China Bayles' Book of Days (62 page)

Learn more about the uses of herbs in Scotland:

The Scots Herbal: The Plant Lore of Scotland
, by Tess Darwin

According to tradition, the last herb stalk left in the garden after the harvest is the home of the garden spirit. Ask for its blessing, and hang it in the kitchen.

OCTOBER 29

“What Folk Do with Herbs”: The Sixteenth Annual Myra Merryweather Lecture

In pursuit of a fully rounded herbal education, the herb guild has established the Myra Merryweather Lecture Series. Each year, they invite a noted herbal expert to speak on an interesting and engaging topic. This year’s lecture was even more interesting than usual. Entitled “What Folk Do with Herbs,” it was all about herbal folklore. The guest speaker, Mrs. Emmaline Wiggenton, probably could have talked all night (in fact, some people thought she might be going to do just that). But she certainly kept everyone entertained. Here are some of the highlights of her talk.

• Comfrey was not just a medicinal herb, it was a wonder-worker. Comfrey leaves in the bath water could restore your virginity.

• If you take a heliotrope flower into church, it will cause all the unfaithful wives to be frozen in their seats.

• Hide caraway seeds in your husband’s pocket, and he will be safe from the lures of the other woman. If that doesn’t work and he strays, burn a bay leaf to bring him back again.

• Tie a red onion to the bedpost. It will keep you from catching cold and other unpleasant diseases in bed.

• If you’re worried about your moral health, you can get a checkup with a plantain. Pull a leaf and count the number of ribs. This will tell you how many lies you’ve already told today.

• A young woman who is curious about the identity of her future spouse can find out by setting a dish of flour under a rosemary bush on Midsummer Eve. When she gets up in the morning, she’ll find her future husband’s initials written in it. Or somebody’s.

• Set your cabbage plants out on a Friday new moon, and they’ll never be harmed by the frost.

• Fennel is a favorite of snakes. They eat it to restore their youth before shedding their skins.

In token of the Guild’s deep appreciation for her erudite lecture, Pansy Pride presented Mrs. Wiggenton with an engraved plaque and a beautiful tumbleweed made of coat hangers, crafted by the Guild’s very own Harold Thompson. This brought all the Guild members to their feet in an enthusiastic burst of applause.

The evening ended with a selection of delicious herbal refreshments, although it was remarked that Felicity Firestone’s prizewinning fennel pesto, served as an appetizer on toasted crostini, was almost untouched.

For more on Mrs. Wiggenton’s subject:

Discovering the Folklore of Plants
, by Margaret Baker

OCTOBER 30

Hey-how for Hallow e’en!
A’ the witches to be seen
Some in black, and some in green,
Hey-how for Hallow e’en!
—TRADITIONAL SONG

And the Great Pumpkin will rise up out of his pumpkin patch with his bag of toys for all the good children.

—CHARLES SCHULTZ, IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN,

CHARLIE BROWN!

Pumpkins!

It’s time to celebrate that great American ritual, the carving of the pumpkin. It is said that the practice began in Ireland, with lighted coals put into carved turnips. However that may be, the Holloween pumpkin is certainly an American invention, for
Cucurbita pepo
is a native American herb.

An herb? Indeed! The pumpkin in its entirety—the flesh, the blossoms, and the seeds—was a popular, nourishing vegetable, used by many Indian tribes: Apache, Cherokee, Navajo, Ojibwa, Papago, Rappahonnock. But the seeds were also used to treat intestinal parasites and kidney and urinary problems. A decoction of the stems was used to soothe menstrual cramps, and the leaves for upset stomachs. A ground seed paste cleansed and softened the skin.

When you’ve carved your pumpkin, there’s sure to be plenty of pumpkin seeds for the children to roast and eat. Here’s the basic how-to: Separate the seeds from the pulp and wash the seeds thoroughly. Spread them on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt or Savory Blend (August 29), and bake at 350° for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. And for more eating fun, sprinkle with Mama Mia, Creole Crazy, or Mexi-Corny Popcorn Sprinkle (see January 19)—what’s good for popcorn is just as good for pumpkin seeds. Go for it, Charlie Brown!

American Indian tribes had different names for the October full moon:

Apache: Moon When the Corn Is Taken In Northern Arapaho: Falling Leaves Moon Cheyenne: Moon When the Water Begins to Freeze at the Edge of the Stream Muskogee: Big Chestnut Moon

OCTOBER 31

Today is the eve of Samhain. In the Celtic calendar, it marks the beginning of the winter season. In America, today is celebrated as Halloween, a contraction of All Hallows Eve.

To summon minor devils, burn incense made of parsley root, coriander, nightshade, hemlock, black poppy juice, sandalwood, and henbane.

—SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FORMULA, CITED IN ROSEMARY
REMEMBERED: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

The Witching Herbs

Whether or not Ruby Wilcox is a witch (as some folks in Pecan Springs insist), she is definitely sympathetic to earth religions and pagan traditions. Her studies have taken her into the herbs that were traditionally associated with witches, and she usually teaches a class on them during the last week of October. The following material comes from one of her class handouts. (Please note that Ruby is giving historical information, not teaching people how to use these deadly plants!)

