Powdered herbs are most easily taken as capsules but can be sprinkled on food or taken with water.
Externally, they can be applied as a dusting powder to the skin or mixed with tinctures as a poultice.
COMPRESSES & LOTIONS
Lotions are water-based herbal preparations such as infusions, decoctions, or diluted tinctures that are used to bathe inflamed or irritated skin.
Compresses are cloths soaked in a lotion and held against the skin.
Both are simple ways to use herbs externally and can be very effective in relieving swelling, bruising, and pain, soothing inflammation and headaches, and cooling fevers.
CREAMS
Making a cream involves combining oil or fat and water in an emulsion. If the process is rushed, the oil and water may separate.
Unlike ointments, creams blend with the skin and have the advantage of being cooling and soothing while at the same time allowing the skin to breathe and sweat naturally.
They can, however, deteriorate quite quickly and are best stored in dark, airtight jars in a refrigerator.
DECOCTIONS
Roots, bark, twigs, and berries usually require a more forceful treatment than leaves or flowers to extract their medicinal constituents. A decoction involves simmering these tougher parts in boiling water.
Fresh or dried plant material may be used and should be cut or broken into small pieces before decocting. Like infusions, decoctions can be taken hot or cold.
INFUSED OILS
Infusing an herb in oil allows its active, fat-soluble ingredients to be extracted; hot infused oils are simmered, while cold infused oils are heated naturally by the sun.
Both types of oil can be used externally as massage oils or added to creams and ointments.
Infused oil should not be confused with essential oil, which is an active constituent naturally present in a plant and has specific medicinal properties and a distinct aroma.
Essential oil may be added to an infused oil to increase its medicinal efficacy
INFUSIONS
An infusion is the simplest way to prepare the more delicate aerial parts of plants, especially leaves and flowers, for use as a medicine or as a revitalizing or relaxing drink.
It is made in a similar way to tea, using either a single herb or a combination of herbs, and may be drunk hot or cold.
OINTMENTS
Ointments contain oils or fats heated with herbs and, unlike creams, contain no water. As a result, ointments form a separate layer on the surface of the skin.
They protect against injury or inflammation of damaged skin and carry active medicinal constituents, such as essential oils, to the affected area.
Useful in conditions such as hemorrhoids or where protection is needed from moisture, as in chapped lips and diaper rash.
POULTICES
A poultice is a mixture of fresh, dried, or powdered herbs that is applied to an affected area.
Used to ease nerve or muscle pains, sprains, or broken bones, and to draw pus from infected wounds, ulcers, or boils.
SYRUPS
Honey and unrefined sugar are effective preservatives.
Can be combined with infusions or decoctions to make syrups and cordials.
They have the additional benefit of having a soothing action, and therefore make a perfect vehicle for cough mixtures as well as relieving sore throats.
With their sweet taste, syrups can disguise the taste of unpalatable herbs and are therefore greatly appreciated by children.
TINCTURES
Tinctures are made by soaking an herb in alcohol. This encourages the active plant constituents to dissolve, giving tinctures a relatively stronger action than infusions or decoctions.
They are convenient to use and last up to 2 years.
Tinctures can be made using a jug and a jelly bag, instead of a wine press. Although mainly used in European, American, and Australian herbal medicine, tinctures play a part in most herbal traditions.
TONIC WINES
Tonic wines are an agreeable way to take strengthening and tonic herbs to increase vitality and improve digestion.
Neither strictly medicinal, nor simply appealing to the palate, they are easy to prepare at home.
Made by steeping tonic herbs in red or white wine for several weeks.
OTHER PREPARATIONS
Steam Inhalations
Steam inhalations are an effective way to clear congestion and relieve sinusitis, hay fever, and bronchial asthma.
The combination of steam and antiseptic ingredients clears the airways throughout the respiratory system.
Gargles & Mouthwashes
Gargles and mouthwashes usually contain astringent herbs, which tighten the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat.
As gargles and mouthwashes are made from infusions, decoctions, or diluted tinctures, they can generally be swallowed for internal treatment. Ensure you do not exceed the daily internal dose of an herb.
Pessaries & Suppositories
Pessaries and suppositories are waxy pellets containing essential oil or fine powder.
They are used when oral medicine is likely to be broken down during digestion before reaching its intended site.
Pessaries are inserted into the vagina and suppositories into the anus, where they melt at body temperature.
The herb is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, providing fast relief. It is best to buy ready-made suppositories.
Essential Oils
Essential oils can be used in massage to soothe minor aches and pains.
Before use, they should be diluted with a carrier oil as they can irritate the skin.
Essential oils deteriorate rapidly after dilution, so it is best to mix small quantities as you need them.
Baths & Skin Washes
Herbal baths and skin washes can relieve many conditions, including aching limbs and stuffy sinuses.
They are made from diluted essential oils or infusions.
Eyebaths soothe sore, inflamed, or irritated eyes.
Cold Macerations
Heat destroys the active constituents of some herbs.
Thus, a cold maceration might be more appropriate than a decoction.
