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A Cauldron of Soil Spell )O(

Merry meet all,

The invasion has begun! It is inescapable. Penny has run out of play room too! Oh my what am I to do? Did I get your attention? Ok I’m referring to the invasion of seedlings that have taken over my home, Goodness there are so many plant pots in here. Burn a candle and light some incense! Play relaxing music. 

This post is about how to create your own soil mixes for your own tender seedlings. You DO have young green seedlings in your apartment right? lol

Well let’s get started. I like mixing up the soil.

Ever notice that plant pots are round in shape? I like to think of the planters and plant pots as cauldrons. They have a lot more to do with cauldrons than you think. This may just change the way you garden from now on. Grab a cup of tea and join me. 

I mentioned the benefits of purchasing and using good quality soil in the last post, right? There is a good reason for that. It helps your plants get off to their best start, off to the races running. or, in this case, growing. Let’s take it a step further. 

Set down newspaper on the counter or wherever you choose to work in your home. Put the plant pot or seedling plant pot on the newspaper. Be willing to get your hands dirty. I love getting my hands right into the soil but that’s just me. Place a pitcher full of cold water nearby. Open the bag of soil. Next tip: I put a cloth grocery bag (plastic bags are banned here). It keeps the bag from spilling or making a mess. Just don’t forget about it but you won’t, will you?

Mix the soil into the plant pot. As you do this, envision that you are filling the pot with the energy of the Goddess. (Use a round pot for this.) You will see why now. The pot is round, so is a cauldron. The pot is deep ( well, most of them are). So is a cauldron. The cauldron is the deep earthy womb of the Goddess. The pot is too once it is full of soil. Once it is full of soil, meditate and reflect on the earthy goodness of the soil from the Goddess and the pot too. Mix that soil up in your hands. Smell it, feel it, cradle it in your hands. Visualize the energy traveling from your hands to the soil. Feel the energy traveling from the soil to you. I always do feel the energy of the soil. That is why I never wear gardening gloves. I love feeling the connection.

Stir the soil with a wooden spoon or your own eager hands. Loosen up any clumps and remove rocks. If you want, depending on what stage of growing your seedlings you are at, you can add fertilizer. Mix in bonemeal, bloodmeal, worm castings, coffee grounds or ground eggshells. Be sure to stir thoroughly. As you do, mix well and visualize. Direct the energy of your intention into the soil. 

If you choose, you can put the seedling into the plant pot THEN fill it with the soil. After that, when you have centered the seedling into the pot, and placed it in deeper than it was before in the starter pot, add the soil. Be sure to visualize, direct the energy and feel the soil in your hands. Grow with love and you will get love. The DNA of the future plant is contained within the seed. So planting a seed truly is an act of magic! 

Once the seed is planted, in a matter of days a cotyledon emerges, a tiny sprout. That sprout can grow into an oak tree, parsley or a pumpkin. Don’t crowd your seedlings – their tender roots need room to grow. I watched my Mother transplant over three dozen cherry tomato plant seedlings. Some of the starter pots contained up to five seedlings! They are all growing in their own pots now, much less crowded. 

A plant is a living being with feelings. Treat the plant like that and you will be rewarded many times over with a plant happy to grow and bloom and/ or bear fruit or seeds! If it is thirsty, water it. If it droops, place it in more light. If it is crowded or rootbound, repot it. I can sense when a plant is thirsty. You can also use your hair dryer to blow for a few seconds on your plants. That signals to them that they should grow strong stems. If it is warm enough where you live, leave the window open. The wind that wafts in will help them grow! 

I hope this post inspires you to get growing your own plants! Let me know in the comments below. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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Crafting for the Yule Holiday

 

Merry meet all,

This post is a little different from the paranormal posts. I have been busy preparing for Yule. I thought I would share how you can create beautiful wreaths and decorations for Yule. I want to do a Scandinavian theme this year. I crafted gnomes, a wreath and herbal recipes for Yule. So grab a mug of warm cider, sit down and read all about it!!

Before we get started, I want to share the most awesome news!! I successfully graduated from the Introductory Herbal course today. I am happy. The course was quite detailed and I still feel a need to review all the notes, handouts, and what not. I shall continue on to the Intermediate course, which is more in depth than the Introductory. 

