Angelica, the Digestive of the Heavens

Angelica, said to first bloom on the Archangel Michael’s name day, is part of the carrot family and is a tall, hollow-stemmed plant with umbrella-shaped clusters of pale white flowers, tinged with green. Candying the stalks in sugar was an old-fashioned favorite; angelica was also traditionally used to cure colds and relieve coughs. Nowadays, seeds are used to make chartreuse, a digestive and uniquely tasty liqueur. This heavenly guardian flower is a protector, as one might expect for a plant associated with archangels, and it is used to reverse curses, break hexes, and fend off negative energies. An angelica root, dried and cured, is a traditional talisman that can be carried in your pocket or in an amulet to bring long life. Many a wise woman has used angelica leaves in baths and rituals to rid a household of dark spirits. If the bad energy is intense, burn the angelica leaves with frankincense to exorcise it from your space. While you are protecting yourself and your home from negativity during this angelica smudging session, you will also experience heightened psychism. Pay close attention to your dreams after this; important messages will come through.

Herbal Amulets: Handmade Gifts of Caring and Curing

You will experience years of enjoyment from tending your garden, as Voltaire taught us in his masterpiece, Candide. You can share that pleasure with your friends and those you love by giving gifts from your garden. Your good intentions will be returned many times over. I keep a stock of small muslin drawstring bags for creating amulets. If you are a crafty person, you can make the bags, too, sewing them by hand before stuffing the dried herbs inside.

• For courage and strength of heart: Mullein or borage
• For good cheer: Nettle or yarrow
• For fellow witches: Ivy, broomstraw, and maidenhair fern
• For safe travels: Comfrey
• For fertility: Cyclamen or mistletoe
• For protection from deceit: Snapdragon
• For good health: Rue
• For success: Woodruff
• For strength: Mugwort
• For youthful looks: An acorn

Amulets should be kept on your person at all times, either in a pocket, in your purse or book bag, or on a string around your neck.

Kombucha Tea

Some people love the taste of kombucha tea; others don’t relish it at all. It has been credited with miraculous properties and is a probiotic, making it very curative for digestive issues. Kombucha also comes recommended for acne, constipation, arthritis, depression, and fatigue, and is hailed as a protection against cancer. I regard it as a tasty tonic, and my family drinks it daily. My nephews were the first of my kin to taste kombucha, and they loved its fizziness and flavor. This healthful drink is easy to make so long as you have a “ferment” (which some people call “a “mushroom” because of the way it looks). To procure your ferment, try to find somebody who brews kombucha already. They should have plenty of ferments to share, as every batch of tea grows an extra ferment on top of the original. Before brewing your kombucha, you will need:

• a large wide-necked glass jar, a cloth or paper towel to cover the jar, and a rubber band to secure the covering cloth or paper towel
• 7 tea bags, either black or green (preferably organic)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 quarts water
• kombucha ferment

Boil the water and add it to the tea bags in the jar. Let it steep for twenty minutes.

Remove the tea bags and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve.

When the tea has cooled, add the kombucha ferment with some of the liquor that it came in, which should come out to roughly 10 percent of the total tea in your jar.

Cover the jar with the cloth or paper towel, securing your cover with the rubber band. The lid will serve to keep dust and flies out while still allowing the tea to breathe. Let the jar sit in one place (as moving can disturb the fermentation process), out of the direct sunlight and at room temperature.

The fermentation process will take seven to twelve days, depending on the temperature in the room. Your batch of kombucha will ferment more quickly if the room is warm. You have to check to see when it is ready, and you’ll be able to tell by the taste. When fermented, the tea can be decanted into glass bottles with screw lids and kept in the fridge. Remember to keep a little of the kombucha tea to add to the next batch with your ferment.