Guest guest Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 > During the Great Plague, four robbers were convicted of going > to the houses of plague victims, strangling them in their beds > and then looting their dwellings, while never catching the > plague... For their crimes, they were condemned to be burned > at the stake, and in order to have their sentence mitigated, > they revealed their secret preservative, after which they were > hanged. Someone taking the herb curriculum I'm in brought in a small bottle of this a couple weeks ago. What probably saved anyone who lived through the Great Plague was genetics, delta 32. Its the same genetics that saves some folks from catching or (if they only inherit from one parent) getting a lethal dose of AIDS. PBS has a program about it. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_plague/clues.html> Penel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 > Could be... I find the recipe interesting... the camphor though, I think will > have to go for me... Yeah, in the sample I sniffed the camphor and clove were a bit much. But hey, we're talking anti-plague here. When I toured Egypt 17 years ago everyone in my little band of hippies came down with weird itchies all over their bodies but me. Why not me? The first day off the plane in Luxor my neck went out of kilter and I spent the rest of the wandering slathered in a Tiger Balm haze. Penel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Suzanne wrote: During the Great Plague, four robbers were convicted of going to the houses of plague victims, strangling them in their beds and then looting their dwellings, while never catching the plague... Fortheir crimes, they were condemned to be burned at the stake, and in order to have their sentence mitigated, they revealed their secret preservative, after which they were hanged. There have obviously been many spins of the tale. Here is the recipe stated to be the original: ================================= You know, I believe the original is lost somewhere. There are so many "original 'Vinegar of Four Thieves' recipes" floating around it is kind of hard to determine which one is the correct one. Here is another that is touted as the original. 2 Quarts of ACV 2 tablespoonfuls each of lavender, rosemary, sage, wormwood, rue, mint, garlic. Combine herbs (not with the garlic) and steep in the vinegar in the sun for two weeks. Strain, bottle and label and add several cloves of garlic and close with lid. Steep garlic for several days and then strain out the garlic. Here are some more along with the one you posted Suz. Vinegar of the Four Thieves 3 pints strong white wine vinegar a handful each of wormwood, meadowsweet, juniper berries, wild marjoram and sage 50 cloves 2 ounces of elecampane root 2 ounces of angelica 2 ounces of rosemary 2 ounces of horehound 3 g camphor Steep the plants in the vinegar for 10 days. Force through a sieve. Add camphor, then filter. Rub on face and hands and burn in room. Additionally, keep in small bottles for the vapors to be sniffed. Avoid contact with eyes. Dr. Valnet's formula for an antiseptic vinegar similar to the vinegar of the four thieves is as follows: wormwood 80g rosemary, sage, mint, rue, lavendar 40g calamus, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, garlic 5g camphor 10g crystallized acetic acid 40g white vinegar 2,500g Steep the plants in the vinegar for 10 days. Force through a sieve. Add camphor, dissolved in the acetic acid, then filter. Rub on face and hands and burn in room. Additionally, keep in small bottles for the vapors to be sniffed. Avoid contact with eyes. For a general room disinfectant, a common formula can be used as follows: a handful each of lavender, rosemary, sage, rue and mint apple cider -or- white vinegar Steep the plants in the vinegar for 4-6 weeks. Force through a sieve and strain into a mister bottle. Use to disinfect the air of sick rooms or to freshen the indoor air of rooms during the winter months. And another one: Marseilles Vinegar or Four Thieves Vinegar 40 g. greater wormwood, Artemesia absinthum 40 g. lesser wormwood, Artemesia pontica 40 g. rosemary 40 g. sage 40 g. mint 40 g. rue 40 g. lavender 5 g. calamus 5 g. cinnamon 5 g. clove 5 g. nutmeg 5 g. garlic 10 g. camphor (do not use synthetic camphor) 40 g. crystallized acetic acid 2500 g. white vinegar Instructions: steep the plants in the vinegar for 10 days. Force through a sieve. Add the camphor dissolved in the acetic acid, filter. And some different varieties: Dr. Plague Formula 8 parts apple cider vinegar 5 parts glycerine U.S.P. 5 parts honey 2 parts garlic juice, fresh 2 parts comfrey root concentrate* 1 part wormwood concentrate 1 part lobelia leaf and/or seed concentrate 1 part marshmallow root concentrate 1 part oak bark concentrate 1 part black walnut bark concentrate 1 part mullein leaf concentrate 1 part skullcap leaf concentrate 1 part uva ursi, hydrangea, or gravel root concentrate Mix the ingredients well! *Due