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

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