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Tools Necessary for Herbalism

Tools Necessary for Herbalism

The first step in herbalism is to gather the tools you will need, and that is the main point of this first message. I have found the following useful and in many cases vital to learn and practice the use of herbs.

1) A Good mortar and Pestile, one of stone or metal is prefered. If wood is used you will need two, one for inedibles and one for edibles – make sure they do not look identical, as you do not want to accidentally poison anyone!!!

2) Containers. Although you can buy dried herbs over the counter in many places these days, do not store them in the plastic bags they come in, as these are usually
neither reuseable nor perfectly airtight. Rubbermaid style plastic containers are good, but expensive. I have used glass coffee and spice jars/bottles to good effect, as well as some medicine bottles. The more you recycle the better ecologically, just make sure they
have been thoroughly washed and dried before placing anything inside them.

3) Labels. This is vital! None of us in this day and age can possibly recognize each herb in its various forms simply by sight. Always label your containers as you fill them, and if possible date them when they were filled so you don’t keep spoiled stock on the shelf.

4) Tea Ball. A good metal teaball of the single cup size can be very useful in the longrun when your are experimenting, and when you are making single person doses of teas and tonics.

5) CheeseCloth : Useful for straining a partially liquid mixture and occasionnally for the making of sachets.

6) A Good sized teakettle. Preferably one that will hold at least a quart of water.
7) A Good teapot for simmering mixtures. I use one from a chinese import store that has done me well

.
8) A good cutting board and a SHARP cutting knife for just herbal work.

9) A notebook of some sort to record the information in as you go, both successes and failures. Always record anything new you try that may or may not work, and also and research information you get from various sources (like this echo!)

10) An eyedropper.

11) White linen-style bandages. Some ace bandages are also useful in the long run.

12) A metal brazier of some sort, or a metal container that can withstand heavy useage and heat from within or without, useful for several things including the making of your own incenses.

13) Reference sources. Shortly you should see a list of books that I have read from in the past that I consider useful, build from this as a starting point to others and to your teachers help.

Thats it to start, you’ll pick the rest up as you go. Take your time studying, take lots of notes, compare your sources and your own personal results on each herb and on herbal mixtures of any kind.

Daily Feng Shui for December 5 – ‘Bathtub Party Day’

‘Bathtub Party Day’ can quell your nerves while cleaning you up at the same time. Consider it an anxiety-reducing party in your bathtub! Place one tablespoon each of rose petal and wheat grain and ten chopped dried plums in a net. Suspend the net in the bathwater and then add ten drops of rose essential oil. Lie down in the water, close your eyes and focus your concentration on the bottom of your collarbone. Massage your temples while doing this and within twenty minutes you’ll feel like taking this party out of the tub and out on the town.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

A Little Humor For Your Day – ‘Man Goes To Dentist (Pun)’

Man goes to a dentist

A man went to his dentist because he feels something wrong in his mouth. The dentist examines him and says, “that new upper plate I put in for you six months ago is eroding. What have you been eating?”
The man replies, “all I can think of is that about four months ago my wife made some asparagus and put some stuff on it that was delicious…Hollandaise sauce. I loved it so much I now put it on everything — meat, toast, fish, vegtables, everything.”
“Well,” says the dentist, “that’s probably the problem. Hollandaise sauce is made with lots of lemon juice, which is highly corrosive. It’s eaten away your upper plate. I’ll make you a new plate, and this time use chrome.” “Why chrome?” asks the patient.
To which the dentist replies, “It’s simple. Everyone knows that there’s no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise!”

Aah! Jokes

Sweet and Strong Love Potion

Sweet and Strong Love Potion

Makes two servings.

Eight ounces of chilled papaya juice, two apricots, peeled, pits removed, one-quarter cup of nonfat milk, one cup of vanilla ice cream, one cup of orange sherbet, and one banana.

Add all the ingredients to the blender. With each ingredient you add, repeat:

Our love is sweet, our love is strong, Blessed Be!

Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. As you sip the potion with your beloved, repeat:

Our love is sweet, our love is strong,

Blessed Be!

