Four Thieves Herbal Preventative
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Four Thieves Herbal Preventative |
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Four Thieves Remedy Following trade routes, vicious plagues swept through the 14th to 17th centuries of Europe, episodically killing millions. Death came within four days after the first sign of illness. The rich and powerful, royalty and elite, with proper exit papers, fled the crowded cities. The poor, who could not afford to relocate, or acquire the proper exit papers, remained behind, many to die. Once a member of a household was afflicted, the home was quarantined, no one could leave and few, except for nurses and physicians, could enter. Fear, superstition and false belief in the cause of this sickness spread as fast as the plague itself. The unscrupulous profited in the sale of remedies said to be effective when they were anything but healing. Physicians and nurses who cared for the ill and did not become ill, were said to use herbal potions, fumigations and inhalations for protection. Women healers who used herbs and potions to successfully treat the ill were, amazingly, later accused of being witches and sentenced to death. Perhaps the most famous story regarding the use and protection of herbs against this illness, concerns the four thieves of Marseilles who, during the 17th century plagues of Toulouse, France, were caught robbing the dying and the dead without succumbing to the illness themselves. During the great plague, four robbers were convicted of going to the houses of plague-victims, strangling them in their beds and then looting their dwellings; for this they were condemned to be burned at the stake, and in order to have the sentence mitigated they revealed their secret preservative; after which they were hanged.” — Parliament of Toulouse archives 1628-1631 The original formula for the Four Thieves Vinegar is found in The Practice Of Aromatherapy by Jean Valnet, a physician who has devoted his life to the study of herbs and essential oils for therapeutic use and is credited for the modern term aromatherapy. There are quite a few variations in this formula, however all very similar and by all accounts equally efficacious. So Take your pick below: Vinegar of the Four Thieves 3
pints strong white wine vinegar Steep the plants in the vinegar for 10 days. Force through a sieve. Add camphor, then filter. Rub on face and hands and burn in room. Additionally, keep in small bottles for the vapors to be sniffed. Avoid contact with eyes. Dr. Valnet’s formula for an antiseptic vinegar similar to the vinegar of the four thieves is as follows: wormwood
80g Steep the plants in the vinegar for 10 days. Force through a sieve. Add camphor, dissolved in the acetic acid, then filter. Rub on face and hands and burn in room. Additionally, keep in small bottles for the vapors to be sniffed. Avoid contact with eyes. For a general room disinfectant, a common formula can be used as follows: a
handful each of lavender, rosemary, sage, rue and mint Steep the plants in the vinegar for 4-6 weeks. Force through a sieve and strain into a mister bottle. Use to disinfect the air of sick rooms or to freshen the indoor air of rooms during the winter months. And
yet another - * Lavender Blend ingredients in a glass jar and cover completely with organic, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, which is available in most health food stores. Cold infuse (let sit at room temperature in a cool place) for six weeks and then strain off herbs and garlic. And Yet another - Then Another! 40 g. greater wormwood, Artemesia absinthum Dr. John Christopher Plague Formula How to make the concentrates: Each concentrate should be made individually. Start by soaking the herb
for four hours or more in enough distilled water to cover it completely.
After soaking, add more distilled water so that the total added equals
16 oz. (.5 liter) water per 4 oz. (113 grams) herb. Use a multiple of
these amounts for a larger quantity of formula. Using these amounts approximately
one gallon (3.75 liters) of the formula will be produced. Essential Oils Method- 1 pint
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