Natural Way - Old trees and headaches

We have seen beautiful 50 to 100-year-old trees unnecessarily chopped down in the name of progress here in Northland recently, much to the dismay of many people.

Britons venerate trees much more so than do New Zealanders, who are apt to lop down native trees and forests without much thought. Centuries-old sacred groves survive around the English countryside, where in antiquity rites were performed in honour of tree gods. Royalty coroneted beneath ancient majestic trees, hoping some of the longevity and power would rub off. 

Fortunate to see some of these old trees, survivors of long-gone ancient forests that once covered the entire country, I learned that there is radiating out around the globe a resurgence of interest in preserving old trees and forests for future generations.

England is a country that can proudly boast more old and ancient trees still living than anywhere else in north western Europe. A new society has been set up called Venerable Trees Initiative which is busy documenting and protecting by law, national trees of great age, size and importance to wildlife and humankind.

On the international level the World Wildlife Fund and Forests for Life societies strive to promote forest conservation globally, persuading governments in places like Thailand and Brazil to protect large swathes of forest in the interests of preventing landslides, river-silting, flooding, pollution, climatic regulation and animal/bird habitat protection.

In medieval Europe and Britain, certain trees were thought to be magic. People pilgrimaged to gnarled, feature-full old trees with peculiar holes, ‘V’ clefts, knots and faces in the galls to mumble in the hope of healing themselves and love ones.

Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) was upon the throne during the ‘Golden Age’ of herbal studying, a time that gave birth to great physicians, herbalists and astronomers. 

Nicholas Culpeper was all of these. His interest in astrology led him to give rebirth to the Greek lore of associating astrological bodies with plants, disease and human anatomy. His work is still much in vogue with practitioners today. Culpeper attributes hot herbs like cayenne (chilli) to the hot planet Venus. Under her influence hot spices are empowered. 

Contrarily, our Moon imbibes cooling properties into cucumber, willow and water lilies. We find in using these watery, cool herbs that heat rashes, inflamed abscesses, glandular swellings and bruises recede admirably upon application of ‘water herbs’. Herbalists call these cooling herbs ‘Refrigerants’ and they are important in herbal healing of all hot and swollen inflammations. 

Willow leaves and bark contain the natural painkiller salicylic acid, a popular anti-inflammatory (anti-heat) principle originally used in the popular pain-relief drug ‘Aspirin’, though a synthetic version is now used. 

To ease a headache, crush a handful of washed willow leaves and tips, bruise them and soak 15 minutes in two cups of simmering water, covered. Strain and take 20ml half hourly until headache diminishes.

Important: If on blood thinning or heart medication, or diuretic medication, do not use willow.

Good Health,

Malcolm Harker.