I was going to share this with the people taking Nature Course Part 2, but decided to share it with everyone. It's a recipe for Cedar Tea, shared with me by a woman who works with the indigenous population of Canada, members of the First Nation.
Cedar Tea is wonderful medicine. Easy to make. Go to where there is no road salt or chemicals so you can gather clean cedar. Offer your tobacco. For people who don't carry tobacco, you can offer bird seeds.
If you sense that the tree doesn't want you to take the cedar, leave it be. The plants will always speak to us, and we can learn, again, how to listen to them the way we once did.
Cut only what you need. Use the green - a handful is good enough. Remember to offer thanks to the tree.
Boil about half a handful of cedar in 2 cups of water until the water turns light golden. Only drink 1 cup. Cedar is powerful medicine and contains a lot of vitamin C.
You can refrigerate any remaining tea. Heat it again in a pot, not a microwave. Return anything you don't use back to the earth.
Remember: Cedar tea should never be drunk more than one cup per day. Cedar is a safe and very effective medicine, but its medicine will soon become poison if this one simple rule is not followed. Cedar contains Thujone which is toxic to the human body in large doses. Maybe best to drink it only every other day, or less.
