Herblore about Roses

ROSE — Rosa rugosa

Queen of Flowers, "Mean-Old-Lady-She-Sticks-You", Meadow Rose, Sweet Briar

There are about 300 species and over 1600 varieties of rose.

The rose is known world-wide.

The rose comes from the Greek "rodon" meaning red.

Legends and Superstitions:

– The Greeks claim that the rose sprang from the blood of Adonis, the handsome young man who was killed by a wild boar.
+Aphrodite, who had fallen in love with Adonis, in her sorrow, changed his blood into a rose*.
+(*Some story tellers say it was the anemone or windflower.)
– The Roman believed that the red rose came from the blood of Venus when her foot got stuck on a thorn as she was helping Adonis.
+Venus loved Adonis better than the warrior Mars, even though Adonis was younger than Mars.
+Mars loved Venus intensely, but perceived that venus loved Adonis better than him.
+He killed Adonis, thinking it would cause Venus to return to him and forget Adonis.
+However, when Venus heard of his plans she quickly ran to rescue Adonis.
+In her rush to save him she fell in a bed of white roses which pricked and wounded her tender feet.
+She bled profusely and the roses all became red with her blood permanently in remembrance of the beautiful Venus and her love for Adonis.
– Venus threw her tender body into the rose thicket willingly to spoil its beauty out of spite for what Mars had done to her fair Adonis.

– Roses became red when Cupid was teasing the goddess at a banquet.
+The undisciplined Cupid knocked over the pot of heavenly Nectar with his wings, causing it to fall to earth and gave its color to the red rose.
+Thus the red rose is called "Cupid’s flower".
– The rose did not develop thorns until after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

– To pre-Christian people the rose suggested divinity.

– Fairies are attracted to gardens where roses are planted.

– Stolen roses grow best.

– Roses were found in Egyptian tombs.
+They were offered to the soul of their dead pharaohs.
– Cleopatra seduced Marc Anthony by covering the floor of her palace knee deep in roses.

– About 1000 BC the ancient Greeks made cakes out of rose hips which were called the "Food of the Gods".

– The Greeks and Romans used roses in garlands.

– The Romans were especially appreciative of the rose, using it to decorate their banquets, float in their wine, and wear in crowns.
+Brides and grooms were crowned with roses in the same way that the images of Cupid, Venus, and Bacchus were adorned.
– Roses were strewn on the floor and even scattered in the paths of victors or beneath their chariots.
+Roman victors wore roses to feasts believing that they would prevent drunkeness.
+The rose was a sign of pleasure and the companion of mirth and wine.
+Roses were also used at funerals.
– Sappho, the Greek poetess (ca. 600BC) called the rose the "Queen of Flowers".

– The Rose of Sharon mentioned in the Bible was probably a crocus or narcissus.

– The Rose of Jericho in the Bible was not related to the rose either.
+A rose of Jericho sprang up marking every place that Joseph and the Babe rested as they fled from Herod.
– The Arabic name for rose is "gulab" meaning "Queen of the Garden" or "Queen of Paradise".

– The Turks said that the red rose was stained by the blood of Muhammad.

– Saladin, the Muslim conqueror had the Omar mosque washed in rosewater to purify it in 1187 when he entered Jerusalem.

– An Islamic tradition teaches that the first thing God made in creation was the soul of prophecy.
+The soul was so bright and burning that it began to perspire, and from the first drop, God created the essence of the rose.
– In the Middle Ages, Roger Bacon created the first conserve of roses as a drink.

– The Church reconsecrated the rose to the Virgin Mary in one of many attempts to do away with anything that was associated with sorcery or pagan practices.
+St. Dominic recognized the rose when he instituted the rosary, symbolized as roses.
– A lord’s man had gathered a considerable amount of goods for his lord.
+He had to pass through a woods with his treasure.
+Thieves were waiting for him in the woods.
+After entering the woods he remembered that he had not said the rosary that day.
+As he knelt to pray the Virgin came and placed a garland on his head.
+At each "ave" she placed a rose in the garland that was so bright that they lit up the whole woods.
+While he himself was not aware it was happening the thieves were, and allowed him to pass unharmed.
– Hanging a rose over the table was once a sign that all conversations would be held in sacred confidence.
+The plaster ornament in the center of a ceiling in some older homes is a remnant of that tradition and is known as "the rose".
– Herbalists in the 16^th century recommended that "Dry roses pu to the nose to smell, do comfort the brain and the heart."

