Fatigue

 

While Summer and it's warmth, flowers and sunshine is a wonderful season to enjoy, it can cause fatigue. This is called heat exhaustion, which is very worrying to have. This can weaken and cause dehydration, tiredness, misery, headaches and even slowness. This can also cause sweating, nausea, vomiting and rapid pulse. If untreated this can become worse, especially when exposed to more heat, and can turn into dangerous heat stroke symptoms. 

Summer fatigue and heat exhaustion can be dealt with by loosening tight clothes and drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine and alcohol. Avoid fizzy drinks that are sugary that leaves someone feeling parched. Some other types of fatigue are not always caused by the warm weather. There is chronic fatigue and many more associated with various exhaustions and even an undiagnosed illness.

To help this, one needs to make more energy. One of the most natural ways of healing is to get hydrated by drinking fluids and getting plenty of sleep. Eat fresh food such as fruit such as peaches, watermelon, salad and raw spinach. Herbs for fatigue can eaten or made as tea: Sage, mugwort, peppermint, rosemary, basil, ginseng, lemon balm, St. John's wort and skullcap. 

Nigon Wyrta Galdor (The Nine Herbs Charm):

"Remember Mugwort, what you made know

what you arranged at Regen meld.

You were called Una, the oldest of herbs,

you have power against three and against thirty

you have power against poison and against infection,

you have power against the loathsome foe roving through the land."

(The rest of the Nine Herbs Charm can be read at The Creative Cottage page "Learn the history of the nine herbs charm" visit the link).

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Walking and pain

 While Spring is a perfect time for exploring and hiking, it comes with issues. More than just hay fever, it can hinder ones need to go for a nice walk, because of pain such as plantar fasciitis, the name of foot pain. Too much walking in hard shoes will make the foot sore at the heels. There might also be other symptoms and risks, not just walking but the pressure on feet and being overweight. It's best to see a doctor and one may have serious problems later on with it. There are intense treatments like surgeries for plantar fasciitis but those are extreme cases. There are traditional healing methods for that too, such as lavender oil, massage and ice. Herbs can also help this like eating ginger, turmeric root, cumin, mint and horsetail plant. In folklore and fairy tales, feet is much used as a story plot, especially with Cinderella who wears glass slippers that should be painful with every walk, but also her stepsisters who amputate their feet as a means of flirting and tricking the prince. In Greek myths and legends is Achilles' Heel about a strong hero whose most vulnerable part of his body are his feet, while in Norse myths the goddess Skadi had somewhat of a foot fetish as she worked out a puzzle. So next time you consider going for a stroll, or even planning on a hiking trip, make sure you look after your feet and wear comfortable footwear.

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Magic skies

 The year 2024 has been full of interesting natural phenomena and rare events. There was the solar eclipse in April, visible to many countries around the world. There is the Aurora Borealis visible over much of the United Kingdom in this May. This coincides with the celebrations of Spring, and also the season of Beltane and/or Walpurgis Night. We expect more too.

There are going to be visible displays of the Eta Aquariids, noctilucent clouds, Perseid, Orionids, the visiting Seven Sisters or Pleiades, Hessdalen lights, Longdendale lights, Naga Fireballs, a Supermoon and the Geminids meteor shower. They can be observed annually and sometimes these are understood to happen that they're predicted such as the moon and eclipses. Some of them are still a mystery to science even though they're given a decent rational explanation. Attributed to folklore and the paranormal, it's always going to be a wonderful thing to look at. 

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Hawthorn, May flower

 

Hawthorn is also called the May Flower. It's regarded as the birth flower of May born children, along with Lily of the Valley, of which I decided are two very special flowers for May. While Lily of the Valley is often symbolised with innocence, purity, gentleness and even sadness, it's tougher counterpart is the hawthorn, steeped in ancient magic and folklore, with Pagan celebrations of Beltane using hawthorn flowers. According to early Celtic traditions, hawthorns can be used to protect against spirits, help longevity and are used as love herbs. Hawthorn sticks were used by witches to make wands. 

Hawthorn trees are also called Fairy Trees, as these trees are sacred and magical. Leaves are believed to taste like bread and cheese, or "Bara caws" as this is Welsh folklore. The Scottish poet named Thomas the Rhymer said he had encountered the Fairy Queen under a hawthorn tree, where a cuckoo was singing, so he followed and entered another world, briefly visiting a mysterious place, until he returned and was shocked to find out several years had passed!

Hawthorn was used as a natural healing medicine for thousands of years. The ancient Romans used hawthorn to treat heart conditions and inflammations. Hawthorn has been used for blood circulation and relieve pain, stress and help headaches. Hawthorn is edible and made in cooking to create jams and teas. Hawthorn isn't poisonous to dogs and cats either.   

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