londonherbalist:

Red wine hawthorn tincture.

Hawthorn is a fantastic plant which is a superb tonic for the heart, gently strengthening and toning the heart muscle.

This particular tincture is made in red wine and I started making it in the spring my collecting hawthron flower tops and infusing them.  Finally to complete this medicine I have collected the berries from the same plants and blended them in the infused wine.  The wine is left a few weeks and then strained.  This process will be repeated a few times as the best effects of hawthorn are achieved with large doses.  Good luck!

(Source: londonherbalist)

lawsoffateherbal:

Fennel

Foeniculum Vulgare

Family; Apiaceae, formerly the Umbelliferae

Description;

Perennial, Biennial plant growing to about 5 ft. It has dark green leaves, yellow flowers and oval seeds. The plant is aromatic and the seeds have a strong anise like taste. 

Planting;

Fennel is a perennial that is grown as an annual or biennial in areas with cold winters. Sow plants a foot apart in early spring. Fennel likes full sun and a light well drained soil.

Harvesting;

Dig up roots in the spring before the plant begins to leaf. Seeds should be harvested late into the summer when they have fully ripened. They will be a yellowish brown color and fairly dry.

History & Lore;

The Giant Fennel is dedicated to Dionysis. His followers carried a fennel stalk that was twined with ivy and topped with a cedar cone, called a thyrsus. This was used as a weapon that inflicted pain but was too light to seriously wound. 

In the MidSummer festivals of Adonis, fennel was planted in pots in rituals depicting his death and rebirth. The plants germinate quickly, and would be allowed to wither in the summers heat. 

Ancient Greeks and Romans employed fennel in the making of cakes. These were eaten after meals as a digestive aid. 

In Medeival times fennel was often toted in the pocket as a handy flavorful snack.(breath mint) For this, they were often called going to meeting seeds.

One of the nine sacred herbs of Norse tradition. Fenrir (the giant wolf) the son of Loki destined to kill Odin, bound until Ragnarok.

Domestic Uses;

Fresh young leaves picked throughuot the growing season can be used as a seasoning. The seeds add an anise like flavor to breads and pastry. They also make a tea that is soothing to the stomach.

Medicinal;

Drink fennel tea to reduce stomach gas and cramping.

For swollen eyes, apply a compress that has been soaked in fennel tea.

Fennel oil is anti bacterial and anti inflammatory. 

Add fennel oil to a milk and honey bath to relieve menstrual cramping.

Magic;

Sacred to Dionysus and Promethius the fennel is under the dominion of the planet Mercury. 

Sacred to Freya fennel can be used in matters of the heart

Planted around the home or hung at doors and windows for it’s protective energies. 

Seed oil has a mind altering effect. 

Recipe;

Tea;

2-3 teaspoons crushed seeds

1 Cup hot water

Steep for ten minutes

(Source: )

I’ve had a hard time finding books dealing with this type of witchery without the heavy inclusion of Wiccan concepts. 

Because of this, I’ve turned more to natural cookbooks—I just found one I quite like called the Green Market Baking Book, which is quite nice and deals with being able to bake with seasonally available produce year-round. My personal favorite cookbook is A Baker’s Odyssey. It has a huge variety of recipes from American immigrant cooks from their countries of origin. My Bestemor even has a recipe in there!

I also look at a lot of natural herbal books, which for me run the gamut from A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year (which has some “basic pagan” type things, but is mostly just herbal information) to Back to Eden (which deals with herbs and holistic health—though some of the remedies listed should be further researched and used only with caution).

I use these books (and others) and infuse them with a lot of what are, to me, the basics of kitchen witchery—love, care, awareness, and energy. 

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

areyoutryingtodeduceme:

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katiainmissoula:

—

(Source: katiacambia)

arrowsandartemis:

lemon, rosemary and a tablespoon of vanilla. let simmer all day for a fresh smelling home!

(via 2ndstudio-deactivated20120905)

(Source: themagicfarawayttree, via lazygoodnightkisses)

coraroseapothecary:

Yarrow is a gorgeous and great first aid plant to know. Chewing up the leaves and putting them on a wound as a poultice is a great way to stop bleeding. I always keep an eye out for this healing plant in case of an emergency.

Now is the time to harvest this plant. Cut off at the bottom and dry the leaves and flowers.

Use this plant in cold and flu teas or combine with mugwort for a kick butt herbal steam for congested sinuses (something I did often this past week).

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium

Sunflower/Aster Family, Asteraceae/Compositae

The plant’s Latin name is derived from the Greek hero Archilles, and during the Trojan wars, yarrow was reputedly used to treat wounds. A fold name, “nosebleed/” confirms its traditional first aid use as an emergency styptic to stop bleeding. Today, yarrow is valued mainly for its action in colds and influenza, and also for its effect on the circulatory, digestive, and urinary systems. The plant can usually be found growing in meadows.

“Most men say, that the leaves chewed, and especially greene, are a remedie for toothach.” - John Gerard, 1597

Character: Cool, dry; sweet, astringent, slightly bitter taste.

Actions: Aerial parts: astringent, promote sweating, relax peripheral blood vessels, digestive stimulant, restorative for menstrual system, febrifuge.

Essential oil: anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, antispasmodic.

Parts Used:

Flowers: Rich in chemicals that are converted by steam into anti-allergenic compounds, the flowers are used for various allergic mucus problems, including hay fever. Harvest during summer and autumn.

Essential Oil: The dark blue oil, extracted by steam distillation of the flowers, is generally used as an anti-inflammatory or in chest rubs for colds and influenza.

