Calm Emotion Potion

Why does every day seem like it is as long as a week nowadays? Unplugging from cable news and constant social media feeds will help, as will this time-tested aromatherapy healing potion. This remedy is an excellent way to recharge and refresh after a hectic week.

Gather together

    * a small ceramic or glass bowl

    * 2 drops bergamot essential oil

    * 2 drops vanilla essential oil

    * 1 drop amber essential oil

    * 2 drops lavender essential oil

    * 4 drops carrier (or base) oil, apricot or sesame, ideally

Timing: This tincture is most potent right after the sun sets, by the light of the moon.

Mix all the oils together in the bowl.

Take off your shoes so you can be more grounded. Walk outside, and stand on your veranda or by an open window. Now, close your eyes, lift your head to the moon, and recite aloud:

    Bright moon goddess, eternal and wise, give your strength to me now.

    As I breathe, you are alive in me for this night.

    Health to all, calm to me.

    So mote it be.

Gently rub one drop of Calm Emotion Potion on each pulse point: on both wrists, behind your ear lobes, on the base of your neck, and behind your knees. Close your eyes and breathe the sweetly serene scent in as you stand barefoot for 5 full minutes. If you need more time to restore yourself and regain your calm, continue your mindful breathing and contemplation. As the oil surrounds you with its warm scent, you will be filled with a quiet strength.

Coltsfoot Cures Coughs

Coltsfoot, also called Butterbur, is so named for the leaf’s resemblance to a horse’s hoof. Viewed as a weed, except by those who know, this spiky flowering plant grows wild along creeks, wetlands, or loamy fields. Tussilago, its Latinate botanical name, means “cough dispeller,” and this is a powerful aid to those with asthma or bronchial conditions and is very good medicine for colds and flu. In folklore, young maidens would use the leaves in a simple spell to see their future husband off in the distance galloping toward her. Truly knowledgeable hedge healers have a herd of coltsfoot in the shadiest, dampest part of their property. Coltsfoot’s medicinal mojo can be unleashed by infusing its leaves and/or flowers as a steeped tea. It is also commonly used as an ingredient in non-tobacco smoking blends; though naturally smoking of any sort is stressful to the lungs, if someone is determined to smoke in any case, smoking a little coltsfoot is thought to be a lung tonic.

Beryl Booster: Efficiency Stone

Beryl has a most unusual and important healing asset—it prevents people from doing the unnecessary. Further, it helps wearers focus, remove distractions, and therefore become calmer and more positive. Beryl also strengthens the liver, kidneys, and intestines, as well as the pulmonary and circulatory systems. It is especially effective for the throat, and pulverized beryl can be mixed into an elixir specifically for this reason. Some crystal healers use beryl along with lapis lazuli as a sedative for nervous conditions. If you get overwhelmed at work or have a huge task ahead of you, efficiency-enhancing beryl will get you through it.

Uplifting and Calming Essential Oils for Candle Making

Traditionally, these oils are considered to have emotional healing properties as well as simply smelling marvelous on your skin and in your home. Just burning candles scented with these oils will be magical!

Cedarwood oil has a woody and pleasant aroma and can also act as a natural sedative. Studies indicate it stimulates the production of melatonin, regulates sleep patterns, and brings a sense of serenity. A pre- sleep massage with cedarwood oil is truly therapeutic and will allow you to rest deeply and awaken refreshed and ready for anything.

Clary sage essential oil not only has a splendid smell, but has been shown in studies to positively influence the levels of the happiness-stimulating chemical dopamine in the brain. Perfect for uplifting the mood, clary sage helps to ease feelings of anxiety by calming the mind while boosting confidence and self-esteem.

Jasmine oil has been widely noted to be among the best at calming the nerves and overcoming stress. For centuries, jasmine oil has been used as a natural remedy for anxiety, melancholy, sleeplessness, and even low libido. Jasmine dissipates negativity and helps stimulate a return to positivity in life.

Lime essential oil, as you perhaps guessed, smells just like the real fruit, wonderfully fresh and citrusy. Lime works well to refresh and uplift the mood, and it is lightly invigorating, which can work wonders for those suffering from the stress of fatigue, grief, and a sad and heavy heart. Using this essential oil in a massage at any time of day will help you to see the bright side of life.

