Sorrel & Salt
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Reference

Compendium

Ingredients for spellwork: their formal and folk names, categories, deities and forms, with the sources behind them.

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    313 ingredients

    313 ingredients

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    Botanical Name
    Panax quinquefolius

    American Ginseng

    American ginseng is a small herbaceous perennial of the ivy family, Araliaceae, at home in south-eastern Canada and the eastern United States, where it keeps to the deep shade of deciduous hardwood forest, above all in the Appalachians and the Ozarks. It stands six to eighteen inches tall, usually with three compound leaves of three to five leaflets each, and its fragrant root is shaped like a little parsnip and divides with age. It flowers in July, and its berries ripen to deep red by September. The Jesuit missionary Joseph-François Lafitau found it near Montreal in 1716 with the help of the Haudenosaunee, whose name for it means 'resembles man', and by 1720 roots from Quebec were going to China, beginning a trade with Asia now three centuries old. Overharvesting and lost habitat have made the wild plant rare; it is listed under CITES Appendix II, is endangered in Canada, and has been grown as a crop since the late nineteenth century. Among the Pawnee, Meskwaki, Delaware and Mohegan it served both as medicine and in love charms. In magic the root is carried to draw love, guard health and secure sexual potency, burned to drive off evil spirits and break hexes, or charged with a wish and thrown into running water.

    Caution

    AHPA safety class 1. It may weaken the effect of warfarin, so the two should be taken together only under the supervision of a healthcare professional. Allergic reactions, asthma and rashes among them, have been reported, and improper use is reported to cause headache, weakness, vomiting and other effects. It may alter blood sugar, so people with diabetes should watch theirs closely and consult a qualified practitioner first. Its safety in pregnancy and while nursing is not established, and it should not be taken while pregnant or breastfeeding.

    Forms

    • Root

    Correspondences

    Elements
    Fire
    Celestial Bodies
    Sun

    Folk Names

    • Five Fingers
    • Man's Health
    • Red Berry
    • Sang
    • Shang
    • Tartar Root
    • Wonder of the World Root
    • Xi Yang Shen

    Categories

    • Fertility
    • Healing
    • Love
    • Lust
    • Protection
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