@harvest-moon-mystic @lorelei-the-witch @meskri @contemplatingtheforest @thefriendlywitch
Ok but like as much as I do like reading some of Cunninghamâs books and some of them have actual good information, itâs time to address a huge problem Iâve been noticing in a lot of books, and most notably pagan/wiccan/occult books. Long post ahead, but reading it might save your life. If you donât read it, at least reblog it so that others can.
IF YOU ARE NOT A LICENSED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, DO NOT PUBLISH ANY REMEDY THAT YOU DONâT KNOW FOR A FACT WORKS.Â
Iâm particularly passionate about this subject because my father is a doctor and has drilled this into my head since childhood, and I know plenty of people who subscribed to herbal remedies instead of real medicine, and ended up making their condition worse either because they neglected it or because their remedies actually worsened it.
The first two and the last one in this short list are okay: The sunburn remedies have been known to work. Other options include baking soda and aloe. These are fine to put in a book because thereâs no âtreatmentâ for sunburn. All you can do is wait it out, so if you want to put stuff on your skin, so long as it isnât toxic, thatâs fine. By the same token, clearing the sinuses is okay too. His statement isnât entirely correct: anything with a very strong smell will open up the sinuses. Standing on your head wonât do anything, donât try it. His statement is incorrect, but it isnât dangerous, so I wonât complain about it. Same for the headaches: Some teas can soothe headaches, but there is no way that external applicaiton of herbs can cure a headache. The mint works because itâs the smell of mint released by crushing the leaves that helps a headache.
Remedies like this are okay:Â thereâs lots of home remedies out there that you can publish, but theyâre just that: home remedies. If they worked properly, we would not need doctors and hospitals. If you insist on writing remedies like this, make sure to stress that there is no substitute for professional medical care!
The next two is where I have a problem.
Iâm going to start by identifying the difference between a cut and a wound: clearly Cunningham used âwoundâ because itâs a more impressive word, but a wound is a grave injury. Fortunately, this isnât a problem because if you had an actual wound, you wouldnât have enough spiderweb to cover it anyway. A cut is not a serious injury, but it can be if left untreated or if contaminated.
In addition, Cunningham seems to imply that placing a single strand on a cut/wound will halt the bleeding. This is ridiculous. If you are walking around with a loom and can weave spider silk into fabric, sure, you could use it as a bandage if you sterilized it: ton for ton, spiderweb is stronger than steel.
Now, on to the spiderweb:Â
NEVER place a non-sterile object on an open wound, especially not spiderweb! While spiderweb in and of itself is nontoxic, the wind blowing through it is full of pollen and contaminants, and they get stuck on the silk. By placing a Web on the cut, youâre exposing yourself to the risk of infection. If you absolutely must put something on a cut (note that this should be done on the way to medical help and you shouldnât waste your time looking for plants), Rinse the cut off with cold water, alcohol if you have it, and plantain leaves if you can find them, make sure to clean the leaf too. It is still preferable to wash the cut and leave it open to the air, especially because many plants are poisonous to the touch, and you might pick the wrong leaf.
Always seek out medical attention first, and donât put non-sterile things on an injury!
Again, we must define poisoning. Poisoning can have various forms: usually, when we speak of poisoning, we say a substance is poisonous if ingestion of that substance causes physical ill-effects. As I said above, many plants are poisonous to the touch, such as poison ivy and stinging nettles. Cunningham doesnât make that distinction, but I assume that he includes both in his statement:Â âKnow the plants in your area, including the poisonous ones and their antidotes. The antidote, by Witch tradition, will be growing nearby any poisonous plants.â
Fortunately, he does then warn the reader to not eat unfamiliar plants. Props to you, Cunningham. You have some sense.
So, letâs assume that you followed his directions, and you already know the plants. Youâre safe, right?
Hereâs an example. See this plant here? Itâs called queen anneâs lace. Looks familiar, right? Youâve probably seen it before.Â
Now, youâll tell me that not too many people are going to start eating Queen Anneâs lace. Thatâs also wrong. Letâs look at the roots:
One of these is the root of the queen anneâs lace. It is also known as wild carrot. The other one is hemlock root. Hemlock, of course, is incredibly toxic. Symptoms show as early as 20 minutes after ingestion, it is poisonous to the touch, and kills you quickly via complete paralysis of the body, then the lungs.
The hemlock root, by the way, is the one on the right.
Now, thereâs plenty of other plants like this. Hemlock and wild carrot can be identified, of course: Queen anneâs lace has a small black, purple, or red flower in the center of the white head, and hemlock doesnât. Still, as you can see, knowing your plants wonât always keep you safe.
Now, on to the next part of the statement:Â âThe antidote, by Witch tradition, will be growing nearby any poisonous plantsâ
DEAR TOUTATIS, BRIGID, AND ALL THE GODS, DONâT TELL PEOPLE THINGS LIKE THIS
So, for starters, thereâs no such thing as an effective antidote found in nature. Some plants will help your system neutralize the poison. Most plants that are âantidotesâ will just make you vomit to get the poison out of your system, and even that isnât completely effective. Assuming that you know this and are looking for a plant that will help you purge the poison, still donât do that. You probably donât know what youâre eating and even if you do, youâre wasting time.
The first thing you should do in case of poisoning is call your local poison center. For the USA, you can call 1 (800) 222-1222, and theyâll direct you to the nearest one. After that, head towards the nearest populated area. If you donât know where that is, find a river and follow the water, and if there isnât a river, go downhill. A lot of poisons, such as hemlock, cause paralysis. Cunninghamâs statement can actually cause your death in multiple ways, especially in the case of hemlock.
For example, letâs just say youâve just eaten some hemlock, and are feeling the beginning symptoms of poisoning: nausea, sweating, etc. Weâll even assume, for the sake of argument, that you know for a fact that the hemlock caused this, and not some other plant you may have eaten. If you follow Cunninghamâs directions here, youâre going to find the hemlock plant, and dig around next to it in the hopes of finding an antidote. The stem and leaves of the hemlock plant are poisonous to the touch: You are speeding up your death by exposing yourself to an even larger quantity of poison.
Even in the case of plants that arenât poisonous to the touch, looking for an antidote is something you should NEVER do. The odds that you find an effective one are slim to none, and the time that you spend looking for an antidote is time that you donât spend calling a poison center or finding the nearest hospital.
Now, for the finding of the antidotes, thereâs another thing:Â Antidotes to certain poisons do not, and have never, grown near the poisonous plants. They might, but they do not tend to grow there more often than other places. Searching in proximity to the poison will only expose you to more of it.Â
On this note, if you are poisoned by anything at all: Do not attempt to purge the poison by inducing vomiting. In some cases this can make the situation worse. If youâre near people, find somewhere dark and cool, lie down, and call a poison center or have someone else do so. If you are alone, drink lots of water, and go find people.Â
I am not a medical professional. My point, however, is that neither is Scott Cunningham and neither are most authors of pagan literature. I personally think that none of these people have any place writing âremediesâ into their books for anything more severe than a runny nose, but if they do, they should do so carefully. Scott Cunningham is not the only person guilty of this - I see it in most pagan literature I read. Please, if you read sections of books that offer remedies, be careful! Do your research and make sure those remedies work. Heck, call a hospital and ask a doctor, theyâd rather help you over the phone than see you in their emergency room.Â
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PROPER MEDICAL ATTENTION AND ANYBODY WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE IS EITHER AN IDIOT OR ACTIVELY TRYING TO MURDER YOU
Be careful and always take what you read with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to your health. Too many people die each year due to things like this.
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