Rose oil is not just for romance, it is also highly effective for stimulating the mind and promoting a sense of peace, tranquility, and well-being. If someone is dealing with feelings of depression or worries or is just down in the dumps, rose oil in a massage candle will promote feelings of joy and hope.

Sandalwood essential oil supports mental clarity and the ability to focus. With a lightly sweet and woody scent, it is also supremely grounding. When you’re dealing with the challenging demands of a hectic work schedule and long hours, taking time for a massage is essential for your overall well-being and mental health. Sandalwood essential oil offers balance along with feelings of harmony and inner peace.

Healing for Your Love Life: A New Beginning Spell

This spell is excellent to use after a heartbreak or a trying time you may have had in your relationship with a current partner. In the event of a breakup, it may help you meet someone new; otherwise, it can heal hurts between you and your partner and bring on a new phase in your existing relationship. On a Monday morning before dawn, light one pink and one blue candle. Touch each candle with lily, freesia, or jasmine oil. Lay a lily on your altar, adding some fresh catnip if you can get it. Place a lapis lazuli stone in front of the lily, and a glass of water next to it atop a mirror. Chant:

    Healing starts with new beginnings.

    My heart is open, I’m ready now.

    Goddess, you will show me how.

    So mote it be.

Drink a cup of hot honeyed cinnamon tea that you have stirred counterclockwise with a cinnamon stick. Sprinkle the powdered version of this charismatic spice on the threshold of your front door and along your entry path. When the cinnamon powder is crushed underfoot, its regenerative powers will help you start a fresh chapter in your love life.

A Ritual to Banish Your Illness

A friend of mine gets a cough every January like clockwork and has not quite figured out what causes it. In addition to some good commonsense health practices and extra attention to hydrating, herbal tea remedies, and healthy food with lots of rest, we created a banishing ritual that we performed outdoors. In current times, it could be performed remotely to good effect. Gather together:

• One gray candle
• Frankincense incense and burner
• Large fireproof dish
• Clary sage essential oil
• A three-foot length of thin jute or cotton rope
• A sharp knife
• Black tablecloth
• A bowl of water

Create a kind of simple outdoor altar on a table outside and cover it with the tablecloth. Now place the water, incense, candle, knife, and the rope on the altar.

The person who needs to release the illness or difficulty should raise their right hand and say aloud:

    Here and now may this place

    be consecrated before the spirits of earth,

    air, fire, and water,

    for we gather here

    to perform a peaceful parting.

    We hereby banish ________ [fill in the name of the illness or

    whatever needs to be banished]

Say the name of the person for whom the spell is being worked and light the candle and incense.

Now, take the rope and carefully cut it in half. Place the rope pieces on the incense and the incense charcoals in the fireproof dish and let the rope burn completely. Repeat the prayer and end with:

    May all be well, may I be well.

    Blessings to all and blessed be.

Put the candle and the incense out in the water bowl. Take the ashes from the rope and scatter them on a patch of earth nearby. Pour the water on the ashes, and you have now banished what you need to eliminate from your life.

Rite for Parting Ways

Maintaining a healthy balance in your friendships is essential. Occasionally, a friendship takes on an unhealthy aspect and there is no choice but to leave it behind. Ideally you will perform this rite after you have discussed it with this person. It will be mutually healing if it takes place with both parties present. But as often as not, you will perform it alone. You will need a black candle for protection, a gray candle to help you keep a low profile, and frankincense incense. You will also need a sharp knife and a length of cord three feet long. Light the incense, and holding your right hand aloft, say:

    May the place this night

    be consecrated before the spirits of earth,

    air, fire, and water,

    For we gather here to perform a peaceful

    parting of the ways.

    You and your former friend each light a candle.

    (former friend’s name) and (your name)

    stand here today to let love and no rancor fill their hearts 

    as they move separately through life.

    Blessings to all and blessed be.

If you are so fortunate as to have the other person present, he or she repeats the above verse. Each of you takes the knife in turn and cuts the cord, representing the ties that bind you together as friends. If you are performing this ritual alone, get a photo of the other person and place it in the area where you are crafting your spell.

This is one of the more difficult rituals to perform but invaluable nevertheless. I have noticed that when one person exits my life, especially for good and valid reasons, somebody new and wonderful comes in

Carrier Oils and Their Uses

A carrier oil is a vegetable oil that is used to dilute essential oils without diminishing the effect of the essence. It ensures that essential oils used topically are comfortable on the skin. Each essential oil carries specific vibrations that hold much curative power. These base oils support other ingredients, including essential oils, and can be a vessel for healing in and of themselves. 

