A story of an old Witch.

Let me tell you a story.
You will need to cast your mind back, about three thousand years; to the land we now call England.
Small groups, "settlements" were scattered about the land, and the people thrived. But, just as all humans have done over the centuries,the people often suffered minor or major illness. Some of the "settlements" would have in their midst a Healer; a man or woman with great knowledge of plants, and who knew how to dress wounds, and stitch broken skin for it to heal.
In modern times we would call this man/woman "A witch". But in those days the people would not have such a name; they would call them "The One" or "The One who can heal!"
So, let us take a look at a common ailment,as relevant today as it was then; a woman of the Tribe has a severe headache, and so goes to consult "The One", the Healer.Perhaps an old woman.
The old woman would mutter some "mystic" words, make a few "mystic" gestures; and then give the woman with the headache a potion to drink.
Within a short time the headache has gone!
So,let us now refer to this "healer" as a Witch, and let us see what this old Witch REALLY did!
She would have gone, in secret, and cut some new bark from a willow tree. Then she would gather some of the wild herb Meadowsweet.
She would pound these into a paste, that she would use to put on wounds.Some of the mixture she would add water to and turn it into a liquid Potion.The mystic words? And the mystic "signs"? Well, two reasons for those; to keep it all "secret"; and to get a small "payment" for curing the headache.
Now, the old Witch would not have a name for the potion. She just knew that it worked.
But any modern Scientist would tell you exactly what that potion was!
It is one of the most powerful drugs in use today. Millions take it every day! I have heart disease, and take 75mg of this drug every day to keep me alive.
Because, you see, Willow bark and Meadowsweet are rich in AcetylSalisilic Acid.
That's Aspirin! It's magic!

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I just absolutely love your posts Brysing!
This is simply brilliant!

I love this. People seem to forget how magick and science were the same thing at one point. Had a sore throat today actually, cup of hot honey and lemon, gone. [Untill tomorrow lol I love autumn but I wake up with sore throats almost daily for a solid month]

I was told this story by my witch teacher when I was about 12 years old.I wasn't sure if was just another "fairy tale". So I looked it up in the library. My old teacher, as usual, was telling me the truth! Aspirin is now made artificially, but originally it was, indeed, really made from Willow bark and Meadowsweet.

Love the story, wish I had a teacher when I was that young, I stumbled on to my gifts so to speak, my great grandmother was a voodoo or hoodoo witch, not sure which one since she passed before I was born.

Excellent post Brysing! I hope this reminds people to appreciate science, which in its most basic form is trial and error. When I'm sick I eat raw garlic, which tastes nasty for a few minutes but has powerful antimicrobial phytochemicals in it. Honey is also a good source of antibacterial and antimicrobial chemicals, which can help in wound care and with sore throats. Willow bark and meadow sweet may not be as convenient as a trip to the drug store today, but it is interesting to see how certain plants were the medicine of ancient civilizations.

Nice post! :-)

I always think of magic as yet to be discovered science, so to speak.

Oh,dear! How can you describe the words and signs? We have no way of knowing what they were!