Skull Moss, Herbalism, and Witchcraft Oh my!
I’ve referenced this in numerous articles in the past couple weeks, but cannibalism and “man as medicine” were the seeds that go me doing Mortician in the Kitchen. I started with my bath and body products called The Little Witches, where everything was inspired by our heritage of macabre medicine and that turned me towards looking at my obsession with food and death. All of this is related because everything is everything but I know that my responsibility as the author is to guide you through it, and luckily I have plenty of material to draw from.
The ancient practice of herbal preservation is so much more than your cool fun and free hippie friend. It’s actually deeply rooted in traditions of medieval alchemy and medicine and remains a testament to humanity's ingenuity in harnessing nature for health and wellness, as long as you were a man. If you were a woman you better hope you live so deep in the forest they won’t find you or the wolves will tear your enemies apart before they can throw you off a cliff, to sink or swim. Swimming by the way isn’t an out, that just ensures some other horror will await you when they catch you.
For this piece I wanted to use one of my first loves, Skull Moss. Now here’s the hiccup what I can tell you is that Skull Moss is a lichen known for its medicinal properties, what will complicate this piece is that there is Usnea, also called Old Man's Beard but there is also Cladonia rangiferina which is also known as Reindeer Moss. Neither of these are Skull Moss, but they both have the possibility of being moss that grows on a skull.
So what we are really talking about in this piece is a hybrid of both the actual lichen that was used and a common man’s term for where to find the moss that was needed for the spell-I mean medicine-to work. You will find this a lot in historical stories about medicine because if you have ever read Old English it is essentially an entirely different language. And thus, you can see where my fascination with food stems from because now the investigation is what would have been growing is such and such region, at such and such time, and what mislabeling was had, or what do we call this now? And so I fall and tumble down the rabbit hole.
Historical Context: Usnea in Medieval Alchemy and Medicine
For purposes of this article I am going to be sticking mostly with Usnea unless otherwise stated. In medieval times, alchemists and herbalists recognized the value of natural substances like Usnea in medicine and health. With its potent antibacterial properties, Usnea was often documented in medieval herbals and pharmacopeias. Alchemists, intrigued by the transformational nature of substances, may have used it in their explorations of health and metaphysics, viewing it as a component that could aid in both physical healing and spiritual quests. In Mummies, Cannibals, and Vampires-a majority of my jumping off information for this series-Sugg’s writes that it was widely accepted that both powdered skull and moss of the skull (or usnea) should be derived from those who had suffered violent deaths. And these deaths should be ones which did not involve haemorrhaging. The thought being that German professor Rudolf Goclenius had held that the victim should have been hung and thus the vital spirits were forced up into the skull remaining trapped there for as long as seven years. I know, barf. I assume the thought is that all that good stuff was then sucked up and into the moss which then you, the sick, would ingest. The funny-ok poor choice of words-thing is that there is real time information that supports this line of thinking which is what makes this all rather fascinating. I worked for a very fancy pantsy seafood restaurant for a long time and the thought behind cooking a lobster alive is that once death takes over the body and the meat change. I’ve bullet pointed a couple things I find relevant to this discussion:
Rapid Bacterial Growth: Lobsters, like many marine organisms, are prone to bacterial contamination and spoilage. Once a lobster dies, bacteria that were previously kept in check by the lobster's immune system start to multiply rapidly. These bacteria can include harmful pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses.
Toxin Production: As bacteria break down the lobster's tissues, they can produce toxins that are not destroyed by cooking. Consuming these toxins can lead to food poisoning, with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
Increased Risk of Shellfish Poisoning: Shellfish, including lobsters, can accumulate toxins from their environment. These toxins can become concentrated in their tissues and are not always neutralized by cooking. The risk of shellfish poisoning increases if the lobster has been dead for an extended period.
When we think of this in a deductive logic sense, meaning “if-then”, then we want to say, “if we eat a lobster that is dead then we are at risk for consuming bacteria and toxins that may not be present if they are cooked alive.” The same deductive logic then can be applied to, “if a man dies by strangulation, then certain hormones released by such a violent death could remain in the upper area of the body.”
This theory can also be illustrated by lividity marks, also known as livor mortis or postmortem lividity, refer to the purple or dark blue discoloration that appears on the lowest parts of a body after death. This phenomenon occurs as a result of the gravitational pooling of blood in the vessels of the dependent parts of the body, following the cessation of the heart's circulation. I could probably do another piece on this but essentially lividity is helpful in understanding how a death occurred or the original position of a body. All of this is saying that when I deconstruct death and history I pull from a vast wealth of information including pathology and forensics. Lividity is essentially something that I can point to that shows you that upon your death, things in your body do indeed pool, and for medieval man to recognize this could be a thing is actually quite marvelous, what is grotesque is the cruelty we used to probably very innocent people to achieve it. A thing I am aware of the entire time I write this.
Understanding Usnea
Ok back to the ummmm light stuff? Usnea is a lichen with notable antibiotic properties, I believe we established that a couple paragraphs ago. It contains usnic acid, known for its antibacterial and antifungal actions and was traditionally used for treating respiratory issues, infections, and wounds. While not commonly consumed as food, it's used medicinally in small amounts or applied topically.
Herbal Preservation Techniques Using Usnea
Making Usnea Tincture:
A tincture is a potent herbal extract using alcohol as a solvent. For Usnea, a simple folk-style tincture involves using 1 part chopped usnea, 2 parts boiling water, and 3 parts high-proof alcohol. This mixture is stored for 4 to 6 weeks, shaking occasionally, then strained. Alcohol acts as an excellent preservative by inhibiting microbial growth, ensuring the tincture remains effective for years.
Usnea Infused Oil:
Herbal oils are prepared by infusing herbs in a carrier oil. For Usnea, chopped lichen is covered with twice as much oil (e.g., 1/4 cup chopped usnea to 1/2 cup oil). This oil can be used in salves, ointments, or directly on the skin. Oil infusions preserve the fat-soluble compounds and are ideal for topical applications. The oil itself helps prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi, extending the shelf life of the infusion.
Usnea Wound Powder:
Usnea can be made into a wound powder by grinding dried lichen into a fine powder. This powder can be applied to wounds to stop bleeding and prevent infection. The drying process preserves the lichen by removing moisture, which is essential for the growth of most microbes.
The Science of Preservation
Preservation methods like tincturing, oil infusion, and drying are vital in herbal medicine for their ability to extract and maintain the medicinal properties of herbs. Below are the three most common preservation methods you will see in modern recipes (and old).
Alcohol in Tinctures: Alcohol is an effective solvent for both water-soluble and fat-soluble compounds and acts as a preservative by preventing microbial growth.
Oil in Infusions: Oils extract fat-soluble components and provide an anaerobic environment that inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi, preserving the herb.
Heat and Drying: Heat accelerates extraction and can also preserve through pasteurization. Drying removes moisture, which is critical for the growth of many microorganisms, thus preserving the herb.
The art of herbal preservation is as much about understanding the nature of the herb as it is about the technique. Usnea, with its unique properties, provides a perfect example of how different preservation methods can be effectively used. Whether it's making a tincture, infused oil, or wound powder, each method offers a way to capture and maintain the essence of this remarkable lichen. From its historical use in medieval alchemy and medicine to modern herbal practices, Usnea continues to be a vital link connecting us to the ancient wisdom of natural healing. Just please for the love of all that is good and holy, do your research, and don’t like, do anything illegal to get this stuff, it’s very wholly unnecessary ok? No one needs to die here!