Using your dried Dandelion....

Merry Meet Everyone!!!

OK... who remembers when we collected Dandelion?  Well, we have already made a coffee substitute from the powdered root, and also a tincture using fresh leaves... Some of you have also been drying out the leaves and today's post is to show you some of the things that we can do with them now that they have dried :)

I won't go into the magical benefits of Dandelion, but for those of you that are interested, use the labels (in the column on the right!) however, Medicinally Dandelion has HUGE benefits! It's most common, is that it is a toxin remover.... meaning that it will cleanse you! Perfect....

DANDELION TINCTURE

Easy peasy! To make a Dandelion Tincture, you have 2 options.... Use dry leaves, or fresh ones! It really doesn't matter too much! You will have to forgive my pictures because they use Fresh leaves, but just remember that you can substitute them for your dried leaves!!!

All you need to do is take a jar (Jam Jar, Mason Jar....) and put as many Dandelion Leaves into it as you possibly can. Next, you need to pour in your alcohol. I ALWAYS use Vodka because it doesn't smell as much as other spirits, but you can also use Whisky. You need to fill the Jar to about half way! Then just top up the rest of the mixture with Water. Told you it was simple, didn't I?! Now, stick a lid on it in a DARK place for about 4 weeks... shaking the jar  every few days.

When this is complete, drain the leaves out of the mix (which will have gone a brown-ish colour!) and make sure that you store in a DARK place so that the mixture stays fresh :)
Now, as Dandelion cleans toxins from your body, if you take this mixture once a day (about 1 teaspoon in another drink!) then your liver will be detoxed and your skin, clearer!!!! Also, keep hold of this, because in a few days, I will show you how to make a Skin cream with Lavender that is EXCELLENT for healthier skin!!!

DANDELION INFUSION

Another great thing that you can do with your dried Dandelion leaves (which is a LOT quicker than making Tincture) is to make an infusion - and if possible, it is even more simple!!! All you do is steep about a tablespoon of dried leaf to about 1 cup of boiling water. Let it steep for about 10 minutes, then remove the spent leaves and DONE - although this is best to be used immediately, try not to store it!

As I said above, In the next week I will be making a Lavender and Dandelion Skin cream, for perfectly healthy skin! Between now and then, you just need to make either your Tincture or Infusion... make sure that you save some dried leaf for the cream too! The other vital ingredient is obviously Lavender, so check back in the next few days to see how I make Lavender Oil too - including all of its Magical and Medicinal purposes!

Until Then Though, Blessed Be xxx

Finished root and Spirit Talisman :)

Merry Meet Everyone!

 Firstly, this is the Waxing Moon as seen from my garden this evening.... How stunning is that?!

OK, so this is a picture of what your Dandelion Root should look like, now that you have cooked and ground it.

Now, as promised, there are several things that you can do with your root. Firstly, Dandelion makes a great caffeine free coffee substitute, so it can just be enjoyed as you would coffee, however, the reason that we went through all of the trouble of harvesting it was so that we can harness its magical properties.

As I have mentioned many times, Dandelion is perfect for Divination. So drink some of this down as part of your Samhain ritual? Also, another of Dandelion's properties, is that it will call and speak to the spirit world. As I have said before, this is perfect at Samhain, when the veil between our worlds is at its thinnest.
All that you need to do is boil and simmer some water in your cauldron or saucepan. Then, take a pinch of the Dandelion (can be Root or Leaf!) and drop it into the water. Now, ask the spirits questions, and observe the shapes in the steam! Dandelion can also be substituted for Thistle in this ritual too - Be sure to check back for a Thistle post!

Over the last few days I have also been making Samhain Spirit Talisman's and I'll show you how!!

YOU WILL NEED:

• 4 pieces of wood - I used Bamboo skewers!
• String (colour of your choice)
• Glue
• 2 Holly Leaves
• Book of Shadows

OK, firstly, Holly leaves (or Bat's Wings) are great at deterring Evil spirits, so I make this talisman to display at Samhain :) Holly is more traditionally associated with Yule, so closer to December I will have a more detailed post on it!