– Rosewater was called "the gift of angels" and considered one of the safest healing agents available.

– Rose oil was discovered sometime in the 16^th century by two persian lovers.
+The Emperor Dijihanguyr, of the Moguls, had a canal dug around his gardens and filled with rose water.
+As he and the princess Nour-Dijihan were rowing in the fragrant canal on their wedding day, they noticed how the heat of the sun had separated the water from the essential oil of the rose.
+It was skimmed off and found to be an exquisite perfume which was called "Otto of Roses" or "Attar of roses".
– In the 17^th century the use of rose water was as common as present day use of vanilla.

– Rose hips and rose petals were used for rose pudding, rose syrup, and rose conserves.

– English maidens used to pluck a rose on Midsummer’s Eve to determine the faithfulness of their lovers.
+If the rose hadn’t faded by the beginning of the next month they could be certain their lover was true to them.
– A love potion can be made which will insure the love of the opposite sex.
+A certain number of red and white rose petals and forget-me-nots were to be boiled in 385 drops of water for one sixteenth of an hour.
+Three drops of the resulting elixir were to be place in something for the person to drink.
– William Penn brought 18 rose bushes with him to the new colonies when he returned from England in 1699.

– George Washington (1^st president) and Thomas Jefferson (3^rd president) both liked roses and grew them on their estates.

– John Adams (2^nd president) planted the first roses at the White House.

– The Aztecs boiled rose water to drink as a purgative.

– Rose hips were used to produce a vitamin C substitute for children in England during Word War II because of a shortage of oranges.

– A handful of rose hips contains 60 times more vitamin C than an orange.

Medicinal uses:

Arteriosclerosis – Emphysema – Lungs – Bites – Fever – Round worms – Bruises

Fever blisters – Sore eyes – Circulation – Heart – Sore throat – Colds

Infections – Stings – Contagious diseases – Influenza – Stomach – Diarrhea

Kidneys – Stress – Eczema – Liver – Yellow jaundice

Cinnamon and Honey

Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot. What it will do is what some call 'turning to sugar'. In reality, honey is always honey. However, when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will "crystallize".  When this happens loosen the lid, boil some water and sit the honey container in the hot water, but turn off the heat and let it liquefy naturally. It is then as good as it ever was. Never boil honey or put it in a microwave. This will kill the enzymes in the honey.

 CINNAMON AND HONEY

Facts on honey and cinnamon: 

It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases.

Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases.  Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients.  Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, in it's issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast.  It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack.  Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack.  Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat.  In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder.  If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.  In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it.  It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE: Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth.  This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours.  As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured.  According to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days.  This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts.  Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural Ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age.  Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea.  Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day.  It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age.  Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste.  Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water.  If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS: Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

WEIGHT LOSS: Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water.  If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER: Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully.  Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible.  Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

BAD BREATH: People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing.

Gin-soaked raisins for arthritis & other inflamations

Gin-soaked Raisins for Arthritis and other Inflamationswww.drunkenraisins.com arthritis.about.com/od/alternativetreatments/f/raisinsgin.htm
Dr. Oz featured this recipe on a show in November 2010. The color of the raisins doesn't matter; his example used the dark ones commonly purchased at your local grocer's. He said they could reduce the ill effects of rheumatoid arthritis by as much as 50%. Juniper berries contain turpens and raisins contain oleanolic acid and phenols; all of which are known to have anti-inflamatory properties.
Another site suggested making sure you read the label of your gin to make certain that it is made from or includes juniper berries.

I tried it because of night-time leg pains and was amazed at how quickly it worked. Others say it make take up to six weeks to feel the difference. I placed a box of raisins (I used golden - before I heard the others would work as well.) in a 2-quart jar and covered them with gin. (One recipe suggested using a shallow glass container.) I also added 2 TBS of honey and ½ tsp of cinnamon, placed a lid on the jar and shook it well. I then loosened the lid to allow some evaporation (cheesecloth might work a little better). While the directions I found suggested waiting a week, I tried about nine raisins the following morning and got great results. I think the important thing is to shake the raisins daily and let the liquid evaporate for however long it takes.

As with any home remedy, use common sense and if there are any allergic reactions, stop taking them. If the symtoms are bad, get help from your health-care provider.http://www.food.com/recipe/gin-soaked-raisins-purported-arthritis-remedy-236772#ixzz1JsESBMP7This is an old remedy which has been revived because it seems to work for many people. Check out these sites: