Herb of the Week: Mint

MINT ~ Mentha Sachalinensis

Click here to read about preventing mint from dying

Spearmint ~ Mentha Spicata

Peppermint ~ Mentha Piperita

DISCLAIMER: Remember, I am not a doctor, psychologist, licensed herbalist, or priestess

ALWAYS CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL! This is article is for information ONLY.

Mint, one of the most common household herbs and present in most home gardens, is one of the most hardy herbs you can own but keeping them in a pot is suggested as they can seriously overtake your entire garden. A member of the Mentha family it is available in over 30 varieties including peppermint, lemon mint, apple mint, orange bergamont mint, pineapple mint, spearmint and mountain mint to name just a few. It was sacred to the Druids and the Romans (often being used in crowns).

Placed in pots near rose bushes, mint can deter aphids as well as repel cockroaches, fleas and moths when place within the home. When used in a bath (let leaves soak in hot bath within a closed cloth bag for approximately 15 minutes) and followed with an application of vinegar, mint can be used to treat chigger bites. Which if you live down south, you know these little monsters can be very irritating.

Learn more about better digestion with Peppermint tea.

Traditionally this herb is used in a tea to treat stomachaches and digestive issues including: gas, nausea, menstrual cramps, spasmodic stomach pains and as an anti-vomitum.  I also found 2 sources that quoted it as being helpful for treating colic in children. Though mint and peppermint can be quite strong and using them on small children without consulting a physician is not suggested, spearmint is a much weaker version of peppermint and is the suggested substitution.

Mint is a stimulant, a carmative, an anti-parasitic and an antiviral herb.  It promotes bile flow, relaxes the peripheral blood vessels, cools the internal organs and also promotes increased urine flow and sweating- effectively releasing toxins. It also stimulates the appetite when taken half an hour prior to eating in a tea

According to Steven Foster, from Mother Earth Living.com, “The German Commission E, which regulates herb use in Germany, approves the use of fresh or dried peppermint leaf to treat spastic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, gall bladder, and bile duct, and considers it effective in relieving gas in the digestive system. When gallstones are present, peppermint leaf should not be used unless recommended by a physician.”

This is the brand of peppermint oil I use.

Treatments:

Insect Repellant/bug bites and stings- Essential oil with a carrier oil massaged into offending area.

Toothache- apply flower tops directly to tooth

Chigger bites – Hot bath soak followed by application of vinegar

Stomach treatment and appetite stimulant- tea

Congestion and stuffy nose, nausea, concentration issues and shock- steam bath (steam inhalation)

Inflamed muscles and joints- as a compress

Scabies, ringworm or mild burns – dilute essential oil with water and apply

Tension Headaches, fevers and menstrual cramps- Essential oil with a carrier oil massaged into offending area.

Magical Uses:

Planet: Mercury or Venus (pending the species)

Element: Air

Magic Properties: Lust, Love, Money/Prosperity, Travel, Healing, Protection, Calling in Good Spirits/Exorcism, Blessing, Justice , Success and Victory,

Being closely related to Gemini, this herb assists in communication and vitality as well as promoting energy… much like the mysterious twins of the zodiac. However, depending on the species it can also be connected to Venus/Libra (justice).

Mint is widely used for protection because it naturally repels insects and naturally repels negative energy.  Peppermint can be rubbed on furniture, floors, and walls to cleanse them of negative energy. The tea can be sprinkled around the house to dispel negative energy after a disagreement and can be used to calm and heal for meditation prior to ritual work.

In healing spells, it is sometimes stuffed into a poppet (similar to a voodoo doll for those of you who are new to this) or for headaches can rubbed directly on the head for relief. It can also be worn at the wrist to prevent illness.

For money matters, some dried leaves where you carry your cash can promote wealth. Plants in a store can draw customers inside. Also, laying fresh mint on your altar can beckon benevolent spirits to assist you. The essential oil can also be used in spellwork for positive life changes.

