But I may rub some of it on my toes. I've got painful Diabetic Neuropathy, and they say the poison will cause numbness.
Unguents containing aconite were often employed
for this purpose. Another ancient and similar ointment
was the Unguentum Populeum, or Poplar Ointment :
"The unguentum populeum, Pommade de Bourgeons
de Peuplier, is made, according to the directions of
the French Codex, from 100 Gm. each of the dried
contused leaves of white poppy, belladonna, henbane,
and black nightshade, and 800 Gm. of dried poplar buds.
The leaves are moistened with 400 Gm. of alcohol and
allowed to stand twenty-four hours in a closed vessel;
4000 Gm. of lard is now added and the mixture heated
gently during three hours, stirring frequently, the crushed
poplar buds are then added and allowed to digest for
ten hours at a gentle heat, and the whole strained
and cooled slowly.
This is an anodyne ointment, employed in Europe in
painful local affections. It has been ascertained that
poplar buds are capable of imparting a principle to
ointments which obviates their tendency to rancidity."
- from :Henriette's Herbal Homepagehttp://tinyurl.com/cbnyy2uIn his
Pedacio Dioscorides Anazarbeo, on Materia
Medica, of 1555, Andres Laguna comments upon
the similarity between the so-called 'flying ointment'
of the witches and wizards and the unguentum
populeum:
"Among other things found in the cave of those
wizards was a jar half full of a certain green
unguent,
similar to poplar ointment, with which
they used to anoint themselves; the strength and
offensiveness of its smell showed it to be a
composition of herbs of the most chilling and
soporific qualities, such as
hemlock, night-shade,
henbane, mandrakes."
- from :
The History of the Jews in Spain:
From the Time of their Settlement
in that Country till the Commencement
of the Present Century, page 68.
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