The Pagan Heart
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The Magical Foods We Eat and Their Alternative Uses: An Expose on Honey
By Franconian Die Drud and Catherine M.
Part One Over thousands of years, humans have used honey for a variety of purposes. From an antibacterial salve, to beeswax candles, hair conditioners, and honeyed ritual cakes, there is a wide variety of glorious things to create using honey. Join me as I explore various recipes using honey as well as some of the history of its practical and magickal uses. Come discover the food of the gods. Let's explore some of honey's wonderful healing properties - utilized for thousands of years. From antibacterial to allergy relief, honey can be used for a variety of ailments. Join me and together we will explore honey for health.
Part Two Welcome to our second installation on the many uses for Honey. This month we are exploring some of honey's wonderful healing properties - utilized for thousands of years. From antibacterial to allergy relief, honey can be used for a variety of ailments. Join me and together we will explore honey for health. The ancient Egyptians were on the right track when they began bee keeping as early as the 5th Dynasty (2445-2441 BCE). Bees were considered to be of great importance. Their honey was not only used as a sweetner, but also served as a base for more than half of the herbal remedies prescribed by Egyptian healers. During the excavations of the tombs of the pharoahs it has been recently noted that traces of honey have been found with various artifacts, most notably within the remains of mummified bodies. Various other cultures knew the value of honey, but the ancient Egyptians seemed to have a more in-depth grasp of its ability to heal. It took another 4100 years before the scientific reasons were discovered. In September of 1683 C.E., at the age of 51, dutchman Antony van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria. Until that time the cause of wound infection remained unknown, although honey's ability to treat and heal infected wounds was recognised. With the discovery of bacteria, the mysterious effect of honey upon infection could be analyzed and understood. Honey is an amazing antibacterial. It has the ability to heal when applied directly to the surface - as the Egyptians knew. Using honey as treatment for external infections has recently made a comeback in modern Western medicine. In recent years studies have shown honey capable of inhibiting the growth of over 60 species of bacteria as well as an effective antifungal. Due to these modern discoveries, practicioners of modern medicine are now rethinking the use of honey in medical treatments. Honey's antibacterial quality arises from its action upon the wound - it releases low levels of hydrogen peroxide. These levels of hydrogen peroxide have been found to actually increase when honey is diluted. Other strains of honey have phytochemicals that aid in the healing process. If you want to use honey to treat cuts and scrapes, be sure to use all natural unprocessed honey as the mass produced stuff for sale in most big chain grocerery stores is lacking a substance called Inhibine. The disinfectant qualities of honey are thought to be aided by the prescence of this substance - which does not survive the pasteurization process. Honey also has the amazing ability to help ease the symptoms of allergies. I can attest to this first-hand from the few years I spent living on the West Coast. Unprocessed honey contains trace amounts of the pollen from the plants that the bees gathered nectar from. One of the local beekeepers told me that if you take a teaspoon a day of honey local to your area, you will find a considerable decrease in allergy symptoms starting a month or so after beginning honey therapy. The idea behind this is that by ingesting the local product, your body gently adjusts to the pollens, becoming more tolerant of them. So I gave it a shot - anything to stop popping a Zyrtec daily. Let me tell you, I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself not needing to take allergy medication after around six weeks. My bee keeper told me to continue taking the honey during allergy season and I could stop when the season was through. Considering the success I had, I would suggest it to anyone who suffers from hayfever or other flower and plant induced allergies. In addition to the amazing healing aspects, honey is also a complete source of energy. First dextrose enters the bloodstream, without the aid of digestion, giving a quick boost of energy; levulose (another simple sugar) is quickly digested and follows after to provide a lasting energy. As a whole food, honey contains antioxidents that protect cells from damage. This recent finding from a University of Indiana study shows that honey provides the same amount of antioxidants that can be found in fruits and vegetables. With the recent public education of the importance of antioxidants in our foods to prevent cancers and various health conditions why not consider introducing honey into your diet? What an amazing food. Definitely a food of the gods. So, the next time you reach for the antibiotic ointment in the medicine cabinet or the chemical peel for your face, why not head to the kitchen and reach for that liquid gold instead? Next month we will conclude our expose on honey with a look at the metaphysical properties of honey. Get ready to sweeten those spells and perhaps learn a bit more about kitchen magick too.
Part Three Honey also has a long and noble history as a powerful tool within religion and magic. In many of the rituals and accounts I have read written by the ancient peoples - from Babylon to Egypt to Greece, Rome and Europe - honey was a staple offering to the gods. Think of the terms used: the Land of Milk and Honey, Ambrosia of the Gods, liquid gold. All references to the divine and magical nature of honey. Why does honey have this reputation? Records show the ancient Mesopotamians used it, and every people since, and ascribed the same properties to it. Partially, this reputation is probably tied to the incredible physical attributes of the food - medicinally and healthwise, it is truly a food of the gods. But the metaphysical and magical qualities...why were those attributed? Grab a jar - hopefully it's raw honey, but even the commercially, mass-produced stuff is unavoidably good - and sit down to examine it. First, hold it up to the light and look at, or through, it. Use a honey stick or spoon to scoop some out and watch it trickle back into the jar. Visually, it is beautiful. Golden, translucent, and ranging from dark through to a pale straw in colour, it resembles sunshine given form. Honey is pollen taken from the flowers that raise up their heads to worship the sun overhead. That pollen is life, the fertility of the flower, metamorphised by the bees into pure energy. Something our ancestors would have observed. They, too, would have noted its resemblence to sunlight and the sun. Bend close to the jar and smell the honey for a moment, and then dip your finger in and taste it - slowly. Don't swallow immediately, let the flavour fill your mouth. It's sweet and sticky, but not cloyingly so. Feel the energy blossoming within you from that small taste. This sticky, gooey, sweet mess...why offer it to the gods? Why use it in magic? I don't know for certain - the ancients didn't explain why they thought honey so important - but I think it's because of a combination of things: the appearance, the way it is made, and the energy it provides, combined with its health benefits all provided significant reason to see honey as a divine food, worthy of the gods. I know that the spells I cast involving honey are often more potent, the kitchen witchery more tasty and effective, the ritual offerings bring swift response. Next time you create an altar to your gods, consider adding honey to the offerings - mix it with milk or wine, or offer it up unadulterated. It will be received with joy. To add an extra element to your offering, you might consider infusing the honey beforehand with herbs appropriate to your desire. Metaphysically, honey is incredible. Keep the physical nature of it clearly in mind when using it - and always consider using it in spells designed to be eaten or applied to the body - honey works best when devoured! It is sticky, and thus works well in spells designed to draw things to you. It is sweet, and very effective in castings aimed at "sweetening" the mood. It is a rich food source, and thus it bolsters and strengthens magic. Golden in colour, it draws money and good luck. It is soothing to the skin, as well as gently cleansing, and so it is a superlative ingredient in healing potions. Finally, honey is gentle, giving way easily - this is one of its most important qualities, to my mind. In any spell, there is always the possibility of harm being wrought, even when unintended. I find that spells with honey in them tend to dissolve when necessarily - they don't stick beyond their use-by-date, so to speak.
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