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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Sept 26, 2005 21:54:04 GMT -6
Well hello there.....it's good to see you around again! What kind of plans do you have for Yule? Never too early to think about all that I say!
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Sept 28, 2005 20:34:08 GMT -6
Indeed.
I do intend to throw my usual Solstice Open House, great organic vegetarian food etc etc.
But a friend of mine always throws a Yule party with a mummer's play. I'll be there too. Great nordic ritual, wear your wool cape. =)
Blessings,
mystic
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Post by Phalon on Sept 29, 2005 4:49:55 GMT -6
Good to see you, Prmystic. Always a pleasure.
Can you explain, for me, this mummer's thing? When I lived in Philly, on New Year's day was the big "Mummer's Day Parade"; people dressed up in strange funny costumes walking the streets of Center City. Such a big deal that the television stations would cut into the bowl games to air the parade. An even bigger deal if you're a college football fan - which I am. Grrrrrr.
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Post by Siren on Oct 5, 2005 20:32:54 GMT -6
Wow - great seeing you, Mystic! You might like knowing that I think you're just (as my niece would say) way, way cool. I've got one for you, Gams. Ever heard of mayhaws? I bought a jar of mayhaw jelly last weekend, because I'd never heard of it. Here's what I found: tytyga.com/mayhaw/pg10.htmSeems mayhaws are related to hawthorns. I planted a hawthorn tree for my mom a couple of years ago, but it didn't live. Our summers are just too dry, I suppose. Can't wait to taste that jelly. Everything I've read just raves about it. ~Siren
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Post by Gabbin on Oct 5, 2005 22:51:20 GMT -6
Ahhhh, the mystery is solved. Thanks. Hawthorne jelly. Mayhaw sounds a bitter better, I think.
You are posting all over there, Siren.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 5, 2005 23:00:22 GMT -6
Mayhaws; I wonder if the name came from the fact that hawthorns bloom in May. The tree was once used as the maypole on "May Day", until the calendar was changed, and because of that now blooms much later than May 1st.
Checked the site you listed out, Siren, and the botanical name "Crataegus" is the same species name as hawthorn, so they are related, if not the same tree. Different common names in different locals.
The jelly sounds interesting...if you like jelly, I suppose. Too sticky.
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Post by Siren on Oct 6, 2005 19:01:32 GMT -6
If I find some stickless jelly, Gams, I'll git it for you.
Mayhaws...hmmm..wonder if they taste anything like, um...you know, those little gewgaws that grow on trees...pawpaws. Yes, that's it. Pawpaw gewgaws. Not to be confused with heehaws, sounds a donkey makes when its making an *ss of itself, nor with yeehaws, another name for the rednecks around here, nor with "Hey Ya", an annoying song by OutKast.
I know, G. I'm just bustin' out with posts lately. Spontaneous compostion. ~Siren
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Oct 6, 2005 19:16:18 GMT -6
LMAO....glad this thread seems to be pickin up now. Good to see you all.
What's everyone got on their agenda for Halloween?
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Post by Siren on Oct 10, 2005 18:57:47 GMT -6
Hi Scrappy! I'm usually at my sis' bf's house for Halloween. He goes all out - decorates the yard, dons a costume to scare the 'tweeners, and hands out loads of candy. While he's having his fun, my sis and I usually watch "Halloween" or "The Haunting" (the truly scary '63 version), or even a creature feature classic like "The Mummy", or "Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man".
Gams, we tasted the mayhaw jelly Sunday. Was very good - like apple and plum jam, combined. When I described mayhaws to my mom, she said that something like that grew by a creek on the farm when she was a girl. Said they looked like little apples, and tasted divine. Said she never knew what they were called. But from the description, and the fact that they grew by a creek, I bet they were mayhaws.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Oct 20, 2005 9:04:19 GMT -6
Hey Madam P...stickless jelly is koolaide....*snort*
Siren got any gardening tips for us? Think I'm gonna dig up the moon planting post soon.
And since Phalon is still trying to beat that cold...
