Mountain Man Traditional Healing
Magic and Medicine from the Ozarks
There are useful plants to be harvested year round, if you pay attention to the land, the weather, and generally what's happening outdoors around you. Here is the first installment of a series I'm going to try and maintain about what useful medicinal and edible plants are popping up throughout the year. Please note, this... Continue Reading →
Pawpaw - Asimina triloba Parts used: bark, fruit Traditional uses: Fruit used for food. Inner bark used to make strong ropes and string. Wood used in pegging for various illnesses. Fruit used in ritual associated with curing a man of drunkenness. Used in love magic and to prevent infidelity. A magical wood, associated with death... Continue Reading →
Note for headache and eyestrain – “I met a witch doctor in Little Rock, Arkansas, who cured headaches and eyestrain simply by writing MOTTER FOTTER on a piece of paper and letting the patient burn the paper in the presence of three witnesses.” ~Randolph OMF 133 Used in curing warts – “Another way to ‘pass’... Continue Reading →
Onion - Allium cepa Parts used: bulb Traditional uses: Syrup of chopped onions taken for colds. Used to destroy germs because of a volatile oil in roots. Onion placed in a sick room to draw fever out. “Antiseptic, diuretic. A roasted Onion is a useful application to tumours or earache. The juice made into a... Continue Reading →
Oak - Quercus Parts used: bark, leaf Traditional uses: Astringent, antiseptic, bark and leaves can be used to treat diarrhea and dysentery, can be used in poultices and to help stop bleeding. “The astringent effects of the Oak were well known to the Ancients, by whom different parts of the tree were used, but it... Continue Reading →
Held in mouth while cutting onions – “A girl from Cape Fair, Missouri, once told me that a woman can peel or cut up raw onions without making her eyes smart, simply by holding a needle in her mouth while she does the job.” ~Randolph OMF 138-139 Held in mouth for sore eyes – “…in... Continue Reading →
Nails have been used in Ozark folk healing and magic in a variety of ways. There’s a belief among Hillfolk that the object that hurt the individual was just as important to the healing process as the medicine put onto the wound. Knife blades, bullets, and nails were often treated with healing salves and plants... Continue Reading →
Mustard - Brassica Parts used: seed Traditional uses: “Irritant, stimulant, diuretic, emetic. Mustard is used in the form of poultices for external application near the seat of inward inflammation, chiefly in pneumonia, bronchitis and other diseases of the respiratory organs. It relieves congestion of various organs by drawing the blood to the surface, as in... Continue Reading →
Mullein - Verbascum thapsus Parts used: root, leaf, flower Traditional uses: Leaves and flowers can be used to clear chest congestion (smoked or as an infusion), as an analgesic for rashes, aches and pains. Leaves can be wilted and used in poultices for swollen glands. Roots can be used in decoctions for gynecological issues. “The... Continue Reading →
