An Old Medicine part 2
continued from “An Old Medicine”…
Meechgalanne once said Kikey Gawi had good medicine, very powerful cures, but many tasted very bad. He was right. After one of my training sessions during winter, I began to catch a cold. Meechgalanne brought me to Kikey Gawi and said that Wapsu Wiechcheu needed to be well. He said our training was not finished.
A short time later Kikey Gawi gave me a wooden bowl of steaming liquid. He said to drink it and then rest. So, I took the bowl and thanked him. The smell of the liquid was awful, something between ancient mildew and strong bitter skunk cabbage. So, I held my breath and drank it as fast as I could. As Meechgalanne laughed, Kikey Gawi stared at him and said the boy’s stomach is like yours. Kikey Gawi never bothered to make anything taste good because he could eat and stomach anything, so, he thought everyone should be that way. I always thought he was part buzzard. While I was resting on the fur hide bed, Kikey Gawi sat beside me with his eyes closed and his palms up. He did not move but sat there for a long time. Then his palms faced down and were placed over my body’s energy field. He moved them around but did not touch me. After a time he placed his gentle palms on my chest and sang. I fell asleep.
Later, I found out the liquid he had given me was a mixture of eastern red cedar, eastern hemlock, indian pipe and fresh blood of a deer. When I awoke about an hour later I felt perfectly fine. I was also full of energy to continue working out and I did not get sick. That was my first introduction to herbal remedies.
It had been many years since that hot cup of medicine when I asked Kikey Gawi what each of the ingredients had been for. He remembered the exact day I was referring to and then said, “Always remember that plants and all parts of life can be used to heal when used properly. As Meechgalanne has taught you these same parts of life can be used to harm or kill. Great care must be taken when using them. You must show them great respect when harvesting them and also when learning about them. Like everything you have been taught by us, do not abuse the knowledge. The tea I gave you long ago was eastern red cedar fruit for fighting any lung infection, eastern hemlock leaves to fight all infections and warm your inner energies, indian pipe plant for aches and root for calming the nerves, and the fresh blood of the deer was to give you energy and vitality. You will learn all about the natural plants for healing. You will learn how to use the energy from certain rocks and how to mix things with the sacred life maker water. You will also learn how to use the fat, blood, stomach contents, brains, organs and bones of your brothers and sisters the animals to heal.”
I began learning all about medicinal plants like cedars, pines, skunk cabbage, plantains, clovers, nettles, chickweed, corn, lady’s slipper and many more. It would take an entire book just to explain the plants alone. I learned which rocks generated the most energy and what kinds. I began to understand that bones of animals are a great source of calcium as well as have the ability to strengthen the muscles, heart and nerves. The blood was good for vitality, energy and good fluid circulation. Kikey Gawi told me that he would never be able to teach me the modern scientific names for all the plants and their properties.
One day Kikey Gawi said “The modern way seems to be the meticulous categorizing and precise analysis of everything in life. The problem with this way is that the true magic and spirit in each part of life is lost among the muddle of terminology and useless details. In the Old Ways we learn to communicate directly with the spirit of the life form and let it teach us the best and most powerful ways to use its medicine. This way we learn the true powers directly from the source of that particular life. The compartmental way of the modern paths does nothing but lead to confusion.”
Love is the foundation for all healing. A healer must have deep compassion for the patient and a deep love for all life. Their hearts must be full of peace, love and utter joy. Hate, greed, dissention and prejudice cannot be part of a healers makeup or healing will never work. But the energy of love that I speak of; that a true healer must hold is self love. If you cannot love yourself for all that you are, have been and could be, you cannot truly love anything or anyone else. Love begins with self.
In the Way Of The Medicine Person, the deepest healings do not occur by working all energies that are of this dream. They happen because the Medicine Person travels to the other dream and communicates directly with ancestors, protectors, guides and allies of the patient. This is all done through comunication with their own Complete Self. It is in this dream that the Medicine Person is shown which energies will best suit the healing. This is why one plant’s energy will work for one person but not another. The direction, time of moon, time of year, time of day and how the plant is harvested will all affect the medicine that plant contains. Everything in the Great Web of life affects everything else. Nothing is exempt. All life contains medicine of its own and can be used to heal. It is all around us if we know how to ask and listen.
Again, the amount of information just goes on and on. I soon realized we live in a world surrounded by medicines and tonics to help all life stay healthy and strong. I also realized it would take a lifetime of practice to be a powerful healer because of the incredible amounts of information. I knew at that moment that I would only be able to learn the basics of Kikey Gawi’s knowledge to help me through life. I was in warrior training and did not have the time to dedicate to the vast world of a healer, at least not yet.
6 Responses to “ An Old Medicine part 2 ”
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October 11th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
White Wolf, should the blood of an animal be used as a food source in a survival situation, or more for medicinal use; how much blood can a person safely drink at one time? thanks for answering the many questions i ask you, i hope you don’t mind.
Wulamallessin
October 11th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
I’ve said it before White Wolf, I would love to pay you a visit up in Vermount in my lifetime. To hopefully share & learn from you!
October 11th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
If the questions require a short answer and I have the time then I don’t mind at all
The blood should only be consumed from healthy animals. In the modern world of meat the animals blood should not be consumed if it is not organic. However, in the wild the blood can be taken for its nutritional contents. It is best in soups/stews and should only be consumed if fresh. Do not use old blood. If it is cooked in soups and stews; diluted down and eaten that way you can eat a fair amount… half to three quarters of a pint or so. Its very high in such things as iron and salts.
If it is raw blood the normal person cannot consume too much. The stomach can get upset easily. In this case it isn’t much different than consuming evergreen sap from conifers. Less is more. Most people cannot consume more than a pint of blood without vomiting. Normally about 3/4 of a pint is the limit. Of course blood is too thick for a person to hydrate themselves with in survival situations.
October 11th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
It would be wonderful to meet you!
October 12th, 2011 at 5:04 am
So you’d only drink the blood of our relations if we had a good water source at hand, because of all the salt in the blood?
October 12th, 2011 at 7:58 am
Yes that is about right.