BLACK COHOSH

Cimicfuga racemosa: ranunculaceae

TASTE: pungent, bitter	VIPAKA: pungent
WARMTH: cooling	DOSHAS: V+P-K-

MERIDIANS: liver, spleen, stomach, large intestine

ACTIONS: relaxing nervine, astringent, emmenagogue, diuretic, alterative, expectorant and , antitussive, antispasmodic, antidote to rattlesnake bites, diaphoretic and , febrifuge, haemostatic, tonic, arrests discharge anticonvulsant, antibacterial, raises chi.

INDICATIONS: diarrhoea, pneumonia, asthma, cough, high blood pressure, pain, neuralgia, sciatica, haemorrhage including uterine and urinary, labour (espescially if slow, arrested, or difficult), spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, PMS, amenorrhea, gastritis, snake and insect bites, arthritis, gout

PRECAUTIONS:

CONSTITUENTS: a resin called CIMICIFUGIN (18%), essential oil, saponin, a bitter glycoside called RACEMOSIN, estrogenic principle, a phytosterin called FORMONONETIN which binds estrogen receptors, fat, wax, starch, gum, sugar, tannin, sulphur, potassium, magnesium, salicylic acid

PREPARATION AND USE:
-2 tsp root in 1 pint water, take 2-3 tsp 6 times daily
-tincture 10-60 drops
-used in the last two weeks of pregnancy to ease childbirth
-use with blue cohosh for uterine conditions, with bogbean for arthritis

USE IN MAGIC: Love, Courage, Protection, Potency
-love sachets
-in bath for impotence
-in amulets, lends courage to the timid

USE IN PERSONAL GROWTH: -may help one relax and stay present to look for new ways of dealing with a constricting situation

"I need answer only to God/dess and my Higher Self. All the obstacles I see, I have made for myself."

THE FLOWER ESSENCE

PATTERNS OF IMBALANCE: caught in relationships or lifestyle which are abusive, addictive, violent; dark, brooding emotions; wrestling with shadow parts in the self or others.

"The Black Cohosh personality has the task of learning to wrestle with shadow parts in the self and in others. These souls have positive gifts of powerful magnetism and charisma, with especially strong activity in their lower energy centers. Therefore, they naturally attract to themselves many challenging people and situations, which they must learn to confront. They often experience quite tangible feelings of threat or fear, which are well-warranted due to actual circumstances. Their personal life, or the lives of those around them, usually contain themes of destructive energy. The quality of the inner life is often disturbed, tending toward brooding, vengeful, or even morbid thoughts. These imbalances can be reflected in physical illnesses, especially toxic or congested disturbances in the reproductive organs or general metabolism. Black Cohosh flower essence imparts the ability to confront and actively transform negative, destructive, or threatening circumstances. In this way such souls gain enormous power, and learn to balance and harness their innate strength and physical prowess. "

Flower Essence information quoted from Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz, Flower Essence Repertory, The Flower Essence Society, Nevada City, CA. ISBN 0-9631306-1-7