GNOMES

I am beginning with the easiest craft first then I shall delve into the complicated projects. I bought faux fur and blue and red felt at the fabric store, wooden pieces and I gathered scissors a razor to cut the fur- never with scissors, a hot glue gun, and beads. To make the gnome, get the fur and turn it over so the underside shows up. You cut the fur with a razor because if you use scissors, then the fur will make a real mess. Cut the fur – which will represent a beard, so that it tapers to a point. You can add a moustache too if you want. Glue the fur to the wood piece, preferably round, and smooth it all out. Cut a square piece of felt and cut a triangle from that square. Form a cone from the triangle and with the back side of the gnome fur and wood showing, glue it down. Then fold the edges of the cone in and glue that down. Turn the gnome right side up and depending on what bead for a nose you prefer, glue the bead to the gnome between the felt hat and the fur. See the photo. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can make a knot with string, glue the string to the top of the felt hat on the underside, and then you can hang your charming ornament to your tree. I made gnomes with red and blue felt. The gnome in the photo was a gift for my Mother. She adores the gnome I gifted her. 

WREATHS

Wreaths are beautiful and festive decorations to enhance the warmth of your home. I hung my wreath indoors so I can appreciate its beauty. The wreath in the photo is the one I crafted this Yule. Here is how you can make yours. Dress warm and venture outdoors. This is a herbal wreath. It is best made from natural local greenery in your neighbourhood. If you can cut branches in your area, then feel free to do so. Obtain cedar, pine, spruce, juniper, holly, ivy and rosemary. Don’t forget citrus slices, pinecones, berries and acorns. 

I bought a straw wreath when I should have bought a grapevine wreath.  I had to rethink how I would attach everything. I came up with an idea. I listened to Blackmore’s Night, lit a candle and sipped hot cider. I laid everything out. I used scissors, a hot glue gun, ribbons, and rubber elastic bands,. I put down paper towel and a large clear plastic bag on my table then laid out the rosemary, cedar, pine and spruce, and juniper. I arranged the herbs into bundles – the spruce and pine, juniper, cedar and rosemary. Then I secured it all together with a rubber band, tied the bundle with silver ribbon to hide the rubber band, and then rested it on the wreath. Once I had it all the way I wanted it, I tied the bundles all interconnecting with each other to the wreath with wide brown paper ribbon. The brown ribbon almost concealed the silver ribbon. I hot glued an acorn and pinecones to the brown ribbon. I am dehydrating citrus slices now and I plan to add them to the wreath. tied the big bow on to the wreath and hung the wreath up!!! The bundles can be removed and released later on when I am done with the wreath. I foraged for the greenery on the trail! I am very pleased with the wreath! The wreath smells as beautiful as it appears.

Citrus Slices

To dry the orange slices, cut them very fine and be careful. Arrange them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with very fine sugar. Dry them in the oven at 200 %F for 4 hours. Check on the slices periodically. Once they are done, let them cool. Fasten the fragrant slices to the wreath. 

HERBAL REMEDIES AS GFITS

I have studied the herbal course for the last 4 months. I was stressed deciding what to gift my Mother this year for Yule. I searched lots of options until it hit me. I should put my herbal education to good use. I crafted herbal chapstick, one for her, and one for me, and herbal tea for her. 

I hope she likes her gifts. I am putting together a care basket foe her. I plan to sew her a sleep eye mask soon too. Rather than explain here how the herbal chapstick is done, I am going to include the link so you can check it out on your own. 

https://theherbalacademy.com/chapstick-recipe/

https://theherbalacademy.com/herbal-skincare-gifts/

https://thepracticalherbalist.com/advanced-herbalism/making-a-heat-infused-herbal-oil-a-general-procedure/

I hope this post inspires you to try your hand at crafting for Yule. ‘Tis the season of giving and festivities, so have fun. I wish you all a merry Yule. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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Autumn Herbs

Merry meet all,

Tomorrow is October 1st. I have a new rolling cart to store my multiple jars of herbs. By. herbs, I mean of course seeds, bark, leaves, flowers. I had to assemble the cart and that was a nightmare. Are you all getting ready for Samhain? I am! I am also preparing for the Materia Medica course I am taking at the Herbal Academy in addition to the Introductory Herbal course I am already taking. That does involve getting more organized, which is why I bought the cart.