Qorin lay in bed, staring up through the skylights in the ceiling of his yurt, unable to sleep despite the silence. There was peace in it… But then, nothing was ever truly silent here, was it?
There was always the wind rustling through the scrubby trees and long grass, and the waves crashing against the cliffs in the distance; the inexorable push and pull of constant background noise that was only ever a matter of volume. There was birdsong by day and cricketsong by night, and occasionally the absence of those in favor of predators skulking through. There was, more often than not, the crackle of a cookfire, or the rustling of little owl feathers nearby.
Still, Qorin called this silence. What was the alternative?
The alternative was the hum of conversation. The alternative was the clash of wood against wood, or metal against metal, and the strained noises of fighters sparring. The alternative was the bleating and shuffling of sheep and the sounds of a camp being set up or torn down. The groans and grumbling of the old and infirm, the wails of babies, the laughter of children. And as much as he found he missed these things, the absence of them meant that he was independent, a self-made man. It meant he’d grown as a person. But as happy as he was now, the question he’d been asked by his new friend still rattled around in his mind.
“The tasks you had to take on in the Iriq, did you at least enjoy them?”
He had answered it as pragmatically as he was wont to, but it kept coming back to him at times when the silence pressed in and he found himself alone enough to ponder such things. His answer wouldn’t have changed, thinking about it after the fact, but a stunning realization had hit him.
He missed it.
He missed the community that he felt, even if he hadn’t felt like part of it. It was the positive energy that was there, thrumming in the background of his every day, sustained by others finding joy in life, finding love and friendship, finding their own peace, and the routine of his tasks before. He’d had a couple friends in the Iriq, certainly, but not near as many as he’d made after he’d left.
Now, the only thing sustaining that positive energy was him. He lived alone, with no immediate neighbors. He saw the ailing and injured, and only rarely let himself rest or relax with the friends he did have. He’d built a life where he could live in comfort, but comfort meant nothing without contentment, and that was a thing he’d failed to find. He was restless, and Panu had only brought it to the forefront of his mind.
It doesn’t matter. I’m not going back.
It was a bitter comfort, knowing that he would likely never again endure the abuse he experienced as a member of that tribe, but also knowing that he may never again find a sense of community. He craved connection, wanted more than anything to know without a doubt in his heart that he wasn’t alone in the world.
But for now, as Qorin closed his eyes, he imagined those things. He imagined the wail of babies, and the hum of conversation. He imagined the bleating of sheep and the sounds of cooking and campfires and song. The rhythm of feet on the ground as his tribemates danced. The laughter of children, and rustling of tent flaps, and the sounds of sparring. All of those things that he’d lost when he’d left lulled him into peaceful sleep for the first time in a while, his dreams shining with the golden haze of halcyon days that he’d never appreciated when he had them.
With the autumn season soon upon us, it means that we're that much closer to the Starlight Initiative events that take place every December since 2023! We hope that you're excited for it this year!
We'd like to start off by doing a call for general volunteers to the Starlight Initiative. What these volunteers do usually is up to them when they're on the team.
Read on for more information!
Volunteering can look like this:
Greeting people as they come to the venue and offering freebies (usually food items that are in-season to the event, minions, emotes, etc. There's no real criteria other than don't just offload what you don't want onto a visitor),
Answering questions (or directing them to someone who can answer them!),
Being willing to do /shout or Party Finder advertisements (pre-made advertisements are available upon request and can be reworded or edited to your discretion so long as it gets the point across and isn't rude.),
Crafting and/or gathering things. You don't need to be an Expert crafter (but it also never hurts to have that skill available!),
Combat-oriented content (this can span from maps to raiding content; high-end raiders are appreciated, but it's not the end-all, be-all for us. :>)
If you're at all interested, we ask that you please come to our Discord. While we would love to say that you don't need to join it just to volunteer, we do have many of our plannings and discussions there for preparation work to get things going.
For creatives that are eager to volunteer, don't fret! Sign-ups for creative volunteers will go live at the start of October this year. Similar to last year, we will be accepting artists, writers, and GPosers — just make sure that you'll be able to participate!
As always for any of our volunteers: real life comes first, and shouldn't come over an online event. Do not feel obligated to sign up if you have other arrangements or plans. ♥
As for other news:
An expansion of our 'no discrimination' rule has also been put into place: "[...] This now includes posting anything related to Harry Potter; we will not tolerate anything Harry Potter-related as one of our event organizers and many of our volunteers are trans or non-binary, and are direct targets of JKR's bigotry."
At this current time, the date for when the Starlight Initiative events will take place is still TBA, but it will go up as soon as we have it come October 1st.
Other than all of that, we also now have a BlueSky account! Please feel free to follow us there! :>
"If I recall, there's a small inn here for travelers, and the hot springs are wonderful. I hope they'll have a room for us this late..."
It had taken Ashai a good few steps before he realized that his companion had stopped walking for a moment. His animated and excited talking ceased, as he too stopped, and turned to look at the other Xaela.
