AMBER ALERT!

The thought police have been busy again ... this time in The Independent’s ‘Mother and babies’ section warning folk about ‘using  amber accessories’  as teething or healing aids for children under the age of three.  Amber  is still believed in today and used for its magnificent healing power for treating joint pain, arthritic ailments, and even teething pain for children but the National Consumer Agency  is now officially advising against ‘amber teething accessories’ as though in additional to it being a health hazard, its use also belongs in the realm of superstition.

Let’s just put consumerism and alternative healing into perspective. To relieve the pain and calm the child, it helps for them to ‘bite’ into something and originally amber (or ivory) teething rings were given as christening presents.  As time passed these were replaced by plastic but the superstition remained.  Today, in a market of mass-produced consumerism and ignorance, the superstition has still remained but the teething aid has morphed into bead necklaces – and surely only the brain-dead would stick a bead necklace, bracelet or anklet anywhere near a small child who automatically puts everything in its mouth!

So where does this ancient healing belief come from?   Amber includes a substance called succinic acid, a powerful anti-oxidant that has been shown to stimulate neural system recovery and bolster the immune system, while reducing stress. And Baltic amber contains 3-8% of succinic acid, a scientifically examined medical substance used in contemporary medicine. The highest content of the acid is found in the amber cortex--the external layer of the stone. There is much documentation regarding the power of succinic acid and recent scientific research has proved that succinic acid has a very positive influence on strengthening the body and improving  immunity.

So, shouldn’t the NCA be campaigning against all BEAD teething accessories being given to small children and leaving amber out of the equation – or being a Consumer Agency, wouldn’t they be more gainfully employed in warning the public against buying fake amber because its odds on that very few of these actual ‘amber’ teething accessories are made from genuine Baltic amber.  And fake amber will have about as much use as a teething aid as a knitted giraffe.   

The real issue here is the dismissal of those ancient beliefs that have all too often been proved to have more than a grain of truth them – or as the old saying goes: ‘yesterday’s magic is today’s science’.  Our ancestors may not have understood the scientific elements to their remedies but they got results.  The real problem appears to be the scientists and academics of today saying dismissively: “How could those old wives possibly have known!”  And that covers just about everything from wort-lore and earth-mysteries to astronomy!

From a magical perspective, fake amber has little purpose here, either, because no matter how pretty or authentic looking, only genuine amber has the real magical properties required to energise a spell!  MD