Simple Ancestral Herbalism

An herb is defined as any plant with leaves, seeds, roots, or flowers that can be used for culinary flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume. For the most part, herbs are edible- with the exception of some low dose or toxic botanicals that are prepared in specific ways to be used medicinally. Traditional Food Cultures usually incorporate some form of herbal medicine into their daily food routines in ways you might not consider to be "herbalism".

If you want to practice simple Ancestral Herbalism? The first, and easiest way, is to make a Tisane: Water + Herb + Time. Simple. People really underestimate the power of a cup of tea, however, and are often reluctant to make tea every day. But we often take our modern herbal preparations and their ease of access for granted … What if some of the medicine herbs have to offer us is the slowing down required to make a cup of tea?

Most of our Ancestors don't have a very long history of crafting distilled, high-proof alcohol- and even if and when it was around, it wasn't cheap. Vinegars or wine can be made easily, true, but if you were nomadic (or depending on your climate) it could be hard to keep on hand all the time. Honey was traded like currency in some places and could be too valuable to use for remedies in that case; I often wonder what my distant baba's would think about me having over 100 bottles of tinctures in my house with spices pouring out of every cabinet; my jars of Rose Petals, Saffron Threads, and incenses that they rarely (if ever) saw in their lifetime.

While many of our ancestors clearly still developed a variety of different herbal preservation methods like these Infused Honeys, Electuaries, Pastilles, Hydrosols, Oxymels, etc? The tried and true herbal preparation that was likely reached for first and foremost was still Tisanes; the simplicity of water poured on some leaves or flowers creates a delightful beverage- but it also acts as potent medicine in times of need.

The basic mechanics of tea is simple: Take a pinch of a fragrant herb (for the best taste), add it to a mug, pour hot water over it, and steep it covered for 10 to 15 minutes; find a plant that smells like home, slow down, boil water, and enjoy a Tisane.

If you want to practice simple Ancestral Herbalism, however? Don’t just drink your Herbs. Eat them, too! There's so much medicine to be found in our cultural food celebrations, traditional recipes, and even the order of how we eat certain dishes; ancestral food culture for me looks like beginning a meal with a Bitter Radish Salad to get the digestive juices flowing, adding Cumin to everything to reduce feelings of heaviness, eating Pomegranates after the meal to support fat digestion, and to always finish up with a soothing cup of Tea to relax the body and support assimilation. This is ancestral herbalism!

What spices show up in your own ancestral recipes? Does your family have certain rituals with celebratory meals? Where is herbalism showing up in your own food cultures- and does that fit into your concept of what Herbalism is? And what would be possible if you tried 1 to 3 new Herbs in at least one of your daily meals?

Herbalism doesn't have to be complicated. Connecting to our ancestral traditions doesn't either.