Medicinally both the wild and cultivated berries are used but the wild are preferred. For medicine the leaves, flowers and roots are used. The Wild Strawberry has no poisonous look a like. The related Wood Strawberry (Fraganaia vesca; fraganaia means ‘look a like’) looks similar and is edible but has no flavour, so it is used as a filler. By filler, I mean that if you only have a small amount of Wild Strawberries, you can mix them with the Wood Strawberries, and stretch the sweet taste to feed more people. There is a Common Cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex) looks like the Wild Strawberry when the green leaves are first spotted but it has five leaves, instead of three like the Strawberry. It’s flower is yellow and bears no Strawberry-like fruit. When collecting the Strawberries we line and cover the berries with Sweet Fern (Myrica asplenifolia) to keep the Berries from spoiling.

Strawberries are cool and dry when green and cool and moist when fully ripe. They are refreshing to look at, smell sweet and will refresh you when you eat them. Humans are not the only ones that love to eat Strawberries. Sometimes when walking through the bush you may find a nice, neat, but little pile of fresh Strawberry pulp sitting on a rock or displayed in other open places. For the Lesser Chipmunk only eats the true fruit, the small achenes. This is the way the lesser Chipmunk teaches us to share with others. He is one teacher, that teaches us to leave a Spirit Plate when we feast. The spirit plate is our way of Sharing and saying Thanks to the Greater Spirits for feeding us. Through example, the Chipmunk shows us and others, that you waste nothing.

Other ‘People’ that like to eat Strawberries are our Brother the Bear, the Fox, the Deer, the Snowshoe Hare and the Cottontail, the Marten, various Mice, the Skunk, and even the Opossum, to name a few. In the Winged Family, the Crow, the Ringed Necked Pheasant, the Ruffed Grouse, the Veery, Sparrows, Pine Grosbeaks, Thrushes, all love Strawberries too. All of these Beings also serve Everyone, by spreading the seeds around. For the seeds are made in such a way that they pass through the digestive track in relative safety, and when expelled, they start to grow in the fertilizer provided by the ones that enjoyed the Strawberry meal. The feces is the culture that triggers the fertility of the Strawberry. Culture is anything that will help a Spirit grow greater. All of these Great Spirits teach us that we are all Cultured Beings and we should all be Growing Greater. The Creator makes All things Perfect!

At this time, I want to remind everyone that if we do not keep the waters of Earth clean…we will not be able to harvest our Strawberries. In some parts of the World, pollution has caused the waters to be contaminated with Cholera and some of this illness has been transferred to the people, through Strawberries. This is the fault of People, not the fault of the Strawberry, the Earth or the Creator.

The Spirit of the Strawberry lifts people’s Spirits, so it has long been used when someone is depressed and faint. The Spiritual teachings of a plant always are connected to the beneficial medicinal teachings. For true healing starts with the Spirit and flows through the Body. Remembering that the Strawberry follows in the vein of Her Mother, will remind you that the Strawberry will be beneficial to the Blood. Blood flows through veins, right? This is why the Strawberry cleanse is important to do each year. Eaten in a large quantity they can be mildly laxative, but that is what is needed when cleansing. Strawberries clean the Blood.

They are beneficial for the Liver and Spleen, too. When they help the Liver, they are once again cleaning toxins from your body and when the Liver is working well, you will stay in a good mood longer. This is important for Men to understand. Men live "through" their Liver. Women live "through" their Pancreas (which is right beside the Spleen). That is why Men turn to "Drink" quicker and Women turn to "Sweets"." The Liver holds the "Anger and is the seat of Emotion" and sits in the Solar Plexus Region and the Pancreas is affected by the Heart(actually by hormones, but I don’t speak in Scientific terms) and holds the "Melancholy or Blackness". When out of Balance, many Women turn to "Sugar" and that is why the Diabetes got out of control and the Men tried to drown the bad feelings with "Spirits". When following in the "Natural Way" everything is/was kept in balance and we don’t/didn’t have the problems we do now. Anyway, get back to living Natural and everyone will get Stronger.