 It can also induce psychic dreams when placed under one’s pillow. Spearmint stuffed within a mattress or pillow can assist in protecting you while you sleep.

Sources:

Read more: http://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/herbs-for-health-medicinal-mint.aspx#ixzz2lJ49yICm
http://www.unc.edu/~reddeer/magick/herb.html#M
http://vestasherbs.weebly.com/page-six-garden-delites.html
http://paganpages.org/content/tag/mint/
http://www.everygreenherb.com/mint2.html
http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbMintMed.htm

http://www.janih.com/lady/herbs/magick/M.html

http://www.wolfmoongrove.com/Herb%20Info%20Pages/herbal_properties.htm

The FDA mandates the following disclaimer for all herbal remedies and information: "Natural remedies, such as herbs, are not a substitute for professional medical treatment. We are not qualified to answer medical, behavioral or health related questions. We recommend that you review the information on alternative medical therapies and consult with your doctor or other medical professional before making any decision regarding their use in your medical treatment."

Covering Ground

So, it's been a long time since I've written and shared.  Many things have happened since last summer. I've fallen in and out of love, invited one of my best friends back into my home and discovered that, in a very odd way, as solitary of a practicioner as I think I am I have unwittingly developed a coven.  I have rediscovered the importance of the self and of the people you surround yourself with. I have reignited my love of ritual and focus and practice. I have thrown countless parties and dinner parties celebrating the changing seasons and the fluctuations of the Earth but... I've been selfish and have not been sharing it with you.  So, to prepare myself for the new year, during this time of reflection and gratitude, I want to share more with everyone who stumbles into this place. Please feel free to contact me and to leave me thoughts and ideas and questions. I will try to answer as many as I can. I'm inviting all of you into my little "coven" of friends and support. That's what a coven is... a collection of individuals with similar interests or activities... 

In my case it is a group bound by sisterhood of the strongest kind... choice.

Preparing for end of Summer

Summer is coming to a close and I have just a few things left from my summer list to accomplish. I didn't post my summer list but I can share some of the things that were on it that I did this summer.

Me in on the beach in Condado, Puerto Rico

Work on my tan. I did this... IN PUERTO RICO! Woo!

Some of my burly-q friends dressed up as peanut butter and
jellyfish. :)

The Mermaid Parade at Coney Island!!! (This was near the Solstice so I used this as my way of celebrating it!

Here I am at the parade as a Portuguese Man-of-War

See The Dark Knight Rises in the Theater.

Buy 2 Maxi Dresses  and 2 pairs of Sandals (I bought 3)

Make a Salt Scrub

Dry My Sheets Outside. (I LOVE THIS!)

Make a hair rinse out of beer- I used wondered soldiers left around the house after a BBQ.

Make my beach playlist: there was a LOT of Beach Boys and Lady GaGa

4th of July Fireworks (I did this in Puerto Rico also.)

Here is half of my new bathing suit- my tail is covering the rest.

Buy a new Bathing Suit. 

Me with some blue eyeshadow/eyeliner on. 

A Blue Eyeliner pencil

Update Hurricane Kit Apparently, we get them now in Brooklyn so... I updated it

New Flashlights, a waterproof document holder, 

charcoal for the grill, non-perishable, and emergency water

Get a bowl of cheap sunglasses (Greatest thing I've ever done. Ever.)

Big Daddy and I parasailing

Do a water sport: Jet Ski's and Parasailing! 

Make Fish Tacos 

Make Homemade Popsicles (Vanilla Banana and Nutella... YUM!)

Champagne Cocktails (watermelon is really refreshing with champagne)

Sea Glass/Beach Jewelry: I found a great bracelet at TJ Maxx

Paint the House: We painted the living room from an apple green to a neutral tan

Some things I'm in progess with:

Try/Invent 6 salads: I'm on salad three: I'll post the recipe tomorrow

Find 5 summer books: Love Languages, Walt Disney Biography, Moll Flanders, Killing Yourself to Live, and I need 1 more!