Daily Feng Shui News for Nov. 27th – ‘National Tie One On Day’

On ‘National Tie One On Day’ I thought I might share some hangover helpers from the world of wisdom and time-tested traditions. Tomato juice is high in fructose, which naturally speeds the body’s alcohol burning process. Eating ten strawberries is also believed to bring sweet relief from a hangover headache. And then there’s this last tidbit I learned from a holistic healer who told me to take a quarter of a fresh lemon and rub the fleshy part under each armpit. It sounds gross but it works. At least that’s what I’ve been told. Wink.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

November 21 – Daily Feast

November 21 – Daily Feast

Never say to yourself, “This may not work.” Give support to whatever you try. You see, it hears you. It accepts your decision even before you begin. Always tell your work that it is good and that it will serve a purpose long after it is finished. To tell it anything else is calling it by unseemly names, names that oppose its good success. Call life by its beautiful names. Tell it how strong and honorable and good it is. It is your life and your voice, and you have the right to use them together for every good purpose.

~ There was never a question as to the supremacy of an evil power over and above the power of good. ~

STANDING BEAR – SIOUX

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II’ by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

A Little Humor for Your Day – “Insufficient Funds”

Insufficient Funds

A young college co-ed came running in tears to her father. “Dad, you gave me some terrible financial advice!”

“I did? What did I tell you?” said the dad.

“You told me to put my money in that big bank, and now that big bank is in trouble.”

“What are you talking about? That’s one of the largest banks in the state,” he said. “there must be some mistake.”

“I don’t think so,” she sniffed. “They just returned one of my checks with a note saying, ‘Insufficient Funds’.”

The Witches Magick for November 17th – Perfect Health Potion

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Perfect Health Potion

When you find something is “going around,” you should make this potion immediately.

Taking doses of the Perfect Health potion once a week on a regular basis will keep you healthy and fit. And at the first signs of feeling under the weather, brew up a new batch right away.

Here are the Items You will need:

Garlic cloves (the more the merrier)

Apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar

Choose four of the following herbs:

Whole cayenne pepper

Lavender

Mint

Rosemary

Rue

Sage

Thyme

Wormwood

To brew the Perfect Health Potion, peel the garlic cloves and add them to the vinegar.

Add the other herbs, and shake very well until blended.

Allow the potion to steep in a cool, dark place for seven days.

Don’t take more than a tablespoon or two at one time.

Actually, this potion also makes a great salad dressing.

And here’s another interesting fact the Perfect Health Potion…

Legend has it that this potion was created in Europe in the Middle Ages, at the height of the plague epidemic. There was a group of thieves that, in the middle of the death, chaos, and quarantines around them, would enter the homes of the sick and dying and rob them.

Yet they never got sick. And when they were finally caught and sentenced to death, they cut a deal. Let us go free, they said, and we will give your our secret to staying healthy in the midst of this plague.

This potion, as legend has it, is a variation of their original recipe. And while you may not be taking it in order to commit robbery, you have to admit that the legend is pretty interesting.

 

A Little Humor for Your Day – Getting old when (for the men in our lives)

Getting old when

You know you’re getting older when…
Everything that works hurts, and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.
You feel like the morning after, and you haven’t been anywhere.
Your little black book only contains names ending in M.D.
Your children are beginning to look middle-aged.
Your mind makes contracts your body can’t keep.
You look forward to a dull evening.
Your knees buckle and your belt won’t.
Your back goes out more than you do.
You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there.
You know all the answers, but nobody asks the questions.

November 15 – Daily Feast

November 15 – Daily Feast

Walking in a garden is little different from walking into a room full of people. Color, shape, size, all play a part – and the more varied, the greater the interest. Only a few dominate the garden, and they are not always the prettiest. Some are herbs and serve as good medicine, while others stand in pretty little groups and dance in the breezes. Each of us is a part of the garden. Do we add or detract? Are we fragrant and do we require sunlight or can we survive in the shade? Do we need constant attention or are we perennial – faithful to our place and doing our best to bloom?

