Brixton Herbalist

ItŌĆÖs harvest season! Which means itŌĆÖs also medicine-making season. I found a big old polypore (Meripilus giganteus), which is good eating when itŌĆÖs young. The medicinal properties havenŌĆÖt been investigated very much, but working on the notion that (almost) all fungi have useful medicinal properties*, and having seen a study about this chap killing cancer in mice (thanks and praise to the Mouse Nation, as always) I decided to make a broad spectrum extract. Here are my first st...eps.
* So far as I know, there are no known toxic bracket fungi in the U.K. (the ones that grow out of trees like a shelf). But perhaps weŌĆÖve not yet found the one that is. Check all ID carefully! Having said that, I have a notion that just as the poisonous plants can be very useful medicine when treated with respect, properly processed, and prescribed wisely and appropriately, so too could the poisonous mushrooms. IŌĆÖve never tried this, but I find the idea very interesting.
PS I started the oven at 30 degrees, but IŌĆÖve now put it up to 40.
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IŌĆÖm making a deep decoction, and IŌĆÖve tried something slightly different. I kept the rose petals out of the main mix and cooked them for only one hour x 2 rather than the more usual 4 hours x 2. I love the result, so IŌĆÖll definitely be doing this again. The scent and flavour of the rose petals is retained. It feels deep and substantial, as a deep decoction should. This will be added to the main part of the decoction towards the end. See the (slightly truncated) video for more detail.
By the way, IŌĆÖve finally worked out what the Latin name for a deep decoction is. ItŌĆÖs Decocta profunda. Good, eh? And accurate, I believe.

Just a quick head's up: I'll be at The Royal Oak for the equinox, joining in with the Bishopstone folk to celebrate the bounty of the hedgerows.
https://helenbrowningsorganic.co.uk/event s/forage-and-feast/

We evolved in the loving and generous presence of the Plants. They are intelligent and sentient. The difficulties we speedy humans may have in recognising this is a failing on our part, not proof that they are lacking these properties.
We arrogantly assume that our form of knowing, seeing, experiencing, is the highest possible achievement. Instead, consider that it is merely different.

This little darling is Prunella vulgaris. She also goes by the names all-heal, heal all, self-heal, wound-wort, and Heart-of-the-Earth.
This one has grown beside the garden path, but she's happiest in short pasture. One of my favourite prunella patches is on a high windy hill in the Westcountry, where the sward is kept short and sweet by the sheep who turn their backs to the wind as they graze their way across the pasture.
She's an opportunist, hitching a ride and travelling ...
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It's Tilia season! This beautiful graceful forgiving tree grows all over Europe and is tolerant of city street pollution.
We use the blossom, and the bract attached to the flower stalk, as a gentle but powerful medicine. I like to eat the heart-shaped leaves in the springtime, when they are soft and squishy and tasty, before they become tough enough to survive the summer.
It's safe and appropriate for children and infants, and powerful enough to alleviate really severe anxiet...y. It is soft and sweet, and thus nourishing and protective to the surfaces. It has an affinity for the nervous system, and so brings this protective property to our emotions. It's especially good for the kind of anxiety that might leave you feeling shredded and furious.
It's a useful fever herb too, helping the feverish child to sweat out the heat whilst also soothing the fretfulness that accompanies a fever.
When chamomile is the wrong herb for an unsettled stomach, Tilia is the right herb. It is sweet and mucilagenous where chamomile is bitter and astringent. It soothes the vagus nerve, while chamomile works directly on the enteric nervous system. They're not especial friends, and would argue in the same mix. But both work to soothe and settle the digestion. It's a good example of how richly blessed we are with the diversity and specificity of our plant-based medicines.
The botanical name is Tilia, but you might know this herb by the name Linden blossom, or Limeflower. The name originates from older words meaning "flexible, lithe, lenient, yielding", and energetically it can bring these qualities to bear in a medicine. It helps us to assimilate difficult new knowledge, to come to terms with challenging changes.
Today I am very preoccupied by the terrible knowledge of the Grenfell Tower fire. I went to Brockwell Park yesterday to harvest linden blossom, and the sweet bright fragrance of the blossoms, together with the busy buzzing of the bees gathering nectar helped me to take a deep breathe and look away from the horror of it all for a little while.
The blossom season for each tree doesn't last very long, but different trees will be in full flower at different times, which extends the season considerably. Gather a hatful of the blossom, together with the pale green papery bract attached to the stalk. Dry by spreading them out on a flat surface and turning occasionally. A large tray is perfect for this. Or do what I did and whizz it all up with some watered down vodka and allow to sit in the dark for about 10 days or so, then strain and bottle.
Or, just use it fresh.
If you know anyone struggling with these troubling times, make a big pot of limeflower tea and share the time it takes to have a cuppa with them.
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At the recent Full Moon, I was moved to make a tincture with the poppies that grow outside Brixton Town Hall. Here's a selfie-video of me doing that.

