What's my source?

     Close your eyes, and say the word "herbalist", now, what comes to mind?  I'm sure some of you saw a beautifully appointed apothecary, with jars of dry herbs, mortar and pestle at the ready.  Others maybe something more mysterious, like something out of Harry Potter's world, bubbling cauldron, and jars filled with all sorts of gooey looking specimens, all lined up in a dusty row with spider webs setting the backdrop?  Well, where ever your mind might have taken you in this vision, I hope I can shed some light into the methods used to create herbal medicines.
     Earlier I spoke about tinctures, which is my preferred form, for its shelf life and the direct way it is absorbed by the body.  That is just one way an herbalist might choose to administer an herbal remedy. Figuring out the best remedy for the malady at hand, is both knowledge and art coming together.
    The knowledge is found in the most important book in an herbal apothecary, which is the Materia Medica!  Sounds murky again, I know, but is a treatise on the materials used in a particular school or system of medicine.  So, an herbal Materia Medica covers all aspects of  herbs such as; history, source, physical characteristics, constituents, actions, preparations, doses, and administration to guide the herbalist practice.  This is my most prized piece of equipment, because without it, I would not have the empirical knowledge that has been recorded for thousands of years.  It would be like reinventing the wheel.
    I received my Materia Medica from the Chicago College of Healing Arts where I studied for two years.  I have never seen or run across any book since that is more complete that this one.  This is my main source that I go to for botanical information. It covers the Latin name, common names, actions, energetics, indications, preparation, historical notes, habitat, cultivation and harvesting of medicinal herbs. I thought it is a good time to establish this, in case you were wondering from where I was pulling my pearls of wisdom from.