The Lore of the Wise Woman

  There have always been wise women, from our earliest days even before we were truly civilised there was always one woman of the tribe who knew which herbs, flowers and seeds we needed to heal and cure.

Usually the same woman who would be brought in later in our history at every birth and death, and was the one who other women of the tribe turned to in times of trouble grief or sorrow.

A natural councillor and ‘keeper of the wisdom’, who in those days was usually an elder of the tribe.

  Traditionally this woman had an affinity with both plants and animals, and her home, which was often on the edge of the village or settlement was full of herbs and plants and simples that she used in her work with her neighbours and their livestock.

   The Wise woman often had ‘a way’ with animals both wild and domesticated, So in tune with nature herself, she could tell instinctively when they were ill and what was likely to be wrong with them.

In fact this simple but infinitely knowledgeable woman was the forerunner of the doctor, vet and councillor that we today tend to take for granted!

When she was needed, a message will be sent to the ‘wise woman’ and a cream or potion or some sort of wisdom would quickly be either delivered, or sent back to the ‘patient’ the payment for this would usually be in the form of something the wise woman also needed, such as food, utensils or clothing.  It was a truly symbiotic relationship of the simplest kind but nevertheless respectful, honoured and essential to the health and well-being of any village or settlement at that time.

Later in history it was mainly these wise women were to be persecuted as witches and devil worshippers, but the great majority of them were simple country women who had inherited an enormous amount of knowledge and wisdom from their mothers and grandmothers.  Indeed the very word ‘witch’ come from wise or wisdom.

  Today we still have the lore of the wise ones, today they are often trained healers and modern day shaman.

The ancient wisdom is still alive and well, we simply give it different names such as herbalism and therapeutic hands or healing.

There are still those of us who, in a simple way collect the wild fruits and herbs of the forest and hedgerows to treat ourselves and our families, as well as to make delicious and nourishing herbal teas and preserves, and who go with the natural tempo of Mother Earth, her tides and the phases of the moon, moving with the yearly cycle of rest and activity.

There are still people who are in tune with nature at its most basic, and can tell you the time of day by the position of the sun in the sky at any given time of year.

The wisest of these combine the many benefits of modern medicine and thinking with the old knowledge that they have inherited, and above all they recognize that there has to be a balance in all things.

So however we look at it, we come from nature and that same nature will nurture us to some extent if we allow it to do so.  Even being in tune with the Earth and its cycles will encourage a balance deep within us.

Perhaps in these modern times we need to remember that we ourselves are ‘of the Earth’ and revisit our relationship with nature and our still beautiful planet before it is too late.

   Crystal Green.