Hedgewitch Hoedown

Be inspired by the industrious herbalist monks who steadfastly worked with these gifts from the earth to create blessed brews for health, comfort, and pleasure. Gardening is not a chore when you invite your fellow pagan pals for an outdoor party to sow seeds, do a little weeding, and plant herbs and flowers. Serve your guests a Goddess Green Chartreuse or another suitably herbal option, such as a Lavender Love Drop Mocktail, and enjoy each other’s good company and the generosity of Mother Earth!

You can also say these words together:

    Great Goddess of our Green Earth, we thank you today with heart and hands.

    We pledge to preserve your beautiful land, and call all to join in the healing of our planet,

    Ancient One, we thank you for your generosity.

    With heart and hands, gratitude to you. Blessed be!

New Moon Friday New Friends Spell

When I moved to San Francisco, I didn’t know a soul, but I used this spell to fill my life with friends. On the first Friday (Freya’s Day, ruled by Venus, is ideal for fun, love, flirtation, gossip, and good times) after a new moon, light some lavender incense. Anoint yourself with lavender essential oil and say aloud:

    I call upon you, friend Freya, to fill my life with live and joy.

    I call upon you, Goddess, to bring unto me that which I enjoy

    in the form of people, wise and kind.

    This I ask and give thanks for; blessed be.

When you go out for coffee or browse a bookstore or metaphysical shop, look around you: new friends may be right there, just a hello away!

Sacred Self-care: Relaxation Massage Oil Blend

Weekends are the best time for taking good care of yourself. We all need to practice self-care more than ever now that the world seems so chaotic and life is crazy-busy. Sandalwood, lavender, and clary sage create a deeply soothing blend with a sensuous scent. It is both restful and stimulating—the perfect combination.

Gather together

    * 6 drops sandalwood essential oil

    * 6 drops lavender essential oil

    * 6 drops clary sage essential oil

    * ½ cup (120ml) jojoba or almond carrier (or base) oil

    * dark-colored, sealable bottle with a dropper cap

    * 1 cup (240ml) warm water

Put the essential oils and carrier oil into the dark-colored, sealable bottle. Carefully cap the bottle and gently shake until the oils have blended together. Store the bottle in a dark cupboard. Before using it on yourself or a loved one, shake well. You can warm it by putting the sealed bottle in a cup of warm water and let it sit there for 4 minutes. Many masseuses pour the oil into their palm and let their own body heat warm it. Either way adds to the relaxation factor.

Cast Out All Ills: Floor Cleanser

Commercial cleansers are chock full of chemicals and potential toxins so I urge you to rethink using them. Simple herbal DIY cleaners are much healthier for you and your loved ones and always smell more natural. Who doesn’t love the smell of lavender, citrus, and fresh mint?

Gather together

    * a ceramic bowl

    * hot water

    * 1 quart (1 liter) of white vinegar

    * 2 limes

    * 2 lemons

    * a handful of fresh mint

    * 6 drops lavender essential oil

    * a bucket

    * a clean mop

In a ceramic bowl, pour 2 cups (480ml) of hot water and half a cup (120ml) of lime and lemon juice, then add the fresh mint leaves and the lavender oil. Stir and let steep for a half hour, then strain out the leaves and compost them.

Take a clean bucket and fill it with two gallons of warm water, then pour in the essential oil mixture. Dip your mop into the bucket, wring it out, and clean the floor very thoroughly. Chant this charm as you use the mop:

    Nothing but health and happiness here

    Brightness and joy only remain in this sphere.

    Anything dark and ill, I cast you out!

    Harm to none, blessing throughout.

First Aid Aromatherapy: Essential Oil Magic

Blending essential oils for magic is both an art and a science. Combining these herbal oils can take their individual properties to the next level, interacting together to perform curative miracles.

Classic Essential Oils

    *One drop of lavender essential oil warmed between the palms of your hands can summon an instant         sense of serenity.

    *One whiff of bergamot essential oil can calm anxiety and stimulate the mind.

    * Ylang ylang essential oil can combat hypertension.