I'm making this deep decoction for someone who feels anxiety, failing courage, quailing heart, and a deep sense of disconnection from his fellow man. It contains rose, hawthorn, borage, avena, limeflower, lavender and a few other things. He had mugwort in earlier mixes to help him feel consolidated and centralised, have faith in his own path, but I think he needs something softer for now. He told me his deepest secret the last time we met, and all the pieces of his story fell... into place.
The herb I've given him for increased sense of connection is Daisy. I've given him ox-eye Daisy, and lawn Daisy too. And as I was taking these from my garden, cousin daisies also came forward to help: dandelion seed heads and also calendula flowers.
Daisy flowers are made up of many separate single small flowers that come together in confederacy to make themselves look like one larger flower that will attract passing attention.
Daisies like to grow in groups, they like to be looked at and noticed, they are cheerful, friendly, outgoing and chatty.
The daisy family is vastly medicinal, from yarrow to echinacea, dandelion to milk thistle.
When thinking about the Plants as medicine, consider how they grow and how they live, how the interact with each other and their environment. This will help you to form a closer deeper understanding of their medicine, and help you to build your relationship with them.
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I often mention Christopher Hedley and the Teachings I've received from him. Anyone who's sat in circle with me will be familiar with his work. Non is his partner and writing partner, and she needs some help getting about these days. As lovely as their flat is, being stuck indoors is bad for anyone. Let's collectively help Non and Christopher to continue being able to wander about together in their local community and parks.

I have a particular interest in treating the dysfunctional immune system and autoimmune disorders that arise from that. Pondering on the things that I know and musing on the things I learn from my patients and so forth, I realised some time ago that there is a direct association between the vagus nerves and the deepest level of the immune system. I have long hypothesised that any disorder or dysfunction or lack of harmony in the normal functioning of the vagus nerve will inevitably result in immune system symptoms. The relationship is simple, direct and clear.
Had I spoken to an orthodox front line scientist about this idea before now, I would have been scorned. But it looks like science is now catching up with this idea.
Hopefully, the gap between holistic and orthodox medicine will continue to narrow.

The crocuses are up! After the snowdrops, which can push up through the standing snow due to the heat they generate at their tip, the crocuses are the harbingers of Spring. Persephone, who has been overwintering in the Underworld with her husband Hades, has heeded the call of Hekate of the Crossroads, and travelled up into the Light. The crocus, especially the yellow crocus, prepares the way for her. I like to think of her springing up suddenly at the place where the yellow c...rocus is singing of her glory. The blackbirds are also singing, and I see them at breakfast time, gathering worms and grubs and getting ready to start a family in a few weeks.
This is a good time to be shaking off the mud and mire of wintertime. Our thyroid is starting to respond to the longer days and brighter light, our metabolism is revving up, and we're beginning to feel the stirrings of those plans and ideas that have been forming over the winter. It's time to increase our energy, clear out the pipes and renew our commitment to ourselves and our life force. It's a good time to go see your herbalist, to prepare and plan for the year ahead.
Soon it will be time for spring tonics! Keep an eye on this page for more information throughout the year.
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I'm now offering my services as a herbalist at the Brixton Therapy Centre. I'm really delighted to be a part of the lovey team at the centre. If you click on the link below, you'll see a rather nice snap of me, taken by Mardi, who runs the clinic.