This is my bedside self-help book
for the summer. It's pretty good.

Nothing like the film. :) 

I'm working on it. So far it's wonderful
for anyone who loves Disney.

One of the most funny books I've ever read!

Some things I have yet to do! 

I have less than 1 month to get on it!

Geocaching

Make a new canopy for our bedroom

Put up the hammock and make some pillows for it

Put up the damask fabric on the bedroom wall

Try a lobster roll

Make some lemonade ice cubes

Puppy Picnic

My Fall List of Fun Things to Do!

Things To Do This Fall

My pumpkin last year

 Fall is coming and it's my favorite time of year, every season I make a list of fun things to do as well as a list of things that are hallmarks of that time of year.  Fall is the time to ready for winter. A time of stocking up, making repairs, and snuggling in the chilly air with the people and animals that you love the most. Here is my list of 50 fall activities and things that I will do around my house here in Brooklyn to enjoy and get the most of out this magical season!

□ Go to a Pumpkin Patch □ Haunted House (Not TOO scary!) □ Go for Fall Wine Trail □ Contemplate agreeing to go Camping □ Oktoberfest □ Pillow Fort and Scary Movie with Big Daddy □ Go Horseback Riding □ Go Antiqueing □ Scenic Drive Upstate □ Buy 3 new sweaters! □ New pair of boots for fall □ Get Chimi a Jets Jersey from Big Daddy □ Put Away Summer Bedclothes □ Put away Summer Clothes □ Donate Clothes □ Repair Scarves and Gloves and Shoes □ Dry Garden Herbs □ Plant some mums View of Autumn color in my neighborhood □ Get the garden ready for winter □ Put Fall Scents around the House ; candles,  wallflowers, and scented oils/potpourri □ Make a Wreath for the Door □ Put up Fall Decorations □ Get a Cinnamon Broom for the front door □ Re-Paint the kitchen □ Do a Recipe Swap with my friends □ Plan Halloween Party □ Host Football Gameday (1 Giants/1 Jets) □ Have “bonfire” and roast marshmallows □ Pumpkin Carving Party! □ Pick some colorful leaves and send them to my Floridians □ Pictures with piles of leaves □ Renaissance Faire □ Learn to Play Backgammon □ Picnic in the Park □ Make Apple Butter □ Make some Beer with Bid Daddy □ Homemade Stew with Dumplings □ Make Homemade Marshmallows □ Learn to make toffee □ Make 5 Pumpkin Dishes Chimi's 1st Halloween October 2007 □ Make a Pecan Pie □ Cross-stitch □ Make Family Calendar □ Make Countdown Calendars! Woot! □ Re-Organize the kitchen with Big Daddy so  it’s how we both like it □ Host Thanksgiving? Get out invites! □ Plant some bulbs for Spring □ Clean Outside of my Windows □ Repaint the house numbers □ Try some new vegetables from the market Chimichanga having a photoshoot in some leaves

To Bind or Not to Bind?

There are many different paths in the Pagan forest of spirituality. Many have strict rules regarding using one's power to exert power over others some say, "Never do it!" others say "Do what you feel!" I believe that anytime you feel the need to exert power over another you need to look at why. Are you afraid of them? Are you angry with them? Are you in love with them? Are they dangerous? Are you dangerous?

In the last few years of my life I found myself faced with this issue, on more than one occasion and with more than one person.  It is my belief that you should not focus yourself on controlling another being's free will. This will always come to bite you, in my humble opinion and in my experience. But what do you do when you are worried or afraid that someone else is danger to you? I will share with you what I have done in the past and what worked for me and how I went about it.

