Category Archives: Herbs

September 5, 2010 · 8:54 pm

Herbal remedies and sisters in spirit…….

Merry Meet again friends…Hope this finds you all well and happy.  Here in Ohio we are enjoying a few days of gorgeous Autumn-like weather…its been really cool at night..around 70 during the day…windows are open airing out the house..perfect weather to me!  But it is only a glimpse as it is going to warm up again starting tomorrow.  But the nights are staying cool so it is a promising sign that Fall..my favorite time of year..is almost here!  I just come alive in the Fall..I love the crispness of the air and crunching leaves and the beautiful colorful trees.  I love the smell of woodsmoke, good food cooking in the slow cooker, apples, pumpkins, mums, the harvest moon..just magick! 

While pot roast was cooking in the crockpot today I decided to either make or finish up some herbal remedies I had been wanting to make.  I had brewed olive oil with calendula for several days and wanted to make it into a salve.  This works like a do’all skin ointment.  Put it on cuts, bruises, reddened or dry skin, callouses, hives, rashes, bug bites, mild burns…just about anything.  I also made a lavender toner a couple of weeks ago.  I just needed to strain off the lavender buds and bottle it.  I also  made a germ fighting spray that was posted online by Granny’s Hearth.  I feel so “witchy” when I’m making them and putting a spell on them!

After I get the remedies jarred and bottled..I light a candle and put a spell on them to make them work as they should.  This is what I say:

“In my kitchen, I toil and brew

Making potions with love and magick true

May they soothe and heal and lessen pain

Until all is well and right again

By herbs and oils and with harm to none

By my will and power, this spell is done.”

I have really just started making homemade herbal remedies for medicinal purposes.  I have made homemade cleaning supplies, homemade soaps, essential oil sprays for home or perfume, but had never really made homemade salves etc.  I have enjoyed it immensely and find that they work fabulously..even better then the over the counter stuff you buy at Walmart and Krogers.   To increase my knowledge, I am going to take an online herbal course thru Susun Weed who came highly recommended by several of my facebook friends.  I can’t wait to really get some help on the subject and to become more learned in it.  I have bought many books and find it pretty simple to follow but I want to learn from an expert! 🙂  I have a lovely sister in spirit who will be taking the class with me…it’ll be great to compare notes and discuss the classes together.

Speaking of facebook, I just have to say that I have got the best facebook friends ever.  So many wonderful, kind, funny, caring people.  I have a habit of asking a question of the day..and everyday I get people who come and share themselves with me…if there is disagreement it is done kindly and respectfully…there has yet to be any rudeness on my page which I’m grateful for..as I have seen it and don’ t like it.  I believe in live and let live and telling someone their beliefs are wrong goes against my grain.  I am so grateful for all of my fb friends because they have made my world bigger and lovelier, they have expanded my knowledge, and I feel a true spirit connection with people all over the world.  Thank you so much to each of you!!

  I also am part of a wonderful online “coven” for want of a better word…my sisters in spirit…my closest fb friends…and they are pure joy to me…They open their hearts everyday to each other…whoever needs comforting, support, someone to listen, candles lit, prayers sent up, questions about anything..we are all there for each other!  We share our lives quite openly..we are true sisters in every sense of the word.  I am incredibly blessed to have them and I love each and every one of them…Thank you from the bottom of my heart my sisters! 

The New Moon is coming soon..for me,  this New Moon means a good cleansing and blessing of my home…renewing the protection I have set around my house, starting my  “Fall cleaning”..getting the house ready for the cool weather..such as getting the fireplace cleaned and wood ordered, stocking up on baking supplies, and having a list of indoor projects to keep me busy in the lazy months!

May you all have a blessed Labor Day tomorrow and I believe today was Father’s Day in the Southern Hemisphere!  Remember to be kind, live in each moment, spend time each day reflecting on gratitude for what you have been blessed with in your life, and send out love to those around you and you’ll get it back.

Merry Part and Merry Meet again,

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June 27, 2010 · 3:08 pm

A Full Moon, herbs and Lily…….

Merry Meet friends….I hope you are all staying cool in the hot muggy weather…feels like August instead of June!  We have had alot of rain and storms but it’s  a good thing as our grass remains green and lush, the gardens are well watered, the birds and critters have plenty of water…and it cools things down a bit after the rain.

I had a wonderful Full Moon on saturday..Strong Sun Moon…She was big, bright, and beautiful!  Yellowish orange until She rose higher in the sky.  Fate would have it that we didn’t have storms that night and I was able to attend to Her and see Her very well!  I always recharge my jewelry, crystals, ritual tools etc when I can see Her moonlight and it can fall on my witchy stuff! 🙂  I also made up a fresh batch of Blessed Water and did a personal ritual.  The best part though is just sitting and drawing in Her energy..to feel the power coming into me, grounding me, filling me with magick, calm, peace.  There is nothing like it.

I also spent some time today harvesting some of my herbs.  Some I will dry and some I have put in a jar of fresh water to use fresh, namely cilantro for salsa and chives for numerous reasons!  My cats will be very happy when the catnip is dried and ready and I will be very happy when my dill, basil, mint, marjoram, rosemary, and lemon balm is ready…both for cooking and for my witchy needs!

