I’ve been learning a little about Hildegard von Bingen! Have you heard of her? What an amazing woman! She was a nun, artist, musician, herbalist, and visionary. She coined the word “Viriditas” (from the latin for green and truth). It basically means that there is presence of divine in everything green. She said that the presence of God was in the plants and that was why they healed. She also felt that we were all a part of a circle/cycle (not something looked highly upon by her church, who believe in the hierarchy of Trinity…Man…animal… earth (or something like that). She thought that the moist, juiciness of the plants showed their health and that if we are all moist and juicy, then we are filled with the presence of God. I’m not very religious, but I love the concept… whether you believe in God, Source, Spirit, whatever… we all hold the knowledge of the cycle of life and death (we just need to get back in touch with it). Cool, eh? I hear Hildegard use to sign all her correspondences with “May we all stay moist and juicy” hehe I bet that drove the church crazy!!

So, we may name our clinic “Viriditas…”

PS no eggs yet…

Getting sick of those multi-level marketing scams claiming instant health and the fountain of youth??

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Toby and I finally got a little ‘date’ time yesterday. We decided to go see Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.  We were told by numerous people that it was absolutely hysterical!  I have to say I didn’t care for it.  There was one wrestling scene that I thought was pretty funny, but otherwise, I was kind of offended.  I can understand why Kazakhstan is so enraged.  There were a few jokes here and there at the expense of Americans, but the movie really made kazakhstan look like a country of backward thinking, racist, idiots.  I have to say, I am ready for Americans to be nice to the rest of the world!

OK, so I was reading Culpepper’s Complete Herbal… for fun (I know, pretty nerdy and I thought I would pass along some of his words of wisdom.  (Or at least those things that got me laughing out loud and confirmed to my husband that I am truly a complete herb geek!)

For those of you who haven’t heard of Culpepper, he was a 17th century physician, herbalist, and astrologer…

In his description about Angelica (Angelica archangelica), he says:
“In time of heathenism, when men had found out any excellent herb, they dedicated it to their god, as the baytree to Apollo, the oak to Jupiter, the vine to Bacchus, the poplar to Hercules.  These the papists following as the patriarchs, they dedicated to their saints; as our lady’s thistle to the Blessed Virgin, At. John’s wort to St. John, and another wort to St. Peter, etc… Our physicians must imitate like apes, though they cannot come off half so cleverly, for they blasphemously call tansies, or heart’s ease, an herb for the Trinity, because it is of three colours; and a certain ointment an ointment of the Apostles, because it consists of twelve ingredients.  Alas!  I am sorry for their folly, and grieved at their blasphemy.  God send them wisdom the rest f their age, for they have their share off ignorance already.  Oh!  Why must ours be blasphemous, because the heathens and papists were idolatrous?  certainly they have read so much in old rusty authors, that they have lost all their divinity, for unless it were amongst the ranters, I never read or heard of such blasphemy.  The heathens and papists were bad, and ours worse; the papists giving names to herbs for their virtue’s sake, not for their fair looks…”

What a funny little man!!I love that he rants about how the herbs are named in his book!

Here’s another one:
“it is called Carduus Benedictus, or Blessed Thistle, or Holy Thistle.  I suppose the name was put upon it by some that had little holiness in themselves”

And of Wild Clary (Salvia horminum) he says:
“Wild clary is most blasphemously called Christ’s eye, because it cures diseases of the eye.  I could wish from my soul that blasphemy, ignorance, and tyranny were ceased among physicians, that they might be happy and I joyful.”

I found this interesting!
Here’s what he says about the Government and Virtues of Burdock:
“Venus challengeth this herb for her own:  and by its leaf or seed you may draw the womb which way you please, either upward by applying it to the crown of the head in case it falls out; or downwards in fits of the mother, by applying it to the soles of the feet:  or if you would stay it in its place, apply it to the navel, and that is one good way to stay the child in it.”

Ok, that’s it for my 17th century herbal education…

Well, the chickens are now 20 weeks old and no eggs yet.  I think that with the cold weather and shorter days, they may not start really laying until the spring.  We’ll see.

Sweetie gets out of the pen on a daily basis.  Yesterday, I found her up in a dogwood tree, trying to entice the other chickens to fly on up!  She is such a rebel!  I am worried that she will get hurt, but Suki seems to ignore her.  In fact, Suki has been breaking into the pen but not for the chickens.  I found her in there the other day… chickens on one side and suki on the other, by the food!  It seems that Suki thinks she is a chicken and needs to eat scratch.  I certainly don’t mind throwing Suki a little scratch if it means she will leave the chickens alone