Taking the Oil from the Leaf of an Elf....

Merry Meet everyone!

Remember last time, when I showed you some of the things that you can do with the Dandelion that we had harvested? Well, I also promised that over the next few posts I would show you how to make an excellent Skin Cream, using Dandelion and also Lavender Oil.

Well, it is only fair that I show you how to MAKE your own Lavender Oil, which has a variety of different uses, aside from the skin cream recipe!!

YOU WILL NEED:

• LOTS of Lavender (Flowers, stalks, leaves....)
• A Carrier Oil (Olive, Almond etc)
• Jar
• A Sunny Place
• Book of Shadows
• Patience!

I was going to make a video to show you how  to do this, but I decided that I really didn't need to. Those of you that know me, also know that the easier a recipe is, the better!!!

So anyway, LITERALLY all that you need to do is fill a jar (size is up to you!) with as many pieces of Lavender as you possibly can! Now this can be with Flowers, stalks, leaves or whatever parts you have to hand. Obviously, if you can get hold of fresh ingredients, use these but dried herb works equally as well!

Next just pour your chosen oil into the jar as well. You want to pour in JUST ENOUGH to cover the Lavender - any more than that and you will dilute the infusion. When you have poured it in, with a stick (or spoon, or finger or whatever) stir the mix around to remove as many air bubbles as you possibly can!

Finally, stick it in a windowsill that gets some sunlight, and the key part of this potion is just to leave it for as long as you can (around a month is usual!). When you think that it is done, have a sniff of the oil. If it smells like Lavender - it's done!!! Simply drain the oil from the Lavender, and store for use :)

THE USES OF LAVENDER:

Right Lavender, or Elf's Leaf - see the title!, for those that don't know is a highly aromatic herb that is highly valued both medicinally and magically.

Medicinally - it can be used to make a skin toner, acne treatment, to treat anxiety, treat headaches, flatulence, nausea, Dizziness, Halitosis. It is also antiseptic and a mild sedative and painkiller!

Magically - It is used to attract love (particularly attracting Men), Psychic awareness, Happiness, Creativity, Money, Business, Peace and Healing. It is said that Lavender should be smelt often to prolong life. Also, at Litha you can burn Lavender as an offering to the God and Goddess!

OK, well that's about it! VERY soon, I will be showing you some of the uses of Lavender Oil (including how to mix it with Dandelion to make that skin cream!!! Until Then, Blessed Be x

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

A Clucking Great Blog !!!!!!

 Merry Meet everyone!

OK, well firstly, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Samhain? Feel free to comment and let everyone know what you were up to! Next, I just want to draw your attention to the "visitors" counter that is at the bottom of the page... Now, to some of you a measly thousand isn't a huge amount, but I was SO happy when I saw that The Diary of a Witch had passed 1000 views :) Thanks to everyone!!!



Next, The Diary of a Witch has received its first award! YEY!

Loopy at  Wandering along Loopy's life path has awarded us the "Clucking Great Blog Award" (Great name by the way!). The only condition to accepting this award is to link it back to Loopy and also award it to the 10 blogs that I read the most. Now, there are LOTS of blogs that I read so please don't be offended if yours doesn't appear in this list! If you have been selected; to claim your award, all you need to do is pass it to your ten favourite blogs and let them know that you have done it!!

1. Broom Closet Confessions
2. Kiki's Cauldron
3. Heartsease Hollow
4. My Witchy World
5. Hedgewitch Hollow
6. Bringing up Salamanders
7. Confessions of a Crafty Witch
8. Confessions of a Kitchen Witch
9. The Essential Herbal Blog
10. Mom's a Witch

Finally!!! For all of those of you that remember the post of making a Dandelion Tincture........ Keep checking back (very soon!) for a follow-up post because these should be ready! Until then.... Keep Blogging and Blessed Be x

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!