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Scarecrow

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Posts posted by Scarecrow

  1. Posted · Edited by Scarecrow

    All the raetsch books are brilliant. apparently the translations are not fantastic, but in terms of combinations of visual and text, as ethnobotany porn i dont think you can really do better.

    ...

    A worth addition, especially as it has a very strong australian association is:

    Garden of Eden, by Snu Voogelbreinder, but only 300 were printed and i wonder how many he has left. (time for a colour edition perhaps <- me being incredibly cheeky Snu :wink: )

    otherwise, i think personally think in terms of authors rather than individual books, so all books by Raetsch, Ott, Shulgin, Trout, Schultes, Voogelbreinder, Stamets, and Stafford, are probably must have for any serious entheobotanist. but perhaps you also need to include the mckennas, leary, hofmann, etc

    There are so many seriously amazing books.

    Cheers, Ob.

    all right, i guess i'll go for it then. and i'll look into those other suggestions also, thanks!

     

    One of my favourites is The Chemistry of Mind-Altering Drugs: History, Pharmacology, and Cultural Context, which is about... well, exactly what the title suggests. A good easy-to-follow introduction to psychoactive drug chemistry/pharmacology, with plenty of historical notes & anecdotes.

    ooh, that one does look interesting. relevant to the biochemistry stuff i'm doing in my course, too!

    ...i'm getting the feeling that this thread will be bad for my hip nerve

  3. Posted · Edited by Scarecrow

    this seems like a thread that would be handy to have around, and i didn't see anything similar elsewhere.

    want to know if something's worth buying, or what you're after? just want to talk about how great something you've read was maybe? use this thread for discussion of books, literature, etc.

    i'll start:

    The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications

    i've been tossing up whether to grab one of these or not, because it looks pretty solid... but i'm curious to know if anybody here has owned a copy of this? what did you think? was it worth the investment? maybe you'd have another suggestion to look into instead or as well?

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    Have you thought about releasing one of those "sneak preview" things that amazon do, instead of the whole book? (I mean for future publications). Because something like that would've been enough to get me to buy it - it's one problem with ordering books online, you can't just flip through them to check it out. Anyway, good luck with the sales, really looking forward to getting my new book!

    i'll vouch for this! i was trying to decide whether or not i should get a copy of this, because i've heard great things... but to be honest i have no clue what to expect inside, and that's the main thing holding me back.

  7. Posted · Edited by Scarecrow

    I stress that I only read this post after any edits, and I can't and won't provide anything illegal. I have at least half of what you list as plant or seed though, PM me.

    fair enough! i've sent you a message.

     

    hi i have a few seeds that you're after.

    if you PM you're address i'll send you a surprise selection.

    thank you! i'll do that.

  8. Posted · Edited by Scarecrow

    Hi mate,,Welcome:)

    I think the obvious stuff section should be removed to avoid self incrimination,also you just want to grow the other plants for ornamental reasons,

    Im new here,so im not 100% on whats kosher,but be careful re ,self incrimination,and dont ask for illegal stuff,I suggest you read the Faq to be certain on forum rules.

    Someone please correct me if im mistaken on my advice.

    I think you'll find that most people here like you are interested in self growth,many are extremely knowledgeable in many of the plants you mentioned,so you have come to the right place in my opinion.

    Cheers

    all right, as i suspected i might be pushing my luck. i've updated the first post with my real, non-satirical list, which doesn't have any jokes about extracting chemicals from the herbs.

    [edit]

    oh yeah, i also wanted to ask if anybody knew if it would be possible to make the "anti freak out formula" into a tincture or something, for long-term storage/easy access when it's needed? i'm not sure what the active ingredients i'm after in these herbs are, or whether i'd be able to extract them that way.

