Herb healing - Lithuanian/Baltic tradition today
You may watch video here

http://tv.delfi.lt/video/EA8NKxI7/

Yes. It is in my native language, but if you are interested in herb healing, you may feel the spirit... As many ask me about traditions in my land, i though maybe someone might be interested in this video.

Some thoughts from the film...
"I have married then i was 22 years old. After 2 years tree have killed my husband and 4 week old baby left for me. I was doing everything around house, was working in the fields, because i had to live somehow. I was healing myself just with herbs. Meadows are full of herbs.. Forests are full of herbs"

"Our parents didn't new any chemical medicine, they have healed themselves with herbs"
"This meadow fed us and gave us money too. Oooj.. [like oh] There was time when we all came here.. we ware singing, rolling on the grass.. not like now.. somewhere one granny somewhere another.."
"This Saint-John's-wort [high herb with yellow blossoms], as everyone says, it is  from 99 illness. Saint-John's-worth is just from one illness - nerves. When man doesn't have nerves [nerves/stress problems] he is healthy and doesn't have any illness."
"There wasn't any coffees, any teas, and if there ware then you weren't able to buy them [too high price]. Not like now, old or young drinks coffee.. in those times you drink some kind Saint-John's-worth's tea, then you change [herb].. "
"In those times children ware not born in hospitals, granny of the village helped. When baby if born and is not calm, these nerimnikai ware used [high herbs with bubble shape violet blosoms]. Washed with those nerimnikai."
"I know those herbs.. various herbs.. maybe 40 kinds of them"



"When i was giving birth for second child i have had clinical death. After that i got vision... reading from palm, diagnosing correctly from palm, ability to search people who disappeared... I guess it is connected with nature, with god"

" And all this plant will be used up [the one with pink blossoms in a swamp]. There are so many people who ask for it.. to heal leukemia, to heal cancer.. It has to be washed up.. only man hand can pull it, it is rooted so deeply and so nicely"
"Herb healer have to be honest with himself, with the one who has illness.. to pick up herbs at the right time, to give right herbs and they will works for sure."
"Today's medicine is coming back to herbs very fast, because it is safer medicine, works well and you may use longer without harming other systems"
"Time comes to every person to decide he wants to heal himself with herbs or with drugs. With herbs you may heal a lot. But again it depends how deep is the illness. You may stop or even heal such serious illness.."
[Storm]"Sweet-flag have to be collected in a storm, when water is turbid. Everything in nature in moved, so sweet-flag gives best healing properties to man"





"Thank you the Fire, Gabijele [ancient Baltic fire goddess] the beautiful one.. that we worked today so well, that you helped me, that ointments are so good..."
"Good day [Sveika as greeting, but also means healthy] forest the green one. How are everyone of you are living today.. birds, my herbs.."
"I was going with my grandmother for the herbs, in such way i have learned to recognize herbs, how to collect them. When i was a student i haven't picked up herbs, but later life has forced me to come back to herbs. You think i was like this all my life? While i have not got ill i wasn't here, it didn't care for me"
"When we ware going with the elders for herbs, we ware making such skudučiai [making instrument from herb stem] that not to be lost somewhere [away from others]. It is very good for children who have various illnesses with lungs, while you blow, you blow out all illnesses"
"The most important is where man lives.. what he breaths, what he eats, what he drinks. The surroundings is very important.. and that changing surrounding.. it does not change itself, man is changing or has to change it."
"I doubt if anyone would be able to talk me away from herbs.. it like dependence upon them now."
"I can not imagine any man near me.. where you saw married witch? [we are not afraid of them here, if they have knowledge we respect them.. there ware not even one inquisition fire in our lands]. When i was young i had a man, even not one. And now.. now i live with my herbs, with my thoughts, with my works.. i could stand here near tree all day"
"[diagnosing girl] I will give you infusion of the snake, your will put 8 drops on sugar, will not feel any taste"


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I am from herb healers family.. my mother was healing me with herbs.. her father was well known herb healer... This short movie is about my culture and traditions in my lands... I hope to come back to nature soon too... even civilization gave me master degree in university... I do not wish that my children would grow up in town.. I wish they could feel the grass touch the tree, drink tea in a meadow, to see wild animals outside... This is true life, life without stress.. not a life of bio-robot :)