    * Rosemary essential oil kindles the memory and can help with perspiration.

A great blend involves combining notes—typically a top, middle, and base, though some blends don’t require a base—to create a balanced and effective aroma.

The top note is the first scent impression, which gives way to the middle note—the star of the show. The base note gives the blend its staying power and usually comes to the forefront much later. The aim in blending these three notes is to create a ratio that results in a harmonious cocktail that works (olfactorily or topically, depending on the blend) to address specific moods or ailments. A good rule of thumb is to use approximately 30 percent top note, 50 percent middle, and 20 percent base. If the blend doesn’t require a base note, round it up to about 40 percent top and 60 percent middle. Always use the highest-quality organic essential oils (see Resources, page 141) for the best outcomes. Consult your local herbal apothecary and look for brands that have had GC/MS testing as that is known as the gold standard test for essential oils. I keep a stock of ½-ounce (15ml) dark-colored vials with stopper lids and blank labels for when aromatherapy needs arise.

For the following blends, carefully pour the oils into a vial and shake gently to blend. You can rub this on pulse points or use a diffuser. These are quite popular. If you are using a diffuser, no carrier (or base) oil is needed. I use the simplest and most old-fashioned kind of diffuser, which is a clay ring you can put at the base of a light bulb in a lamp. The warmth of the bulb slowly fills the space with the desired scent and effect. If you plan to use your blend on pulse points, you will need a carrier oil. Always do a skin test first to avoid any potential irritation.

Jubilant

The sweet scent of this blend makes you feel all warm and fuzzy—euphoric, even.

    * 1 drop each of top notes: bergamot, lemon, neroli

    * 1 drop each of middle notes: ylang ylang, jasmine, Roman chamomile, geranium, rose

    * 1 tablespoon of a carrier (or base) oil, ideally jojoba or apricot

Quietude

If you need a moment of peace, try this citrus-floral blend.

    * 3 drops of top note: orange

    * 5 drops of middle note: ylang ylang

    * 2 drops of base note: patchouli

    * 1 teaspoon carrier (or base) oil, ideally sesame or jojoba

Bright Mind

Clear the mind and gain a keen sense of alertness with this bright, sunny blend.

    * 1 drop each of top notes: rosemary, peppermint, bergamot, lemon

    * 1 drop each of middle notes: mint, geranium, ylang ylang, jasmine, Roman chamomile

    * 1 teaspoon carrier (or base) oil, almond or grapeseed

Lavender Aromatherapy: The Sweet Smell of Serenity

The time you take to restore yourself is precious. Morning is the optimal time to perform a self-blessing, which will help you maintain both your physical health and provide an emotional boost. Today, lavender oil is the most popular essential oil the world over, but the benefits of lavender were actually discovered over three thousand years ago. Because of its deeply powerful calming and soothing effect as well as antioxidant, antimicrobial, sedative, tranquilizing, and antidepressive properties, lavender oil is simply wonderful—even the scent brings joy. When King Tut’s tomb in Egypt was opened in 1923, a faint perfume of lavender remained after three thousand years. In the Bible, lavender was beloved for anointing and healing. Lavender, let us count the ways we love you:

• Anxiety reduction and lessening emotional stress
• Protection against diabetes
• Improved brain function
• Healing burns and wounds
• Better sleep
• Brightens skin health and circulation
• Slows down aging with powerful antioxidants
• Pain relief
• Alleviate headaches

Perfume of Peace Oil

This candle spell involves creating and consecrating a lovely oil you can use to instill a greater sense of peace within your mind and heart. Into a blue bottle, pour almond, soy, or any other unscented base oil, then add two drops each of neroli, chamomile, and Turkish rose essential oils. Shake the oils together to blend them. Next, take an orange and place it beside a lit lavender candle you have anointed with the potion. Chant aloud:

    By my own hand, I made this balm.

    This divine essence contains my calm.

    By my own will, I made this charm;

    This precious potion protects from all harm.

    With harm to none and health to all.

    Blessed be.