Some brief sketched notes about making a deep decoction.

Late night medicine making. A pot of dried herbs ready to be decocted deep deep into the night. My herb notebook. And my press, with another medicine draining through a cloth right behind.

As I was crossing the street on a dreary gloomy grey London day, I was stopped in my tracks by the multicoloured beauty of this Plane tree. Green and russet and yellow, chestnut and olive and bright cream. And shades and shades of each. Many multi faceted depths of colour contrast. On a dreary gloomy grey London day.

Hello folks! This is a podcast that was recorded in my home at Samhain. The wonderful Natasha at Forage Botanicals is doing terrific and important work in the tradition of Culpeper, taking Herbal Medicine back to the folk, which is where it started, and where it is best nurtured and curated. This is one of a series of podcasts she's made about particular herbs. This one is about passionflower (Passiflora incarnata).
Once you've listened to the podcast, make sure to check out her wonderful website, which offers lots of ways to increase your connection to and understanding of the Plants. Here's the podcast, and I'll link to the main page of the website in the comments below.
http://www.foragebotanicals.co.uk/listenŌ Ć”/e14-passion-flower

This weekend I'm attending the Medicinal Mushroom Conference at Marlborough College. I'm giving a talk about my model of the immune system, how and why it goes wrong, and how we can treat it. The reason I'm giving this talk at the mushroom conference is that the medicinal mushrooms are the bedrock of my protocol for treating the dysfunctional immune system.
This is an opportunity for us herbalists - and indeed anyone who has a deep interest in the growing, harvesting, using a...nd sharing of mushrooms as medicine - to gather together and deepen our collective knowledge. While the use of mushrooms is pretty standard practice in many other nations, here in the U.K., for reasons that are quite mysterious, we've historically and culturally shunned and shied away from the Mushroom Nation. Thankfully, this is now changing.
If you're interested in learning more about the mushrooms, for food or for medicine, and to plan ahead for next year's conference, check out the webpage of Fred the Forager at The Wild Side of Life.
http://www.thewildsideoflife.co.uk
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Midnight medicine making. This is a batch of my healing ointment. Some of my patients and call it magic-healing-ointment. It's a long process, and I linger over every point. First I infuse the herbs in the oil for many hours. Then I strain it, and you see the remaining marc there in one of the photos. Then I add beeswax, and pour it into jars to cool. I also make a lotion from the marc, and the remains of that make a fantastic poultice. It smells like a mixture of forest, and toffee.

We're past the Autumn Equinox now, so the days are getting shorter. Soon we shall see the bones and roots and shapes of nature unveiled as the Green retreats. The Rowan is a late blast of red and green exuberance.
By virtue of its frothy white blossom and the five-pointed star on the base of the berry, Rowan is associated with the Faey, and all parts are considered powerfully protective.
In the story of its making, the Goddess of Youth, Hebe, chooses to withhold the Ambrosia ...of youth from the other gods. For reasons of her own that are now largely lost in the patriarchal fog, she hides the ambrosia with her guardians. The other gods sent out an eagle to wrestle the ambrosia back and in the ensuing battle feathers and blood fell to earth, and these formed the leaves and the berries of the Rowan.
This is a fierce and direct medicine. It carries determination and transformative energy.
Rowan is sometimes called Mountain Ash. It can live on rocky cliff sides and steep stony inclines. Those that grow from rocky clefts are known as Flying Rowan. Such gritty supple resourceful aspects make it possible for Rowan to thrive in the dry hard canyons of our city streets.
The berries are sour; they are a rich source of vitamin C exactly when this crucial compound becomes less available in out normal diet; they are powerfully enzymatic and antioxidant, and antimicrobial too. They can be cooked and prepared to make a sharp tasty accompaniment to game meat. I was given a recipe by a Romanian woman for a syrup to be used for chesty coughs and all wintery pulmonary ailments. She said that every household will have some set by for the winter months.
Even if you're not minded to make a remedy with this Plant, take the time to receive the Medicine available just by looking upwards at the bright Rowan wherever you encounter it.
Sent from my iPad
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