To explain what the Spleen does; the Spleen removes and destroys old Red Blood Cells. It also helps fight infections. It accomplishes this by removing and breaking down all the worn-out red blood cells every 4 Moons, after they have been produced in the bone marrow. All this movement and regeneration needs good support; clean blood and proper nutrition. The Strawberry supports the Spleen in its important job too.

The Strawberry is good to rid the body of Rheumatism. They seem to help with most inflammations but they are not good, when with fever. Strawberries will benefit people with Gout too, usually because they cleanse the Blood and it seems to me that the major cause for Gout(caused by eating too much meat, especially organ meats and chicken) is the Uric Acid that collects and isn’t expelled from the body. Sluggish kidneys also play a major part in Gout and other herbs are needed(Bearberry) too. The Strawberry Leaves are good when mixed with Bearberry, Alfalfa, Comfrey(do not use if there is cancer in the family), and Dandelion. Made into an infusion, they will aid in breaking up kidney stones and clean the blood.

Just make sure the leaves are dried thoroughly, for the fresh leaves are toxic but when dried, they are safe. Collect the leaves in the Spring when fresh and new and the energy in them is strong. You can also collect them in the Fall, well after they have a chance to rest after bearing fruit and they have regained their energy. Strawberries are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin K. They are high in Magnesium, Potassium, Iron and Malic and Citric Acids.

Equal portions of Strawberry Leaves, Parsley, and Blueberry Leaves mixed together and drank as an infusion will help the Kidneys and is good for those with Diabetes. Drink Four Cups a day. Pour boiled water over the leaves and let steep for 12 minutes. One Teaspoon of Dried Leaves to one cup of water.

Both the juice of the Strawberry and the Dried Roots can be used to clean the teeth. When using the Berry, rub on teeth and leave on as long as possible(10 min.) in order to remove tartar. Then rince your mouth with water. Rinse the mouth with strawberry juice to strengthen and heal the gums too. Use the Dried Root Powder in the same way as you would any toothpaste.

Crushed Strawberries have long been used for every type of skin problem. The crushed Berries can be used as a poultice to rid one of Ringworm, Scabies, and has been helpful for treating Skin Cancers. They will relieve the sting of Sunburn and cleans or whitens the skin. They have helped others with acne and eczema. The juice is good for oil skin as it cleans the pours and tones the skin. Also applied for relief of sore eyes and when the leaves are used they can be used to clear the eyes.

A light infusion is good for Children with diarrhoea and stomach upset. Children over 2yrs.

It has been reported that the Strawberry will help those with syphilis.

Strawberries eaten in excess can cause hives in some people. Give them in small amounts to Children until you know that they will not break out.

As a last note...Much of this teaching came directly from the Spirits. The Spirits will speak to you in Dreams and in Visions. The following is to help you "see" how you can receive healing and understanding from the Creator and His Great Spirits.

I had been feeling slightly off for a couple of weeks and knew I needed some healing. So one night, I prayed and laying out Tobacco, I asked the Creator to heal my Body. That night as I slept, A Woman came to me in a dream and gave me some ‘White Strawberries with Purple Veins’ to eat. They were the most delicious Berries I have ever tasted! So good, I asked the Spirits if I could have some of the Slips (infant plants) to bring home to plant in my garden, so I could share them with others and eat them again. Then I woke up.

Laying in bed, I thought of the Dream. I laughed when I remembered, that since I moved to the City, I haven’t got a garden. Well, writing this reminded me, I do have a garden. It is the one We are All supposed to be Planting. When you share the knowledge the Creator has Blessed us with, we are planting seeds. One day soon the Creator will Harvest them. When writing this teaching, I realised how much the Creator gave us. The night of the Dream, I received the ‘Healing’, and much of this writing was given to me. Thank our Mother, the Earth and the Creator for their gifts. Thank the Sweet Spirit of the Strawberry!

In the Spirit of Sharing,

Chi Meegwetch! Nya Weh! Aho!