Tag: Herb

TO KEEP AWAY NIGHTMARES AND BRING PROPHETIC DREAMS

TO KEEP AWAY NIGHTMARES AND BRING PROPHETIC DREAMS

Stitch a small pillow of muslin of another light weight fabric.
create a pillow that is able to be opened by putting Velcro at one end.
This allows you to “refresh” the pillow from time to time with new herbs without having to
unstitch the end or make a new pillow. You may wish to cover muslin pillow with a light
weight, washable “casing” as well. Once you stitch the pillow together, fill with:
4 oz dried lavender flowers 4 oz dried sage
2 oz ground orris root-as a preservative-optional
4 oz deer’s tongue herb 2 oz cedar shavings
4 oz coltsfoot herb 4 oz sweet fern 2 oz violet
Keep dream pillow under or inside of your regular bed pillow. When storing your pillow each
morning you may either leave it where it is or put it inside of a plastic bad by your bed.
Storing it in the bag will help the herbs retain their freshness for a longer period of time.

Spring Garden Maintenance

Spring Garden Maintenance

Springtime Tasks

By Amy Jeanroy, About.com Guide

When spring is approaching, it is time to start organizing your garden. Make a list of herbs that you want to plant, and compare the time needed to harvest them to the length of your growing season. If you do not have a long enough growing season, try starting your herbs with plants instead of seeds. This will decrease the time needed until harvest by weeks. Lay out your herb garden on paper before planting anything. This way you will be able to organize planting based on how much sunlight an area receives and how much drainage the soil has in that area and plant accordingly.

Important Spring Garden Planning

Spring is the time to start planting your garden with the full summer growth of the plants in mind. Be sure to read the final growth height and spacing of the plants and make sure there is optimal room for their full potential. Your spring garden may look sparse when first planted, but you will be glad you were conservative during the summer months as the herbs fill out.

My Garden Notebook In Spring

Your garden notebook will become much more interesting now. You will write down all the herbs you planted and if you used seeds or plants to start with. Write down if your perennial herbs from the past year have come back. Mark the days you plant and any changes from your original garden plan. I also write down where I get my plants from. In spring, it seems that I can find new, out of the way places for purchasing a few herbs. If I don’t write these tidbits down, they are gone for the next year. You may think you can remember, but the season is just beginning. Write it down!

Spring gardening is also the time to amend (prepare and enrich) the soil so the plants have the most nutrients available right from the start. Traditionally, spring gets the most natural moisture and you can take advantage of that by including enough organic matter in the soil to help hold moisture for the long, dry days ahead.

The Making of Powders

The Making of Powders

 
Powders have long been an integral part of folk magic. They consist of ground herbs which are sprinkled to release their powers. A powder is an incense never burned, a sachet never worn.
 
Simply grind herbs as finely as possible. To save time you can buy ground herbs, but doing so cheats you of really getting in touch with them. While mortaring the herbs, during the whole long process,visualize…imagine…see your magical goal. The power lies within herbs and within ourselves. If we don’t empower powders, incense or oils, if we don’t accurately “program” them with our magical goals through visualization and concentration, such mixtures will have only slight effects. If you forget the empowerment, you might as well forget the magic.

Nine Easy Steps for Making A Magick Potion

Nine Easy Steps for Making A Magick Potion

 
 
1. Gather together all the ingredients you will need to make the potion. Light a candle if you like, matching its color and dedication to your potion’s purpose. Be sure to place your candle(s) near your working surface as a focusing tool, but not in the way.
 
2. Draw a magick circle around your working area. For example, if you are working in the kitchen, draw a magick circle around the entire room.
 
3. Call in the elemental powers to your circle. A shorthand method for doing this is by saying something like:
 
“I ask that the generous powers of earth, air, fire, and water come into this circle. Come I pray you!”
 
4. Call in spirit, the Divine, into your circle by saying something like:
 
“May the Divine Ones enter into this circle and bless this potion with their Divine power.”
 
5. Next, empower the potion ingredients.
 
6. Make the potion.
 
7. Empower the potion once more with a magickal incantation, and then use it immediately as suggested.
 
8. Thank the elements and spirit.
 
9. Pull up the magick circle and put everything away.

Magickal Meanderings: Traveling the Mystical Highways of Life

Magickal Meanderings: Traveling the Mystical Highways of Life

by Bronwynn Forrest Torgerson

Over time, it has become increasingly clear to me that while we may be the ones who pack the cooler, check the tires and top off the tank, there comes a time in every trip where the best charted course goes astray. It is then that we lay the map aside and rest while Deity drives. Spectacular vistas unfold in this way, and the harvest of tales is terrific.

