Making Herbal Eye Cream

Merry Meet everyone!

Firstly, Happy Samhain!

Now, aside from Samhain activities (Post to come tomorrow!!!) today I have been making eye cream to remove dark circles - vain? Yes. Useful. Yes!

This is so AMAZINGLY EASY that it almost takes as long to write this post as it did to actually make the stuff! Once you have made your cream, stick it in a jar, and use as necessary to remove dark circles from under your eyes!

YOU WILL NEED:

• 1 Tsp of Black Tea
• 1 Tsp of Parsley (plus a little extra!)
• Jar
• 2 Tablespoons of Aqueous Cream
• Book of Shadows

OK... just pop your tea and parsely into a coffee maker, and steep it in about 20mls of HOT water for about 20 mins (the water will be VERY dark when this is complete!)

 

Meanwhile, put a plastic bowl over boiling water, and add your Aqueous cream, so that it melts.

When it has melted, stir in the Parsely and Tea infusion and extra parsley, and then pour the mix into a jar (do this QUICKLY because it sets very quickly!!!)

 

Record in your Book of Shadows.... and Hey Presto! Eye Cream!!! EASY!

As I mentioned earlier, watch out tomorrow for Samhain posts!!! Until next time, Blessed Be x

Divination Tea for Samhain

Merry Meet everyone!

Some of you will already be aware, but I have been busy over the last couple of days making my first video for the Diary of a Witch.

The primary idea was to show you how easy working with herbs in your magical work is! As I promised in the video, I am also working on producing factfiles for all of the herbs that I used for the infusion! This is an alternative drink that you can consume (maybe for Samhain?) as opposed to the Dandelion root that I posted about last week!

As a side note, this infusion is perfectly safe and legal, however, do not operate machinery for a couple of hours after drinking!

YOU WILL NEED:

• Coffee Maker (or a mug and muslin!)
• Hot Water
• 1 Tsp Thyme
• 1 Tsp Yarrow
• 1 Tsp Mugwort
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• about 4 Cloves
• 1 Bay Leaf
• Book of Shadows

OK, as the video shows, this couldn't be simpler - stick all of the herbs in your coffee maker, pour in hot water and steep for a minimum of 5 minutes!

When you have done this, just strain it, and drink before divination!! This drink can be a bit bitter, so you can add a touch of honey to sweeten if you would like :)

This is the first video that I have made for The Diary of a Witch, so let me know what you think and until next time, Blessed Be x

P.S - I'm having a bit of a dilemma on where to store the jars and jars of herbs I have obtained - where do you all keep yours? Comments welcome!

Samhain Herbs.... Mugwort, Devil's Nettle and Thistle!

Merry Meet Everyone!

As promised, this is an entire post that relates to other herbs that can be used for our Samhain celebrations and rituals. The herbs that I have spoken about are EASY to get hold of, and can even be found living wild, locally :) 

You will remember from the Dandelion post, that it can be used as a form of communing with the spirit realm by observing the steam simmering from a cauldron of water and Dandelion Root or Leaf? Well, the same can be said for the first of the herbs in todays' post.... the Thistle. 

 
The Thistle, quite frankly, can be found EVERYWHERE and it's flowers hold magical powers that you can harness for your workings. In Relation to Samhain, as mentioned before, it can be used to commune with the spirit world. Simply take the flower (or leaf) and drop it into water that has boiled and is simmering. You may then ask your questions to the spirits and watch the shapes that are created in the steam, thereby giving you answers :)

On a more detailed note, Thistle is a masculine herb that relates to the Planet Mars and also the element of Fire - He has many properties, but mainly can be carried or worn as an amulet for Protection, Joy, Energy and Vitality!

Next up is one of my favourite herbs, Mugwort.

Mugwort has HUGE ties to Samhain because of it's divinatory attributes, and can be used in a number different ways to that effect. 

Firstly, make an infusion out of it (for those that don't know, an infusion is steeping the herb in hot water!) This infusion can be drank as a tea, and will increase your psychic abilities - so drink it before divination! 

You can also use this infusion to cleanse your divinatory tools (such as scrying mirrors, crystal balls etc) 

Further to this, you can place Mugwort next to your bed to assist in Astral projection and also for prophetic dreams :) - I will also be creating a post on making Mugwort Incense soon which you can also use for divination. Mugwort is a feminine herb, and she relates to the Planet Venus, and the element of Earth.

Finally (for today) is the third herb on my list, Yarrow. Yarrow, or Devil's Nettle, is another feminine herb that relates to both Venus and the element of water, and the reason that I have chosen to associate it with this time of year is (again) it's ties to divination. Similarly to Mugwort, Yarrow can be made into an infusion that should be drank before divination to assist in your workings.

It is said, that if you hold Yarrow in your hands, you will deminish fear, and increase your courage, however when Devil's Nettle is worn, it acts as a protection Amulet. Devils' Nettle is also a herb that is used for attraction - Make Yarrow Charms to attract Friends, Loved Ones or a new Lover?!

Lastly, Yarrow is perfect for exorcising negativity, and you can use it to remove negativity and evil from a person, place or thing!

So that concludes todays post, and hopefully it has given a little bit more of an insight to herbs that can be harnessed for their magical properties at Samhain, and the time around it! If anyone has anything further top these that they would like to add, then please feel free to comment!

On another note, thank you for those who took part in last weeks' poll, you are helping to shape the future of The Diary Of A Witch, and please be on the lookout for further questions that will be posted in the column on the right!

Tomorrow, I will be making a video (yes, VIDEO!!!) on Divination Tea :) so be prepared for that!!! OOOH, dont forget -if you made Healing water at the last Full Moon, That it if you haven't used it all, it must be returned to the Earth before the next Full Moon!!! - and until next time, Blessed Be x

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

Buckeye and Coll

Merry Meet everyone!

At this time of year, most witches have become obssessed with Samhain, however, whilst I was out the other day, I was looking for naturally found herbs that are ripe at the moment, to remind us that although Samhain does dominate the next few weeks, we shouldn't forget that it is the third of our harvest festivals.

I managed (easily) to find these two great little nuts which are in season, and can be used in our magical crafts - decorative or otherwise.

Coll (Hazel):

• Coll is a masculine herb that relates to the Sun and the element of Air.
• Hazelnuts are a luck charm, particularly when presented to someone, so over the next few days I will be showing you how to make lucky gifts that you can give to your loved ones... possibly for Samhain?
• As we all know, Samhain is perfect for divination - and Hazelnuts are traditionally eaten to promote wisdom and aid in Divination - see how the Earth is giving us the things we need for this time of year?
• Coll-Wood gives us protection, so draw a circle around something with a piece of Hazel to protect it!
• Finally, Coll is magically sound for 'all-purpose' so why not make a wand or staff out of some :)

Buckeye (Horse Chestnut):

• Buckeye is another masculine herb that relates to Jupiter and the element of Fire.
• If you keep Buckeye (the conker) with money, then you attract more :)
• These are particularly good for healing, so carry Buckeye to avoid being sick - also, it is said that if you carry Buckeye then you will have success in all things - so this is another nut which would be perfect for crafting Amulets :)

Well, this was just a quick summary of what I found - you should go out and have a look at what you can find! Tomorrow, I will be working to make my first video, which will be posted as soon as I can :) 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