I am also busy working on an online class I signed up for thru Ellen Dugan called “The Harvest Sabbats.”  The harvest sabbats are Lammas or Lughnassad which is Aug 1, Mabon which is in September, and Samhain which of course is Oct. 31.  These are my favorite sabbats of the year because they are all about fall..which as you can tell by my name..is  my favorite time of year!  Ellen Dugan is amazing and this class is based on her book “The Autumn Equinox”…which I’ve already read and highly recommend.  Her books are so great!!

My grandaughter Lily loves to help me in my garden too…She is so adorable, loves to be outside..a real nature girl!! 

Now tell me that isn’t just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!  LOL…I love being a Nana and I love my little nature girl!

I wish you all a lovely summer, with ladybugs and dragonflies, with flowers and their perfume, with warm starry nights and time with your loved ones to have fun in the sun!

Blessed Be, Autumn

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May 24, 2010 · 8:28 pm

Herbs, gardening and stones…….

After about 10 days of rain and dark gray skies, the sun has finally come out, the ground is drying up and it feels like summer!….

This weekend my hubby and I were finally able to start planting, weeding, mulching etc.  I love going to the garden centers and walking thru the aisles looking for just the right thing!  So far we chose marigolds, red and blue salvia, dianthus, speedwell, shasta daisys, impatience and of course, more lavender!  These are in various beds around the house.  This year I planted my herbs early from seed, in little pots I kept in a sunny window.  I planted about 15 different herbs.  Some grew, some didn’t.  So for the ones that didn’t sprout from seed, I went and bought them at the garden center.  For my herbs I planted, lavender, catnip, oregano, chives, cilantro, basil, sage, lemon balm, parsley, marjoram and mint.  I just realized tonight though that I forgot thyme so I’m gonna have to go back and get some, got to have that! 

We also bought seeds for sunflowers so we have free feed for the birds in the late summer, early fall..plus we get to enjoy them all summer!  We bought a new bird feeder that is supposed to be squirrel proof but I’m not sure its working! LOL..I don’t mind feeding the squirrels and chipmunks either!  We have plans to remove some ugly bushes I hate and put in peonies and hydrangeas!  I love mapping out the improvements along with the yearly stuff we always do! 

Lets see, what else is going on..I am reading “the Craft of the Wild Witch” by Poppy Palin and love it so far.  She writes very well and I’m learning alot.  I just finished reading the first 7 books of the House of Night series..so good!  Now, I know these books are aimed at teens and at 52 years old I’m most definitely not a teen..but they are good books and I read all 7 in about a week..I just couldn’t put them down! LOL..now, alas, I have to wait for the 8th which doesn’t come out until January of next year I think!  :(….I have been encouraged by some witchy friends of mine (you all know who you are! )  to read the Sweep series so I’ve got the first two and will be starting them…I love to read and will read just about anything! LOL! 

I’ve also been working on my BOS..that is alot of work and always in progress but I really love working on it..its coming out just like I pictured it would!  I have so much fun going thru my witchy books and planning out the pages I want to keep in my book and finding pics to put with it..very creative!

Thursday is the Full Moon..I love the full moon every month.  Its really a special time for me.  This one I think is going to be extra bright..it already is a bright light moon and its not full yet!  I plan on doing a Full ritual this month.  I usually keep it simple, light a candle, and re-cleanse and energize my crystals, tools and jewelry in the moonlight.  This month I’m going to take advantage of the warmer weather and spend some time, outside, really communing with my Goddess. 

This has been a bad week too in that I lost an Aunt and am now losing an old friend who is too young to die.  At these times I realize even more how we are put here to love each other, to love life, and live it to the fullest!!  Blessings to both of them and their families as they start a new journey.  May their path be lit by Moonlight as is mine…..

Blessed Be, Autumn

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March 24, 2010 · 9:39 am

Blessed Ostara….

Just a quick post to say that I had a blessed Ostara and hope that you did too.  I spent the day with my daughters and grandaughter.  We had a nice luncheon and spent time talking about planting our gardens, spring activities etc  We were going to color eggs but my little grandaughter is teething and was tired so she went down for a nap and we decided to wait so that she could be involved with the project.  We will probably dye them for Easter..yes, we do have an Easter brunch with our extended family, my parents and siblings, as my parents don’t know about our witchy path.  They are christain and older and would not be understanding.  My mom knows that we are into herbs and oils and crystals etc but not the full extent of two of her daughters and two of her grandaughters chosen path.  The day may come we can tell them but not yet.  Its hard to hide it but its a must for now.

I did my Ostara ritual on the night of the 22nd as that was the first chance I had to have time at my altar.  I love the calm feeling that comes over me at my altar, lighting candles and incense, worshipping the Lord and Lady, speaking the words that come from my heart.  It is such a wonderful sense of oneness with the earth and sky and it makes me feel whole and happy.  However you worship, do it fully and with love in your heart and really feel what comes back to you.

I have bought little biodegradable pots and soil to plant my herb seeds..can’t wait to see the seeds start to germinate and turn into the wonderful sweet smelling herbs that I’ll use for cooking and spellwork.  I have a sunny window with a window seat and its the perfect spot to start the seeds.  I’ll transplant them to large patio pots around May 1.  If you don’t garden or don’t live where you can, its very easy to get a pot and fill it with herbs…try it!

The next Sabbat is Beltane or May Day on May 1.  It is a true celebration of spring.  I hope to make up some May baskets, have a nice meal, plant some flowers and herbs etc.  I’ll talk more about this closer to the day.

In the meantime, I hope its spring where you live and the sun is shining on you again.

Blessed Be,  Autumn

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