Similar to valerian, passionflower is recognized for its calming and sedative actions which are effective in helping to combat anxiety, fatigue, and sleep issues. It contains alkaloids, glycosides, and steroids, with alkaloids being the main active ingredient.
What you need to know before taking passionflower:
• It should not be taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• It can be combined with valerian and/or hops.
A handy key to the herbs of witchcraft. Each of the herbs listed has its own character and magickal properties. They are revealed to the Witch through study, meditation, and practice.
For this glossary, we’ve limited the description of each herb to a few words. Many herbs have their own articles with more in-depth information, in case you wish to learn more.
Here are the suggested meanings and uses of some popular ritual herbs:
Agrimony – ancient herb of healing, restoration, and benevolent protection
Alfalfa – good fortune, money magick, healing and cleansing infusions
Angelica – warding and banishing, angelic magick, summoning strength
Astragalus – vital energy, protection (shielding), promoting health, mental clarity, concentration
Basil – blessings, love, money, and happiness
Bay Leaf – confers wisdom, strength, and visions, sacred herb of Apollo
Bearberry – psychic awareness, dreams, courage, smudging and offerings
Birch Bark – new beginnings, psychic protection, strength, devotion, the Goddess
Blessed Thistle – consecration, protection, healing and cleansing by fire
Blue Sage – smudging, meditation, relaxation, ancestral wisdom, peace
Blue Vervain – spells of love and advancement, astral travel, initiation
Burdock Root – warding, cleansing, uncrossing and counter-magick
Calendula – solar rites, divination, remembrance, honoring the dead
Catnip – love-drawing, relaxation, trance work, feline magick
Cedar – ancient wisdom, protection, maturity, strength and power
Cinnamon – passion, shielding, quick success, spirit evocation, fire magick
Cinquefoil (Five Finger Grass) – for the five blessings: health, money, love, power, and wisdom
Coltsfoot – divination, visions, love magick, healing from within
Comfrey – healing, restoration, lucky herb of travelers and gamblers
Damiana – lust, sex magick, psychic abilities, energy work, spirit quests
Dandelion – wishes, divination, calling spirits, charisma and success
Devil’s Claw – protection, exorcism, banishing spells, keeping away evil, confounding enemies
Dill – sexual love, luck, protection against sorcery and disease
Dittany of Crete – rare herb from Greece, renowned for love magick, manifestation, spirit contact
Elderberry – hidden wisdom, Crone magick, banishing, Faery offerings
Eucalyptus – cleansing, healing, ritual baths, rites of Mercury and Air
Fennel Seed – psychic protection, counter-magick, confidence and adaptability
Feverfew – humble flower renowned for its curative properties, a magickal “fix-all”
Galangal – strength and power, victory, luck, hex-breaking, male potency
Ginger – fiery herb of passion, success, and personal power
Hawthorn Berry – fidelity, shielding, clarity, ancestor and Faery magick
Hibiscus – love and passion, independence, confidence
Horehound – mental clarity, dispelling illusion, quick action, healing
Hyssop – purification, innocence, blessings, sacred baths and washes
Irish Moss – financial luck, folk remedies, safety during travel, sea magick
Jasmine – love, dreams, divination, sensuality, luxury and kindness
Juniper Berry – good luck, prosperity, masculine energy, protection at home
Juniper Leaf – purification, protection, bringing luck, exposing truth
Lavender – love and attraction, purification, relaxation, restful sleep
Lemon Balm – tranquility, attraction, fidelity, teamwork, harmonious home
Lemon Peel – cleansing, purifying, boosting energy, sweetness and charm
Licorice Root – domination, advantage over others, passion, power, persuasion
Lobelia – spirit communication, love and weather magick, trance, blessings and curses
Mandrake – legendary magickal herb for love magick, protection, and curses
Marjoram – protection, married love, calming the mind, easing grief
Marshmallow Root – love charms, psychic powers, protection, drawing good spirits
Meadowsweet – sacred flower of Spring, the Maiden, and the Underworld
Mistletoe – good luck, love and money spells, many traditional charms
Mugwort – scrying, divination, psychic ability, lucid dreaming, Lunar magick
Mullein – protection, illumination, courage, hedge-crossing, Crone magick
Nettle – courage, consecration, protection, healing, deterring evil
Orange Peel – uplifiting and centering Solar herb of joy, blessings, and good luck
Orris Root – charms of love, persuasion, popularity, charisma and success
Patchouli – love and sex magick, attraction, fertility, rites of Earth
Pennyroyal – calmness, endurance, patience, dispelling anger, warding
Peppermint – healing, purification, psychic awareness, love and energy
Pine – persistence, moderation, prosperity, and good health
Raspberry Leaf – love and enjoyment, tempting others, divination
Red Sandalwood – used in incenses for meditation, healing, and trance work
Rose – charms of love and beauty, harmony, divination, Goddess rites
Rosemary – cleansing, purification, vitality, wisdom, protection
Rue – warding, exorcism, cleansing, love-drawing and protective charms
Spearmint – love, psychic ability, cleansing, renewal, house blessing
Star Anise – clairvoyance, good luck, psychic dreams, travel charms
Thyme – beauty, strength, courage, a favorite herb of Faeries
Valerian – warding, enemy spells, transmuting negativity, feline magick
Vervain – Old World herb of wisdom, healing, and second sight
White Sage – cleansing, house blessing, meditation, healing
White Willow Bark – solace, wisdom, long-lasting love, divination, Lunar magick
Wild Lettuce – visions, trance, dream magick, enthrallment and sleep
Witch Hazel – comfort and healing, wisdom, protection, soothing of anger
Wood Betony – herb of St. Bride, used in charms against ill luck, anxiety, and despair
Wormwood – psychic vision, spirit evocation, hexes and curses, reversal magick
Yarrow – ancient medicinal flower used for courage, divination, good fortune
More and more people are turning to herbs because there is a growing disappointment with using pharmaceuticals for chronic illness.
