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.

Sensual Soak: Scorpio Moon Rite

Moon in Scorpio is the time to explore bodily pleasures. Sandalwood, amber, and vetiver are all rich, earthy scents that combine well together.

Gather together

• 5 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 5 drops amber essential oil
• 2 drops vetiver essential oil
• ½ cup (90g) Epsom salts
• ½ cup (70g) baking soda

Combine the essential oils with the Epsom salts and stir in the baking soda. Mix well to create a richly scented paste. You can use a couple of different ways: either slather it onto yourself and shower off with a loofah and thick washcloth or, and this is my favorite way to soak up this earthly pleasure, roll it into a ball after you mix it and place under the faucet as you are running a hot bath. The entire room will smell like paradise. Soak it all in, lie back, and enjoy this fully.

If you want to keep this for the future or give as a thoughtful gift, you can store in a lidded container or roll into bath bombs and let them dry on wax paper or paper towels. This recipe can make three palm-size bath bombs. Note: you will be asked for more!

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.

Who Is My True Love? Pendulum Power

If you have any doubts about a friend’s intentions or actions, try using a pendulum to help you determine the truth. I take my pendulum, a lovely striated quartz, everywhere I go to answer those tough yes-no questions that crop up daily. Pendulums are available with many different stones and crystals, but you can make one from any number of herbs, as well.

Take a twelve-inch length of string and choose one of the following herbs. Experiment to see which one works best for you:

• A sandalwood chip, cinnamon bark, a star anise seed, orris root, a lump of frankincense

Your best bet would be a string of natural fiber. If you can, take a needle and poke a hole through your root, bark, or seed to ensure that your pendulum is secure. Start out by asking, “Show me yes,” and “show me no.” Then, ask a question for which you know the answer. Don’t be surprised if the pendulum appears to have a mind of its own. Now you are ready to use this divination tool in all interpersonal matters where questions arise.

Sandalwood Stillness: A Grounding Spell

Sandalwood has been used for thousands of years in India. The woody, sweet smell clears your mind and reconnects you to the earth. This simple spell can actually be used every day as a prayer, or to prepare for meditation.

To begin, light a stick of sandalwood incense and “smudge” the area with the soothing smoke. Anoint a brown candle with sandalwood oil and light it.

To a scentless base oil, such as canola, olive, or light sesame oil, add:

• 6 drops sandalwood oil
• 2 drops lemon oil
• 2 drops amber oil

Warm this concoction in a clay oil lamp or carefully heat it on the stove over a very low flame. When it is warm to the touch, dip your left ring finger into the oil with care and anoint your “third eye,” located in the center of your forehead, just above the eyes.

    Sitting in the cross-legged lotus position, whisper three times:

    Come to me clarity, come to me peace,

    come to me wisdom.

    come to me bliss.

    I sit in stillness, I sit in peace.

    As above, so below; and so it is.

Meditate for twenty minutes, and then massage the warmed oil into your feet. You will be utterly and blissfully grounded now.

Prepare Your Own Sandalwood

While vanilla and amber is perhaps my favorite oil combination, I have recently moved into a sandalwood oil phase and am delighting in its powers. Sandalwood oil, ruled by both the sun and the moon, is very suited for use in protection and healing. It can be used as a massage oil and is ideal for friendship magic in particular.

To prepare this oil, stir together six teaspoons of powdered sandalwood and two cups of a neutral oil, such as sesame or almond, in a glass bowl. Heat the mixture gently over a flame, taking care not to bring it to a boiling point. After cooling, place it in a colored glass jar and seal it securely.

Sandalwood oil can also be used to cast wishes for yourself and your loved ones through candle magic. Anoint a red candle (to spark love and devotion) with the oil and place it on your altar. Speak your desire aloud three times while lighting and gazing on the candle, and you are sure to receive what you ask for.

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.

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.

Sensual Scents for Massage Candles

Traditionally, these oils are considered to have aphrodisiac properties; besides that, they simply smell wonderful on your skin and in your home. Just burning the candles will be magical!

• Amber
• Cedarwood
• Clary Sage
• Jasmine
• Neroli
• Patchouli
• Rose
• Sandalwood

Earthly Pleasure Sensual Scrub

Sandalwood, amber, and vetiver are all rich, earthy scents that combine well together.

• 5 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 5 drops amber essential oil
• 2 drops vetiver essential oil
• ½ cup Epsom salts
• ½ cup baking soda

Combine the essential oils with the Epsom salts and stir in the baking soda. Mix well, and the mixture will become a richly scented paste. You can use it a couple of different ways; one is to slather it onto yourself and shower off with a loofah and thick washcloth. But my favorite way to soak up this earthly pleasure fully is to roll it into a ball after you mix it, then place the ball under the faucet as you are running a hot bath. The entire room will smell like paradise. Soak it all in, lie back, and enjoy the experience fully.

