It’s a list-o-mania!! It’s Thursday and that means it’s time for…
13 Uncommon Uses for Common Kitchen Herbs
Times are tight! Many folks like me don’t have any health insurance, others (also like me) prefer to go the natural route whenever possible. Mama nature has so much medicine and magick for us and you might be surprised how much you can find in your kitchen spice rack!
Medicinal: 1) Got bubbles? A gassy tummy or feel bloated and too full after a meal? A cup of Basil tea might be just what you need! *warning: do NOT use while pregnant
Magickal: 2) Put some basil in your Mojo or Medicine bag for safe travels, put a few leaves in the corners of the rooms of your home for protection, or burn some on charcoal to aid in dreaming and vision quests.
Medicinal: 3) Bay (Laurel) Leaf is great 
for those aching joints- arthritis and rheumatism. Boil the dried leaves for 10 minutes and soak a cloth for a compress applied to the affected area. Don’t use it on open wounds, please.
Magickal: 4) Carry a leaf when you need courage. Drop a leaf in your prosperity bottle, put a leaf under your pillow to dream the future.
Medicinal: 5) Nursing Mamas may drink Fennel Tea to improve milk production and flow, and may also boil a decoction (very little water) and mash the seeds to make a poultice for tender breasts. Fennel is also a mild appetite depressant, so dieters can enjoy a cup of Fennel tea to kill those between meals cravings!
Magickal: 6) Would be Mamas, sweeten your breath with a few seeds to conceive and all you studs, chew fennel and toss the viagra!
Household: 7) Make a decoction of fennel seeds, strain it and fill up a spray bottle. Mist around doorways and across thresholds to keep fleas out.
Medicinal: 8) Got NSU? Bladder infection? Forget the cranberry juice. Drink a cup of parsley tea twice a day for a few days and have a happ-pee!
Magickal: 9) Parsley is sacred to Persephone and wonderful as an offering in rituals of the dead. It’s also powerful for invocation and clairvoyance.
Medicinal: 10) Got a cold or respiratory flu? Pigs hate pepper! Hahahaha. Lime water with black pepper is a sure cure. (Also for phlegmy chests steep black pepper, grated lemon peel, bay leaf and camphor or eucalyptus and close your eyes [it burns!] and breathe in the steam. Great for constricted bronchial tubes.)
Magickal: 11) Use pepper in a spell to stop envy, to break an unwelcome spell placed on you, and to curse an enemy.
*note: I do not recommend cursing or hexing anyone without advanced study and knowledge and understanding of your own True Will as well as Universal Law.
Medicinal: 12) Got fungus?? A mixture of 4 oz of Thyme in a pint of alcohol will get rid of that athlete’s foot. Spray some in the bathtub so nobody else gets it either!
Magickal: 13) Nightmares or bad dreams and restless sleep may be calmed by a sachet of thyme under your pillow or hanging by the head of the bed.
What kind of kitchen witchery do you do? Do you have a favorite remedy handed down from Grandma? Leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks for visiting and be sure to stop by the TT home for a full list of participants.
Peace, out!
19 comments for this post
My kids didn’t like the taste of fennel in my milk when I was nursing them. They didn’t like chili either. Fussy kids.
Cumin is very good for stomach aches.
Tea made from red hibiscus flowers aids in lowering blood pressure.
Some great ideas there. Who needs chemical treatments anyway?
Happy TT!
#10!!!! I would much prefer this than any RX or over the counter cold/flu med.
My 13 is posted. Either use the link provided at the top of my Thursday blog or scroll down to the bottom of the entry. It’s English for Dummies!…..fun. Have a great day.
Fascinating info. I had to research healing herbs once for a book, and had to pull myself away to actually write it lol(BTW your link is added*wink
Happy T13!
Great list. It is always so much better to use natural herbs! Love your site.
So, weren’t you going to tell us about comfrey? You called it “bone knit.” I like the list you gave, and am glad to see your blog working again. Will have to try thyme for the sleep…
- Fresh rosemary on a bottle of alcohol, let sit for three weeks, then use for massaging sore muscles.
- Fry fresh rue on a pan with a spoonful of olive oil, apply the warm oil over the stomach for constipations and after great emotional grief.
- Clove infusion to heal bleeding gums.
These three are traditional medicines in the Canary Island’s tradition of “santiguadores” (herb doctors). I have used them all for years.
Great tips. I’ve got a bunch of those coming up in my garden too :)
We use herbs a lot, not so much for remedies, but to use them to avoid getting a malady. I drink a tea made from cedar, sweetflag, bear root and swamp tea. I also drink a tea of wild ginger. I burn herbs, tobacco, sage, sweetgrass and cedar. I smoke the inner bark of the red willow in a pipe. Pine tar and other herbs are placed on the hot rocks in the sweat lodge to help with cold and lung ailments.
I cook with herbs. I have my basics. Since I’m Italian, I use a lot of basil and oregano. Is garlic an herb? Geez, I use the hell out of that!
The Medicine Man from Canada that I know uses a lot of herbs for healing that I know nothing about. Interesting stuff.
Thursday Thirteen, eh? What about reefer? Good for glaucoma, tuberculosis. Cancer patients use pot for pain relief and to stimulate hunger. I admit, I inhaled.
Peace to all.
You should see my post a few days ago. A bowl of muddy burdock root, my kind of medicine. And did you know that cayenne stops bleeding in its tracks?
#13 is effective ; )
Happy Thursday 13! Mine’s up at http://jengspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/05/thursday-thirteen-quotes-on-kindness.html
I’m a big herb fan – I grow my own – even have a little greenhouse – so I have them handy all year. Funny I just pinched off some lemon basil to try out in a new herb martini recipe tonight!
I’ve been obsessing over food lately and I posted Forgive me, Father, for I have pigged out My 13 Favorite Sinful Foods.
Maybe I should toss a few fresh herbs on all of these and ease my guilt, lol!
Happy TT.
BTW, thanks to you and all your commenters – I’ve gotten a ton of great info from this post!
I am a big advocate of garlic as a preventative for all sorts of things and I’m just beginning to learn the medicinal uses of the herbs I’ve cooked with for years!
These are fascinating! As a woman, I don’t know how the men feel about it, but fennel just has to be safer than Viagra! I love the thyme remedy, too. Esp the preventive part.
Mint tea does wonders for an unsettled belly. Add some chamomile for your nerves and you have quite the relaxing tea.
Well – there’s always the OTHER herb – cures all kinds of ills so I hear.
Re your comment back at our place with your elevator pitch? I thought it was perfect – I especially liked “treasure from trash” – what a glorious idea.
this is a great list. i love herbs but don’t work with them nearly enough. thanks for sharing. :)
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