Apricot kernel oil, with its warmth and resilience, is especially good for women. Apricot protects love and nurtures women at every age and stage of life.

Avocado is thick, dense, and earthy, a powerful element in any love potion. It also is excellent for drawing forth money and is helpful in business and financial matters.

Borage oil brings a connection with the higher mind, as well as courage, a sense of honor, and the ability to cope with whatever life sends your way. It is said to encourage truth and resolution in legal and relationship problems. If you feel you are being deceived, turn to borage.

Evening primrose oil abets clairvoyance and paranormal gifts. It will help you to see clearly.

Grape-seed oil is regarded by some as the “food of the gods” because of the way it augments spiritual growth. This should be one of the oils that you turn to for anointing candles or any statuary of gods and goddesses before rituals.

Jojoba oil absorbs extremely well into the skin, bearing anything mixed into it along with it. It is also a remarkable anointing oil. It should be used in recipes that help to deal with depression and support perseverance in hardship.

Olive oil was named “liquid gold” by the ancient Greek poet Homer, and rightly so: It is about vitality, money, success, and joyfulness.

Sunflower oil is permeated with the energy of our sun and is powerful and life- giving. Use it when you desire rapid growth and amplification of positive energy.

Sweet almond is a gentle, all-purpose oil ready to increase the energy of other ingredients.

Healing Altar: Crafting Well-Being

 Creating a healing altar will safeguard your physical health and that of your loved ones. Your altar is your sacred workspace. It is charged with your personal power. Set up your healing altar facing north, the direction associated with the energy of manifestation. North is also the direction of the hour of midnight, the “witching hour,” and an altar set up facing north at midnight promises potent magic.

To ensure healthful beginnings, find a pure white square of fabric to drape over your altar to make a tabula rasa, or altar equivalent to a blank slate. Take two green candles and place them in green glass holders or votive glasses and position them in the two farthest corners of the altar. Place your incense burner in the center between the two candles and light the incense. Sandalwood, cinnamon, camphor, and frankincense are all powerful purification incenses that are perfect for the creation of a healing altar. Burn one or all of these purification essences to consecrate the space. Adorn your altar with objects that symbolize healing energy to you. You may perhaps choose a candleholder carved from a chunk of amethyst crystal, which contains healing properties; an abalone shell with the iridescent magic of the oceans; a sweet-smelling bundle of sage; a small citrus plant bursting with the restorative power of vitamins; or a bowl of curative salts from the sea.

These symbolic items, and any others that you select, will energize your altar with the magic that lives inside you. It is also important that the altar be pleasing to your eye and makes you feel good when you look at it so that you want to spend time there each and every day. After you have been performing rituals there for a while, a positive healing energy field will radiate from your altar.

Body Purification Ritual Rub

Since the time of the ancients in the Mediterranean and in Mesopotamia, salts from the sea combined with soothing oils have been used to purify the body by way of gentle ritual rubs. From Bathsheba to Cleopatra, these natural salts have been used to smooth the skin and enhance circulation, which is vital to overall body health as the skin is the single largest organ. Salts from the Dead Sea have long been a popular export and are readily available at most health food stores. You can make your own salts, however, and not only control the quality and customize the scent, but save money, too. The definitive benefits that is far and above cost saving is that you can imbue the concoction with your intention, which is absolutely imperative when you are performing rites of self-healing. Cook up your own “kitchen cupboard cure.

A Gathering of Angels: A Ritual of Preparation for Surgery

Call your friends together before the surgery date. It can be at your home or any place that feels safe and secure. I highly recommend raising some healing energy at the home of the person who is to undergo the surgery, as it will create an aura of restoration. Ask each person to bring something to comfort, reassure, and cure the celebrant: soup, fixings, a soothing eye pillow, sleep balm, a hand-knitted scarf for warmth, body lotion, herbal teas, books, or lavender-infused slippers are all wonderful gifts.

Form a circle of care around the celebrant and light candles. Unscented soy candles are probably best for health reasons. As you go around the circle, ask each person to give his or her gift of caring to the celebrant and say what it represents.

I give you this herbal tea mix so you can sip tea and draw from it healing and heat.

I give you all my love and healing energy and I know you will come back from the hospital healthier than ever before.