ROSEMARY G/P/E: Masculine, Sun, Fire. Magical attributes: Improve memory, sleep, purification, youth, love, power, healing, protection, intellectual. Uses: Promotes healing of wounds, acts as an antiseptic, and can be a mild stimulant. Good in teas for treating flu, stress, and headaches or body aches. Mental and physical booster. Used for treating (oil form) muscular sprains, arthritis, rheumatism, depression, fatigue, memory loss, migraine headaches, coughs, flu and diabetes. Excellent remedy for acne or cellulite. When the leaves are soaked in wine for two weeks, small glasses may be taken as a digestive aid. Oil of rosemary is excellent in hair conditioners, and the flowers of this herb may be added to lotion recipes to improve the complexion. Add to all purification bath sachets, love incenses, and protection incenses. Make a simple of rosemary and use it to cleanse the hands before working magic, if you have no time for a regular ritual bath. Burn rosemary and juniper as a healing and recuperation incense.
YARROW G/P/E: Feminine, Venus, Water. Magical uses: Courage, love, marriage charms, dispelling negativity, psychic abilities, divination. Uses: A very potent healer, it intensifies the medicinal action of other herbs taken with it. Helps eliminate toxins (good for colds). Most useful in its abilities to staunch blood flow. In poultice form , it is useful against infections and swelling. In magic there is evidence that yarrow was often used as a component in incantations. The tea drunk prior to divination will enhance one's powers of perception (a touch of peppermint brightens this brew up and always works better). Also drink the tea to stop arthritis symptoms such as swelling and inflammation associated with weather divination and generally end all aching, sore muscles, or stiff joints or back pain. A powerful incense additive for divination and love spells.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Oct 28, 2005 16:02:02 GMT -6
Ok folks! It's that time of year again! YAY! My favorite! HALLOWEEN!!!!!! One of the few times I get to really let loose and act like a kid (stop laughing Phalon). Ok thought I'd use this thread to throw out some semi common myths about halloween.... Many Neo-Pagans, including Druids and Wiccans, trace their annual seasonal days of celebration back to Celtic times in Europe. They celebrate the most important of their four major Sabbats, Samhain, on or near OCT-31 each year. Modern Misconceptions about Samhain/Halloween Fundamentalist Christians generally believe that the Bible is free of error (i.e. inerrant). Many also believe that when followers of non-Christian religions worship their Gods and Goddesses, they are in fact worshipping either Satan or some of his demons. This belief is based on clear, unambiguous passages from the Bible. Thus, many view all non- Christian religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam as well as Neopaganism) as forms of Satanism. By equating Neopagan religions with their view of Satanism as perpetrators of Satanic Ritual Abuse, many Fundamentalists naturally assume that Wiccans, Druids, etc. perform the most hideous and obscene criminal acts at Halloween. These beliefs are profoundly hurtful, untrue, and are not common among other Christian groups. According to a leading authority on Paleopagan Druidism, Isaac Bonewits, 1 much propaganda about Halloween can be traced back to "books written by Fundamentalist [Christian] preachers over a century ago", especially "Two Babylons or the Papal Worship," written by Alexander Hislop in 1873. The following are believed to be accurate: Neopagan religions are modern faith traditions which are reconstructed, in part, from the beliefs and practices of ancient aboriginal faiths, typically from Europe Satanism is a completely separate group of faith groups, with an opposing code of ethics, concepts of deity, and ritual practices that are unrelated to that of Neopagans. Neither Satanists, nor Neopagans nor anyone else in North America engage in religiously motivated human sacrifice. Wiccans have been known to sacrifice a peach or apple, but nothing higher on the evolutionary scale. Samhain is neither a Celtic god of the dead, or the major Sun god. The Celts may have had a deity by that name. However, he was an obscure character, and unrelated to death. In Gaelic, "sam" means summer; "fuin" means "end." So, "Samhain" means "end of the warm season." Another Celtic deity that is sometimes mentioned in Christian literature is the sun God "Muck-Olla". He didn't exist either in Celtic times. He seems to be a non-Druidic "boogey-man" from Yorkshire, England. Celtic sun Gods were named "Lugh", "Lleu" or "Llew." Ancient Druids were not bloodthirsty killers of humans. All of the stories of human sacrifices by Druids are traceable to a single passage in one of Julius Caesar's books. And that passage is probably simply a centuries-old example of wartime propaganda. The ancient Celts did not carve pumpkins; there were none in Europe during Celtic times. Celtic Celebration of Samhain in Ancient Times Samhain (or Samhuinn) is pronounced "sow-in" (with "sow" rhyming with "cow"). It formed the dividing day between years. It was a time that was neither in this