Here is a lovely story for you. It explains why herbalists can heal most ills, but not all. Long long ago, at a time when the Gods still walked the Earth, there lived a god called Dian Cecht. He was the God of healing and reknown as the most powerful healer in the land, and a man with a fierce temper. At the same time there too lived the king of the Tuatha de Danaan, Nuada, who lost his hand in a battle. For the king to rule, he had to be perfect, so Dian Cecht fashioned for him a silver hand which could move like a living hand. But Diancechts son Miach, had superseded his fathers skills in healing, and he healed the hand completely, so now the king was perfect and could continue to rule. Dian Cecht had the fury of a god when he discovered that his son had surpassed his own skills, and in his rage raised his sword to his son, and smote him a blow across his neck. Miach, looked at his father and then drew his hand across the wound, completely healing it. The father was incensed by the insolence and struck him a blow across his head with the sword, cutting deeply into the skull. Again Miach healed the wound instantly. And then Dian Cecht in blind fury raised his sword again and with a mighty blow, cut the head of his son off. The young god died in his weeping fathers arms, and was buried. Through the winter Miach’s grave lay bare, and his sister Airmid visited it regularly. It was in the spring that she began to notice green shoots appearing over the grave in the shape of her brothers body. Then she noticed that chamomile was growing over his stomach, betony over his head, lungwort over his chest, and she realised that Miach was trying to teach her the herbs of the fields, so that his healing skills would not be lost. Carefully Airmid collected the herbs and spread them on her cloak according to the shape on the grave, so that she would remember for which body part each herbs should be used. But on this day, Dian Cecht came also to visit his sons grave, and erupted in fury as he immediately recognised what Airmid was doing. He seized the cloak and shook it violently, scattering the herbs to the four winds. Airmid, the goddess of herbal healing, remembered most of the herbs and their uses, but not all, and this is why a herbalist cannot cure every ill – some of that great knowledge was lost to the winds and the whims of a jealous god
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 12:34:02 +0000
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