If you want to store some of this scrub for the future or give it as a thoughtful gift, you can store it in a lidded plastic one-cup container, or roll the mix into bath bomb balls and let the balls dry on wax paper or paper towels. This recipe can make three palm size bath bombs. Note you will be asked for more!

Power of Sun and Moon Potion

Here is a powerful herbal healing essence you can make in one week’s time. For an immune system boost, crush a mixture of equal parts rosemary, sandalwood and the petals of a red carnation. Place the crushed herbs in a colored class jar filled with virgin olive oil. After seven days’ storage on a windowsill so as to be exposed to both Sun and Moon, strain and place the infused oil back into the jar. You now have a hearty supply of homemade healing oil to use in the bath, or to rub on your pulse points: temple, wrists, backs of knees, and behind the ears. As soon as you feel rundown, one application should make a difference.

Sandalwood Spell for Grounding

Sandalwood, from the Sanskrit word chandana, has been used for thousands of years in India. The woody, sweet smell clears your mind and reconnects you to the earth. This simple spell can actually be used every day as prayer, or to prepare for meditation. Light a stick of sandalwood incense and “smudge” the area with the soothing smoke.

Anoint a brown candle with sandalwood oil. In scentless base oil, such as canola, olive or sesame, add:

• Six drops sandalwood oil

• Two drops lemon oil

• Two drops amber oil
  

Warm this concoction in a clay oil lamp or carefully heat it on the stove. When it is warm to the touch, dip your left ring finger into the oil and anoint your “third eye,” located in the center of your forehead, just above the eyes.

Sitting in the cross-legged lotus position, whisper three times:

Come to me clarity, come to me peace, 
Come to me wisdom. Come to me bliss. 
I sit in stillness, I sit in peace.
As above, so below; and so it is.

Meditate for twenty minutes, and then massage the warmed oil into your feet. You will be utterly and blissfully grounded now.

Green Thumb Thursday Spell

On a Thursday, as the moon waxes, light green and purple candles anointed with pure lotus or sandalwood oil. Place a small ivy or fern on your altar, along with a glass of fresh water containing a pearl or piece of jade. Burn a stick of sandalwood incense in a pot of soil placed at the altar’s north quadrant and meditate on your hopes and dreams.

When the incense has burned down, place the plant in the larger container, then bow and pray:

As this living thing expands, so shall the power of this magic space grow. 
Oh, Goddess, I dedicate my magic to you. Harm to none and only good work from this holy place.
Blessed be.

Bury the jewel in the soil and use the water from the glass to water the plant. Keep your plant “familiar” with you. You will grow in health and power together. I also encourage you to continually revitalize your altar by adorning it with sacred objects—an iridescent feather, an egg-shaped pebble from the side of the road, a rosy pomegranate, or any other sacred object you find will make a perfect altar gift.

Western Winds of Change Rite

Gather these herbs and stir together into this highly effective clearing incense:

• 1 part sage
• 1 part sandalwood
• 3 parts myrrh
• 3 parts copal
• 3 parts frankincense

This is an optimal mixture of essences to purify your home or sacred working space. Negative energies are vanquished and the path is cleared for ritual. Open windows and doors when you are burning this clearing incense so the “bad energy” can be released outside. It is also advisable to use this clearing incense if there have been any arguments or other energetic disruptions in your home. After a family squabble or, goddess forbid, a break-in, or some incident that makes your office or home or temple space feel violated or less safe, you can dispel the bad with this holy incense.

Sandalwood Spell for Grounding (Waning Moon and New Moon)

Sandalwood, from the Sanskrit word chandana, has been used for thousands of years in India. The woody, sweet smell clears your mind and reconnects you to the earth. This simple spell can actually be used every day as prayer, or to prepare for meditation. Light a stick of sandalwood incense and “smudge” the area with the soothing smoke.

Anoint a brown candle with sandalwood oil. In scentless base oil, such as canola, olive or sesame, add:

• Six drops sandalwood oil
• Two drops lemon oil
• Two drops amber oil

Warm this concoction in a clay oil lamp or carefully heat it on the stove. When it is warm to the touch, dip your left ring finger into the oil and anoint your “third eye,” located in the center of your forehead, just above the eyes.

Sitting in the cross-legged lotus position, whisper three times:

Come to me clarity, come to me peace, 
Come to me wisdom. Come to me bliss. 
I sit in stillness, I sit in peace.
As above, so below; and so it is.

Meditate for twenty minutes, and then massage the warmed oil into your feet. You will be utterly and blissfully grounded now.