~ Two branches of the ancient Cherokee family….it has become essential to the general welfare that a union should be formed. ~

SEQUOYAH – CHEROKEE TALKING LEAVES

‘A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II’ by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Fairy Brew

Fairy Brew

-Recipe from:

“The complete book of incense, Oils, and Brews.”

by: Scott Cunningham

Ingrediants:

3 parts rose petals

2 parts yarrow

1 part cinnomom

3 parts rose petals

1 part cinnamon

1 part nutmeg

1 part bay

1 part mugwort

Assemble your herbs, grind them manually, and put about a handful into a pot; Strain. Drink a cup before seeking your encounter and return what you do not use to the Earth

 

Daily Feng Shui News for November 8th – ‘Cook Something Bold and Pungent’

Today’s energies ask us to ‘Cook Something Bold and Pungent.’ Here’s a recipe for one of my favorite vegetable meals, Asparagus with Mustard Sauce. You will need two tablespoons of ghee or butter, a half cup of whipping cream, two heads of garlic, peeled and diced, two tablespoons spicy brown mustard, one tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. You will also need two pounds of fresh asparagus spears, trimmed. In a small pan, melt the butter over a low heat and add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is browned, approximately five minutes. In another bowl blend together the cream, mustard, lemon juice and condiments. Bring two quarts of water to a boil over medium heat and cook the asparagus until tender, about three minutes. Drain the asparagus, place on a serving plate, pour the sauce over it, and then top with the browned garlic. Bon appetite!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Calendar of the Sun for November 8th

Calendar of the Sun

8 Blutmonath

Feast of the Kitchen God/dess

Colors: Red and blue
Element: Fire
Altar: On this day the altar is built in the kitchen, on the center of the main table. All activity of the day centers around the kitchen. Crowning the pile should be the paper portrait of the Kitchen Goddess. Decorate the altar with dishes of food, glasses of drink, and copper pots. Use the best china. The portrait of the next kitchen goddess should be hidden under someone’s clothing, rolled up and waiting.
Offerings: The entire kitchen should be cleaned thoroughly. Afterwards, the kitchen should be cleaned again. A pot of honey should be placed nearby.
Daily Meal: Enough food should be made and laid out to feed the entire community for the lunch and dinner period, and outsiders should be invited in to share it if possible. The food should be lavish and elaborate and aesthetically prepared.

Invocation to the Kitchen Goddess

Lady who watches over
The heart of our home,
Lady who fills our bellies
And who observes all our faults,
Today we send you to heaven
On a curl of smoke from your hearth.
We ask you, be generous,
And speak well of our efforts.
When you speak of our faults,
Have compassion on our humanity
Lady who guides our hands,
Send us pots that do not burn,
And enough love and peace
To infuse every morsel
Of nourishment that we here consume.

(Each person present should step forward, dip their finger in the honey, and touch it to her picture, asking her aloud or silently to forgive them for whatever pettiness occurred in the kitchen that year, be it actions or thoughts. Then she is taken to the hearth and burned in the flame, while everyone present claps and chants rhythmically. After that, lunch is eaten, and then a new Kitchen Goddess is installed in her place.)

Chant: Fire of the hearth, Fire of the wine,
Fire of the heart, Fire of the mind,
Fire of the Art, Fire out of time.

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Let’s Talk Witch – Urgh, The Winter Blues, How to Beat Them!

healing

Urgh, The Winter Blues, How to Beat Them!

Let’s stop the Winter Blues this year before they ever get a chance to appear. I always have the Winter blues but apparently they are not as bad as some. So to get a jump on the blues before the blues can jump us, I found some hints and tips to give us a headstart on them this year. I believe if you give some of these tips a try, you might be amazed at how well they work. Won’t hurt to try, will it?

1.  Adjust your schedule. Simply said, do less. Don’t overcommit and respect the season’s slower pace. Focus activities on the home front. Now is the time to settle into books, projects and other activities that require a long span of time. Have family game nights or invite friends over to share the fun.

2.  Adjust your environment. Invest in good lead-free candles for atmosphere, and if you have a fireplace, stock up on dry, seasoned wood. Light the area you’re living or working in, but leave lights off through the rest of the house. Turn the thermostat down to 65 degrees–leave blankets throws on chairs and couches and wear slippers to keep your feet warm and layers of fleece or wool sweaters for toastiness. Make your bed with flannel sheets and thick blankets and spreads.

