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Nutmeg: Sacred Spice of Christmas (article for Happy High Herbs)

 

Nutmeg and mace (spice made from the outer coating of the seed) are a part of cultural history, early agriculture, and tribal cultivation in Southeast Asia. They are the perfect spices for the Holy Days of indoor winter feasts. Besides being a psychoactive ingredient (I’ll explain this later) in larger amounts, nutmeg has flavor and is considered an aphrodisiac across the world. One of the earliest trees to be cultivated by humans on Earth known as the Myristica fragrans, or Banda island spice tree. The seeds of Myristica fragrans were used in “Venus trading” or venushandel, which was a fun German way of saying sexual intercourse.


Ground nutmeg is something that the medieval herbalist Hildegard von Bingen enjoyed and wrote about. Her suggestion was to take it for the following things: warming, opening the heart, putting one into a good state of mind, numbing the senses, alleviating bitterness of the heart and mind, making the spirit happy, purifying the mind, and is a good blood tonic.


I personally find it to be an aphrodisiac and a blood mover, so I agree with it’s warming properties. Nutmeg is a flavorful spice, great for chocolate and baking. I mix it with cinnamon powder, dark raw chocolate (cacao paste/powder), vanilla bean extract, damiana powder, and all-spice and add it all to a warm milk (coconut cream or whole milk) and whisk or blend to produce a lovely aphrodisiac and energizing drink that helps enlighten the mood. Often, I add kava (the instant kava powder from Fiji or Hawaii); it becomes a super love potion that will work on both genders in unique ways. For me, having a male body, it helps to lengthen lovemaking and encourages tantric semen-retention while opening my heart to better connect with my partner fully. 


A few other additions to play with in that drink for extra juicy Christmas moments: Maca, Ginseng, Cordyceps, Pink Lotus, Coffee (especially M. O. M.) and Saffron. 


So, I had to tempt fate and self experiment like any good alchemist. In 2010 at a chocolate making social gathering, I decided to eat approximately one whole freshly ground nutmeg seed. This is, of course, intoxicating and I don’t recommend it. I remember being in a gloriously drunken state for way too long. In fact, it took about 48 hours to wear off and I slept very hard and very late the next day. I’m sure while interesting and mind altering, this was very damaging to my liver. So I encourage the dose to be reasonably below a whole nut of the lovely spice….and do grind it fresh because it’s a totally different experience! 


Hildegard’s Cookies for Preventing Sadness (can be found on page 147 of Pagan Christmas by C. Ratsch and C Muller- Ebeling):

22g ground nutmeg

22g ground cinnamon

5 g cloves

500 g spelt flour

150 g cane sugar

250 g butter

2 eggs

A pinch of salt

100 g almond pieces


Bake at 350 F for 5 to 10 minutes! 


Happy Venus Trading!

By Hugh T Alkemi of AlchemyZ.com


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