Anoint your pulse points—your wrists, throat, and heart, behind the ear lobes, and behind the knees—with the unguent and bask in a sea of calm.

Some other excellent oils for anxiety or a quick pick-me-up include frankincense, marjoram, hyssop, neroli (orange blossom), jasmine, nutmeg, and valerian. You can apply them directly to the skin or use them for dressing your candles!

An Oil Blend for Friendship

This blend of oils can be used for anointing candles and dabbing pulse points. It contains oils for the four directions, representing alliance, and will strengthen the bond between you and your friends. To create the blend, have a get-together with some of your best friends.

You will need the following essential oils:

• Lavender
• Rose
• Musk
• Honeysuckle

Mix these oils together in equal parts. Then, have each friend dip a forefinger into the oil mixture and stir clockwise. Raise the bowl of oil and pray together:

    In the name of union,

    in the spirit of friendship,

    I bless this oil as I exalt the bonds that bring us together,

    and so it shall be.

Complete the consecration by dabbing this magical potion on each other’s pulse points: wrists, temples, throat, knees, elbows, over the heart, and behind the ears. Make sure you all leave with your own vial of this companionship essence, which you can use any time a spell requires it.

Lavender and Mint Energy Cleanser: Clearing Vibrational Clutter

In order to do any ritual work, you must first clear the clutter that can create blocks. Banish the old, bad energy from your house by following this spell. Make your energy-clearing tea by bringing four cups of water to a full rolling boil; remove from heat and add in four sprigs of fresh lavender and four sprigs of fresh mint. If it is winter and there is no access to fresh herbs, one tablespoon each of dried lavender and dried mint will do nicely. Steep the herbal tea covered for at least four minutes or as long as ten minutes if there is a lot of energetic clutter. Once it cools, dip your finger in the tea and sprinkle it throughout your home. If you feel the need to clear out any remaining clouds of psychic clutter, add diluted lavender mint tea water to your cleanser when you wash floors or surfaces. The scent of calm and clarity will lift the spirits of all who enter your space.

Herbal Clutter Busters

Sweetgrass: Native Americans have burned braided sheaves of sweetgrass for centuries. It is so scentful, it can even be wafted around as a wand to clear “energy without lighting it. Native folks also brew a tea from it to use as an astringent body and hair rinse; you can do this by steeping a tablespoon of the dried chopped sweetgrass for five minutes in a standard teapot or two cups of boiling water. It is also used as an adornment either woven into braids or as a crown. They go by the philosophy that “strong hair means a strong mind.” This power herb cleanses both body, soul, and your home, but its highest use is for rituals when you burn it to call forth the ancestors and send away anything unwanted.

Copal: Mexican and South American tribal healers and modern shamans gather this tree resin to employ as ceremonial incense throughout the year. You can still smell the sweetly pungent smoke of copal on the Day of the Dead as it helps us connect with our ancestors and loved ones who passed to the other side. While burning it is part of the ritual, it is also believed by shamans and healers to help tap into the spiritual realm. Copal also has the power to bring about total relaxation. As with other resins, burn it on a small disc of incense charcoal, which can be acquired at your local spiritual supply shop or botanica.

Palo Santo: This dried wood plays an important role in South American cultures, where it is burned to clear spaces of bad energy. It also activates a higher power in those who use it. Smelling the scent of Palo Santo clears out psychic clutter and purifies both you and your environment. It is said it literally burns away negative thoughts in your mind, a deeply powerful experience.

Sacred Self-Care Pampering Potion

This relaxation remedy is an excellent way to create personal space after a hectic week. In a small pottery bowl or vial, mix together the following essential oils with a small amount of base oil:

• 2 drops cedar oil
• 2 drops sandalwood
• 2 drops ylang-ylang
• 2 drops lavender

Add this mixture to a mild carrier oil (olive or almond, for example) and rub one drop on each pulse point: on both wrists, behind your ear lobes, on the base of your neck, and behind your knees. As the oil surround you with its warm scent, you will be filled with a quiet strength.