When I left my hometown of Peoria, Illinois, last October and headed toward Washington state, I yearned for the sequoias up the California coast. However, after several leg-cramping days on the road, motels that chomped deeply into my budget and a first taste of winter’s ice and fog and snow, I seriously considered cutting my journey short and opting for a more direct route home.

In Salt Lake City, I cursed my luck and their road construction. I-80 had abruptly ended, thanks to rerouting for the upcoming Winter Olympics, and I was forced into town. I rolled down my window at the first business I came to, a car wash, and asked two men for directions. They conferred, then one turned back to me. “If I were you, Ma’am, I’d hang a right on Redwoods Boulevard.’ A word to the Wiccan was sufficient, and I found my route again, forgoing the connection to I-90 and forging on to the trees.

One bittersweet theme that wove throughout my journey Northwest was my nightly phone call to my sister in Illinois, whose husband was dying of cancer. Hospice was involved, and his time would not be long. Just south of Eureka, California, I was tired and the gas gauge low. No motel signs in view and the prospect of sleeping in my crammed-to-capacity van looked grimmer by the moment. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small, faded sign. “Accommodations,” it read, with an arrow pointing down the road, right into the middle of nowhere. Down a dirt road, over a trestle bridge, past a winding creek I drove, astonished to find myself at the driveway of a small cluster of stone villas! The local cat ran out to brush my legs, then sped off toward the circular courtyard, where a grove of five redwoods stood sentry. That night, sad news awaited. My brother-in-law had passed away that morning. Later that night, when the stars came out, I adjourned to the courtyard alone. I lit some sage in the abalone shell decorating a white wicker table, and sent prayers in many directions. My stay at that stone villa was the least expensive night of my trip. Deity had provided, in every single way.

Bellingham has proven to be no exception to serendipity. Earlier this year, a postcard for an artist’s reception and the promise of free French food and wine coaxed me from my home. I arrived at the Jody Bergsma Gallery on King Street, where gurgling fountains and candlelight led one to the door. Inside, a visual as well as edible feast awaited. I seated myself in the loft where a musician unknown to me would soon perform.

As Christopher Bingham took the stage and launched into his first song, the lyrics dropped my jaw. “Calling up a Horned One, calling up a Green Man, we are gathering here!” Stunned, I noticed the pentacle patch sewn to his guitar strap! By the end of the first set, I had purchased a CD and become a forever Gaia Consort fan.

As a mistress of magick, here are some highway travel tips I can offer you. After checking out of your motel room and consulting your atlas, trace an imaginary pentacle over your steering column, intoning, “Spell and magick, three times three, swift, safe journeys grant to me that I might reach my destination without accident, incident or cops unless I need them.”

When freeway traffic is frozen, through unseen hazards or misfortunes up ahead, you can send positive energy to unblock the obstruction and speed you and fellow travelers on your way. To do so, wave your power hand in an undulating motion saying, “Ebb and flow…ebb and flow…swiftly, safely, on we go.” Surprisingly soon, you’re rolling right along.

In closing, let me say that while it’s good to consult your travel agent before embarking on adventures, don’t forget to pack blue protection candles or to invite the gods along. Safe journeys, good winds and Godspeed as you travel the highways of life!

Witches’ Flying Ointments

 

Witches’ Flying Ointments

 

Modern astral travel is basically a mental and magickal exercise; herbs and crystals are used to enhance the process, but they do not produce the experience. Herbs may also be used to produce similar, although not identical, experiences. Keeping control over the experience is among the key goals of unassisted astral travel: however, once herb substances become the source of the journey, that control is, to varying extents, ceded.

 

Herbs assisted soul journeys, just like astral projection are surviving vestiges of shamanism. Ointments to produce visions–including group visions–exist in many traditions. Many are accompanied by the sensation of flying. These ointment are the medium of shamanic journeys. The most famous maybe medieval witches’ flying ointments.

 

Author is unknown at this time.

Article transferred over from the old WOTC Group.

If you know the author, please contact me and I

Will gladly give credit were credit is due.