The ritual continues until everyone has had a turn to speak and healing gifts and loving energy surround the celebrant. I suggest giving the celebrant hankies beforehand, as I know I myself could not stop my tears of joy. It is completely up to the celebrant to say or do whatever she or he feels during the ritual. In many cases, they may say nothing due to the intensity of this event.

Blissful Balm

With this blissful combination of oils, you can summon the spirit of love and harmony any day of the year. Amber, rose, and sandalwood create a sensual scent that lingers on your skin for hours.

• 6 tablespoons almond oil
• 2 tablespoons jojoba oil
• 25 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 3 drops rose essential oil
• 5 drops amber essential oil

Mix oils together in a dark blue, brown, or dark green bottle, cap it tightly, and shake well. You now have an aphrodisiac in a bottle; use it on your skin whenever you wish to summon love.

Flower and herb-based aromatherapy essences can also be used in diffusers to infuse the air with the desired fragrance. Many of the most sensual essential oils combine well together: Try a combination of amber and apple, or ylang-ylang and sandalwood, clary sage and rose, and sweet almond and neroli. If you’re using a candle diffuser, rose or orange blossom water is an aromatic and romantic alternative to using plain water in the diffuser cup.

Additional romantic touches include fresh flowers, which can be used in creative ways. In Indonesia, lily and orange blossom flowers are scattered on a newlywed couple’s bed. You can also make a trail of blossoms for your lover to follow; scatter rose petals on your bed or surround your bed with a garland of flowers. Plenty of pillows for lounging, sensuous silk or chenille throws for staying cozy, and your favorite mood-setting music all help cast a spell of romance.

Aphrodisiac essential oils include clary sage, jasmine, neroli, patchouli, rose, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver, and ylang-ylang.

How to Use Essential Oils

Most of the home remedies I personally prefer are either essential oil massage treatments or essential oils diffused into the bath or air. The best base oils for essential oils are cold-pressed vegetable and seed or nut oils. The most affordable are sunflower, safflower, corn, and grapeseed. Add essential oils to base oil at a ratio of one drop per five milliliters. Twenty drops of an essential oil come out to approximately one milliliter, so add twenty drops to a hundred milliliters of base oil.

A few drops of an essential oil from a dropper in the bath is sufficient for therapeutic use, and a few drops in water in a diffuser will fill a room with healing molecules. A drop on a cotton ball wiped on a light bulb or on a radiator will also gently diffuse the oil into the air. Here’s another helpful tip: try a few drops in a small bowl of very hot water. Shut the doors and windows, and the essence will permeate a room in five minutes. This is a particularly easy way to create a nice ambience in a room with soothingly scented air.

My sister suffers from osteoarthritis in her shoulder. She takes baths with synergistic blends of fourteen essential oils: fennel, cypress, juniper, cedarwood, sandalwood, petitgrain, pine, ginger, lavender, rosemary, black pepper, birch, nutmeg, and marjoram. These, combined with sea salt and Epsom salts, have turned her into a true believer in the amazing therapeutic effects of essential oils!

There are hundreds of essential oils used by herbalists, but for general therapeutic use in the home, these are my recommendations as far as what you need to have at the ready.

Baking Soda Basics

Baking soda is great in a bath if your skin is irritated, especially if the cause is poison oak or ivy, as the soda will help dry up wet blisters as well as greatly reducing the itch. Applying a baking soda and water paste to the site of a bee sting or other insect bite will neutralize the pain and itch. Just remove the actual stinger first, and then smooth on the baking soda paste for instant relief.

A headache can be treated with a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a cup of warm water with ¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Last but not least, whiten your teeth and freshen your breath by brushing with baking soda and water.

Two Simples Every Woman Should Know

Red raspberry leaf and chasteberry are each simples that are invaluable for women’s health and healing. Raspberry leaf taken as an infusion can prevent menstrual cramps for most women. Take a teaspoon to a small handful (depending on severity of cramps experienced) and steep covered in freshly boiled water for ten minutes. Head those cramps off at the pass by drinking one cup per day for a week before you expect your cycle to begin. (For severe cramps, take this herb every day of the month!) This herb actually has a pleasant flavor and can be used to make caffeine-free ice tea or sweet tea (but if you are having cramps on the day you plan to drink it, its healing effect will work better if you drink it warm). Raspberry leaf combines well both in taste and effect with many other common simples, such as chamomile or mint, so you can experiment with flavor combinations…or even invent your own custom moon time tea!

