That Thing You Wondered About in High School English Class

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KynnysQuest

That Thing You Wondered About in High School English Class

Post by KynnysQuest »

So um, I'm currently working on my creative writing project for my Shakespeare class and I decided to talk about the ingredients from the hell-broth brewed in Macbeth.

So far there's a lot of prophecy herbs and toad venom. I'm not saying that Macbeth had a drug trip, but Macbeth TOTALLY had a drug trip.
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Re: That Thing You Wondered About in High School English Cla

Post by corvidus »

Haha do it. And then I want to read it.

I would also consider the number 3. 3 is the number of "manifestation" and if I remember correctly, there are 3 witches brewing the potion.

Are the witches responsible for manifesting Macbeth as King? How does a potion manifest a king?

I am excited to read this essay ;)
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Re: That Thing You Wondered About in High School English Cla

Post by Shawn Blackwolf »

Something regarding herbs used by our Old Craft :

"So now we know flying ointments go at least as far back as ancient Greece and Rome, but what about even further back into history? Remains found of henbane, belladonna, and marijuana in Scotland and Northern Europe date as far back as the Neolithic period – that’s at least 10,000 years ago! (1) These plants were mostly found in the form of seeds and remnants of ritual alcoholic beverages so it is not known if they were used in salves by the magical practitioners of the time, but the pits upon pits of animal bone refuse show that Neolithic peoples had easy access to animal fats. It’s not too far off, I think, to put the two together – but it’s just this witch’s hopeful estimation.
What are the Herbs Used?

Most flying ointment recipes include plants from the Solanaceae family; you may recognize some or all of them: belladonna, datura, henbane, and mandrake. Other traditional flying ointment herbs include the opium poppy, water hemlock, monkshood, and foxglove. Wherever these plants are to be found, so are witches. Our symbiotic relationship with these poisonous plants goes back into the far reaches of time

Solanaceae contain the alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine. The tropane compound within the Solanaceae family can cause heart problems or even heart failure among other issues when ingested, but if you use them externally they are much less dangerous, however careful dosage is still needed to avoid things like permanent blindness and death. The other well-known ingredients of foxglove, hemlock, aconite (also known as monkshood) should never be used in modern ointments now that we know better – they only poison and paralyze.

Traditional less poisonous plants used include balm of gilead, calamus root, cannabis, clary sage, dittany of Crete, mugwort, tansy, wormwood, and yarrow. There is a bit of controversy whether fly agaric or other psychoactive mushrooms were used and if their constituents are even fat-soluble, but there is currently no documentation on the subject to prove or disprove it. Balm of gilead (the buds of any poplar tree species) can be found in almost every flying ointment recipe from the Middle Ages as poplar salves were used for healing much more than they were used by witches for flying. Do not use balm of gilead if you are allergic to aspirin. The flying effects of calamus root are best felt from ingestion rather than topical application so I would only recommend adding it for its metaphysical properties and sweet smell. If you use calamus make sure it is the carcinogen-free species Acorus calamus americanus native to N. America.

Mugwort, oreganos (including dittany of Crete), sages (including clary sage), tansy, and wormwood contain thujone which is a stimulant and believed to be the cause of their psychoactive properties. Yarrow, while not having psychoactive properties, has been traditionally used by shamans for centuries to protect the body while the soul is journeying and to aid in bringing the soul and the person back to consciousness (3). Yarrow was more commonly burned as a smudge for these purposes, but can be smoked or added to a salve as well."

http://sarahannelawless.com/2011/09/10/ ... ointments/
KynnysQuest

Re: That Thing You Wondered About in High School English Cla

Post by KynnysQuest »

This essay is likely going to be more of a discussion of ingredients from a historical perspective as well as from a modern witchcraft perspective and a medical herbalism perspective.

A lot of the ingredients I have gotten through so far are not good on the digestive tract and could easily kill someone if not properly worked on. These things include holly leaves and buttercups.

I'm no botanist but I know buttercups are not safe to eat
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Re: That Thing You Wondered About in High School English Cla

Post by Firebird »

KynnysQuest wrote:I know buttercups are not safe to eat
The dangers of common names...
Bermuda buttercups are ok if eaten in moderation, they're the oxalis family. It's believed in excess it's toxic because of the oxalic acid content. You'd have to eat a ton ...though it could be contraindicated for someone with kidney issues.
A different buttercup is in the ranunculus family, and is toxic. However your mouth would feel terrible before you could eat too much.

This is the main reason I teach folks to be aware of the botanical names of plants, especially if they are to be consumed.

Another flying ointment plant, 5 finger grass, which isn't grass at all is really the english "cinquefoil" but the botanical name is potentilla and it's in the rose family.

Plant names are fascinating too, botanical and common. Common usually come about because the resemble some other plant. Botanical has words that essentially describe the plant.

My favorite is- toxicodendron diversilobum which describes a toxic leaved plant that is diversely lobed. Any guesses?
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