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Types of Herbal Remedies

I’ve compiled a list of types of herbal remedies, with brief instructions on how to make them. Choose your herbs carefully, as some are poisonous, some will interfere with health problems and medications, and some can cause allergic reactions.

If you are concerned about any health issue you have, or worried about herbs reacting with your medications, go talk to your doctor. This post is not intended as medical advice.

Compress

This is usually cloth that has been soaked in a herbal infusion so that it can be applied topically. Useful for skin issues, muscle pain, joint pain, and general aches.

You can make one by soaking cotton wool in a warm infusion of your choice, wrapping the balls in a piece of clean cloth, and applying to the affected area. Once the cloth cools down you can soak it again in the warm tea and reapply.

Infusion

This is basically the herbalist term for tea. The herbs are usually dried and ground before being steeped in very hot water and then strained out. If you use a bag then you can skip the straining.

Tincture

This is similar to an infusion but much stronger, and with alcohol instead of water, which helps to preserve it.

Put your herbs in a jar. Cover them with alcohol (most people I know use vodka). Put the lid on the jar and shake it daily for a month or so, then strain the herbs out. I tend to keep mine in the little dropper bottles, as you normally don’t need to take much at once.

Decoction

I like to think of these as a stronger infusion. You need four times as much boiling water as dried herb, and you want to simmer the mixture for about half an hour before straining.

Syrup

These are herbs mixed with a sugary substance, which makes them easier to consume and helps to preserve them a little. They’re a good way to get your herbs in if you have a sore throat, as they are often quite soothing.

You’ll need a couple ounces of fresh herb per pint of water. Put them on the stove and heat until about half of the water has evaporated. Then you need to add about five tablespoons of sugar/honey/maple syrup per pint of water you used originally (so if you put two pints in the pan, you need ten tablespoons). Keep stirring for about twenty minutes, then take it off the heat and bottle it up. You need to keep syrups in the fridge, preferably in a dark coloured jar or bottle.

Balm

Essential oils and beeswax, basically. Add about twenty drops of essential oil to a cup of melted beeswax, stick it in a jar, let it cool, and there you go! You can mix in juiced herbs if you like, but that’s optional.

Salve

A salve is basically essential oils mixed with beeswax, oils and herbs. I have seen them made with coconut oil, though if you live in a warmer environment then coconut oil won’t work for you as it melts. You need about fifty/fifty dried herbs and beeswax (if you live somewhere warm) or use a mixture of beeswax and an oil like olive or safflower if you live somewhere colder, just so it’s soft enough to use. Use about twenty drops of oil per cup of beeswax. You’ll need to melt the wax in a double boiler, and let the herbs infuse in the molten wax for about half an hour. Then you add your essential oils, and pour the molten salve into the containers and let it cool.

Ointment

This is basically a liquid balm or salve. Follow the methods above, but use oil instead of beeswax.

Bath

When taking a herbal bath, you are basically making a giant cup of tea! Fill an organza bag with your chosen herbs, and put it in the bath while you run the water, then remove it before you get in. You can reuse the bag of herbs, but they lose potency with each use, so I try to avoid doing this.

Poultice

This is a paste of herbs and sometimes other things that is applied to the skin. Used for infections, splinters, burns, boils etc. They’re pretty simple to make, you just mix some dried herbs with a tiny bit of boiling water to form a paste, put it on the area, and use a piece of cloth or gauze to keep it there. If you want to use fresh herbs you just mash them up.

🖤✨

Rosemary: Herb Associations and their Origins

Where do our herb associations come from?

In our little community we regard rosemary as an all purpose herb, a replacement for other herbs. Rosemary itself is used for a lot of things just in general, and according to pinecone.pub and onespiritx.tripod it can be used for Anointing, Blessing, Cleansing, Consecration, Defense, Determination, Divination, Exorcism, Healing, Inspiration, Love, Lust, Memory, Protection, Psychic Development, Purification, Sleep, Spiritual Healing, Spirituality, Warding, Willpower, Wisdom, Youth. 

however, i’ve also noticed a lot more people are asking why we use this herb for that, rallying against blindly following herb meanings and taking them for granted, so i’ve done some cursory research (x). it doesn’t cover everything, but here’s some to get the ball rolling:

cleansing/defense/protection/purification/warding - we tend to think of these in more magical/spiritual senses, of course, but originally it was brought to funerals to protect against infection (segways into next bullet)

memory - the herb took on another association, for memory, as funeral goers would start dropping the rosemary onto the coffin, symbolizing a promise to remember the deceased. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare writes, “Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemary/ On this fair corse.” rosemary would also be used in bridal wreaths in tudor weddings to help the couple remember their vows. the memory association is again noted in shakespeare, as he says in Hamlet, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.”  and he mentions rosemary again in The Winter Tale, “For you, there’s rosemary and rue; these keep/ Seeming and savour all the winter long…” referencing how distinctive the scent is all year round. 