Why does raspberry leaf have this wonderful effect? An aromatherapist of my acquaintance tells me that in pharmacological research, this plant has been shown to improve the tone and condition of the uterus! Which is why it is also the number one simple an expectant mother ought to include in her regimen. At least one strong cup daily is recommended to support your body in the process of creation during every month of pregnancy.

Chasteberry (also known as “Vitex” from its scientific name, Vitex agnus castus), is the number one simple for the power surges known as hot flashes frequently experienced by ladies in their middle years. The part used is the berries; simmer a couple of teaspoons low in a cup or two of water after bringing the water to a boil, making sure to cover the pot so as not to lose the medicinal volatile essence. This herb tastes medicinal but not terrible and can be combined with any mild herbal tea for flavor. If you prefer convenience, either chasteberry or raspberry leaf can be purchased in capsules, though it is a bit more costly to take them that way.

Always choose organic medicinal herbs when you can find (and afford) them, not only to be kind to Mother Earth but because their healing effects are stronger.

Rosemary Lavender Serenity Salve

• ½ cup rosemary essential oil
• ¼ cup lavender essential oil
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons beeswax

Combine the rosemary essential oils and the coconut oil. Heat the oil and wax together until the wax melts completely. Pour into a clean, dry jar. When the mixture has cooled a little but has not yet set, add the lavender essential oil, which is also an antiseptic, and stir gently. Seal the jar and store in a cabinet to use anytime you scratch yourself working in the garden or want to renew and soften your hands and feet after a lot of house or yard work. Another note, use it on the outside of your skin and it will work wonders, but if a cut is deep, don’t get it inside the wound. Let your physician handle that. Rosemary is a miracle plant for healing; in combination with the lavender, this power duo will restore your spirit along with your skin.

Witch Hazel Wisdom

Witch hazel is an excellent and inexpensive astringent and antiseptic to always keep on hand. Topical uses for witch hazel include cleaning cuts, reducing skin inflammations and abrasions, sunburns, insect bites, bruising, poison oak and ivy, diaper rash, eczema, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids.

Preparations of witch hazel from the pharmacy generally contain isopropyl alcohol, so make sure you only use it externally, as it is poisonous to ingest. Make cold compresses with witch hazel for painful hemorrhoids, varicose veins, or other skin inflammation and bruises. Take a witch hazel tincture, add fifteen drops to a small bowl of warm water, immerse a clean soft washcloth in the solution, and leave it soaking for five minutes. Wring out the washcloth and lay it on the affected area.

As an astringent, witch hazel works well for drying sores, diaper rash, and poison oak and ivy. Use witch hazel tincture (five drops to eight ounces water) if you want to avoid the isopropyl alcohol.

No More Itchy, Dry Skin: Porridge Potion

Naturally calming oatmeal is one of the best solutions for irritated and itchy skin. Add a cup of well-ground oats tied up in a muslin bag to your bath to help soothe the pain and discomfort of sunburned skin. It is also good for rashes and helps get your skin back to a smooth and healthy condition.

Garden Your Way to Gladness

For dispelling negative energy, plant heather, hawthorn, holly, hyacinth, hyssop, ivy, juniper, periwinkle, and nasturtiums.

For healing, plant sage, wood sorrel, carnation, onion, garlic, peppermint, and rosemary.

Both farming and working with plants are guided by the moon and should take place during the waxing moon in the signs of Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces, Capricorn, and Taurus, while weeding is ideally done during the waning moon.

Sage Wisdom

Every kitchen gardener should grow an indoor pot of sage, if not a big patch in your garden. Sage is a must to have on hand for clearing energy. It also increases psychic potential. Whether your passion is growing an artful garden, throwing pots, cookery, or music, you can stay in better touch with your personal muse or guardian spirit with an aromatic sage wand. Head out to your garden or the sunny spot on the deck where your hardiest sage grows. Take three large and extra-long sticks of your favorite incense and bind strands of sage around the incense with purple thread. Tie it off, let it dry, and you have a sage wand. Before any creative endeavor, you can light this wand and wave it around your workspace, filling the area with inspiration. (Use a medium-size shell or bowl to catch any ashes or loose sage leaves as you cense your space.) Close your eyes and meditate upon the healing work you will begin.