January 8, 2023

Herbal medicinals are probably as old as humanity, but they offer many benefits to modern life. They can help us improve our health, as well as help us be less dependent on the increasingly inaccessible medical system. Herbs also could be a way to reconnect with the traditional lifeways that may be our best path to recovery of our humanity and a sane, sustainable existence on this imperiled planet. Creating herbal medicine for yourself and your loved ones is also a very fun and satisfying experience!

In this series of posts, I will share some of my experiences with discovering herbs, figuring out what herbs are good for me, and learning to concoct some of the medicines for myself. I’ll also try to provide good advice on reliable sources for information about herbs and the herbs themselves. If all goes well, I will also provide recipes and instructions on the fairly simple process of making some of the herbal medicines that I use, as well as sources of other instruction.

Most of these things are fairly simple and don’t require much beyond normal kitchen equipment. They do require a lot of care and attention to detail. They also require that you be sure you’re getting medicines and information from good sources, because there seems to be a lot of questionable stuff out there these days, probably because of a growing interest in the subject. My daughter is a trained herbalist and a nurse, so I rely primarily on sources from her that are proven safe and effective.

(I am posting this series on my Instagram account — @hoyamajon. It’s being a challenge, as IG is not so easy beyond just posting a photo or video with comments. Also am reposting interesting herbal things there from others.)