Scent of Serenity Mist

My aunt Edith, who introduced me to the wonders of gardening, had a linen closet that always smelled sweetly of lavender. I remember breathing in the smell and immediately feeling comforted. Sleeping on crisp, clean, herb-scented sheets always made for the soundest sleep and delicious dreams. (Little did I know at the time, lavender is also a moth repellent and an adaptogen, adjusting to satisfy your own energy needs.) Here is a potion for dreamers:

• 4 drops lavender oil
• 3 drops chamomile oil
• 3 drops orange oil
• 4 ounces distilled spring water

Shake the oils and water in a colored glass spray bottle or mister.

Fifteen minutes before you retire, spray your bed linens, bath towel, pillow, and all around your room. You may want to keep a dream journal by your bed to record what happens during the night.

Soothing Sandalwood Meditation

Sandalwood, lavender, and clary sage create a deeply relaxing blend with a warm and soothing scent. Here is what you need:

• 6 tablespoons almond oil
• 2 tablespoons jojoba oil
• 20 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 15 drops lavender essential oil
• 5 drops clary sage essential oil

Mix oils together in a tightly capped blue, dark green, or brown bottle. Shake well and pour a bit into the palm of your hand to warm before using. Rub it lightly onto your shoulder and neck as well as your temples and wrists. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply with your eyes closed. Chant aloud:

Remove from me all worry.

Remove all stress in a hurry.

No more will I lack sleep.

No more will I weep.

Tranquility and calm, come to me now.

Aromatherapeutic Quality Control

Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts of flowers, herbs, root, or resins, sometimes diluted in a neutral base oil. Try to ensure you are using natural oils instead of manufactured, chemical-filled perfume oil; the synthetics lack any real energy. Also, approach oils with caution and don’t get them in your eyes. Clean cotton gloves are a good idea to keep in your kitchen for handling sensitive materials. You can avoid any mess and protect your magical tools by using oil droppers. While you are learning and studying, find a trusted herbalist or the wise sage at your local metaphysical shop; usually their years of experience offer much in the way of useful knowledge you can use to your advantage. I have included as much as I can in this at-a-glance guide to oils:

These essential oils are excellent choices for anointing lamps as well as yourself:

• Cinnamon is energetic, spicy, and warm. It stimulates the mind as well as the body.
• Ginger is vigorous and revitalizing and heightens desire and comfort.
• Jasmine sparks sensuality and inspires feelings of positivity, confidence, and pure bliss.
• Lavender is soothing, calming, nurturing, and relaxing.
• Orange is a light, citrusy oil that restores balance and lifts moods while enhancing playful emotions.
• Rose brings youthfulness, enhances self-esteem, aids circulation, and relieves tension.
• Sandalwood is a woody aroma that relieves tension and relaxes tense muscles.
• Ylang-ylang’s sweet floral aroma is used as an aphrodisiac; it is relaxing and reduces worry and anxiety.

Imbued with Love: Lavender Rosemary Infused Vodka

This clear alcoholic drink is also easily infused with the flavor of flowers, herbs, fruits and even vegetables. Try combinations such as the light and sweet floral taste of lavender and rosemary. Lavender brings calming and healing and rosemary dispels negative spirits. Both of these are love herbs. What could be better? You’ll need the following:

• A quart bottle of vodka
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 3 springs of lavender
• Larger canning jar with sealable lid

After you have rinsed your herbs in cool water and gently patted them dry, put them in the one-quart (32 ounce) Mason or Bell jar. Pour in vodka, making sure to cover the herbs to the top, then seal tightly. Give it a vigorous shake and place the jar in your pantry or dark closet for five days, making sure to shake at least once a day. After the second day, take a spoon and taste the vodka. If the taste suits you before the full five days are up, go ahead and strain the herbs out using cheesecloth or a paper coffee filter, Set the herbs aside and let them dry. After the vodka is thoroughly strained of any herbs or residue, pour it into a bottle; label the bottle with the date and what herbs you used. Tie the dry herbs into a bundle with string and use their aroma when you next make a fire in the hearth. Their scentful smoke will imbue your home with coziness, calm, healing and love.