Many people are getting fed up with taking a pill that never really cures their illness and gives them awful side effects. Maybe they are concerned about acetaminophen giving their young child asthma (1) or they see the growing evidence about the risks associated with statins (2) and they say enough is enough!
From this moment forward they vow to never resort to drugs again and instead try a more natural and holistic approach thus leading them to the world of herbs and herbalism.
But sometimes their love affair with herbalism is stopped short.
They reach for the closest herb book, try a few remedies and then declare that the herbs don’t work! They tried using horehound for coughing with no relief. They tried meadowsweet for their headache to no avail.
They begin to wonder, “Are herbalists a bunch of delusional wood fairies touting the miracles of something that never works?”
As much as I would love to be considered a wood fairy, I’ll have to say no, this is not the case. I’ve seen herbs work hundreds of times. I’ve seen them work for serious infections as well as serious chronic diseases. I’ve seen them work when modern medicine failed.
Yes, herbs work!
I want to share a handful of reasons why herbs might not work in a given situation.
1. Improper dosing (either too little or too much)
When buying over the counter drugs like NyQuil or Tylenol, they come in a package that is clearly marked with the dosage instructions. Generally these are very simple instructions. “Adults take 2 tablets, three times daily.”
Herbs don’t always come with directions. If you buy bulk herbs the dosing instructions are absent entirely. If you buy a tincture or a bottle of capsules the dosage listed on the bottle has most likely been chosen by the FDA’s labeling mandates and not by an herbalist.
I am not going to lie to you. Dosage in the herbal world is confusing.
In herbalism dosage varies from person to person, from plant to plant and from preparation to preparation.
A 15 minute infusion of a teaspoon of nettle leaf will not extract the same vitamins and minerals as a four-hour infusion of an ounce of nettle leaf in a quart of water.
A few drops of lobelia tincture can promote relaxation. A strong cup of lobelia tea could make you vomit.
One way I commonly see dosages being flubbed in herbalism is people using small amounts of tonic/adaptogen herbs in tincture, versus the traditional use of large amount of tonic/adaptogen herbs as decoctions or powders. (As always go with what works, but if you aren’t getting the results you’d expect after taking 5 drops of ashwanganda tincture twice a day, consider your dose!)
Frequency of dosing can also be an issue. During acute illnesses we generally use slightly smaller amounts but with more frequency. I may take elderberry elixir 1-2 times each hour at the onset of an illness for example. General recommendations are to take herbs 3 times a day, but that won’t cut it for acute illness.
2. Low quality plant material
Herbs often don’t come with an expiration date. Quality can also vary significantly and will suffer greatly if the herbs have been improperly harvested or improperly processed.
Plants decay. They simply go bad. The rate at which they do this varies significantly from plant to plant. If you’ve just pulled a bag of herbs from your back shelf and had to blow off an inch of dust… well, they are probably not at their prime.
Powdered herbs that are exposed to light and oxygen lose their potency fast.
Tinctures and capsules last significantly longer, but again, storage methods and the particular plants can vary widely.
Our senses can reveal a lot about the quality of herbal material. Does it still look vibrant? Dried plants should retain most of the color of the living plant. If your red clover flowers are brown instead of red/purple, toss ‘em. If your chickweed looks like light colored straw instead of vibrant green, too ’em. (By toss ’em, of course I mean compost responsibly.)
Taste can also be a big indicator. I recently compared two year old cayenne powder with freshly powdered cayenne. That taste experiment didn’t take a genius to figure out which one was dramatically more intense.
Know what your herbs taste like when they are at their best (tinctures, teas, powders, bulk herbs, you name it!). This will serve you a thousand times over!
