In the accounts of their travels, ancient explorers refer to Latvians as wizards. We still understand the language of trees ― totemism was the most ancient form of religious faith for the Balts, adopted even before their arrival in the territory of Latvia. Historians of religion date the beginnings of totemism reflected in tree worship from the Early Stone age. Folk songs and church annals indicate that worship of idol trees and sacrificing to them were known in Latvia as late as the 19th century.

Subconsciously we are aware of the beneficial properties of plants. There were times when we lived in farmsteads and there was a single physician servicing a large area. We made do with the knowledge of wise women. They were called witches and burnt at stake in the Middle Ages; nowadays the proper title would probably be "highly qualified herbalists".

For the most part, Latvian women take up traditional folk medicine when they become mothers. That's why there are supplies of medicinal herbal teas in every Latvian home. We know how these infusions work. We pick the medicinal herbs ourselves; in bulk they are supplied by professional growers of unconventional crops.

Warning! There are qualified healers in this country but there are also quacks. Foreign visitors who feel they have been using too many synthetic pharmaceuticals and are looking for exotic remedies, sometimes fall victim to self-styled clairvoyants, soothsayers and other frauds who claim to be in tune with the energy radiated by stones. Luckily, we do not have very many of those.