Love/Lust - again, shakespeare references rosemary in Romeo and Juliet, though this relation seems a little weak, “Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with the same letter?“ 

Anointing/Blessing//Consecration/Exorcism/Protection/Purification/Spiritual Healing/Warding - rosemary became considered a “holy plant” through its association with sacred rites, became heavily used by the church for festivals and holidays, and was used as a ward against “black magic”. “Down with rosemary and so,/Down with the baies and mistletoe,/ Down with the holly, ivie all/ Wherewith ye deck the Christmas hall.”  -the poet Herrick

sleep/warding/protection/healing - in a letter from Queen Phillippa of England’s mother, “The leves layde under the heade whanne a man slepes, it doth away evell spirites and suffereth not to dreeme fowle dremes ne to be afeade. But he must be out of deedely synne for it is an holy tree.” [the leaves laid under the head when a man sleeps, sends away evil spirits and prevents nightmares]. It was also customary around this time to burn rosemary and juniper berries as a disinfectant. it was also made into teas to disinfect sore gums/throats

youth - “Make thee a box of the wood of rosemary, and smell to it and it shall preserve thy youth.” - Banckes Herbal, 1525. a possible indication of the cultural beliefs surrounding rosemary in this era. 

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so with superstitions and traditions aside, rosemary itself does have its own medicinal uses. you often see it touted as useful for “muscle pain, improving memory, boost the immune and circulatory system, and promote hair growth”. 

however, before making a tincture for any of these uses i would recommend looking for medical studies to see how well/proven these uses are. 

One of my machined dice boxes. I’m going to be giving this one away in a set of items that can be shipped to any part of the world, since I had so many requests from UK followers. :)

Witchcraft as Religion

For a research paper in a Gender and Law in US History class where I want to analyze witchcraft as a religion (i.e. is it? if so, is it protected?, etc).

Hey you guys! I sent out a post a while ago asking for responses to some questions on views regarding witchcraft. However, this is more about the religion of witchcraft. Do you think it is a religion? Should it be protected by freedom of religion? etc etc. I am writing from a United States standpoint but I do appreciate all responses. I am not asking for names or email addresses. Thank you!!

(You don’t have to have responded to my earlier post to fill out this form)

🌙 Witchcraft Masterpost: 🛁 Cleansing and Purifying Energy

purify (verb) - to remove contaminants 

We’ve all seen it in the horror movies. A cute, unimposing family moves into a new home, and things start getting creepy. Doors open and close on their own, strange voices start showing up on the baby monitor, and the kids are playing hide and seek with someone that isn’t there. Then, before these suburbanites know what hit ‘em, there are G H O S T S™ everywhere. How do these innocent protagonists often deal with their new spiritual occupation? Do they move away? Do they call their friendly neighborhood witch for assistance like any responsible ghostbuster would do? No. Out comes their handy dandy Sage Stick™ as they attempt to cleanse the house of evil entities. 

While the idea is visually appealing enough for cinema (and while ritualistic sage cleansing is a real and effective Native American practice), in the movies it never really seems to do anything but piss the demonic entity off. Metaphysically, these newbies might be failing because there is much more that goes into cleansing energy than just burning some sage and walking around your house. 

Why do you need to purify things? 

Physical objects are like energy sponges, and as time goes on, they soak up the energy of everything around them. Lots of witches these days are familiar with how crystals operate, so I’ll use a crystal as an example. 

The first time you pick up a crystal in a shop, it absorbs some of your energy as it rests in your hand. As you purchase it, it absorbs the energy of the register. It absorbs some of the energy of the bag it’s put in, and it absorbs some of the energy around you as you walk out of the shop and back to your car. It absorbs the sound of you singing along to the radio on the car ride home. It absorbs the energy of your house as you take it inside. It absorbs the energy of your altar as you first set it down. It absorbs the energy of every spell you do with it, and it absorbs the energy of everything that happens around it - every time you speak or worry or laugh or cry or anything. It is always there, absorbing and collecting whatever ambient energy it encounters. 

These stray energies build up over time, eventually clouding the crystal and disrupting its own unique vibration. After a while, the crystal might start to act erratically in spellwork, even backfiring at times. Under extreme stress (environments that are particularly erratic, emotional, and/or negative), the crystal may even build up so much excess energy that it shatters. 

Even worse, let’s say you have the crystal in your pocket one day, and you get into an argument with someone. The crystal will also absorb that aggressive, argumentative energy. If it absorbed enough of it, it will start attracting that energy to you whenever you carry it or use it. You might start getting into a lot of arguments all of a sudden, and obstacles might start appearing everywhere you turn. The same could happen if the crystal encountered any negative or oppressive energy, like sadness, regret, or suffering. (Side note: When houses/locations absorb a lot of violent, stressful, aggressive energy, they often begin to manifest poltergeists)

The purpose of cleansing/purifying, as a witch, is to rid an object of these built-up energies - to bring it back to a pure, unaltered state. You are essentially setting it free of all its baggage and allowing it to vibrate how it naturally wants to. 