I ordered seeds from a company on Etsy. They are as follows; German chamomile, black swan poppy, Scott bonnet pepper, black cumin, purple echinacea, halloween calendula, Howden pumpkin, borage, sunflower, black tar poppy, chef’s pick parsley, Larkspur, anise, purple echinacea, purple salsify, Vietnamese cilantro, and foxglove blend. Next spring, I will be having fun planting all that!  I gathered the Chinese lanterns, burdock seeds, mullein seeds, and I will soon gather the nasturtium seeds from my garden. I gathered mullein in an empty field and it also grows on the nature trail. A witch hazel grows on the trail too! 

A materia medica means healing materials. It basically means a book about herbal profiles. The profiles are called monographs. I plan to have the most amazing material media by the time I am done studying. The material media course teaches you how to complete a herbal profile. I have access to the Herbarium. I can download any herb monograph I choose to. I ordered a herb journal – titled My Herbology journal, A Green Witch Journal from Amazon. I also ordered a paper making screen deckle and mold! 

Here is the link to the journal: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08TQ7DX6J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 Several herbs that I need for the course grow on the nature trail. Goldenrod, burdock, mullein, asters, raspberry, elderberry, chokeberry, coltsfoot, queen Anne’s lace, black elderberry, staghorn sumac, creeping juniper, perennial sow thistle, red clover, and  thistle all grow on the trail. I may have already mentioned this. I have an app on my phone that helps me identify plants. If you want to forage in the wild, bring gloves to protect you, a charged cellphone that has an app for identifying plants, wear something to protect you from bug bites and poisonous plants, a water bottle to stay hydrated, and scissors. It helps to carry a big plastic bag or cloth bag to hold the herbs you gather. Don’t consume anything if you are not sure. You could make yourself sick. I want to gather goldenrod next summer to dye a piece of fabric yellow. I just want to try it. !!!

I still have to dehydrate the elderberries. I brewed a jar of elderberry, rhubarb and blueberry am.  I should added cinnamon and clove. I am making a jar of elderberry tincture. The berries were dried and I added vodka. I labeled the jar and also lined the top of the jar with natural waxed paper. The metal can’t contaminate the mixture. I can’t wait to try it. But I do want to caution: elderberries contain cyanide, so please if you make a remedy using elderberries, use black or purple berries – not green, and be careful. I will make the tincture last a long time. I don’t plan to consume it every day. The berries are not cooked for making a tincture. Some cyanide could still be present in the berries. Everything in moderation. 

I gathered herbs for my first lesson in the materia medica course. They were lemon balm, goldenrod, thyme, lavender, mint and chamomile. It grows in the garden and on the nature trail.I need to study the herbs for the courses. (What a hardship, eh?) There are so many herbs to learn about and I live in the right environment. Fall is here. Many of the plants are winding down for the long cold rest. The nature trial is now full of the thistles, queen Anne’s lace, burdock, goldenrod all going to seed. The queen Anne’s lace seedbeds resemble bird’s nests. 

I have to collect the raspberries from my garden. The tomatoes are still ripening. The pumpkin patch is growing! I have tried for 11 years to grow a pumpkin patch and now I have! Hopefully the frost will hold off! I pickled my own cucumbers. The flavour is truly divine. I stored two jars of applesauce in the freezer too. I am well stocked. I have to puree the pumpkin. So much to do, so little time. 

I am enjoying my studies at the Herbal Academy. Well obviously right? I decorate my binder with butterfly stickers, protect the notes and printouts in sheet protectors, and do my best to keep it organized. I want to be a herbalist and work in a trade that involves herbs. It will be a long road but an interesting one!!

The link to the Herbal Academy- in case you want to study there!!

https://theherbalacademy.com/my-account/?awt_a=5cXw&awt_l=Bv79G&awt_m=mUTf3FOR61wS3Xw

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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