Best Cold Medicine..... EVER.

Merry Meet!

So, for the past week and a half we've all been bouncing around this almost cold business. Finally it has settled on who else? The parents, of course! The Magicks are running around like crazed monkeys hopped up on Mountain Dew because they feel better.... and we feel worse. Lol.

Photo credit rootsofhealthyliving.com

To escape the madness for a while, I popped over to a local new age shop. She has the most awesome collection of herbs, I knew I could find something there. We chatted for a bit about the household sickies and she suggested that I make Elderberry Syrup. She said it was delicious and kept her healthy through a particularly bad flu season. I was sold. Here is the recipe that I got from Crunchy Betty (if you don't follow her blog, you should!! www.Crunchybetty.com)



Elderberry-Echinacea Syrup Recipe
1/2 c. dried elderberries (or 1 cup fresh)
2 Tbsp dried echincacea (it’s perfectly fine to open an echinacea tea bag and use that)
1 Tbsp dried ginger root (or 2 Tbsp fresh ginger root)
1-2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half (I used ground, about 1/2 tsp)
1-2 Tbsp dried peppermint (my own addition)
Several dried cloves (also, my own addition.. I think I threw in half a dozen or so)
3 c. distilled water
3/4 c. raw honey

Directions:
First, sterilize everything you will be using to make your syrup. This is just good practice since you don't want any little bacteria monsters hanging out in your yummy syrup! Boiling all utensils for about 10 minutes will do the trick!

Now, take everything EXCEPT THE HONEY, DON'T PUT THE HONEY IN THE POT!!!! and dump it in your pot, stir and stir. Get your mixture warmed up to a simmer, just let everything go for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.. Mine didn't take quite 45 minutes, so keep an eye on it. You'll also want to stir occasionally and mash the elderberries against the side of the pot with your spoon to really release their goodness.

After the liquid is reduced, you'll need to strain it. Use a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth. Crunchy Betty used her french press, clever girl...  You will end up with a dark brownish-red liquid. It looks kind of like prune juice but it smells divine. Do not drink it yet... I hear it is pretty tart at this stage.

Thanky Crunchy Betty!

Let it cool just a bit and then stir into your honey. The way I went about this was to put my honey in the jar while the liquid cooled and then pour the elderberry liquid right into the jar. Then stir and stir and stir!! Make sure everything is stirred up so you don't end up with the honey and juice separating.

I let it cool for a while then put my lid on and popped it in the fridge. The whole family loves it! Little Magick said "please!!" as soon as he saw the jar come out of the fridge this morning!

Wellnessmama.com suggests dosage of 1/2-1 tsp for kids, and 1/2-1 Tbsp for adults. If you get sick with a cold or flu, take normal dosage every 2-3 hours until symptoms clear.

I am LOVING learning to heal myself and my family with gifts from the Earth. This is such a wonderful journey to be on... I can't wait to be able to get rid of the everyday otc medicines we all stock. I will be restocking my medicine cabinet with some fte medicines! From The Earth, baby!!

Just so you know, I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. If you are seriously ill, please seek appropriate medical attention.

Rock-in' Tuesday

Merry Meet!!

It's Tuesday! This is quickly becoming my favorite post of the week. I love crystals and stones so much.. I am taking most of my information from Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem, and Metal Magic. I have also included an interesting tidbit here and there from the crystals and jewelry website they have a cool pdf that you can download and use for quick reference.

I am going to go backward today and talk about Citrine. I should have done it last week but my brains were somewhere else. lol. Its the month of Samhain and orange is all the rage. So let's start this month off right with a brilliant orange crystal!

Photo credit to beyond the psychic veil

Citrine:
It is related to the element of Fire and the Sun. It is used to promote success and abundance. It can also help to prevent nightmares.

It's nickname is the "merchant's stone" because it helps promote success in business. Place a stone in the cash register of your business to bring in more customers. Along with bringing abundance, it encourages generosity with the new prosperity.

Wear this beautiful stone at night to help improve sleep and prevent nightmares.

This is one stone that my collection is lacking! I need to go rock shoppin'! Have you used a citrine to help your business? Has it helped? Share your experiences!