It isn’t only crystals that can be/need to be purified (tho crystals are much more sensitive to energy than almost anything else and do need to be purified regularly). Literally any object you can imagine holds onto energy in some way. Some other things that you may want to cleanse at least every once in a while: 

altar / altar space

bedroom

car

living space

ritual tools

talismans

yourself 

Basic Energy Cleansing

There are an infinite number of techniques you can use to cleanse or purify something. Every culture throughout history has invented some way of doing this, so study up and see what works. 

The most basic way of cleansing something uses only your own energy and willpower. Be mindful, though, that it is easy for stray energies to latch onto you when using this technique, so grounding afterwards is imperative. 

Begin by heightening and focusing your own energy through meditation, focused breathing, or whatever way you personally choose to harness your own energy.

Connect with the object you wish to cleanse. Touch it with your bare skin, and allow your energy to pour into it. Feel it out, and try to detect anything contaminating the object - anything that feels wrong, conflicting, or out of place.

After you have successfully attuned to the object, visualize your energy rushing through the object like a stream of water.

As it passes through, visualize your energy pulling out everything that doesn’t feel like it belongs, anything contaminating or polluting. When I use this spell, I like to imagine particles of dust or sand being swept up and taken away. 

After your energy has flowed through the object completely, allow it to flow back into you. Don’t let it rest inside of you, though. Immediately take the contaminated energy and direct it firmly into the ground, where it can be taken away from you and completely recycled by the earth. 

Repeat this process until the object’s energy has been entirely cleansed of anything that feels conflicting or out of place. 

Other Techniques

Cleansing with salt: If the object is small enough, put the object in a bowl and cover it in white or pink salt. Allow it to sit overnight. 

Cleansing with water: If the object can safely be put in water (some crystals cannot), place it in a bowl of clean water (preferably river water, ocean water, rain water, or moon water) and allow it to sit overnight. If possible, leave it outside in the moonlight while its soaking.

Cleansing with smoke: Very similar to the basic energy cleansing technique described above, except you visualize the tendrils of smoke reaching into the object and pulling out any contaminants. Instead of grounding the energy afterward, open a window and allow the wind to carry the smoke away. 

Cleansing with sound: Also similar to the energy cleansing technique described above, except sound waves penetrate the object and expel anything that shouldn’t be there. Love to do this with Tibetan singing bowls, but you can really use any kind of sound, even your own voice. Instead of grounding the contaminant energies afterward, imagine the sound waves pushing them very far away from you. 

Cleansing with sunlight/moonlight: Expose the object to bright sunlight/moonlight and let it sit for a while. 

Cleansing a living space with a broom: Sweep all of your floors, preferably sweeping east to west, starting in the center of your home and moving outwards. End by sweeping all of the collected dust out the door.

Self-Cleansing Bath/Shower: Essentially the same idea as cleansing an object with water, except you’re doing it to yourself in the shower or bath. Pro-Tip: Use a bath bomb with strong peppermint, sandalwood, or frankincense oils for added power. 

Brightest blessings, and best of luck 🕉

✨🕯️💖I want to see your Hag stones! I was recently gifted one and I am so drawn to it 💖🕯️✨

The aesthetic of my Grimoire has been inspired by the Owen’s spellbook from the movie, Practical Magic. Just thought of sharing some of the things written on them that has been shared as well on my page.

Aries Descendant trying to connect through passion, Libra Ascendant expressing the self beautifully.

Taurus Descendant trying to connect with loyalty, Scorpio Ascendant expressing the self deeply.

Gemini Descendant trying to connect through curiosity, Sagittarius Ascendant expressing the self unfiltered.

Cancer Descendant trying to connect via attachment and depth, Capricorn Ascendant trying to express the self carefully.

Leo Descendant trying to connect generously, Aquarius Ascendant trying to express the self uniquely.

Virgo Descendant trying to connect through care, Pisces Ascendant expressing the self in many different ways.

Libra Descendant trying to connect through relatability, Aries Ascendant expressing the self confidently.

Scorpio Descendant trying to connect intensely, Taurus Ascendant expressing the self calmly.

Sagittarius Descendant trying to connect through growth, Gemini Ascendant expressing the self energetically.

Capricorn Descendant trying to connect realistically, Cancer Ascendant expressing the self softly.

Aquarius Descendant trying to connect with others' minds, Leo Ascendant expressing the self creatively and boldly.

Pisces Descendant trying to connect on every level, Virgo Ascendant expressing the self pensively.