#phytotherapy

Botanical illustrations taken from ‘The Family Flora and Materia Medica Botanica’ by Peter P. Good.

Published 1854 by P. Good.

 U.S. National Library of Medicine.

At the criminal trial of Hordak, following the war.

Scorpia rubbed the back of her neck with one claw. “I don’t know why they wanted me here for this. I have no problem with Hordak. He treated me well enough. Now Shadow Weaver, she was someone whose bad side you didn’t want to get on, or really any side of her, but Hordak was a decent boss.”

“Scorpia, “ Perfuma said, somewhat aghast, “He killed your family. Your entire kingdom was lost because of him.”

“Nah.” Scorpia replied, chuckling. “I’m pretty sure they all died fighting the Rebellion. Hordak didn’t kill them.”

“He’s directly responsible for the situation that led to their deaths. He started the war, and he sent your mothers to die on the front line!” Pefuma spoke, her voice rising with anger. “If it hadn’t been for him trying to conquer Etheria, you’d have a kingdom. You’d have a family, and they would have still been alive to raise you!”

“Huh.” Scorpia rubbed her chin with the tip of a claw. “I hadn’t really thought about it that way.”

“Institutional violence is still violence.” Perfuma continued. “If you set up a situation that leads to the deaths of those involved, you are still responsible, even if you didn’t pull the trigger yourself.”

Scorpia shrugged. “It never really felt personal, growing up. Living in the Horde, being soldiers, fighting the rebellion, that’s just the way things were.”

“Because you never knew any other life.” Perfuma replied. “You couldn’t know what they were doing to you, or that you had other options, until you’d spent enough time outside the Fright Zone to learn otherwise.”

Scorpia frowned in concentration, still thinking it over. “Okay, but doesn’t that just put the blame for all this back on Horde Prime? He’s the one who really started it. Hordak was just a clone, doing what he thought he was supposed to.”

Perfuma nodded, “That’s what this tribunal is trying to figure out. How much accountability does Hordak have for his actions? Obviously, he was a brainwashed clone, a soldier for the Horde, but that doesn’t absolve him of all the decisions he made.” She turned to look up at Scorpia. “After all, we have many examples of people who were raised in the Horde but decided to leave, despite their upbringing. Adora, you, even Catra in the end.” She smiled, reaching up to touch Scorpia’s face. “Good hearts will show through, even when raised by the worst people.”

I have a lot to study for my exam today at 6PM 🤓

It’s not cool anymore btw

Extracting the essential oil from a herb is an industrial process,beyond the scope of domestic resources,but you can easily make an infused oil.This can be used as a lotion,poured onto a compress or added to a poultice.It is also a first step towards making a cream.

TO MAKE AN INFUSED OIL:

Bain-marie or double boiler (for hot infusions)

Wooden spoon

2-litre glass jar with sealable lid.

Muslin bag or cloth,for straining.

Rubber gloves

Dark glass bottles

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you can use any vegetable oil as a base,although a light one without a strong flavour of its own is best;sunflower ,grapeseed or almond oil are favorites. There are three methods:

cold infusion.

sun infusion.

hot infusion.

1.COLD INFUSION:

For herbs like symphytum,which is high in valuable mucilage that would be destroyed by heat ,or for herbs so full of essential oil that they give up readily ,like Allium sativum, a cold infusion works best.Put a litre of oil into the glass jar,add enough herb to make a thick porridge-like mixture,and leave for a few weeks,shaking it daily.strain out the herb through muslin,bottle and label the oil.

2.SUN INFUSION:

This is the traditional method for Hypericum,which yields a red oil that is very valuable for treating burns and muscular strains.The method works well as long as there is enough sun for many other herbs ,but not for those that are high in volatile oils because there are fragile and may degrade in the sun .Simply put the herb and oil into the jar and stand it in the sun for about six weeks,shaking or turning it daily.Then strain and bottle the oil.For extra strength,you can add more herb to the oil and infuse it again.

3.HOT INFUSION:

Put the herb and oil into the top of the bain-marie(the oil must not be heated directly,or you will end up with fried herbs),and fill the bottom with water.Bring to the boil,cover and simmer for 2 hours,stirring from time to time.Strain out the herb from the oil,then add more herb and repeat the process.Pour into dark glass bottles,seal and label.