Christmas time - Lithuanian traditions

24th of December is "Kūčios" [K u: tʃ i o s], this is the main part of Christmas time.
25th of December is Kalėdos [K a l e d o s] (couldn't find exact sound in English which would sound like Lithuanian "ė") first day. When we translate "Christmas" in to Lithuanian, we translate it in to "Kalėdos". One of my friends who is all in Yoga said, that Kalėdos word comes from Vedic "Kali Dao", like from nowadays Hinduism deity Kali. This has a meaning, because Lithuanian language is old and has many similar words with Sanskrit. Also fits with a meaning of re-birthing nature.

Many people celebrate Christmas, not many remembers that it is time when longest nights ends and days starts to become longer. This is why here in Lithuania we have a lot of ancient traditions, because winter solstice was an important event (despite the fact that Christianity became main religion 200-300 years ago ineveryday life)

Of course now here in Lithuania we became "civilized" and old traditions are being forgotten more and more each year. Especially in last 20 years when we became independent from Russia and got more western (American?) influence.

Christmas is a time, when all family gather in parent's home. As people after WW2 ware forcibly moved to towns some old traditions ware changed, lost or lost their meaning.

Forest tree.. Decorations as food for animals.

Christmas tree. The most important Christmas time symbols in the world. According to traditions Christmas tree was decorated just on evening before Christmas (24th of December). It was decorated outside, if forest was near Christmas tree was decorated in forest. Decorations ware not from glass or plastics like now :) They ware apples, carrots, other vegetables. It was a special time for animals, so food was for animals too. Now we are "civilized", maily living in towns and so on... We cut of trees and bring back in to homes to see how slowly they die and to be happy to have one at home. We put shiny toys on Christmas trees and are happy about forgetting that while these toys ware created, earth became poluted a little more.. This is called to be civilised. Nature is maily forgotten. Some remembers, but most of people feel good to forget about such traditions.

Vegetarianism on Christmas evening (24th of December). NO meat was eaten on that day, only fish. As we live in country where winters are cold, not so much food is around in winter (just as much as you prepare in summer), people ware working a lot of physical work, so strength was needed.. So many Lithuanian did eat meat, and does it today. I think today we eat more that in old times. But it was believed that on that evening you may even hear animals talking and understand what they talk, but you have listen them in secret, that they would not notice you. So it was evening when animal ware very special to humans.

New Years. Under our old tradition 25th of December was like new years. This is because of day light coming back.

Kūčiukai - traditional meal for Christmas.

Food on 24th evening.*There must be 12 meals on table like there are months in a year or at least 9. These numbers have magic meaning in our folklore.
*We have special meal "kūčiukai" [K u: tʃ i u k a i] which is made from flour, poppy seeds, some additive (like honey or sugar, eggs), eaten with milk. It is said that the day naming "Kūčios" comes from this meal, which is eaten just on this day.
*One "must be on table" is something from fish.
*NO meat.
* It was tradition to invite lonely relative or neighbour to the table, if his health is too weak to come, to bring him some food from table.

Other traditions:
*Before "Kūčios" all main works must be done, all debts give back. Before that day you have to say sorry for the people you done something bad, or to someone you have hearted. Otherwise all next year you will be in debts and will not get along with people.
*It is said that on the "Kūčios" day you should stop thinking about I, about your "ego" and to think about "we".
*In the morning of "Kūčios" all family member do the most important works. After this they go to wash themselves. This is not only for washing off the dirt, this is also rituallic washing from not only body but and dirt wash of a soul, also washing off evil forces which may effect health or life.
*Table of Kūčios is wonderful place to remember all your family. Not only those who are alive, but those who are dead too. An empty place is putted on the table for "all those who are not today with us", for living who are aways and for dead who are away too. This tradition is from ancient times when people believed that spirits of ancestors lives together with the living ones. Also this tradition is still living with even in Christian tradition of Lithuania.
* Before eating the eldest man of a family stands up and gives a talk about gratefulness that there is food on table, that family members are here, that someone is away, but is not forgotten and so on.

There are many many sortileges for this day (24th), but about them... maybe some other time :)