Holistic Herbs

17/12/2025

I feel saddened by the recent ban of Turkey Tail and Cordyceps fungi as supplements as they are now classed as Novel foods.
I know a lot of people will be effected by this decision.
I am thankful, that as a Medical Herbalist, I can still prescribed these medicinal mushrooms for my patients.
Under Clause 241 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, I can prescribe herbal medicines, which medicinal mushrooms are included, in my clinical practise following a consultation. So luckily for me, the FSA's regulations concerning Novel Foods, do not effect me.
Without a consultation, I would need a Novel Food license to sell them. But I never sell herbs without a consultation any way.

25/11/2025

I have 5 magical smudge sticks available at £3 each + p&p.
Burning smudge sticks before rituals and ceremonies is important for setting proactive and safe boundaries and each stick has its own magical virtues:
Mugwort ruled by Venus and of the Element Water offers protection against exhaustion, distress, I'll wishes and evil spirits. Used to purify the home and heart. It clears the mind, increases lucid dreaming, phophetic dreams and visionary opportunities.
White Horehound ruled by Mercury and of the element Air is used in magical rituals when working with Air elementals. It cleanses and lightens the energy, aids creativity & inspiration. Used to intensify concentration and focus in meditation, unifying the mind & body into a higher spiritual realm.
Sage (garden) ruled by Jupiter and of the element Air. Used for absorbing malevolent thoughts and feelings. An aid in meditation, offering purification and cleansing of negative energies.
Yarrow ruled by Venus and of the element Air. It gives spiritual and physical protection, cleanses the body and soul, removes negative energies and facilitates journey's to the spirit world. Mends broken hearts and enhances physic ability.
Mullein ruled by Saturn and of the element Water. Gives confidence and self assurance, purification, enhance dreamwork and aid in divination practices. For respiratory health it is antibacterial and helps clear out the lungs by improving coughing.

24/11/2025

If you are looking for Xmas gifts that are natural and free from nasty chemicals then I have just the gifts for you 🤩
This Soap is super soft and moisturising. Made with Babussa oil, Shea nut butter, Coconut fat, Olive oil & Almond oil. Petitigrain essential oil (from the Bitter Orange tree) tops it off with a wonderfully uplifting smell.
£5 + £4 p&p
Wild Flower Tea is made with foraged plants throughout the Seasons and has a calming and digestive action. Bringing Spring & Summer energy into the darker, colder months. It contains : Nettles, Hawthorn, Lime blossom, Elderflowers, Yarrow and Daisies.
30g £10 + £4 p&p

19/11/2025

I have been sorting through my jars of dried herbs that I have foraged over the Spring and Summer.
I shall be offering some mixed wild tea blends for seasonal gifts soon and thought I would make a blend up just for me 😊
This one is Lemon verbena, Lemon balm, Peppermint, Nettle and Hawthorn.

05/11/2025

Do you know that if you need a particular herb it will turn up, so always pay attention to any new plants that suddenly appear in your garden.
I have always found this to be true and after having Fennel on my mind for some time now, I am delighted to find out growing outside my front door.
Fennel / Foeniculum vulgar seeds are a rich source of phytoestrogens. Just perfect for a menopausal woman.
Plant phytoestrogens are beneficial for perimenopausal women too. Consuming plant oestrogens help to balance oestrogen levels by competing with endogenous oestrogen receptors, having a inhibiting effect. This competitive inhibition may help to reduce the incidence of oestrogen - dependant cancers and also can help to regulate the menstrual cycle.
Fennel seeds are great for aiding digestion, reducing wind and bloating in the digestive system and good for use in childhood colic.
Fennel seeds also help to lower blood sugar.
For red eye and blepharitis, the cold tea can be used as an eye wash

31/10/2025

https://youtu.be/Ljp6mrDZ7-c?si=tpDhiqgENc4Z40Yz

'Samhain, Wisdom' is Grace Wells’ fourth eco-poetry film celebrating the Celtic Year, and marking the festival of Samhain, our transition into winter.Often a...

