"JOY IS CONTAGIOUS, SO IS INNER PEACE."
I like the idea that joy and inner peace are contagious. This is the kind of disease I want all individuals to have . Let's call it joyitis, inflammation of joy and peacitis, inflammation of inner peace. So what are the prescriptions for 'joyitis' and 'peacitis' The first treatment is meditation and prayer. The second is self-love.
In my recent studies I have found that the worse tasting herbs are the most effective. There are at least ten (10) different tastes from herbs. Some of these tastes are bitter, sour, pungent, spicy, acrid, sweet, salty and bland.
There are three different energetics for the bitter tasting herbs. The bitter tasting energetics are alkaloidal, non alkaloidal and fragrant. The non alkaloids can be hot/dry or cold/dry. It does get confusing.
I think it is important that when you are using an herb you describe the taste to the practitioner. If you take many herbs you will be able to differentiate between the tastes. The bitter herbs regardless of the energetics, are bitter. Some of these herbs are Oregon grape root, barberry, coffee (all alkaloid), artichoke, motherwort (cold/dry nonalkaloid), tumeric (warm/dry) and wormwood, black walnut (fragrant). All of these bitter herbs can be used to treat/support the gastrointestinal system.
The sour herbs can be true sour or astringent. The energetics of true sour are cool/dry whereas the energetics for astringent are neutral/dry. The true sour herbs can be wild blueberry, schisandra and raspberry leaf. Examples of astringent herbs are witch hazel and bayberry. I love the true sour herb taste. I like sour.
The pungent herbs are the second most disliked herbs after bitter tasting herbs. The pungent herbs can have energetics of hot/dry or cold/dry. Examples are garlic, cayenne, and ginger (hot/dry) and echinacea, eucalyptus (cold/dry).
The spicy herbs are my second favorite after sour. The spicy tasting herbs have warm/dry energetics. Examples are the culinary herbs basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, and bergamot. This is an easy category to remember. Most of us who cook even a little and are Italian have used these herbs.
The acrid herbs have energetic of cold/dry. Examples are lobelia, vervain, kava and black cohash.
The sweet tasting herbs have warm/slightly moist energetic. The examples are stevia, astragalus, and licorice. Not a bad tasting group. Used as immune tonics.
The salty tasting herbs are either true salty (energetic cool/dry) or mineral salt (energetic cool/dry). An example of true salty is glasswort. I have not used this herb and have very little information on this class. The cool/slight dry mineral salt tasting group encompasses nettles (used extensively for allergies), horsetail (used extensively to grow my hair) and dandelion (as a diuretic).
The last tasting category is bland slippery with energetics of cool/moist. These are the moistener herbs like slippery elm, marshmallow, and comfrey. I used these herbs in helping with Irritable Bowel Disease. I also add meadowsweet (which is not bland slippery) but sweet.
Most of this information has been derived from the herbal courses in Black Mountain, North Carolina at the Medicines from the Earth Conferences in the last ten years. Through the years I am becoming more familiar with the different herbal tastes.
Often a patient will ask, "What does it taste like?" I think it is important to be honest with the patient if you have tasted the herb. I also find it important as an RH to taste as many different herbs as I can.
Until tomorrow...
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