Take your sticks and lay them in the shape of a star, like this:

Next, bind them all together so that they are sturdy, and then begin to weave your string in between the pieces of wood so that they resemble a spider web, all the time visulaising the purpose of your talisman.

Keep going until you have reached the edges of the wood, and then tie it off. In the centre (on both sides) glue a Holly Leaf (this will also cover the knot!) Now you consecrate it can hang the talisman in your home to ward off spirits.

If you would like, you can dye the string with protective colours to strengthen the amulet. Also, this can be as big or as small as you would like :) This is what it should look like when you have finished!!

OK, well that's todays post! Tomorrow, I will be looking at other herbs that you can use for Samhain, including Mugwort, Thistle and Pumpkin! Until then, Blessed Be x 

Lion's Tooth Preparation

Merry Meet everyone!

Today, I am SUPER busy continuing the prep for my Samhain herbs... Now, remember the Dandelion Root that we collected? Well, by now (Mine's been roughly a week) the root should have shrunk a little bit and turned a rubbery texture - so we can now move on to the next step :)

Pre-heat an oven to 130C/266F, and then pop your roots into the oven... roughly for 10-20 minutes. When they come out, they will be a light brown colour and kinda smell like coffee (Which is a hint on tomorrows post!) Then leave them out to cool. Once they have grind them all up in a mortar and pestle and store them until tomorrow when I will go through Samhain uses!!!!

At this point, continue to dry the Dandelion leaves - they won't be dry just yet - but as soon as they are, I will create a post on preparing and using them! SO MUCH FUN!!

Other things that I am doing today include making Amulets to ward off negative spirits at Samhain (just for fun!) - more on that in the next couple of days! Tomorrow, look out for the Dandelion Post :)

Until then, Blessed Be x

Using Samhain Herbs... Day 1

Merry Meet Everyone!

Unless you live down a dark hole, you will have gathered by now the fact that Samhain (or Halloween) is only a few short weeks away and as the biggest event in the Wiccan or Pagan year, most of us have begun to prepare for it.

Today I have begun to gather and prepare the herbs that traditionally form part of Samahin Decoration. However, the reason that I have posted this reasonably far in advance is because I also use herbs in other ways to celebrate the Sabbat. Many of you are aware that I love to use herbs that are naturally to hand - I feel more connected to them, and I feel that if they are growing locally then they are also tied into the wheel of the year! For example, around Beltane I use a lot of nettle because they are seasonably ripe :)

Once again, if you happen to live down a dark hole, then this may come as a surprise to you but it is officially Autumn. That means herbs are in particular abundance before they retire for the winter months. There have been (and will be more) posts on the obvious herbs here (Acorns, nuts etc) but if we look a little deeper into the spiritual meaning for Samhain, you will notice there are a variety of less-obvious herbs to use.

So on Day 1 of my Samhain Herb collection.... Step up, Dandelion.

It will come as no surprise to many of you that ole Lion's Tooth has made my shortlist.. and here I will explain the reasons why! At Samhain the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, meaning that we are able to commune with both the spirit world and the Divinity easier. This means that the days around Samhain are among the best to jump in with some divination for the upcoming year. 

Well, one of the properties of Dandelion, is that it is perfect for Divination. There are a number of ways that we can use Dandelion do this, but today, I wanted to show you how to harvest and prepare your herb, and by doing this now; when Samhain arrives you will be prepared to use it :) - So follow this with me, and in a few weeks, when the post is made on utilising it, you will have your resources!!

YOU WILL NEED:

• Dandelion
• Trowel
• Knife
• Chopping Board
• Water
• String
• Book of Shadows 

OK, With a trowel, go out and dig up (for personal use) maybe 5 or 6 good sized Dandelions.