Lavandula Tranquility Tincture

This cure-all should be kept on hand at all times for soothing the skin, the stomach, and anything in need of comfort. I have even seen it used to stanch bleeding in small cuts. You need:

• dried lavender
• dried calendula
• clear quart jar with lid
• cheesecloth
• dark glass jar for storage
• 2 cups distilled water
• 1 cup clear alcohol such as vodka or Everclear

Fill your clear quart jar to the halfway point with the dried lavender and calendula. Pour in the alcohol, also to the halfway point. Add in the two cups of water, seal the lid securely, and shake for a few minutes until it seems well mixed. Store in a dark cupboard for one month, shaking once a day. After thirty days, strain through cheesecloth into the dark glass storage jar and screw the lid on tightly. The lavender leavings will make lovely compost, and the liquid tincture will soon prove itself indispensable in your household.

Luxuriating in Lavender

Lavender is hard not to grow; once your seedlings and young plants have been established, they will bush out and produce loads of scented stalks, flowers, and seeds. This bounty will become your source for teas, tinctures, bath salts, and infusions. For tea, the rule of thumb is one teaspoon dried lavender flowers to one cup boiling water to aid tummy trouble, headache, aches, and insomnia and even help calm the mind. You can easily amp up the therapeutic power of your brew by adding any of these excellent herbs: dried yarrow, St. John’s Wort, or chamomile.

Here is a simple and streamlined way to infuse lavender:

Pour a heaping tablespoon of lavender blossoms into a bowl of hot water, then drape a towel over your head and breathe in the aromatic fumes to deal with respiratory issues, coughs, colds, headaches, stuffy sinuses, and nervous tension. You will come away feeling renewed, and your kitchen will smell like the heavens above. Afterwards, you can use the water in your morning bath, to wash your face or hands, or to freshen your sink garbage disposal; grinding up the flowers refreshes that hardworking kitchen appliance.

Blessings on a Budget

Instead of composting all the herbs, twigs, and stems from your brews, you can store them in a burlap or muslin sack and allow them to dry. Keep stuffing in twigs of lavender, rosemary, mint, and all the leftover aromatic plant material until you have a big bag. On some special evening, burn it in your fireplace or an outdoor bonfire, and it will be like a gigantic incense burner with the lovely scents wafting from the flames. And the best part? It’s 100 percent free!

Make Your Own Herbal Vinegar

If you love everything about lavender, you may well want to create your own lavender vinegar. Many herbs make excellent vinegars, so pay attention to which ones especially appeal to you as you go about your gardening. The more herbs you pack into the jar, the higher the mineral content in your vinegar, which makes it more flavorful and healthful. Once you have your own apple cider vinegar or a premade organic variety you and your family love, pick an herb you know works for you and pack a quart canning jar as full of that herb as you can. Pour room temperature apple cider vinegar to cover, then cover it with paper and rubber bands and pop on a dark corner shelf for six weeks, giving the jar a shake once a week. At the end of the infusion period, strain out any remaining compostable twigs or stems. Store your herb vinegar in a colored bottle and add a pretty label. These make wonderful gifts, so I recommend you either create or acquire a set of labels for all your herbal brews.

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.

Lavender Love Massage Bars

Massage bars should look, smell, and feel luxurious. Cocoa butter is beloved for its delicious chocolate scent. I also recommend shea butter or mango butter as other options, for they are also sumptuous. You will need:

• 3 ounces cocoa butter
• 3 ounces beeswax
• 3 ounces almond oil
• 1 teaspoon of lavender essential oil
• soap bar molds (available at all craft stores)

Slowly heat the beeswax, almond oil, and cocoa butter in a double boiler over low heat until just melted, then remove from heat. Add essential oil when mixture has cooled slightly and stir it in well. Pour into soap molds and cool until hardened, approximately two hours. Place in freezer for a few minutes before popping the bars out of the molds. To use, rub massage bar on the skin—the warmth of the skin immediately melts the bar. Package your handmade massage bar in a pretty lined basket and give it as a thoughtful gift.