3. Using the incorrect preparation
A tincture is different than a syrup which is different from a tea which is very different from a decoction and on and on and on. Extracting a plant with vinegar or glycerin is dramatically different than using alcohol. This all plays an important role in whether or not a plant will work as well as the dosage!
Example: Milky oats tincture is very different than milky oats dried and made into a tea. Or highly resinous herbs being extracted in too low of alcohol percentage. Or highly mucilaginous herbs being extracted in high alcohol percentage.
4. Ignoring the art of herbalism
The art of herbalism, not herbs alone, is really the keystone of what determines success when using herbs for chronic illness.
Simply put there is no ONE herb for fibromyalgia. There is no ONE herb for eczema.
Instead we want to fully assess a person constitutionally, understand the energetics of their symptoms and use herbs to match the herbs to the person.
Whether you study traditional Western Herbalism, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine or the countless other herbal modalities out there each of them has a specialized way of approaching illness. Looking up eczema in an article index and then determining burdock will work (which it sometimes does) is not practicing the art of herbalism. This is more the art of index retrieval.
People are complex, diseases are complex. If a solution seems too simple (particularly for chronic disease), it probably is.
5. Poor herbal formulation
Have you seen kitchen sink herbalism?
This method takes every herb known for X disease and tosses it in a formula. This works sometimes. More often, it doesn’t.
I love studying classic Chinese formulas. At first glance they can seem like a random bunch of herbs thrown into a pot, but upon deeper study the brilliance of the formulas is revealed. There are lots of different ways to formulate. Most have merit. It’s not about the ONE way, but it is about understanding the methods you choose to use.
When I create herbal formulas I have a broad guideline I follow in choosing the main acting herbs, assisting herbs, and guiding herbs.
6. Attempting to use herbs like a silver bullet cure
Herbs are most effective with dietary support, proper rest and exercise, spiritual connection, support of community and other modalities such as massage, acupuncture (and many more).
7. Attempting to suppress symptoms rather than get to the root cause
The most obvious example of this is attempting to treat skin issues using only a topical treatment. In general, symptoms that show up on the skin, eczema, acne, psoriasis, hives, etc are all caused by internal imbalances.
Spreading the latest and greatest cream on eczema, may give some temporary relief (great!) but will most like not solve the underlying issue.
Another way I commonly see this mistake is using cathartic laxatives to evacuate the bowels instead of identifying and addressing the cause of the constipation.
Modern western medicine most often suppresses symptoms rather than cures disease. We are better than that! Make the effort.
8. Healing takes time
Especially in chronic disease. It is not realistic to expect a complete turn around from chronic disease just days after starting an herbal plan. Working with a mentor can help you have realistic expectations about what it is going to take to see a person fully recover. Over time you develop your own sense of how long it will take.
I commonly tell people with chronic disease that full recovery may take 6 months and longer. Healing takes time.
This is how I often visually explain the progression of regaining health after a long illness.
9. There are many avenues of healing
Herbalism is not 100% effective, 100% of the time. No healing modality is. A person’s path to wellness is their own and ethical practitioners don’t make promises they can’t keep.
Granted an experienced practitioner can expect to help most people, most of the time. The more you practice herbalism, the more effective you’ll be.
(Atropa belladonna) Poison
Banewort, Black Cherry, Deadly Nightshade, Death’s Herb, Devil’s Cherries, Divale, Dwale, Dwaleberry, Dwayberry, Fair Lady, Great Morel, Naughty Man’s Cherries, Sorcerer’s Berry, Witch’s Berry
Feminine
Saturn
Water
Hecate, Bellona, Circe
The priests of Bellona, according to ancient tradition, drank an infusion of belladonna prior to worshipping Her and invoking Her aid.
Bellona is the Roman Goddess of war.
Today belladonna is little-used in herb magic due to its high toxicity—all parts of the plant are extremely poisonous and there are still reports of death resulting from accidental ingestion of nightshade.
In the past, it was used to encourage astral protection and to produce visions, but safer alternatives are available today and belladonna is best avoided.
Herbs and the minerals they contain is a very involved subject and should be we researched well beforehand.
Calcium This mineral builds and protects bones and teeth.
Helps maintain a regular heartbeat.
Prevents muscle cramping.
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, burdock root, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, chicory, dandelion, eyebright, fennel seed, fenugreek, flaxseed, hops, horsetail, kelp, lemongrass, mullein, nettle, oat straw, paprika, parsley, peppermint, plantain, raspberry leaf, red clover, rose hips, shepherd’s purse, violet leaves, yarrow, yellow dock.
Chromium This mineral is vital in the synthesis of glucose and the metabolism of cholesterol, fats and proteins. Maintains blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Herbal Sources Catnip, horsetail, liquorice, nettle, oat straw, red clover, sarsaparilla, wild yam, yarrow.