Binding an individual can seriously backfire on you and you should not decide on such a thing lightly. In Wiccan belief it's "Harm none." In Voodoo, it's normal to try to seduce the spirit world into bringing your desires to fruition- but always at a cost (it's more in depth and complicated than that but that is for another article another day.) I am not a Wiccan. I don't worship Wiccan gods- I choose my own deities based on their representations and I will invoke deities from multiple backgrounds and belief systems. So while I'm not strictly bound by "Harm none" I try to heed it as much as possible. However, I finally arrived at a place where binding was likely necessary to "cool off" the other individual.  How I arrived to this place is through a long hard road of uneasiness, meditation, and acceptance of the consequences should this backfire. Luckily for me, it worked wonderfully.

Here is the situation:
An individual living in my home that I am un-related to otherwise began to systematically destroy my home life.  Unhappiness and mental instability (actually diagnosed by doctor- not my own diagnoses) were in the air and I began to really worry about my safety, the safety of the animals in my home, and the individual themselves, whom I actually liked as a person.  I felt that this individual was hurting themselves and could not control it, in fact, the person admitted to me that they constantly hurt themselves and could not control it with or without medication. So, I decided to take action to maintain the protection within my home of its inhabitants.

Here is what I did:
1. I wrote the individual's name on slip of paper.
2. I meditated with this in my hand, with incense and candles before my altar,  for guidance.
3. A memory came to me, actually from my trip to New Orleans, about how to spiritually use a freezer. I took the slip of paper and I thought of calmness, I thought of patience and relaxation, of unwinding something.
4. Once I felt unwound I quickly rolled the piece of paper bearing the name up very very tightly and wound it with rubber bands (twine would have probably looked nicer but I was doing this on the fly and rubber bands were at hand.)
5. Essentially, I "bound" them to peace and considering that this is a person who gets angry and runs hot I put their little bound self  into the freezer- to cool them off.

Result:
 I must admit, while I was hopeful I was also skeptical. Within 24 hours the most remarkable thing happened. This person came home from work and stated that while they had been upset they had figured it out. Everything was falling into place and they were going to leave my home for a home they were more excited about (win-win) and that they were so happy that I was such an understanding person.
Huh.
That was impressive.
I have experienced no malice or problems since. I've not heard anything negative, I've not felt anything negative, and when I do see this person they are quite happy in my presence without dominating or trying to manipulate it. So, hopefully, I brought this person peace, which was my intention, even though my reasoning behind making the decision was to protect myself and those around me. 

Herb of Week: Thyme

Thyme ~ Thymus Vulgaris

DISCLAIMER: Remember, I am not a doctor, psychologist, licensed herbalist, or priestess

ALWAYS CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL! This is article is for information ONLY.

Thyme is a common kitchen herb that packs a punch! Used to treat several types of infections (respiratory, mouth, and bladder/urinary tract), whooping cough, gastric and intestinal problems, depression, some skin ailments, as well as an antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic.

As an antiseptic is can be used as a compress for wound dressing, sores, rheumatic pain, insect bites and stings.  As a mouthwash, skin cleanser, anti-fungal for athlete's foot and as an anti-parasitic for lice, scabies, and crabs.  Tinctures (4 oz thyme to 1 pint alcohol) and essential oils can be applied to the skin for anti-fungal or anti-parasitic needs. For skin inflammations and sores, make a poultice can be made by mashing the leaves into a paste and applied to skin inflammations and or sores.  

Most commonly Thyme is used to treat bronchial problems due to its anti-tussive (cough supressing), antispasmodic and expectorant properties. For bronchial and gastric problems, make a tea to be used once per day to treat coughs, bronchitis, chronic candidiasis, whooping cough, indigestion, bronchial infections and halitosis.

Thyme essential oil can cause adverse reactions in it's pure form and should be used sparingly as a medicinal treatment.   If taken in a tea, drink only once or twice per day, and if used on the skin, be aware that it may cause irritation. 


 It is a good digestive aid, helps menstrual cramps and is a great cold remedy. Thyme is also known as a stimulant. It stimulates the circulatory system, and can help raise low blood pressure. For people with a slow digestive system, it can help to stimulate it, and has also found to be helpful for those who are fatigued, lethargic, or depressed. It is also thought to help memory by stimulating the chemical reactions in the brain. Taking a warm bath with thyme can help relieve insomnia and it is thought to help slow hair loss when used as a hair rinse after shampooing. 