Herb of the Day for March 3rd – HYSSOP

Herb of the Day

Hyssop

The use of hyssop as an herbal remedy dates back to Biblical times. It is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible as a cleansing agent (although these references may be to other species of hyssop, such as Origanum aegypticum or Origanum syriacum, rather than Hyssopus officinalis).

Hyssop has been prescribed for a multitude of medical conditions, although there are few high-quality human trials researching these uses. It has been used traditionally as an antispasmodic, expectorant, emmenagogue (stimulates menstruation), stimulant, carminative (digestive aid), peripheral vasodilator, anti-inflammatory, anticatarrhal, antispasmodic, tonic and sweat-inducer. However, both the alcoholic extract and decoction have been used to inhibit sweating. Hyssop is used specifically for cough, bronchitis and chronic catarrh, and also for its tonic effects on the digestive, urinary, nervous and bronchial systems. Hot hyssop decoction vapors have also been used to treat inflammation and tinnitus.

Many complementary techniques are practiced by healthcare professionals with formal training, in accordance with the standards of national organizations. However, this is not universally the case, and adverse effects are possible. Due to limited research, in some cases only limited safety information is available.

Allergies

Avoid in individuals with a known allergy or hypersensitivity to hyssop, any of its constituents or any related plants in the Lamiaceae family.

Side Effects and Warnings

Hyssop has been reported to cause vomiting and seizures, especially at high doses. The essential oil contains the ketone pino-camphone, which is known to cause convulsions. Avoid in patients with epilepsy, fever, hypertension (high blood pressure) or pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Hyssop is not recommended in pregnant or breastfeeding women due to a lack of available scientific evidence.

Fennel Tea As A Natural Healer

Fennel Tea As A Natural Healer

Fennel Tea has many natural healing attributes. This article gives several different mixtures and how they can be used to promote the body’s natural healing ability.

 

Fennel tea is used to promote a healthy appetite and good digestion. Fennel tea is so gentle it can be used for infants and children. To prepare fennel tea, take one-cup boiling water and pour over one to two teaspoons crushed fennel seeds. Let stand for ten minutes and then drain. Drink this mixture three times per day, to relieve abdominal cramps, upset stomach, colic or bloating. You can add other herbs such as caraway seeds and anise seeds to this mixture.

Fennel tea is also used to help alleviate symptoms of whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis and other upper- respiratory infections. To prepare fennel tea to aid in alleviating these symptoms, you will need one-ounce fennel seeds, one-ounce anise seeds, and two-third ounce marsh-mallow root and two-third ounce thyme. Take all the herbs and mix together. Then use one teaspoon of herb mixture per one cup of boiling water. Let mixture stand in water for ten minutes and then strain to remove undiluted herbs. Drink this mixture three times per day.

This mixture of milk also helps relieve stomach cramps and abdominal pain, mix one cup warm milk with one tablespoon crushed fennel seeds, let stand for two to three minutes, strain and slowly drink warm milk.

If breastfeeding, an old folk remedy to relieve sore nipples or relieve an infection, is to soak a cloth in warm tea and apply to the infected area of the skin. Apply this compress up to three times per day.

Fennel tea is also good for eye inflammations, to prepare this mixture take one-half cup water and add two teaspoons crushed fennel seeds and bring mixture to a boil. Let cool for ten minutes, then soak a cotton cloth in mixture and place on eye for fifteen to twenty minutes. It is best to do this is a dim lighted room.

HERBAL HEALING SALVE

HERBAL HEALING SALVE

2 oz dried comfrey leaves, 1 oz dried calendula flowers
2 cups olive oil
1 oz pure beeswax
4 drops each tea tree & lavender essential oils

Heat herbs in olive oil over low heat for about 5 hours. Do not let the oil boil
or bubble. A crock-pot or the lowest temp setting on a range should be suitable
for heating this mixture. (If the lowest setting is too hot, turn off the heat
once it has warmed the oil – it should keep warm for at least an hour – then
repeat the process twice.) After cooking, strain out the herbs while oil is
still warm.  Place 1 1/4 cups of the herb oil in a pan add beeswax and heat just
enough to melt the wax. Add essential oils and stir. Finally, pour the salve
into widemouthed jars. Store at room temp.

Herb of the Day for February 23rd is Primrose

Herb of the Day

Primrose

Evening Primrose Family

Mostly herbs, this family includes the evening primroses, whose flowers open in the evening and close up the next morning. The flowers have four petals followed by capsules with numerous little black seeds.

