After learning about the ancient sweathouses of the Gaels (of Éire aka “Ireland”) recently and how they built permanent stone and earthen sauna/sweat lodges where the Druidic physicians would prescribe the burning of specific medicinal herbs (such as Juniper and chondrus crispus aka “Irish Moss”) I felt I should update my article on Regenerative Ocean Gardening with this important (nearly forgotten) ethnobotanical info.

It appears that despite being separated by an ocean, the Gaels shared many similar traditions and worldviews to some of the ancient cultures of Turtle Island (in that they revered the water, the trees, the living Earth, cultivated/or created habitat for enhanced tidal zone foraging/gardening, used sea weed as food and medicine, and they burned sacred herbs in sweat lodges to heal, detoxify and strengthen the body and receive visions).

Perhaps it would be more apt to say that they were connected by an ocean (and their reverence for her) rather than saying they were separated.

Similar to the powerful healing properties of cedar and sage (often burned in sweat lodges here on Turtle Island) the Juniper and Irish Moss that were burned in the ancient Irish sweat lodges also offers anti-bacterial, immunomodulating, anti-viral and respiratory tract cleansing medicinal benefits. And like the Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) cultivated and used as medicine by the indigenous people of the Eastern Woodlands of Turtle Island, the Irish Moss (chondrus crispus) prescribed by Gaelic medicine women and men also had (and has) the ability to potentiate the efficacy of other medicinal plants (increasing their potency by a magnitude of ten in some cases) meaning if you eat a little bit of a another medicine plant/fungi along side one of those it goes a long way.

The pages in the pics below are from Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s most recent book, and I have included the section from the book which she wrote about how connected the forests are to the oceans in the article linked below as well.

Also, I had attempted to articulate how deeply connected the deciduous forests are to the well being of the ocean beings, kelp forests and salmon in my article, but Diana does a much better job explaining it. You can find excerpts from her newest book that elucidate on how intimately connected forest ecology and ocean ecology are in the article linked below.

( thought you might find this interesting Amy Walsh , Max Wilbert , Luke Dodson , A Midwestern Doctor , Kelly Moody , Kathy Clarke , Wade Pickren , Anne Stobart , Ashley Adamant , Vanessa Chakour , Marika Clymer , Lindsay Hounslow (Light) , Marion , WitchesBrew13 , Jeanne McSherry , Eric Zeissig , Sia R. )