3.  Purify your surroundings. Many houseplants are valuable for purifying the air, particularly peace lilies, rubber plants and spider plants. You might also invest in an air purifier for the bedroom and main living spaces. On warmer days, open the doors and windows to let fresh air in.

4.  Embrace winter herbs and spices.  Burn incense or diffuse oils in scents of cinnamon, clove, cardamon, pine or cedar. Sip herbal teas or fresh-made Chai. Simmer a kettle of hot cider or mulled wine with fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise, whole cloves, cardamom pods and thin slices of citrus.

5.  Eat for the season. Focus on grains, legumes, and warming root vegetables. Carrots are excellent for digestion, parsnips support the lungs, beets furnish elemental irons, and sweet potatoes are full of vitamins and fiber (and are delicious mashed with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar!). Try a hot cereal of oatmeal or buckwheat topped with sauteed apples or dried fruit. Enjoy roasted meats, homemade soup stock, and mugs of rich hot chocolate, each with a warming pinch of cayenne. Stewed fruit, crisps, and cobblers make delicious winter treats.

6.  Pamper your body. Enjoy warm baths, adding 1 cup of Epson salts, 1 teaspoon olive oil and a few drops of essential oil to each tubful. Try lavender for relaxation or thyme or rosemary for invigoration. If you skin is dry, replace the Epsom salts with colloidal oatmeal (or blend oatmeal to a powder in your food processor). Consider a weekly “spa night” in which you pamper yourself from head to toe.

7.  Feed your mind. This is a perfect time to dive into magickal study, work on garb or tool craft, or read the stack of books that’s accumulated on the nightstand. keep a daily journal to track your activities and monitor winter’s progress.

8.  Stay active. Engage in slower-paced excercise, such as yoga, Tai Chi or swimming (indoors). Take bundle walks through your neighborhood, watching for the seasonal changes.

9.  Serve the tribe. Take care of your own family, but reach out as well. Winter is powerful time to do volunteer work in your own community.

10.  Honor Yule, Christmas, Imbolc or whatever holidays you celebrate. The winter holidays are the perfect time for lights, gifts, and greenery: Be merry and rejoice!

Honor the winter’s rhythms and you’ll feel the magickal and health benefits that come from slowing down and embracing the season as a restorative time of quiet, rest, and reflection.

Excerpts taken from:

Hibernation: Embracing Winter
Susan Pesznecker
Llewellyn’s 2012 Witches Companion
An Almanac for Everyday Living

A Little Humor for Your Day – Pumpkins or Men, Which are better? lol!…

Thirteen Reasons Pumpkins Are Better Than Men

(Sorry guys!)

1. Pumpkins don’t accuse you of loosing the TV remote!

2. Pumpkins respond quite well to negative re-enforcement!

3. Pumpkins make better pie!

4. Every year you get new Pumpkins to choose from!

5. Pumpkins always greet you with a smile!

6. If you don’t like the way a Pumpkin looks, just make up another face!

7. If a Pumpkin starts smelling up your place, just throw him out!

8. Pumpkins don’t expect you to cook while they are growing 24 hours a day!

9. You can clean up Pumpkins in just minutes!

10. Pumpkins don’t hide their feelings!

11. Pumpkins don’t stare at other pumpkins!

Recipe For Bread of the Dead

Bread of the Dead

Serve with milk or hot chocolate, and offer some to your departed ancestors, so they may breathe in its essence and be nourished, before you gobble it up yourself!
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
10 drops anise extract
Mix all of the above until smooth. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. With clean hands, mold the dough into a round shape with a knob on the top (which will be a skull) or into smaller round shapes, animals, faces or angels. Place dough on cookie sheet.
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. melted butter
Mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and melted butter for the topping. Sprinkle topping on dough and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When cool, decorate the skull shaped knobs, animals or faces with icing sugar to make eyes, nose and mouth.

The Witches Magick for Oct. 27th – Pouch To Heal The Heart Chakra

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Pouch To Heal The Heart Chakra

Materials Needed: green candle, rose water essential oil, rose incense, green fabric, pink thread, needle, red paper heart, lavender, bay leaf, rosemary, and a rose quartz.

