Not part of Top 10 most powerful natural antibiotics that boost your immune system series but I have a phenomenal sunburn right now, so it seemed appropriate. The Southwest strikes again! Unfortunately I am very pale skinned and spending more than 20 minutes outside in the sun always seems to get me. #whiteasrice. I have spent 8 days of the last 2 weeks outside helping out a clinic drive through and now have quite a bit of redness to show for it. So without further ado, I present to you aloe vera!
Gender: Feminine
Element: Water
Planet: Mars, Moon
Zodiac Sign: N/A
Celtic Zodiac/ Date: N/A
Lunar Month: N/A
Tarot: N/A
Rune: N/A
Ogham: N/A
Crystal: N/A
Deities: N/A
Associated Festival: N/A
Chakras: N/A
Birth Month: N/A
Meaning: Affection
Type: succulent evergreen perennial
Grows in Zone: 8-11
Plant for Bees?: No
Natural pesticide?: No
Poisonous/ Toxic: Low level toxic to pets, not humans
Aloe vera, commonly known as aloe, burn plant, lily of the desert, and elephant’s gall, is a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. An evergreen perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula, but grows wild in tropical, semi-tropical, and arid climates around the world. It is cultivated for agricultural and medicinal uses. It is widely used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries, and has an estimated annual market value of $13 billion globally. The species is also used for decorative purposes and grows successfully indoors as a potted plant. There are at least 420 different plant species of aloe. Aloe vera specifically refers to the Aloe barbadensis plant, which is the most common form used in aloe based products.
Aloe vera is a stemless or very short-stemmed plant growing to 24–39 inches tall, spreading by offsets. Each leaf is full of a slimy tissue that stores water, which makes the leaves thick. This slimy, water-filled tissue is the “gel” we associate with Aloe vera products. The flowers are produced in summer on a spike up to 35 inches tall, each flower being pendulous, with a yellow tubular corolla 0.8–1.2 inches long. Wild aloe species have been known to survive for 100 years.
The plant is native to North Africa, Southern Europe, and the Canary Islands. However, it has been widely cultivated around the world and is widely naturalized elsewhere, occurring in arid, temperate, and tropical regions of temperate continents.
Aloe contains over 70 essential nutrients including a wealth of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein, phytosterols, and amino acids.
Aloe vera is used in traditional medicine as a skin treatment. Early records of Aloe vera use appear in the Ebers Papyrus from the 16th century BC, and in Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica and Pliny the Elder’s Natural History – both written in the mid-first century AD. It is also written of in the Juliana Anicia Codex of 512 AD.
Aloe vera’s use can be traced back 6,000 years to early Egypt, where the plant was depicted on stone carvings. Known as the “plant of immortality,” aloe was presented as a funeral gift to pharaohs. Cleopatra was said to apply aloe vera gel to her skin as part of her beauty ritual.
Aloe vera is an air cleaning expert. When harmful elements in the air has exceeded due amount, spots will appear on the leaves, which is a signal for help. If you add more aloe plants, or other air cleaning plants, the problem will resolve itself.
Aloe cleans formaldehyde and carbon monoxide specifically. Those living in smaller apartments where high exposure to chemical air pollution is evident would benefit from an aloe plant or two. They grow between 24 and 39 inches and love bright indirect sunlight. Water it well and then allow the soil to thoroughly dry out before watering it again. Low level toxic plants have a low toxicity and may be mildly irritating, especially the sap of the plant. Aloe is low level toxic to animals but not humans.
A body with an acidic pH is a breeding ground for disease. It’s an atmosphere where illness thrives. Help keep your body balanced by eating and drinking alkaline foods and beverages such as aloe vera juice.
The aloe plant is very water-dense, so it’s an ideal way to prevent or treat dehydration. Staying hydrated helps your body detox by providing a way for you to purge and flush out impurities. The juice also packs a hefty punch of nutrients that optimize your body’s organ output.
This is crucial, because your kidneys and liver are largely responsible for the task of detoxifying your blood and producing urine. For this reason, you need to keep them healthy.
Witch Tip: Your body requires more fluids in order to flush and rid itself of the lactic acid buildup from exercising. Try aloe vera juice instead of coconut water after your next hard work out.
Two substances from aloe vera, the clear gel and the yellow latex, are used in health products today. Aloe gel is primarily used topically (applied to the skin) as a remedy for skin conditions such as burns, frostbite, psoriasis, and cold sores, but it may also be taken orally (by mouth) for conditions including osteoarthritis, bowel diseases, and fever. Aloe latex is taken orally, usually for constipation.
Aloe vera has many health benefits such as helping heal skin wounds and stimulating cellular rejuvenation and hydrating the skin. It increases stomach mucosal production and supports digestion and detoxification. It is a powerful antioxidant on its own and helps with pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Aloe vera improves circulation, regulates blood pressure, and lower cholesterol, making it a wonderful candidate to help lower the risk of heart disease. It is also has anti-aging properties and is high in amino acids that boost oxygenation of the blood.
This cactus like plant has fleshy, succulent leaves that are packed with natural healing juices. Aloe vera is an excellent external first aid remedy. Aloe vera’s active ingredients are best used from a freshly cut branch.
Saponins are soapy substances from the gel that is capable of cleansing and having antiseptic properties. The saponins perform strongly as anti-microbials against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and yeasts.
