"...the coming of the Formor was terrible.  There was no
brightness on the Tuatha De Danaan that day, when they drew
themselves out of the conflict: they were wounded and 
weary-Diancecht went among them with herbs of healing."

The 16 Leeches, or more specifically, 16 healing herbs which
were the basic standard of Druidic Medicine.  This group is
divided into four classes, with four herbs under each of the 
four elemental worlds, in addition to one OUTSIDE
(in the celtic tradition of "a year and a day"). In the 
Pheryllt, the sixteen-plus-one are along side modern European
equivalents.

  

  EARTH                WATER
            
   Phu [Valerian]              Catwort[Catnip]
 Hoodwort [Skullcap]        Beerflow'r [Hops]
 Nerve Root [Lady Slipper]  Withe [Black Willow]
Absinth [Wormwood]         Coneflower [Echinacea]


AIR                        FIRE 
           
Golden Pipes [Chamomile]   Goldenruthe [Goldenseal]
Holigold {Calendula]       Amber [St. John's Wort]
    Eerie [Yarrow]             Sacred Bark [Buckthorne]
 Brittanica [Vervain]       Quercus (White Oak]






In addition, MISTLETOE was considered the additional
herb to make up the 17 total.  A small amount of this sacred
parasitic plant (which allegedly contained the 'spirit' of its host')
was added to all remedies and Magical formulae, accounting for its
Druidic name: ALLHEAL
The above herbs, were those standard which would have been carried in
small quanities by all Druidic-healers at large in society.  They 
were either transported in dry-powdered form, to be steeped in hot
water when needed, or tinctured into a water-alcohol base by
fermenting with grain.  The latter form is more convenient for the
modern Druid, and may be utilized as follows:

Obtain one ounce of the dried herb.  Place it in a glass jar,
and cover with twice its volume of a clear grain alcohol
(vodka is the standard).  Leave for 2 weeks, strain through filter,
bottle in amber dropper bottles and label.



 



 Nine Elements 



"I was made from the ninefold elements 
From fruit trees, 
From paradisiacal fruit, 
From primroses and hill flowers
From the blossoms of trees and bushes,
From the roots of the earth was I made, 
From the broom and the nettle, 
From the water of the ninth wave. 
Math enchanted me before I was made immortal,
Gwydion created me with his magic wand. 
From Emrys and Euryon,
From Mabon and Modron,
From five fifties of magicians like Math was I made -
Made by the master in his highest ecstasy -
By the wisest druids was I made before the world began,
And I know the star-knowledge from the beginning of Time."


Taliesin, Chief Bard of the Britons (circa 600 CE) 
as found in the Cad Goddeu and translated by Caitlin Matthews



 



You have a garden ? 

"Why of course !! Every Druid must have a garden,
for without one, we could not sooth or heal in the
manner for which we are famous.
See here for yourself. 
Name a condition that ails you,
and we shall endeavor if a remedy within these 
crocks is to be found." 






 
The Rhyme 

Goldenruthe, Amber, Butter & Red Rose,Pepon,
Elfwort, Bark; Dracos, Krokos, 
Duire: plants of Summer fire and spark. 

Silver Bough and Artemis, Sleepwort, Catwort, 
Dwale, Seahor, Withe and Lilac 

O'er Blue Star...feilds they reign; 

Beerflow'r Gag, Karan, Neckweede,Vine 
and all like these, Are the gifts of Autumn mist, 
Of cloud and rain and sea. 

May Apple, Nightshade, Hoodwort, Phu, Bat's Wing, 
Gort and Ghostflower, Absinthe from the midnight hour, 
Graveyard Dust & Dew; Winterbloom, Wintercherry, 
Vinca, Deerberry, 

Whereever these are grown, bring us gifts both dark 
and deep, of Winter Earth and stone. 

Lastly come the noble herbs: 

Beth and Asphodel, Eerie, Elf leaf, 
Heath and Crown for a Priest, Golden Pipes as well: 

Brittanica with Swallowwort, Suc and Holigold, 
Are the herbs of Springtime Air, Of wind so ever-bold. 

But O'er all class, one doth surpass: 

The spirit to allow; 

Tho' comes at end, this worth friend, 

The sacred Golden Bough. 






 


The above herbs, were those standards which would have 
been carried in small quanities by all Druid healers 
at large in society. They were either transported in 
dry powdered form, to be steeped in hot water when needed, 
or tinctured into a water alcohol base by fementing with 
grain. The latter from is more convenient for the modern 
Druid, and may be utilized as follows: 

Obtain one ounce of the dried herb. Place it in a glass jar, 
and cover with twice its volume of a clear grain alcohol 
(vodka is the standard). Leave for 2 weeks, strain through 
a filter, bottle in amber dropper bottles & label. 

As to dosage, the standard rule is:
1 DROP FOR EVERY 10 POUNDS OF BODY WEIGHT, every 3 hours. 
If symptoms are sever, double quantity. The only time dosage 
is critical is with the very young, or very old, 
or the gravely ill. 

Druidic tradition: add 1 drop of Mistletoe tinture per dose 
to any of the the 16 standards: this will act as an enery 
catalyst, to trigger the healing power of the herb. 

The Pheryllt mentions that a Druid's "leech-chest," 
(which would have been small, about the size of a cigar 
box and easily transportable) was usually made of 
Black Willow: a tree which the Celts reconized as having 
special mystic & curative powers.



 
 
"It better benefit a man to know one herb in the
meadow, but to know it thoroughly, than to see the 
whole meadow without knowing what grows on it. " 

Paracelsus








Celtic Herb Lore
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