druiddaydreams:Herbal Medicine: Whatis an Electuary?An Electuary is a medicinal paste created with s
druiddaydreams:Herbal Medicine: Whatis an Electuary?An Electuary is a medicinal paste created with somethingsweet, such as honey or jam. Thick electuaries can be rolled into little ballsfor children to take with some juice, and thinner electuaries can be mixed withbeverages such as hot tea. At its essence, an electuary is an herb infusedhoney. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the first knownuse of an Electuary dates back to the 14th century. ‘Electuarie’ isa Middle English word derived most likely from the Greek ‘Ekleikton’ or ‘Ekleichein’meaning to lick up. After all, a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine godown, am I right? ;-)The common kitchen witch (and herbalist) will already befamiliar with the process of herbal infusions, such as making tea blends, butmaking and storing electuaries can really kick your magic crafting up a notch. Theprimary use is medicinal but you can expand this into everyday spellcraft aswell. Below are just a few examples of both medicinal and magical electuariesand how to create them. MedicinalChamomile – Mildlysedative and soothing for stress relief.Mint –Soothes digestive track to help with heartburn, nausea, and indigestion.RaspberryLeaf – Especially beneficial for women by balancing hormones and helping withpainful menses.Elderberry, Echinacea,Licorice Root – This blend is a good immune supporter and very helpful forviral respiratory infections and treating the symptoms accompanied by the flu. Magical (individualingredients or blend to your tastes)Love – Rose Petals,Lavender Flowers, Lemon Verbena, Apple, CardamomMoney –Cinnamon, Clove, Nutmeg, Almond, OrangeProtection –Anise, Elder Flower, Fennel, Basil, BlackberryPurification – Rosemary, Bay, Lemon, Chamomile, Nettle, TurmericHow to make anElectuaryThe best results come from using dried herbs or flowers andlocal raw honey. The dried plant material allows you to store your electuarylonger because it has little to no water in it, where fresh plant material willthin the honey and require refrigeration to prevent mold. Raw honey from yourlocal area is also best because it will contain traces of pollen from the treesand flowers in your area which assist with preventing seasonal allergies. The processis to create a double-boiler system by putting a pot with some water on toboil, then placing a slightly larger metal bowl in it so that it sits snuggly(but not too tight) without touching the water. The gentle steam will warm themetal bowl enough to melt your honey without boiling it directly. Once yourdouble-boiler is assembled put in your desired amount of honey and dried plantmaterial. You can use herbs from your kitchen, ground spices, dried flowers,etc. I would recommend finding food grade if you’re buying online or at a localshop. Organic would be the best of course (pesticides don’t make goodelectuaries!). The amount of honey to plant material is up to you depending onhow strong you want the infusion to be. Let your plant material simmer for anhour in the honey over your double-boiler. *Alternative* Youcould infuse your honey and herbs using a small crock pot if you wanted to soyou could simmer for 2-3 hours.If you want your electuary to be a thick paste, finely grindyour herbs prior to infusing using a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle if youhave that kind of patience). Alternatively you could just use store boughtground herbs/spices. You will want to use more of an equal ratio of plantmaterial to honey to make sure it stays thick. Please note that this will makethe honey taste strongly of the herbs you use so be mindful of taste when you’rechoosing herbs to blend, or just plan to roll into more of a “plant pill” to beswallowed. After infusing, store in a clean dry jar with a lid.If you prefer a thinner electuary that can be mixed by thespoonful with a cup of hot water or tea, then you can use any kind of plantmaterial in any amount you’d like with your honey to control strength andflavor. After infusing, strain it into a clean dry jar with lid for storage. Straininga combination of leaves, roots, bark, and ground spices will allow the smallerparticles to stay within the electuary while removing the larger moreundesirable pieces. This seems to be the most popular method. You can now use your electuary however you’d like!Medicinal, Magical, with tea, in your cooking, the possibilities are endless soexperiment! Brightest Blessings,Thalya /|\ -- source link