Copper. This mineral converts iron to haemoglobin. Protects against anaemia. Needed for healthy bones and joints.
Iodine. This mineral is needed in trace amounts for a healthy thyroid gland, and to help metabolize excess fat.
Herbal Sources: Calendula, tarragon leaves, turkey rhubarb.
Iron. This mineral is essential for metabolism, and the production of haemoglobin.
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, burdock root, catnip, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, chicory, dandelion, dong quai, eyebright, fennel seed, fenugreek, horsetail, kelp, lemongrass, liquorice, milk thistle seed, mullein, nettle, oat straw, paprika, parsley, peppermint, plantain, raspberry leaf, rose hips, sarsaparilla, shepherd’s purse, uva ursi, yellow dock.
Magnesium. This mineral prevents the calcification of soft tissue. Helps reduce and dissolve calcium phosphate kidney stones. Helps prevent birth defects. Improves cardiovascular system.
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, bladder wrack, catnip, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, dandelion, eyebright, fennel, fenugreek, hops, horsetail, lemongrass, licorice, mullein, nettle, oat straw, paprika, parsley, peppermint, raspberry leaf, red clover, sage, shepherd’s purse, yarrow, yellow dock.
Manganese, Minute quantities of this mineral are needed for healthy nerves, blood sugar regulation, normal bone growth, and thyroid hormone production.
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, burdock root, catnip, chamomile, chickweed, dandelion, eyebright, fennel seed, fenugreek, ginseng, hops, horsetail, lemongrass, mullein, parsley, peppermint, raspberry leaf, red clover, rose hip, wild yam, yarrow, yellow dock.
Molybdenum, Small amounts of this mineral are required for nitrogen metabolism. Supports bone growth, and strengthens teeth. HERBAL SOURCES: Red clover blossoms.
Phosphorous, This mineral is needed forteeth and bone formation, nerve impulse transfer, normal heart rhythm, and kidney function.
Potassium. This mineral regulates water balance, and muscle function. Important for health nervous system and regular heart rhythm.
Herbal Sources: Catnip, hops, horsetail, nettle, plantain, red clover, sage, skullcap.
Selenium. This mineral provides an important trace element forprostate glandin males. Protects immune system and helps regulate thyroid hormones.
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, burdock root, catnip, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, fennel seed, ginseng, garlic, hawthorn berry, hops, horsetail, lemongrass, milk thistle, nettle, oat straw, parsley, peppermint, raspberry leaf, rose hips, sarsaparilla, uva ursi, yarrow, yellow dock.
Sulfur. This mineral helps skin and hair. Fights bacterial infection. Aids liver function. Disinfects blood. Protects against toxic substances.
Herbal Sources: Horsetail.
Vanadium. This mineral is needed for cellular metabolism and the formation of bones and teeth. Improves insulin utilization.
Zinc. This mineral promotes growth and mental alertness. Accelerates healing. Regulates oil glands. Promotes healthy immune system, and healing of wounds.
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, burdock root, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, dandelion, eyebright, fennel seed, hops, milk thistle, mullein, nettle, parsley, rose hips, sage, sarsaparilla, skullcap, wild yam.
Herbalism, like midwifery skills, is one of the oldest parts of teaching within the craft, but is also one where we have lost a huge amount of information and where science has yet to catch up.
Every pagan culture has utilized the herbalism of its particular region, and I have found no one source or teacher who could possibly know about every herb that grows on the Earth.
Yet today we have the opportunity to perhaps achieve this within a lifespan or two, using the electronic communications at our fingertips.
Science is now slowly beginning to learn the importance of the natural herbs in healing, but they will take centuries to figure it all out because of the way they go about things, unless nudged.
The first step in herbalism is to gather the tools you will need, and that is the main point of this first message.
I have found the following useful and in many cases vital to learn and practice the use of herbs.
If you live in an area that gets very hot during the summer months, cover herbs with a layer of mulch to keep them from drying out.
If you’re maintaining them in pots on your deck, opt for containers with their own water reservoirs (or use potting soil that contains water-retaining polymers).
Check the height details for your herbs and plant accordingly with taller herbs behind shorter ones.
Pay attention to the growth habit of your herbs too.
Creeping thyme will grow very differently from standard growth habit thyme, and that will have an impact on how it will act, and react, in the garden.
Your local nursery will stock cultivars that work well in your area.
They may not have all the herbs varieties you’ll find through mail orders or online suppliers, but chances are what you buy will work in your backyard.
Many herbs have standard, miniature, variegated, and creeping varieties. Some will also have cultivars that are more or less vulnerable to frost, heat and specific pests and diseases.