year or the next. Bonfires were lit - often on the tops of hills. Samhain was: Seen as the beginning of the cold season. It is balanced by the corresponding seasonal day of celebration called Beltain (or Bealtaine, Beltaine, etc) which signals the start of summer, 6 months later. Both of these are fire festivals. The ancient Celts probably held them exactly mid-way between an equinox (when day and night were equal) and the following solstice (when the nighttime was shortest or longest). In ancient times, Samhain would probably have been centered between the Fall equinox and the Winter solstice, celebrated about NOV-5 to NOV-7. A time when the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest. The Celts believed that upon death, everyone went to a beautiful place free of hunger, pain and disease. It was called "Tir nan Og", sometimes translated as "Summerland". They had no concept of Heaven and Hell like that seen in Christianity. Many believed that two separate and nearly identical worlds existed. When a person died, they were transferred to the "ghostworld"; when they were born, they were transferred from the ghostworld to the mortal one. "The pagan idea used to be that crucial joints between the seasons opened cracks in the fabric of space-time, allowing contact between the ghostworld and the mortal one." 2 The Celts celebrated rituals at this time to make contact with their ancestors who had died before them. This contact was not made in an atmosphere of dread, fearing some retribution from the dead. Rather it was done in a spirit of expectation, in the hopes of obtaining guidance from those in the next world. "The spirits of dead friends sought the warmth of the Samhain fire and communion with their living kin." 3 A time when the veil between the present and the future was at its most transparent. Rituals were performed to foretell future events, through various methods of divination. The Celts believed that the future could be predicted most effectively at this time. A time when the herds of domesticated animals were brought down from their summer pasture and culled for the winter. The Celts slaughtered their weak animals that could not be expected to survive the winter. They reduced the size of the herds to match the available food supply. A time of uninhibited feasting. A time of increasing nervousness as the days continued to shorten and as winter approached. There were often questions whether the food would last until the next harvest. Neopagan Celebration of Samhain in Modern Times After the arrival of the Gregorian calendar, Pagans are believed to have moved Samhain back about a week to OCT-31. Most modern day Wiccans and Druids have attempted to reconstruct as accurately as possible, Celtic beliefs, rituals, and other practices. A Wiccan, or other Neopagan, may celebrate the Sabbat alone, as a solitary practitioner. Or they might gather with others in a coven, which typically might include 6 or more adults. A typical celebration of Samhain might involve: Scheduling the celebration to a day near October 31. Wiccans often avoid Halloween, because of the interruptions from "trick or treaters." Decorating their altar with autumn flowers, pine-cones, small pumpkins, decorative gourds, etc. Ritual purification of each participant; they take a solitary bath. Casting (creating) a sacred circle within which their ceremonies are conducted. The circle is usually marked with four candles of various colors aligned at the four cardinal directions. The purpose of the circle is to confine the Wiccans' healing powers within it. It is not created to provide protection against demonic powers as some Cowans (non-Wiccans) have suggested. Performing rituals of divination to predict the future. This may involve tarot cards, runes, I Ching, etc. Performing rituals to contact loved ones who have died. ''There is a recognition of our close ties with our ancestors and a recognition that the veils between the worlds are thin at this time of year." 9 They do not perform séances, as do Spiritualists. They do not summon or order back the dead. "They do, however, believe that, if the dead themselves wish it, they will return at the Sabbat to share in the love and celebration of the occasion." 4 Consecrating and sharing cakes and wine (or perhaps muffins and cider) Banishing (or closing or grounding) the circle. Because of the fear of attacks from misinformed Cowans these rituals had been rarely performed in public. However, in recent years, an increasing number of Neopagans have been coming out of the (broom) closet and performing public rituals for all to enjoy. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Dec 1, 2005 14:41:32 GMT -6
It's almost that time of year. Just thought I'd share a neat site I found... Winter Solstice
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Post by Siren on Jan 31, 2006 23:46:40 GMT -6
Say, has Mystic disappeared again?
I would think gardeners, Wiccan and otherwise, would be getting antsy this time of year.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Feb 1, 2006 20:50:54 GMT -6
Haven't seen her pop in in awhile....but I could post something if you like.....got any suggestions for an internet two minute drill like Phalon does?