to new restrictions on comfrey for internal use, it is suggested that slippery elm be substituted for this ingredient. How to make the concentrates: Each concentrate should be made individually. Start by soaking the herb for four hours or more in enough distilled water to cover it completely. After soaking, add more distilled water so that the total added equals 16 oz. (.5 liter) water per 4 oz. (113 grams) herb. Use a multiple of these amounts for a larger quantity of formula. Using these amounts approximately one gallon (3.75 liters) of the formula will be produced. After adding the appropriate amount of distilled water to the soaked herb, simmer the herb on very low heat in a covered pan or double boiler for thirty minutes. Then strain the liquid into a clean pan. Put the liquid into a double boiler or on very low heat (uncovered) and simmer (steam) it down to one fourth of the original volume (4 oz. 1256 ml). Only after all ingredients have been prepared should the liquids be mixed. Do not use aluminum, Teflon, or cracked porcelain. Glass, corning ware or stainless steel or whole porcelain are best. Dosage: 1 tsp. 3 times a day; or 1 tablespoon every 1/2 hour if infected. Here is another version, much similar to make, offered by one of my colleagues, Vaughn of Creation's Garden. 1 pint unpasteurized apple cider vinegar 5 drops rosemary oil 5 drops oregano oil 5 drops lavender oil 5 drops sage oil 5 drops peppermint oil 5 drops clove oil 4 drops lemon oil 3 drops black pepper oil 1 drop capsicum oil 1 head garlic finely diced 3 oz ginger finely sliced 4 oz. echinacea tincture Warning: Be sure to use unadulterated, therapeutic grade essential oils. All essential oils sold on this site are this superior quality. -- Peace be with you, Don "Quai" Eitner "Spirit sleeps in the mineral, breathes in the vegetable, dreams in the animal and wakes in man." In compliance with the highest standards of Universal Law, this email has been thoroughly disinfected and purified in the solar flares of the sun. Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.7.3 - Release Date: 3/15/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Suzi - that is a good idea, but I have to tell you. I've been married to Joe for 25 years and have known him for 30. Fran (his mom) has every gift I ever gave her, still in the original box. She uses nothing I make! She's saving it for something special!!! She's 81 for crying out loud. To me that's special enough reason! I make a decorative outdoor foot mat and after she unwrapped it, I grabbed it and placed it outside the door and told her it had better be there the next time I came down. It was, but now it's not. I'm hoping she wore it out! When we go there in the summer and take food we usually end up leaving something. Fruit, salad dressings, salads, whatever and when we come back 3 - 4 weeks later she still has it in the refrigerator for us, even though we have told her to go ahead and eat it. Noooo, she thinks we're starving, destitute hippies and she can't take our food from us. This is a woman with poly-myocitis. Which means she's got a whole lot wrong with her and nobody knows what it is. She's on so many medications (and she can't swallow) she has to chop and powder them up to mix with ice cream to take them!! She lives in the most beautiful place in the world on Hood Canal, Washington and she spends 4 out of 5 days in town going to the doctors. I'm sorry for going on and on but I feel so bad for the woman. She eats out of boxes and cans and has fresh crab, oyster, and shrimp in her front yard! My father in law is an excellent cook, but she wants cheese sandwhiches. She cannot see how much healthier we are from raw foods and natural "medicines". She just sees how much her insurance won't pay. Okay, I'm going to stop on my mil. I get on these tangents every so often and it makes me crazy, so I'll end now. It's my turn in the shower!! -- Shari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 <snip> > This is a woman with poly-myocitis. Which means she's > got a whole lot wrong with her and nobody knows what > it is. She's on so many medications (and she can't swallow) > she has to chop and powder them up to mix with ice cream > to take them!! If she has a " damp " constitution the dairy might be making it worse. Raw foods might make her very uncomfortable as well if her condition is cold in nature. <snip> > My father in law is an excellent cook, but she wants > cheese sandwhiches. Sometimes we crave things that are totally wrong for us. Its part of the imbalance. This is really sexist to suggest but if you can find a real REAL cute acupuncturist you might be able to con your mother-in-law into seeing him. If the needles are Japanese you can't even feel them, but there are ways to do TCM without needles or moxibustion. An acupuncturist might suggest herbs and do bodywork as well. Penel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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