The common evening primrose is the species most frequently used for food. It is a biennial that germinates in late summer or early fall after the seeds from the previous year have dropped. Leaves have a reddish midrib and form a rosette in the fall. They remain on the plant through the winter. The next spring it sends up a flower stalk with alternating leaves that get smaller as they near the top. Their roots are starchy and can be eaten. Young leaves, flowers, and seeds of the evening primroses are also edible.

The seeds of this plant are rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and linoleic acid, which are used in the body to manufacture anti-inflammatory substances. Studies show that taking evening primrose oil can decrease bone turnover and increase bone mineral density in people with osteoporosis.

Water Magick – Floor Washes

Floor Washes

 

A floor wash is made by adding specific herbs, oils, crystals and other ingredients to water and then using the solution to wash a surface. The reasoning behind this practice is to infuse the surface with the vibrations of the wash, so that it will then attract or dispel the corresponding energies. For example, if you were owed payment for services and the check was late, you might want to wash your mailbox with a money-drawing wash.

Traditional methods call for you to scrub the floor on your hands and knees. The repetitive motion and low concentration level needed allow for a shift in consciousness to take place. Incorporating a chant as you wash will boost the powers of the wash and help your goal to manifest even faster. Remember to be as specific as possible in the wording of your chant.

Celtic Magick Spell for February 16th – Rid Yourself of Negatives

Celtic Spell for Thursday, February 16th

Rid Yourself of Negatives

Set an empty cauldron or goblet on your altar between two lit white candles. Burn a good protection or blessings incense. Robe yourself, preferably in white, and stand or sit before the altar. Breathe slowly and evenly until you are calm and centered. Take the cauldron or goblet in both hands hold high over the altar in salute to the Gods. Lower to chest level and slowly breathe into the cauldron, silently naming each habit, person or experience you wish removed from your life

When finished, turn the cauldron or goblet upside down on the altar, saying:

“The contents of this vessel I give to thee,

Great Ones. Exchanges these experiences

for better.”

Place an offering of herbs and milk outside. Or at least burn the herbs in your censer. This is best done during the Waning Moon.

 

Herb of the Day for Feb. 11 – Pennyroyal

Pennyroyal

Pennyroyal is well known as a magical herb. In some traditions it’s associated with money, while in others Pennyroyal is connected to strength and protection. In Hoodoo and some forms of American folk magic, Pennyroyal is carried to ward off the “evil eye.” Cat Yronwoode of Luckymojo.com says that it can be used to break a hex or curse.

Associated with the planet Mars, Pennyroyal was used by sailors in the Elizabethan era to ward off seasickness. It’s also believed to effective in warding off fleas and mosquitoes.

Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough that in Morocco, Pennyroyal and other aromatic herbs were burned in large quantities at midsummer. He says that people leap across the smoke, “driving it towards the orchards and crops,” as a method of protecting the year’s harvest from damage. The smoke contains a “magical quality which removes misfortune from men, animals, fruit trees, and crops.”

For some protection magic, make a sachet stuffed with Pennyroyal and tuck it in your purse.

In a few traditions, Pennyroyal is associated with money magic. If you own a business, place a sprig over the door to draw in customers and prosperity. Try making a bar of Money Soap to wash your hands with, or use Pennyroyal to brew up some Prosperity Oil.

Basic Herbal Ointment

Basic Herbal Ointment

 
This is a basic ointment that you can make with any herb you want to use for a magical purpose. Just choose the herb you want by consulting the correspondences and add it as directed. You’ll need 1 ounce of lanolin or cocoa butter and 1/2 oz of beeswax, 3-4 ounces of apricot kernal oil, 1 ounce of strong herb infusion of your choice, and 5 drops of essential oil of your choice. You can match the infusion and essential oil or use different herbs. Melt the lanolin or cocoa butter and the beeswax in the top of a double boiler. When completely melted begin adding the oil, pouring a very stream into the pan while stirring constantly until all the oil is added. Turn off the heat and slowly add the herb infusion stiring constantly until the cream has cooled. Add the essential oil and stir in completely. Spoon or pour the cream into an opaque white jar or clear jar covered with paper. You may add 6-8 drops of tincture of benzoin to the mixture when you add the essential oil as a preservative if desired.