30/10/2025

Today I spent a delightful morning roaming deep into the forest on a Hedgehog hunt. But not of the animal kind: hedgehog mushrooms / Hydnum repandum aren't always easy to find, so I was very happy to find some and just as I was about to give up too. They are delicious fried in garlic butter.
I also found this Birch Bolete but these aren't worth eating in my book.
Also I foraged some Sweet Chestnuts which are in abundance this mast year.
I love all the Seasons but I think Autumn in the woods is one of my favourite seasons 🍂

26/10/2025

I couple of weeks ago I was asked by Hill Farm Tintern if I could offer a forage for one of their Forest bathing clients. It turned out to be for Martin Hesp, Editor of Western Daily Press, who was staying at the Royal George in Tintern.
The heavens opened on us that morning but it meant that there was plenty of mushrooms to be found in the woods above Hill Farm.
There were lots of Penny Bun / Ceps and Porcelain fungus / Oudemansiella mucida which are both edible and the photo is of me holding a Blusher / Amanita rubescens.

20/10/2025

I actually love days like yesterday; heavy rainy, murky & misty Autumnal days.
It created the space I needed to catch up with a few jobs and one of them was making soap.
My house is now filled with the wonderful woody, citrus and floral fragrance of Petitgrain essential oil that I decided to use for my Winter seasonal soap this year.
Petitgrain is extracted from the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange tree ( Citrus aurantium). This tree gives a lot: we get Neroli from its flowers and Bitter orange from its peel and the fruits, the oranges are used for Marmalade.
Petitgrain has antimicrobial, relaxing, anti-inflammatory and uplifting properties and helps to cleanse and balance the skin, making it beneficial for all skin types.
On a more magical note; Petitgrain protects against mental anguish, heals emotional wounds and banish negative energies. It promotes higher levels of consciousness and clears the mind.
I use Babassu oil, which comes from a type of Palm from South America and is moisturising and Shea butter, which is extracted from the African Shea Nut and is highly nourishing to the skin.
Other oils include: coconut, olive and sweet almond.
We forget that washing hands has always been a ritual 💖

06/10/2025

I am currently on a house sit for a friend and it is a glorious day here today in the Forest of Dean.
The Ladybirds are flying in huge numbers here, looking for places to hibernate perhaps, making the most of the warm sunny weather but does that mean we are going to have a cold winter? The last time I can remember this kind of ladybird event, I'm pretty sure we had a snowy winter 🤔
Love the changes that the Seasons bring 🐞🍂🍁🍄

28/09/2025

Mistletoe has had a special place in Midwinter customs since pre-Christianity. It’s a symbol of peace, good luck and fertility and is traditionally used at Solstice / Christmas time and New Year, to kiss under.
An interesting website has lots of interesting facts and information on Mistletoe, like the story I copied from there below; www.mistletoe.org.uk.

Baldr the Beautiful
In Norse mythology (specifically the stories relating to the Æsir) there is a famous story about the god Baldr (also spelt Balder and Baldur) who was slain, through treachery, by a weapon made of mistletoe.
There are many versions of this tale, but most agree on the main points that Baldr, son of F***g (the goddess remembered every Friday) was one of the most popular gods, and was known as Baldr the Beautiful. But he was plagued by dreams foretelling his death and so, in an effort to reassure and protect him, his mother made everything, plant, animal or rock, living on or growing in the earth swear never to harm him. As a result he became invincible, and the other gods began to take advantage of his good nature by using him for target practice. He always survived.
But Loki, a jealous and mischievous god, realised that the mistletoe had been overlooked in the oath-taking, as it didn’t actually grow in the ground. He contrived a weapon from some mistletoe – variously described as an arrow, dart or spear. Rather than do his own dirty work he persuaded Hod, Baldr’s blind brother to strike with this weapon, ensuring that Hod took the immediate blame. Baldr died from this single wound, and all the gods mourned for him.
In some versions of the story he is brought back to life, but most agree about the outcome for mistletoe – F***g’s tears became its pearlescent berries, still seen today and F***g decreed that, instead of being punished, mistletoe should become a symbol of peace and friendship evermore.

In herbal medicine, Mistletoe / Viscum Album, has a long history of use medicinally. Its leaves and twigs being a nervine and heart sedative. It has been used to treat; epilepsy, hysteria, neuralgia, infertility, arthritis, hypertension, of use in labour and the berries (which are toxic) of use in cancer. Rudolf Steiner recognised that mistletoe, like cancer, is parasitic, which lead him to believe of its use in cancer treatment. Also, its signature of the berries denotes its use to treat the ovaries/testes.
Warning ; only to be used by experienced practitioners as it is a toxic plant, having powerful cardiac actions that can slow the heart rate.!!