Just a reminder, I am not a doctor. If you have serious health conditions, you should seek the attention of a licensed medical professional. I truly believe in the power of stones for healing, but I also believe in medical attention when it is necessary.

   

Color Magick

Merry Meet!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! I am enjoying the much cooler temperatures here and the feeling that autumn really is on it's way. My absolute favorite time of year! All the beautiful colors as the leaves change and shed their summer greens. Blazing reds and yellows just make me feel more alive. And certainly more witchy! So, for the fun fall colors we're going to chat about color magick.

Thanks moon and shadow!

Here we go!

Pink is for affection, friendship, and children's magick. So light a pink candle to send some good vibes to a friend in need.

Red is, of course, the color for love and passion. It's also good for courage. The element of Fire claims this color. Date night? Wear your sexy red dress of course!

Orange helps with increasing energy and vitality. It also represents the harvest. This is the perfect time of year to display bright orange pumpkins to celebrate the harvest and your own personal blessings.

Green can be used for prosperity, health, or gardening. It is also representative of the Earth. I enjoy lighting green candles for continued prosperity and health.

Blue represents Water, peace and healing. Paint your bedroom blue for tranquility.

Purple is great for increasing your personal power and psychic power. Wear purple during spellwork for an added boost.

Brown is great for garden magick. Simply putting your hands in the soil is a great way to work with this color.

Black represents protection and helps banish negativity. Light a black candle to get rid of negative energies in your space.

White is an all purpose color. It can be substituted for any other color. It also promotes peace, calm, and happiness. White candles lit in your house can help keep the peace. And my favorite wine is white wine, it always makes me feel peaceful.. lol.

Silver can be used to represent the Goddess and the Moon. Silver jewelry can be worn during Full Moon spellwork.

Gold is representative of the Sun and the God. Wear it when you need the sun's boost of energy.

You can use color magick in your wardrobe, in your candles, in the decoration of your house. Colors are powerful and useful. How do you use color magick to enhance your daily life?

Rock-in' Tuesday

Merry Meet!

It's my favorite day of the week, Rock-in' Tuesday! Today we are going to chat about an exceptionally versatile stone, Clear Quartz! I will also list some of the more popular colored quartz at the end.

Courtesy of galleries.com

Clear Quartz (or Quartz Crystal):

Because of it's varying colors and inclusions, it is ruled by both the Sun and Moon, and relates to the elements Fire and Water. A stone that wears many hats, it can be used for Healing, Spiritual Development, and Lactation, among other things.

Quartz crystal can be placed on painful parts of the body to promote healing, it can also safely be added to infusions or tinctures to make them more effective. Quartz can also be used to cure headache. 

On the topic of health, Quartz Crystals can also be helpful for lactating mothers. Have the mother carry a quartz crystal (perhaps in a necklace so it is near the breasts) or place a crystal on the baby to help lactation and digestion of breast milk.

Clear Quartz can also be used on the altar to amplify your magick. It can be placed under pillows to aid in psychic communication during sleep, and it can be used as an instrument in scrying.  

A few other notable types of crystal quartz:

Herkimer Diamonds, which are small double terminated quartz crystals can be used in place of diamonds.

Rose Quartz, a love stone, promotes peace and fidelity in relationships.

Smokey Quartz can help elevate mood.

Just a reminder, I am not a doctor. If you have serious health conditions, you should seek the attention of a licensed medical professional. I truly believe in the power of stones for healing, but I also believe in medical attention when it is necessary.

Rock-in' Tuesday!

Merry Meet!

It is Tuesday! Its quickly becoming my favorite day of the week because I get to share with you a little more about the magickal properties of stones and crystals. Check out this post and this post for my other Rock-in' Tuesday entries!

Courtesy of gemselect.com

Carnelian:
Carnelian is ruled by the Sun and the element of fire. It is a protective stone, it guards against those who try to read your thoughts. It also helps the wearer be more courageous. Wearing or carrying carnelian can help with public speaking. It calms and strengthens the voice and helps you be more eloquent in your speech.

Carnelian is one of my favorite stones. I am just drawn to it. Please share your experiences with the beautiful stone!

Just a reminder, I am not a doctor. If you have serious health conditions, you should seek the attention of a licensed medical professional. I truly believe in the power of stones for healing, but I also believe in medical attention when it is necessary.

