this white horehound was lovingly homegrown and naturalized on my land.

i picked it at peak season and tinctured it fresh. it steeped for a month and a half in the dark.


specific for phlegmy, depressed, constricted respiratory system.

opens bronchioles, clears mucous (expect expectoration), opens airways.

it also cleans up damp, apathetic digestion that often accompanies depressed + congested respiratory situations. 

this is a great herb for both chronic, constitutional issues and acute respiratory illness.


GENERAL INFO/ACTIONS

it's very bitter. that's what stimulates the nervous system to wake up, kick out the gunk and lay down new mucous membranes on lungs + airways. where black horeound is specific for the gut in this respect, white horehound is specific to the lungs. 

the surfaces of your respiratory system are the closest thing your insides have to being exposed to the outside world, so those mucous membranes are the first line of your immune system's defense. 


another important aspect of the immune system is 'managing the periphery'. horehound is diaphoretic, so it opens pores to help the internal environment balance temperature and fluids. for example, if you're burning with fever a diaphoretic will open pores to induce sweat to release the tension and heat; fever gone. or if you're burning with fever and losing too many fluids (through skin/urination/bowels/sinuses) horehound can break the fever and close the pores and astringe (tighten up) elimination systems that are giving too much fluid away. 


this 'opening' action is not just for pores. sometimes people with chronic respiratory complaints get pale, clammy and have a blueish tinge to their skin. the diaphoretic action can also open the 'little tubes' of the body (the most obvious example being the bronchioles) to help restore normalcy when chronic tension has made its way down to this level. in the old books they commonly preserved horehound by pounding it into sugar with marshmallow (Althaea officinalis). we don't modernly think of sugar and restoring lost health, but when people are wasting from chronic affliction, it's a good simple fuel to 'jumpstart' resolution. it also cuts the intense bitterness of horehound, which could potentially be jarring for a delicate or sensitive constitution. it also helps kiddos swallow it down. 



CONSTITUTUIONAL/CHRONIC ISSUES

meaning if you're someone that tends to have respiratory issues (lungs, not so much sinus) when you're feeling 'off' this is a great choice to tone up your system and find center again. 

asthma is a great example. in the old books, asthma is always fundamentally resolvable. they say sometimes it's a constitutional imbalance that may pop up again in the future when you're feeling out of whack- but a lot of the time it was considered an imbalance that got stuck and just needed the right leg up to be cleared for good. there is extensive and detailed old literature on this particular ailment. it's interesting to note that they always recognized it as something that could be strongly due to weather and/or dietary factors. 

(ie: places with cold damp weather where they ate a lot of white fish had tons of asthma. taking an herb like white horehound in an acute flair up and adding fennel when cooking fish from there on out was enough to resolve many cases.) 

it's especially striking to me that in my experience 1) they're correct, even severe, chronic cases tend to be very resolvable 2) this is not the modern perspective. 

that bugs me a lot. please feel free to message me for a free consultation so we can see what your situation is. horehound alone may or may not be sufficient, but we can make you a custom remedy for the same price if that's the case. there are two handfuls of herbs that are historically reliable in chronic respiratory patterns. finding the right remedy or formula purely depends on addressing your specific presentation.  



ACUTE RESPIRATORY ISSUES (chest cold, bronchitis etc) 

the first inkling of 'oh no i'm coming down with something': 

many traditional systems of medicine, including TCM, know that when you experience the first inkling of coming down with something, it's a good idea to take a diaphoretic, immune stimulating herb like horehound, take a hot shower/bath, wrap up in blankets and sweat out the pathogen. this is a time sensitive practice. you need to do it before the pathogen has fully set in. i'll let you know that i love a couple hard doses of elderberry + mullein for this purpose. 

i would happily give you a tiny bottle of white horehound on the side *especially if you are very susceptible to serious respiratory issues, have chronic pulmonary issues and or are elderly (who have fundamentally have weaker expectoratory reflexes). elecampane root is an honorable alternative to white horehound here. if there is green or yellow phlegm, opt for the ladder. 


if you're already sick: 

let's help your system fight the bug and kick it out. 

pathogens can 'press bad buttons' in your system to cause unpleasant symptoms. 

for people with compromised systems, those unpleasant symptoms can become dangerous. 

taking proper herbal measures while issues are small is the best way to prevent them from becoming big. 

choosing the proper plant remedy helps the body do what it's struggling to do on its own. 

it's not masking symptoms, it's fundamentally assisting the situation.


if you're already sick and you've been sick and you can't uproot it:

consistently yellow or yellow green sticky phlegm? 

a bag of the hermit tea and an elecampagne tincture


I consult for free for your safety and benefit. i spend an enormous amount of time and energy wild foraging and home growing the herbs for my remedies to insure that they are of excellent quality. i want them to be used to their highest potential. lets work together to find the most effective, minimal + noninvasive remedy or regimen to suit your specific needs. 

feel free to message me with questions or with an outline of your situation. i am also happy to send you my email address or phone number if you would prefer.

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mirror mirror tea + alchemy
Joined Apr 2023
mirror mirror tea + alchemy
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i make products to help you meet yourself where you are,

on your way to where you want to be.

hi, i'm Sydney

the one lady band behind mirrormirror

i design and carve the stamps for the packaging.

every products is individually hand stamped.

i meticulously formulate my teas + tinctures.

i've slowly perfected my line of entirely natural essential oil candles.

i wild forage and process nearly all the herbs and medicines for my tinctures + clinical practice. i sneak wild goods into my teas as much as possible.

whether you're seeking fine teas, natural candles, gifts or remedies for your health,

your interest and support means everything to me. my business is very small

but you won't find a better cup of tea or more heartfelt products from anyone else.

tea, plants + natural medicines are my life and passion.

i strive to keep my prices fair + affordable. every product is made by my own two hands

and i couldn't be happier to share them.

cheers to you☕️❤️

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