Knowing the planting zone you live in, as well as the spot you have in mind for your herb garden, will help you pick the best rosemary, lavender or sage for your needs if you do decide to buy from a national source.
Herbs like cilantro and dill grow quickly.
Start them early and keep pinching them back when you see flower buds.
Most herbs will stop putting the bulk of their energy into creating new leaves once they flower.
Leaves are typically what you want to cultivate, so delaying flowering is the goal here.
The fast growth spurt some herbs put on when the temps get hotter in summer is called bolting.
Plants shoot up quickly, start to flower, and begin to look scraggly.
Removing the buds and harvesting around a third of the plant will keep herbs viable longer.
HarvestingIt’s a good rule to wait until a plant is at least a few inches tall (this will vary from plant to plant) and a bit bushy before you start harvesting leaves.
Never take more than a quarter or a third of the plant at one time, and wait for at least that much to regrow before taking more.
Some herbs like chives, parsley and tarragon, taste much better fresh.
For these herbs, drying isn’t the best choice. When you’re ready to harvest the bulk of the plant in fall, check the best harvesting method (I have lots of specific info here), and freeze plants that don’t dry well.
You can wash and freeze herbs in freezer bags, or chop them into a bowl of water, stir, and freeze them into ice cubes.
The cubes can then be placed in freezer bags for single-serving portions you can add to soups or stews over the winter months.
Other herbs can come indoors to spend the winter on a sunny windowsill, overwinter in the garden, or produce seeds for next year’s crop and die off naturally (annuals).
There’s no point in growing an herb you don’t like using, but herbs are good for more than just cooking.
Lavender is a natural antibacterial, and it’s a muscle relaxer too.
Flower buds added to your bath can be more relaxing than soft music and candlelight.
Mint is great with lamb, but a soothing mint tea will also settle an upset stomach.
Learn a little about each herb you have in mind before you make your final choices.
That way you won’t miss out on a good candidate and have to wait until next year.
If you’re eyeing those adorable, tiny herb starts at the garden center (in their beguiling little pots), you don’t necessarily have to do a research marathon in order to get them installed successfully in your landscape.
Although there are some exceptions, herbs aren’t persnickety, and they’re pretty grateful for anything you can give them.
Those picturesque photos of herbs spilling out of old tires, discarded leather shoes and abandoned pottery shards aren’t far wrong.
Herbs can grow in spots where many other plants would take a look around, swoon and perish.
Five Helpful Tips for Growing Herbs in Your Backyard
These five tips will help you grow most of the common herb varieties you’re likely to fall in love with.
They’re basic but practical guidelines to get your herbs through the season without mishap.
Sun is important – Many herbs and a majority of garden plants need a reliable source of light for at least six hours a day.
Usually, that means direct outdoor sunlight, but if you want to grow herbs indoors, a windowsill herb garden is imminently doable if you can offer adequate window light or supplement with grow lights if you need to.
Perform this little test, either indoors or out: Wait till the sun is shining in the spot you have in mind, and then extend your arm. If you can’t clearly see your well-defined shadow (and all your fingers), the spot is probably too shady.
Give them good drainage –
Plants need a healthy root system to survive.
Kill the roots, and you kill the plant.
One of the easiest ways to sabotage your growing efforts is to create a situation where water dwells around a plant’s roots long enough to destroy them.
When that happens, the plant has no way to absorb minerals and moisture and starves to death.
Take a look at your soil to see if it’s the right consistency to absorb moisture and then release it to the water table in short order.
If you can’t get a trowel into your soil or it’s so porous it feels mealy, add quality top soil (or outdoor potting soil) and soil amendments.
If you can’t afford to rework a whole flowerbed to make it drain better, just dig a large hole (around three or four times larger than the plant’s pot), and amend that smaller area.
It’s a cheat, but we all know this isn’t a perfect world.
To learn more about your soil, Give them enough water – Herbs are sturdy little fighters that often come from environs where resources are thin on the ground, literally.
One thing they do need consistently, though, is water.
This can be a challenge, but if you plant herbs in a spot you view (or walk by) often, you’re more likely to remember they’re there and give them a revitalizing drink on a regular basis.
Plants don’t eat dirt to get nutrients.
They rely on water to dissolve the minerals they need and then extract the minerals from the moisture around their roots.
The irony here is that too much moisture kills the roots of many plants while too little makes it impossible for them to access nourishment.
Plants will often warn you when they aren’t getting enough water.
They’ll droop, turn yellow or develop brown leaf margins.
Watch for clues and you won’t go wrong.
You can also employ a cheat, like planting water-hungry herbs near downspouts where they’re more likely to get water when they need it — whether you’re being a good host or not.
Watch the heat – In some areas of the country, the heat can be brutal during high summer, and keeping herbs in very hot, arid conditions is challenging.