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Feb 2, 2006 18:58:35 GMT -6
*poof* Well, I'm back. Blessed Imbolc to you all, tis the Feast of Seeds, the time of Initiation, the blessing of the Garden.
If you are a wicked, wiccan gardener you may wish to take those seeds and solemnly dedicate them to your favorite fertility deity at this time. For those who wish a taste of things to come, and a visual of the changes beginning beneath the ground, now is a good time for bringing out the sprout jar and starting up a batch. You'll need it for a bit of spring tonic any way.
Seed cakes are good sympathetic magic as well. I've got one baking in the oven right now. I'm a bit of a cheat, I confess. I took a gluten free cake mix and just added a tablespoon each of flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds, then decorated the top with a design in seeds. It should be yummy.
This morning my sweetie and I made the rounds of our grounds with staffs and bells and incense, frightening the neighbors again! Wake up sweet earth! The Goddess returns! We herald Her arrival! It was lovely.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day and sweetest dreams of the spring to come!
mystic
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Post by Siren on Feb 2, 2006 19:10:37 GMT -6
Ahhh, Mystic - good to see you again! That post was just what I was looking for. What a neat ceremony you two observed! Very, very cool. I hope you had a great day and that Brigid is smiling upon you. Here's a little more about Imbolc: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Imbolc” Glossary From Terri Paajanen, Your Guide to Pagan / Wiccan Religion. Definition: Imbolc is one of the 8 Pagan Sabbats and falls on February 2. Our modern Groundhog Day is based on this Pagan holiday. Imbolc is a day to celebrate the first stirrings of spring. It's also a special day dedicated to the Celtic Goddess Brigid. You might decorate your altar with extra candles, flowers or stones. Celebrate with lots of lit candles, making corn dollies or enjoy some fresh milk or creamy treats! Also Known As: Candlemas Alternate Spellings: Imbolg paganwiccan.about.com/od/sabbats/g/imbolc.htm~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scrappy, post away, mi amiga! I haven't started digging outdoors yet. Would be nice to hear from someone who is more industrious.
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Feb 3, 2006 19:53:52 GMT -6
Thanks Siren, loved your post as well. Keep us all informed about your gardening activities as they progress.
Also, Roar was on SciFi channel on Imbolc, which was nice as Brigit's Day originated in Ireland and the show features the pre-Christianized Irish culture. It will be on SciFi again on 3/2/06.
Blessings of Brigit on all!
mystic
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Post by Gabbin on Feb 4, 2006 21:58:54 GMT -6
Wow, I did not know that about Briget. Hmmm, seems many old holidays have remaine; only the name has changed.
I tried to make corn doilies but they were really hard. I see that it was dollies not doillies. How do you spell those little crochet thingys?
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Feb 9, 2006 12:08:27 GMT -6
Ah G-stick,
If you are trying to crochet with corn you are facing a crisis of faith, indeed. But welcome to February, named for Juno Februata the Roman Goddess of Passion, or the Fever of Love. Give up your crotchety feverish dallyings and join us in celebration...
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Post by Siren on Mar 2, 2006 22:07:43 GMT -6
I wonder what our dear mystic is up to in March? Here in Oklahoma, March came in like a lamb. We broke a state hi-temp record yesterday - 90 in OKC, 95 in southeast OK. My mom is afraid to garden much or dig in her flowerbeds. She feels sure that we'll have an "Easter freeze".
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prmystic
Whooshite Apprentice
Posts: 225
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Post by prmystic on Mar 4, 2006 9:51:49 GMT -6
Oh, I'm growing something VERY BIG this year. Uh huh. In addition to my 2 yr old cat, and my 12ish yr old dog...I just got a puppy. A mastiff puppy. She's almost 5 months old and she resembles a baby deer. The garden will be challenged. And for you wicca enthusiasts, my old dog has a very ordinary name, but the little black cat is Imbolc and the new pup is Samhain. My sweetie says she has a mouth like a jack-o-lantern. A drooling jack-o-lantern.
Hey, has any body been out of the house and spotted the new buds? Spring is here, quiet and enduring the coldest days, but already responding to the trailing fingertips of the rising Goddess and the entreaties of the strengthening sun.