  10. Posted · Edited by Scarecrow

    so, i've been told it's acceptable to post a wish list in this section, such that others might be aware of my interest in certain plants, and perhaps give suggestions for other plants to look into.

    but a little about me before i post my list;

    i don't subscribe to any religion (but i think it's fascinating to look at its roots and ends), i don't particularly enjoy being confined to society (although i see and understand the necessity), and i'm not really too interested in any specific shamanism/belief system/culture as such (apart from taking away what wisdom i can from their traditions/methods)... really i'm just going about my life making decisions based on my own experiences, and following my intuition along whatever path my heart pulls me towards. at least, i am now.

    i've gone through some rough/destructive/substance abusive (so much coffee) times to find the path i'm on today... a series of long-term health problems (in hindsight, self-inflicted and easily avoidable), ritual herb related awakenings, and lots and lots of books, have led me to:

    - meditative living (not just sitting meditations)

    - experimentation with 'ritual herbs' for spiritual self-cultivation

    - a deep interest in pharmacology/biochemistry

    - drop out of multimedia development to study traditional chinese medicine

    - particular interest in chinese herbology specifically

    - interest in other herbal medicines and entheogens (...this community!)

    - ...a sudden desire to learn how to garden

    i'm not entirely sure where my life is headed with this, but i might guess that the direction i'm heading in/feel might be my calling is to (once i'm more qualified and experienced) try to classify some of the powerful ritual herbs according to chinese medicine, and thereby be able to balance out their effects on health and be able to better choose which is best suited to help heal an individual. at the same time, i want to be able to understand how these herbs are functioning from a scientific/western medicine perspective.

    NOTE: there's actually a book by John Mini on Cannabis use/effects according to traditional chinese medicine. i hope to be able to make similar evaluations with other herbs. i've got a copy on the way in the mail :)

    i'm getting the feeling that what i've gotten carried away writing "a little about me".

    i just felt that some history might be important to mention because i'm a new face here, and i felt that the structure/content of my list so far might make me appear ignorant, or as some dude who is just interested in getting a really awesome water feature. but i've written way too much, haha

    TO THE POINT:

    here's a list i've been working on/gathering information about the contents of. i'm hoping to be able to grow all of these myself at some point, but at the moment my collection consists only of two wormwood plants and a pedro cactus.

    i've only just come to acquire a substantial amount of money for spending for the first time in a while, and i've got so many things i want to buy that it's disappearing a little too quickly (i spent nearly $300 on resource books -__-), so my garden may have to wait a bit longer before i can start getting a serious collection together.

    CHINESE HERBS:

    from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_herbology#50_Fundamental_herbs

    - list in progress. got a book on the way for this too: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603583300/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    OTHER HERBS/TOOLKIT:

    - "anti-freak-out formula":

    mostly from http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=29363

    Piper methysticum (Kava) - sedative, anasthetic

    Melissa Officinalis (Lemon Balm) - anti-bacterial, anti-viral, calming/sedative, mosquito repellant

    Valeriana officinalis (Valerian root) - sedative, anti-anxiety, treats nervous tension and stress

    Scutellaria galericulata/Scutellaria lateriflora (Skullcap) - anti-anxiety, sedative

    Leonurus cardiaca (Motherwort) - vasodilator, muscle relaxant, anti-stress, cardiac tonic

    - in case of poisoning:

    Silybum marianum (Milk Thistle) - protects/repairs the liver and gallbladder from inflammation and toxins/poisoning

    Activated carbon/charcoal - 50-100g mixed with water useful for poisonings and overdoses, available at pharmacies pre-mixed

    - for kicking addictions

    Tabernanthe iboga (Iboga) - oneirogenic/dreamlike hallucinogenic phase followed by psychotherapuetic introspective phase

    DREAM/ONEIROGENIC HERBS:

    - Silene undulata (aka Silene capensis) - root

    harvest the root after 2 yrs

    - Calea zacatechichi - leaves as tea and then smoked

    - Entada Rheedii - seeds

    ORNAMENTAL CENTREPIECE FOR MY WATER FEATURE

    - Argyreia nervosa (Hawaiian Baby Woodrose)

    - Banisteriopsis caapi Plant

    - Psychotria viridis Plant

    - Psychotria carthagenensis

    - Salvia divinorum

    (damn it australia, i need these flowers exactly to go with my water feature. but noooooo...)

