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The Herbal Code
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Re: The Herbal Code
I've also heard that 'baby's blood' was strawberry juice, and the blood of a virgin was pomegranate juice.The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.
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sea witch
- Oct 2005
- 11651
- relational theophysis and bioregional witchery
- coastal Georgia
- *a little bad taste is like a nice dash of paprika*
Re: The Herbal Code
I know a girl that labels her spice rack like this...one of these days, if I ever get cool containers for my herbs and stuff, I think it would be funWonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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Silver Member
- Oct 2010
- 3338
- solitary pagan witch with a strong interest in Anglo Saxons
- South Wales Valleys, UK
- Phantom Turnips never die. They just get stewed occasionally....
Re: The Herbal Code
This 'mis-labelling' was very common in the ancient world... a quick glance at the Greek Magical Papyrii for example, shows some very unlikely ingredients that were in fact quite common substances, plants etc. To be honest, I'm not sure how much was to discourage the uninitiated and how much to bamboozle the credulous
One of my all time favourites is 'the tears of a Hamadryas Baboon' which turns out to be ... Dill Juice. Since Dill juice is a major ingredient in baby's gripe water (it's name derives from the Norse 'Dilla' meaning to lull to sleep, apparently) I quite like to think of soothing my grandchildren to sleep with the tears of a Hamadryas Baboon....
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Re: The Herbal Code
I have heard of the Hamadryas Baboon tears before and often wondered what they were, i didn't realise there was actually a code for the common ingredients, though thinking about it, it makes a lot if sense. *seeks out his old copy of the scottish Play *
Is there anywhere i could get more of the 'code'?
MIn the end, only you know if you were right or wrong, so tolerate others beliefs, no matter how wrong, they may be right...
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Re: The Herbal Code
Thanks Muchly, I found a copy on Scribd
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34128738/O...-A-Source-Book
MIn the end, only you know if you were right or wrong, so tolerate others beliefs, no matter how wrong, they may be right...
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Honorary Supporter
- Jun 2007
- 3248
- Norse Something-or-Other
- female
- Bay Area, CA, USA
- Nice is not the same as good.
Re: The Herbal Code
[quote author=Maulus link=topic=386.msg5297#msg5297 date=1287607118]
*seeks out his old copy of the scottish Play *
[/quote]
That's what this got me thinking of, too...
"Eye of Newt and Toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog...
Adder's wort and blind worm sting, lizzard's leg and howlet's wing...
Cool it with a baboon's blood, then the charm is firm and good."
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Re: The Herbal Code
[quote author=Deseret link=topic=386.msg5404#msg5404 date=1287623634]
That's what this got me thinking of, too...
"Eye of Newt and Toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog...
Adder's wort and blind worm sting, lizzard's leg and howlet's wing...
Cool it with a baboon's blood, then the charm is firm and good."
[/quote]
Exactly, i remember reading that at school and wondering where they would get all those ingredients as they sound very specific.. it makes a lot more sense if they are using the Herbal Code. Which means that the people in the 17th Century were aware of what wise women/Witches would "use" as ingredients, not necessarily what they are. It would appear the the Witches were used to obfuscating their ingredients, almost like a lot of modern professions do today, using jargon and codes to keep the secret of their jobs..
MIn the end, only you know if you were right or wrong, so tolerate others beliefs, no matter how wrong, they may be right...
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Silver Member
- Oct 2010
- 3338
- solitary pagan witch with a strong interest in Anglo Saxons
- South Wales Valleys, UK
- Phantom Turnips never die. They just get stewed occasionally....
Re: The Herbal Code
Coded ingredients are extremely common in many cultures - but especially in the PGM (Papyrii Graecae Magici) . So that basically covers ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.... although this late in the day it's difficult to tell which comes from which specific culture.
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