Blessings of the spring and all tender growning things to all!
mystic
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Post by Siren on Mar 4, 2006 10:04:18 GMT -6
"the trailing fingertips fo the rising Goddess and the entreaties of the strengthening sun" - a lovely description, mystic! We expect new entries in the "Pets On Parade" thread. I'd like to see a pic of your little furry roommates. I bet we could almost watch that mastiff grow, like young corn. And should we start a "Help Feed Mystic's Mastiff" fund? You may be buying kibble by the truckload. Enjoy that new pup, and the coming season! ~Siren
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Post by Phalon on Mar 6, 2006 0:36:23 GMT -6
In the woods today, I noticed the moss patches - big swaths of the stuff - turning from that dull rusty winter green to a bright shamrockish color; a sign of spring. I love moss; it is so invitingly enticing to bare feet.
In my yard, BP and I took stock of things that are showing signs of waking up after winter. She got all excited running to the different things we have planted and seeing new buds. Aside from the daffodils and crocus which have stuck their noses out of the ground a couple of weeks ago, the viburnums - the four varieties I have planted, the serviceberry, aronia, lilac, (ick) and blueberries all have nice big fat buds - all spring bloomers. The blackberries are showing signs of life - I was worried about them; I planted way late last fall.
And the elderberries!!! The European; a variety I planted more for foliage than flowers or berries - dappled yellow leaves that open in spring a coppery color; big buds already look like tiny flowers though it'll be a month or so before they open. And argh! The big native elderberry that I never got around to planting last fall, which sits with its pot buried under a pile of mulch on the side of the garage in hopes that the roots didn't freeze over the winter. It is still alive, but something has gnawed off almost every last bud. Grrr. Groundhog, maybe? I think they hibernate though.
The pussywillow is starting to show fluff.
I thought about getting out and doing a bit of work in the garden today; rake up leaves I never got around to raking last fall; cut back the grasses and perennials that I leave for the birds, maybe rake up the "sled-run" of pine needles that the kids slid down the ravine hill on in October.
But it snowed. Smile.
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Post by Phalon on Mar 6, 2006 23:15:50 GMT -6
Oops, and oh, sorry. I know none of the above ramble has anything to do with things Wiccan - except maybe elderberries; lots of magic and medicine in them. But I get kind of carried away when talking plants.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Mar 8, 2006 22:10:32 GMT -6
That was nice...thanks Phalon...I can almost smell all that stuff.....*smile* Elderberries: The Silver WillowParts Used: Flowers and berries. Uses: Berries can be used for chronic rheumatism, neuralgia, and sciatica. Magickal Properties: Protection, Exorcism, Healing, Prosperity, Sleep. Folk Names: Battree, Bour Tree, Boure Tree, Eldrum, Ellhorn, Lady Ellhorn, Old Gal, Old Lady, Pipe Tree, Rob Elder, Sweet Elder, Tree of Doom.
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Post by Siren on Mar 8, 2006 22:12:56 GMT -6
"Sweet Elder"..."Tree Of Doom"
Sounds like band names to me.
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Mar 8, 2006 22:15:12 GMT -6
LOL..well...I have heard..and I could be wrong..it happens quite frequently....that they could be poisonous.
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Post by Siren on Mar 8, 2006 22:16:26 GMT -6
Okay, then maybe a death metal band. Whadya think, Phalon?
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Mar 8, 2006 22:24:12 GMT -6
ACK!!! now you've done it....
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Post by Phalon on Mar 8, 2006 23:45:10 GMT -6
I've heard death metal band, 'Tree of Doom', released their hit single, "Sweet Elder" a few years back. Hit number one on the charts, no?
Actually, elderberry is one of my all time favorite plants, and I talk about it in the plant folklore classes that I sometimes give at the nursery.
A bit of information from notes I keep in my files...
Michigan has two native elderberries – the Common Elderberry and the Red-berried Elderberry. The Common Elderberry bush, Sambucus canadensis, is widespread and abundant throughout Michigan. It is considered by some to be a weed, but its honey-scented fragrant white flowers bloom profusely in June and into July, and many shrubs can not equal the show of the large cymes of white that the elderberry displays. The black berries ripen in fall and remain until frost.
The Red-berried Elder is one of the earliest shrubs to bloom, flowering in April and May. Its fruits are fully ripened before the Common Elder comes into flower. The two, planted together, make an interesting show - between flower and berries, from frost to frost. All parts of Elderberries are poisonous to some degree – even the berries, if eaten raw, are harmful. Despite this, elderberry has a long history of medicinal, cosmetic, culinary, and practical uses, as well a quite a number of superstitions surrounding it.