Aloe vera gel contains powerful antioxidants, which belong to a large family of substances known as polyphenols. These polyphenols, along with several other compounds in Aloe vera, can help inhibit the growth of certain bacteria that can cause infections in humans.
Aloe vera is antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiseptic so it can be used to help repair tissues after burns. Studies suggest that it is an effective topical treatment for first- and second-degree burns. A review of 4 experimental studies found that Aloe vera could reduce the healing time of burns by around 9 days compared to conventional medication.
A team of plastic surgeons compared Aloe vera gel to 1 percent silver sulphadiazine cream for the treatment of second-degree burn wounds. They reported in the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association that the burn wounds among the patients treated with Aloe vera healed significantly quicker compared with those treated with 1 percent silver sulfadiazine. The researchers added that those in the Aloe veragroup experienced significantly more and earlier pain relief than those in the SSD group. The authors wrote: “Thermal burns patients dressed with Aloe vera gel showed advantage compared to those dressed with silver sulfadiazine regarding early wound epithelialization, earlier pain relief, and cost-effectiveness.”
Aloe is more commonly known for its healing qualities, From treating wounds, to maintaining healthy skin. It may be applied right from the plant or in gel form for burns, sunburns, and can relieve rashes and help combat infections in skin wounds. Use it topically to treat scalds, scars, shingles, sores, warts, wounds, wrinkles, acne, blisters, itchy skin, rashes, and infections.
Witch Tip: Keep a plant in your home and when needed, break off a leaf, scrape the gel out and use it for relieving burns and sunburns, dry skin, including eczema, relief from insect bites, and fungal infections of the skin, such as Athlete’s foot.
Witch Tip: Make frozen aloe cubes. Just pour aloe vera gel from the grocery store into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Whenever you need extra cooling from a sun burn.
Aloe is an antipruritic: a substance that relieves of prevents itching. Apply as a cream or as a gel to insect bites and bee stings for soothing pain relief. Anthraquinones in the leaves have anti-inflammatory properties and aloectin B stimulates the body’s immune system, reducing the risk of infection.
This herb is renowned for its healing and moisturizing properties. It has a soothing effect on chapped skin. Aloe vera can be applied as a lotion or it can be purchased from most pharmacies as a concentrated gel to treat severe, dry skin disorders such as eczema. Aloe is a great way to hydrate, moisturize, and rejuvenate the skin and increases the elasticity of the skin making it more flexible through collagen and elastin repair. Aloe stimulates cell growth. It stimulates the birth of new, healthy tissue at 6 to 8 times the normal rate.
Another component of Aloe Vera consists of lignins, a structural material of cellulose content that allows for penetrative properties. Aloe penetrates all 7 layers of the skin where most lotions, liquid substances, and water will penetrate only 2. It also penetrates the skin 4 times faster than water. Lignins penetrate the toughened areas of the skin being beneficial for skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.
Aloe can serve as a natural conditioner to deeply moisturize the hair strands. When used in place of your regular conditioner to make your hair silky soft and smooth. It is also an excellent treatment for oily and damaged hair. It can help to get rid of a number of problems associated with the hair and scalp. Aloe vera can also be used for treating the condition known as Seborrhoea, which is characterized by excessive secretion of sebum. Excess sebum or oil can get mixed with dirt to form crusts on the scalp which can damage the hair follicles. Seborrhoea is the cause of hair loss in many people.
Ingesting two tablespoons of aloe vera juice per day can cause blood sugar levels to fall in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a study in Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy and Phytopharmacy. This could mean that aloe vera may have a future in diabetes treatment. These results were confirmed by another study published in Phytotherapy Research that used pulp extract.
Witch Tip: people with diabetes, who take glucose-lowering medications, should use caution when consuming aloe vera. The juice along with diabetes medications could possibly lower your glucose count to dangerous levels.
Aloe is used for peace, protection, success, and luck. When grown in the home it guards against evil influences, prevents household accidents, and attracts luck.
Witch Tip: Growing aloe in your home attracts positive energies.
Burn on the night of a full moon to bring good things by the new moon.
Mystics use aloe vera to turn off all the negative signals within the body. The powerful ingredient of aloe vera is organic germanium. This mineral is used by the body to reinforce the proper DNA signals. The organic germanium within the aloe vera provides the necessary instructions and building blocks for the immunity system to recalibrate itself and cancel out the negative vibration.
The aloe vera plays a very important role in the afterlife. Within the ancient civilization of Egypt, it is used to help the soul journey into the afterlife. Aloe vera preserves the integrity of the physical body during life and death. It keeps the skin looking fresh for the living and strangely does the same for the dead. It contains properties that maintains the collagen of the skin and prevents the elasticity from becoming loose. This is one the functions of an embalming fluid.
The Egyptians and other similar cultures did not believe that the body would journey properly without first embalming the body with aloe vera. This was because, they believed that the same body would be used to journey in the afterlife. Therefore, you can see why it was important to maintain the same structural integrity of the body after death.
Witch Tip: Plant aloe on the graves of loved ones to promote a peaceful existence until the deceased is reborn.
Use level: Easy
I have had an aloe plant at every home I have ever had and so now an inside joke between me and my best friend is that every time I move, I will plant an aloe plant and leave it behind as my legacy for that house.
Nothing on this website should be taken as medical or legal advice. Please use herbs responsibly. Always consult your doctor before using any kind of supplements.
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
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