definitions come up, including a woman who practices black magic, an ugly, ill-tempered old woman, a woman having a compact with the devil, even “a woman who is not submissive to her husband.”
Because the mysteries and misunderstandings of old-fashioned herbal healing became mixed up in this confusion, women healers (and a large number of male healers, too) were eliminated. They were silenced through fear or violently killed. But the practice lived on. Many of its rituals and celebrations can be found incorporated into our modern holidays. Plants that sprout from the earth have healing qualities, and this simple fact isn’t easy to ignore.
In honor of the millions of people today who use the earth’s bounty to heal, and in honor of both male and female healers, which, by the way, include our wonderful university-trained physicians, I offer you this “Witch’s Brew to Heal the Flu.” It’s the appropriate time of year for it!
I think you’ll find it to be a welcome “magical potion,” helping you to feel fine throughout this flu season. It is very good when you feel you might be coming down with something or when you are already in the midst of a cold or flu. To make your “brew,” use a stainless steel, ceramic, or glass pot.
Ingredients:
3 quarts water
8-10 pieces of fresh ginger (cut into ½” pieces)
½ tsp cayenne
The juice of two lemons
2 TBS crushed garlic (don’t be afraid of garlic – better to smell like it than to spread germs to others!)
Simmer all ingredients for 8-10 minutes. Drink as warm as possible. This can be left on the back burner of your stove for a few days to be reheated as you go along. Drink 3-4 cups a day, as needed.
As always, any advice on healing is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor should you delay medical advice or treatment based on any information I might offer.
Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer, teacher, and intuitive counselor. You are welcome to visit her blog, contact her, and sign up for her e-newsletter at: Dr.Christina Grant
Subscribe to our FREE Ezine and receive current Health News, be eligible for discounted products/services and coupons related to your Health. We publish 24/7.
HealthNewsDigest.com
For advertising/promotion, email: [email protected] Or call toll free: 877- 634-9180