USING THYME ESSENTIAL OIL: Check for any allergic reaction before using, put a few drops of diluted essential oil on the skin of your arm to test for any reaction. Should a rash or redness occur wash the area and discontinue use immediately.Inhaled reactions can occur as well, so if the scent of thyme essential oil causes headaches, dizziness, or other discomforts remove yourself from the room and get some fresh air until the feeling passes. It is always prudent to consult with your primary care physician before starting any essential oil treatment.

Warnings: do not ingest thyme oil, it can lead to headache, nausea, vomiting, weakness, thyroid impairment and heart and respiratory depression 

Magical Uses:
Planet: Venus 
Element: Air 
Magic Properties: clairvoyance, cleansing, consecration, courage, divination, dreams, exorcism, faeries, happiness, healing, love, money, prevents nightmares, protection, psychic development, purification 


Other magical properties: compassion, confidence, contacting other planes, grieving, magic, meditation, Midsummer, passion, release, renewal, rituals for the dead, Summer rituals, and wishing

It is widely believed to help guard against nightmares when used within pillows.   It is also thought that by Wear a sprig of fresh thyme to a funeral  to  protect yourself from the sadness of others and use in rituals for courage and compassion.

Treatments:
Cuts and Wounds: Use fresh leaves
Antiseptic- Tincture
Stomach treatment- Infusion


Sources:
http://celei.hubpages.com/hub/The-Healing-Properties-of-5-Common-Household-Herbs-and-Spices

http://www.unc.edu/~reddeer/magick/herb.html
http://windspirit57.tripod.com/id4.html
http://www.ageless.co.za/herb-thyme.htm
http://www.pharrah13.com/herbal_uses.html
http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbThymeMed.htm

Tinctures: What are they?

What is a tincture?
According to www.thefreedictionary.com a tincture (for our purposes) is:
"a plant extract made by soaking herbs in a liquid (such as water, alcohol, vinegar, or glycerine) for a specified length of time, then straining and discarding the plant material. The remaining liquid is used therapeutically. Tinctures typically are made at a concentration of 1:5 to 1:10."


How are they made?
Herbs are taken (either in fresh, dried, or powdered form) and soaked in alcohol (vodka  is preferable so it can be ingested) in a closed glass or plastic container. It is then stored for a period of time (anywhere from 8 days to a month depending on the recipe) until it is ready to be strained through a muslin cloth (depending on the herb cheesecloth may be equally suitable.) Tinctures are then stored into appropriate containers and may have shelf life of up to 5 years as the alcohol serves as a preserver of all the plant's properties.
Learn how to make one here.

Why are they used? Pros? Cons?
Pros:
Total control of the content of the tincture.
Small amount goes a long way because of the nature of tinctures.
Easy stored and lasts a long time.
Work quickly as they enter the bloodstream fast


Cons:
Takes a long time to prepare.
Can be expensive to make.
Storage concerns, must be kept in a cool dry place.

Tincture Recipes:
Sweet Dreams Tincture

For PMS:
6 Tbsp. Black Haw
4 Tbsp.Valerian
4 Tbsp. Chamomile
5 Tbsp. Dandelion
6 Tbsp. Dong Quai
Process time: 6 weeks
Shelf Life: 5 years
Application: 10-15 drops in hot tea/water 3x a day approx. a week prior to menstruating.
http://cloverleaffarm.hubpages.com/hub/Healing-PMS-Naturally

For Headaches/Migraines:
3 parts Lemon Balm
2 part Feverfew
Process Time: 2-6 weeks
Shelf Life: 5 years
Application: Take 1/4 to 1/2 Tsp. every 30 minutes until Migraine subsides.
http://frugallysustainable.com/2012/05/how-to-treat-migraines-with-an-herbal-tincture-at-home-a-recipe/