    - Anadenanthera colubrina Seeds

    - Tabernanthe iboga (Iboga)

    - P. cubensis

    ...it's ruined all my tab indents, so it's a little bit messy. i hope it's not too bad. [edit] i've updated and made my list a little safer/removed my personal notes.

    anyway, so far the shaman australis shop is pretty much the only place i know to look for any such plants. if anybody knows how/where to get a hold of any of these, or has any of these for sale for a reasonable price, i'd be happy to hear about it! although i may not necessarily be able to purchase anything immediately.

    i would also love growing/propogation tips for anything listed, because my knowledge of gardening so far consists entirely of love, hope, soil, water and sunlight. i'm pretty sure there's a fair bit more to it than that.

    if you bothered to read my self-absorbed spiel, perhaps you might be able to suggest other plants that might interest me? i'm fairly new to entheogenic herbs, but i have a book on the way to hopefully remedy that.

    you might have noticed i like books. anything i've linked, i would probably greatly encourage anybody to read :)

    gosh, i talk too much. i won't feel bad it you skipped half this post.

  12. Posted · Edited by Scarecrow

    thanks for the advice, I have been doing just that actually.

    if anybody else is interested i found a "list of 50 fundamental chinese medicine herbs" on wikipedia... i'm not sure about the validity of this, but it seems like a good place to start. something to narrow it down, at least!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_herbology#50_Fundamental_herbs

    i hadn't really expected such a list, but having found this i'm encouraged that there would be similar lists available elsewhere, so i'll try looking for those more specifically.

    just aside, on the topic of wishlists, i'm curious to know if there's a thread around somewhere regarding these? something along the lines of you being able to post things you're interested in, along with reasoning, and others might do the same and give each other ideas/suggestions of things to try or add to their list?

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    Artemisia are very strong and vigorous plants given the right condtions. they will die off in the winter, so best to get them in a large pot or the ground now, so they have a chance to aclimatise. but once their happy they are near impossible to kill.

    I love them and have lots, and they smell beautiful.

    :D

    right, sounds promising. thanks for the advice guys!

  16. Posted

    Has anybody read P.D. Ouspensky's "A new model of the universe"?

    Goes into some fascinating depth about the model of physics in the past, physics today, levels of dimensions, time, and ends up putting forward a very convincing case that our entire universe is a single particle in another, higher dimensional universe, and that a single particle in our universe may contain an entire universe within itself.

    Or something along those lines. It's a pretty big topic and my paraphrasing isn't too great.

  17. Posted

    howdy,

    i have started studying traditional chinese medicine this year at the southern school of natural therapies, and i've long since had an interest in being able to sustain my own health using just a garden as a primary source of herbs for decoctions. i've asked around at my university and it seems that while we cover herbs as a subject, growing them yourself is not something that's going to be looked at in any detail.

    now, i understand there's a few things to consider; for example, not all of the traditional herbs are able to grow in an australian climate, and herb quality/strength is influenced directly by the circumstances in which they are grown... so i was curious to know if any of you have any experience growing herbs locally for traditional chinese medicine? where's a good place to start? any suggestions on what would be most likely to be useful, but which i can grow here easily? i have some fairly good sectioned off garden space available to work with.

    i have ordered a book on the topic which looks very interesting and useful, but it's written mainly regarding an american locale. it's gonna take a while to get here anyway, and i'm keen to get started early such that i can have a decent collection ready to use by the time i graduate.

  19. Posted

    Finally got my registration through, I'm Jasper, the bearded guy with a hat. Just wanted to thank everyone who was there, you all seem to be hella chilled people and I'm looking forward to becoming a part of this community and learning what I can. I am totally new to gardening, though, so I'll be asking for help left right and center.

    For example: the plants Carl generously gave me (thanks Carl!) are doing okay, but these artemisia absinthiums are wilting a little. My guess is it's to do with the heat wave, but I guess it might be to do with the fact that they are still confined to these pots? Should I be planting these, or are they probably fine as they are?

    I was curious if someone could remind me what the name of that drink was though? I asked just before I left, but I'm pretty sure I forgot the name within about ten seconds of walking away.

    • Like 1
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