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From: SifGreyWillow (Original Message) Sent: 4/25/2008 10:23 AM
Uva Ursi/Bearberry in Magic & Superstition

Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.
Edward O. Wilson

Uva Ursi was well-known to the Native Americans, who smoked the leaves either alone or mixed with other smoking herbs in their ceremonial pipes, believing that the smoke carried their wishes to the higher powers. They called the herb "Kinnikinnick," which roughly means "smoking mixture."

Not surprising, then, that the leaves ingested in a tea are believed to increase psychic abilities and divination in modern magick. Powdered herb can be sprinkled around the alter area or into burning candles in divination rituals, and leaves can be made into sachets to help increase psychic powers. Dried leaves can be mixed with tobacco or other smokeable herbs and used for meditation and increased psychic abilities.

Medicinal Uses of Uva Ursi/Bearberry
Only by restoring the broken connections can we be healed. Connection is health - Wendell Berry

Uva Ursi has been known and used medicinally for hundreds of years, and modern science has proven that the plant is indeed helpful in treating certain conditions, mostly related to the urinary tract, kidneys, and bladder.

Taken internally as a tea or infusion Uva Ursi is helpful for relieving problems associated with kidney infections, prostate inflammation and enlargement, urinary tract infections, bladder infections, kidney stones, nephritis, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and spleen, pancreas, and small intestine disorders. For females, it is useful for dysmenorrhea, cystitis, and bloating associated with menstruation. In addition, it is also sometimes used as a tonic, detoxifying the urinary system and thus improving overall health.

Externally, Uva Ursi has antiseptic and astringent properties, and can be made into an ointment for treatment of cuts, scrapes, cold sores, herpes breakouts, and yeast infections.

For medicinal uses, harvest healthy-looking leaves in the fall, and dry on screens in the shade, then grind or use whole. Whole or ground leaves can be soaked in brandy (3 tablespoons ground, or 10 whole leaves or so to a pint of brandy) and the resulting liquid added to water for an infusion (1 teaspoon per cup of water up to three times per day. For urinary tract problems in particular, you should feel relief within a few days, and it is not recommended that you take any Uva Ursi preparations continuously for any longer than one week.

CONTRAINDICATIONS: Uva Ursi is safe in moderation, but can be mildly poisonous if overused. Thus, do not exceed recommended dosages. Symptoms of overdose include nausea, vomiting, and stomachache. Do not use if pregnant, as this herb is a uterine stimulant. Do not take if you suffer from high blood pressure, and not administer to children under 12.