If a plant’s instructions suggest full sun but you know that you could cook an egg on your patio during hot summer afternoons, choose a spot that gets dappled light — or some welcome afternoon shade.
It’s also a good idea to let seedlings grow to eight inches or thereabouts before you begin harvesting your first crop.
Plants are processing plants for the leaves, flowers or seeds you want from them, but they’re also living things.
When you put their needs first, you insure future bounty
Herbs play well with other plants.
In fact, many of them (like rue, catnip, garlic and marigold) make good companion plants for pest control with vegetables and flowers.
(When you don’t want to use pesticides, companion planting can save you a lot of headaches.)
You may even have a lavender plant (at your garden gate, of course), or a rosemary bush as a privacy screen.
That’s all a little different from having a dedicated herb patch.
Herbs may not be the most beautiful plants around. In fact, some of them can get leggy (that’s a polite term for scraggly), and have unimpressive little flowers that look cheerful but hardly photo-worthy.
Still, there’s something magical about a dedicated herb garden.
It’s a powerful feeling, knowing you can run out to a central spot in your garden (say next to the back door) and harvest everything you need for a nice soup, stew or salad in less time than it takes to heat a cup of tea in the microwave
.It’s also a pretty nice feeling come harvest time when you realize all that foliage is enough raw material to make herb wreaths, potpourris, herb blends, teas, remedies — and still have enough left over for next year’s seed.
Herbal Gardens smell wonderful, can help repel bugs when used as companion plants (think catnip, garlic, lavender, basil and marigold) and you can cook with them.
Most are also naturally hardy. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Prepare the plot well.
Herbs aren’t very fussy about fertilizer, but they need a plot that drains well. If you have clay soil, either lighten it to a depth of at least eight inches or install .
Raised bed supports or whole raised like the popular square foot gardens, are big these days.
Patio and deck pots work well too.
You can keep five culinary herbs in one large pot and get enough of a harvest to keep you in herbs over much of the winter.
Most herbs come with lots of valuable information about how to grow them successfully.
Where you plant can be important. If an herb needs full sun, that’s not negotiable.
Full sun means six hours or more of bright light a day.
Less, and the plant will never reach its full potential.A plant in the wrong spot will also be stressed — or more vulnerable to disease and insect attack.
If the directions call for keeping a plant in partial shade, that doesn’t mean full sun with a plant in front of the shade plant.
Dappled light is good, but you need to make sure that a shade-loving herb plant is protected from bright light during the hottest part of the day.
Reading and following the directions will give you the best opportunity to keep all your herbs alive and healthy
.A Child’s First Herb Garden
If you’re trying to get children interested in gardening, give them their own child-sized gardening tools.
Tiny gardening tools are becoming more available these days and keep the frustration level down.
Small hands need small implements.
Children love mint varieties like peppermint and spearmint, as well as other plants in the mint family like lemon balm and catnip.
Other favorites are apple mint, chocolate mint and orange mint.
Mints are very hardy, so they can take quite a bit of abuse, too.
Fast-growing herbs like cilantro are great starter herbs as well.
They offer an instant payoff and can be used in a kid-designed summer recipe like tacos pretty easily.
Herbal medicines are still in use today.
In some respects, they have gained a new momentum in the medical field.
As many people seek alternative treatments and begin to check out traditional, and Eastern, medicine, herbs are becoming more popular.
As physicians seek new treatments for many common illnesses they are beginning to revisit the traditional remedies, using herbal medicines.
Pharmaceutical medications, with their potential for harmful side effects and addiction, are becoming less popular.
People are seeking alternatives to the modern medical interventions. Improving, and maintaining, health naturally is a very popular approach to overall wellness.
The herbs used today are generally cultivated for those purposes.
Very few herbs are harvested from the wild, with the exception of a few still found in the rainforests and higher elevations.
The cultivation of herbs for medicinal uses is a large field and more people are beginning to plant their own herb gardens.
Many monasteries continue to grow large herbal gardens within their walls.
Elderly people also metabolize medications differently, and generally are on more medications, and therefore must also exercise caution when trying new herbal treatments.
Underlying ailments that may affect the body’s ability to process or absorb medications are also an issue.
The history of herbal medicine has been both long and colorful.
From the early Chinese Empires to modern physicians’ offices, herbal medicines have continued to be a part of the medical field.
Herbal treatments have matured throughout history, along with the methods of delivering them.
In the beginning, the herbs were used in a hit or miss method and required major events to change their use.
Research and clinical trials have helped to shape the field of medicine, and the future for herbal medicine looks bright.
In classical Greek science and medicine, everything in the universe has its own inherent nature and temperament, or balance of the Four Basic Qualities: Hot, Cold, Wet and Dry.
This is the basis of how Greek Medicine analyzes the natures and properties of herbs.