Leaves: The leaves encourage clotting, so can be used fresh for nosebleeds. However, inserting a leaf in the nostril may also start a nosebleed; this was once done to relieve migraines. Harvest through-out the growing season.

Aerial Parts: Used for phlegm conditions, as a bitter digestive tonic to encourage bile flow, and as a diuretic. The aerial parts act as a tonic for the blood, stimulate the circulation, and can be used for high blood pressure. Also useful in menstrual disorders, and as an effective sweating remedy to bring down fevers. Harvest during flowering.

Applications:

Flowers:

Infusions: Drink for upper respiratory phlegm or use externally as a wash for eczema.

Inhalation: For hay fever and mild asthma, use fresh in boiling water.

Essential Oil:

Massage Oil: For inflamed joints, dilute 5-10 essential oil drops in 25ml infused St. John’s Wort Oil.

Chest Rub: For chest colds and influenza, combine with eucalyptus, peppermint, hyssop, or thyme oils, diluting a total of 20 drops oil in 25ml almond of sunflower oil.

Leaves:

Fresh: To stop nosebleed, insert a leaf into the nostril.

Poultice: Wrap washed, fresh leaves on cutes and grazes.

Aerial Parts:

Infusion: Use to reduce fevers and as a digestive tonic.

Tincture: Use for urinary disorders or menstrual problems. Prescribed for cardiovascular complaints.

Compress: Soother varicose veins.

CAUTIONS: In rare cases, yarrow can cause severe allergic skin rashes; prolonged use can increase the skin’s photosensitivity. 

Avoid large doses in pregnancy because the herv is a uterine stimulant.

Information from: The Complete Medicinal Herbal, Penelope Ody

Yarrow is one of the best diaphoretic herbs and is a standard remedy for aiding the body to deal with fevers. It lowers blood pressure due to a dilation of the peripheral vessels. It stimulates the digestion and tones the blood vessels. As a urinary antiseptic it is indicated in infections such as cystitis. Used externally it will aid in the healing of wounds. It is considered to be a specific in thrombotic conditions associated with high blood pressure.

Parts Used: Aerial parts

Collections: The whole of the plant above ground should be gathered when in flower between early summer and early fall.

Constituents: Up to 0.5% volatile oil, falconoid, tannins, a bitter alkaloid.

Actions: Diaphoretic, hypertensive, astringent, diuretic, antiseptic, ant catarrhal, emmenagogue, hepatic, stimulant, tonic

Preparation and Dosage:

Infusion: Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 tsp of herb and leave to infuse. When feverish drink hourly.

Combinations: For fevers it will combine well with elder flower peppermint, boneset, cayenne, and ginger.

For raised blood pressure, hawthorn, lime blossom, and mistletoe.

Information from: Holistic Herbal, David Hoffmann

treading-lightly:

infused herbal wine for Spring

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (active) 24 hours (inactive)

Image Courtesy of Mountain Rose Herbs

Ingredients:

1 bottle white wine
1 bottle Prosecco rose
1/2 cup mixed dried herbs such as sweet woodruff, chamomile, lavender, rose, geranium, lemongrass, etc.
12 oz. fresh strawberries

Directions:

Steep the dried herbs in the white wine for 24 hours, chilled in the fridge.
Strain the herbs from the wine, and compost into your garden or return the herbs to the earth.
Add the infused wine to a punch bowl or large container.
Add the Prosecco and garnish with whole strawberries and rose petals.

*Or!  Bottle the wine in a sanitized bottle with air-proof seal for later use. 

This wine is traditionally made with sweet woodruff, and is a traditional German wine for special occasions. Any herbs can be substituted. The magical properties will vary depending on what herbs you use.

This dish is best served on the following occasions:
Beltaine, Midsummer, Memorial Day, or any gathering during the warmer months.

This dish carries energies for the following magical purposes:
Healing, luck, love, comfort, & prosperity

(Source: kitchenwitchcorner.com, via )

coraroseapothecary:

Red Clover, Trifolium pratense
Legume Family, Fabaceae/Leguminosae

The red clover we now use medicinally was mainly used in the past as a fodder crop for cattle. Gerard knew it as a meadow trefoil or “three -leaved grasse,” and its familiar three-lobed leaves were associated by medieval Christian in the Trinity. The Romans used strawberry-leaved clover (T, fragiferum), a Mediterranean plant, which Pliny suggested takin in wine for urinary stones, and recommended the roots for dropsy.

Character: Slightly sweet, cool.

Constituents: Phenolic glycosides, flavornoids, calculates, courmarins, cyanogenic glycocides, mineral acids.

Actions: Alterative, antispasmodic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, possible estrogenic activity.

Parts Used:

Flowers: Mainly used as a cleansing herb for skin complaints, the flowers are also useful for coughs and have been widely used for bronchitis and whooping cough. In the 1930s, they became popular as an anticancer remedy and may still be prescribed to breast, ovarian, and lymphatic cancer sufferers. Harvest during flowering.

Applications:

Flowers: 

Fresh: Crush the flowers, and apply to insect bites and stings.

Tincture: Take internally for eczema and psoriasis.

Compress: Use for arthritic pains and gout.

Ointment: For lymphatic swellings, cover fresh flower with water and simmer in a slower cooker for 48 hours. Strain, evaporate the residue to semi-dryness, and combine with an equal amount of ointment base.

Eyewash: Use 5-10 drops tincture in 20ml water.

Douche: Use the infusion for vaginal itching.

Syrup: Take a syrup made from the infusion for stubborn, dry coughs.

The Complete Medicinal Herbal, Penelope Ody