A TRIO OF BANEFUL HERBS

• Henbane (
Hyoscyamus niger
) was believed to have aphrodisiac properties. The Greek priestesses of the Oracle of Delphi are said to have smoked it to increase their prophetic powers, and it has long been thought to enhance clairvoyance. Ingested, it is fatally toxic.

• Belladonna (
Atropa belladonna
). In legend, belladonna belongs to the devil. The name may refer to the use of the juice by Italian women as an eye-drop, to give brilliancy and beauty to the eye, or to Hecate, goddess of the underworld, who could transform herself into a beautiful woman. A narcotic, pain reliever, and source of atropine, belladonna had important uses in early medicine, although it was known to be fatally toxic. Mixed with fat or oil and rubbed on the skin, the plant was used as an hallucinogen. An ingredient in the infamous “flying ointments.”

• Mandrake (
Mandragora officinarum
). A narcotic herb, used in ancient times as an anesthetic during surgery. According to
The Modern Herbal,
“The plant was fabled to grow under the gallows of murderers, and it was believed to be death to dig up the root . . . It was held, therefore, that he who would take up a plant of Mandrake should tie a dog to it for that purpose, who drawing it out would certainly perish.” Mandrake was apparently used like henbane and belladonna, as an hallucinogenic ointment.

More about witching herbs:

Magical Herbalism
, by Scott Cunningham

Murder, Magic, and Medicine
, by John Mann

NOVEMBER 1

Today is Samhain, the fourth cross-quarter day of the Celtic year. Other cross-quarter days: Imbolc (February 1), Beltane (May 1), and Lughnasadh or Lammas (August 1).

The new year of the earth begins. We have reached the midpoint between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. This is the time to think about our own mortality. The veil is the thinnest between the worlds tonight, and dead souls visit their living relatives.

—ZSUZSANNA E. BUDAPEST, THE GRANDMOTHER OF TIME

Soul Cakes

Samhain was a major celebration in the England of earlier times, for the harvest was complete and the households and farmsteads were stocked with food for the winter. Groups went from house to house, singing or chanting in return for something to eat or drink, as they did at other celebrations. When the pagan festival became All Souls Day, the poor went about chanting prayers for the souls of any who had died that year, in return for “soul cakes,” flat oat breads baked with currants. The dead, who were believed to return at this time, were also thought to share the cakes.

There is no record of the herbs that might have been used to flavor the cakes, but rosemary was likely. Begin a tradition in your family by baking these cupcakes and sharing with the neighbors.

OATMEAL APPLE CUPCAKES WITH NUTS AND ROSEMARY

1 apple, chopped
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced fine,
or 1 teaspoon dried
1 cup oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of
lemon juice added)
½ cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup muffin tin, or place paper cups in muffin tin. Mix chopped apple, raisins, nuts, and rosemary. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix egg, buttermilk, and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients in two batches, stirring just to mix. Add fruit-nut mix. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened. Fill muffin cups
full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove from the muffin tins. Makes 2 dozen muffins.

NOVEMBER 2

Hispanics celebrate their dead throughout the year, but especially on
El Día de los Muertos
, the day when families hold reunions at the cemetery, where the spirits of the dead are invited to join the festivities and share in the holiday food, music, flowers, candles, and incense. It’s a reflection of Hispanics’ respect for death, their belief that death is only a part of life, in the natural progression from this world to the next.

—BLEEDING HEARTS: A CHINA BAYLES MYSTERY

El Día de los Muertos

In Mexico, Day of the Dead celebrations usually take place between October 27 and November 2. The rituals differ, depending on family, community, and regional traditions. Families create home altars displaying the
ofrendas
, or offerings, which include flowers and herbs, pictures, candles, and
pan del muerto
, as well as favorite foods. The community celebrates with music, dancing, gay costumes, and quiet visits to family gravesites, where candles and incense are burned. But whatever else the celebration involves, three important herbs are likely to be used.

• Amaranth (
Amaranthus hypochondriacus
) was a staple grain for pre-Columbian Aztecs, who believed it had supernatural powers. Associated with human sacrifice, ground amaranth seed was mixed with honey or human blood and formed into figures that were eaten during rituals. At modern Day of the Dead celebrations, the seeds are mixed with honey and chocolate and made into skulls called
calaveras
, with the name of the dead on the forehead. The skulls symbolize death and rebirth.

• Marigold (
Tagetes sp.
), or
zenpasuchitl
or
cempasuichil
, figured in Aztec beliefs about the seven-year journey to and from the afterworld, which must be completed before the dead could rest. In search of nourishment, souls returned to the land of the living each year. They took strong-smelling marigolds from the
ofrenda
to drop behind them, marking the trail they would take on their return the following year. Often, the living create such trails, from the cemetery (where marigold flowers decorate the grave) to the home.