Spell: To be performed during the waxing moon with the moon in the sign of Taurus. Anoint candle with rose water while the purpose is stated, and light candle. Incense is now lit. Next anoint heart chakra with the rose water along with

the green cloth. The red heart is made and then anointed with rose water. Touch the heart to your heart then place it on

the cloth. Then add a bay leaf, lavender, rosemary, and the rose quartz. Anoint the thread with rose water. Sowed the pouch closed. Hold the pouch over the candle and incense. Touch it to your heart chakra and then hold it in your hands.

All the while thinking healing thoughts directed towards your heart. Sleep with it under your pillow and when needed carry it on your person. When your heart chakra feels stronger or the pouch has weakened bury it. Blessed Be!

Submitted By Vila

From GrannyMoon’s Morning Feast Archives

 

Let’s Talk Witch – The People and Pets In Your Home

pagan19

The People and Pets In Your Home

The people and pets who share your living space contribute to the overall feeling texture of your home. If you have a roommate or someone else in your home with whom you don’t get along or who is mostly negative, then you need to take measures to rid the rooms of that negativity. This may call for a sage smudging at a regular intervals: Do so once a week for a month, then once a month after. Other remedial adjustments might be in order. You can include a piece of onyx or burn a black candle in or near the person’s room to absorb the negative energy. If you burn a black candle, let it burn all the way down, then toss it out. You don’t have to throw out the onyx; just bathe it in sea water (or water with some sea salt in it if you don’t live near an ocean) and then set it in the sun for a few minutes to charge it.

If you have a pet who is hostile toward you or other people, you might try a little feng shui magick. Locate the family area of your home. This area lies in the eastern part of the house or, in the Western feng shui, the farthest left-hand side of your home when you stand inside your front door. Add a tabletop fountain to the family area, a couple of jade plants and something black. Don’t forget to give your pet plenty of love.

If you have children, the best area in feng shui lies in the western part of the house or, if you’re standing in the front door, directly opposite the family area. If your kids are hostile or angry, use anything yellow in that area–flowers(with round leaves), curtains, linen, quilts, whatever feels right. Symbols for children and creativity are also good here, as are music, bells, and lights.

Once the negativity in the children’s area is purged, put a white crystal and white flowers somewhere in the room. It helps to balance emotions.

 

Your Symbol Card for October 24th is The Rose

Your Symbol Card for Today

The Rose

The White Rose indicates the need for or the presence of purity of intention. The question to ponder is, “Am I/he/she being self-serving, or other-directed?” The caution is that even if we are reasonably certain our motives are generous, if we are yet attempting to impose our idea of what should be, we are not acting at the level of the White Rose. When the White Rose appears, examine your own and others’ motives, and then trust the answer that brings you true peace of mind.

As a daily card, the Rose denotes a time in which you will be best served by allowing your actions to be guided by what is best for the greatest number even if the path indicated is not the one you feel is best for you.

Calendar of the Sun for October 23rd

Calendar of the Sun

23 Winterfyllith

Day of the Scorpion: Beginning of Scorpio

Colors: Dark red
Element: Water
Altar: Set with a cloth of dark red, a large chalice of red wine, a curved knife, a candle, a whip, and a wreath of thorns.
Offerings: Extremities – of asceticism, or indulgence.
Daily Meal: Meat. Bitter greens. Vinegar. Spicy or sour food. Shark or eel.

Invocation to Scorpio

Desert’s child of the scorching heat,
Bearing each night of barren cold,
Springing from the core of the earth,
Underground water running beneath,
Darkest cave of mysteries,
You whose gift is Desire,
Bless us with the ability
To follow our true passions,
And to start over again from the beginning
When the burning comes.
By the power of all that transforms,
You challenge us
To forever stoke the inner flame.
May we go forth with lust for life.

(The Scorpio chant is a low ohm, in multiple harmonies. Afterwards, one who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual approaches with the wine in one hand and the wreath of thorns in the other. S/he asks, “Wilt thou have agony or oblivion?” To accept and hold the wreath is to say that one has been asleep for too long, and needs to be violently awakened. To accept the wine is to say that there has been too much pain, and one needs respite from it. If one accepts neither, s/he says, “Thou hast enough of either, so thou must give some away to others.” The individual must then either offer massages to those who chose oblivion, or a whipping to those who chose agony.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]