Sambucus is from the Greek word sambuke which means musical pipe, for which the new shoot of the elder bushes were traditionally used. The stalks are hollow and contain a spongy pith, that is easily pushed out of the stalk. Kids here used to make flutes, pop-guns and squirt guns out of these branches.
Elderberry belongs to the honeysuckle family and its flowers are used in skin lotions, oils and ointments. Elder-flower oil is distilled from the flowers of the common elderberry. Only a very small quantity of oil is contained in the blossoms, and only a few high-priced perfumes contain a trace of the genuine oil. The rest are either blends or synthetics.
The black fruits of the European elder, (Sambucus niger), were used as hair dye by the Romans.
Culinary delights include elderberry pie. The flower heads can be fried in batter to make elderflower fritters. The flowers give a muscatel flavor to stewed fruit, jellies, and jam. The fruits are made into sauce and used to flavor and color stewed fruit and jellies. Juice is boiled with sugar to make a cordial, called elderberry rob, and is flavored with ginger and cloves. The flowers are also used to make white wine and “elderflower champagne”.
Elderberry also has value as a pesticide. The leaves boiled and strained make a natural insecticide and applied to plants will free them of aphids and caterpillars. Sprayed into a room will rid it of mosquitos and flies. And farmers swear that bags of elder leaves will keep away mice and moles from stored grain.
Probably most impressive though is its reputation, like St. John’s wort, as being a herbal cure-all. Elderberry has been called “the medicine chest of the people” and one naturalist claims, “In domestic medicine, this plant forms almost a complete pharmacy in itself.” In 1664, English nature writer John Evelyn wrote, “If the medicinal properties of its leaves, bark and berries were fully known, I cannot tell what our countryman could ail for which he might not fetch a remedy from every hedge for sickness and wounds.”
It has been used for inflammation, sore eyes, headaches, fungus infections, eczema, sprains, bruises, boils, risings, hemorrhoids, dropsy, stomach disorders, tumors, swellings, cuts, to treat influenza, colds, sinusitis, fevers, burns, irritated or inflamed skin, mouth ulcers, and minor injuries. (and I’m sure I’ve left out a few things.)
One folk healer promised, “The juice of green Elder leaves, sniffed up the nostrils, purges the tunicles of the brain”. I’m not quite sure what that means, but it sounds impressive.
Sleeping on a pillow of dried leaves was supposed to relieve hayfever. Pliny, the ancient Roman, said that drinking elder leaves in wine counteracted the bites of venomous serpents. Culpepper adds that it also cures the bites of mad dogs.
Rub a wart with a piece of green elder and you are cured.
Dr. Hermann Boerhaave, a seventeenth century Dutch physician, declared when gathering parts of the elderberry bush, it should be addressed as such: “Elder, elder, may I pluck your branches? If no rebuke follows”, he said, “one should spit three times and then proceed”, adding “It deserves the respect of men”.
This advice from the good doctor stems from the superstitions surrounded the European elder. Like other plants with black fruits, elderberries had sinister associations with witchcraft and magic in early European folklore.
Though it is a magical plant in many cultures, it was also a symbol of sorrow and death in others. It is sacred to the gypsies, and is planted in the courtyards of synagogues in Israeli, where it was probably associated with occult practices. According to German tradition, one must remove their hat whenever an elderberry is passed.
In Denmark, it is protected by the elder-mother, or Hylde-Moer, and one must always ask her permission before harvesting any part of the plant. Never make a cradle out of elder wood, or the Hylde-Moer may strangle the baby out of revenge.
In other parts of Europe, it was considered a plant of fairies and elves, whose permission had to be asked before its fruits and flowers could be picked.
Few people will use it for fires, as the burning of it is supposed to bring bad luck. In Germany a leafy branch inside a house brought ghosts, in England; the Devil. But in Scotland, branches over the doors and windows prevented evil spirits from entering and a branch buried with a corpse kept witches away.
Take a sprig of elderberry in your mouth, then stick it in the wall, and say, “Depart, thou evil spirit!” If you beat a boy with an elder stick, it will retard his growth.
But, according to the Language of Flowers, to give elderberry flowers, and you wish someone kindness, compassion and zeal.
All this for what most people around here call a weed! Shew! And now that was a ramble!
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