Juniper Medicine (Herb)

Juniper Berry picture from Wikipedia

A good read is Whispers From the Woods by Sandra Kynes (Lewellyn Worldwide, Woodbury, MN www.llewellyn.com). The description of one of the trees really struck a me with a moment of AHA! All over Canada, it seems that juniper bushes get planted in front of the house or behind the house or in the yard.
Kynes talks about the fact that juniper bushes were planted in front of a house as a protection against witches. She also talks about the German belief that having a juniper bush in front of your house will prevent thieves from breaking into the house and stealing all the valuables. Did you know that juniper berries could be used to make gin?
What is really striking is that in the West, we have acres of juniper, if it were all together in one lot. It is striking that because of its medicinal purposes for colds, aches, and pains among other things, that almost every home then has a little medicine cabinet outside the door. Yet we are not conscious of the properties of the plant. We do seem to be conscious that somehow juniper is beneficial for we name many things from network systems, to music to designs after the juniper bush.
The juniper tree's greatest gift is the berries.  These berries may be used to make a diuretic tea that does not seem to diminish one's electrolytes as over the counter diuretics may do.  Pick the berries when they are ripe and then place them on a cookie sheet covered with brown paper. Place the cookie sheet in a dark place - a pantry - for three days. The berries will dry. They may be stored in a cloth pouch and used, a teaspoonful at a time, in tea.  Pour boiling water over the berries, and mash a bit, and let the tea steep for three minutes.  Sweeten with honey if you find the taste too bitter.
Let us know how your medicine from juniper turns out. Let us know too, if you have any juniper recipes to share. Bright blessings!
Judith  (judy@angelsandancestors.com)