***NOTE*** there are some copy-cat Dandelion herbs, that AREN'T the real thing! Try to make sure that you are digging up a Dandelion, but for advice - Dandelion leaves have points (like teeth) down them, they bleed white Sap and also are hairless. Whilst the copycats arent toxic, you really need the magic properties of the real deal!

This time of year is awesome, because the roots have gotten nice and big over the summer. They are reasonably easy to get out of the ground, just make sure that you have a good amount of root on your plant!

Next, bring them indoors and cut the roots off the plant, and seperate the two. Wash the roots under cold water and then chop them up into little pieces. This is so that the root can dry out in a cool dark place over the next few weeks (see why I did this in advance?!)

With the Leaves of the plant, clean them off under cold water, and then bind them in groups to hang up and dry. Once again this will take a few weeks, so patience is a virtue!

When these have dried, I will make another post on the ways the we can use them for our Samhain celebrations and activities, so be sure to check back when I make Divination drinks, and Incense with them. Until Next time though, Blessed Be x

Finishing Amulets and Priest Crown Tincture

Merry Meet Everyone!

OK well I thought that firstly I'd say a big hello to all of the new followers - It is great to have your support and I look forward to getting to know you all!

So lets get to it... Yesterday I finished making the Acorn Luck and Protection Amulets (See the last post!). You will remember that I left string in the dye that I made from Rosehips. Firstly, I thought that I would explain the reason behind using the hips (there are 3!)

1. Rosehip dye is a shade of Red. Initially, this is important because one of Red's properties is that it is a protective colour!
2. Rosehips are currently in season. This is perfect because it ties in with the Wheel of the Year - it seems very fitting that we use the gifts of the Earth.
3. Roses have their own magical properties - 2 of which are both Luck and Protection.

When you make these for yourself, bear in mind that the longer you leave the string in the dye, the stronger the colour will be - on that note, I left mine overnight. Next, just leave your sting to dry and then you can use something sharp to pierce your acorns and thread it through....

You can then wear your new amulets as bracelets, necklaces, on a keychain or simply hang it indoors to bring luck and protection - SIMPLE :)

ALSO...

As many of you will know, I am a big believer in using the magic around you. On that note, I visited my garden yesterday to see which naturally growing herbs I could utilize. One of my favourite garden herbs is the Dandelion which is in HUGE abundance, and so I decided to make Priest's Crown Tincture.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Priest's Crown (Dandelion Leaves)
• Jar
• Water
• Vodka
• Book of Shadows

I'm a big fan of easy crafts, and this is one of the most simple! Firstly just go out and harvest your Priest's Crown (Dandelion Leaves). They are easy to find at this time of year because they have gotten quite big by now - They're practically smothering my lawn! However, don't rely on looking for the flowers because they generally have finished flowering by now.

Fill a jar with as many of the leaves as you can. Rip them and bash them up a bit, because it will help in extracting the herbs properties! Next, pour water into the jar. I use a Jam Jar, so just for your reference, I fill it half way :)

Also, for those who made Moon Water, this is the perfect opportunity to use it!! Once the jar is half full of water, top up the rest with Vodka - THAT'S IT!

I told you it was simple, just stick it in a dark, cool place for about a month for the mix to macerate - shaking it at least once a week. When this has happened, strain the leaves out of the liquid, and hey presto, Priest's Crown Tincture.

Dandelion is naturally a very good body de-toxifier, so you can take a teaspoon of this a day (mix it in water), and it wil clean you out - in particular your liver, so be prepared for clearer skin!! Also, you can use this tincture to mix into a base cream (Aqueous Cream) or salve mix and it is a perfect skin treatment! In it's magical sense, Dandelion is mainly used in Divination and working with the spirits, so you can also use the mix to annoint in your magical workings.

PHEW! Loads of stuff today!!! Anyway, have fun with this, and until next time, Blessed Be x