To more precisely calibrate how Hot, Cold, Wet, or Dry an herb was, Galen introduced a system of four degrees for each of the Four Basic Qualities.
This allowed the physician and pharmacist to formulate and prescribe medicines more accurately.
The usual method of herbal treatment is to use medicines whose natures are contrary or complementary to the nature of the disorder to bring the body back into balance.
In conditions of plethora or excess, eliminative herbs with qualities contrary to those of the offending humor are used to reduce or disperse it.
In deficiency conditions, tonic herbs with qualities or essences that the body lacks or needs are used to restore health and wholeness.
In addition, Greek Medicine recognizes that various herbs have different affinities for certain organs, tissues or parts of the body.
Herbs whose actions focus on the heart are called cordials. Herbs that treat conditions of the head are called cephalic.
Liver tonics are called hepatics, whereas digestive tonics are called stomachics, and so on.
The basic formula or method of herbal treatment in Greek Medicine is this: Use herbs that are contrary or complementary to the nature of the disorder in kind, yet equal to the imbalance by degree; let them also have an affinity for, or pertaining to, the part being treated.
If these basic guidelines of treatment aren’t followed, there’s the risk that the physician will cure one disorder only to cause another more desperate than the first.
Greek herbal medicine, like other traditional systems of herbal healing, uses the principles of herbal tastes and energetics to further refine their therapeutic classification and usage of herbs.
All herbs that improve stomach and digestive function in some way are called stomachics.
Bitter stomachics are cooling and detoxifying, and are indicated for hot, inflammatory, hyperacidity and bilious stomach conditions.
Aromatic stomachics gently harmonize and stimulate gastric function in cases of sluggishness and congestion of the stomach.
Pungent stomachics are even hotter and more stimulating in their action, and strongly eliminate excess coldness and phlegm.
Out of all the various kinds of herbs that relieve pain, anodynes relax and disperse muscular aches and pains through their gentle warming and dispersing action.
Greek Medicine is a constitutionally based healing system that treats the person, not the disease.
In herbal prescribing, it’s also necessary to adjust the formula to the constitutional nature of the person being treated. For example, those with a stronger constitution will be better able to withstand the rigors of radical purgatives, whereas those of a more delicate constitution will require a more moderate and gradual cleansing.
In herbal prescribing, the weather, climate, and environmental conditions must also be taken into account.
For example, if the weather or season is cold, a formula to warm the body and disperse chills must be more heating in nature than if the chills are caught in relatively warm weather.
In Greek Medicine, several different innovative and efficient herbal preparations, designed to deliver maximum healing power to the site of the disorder, are used in treatment.
Herbal teas, pills or powders are mixed and matched with various standard preparations, like syrups or tinctures, which are kept on hand.
External or topical treatment methods, like compresses, liniments, salves, cataplasms or poultices, and fomentations are also used.
When people feel that they have been hexed, cursed, jinxed, or psychically attacked, an ordinary cause can usually be traced for the supposed hex.
No matter how certain these people are of their condition, they are simply victims of life and their own fears and worries.
A run of accidents, mishaps, illnesses, financial and emotional losses, even car trouble will provide the basis for imaginary hexes.
Although most hexes are imaginary, some are not.
Additionally, it is a well-attested fact that the mind has a powerful effect on the body.
If a person believes him- or herself hexed, its physical effects (if any) will usually manifest.
Thus many herbs are used for their traditional ability to remove evil spells and curses.
They work—whether a hex exists or not.
Sometimes we feel like we’re carrying around some excess negativity, bad luck or even possibly hexes. First thing to do is to assess why and how you feel that this negativity is weighing on you! For example… you could be cursing yourself! If you decide that you need to do something to spiritually remove it, this is a simple yet effective negativity/hex removal bath ritual that you can do:
Cleanse the space.
Before your bath, you’ll want to cleanse the area. If you can’t or don’t want to use incense or burning herbs that will smoke up your bathroom, there are alternative methods. You can cleanse the space with sound (ringing bells or singing bowls) or with specially made cleansing room sprays.
Optional step: set up your bathroom/around your tub with any candles, crystals, plants, statues. You can bring in any items that you want to help support your ritual. Start drawing your bath at your preferred temperature and add in:
Sea salt
Epsom salt
Bay leaves
Optional: Additional protection herbs, such as sage or rosemary
Before getting in, stir the water counter-clockwise and recite aloud or mentally repeat an incantation 3 times. Such as: “Healing waters, salt of sea, remove this negativity.”
When you get into the bath, visualize and/or physically feel the water drawing out the negative energy. Feel it seeping out of your body.
When you feel no more negativity can be drawn out, you are done. Thank the water for helping remove the negativity. Strain the leaves/herbs out (so they don’t get clog up your drain) and drain the water. Quickly rinse off the bath water in the shower or with fresh water from the faucet.