Finding your path

Merry Meet!

Amazing photography courtesy of High Life Images

Today I want to talk about finding your path. It seems to me, the biggest hurdle when you leave mainstream religion for our road less travelled, is finding YOUR path. There are so many ways to go, you can be Wicca, Pagan, a Witch. My first thought starting out was, 'isn't it all the same?'. If you are Wiccan, then you are a pagan who practices witchcraft, right? No. Not even close.

You have to look at things like pantheons. Do you feel drawn to a polytheistic path? If so, is it Celtic or Egyptian, Greek or Roman? But what if you don't feel drawn to many deities? Is there only one god? Two? Three? What if even then you don't believe in a 'god' of sorts. That there isn't a mystical person or people running it all? That's where I fall. I believe in nature, in the interconnectedness of all living things. We, all togther, are divine. I don't know how I got here. But in my heart, that's how I interpret the divinity.

After I spent time contemplating the whole god(s) situation, I started to look at things like crystals, healing, divination, herbs, spellwork. Trying to figure out where I stood with them. Crystals, oh man, I love rocks. As you've seen from my Rock-in' Tuesday posts, I love rocks. Since I can remember I have loved rocks. The way they are each absolutely individual, they way they are shaped by the other stones in their environment, they way their environment shaped them. They have distinct personalities. Some rocks want to be touched, carried with you, worn. Some, don't. They want to be left alone. I have a personal goal to learn how to heal using the energy of crystals. I will be saving my money to take some coursework from Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy. Her classes look ah-mazing! I can't wait!

In the interest of not taking up all your time discussing the rest, I will save that for my Sunday post... I will talk about what I feel with divination, herbs, and spellwork. All of which I am excited to learn about! Maybe I will even throw in a little charm that I used that worked beautifully!

Rock-in' Tuesday!

Merry Meet!

It's Tuesday! Which can only mean one thing, Rock-in' Tuesday! Like I said last week, I love rocks! River rocks, semi-precious, any kind, I just love them all!

Courtesy of Crystalsrocksandgems.com

Bloodstone:

It's planetary association is Mars and it is associated with the element of Earth. It is a powerful healing stone. Bloodstone is also helpful in matters of courage and strength. According to crystalsandjewelry.com, bloodstone can help with healing emotional trauma, blood disorders, and recovery post surgery. Scott Cunningham tells us that bloodstone is popular among athletes because of its ability to increase physical strength. And bloodstone also can be worn to lend courage and calm fears. An all around powerful stone!

Do you have any specific experience with bloodstone that you would like to offer? Please, add it in the comments!

Just a reminder, I am not a doctor. If you have serious health conditions, you should seek the attention of a licensed medical professional. I truly believe in the power of stones for healing, but I also believe in medical attention when it is necessary.

 

Rock-in' Tuesday

One of my most favorite things in the world are rocks. I have been obsessed with them from as early as I can remember. In grade school I used to stuff rocks from the playground in my pockets to take home. I would wash them, play with them, I had boxes and boxes of rocks.

When I chose my path, stones were one of the first things I gravitated to! I am having so much fun studying stones and cannot wait to start building my collection! Each Tuesday we will take a semi-precious stone and talk about its planetary and element association and a couple of the particular powers it has. I am taking much of my info from Scott Cunningham's 'Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem, & Metal Magic' as well as www.crystalsandjewelry.com. Let's get started!!

Picture courtesy of 3dchem.com

Amethyst:

Amethyst is associated with the planets Jupiter and Neptune and the element of Water. Amethyst is useful in overcoming addictions, psychic abilities, dreams, and peace. It can be worn against the skin to help overcome addictions such as alcoholism.Try keeping a piece of amethyst with your tarot deck to help increase its energy. A piece of amethyst can be placed under the pillow at night to help aid sleep and fend off nightmares.  Cunningham suggests holding a piece of amethyst in your receptive hand (non-dominant hand) and let the stone's calming, peaceful vibrations calm you.

So grab a pretty amethyst and spend some time getting to know it! Let's talk about what reactions you've had to your amethyst!

Just a reminder, I am not a doctor. If you have serious health conditions, you should seek the attention of a licensed medical professional. I truly believe in the power of stones for healing, but I also believe in medical attention when it is necessary.