Earth * Air * Fire * Water
The Pharmageddon Herbal
Ivor hughes

Dedications
To our children's children and the teacher that beckons from beyond.

Why the Pharmageddon Herbal? It is an old mans reply to the ever tightening grip of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Combine that would enslave us. The answer to that is to provide the knowledge of our ancestors of the healing Herbs at the readers disposal It puts all you need to know in one place. One handy reference, one answer to a multitude of questions.

In essence the Herbal is a compilation of my own Teaching materials which is a synthesis of three different systems of thought. Galenic, Homoeopathic and the Crown of paracelsus .. Spagyria ..  My Teachers have been too many to record here but to them I bow my head in thanks

The Trunk of the herbal is a 24 module Herbology Course. In essence it is a natural history of a herb in the service of our kind. By applying the knowledge contained in the course. One may produce all manner of herbal preparations. Medicines of all classes. Cosmetic and Hygiene products, Essential oils, Inks and Dyes. This by starting with a packet or two of seed and experimenting with window pots of herbs or wild foraging � or even 4ha /10 Acres. Domestic scale or Farm scale as a herbal business. 

The herbal is well illustrated, graphs, tables and pictures. A blend of tradition and science. The emphasis is laid on the principle of  � Do it yourself �  Every family, nay, every person needs to know how to care for their health and that of others if needed. If you are considering a formal course of study then the herbal is the ideal bridging course.

The far reaching social and environmental changes, wrought in the past 300 years, are unprecedented in our recorded history. The technological advances, have been purchased at a terrible price. Our Mega Cities and modern lifestyles, have resulted in a great wrenching of the peoples from their roots �. this as thousands of years of survival knowledge, was all but extinguished in the commercial plundering of the Planet and the morbid medical exploitation of society � As a specie we are hard on a crossroad. If we choose the wrong technology � coupled to the wrong philosophy, then we are in danger of being consigned to Natures failed experiment basket.

Without roots, things wither and die. Our roots are made from our woven myths and legends, and the folk wisdom, passed over untold generations. From Mother to Daughter and Father to Son. Knowledge of our environment for survival purposes. Not the least of these essentials, is the knowledge of how to prepare safe and effective medicines from the herbs which nature freely provides.

The Pharmageddon Herbal  carries a line of communication between the past and now. This as it relates to mankind�s common heritage � the incredible domain of healing plants. I have written of nothing, of which I have no personal hands on experience. The material has been presented as food upon a table. I have written with the assumption of nil knowledge on the part of the reader � The chapters are like building blocks leading the individual into an understanding of the heart of the subject �.. therefore take what you need and leave the rest.

As the author of the teaching modules I make no claim of scholarship in academic circles. Neither dare I make any claim of completeness. But I stake my claim in a time honoured tradition of Journeyman Scholar .. First I did the practice and then examined the theory. The scientific theoretical explanations that did not fit the practice were discarded ...

Ivor Hughes
Kaipara NZ .. Winter 2008
Herbdata NZ Ltd