Right after your negativity/hex removal bath, you might feel a little drained of energy afterward. Do do some vibration-raising activities. Watch a show or listen to music that makes you feel happy. Sit down and sip a glass of water and maybe eat a light snack too.
The term hex comes from Early American Folk belief, and implies the use of magick to hurt or harm another person’s body, family, or property. The hex was usually cast by a hex-doctor or sorcerer, who used deep concentration and symbolic imaginary to affect his or her target. Although the hex is considered to be an evil curse or black magick, the process of hexing can be used in a positive manner to bring about good luck, heal the sick, and conjure up good fortune.
A good example of using the hex process to bring about favorable results still thrives in this country. The Pennsylvania Dutch have been using a form of hex-craft for centuries to protect their property, heal the sick, and maintain a measure of personal peace and harmony. To the modern city dweller, Pennsylvania Dutch hex-craft may seem a bit odd. But to early Germanic people, magick was tantamount to survival. The early pioneers of this country did not have it easy. If they did not maintain a strict vigilance over loved ones and make the best of what Mother Nature had to offer, they never would have endured.
The most noticeable aspects of the Pennsylvania Dutch magickal system are the elaborate symbols, or hex signs, that they use to decorate their barns, homes, and village stores. These colorful signs represent hundreds of years of tradition and come in many patterns and sizes. Similar to a Voodoo veves, hex signs are combinations of natural symbols that convey specific intentions. They are used to protect property, attract love, bring good fortune, and enlist the aid of the four elements for agricultural purposes.
A spell or bewitchment.
The term comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, who borrowed it from their native German word for “witch,” Hexe, which in turn is derived from Old High German hagazussa or hagzissa (“hag”).
In common usage, hex means an evil spell or curse, but among the Pennsylvania Dutch, for example, a hex can
be either good or bad.
It is cast by a professional witch whose services are sought out and paid for with a donation.
Witches also are consulted to break and protect against hexes
Now the nature of the hex is simple. It’s basically a dark cloud that follows someone causing havoc and misery. This is what we will learn to break today.
First you must be able to sense the hex.
Write down the person’s name whom you think may be hexed. If you start to feel a sudden depression Chances are that this person may be hexed.
What you need to do now is create a barrier around the person who has been hexed.You need to separate their pure energy from their soul, from the darkness that surrounds them.
Making a Barrier:
Lighting a candle for them
Lighting incense
Draw an eye and their name near the eye
Draw a star in a circle and their name in the star
Then comes the removal of the hex.
This is where you need your energy to come between the hex and the person. Inside of your mind it should look like you’re standing next to them and you have an army of fighters around you. You claim that person as your own. You demand that everything that is harmful to your pack leave at once or they’ll face your wrath. Immediately you should sense a change in energy.
You keep thinking of how to fight the hex and talking to it as if it were a human. Because the reality is that a hex isn’t just energy. A hex is itself either an animal or a human that’s been so in tune with someone else’s need that it listened to them. You need to take charge of that entity and demand that it leave at once.
But none of this is vocal in the least bit.
If your power is a little on the weaker side then you might need to say this aloud. But for the most part your thinking should be so demanding and so loud that the energy around you senses your dominance. It will bow to your will. Once you sense it has submitted then you can be kind to it. And say to it inside of you that even though it lives as you do, and breaths as you do, it is not welcome to attack your friend and envision it leaving.
And the hex is broken.
Round magical signs and symbols used by the Pennsylvania Dutch, primarily to protect against witchcraft but also to effect spells. Hex signs
are both amuletic and talismanic (see amulets; talismans). Traditionally, hex signs are painted on barns, stables and houses to protect against lightning, ensure fertility and protect animal and human occupants alike from becoming ferhexed, or bewitched. Hex signs also
are painted on cradles, on household goods such as kitchen tools and spoon racks and on wooden or metal disks that can be hung in windows.
Each hex sign has a different meaning. Some of the symbols and designs date back to the Bronze Age—such as the swastika or solar wheel, symbol of the Cult of the Sun—and to ancient Crete and Mycenae. The most common designs or symbols, all enclosed in a circle, are stars
with five, six or eight points; pentagrams, or Trudenfuss variations of the swastika; and hearts. The six-petaled flower/star, a fertility hex
sign, is painted on utensils and tools relating to livestock, especially horses, and on linens, weaver’s tools, mangling boards and other items. Pomegranates also are used for fertility; oak leaves for male virility; an eagle or rooster with a heart for strength and courage; hearts and tulips for love, faith and a happy marriage.
Hex signs are designed for healing, accumulating material goods and money, starting or stopping rain and innumerable other purposes. A charm or incantation is said as the hex sign is made. Little is known about hex signs, as it is a taboo for the Pennsylvania Dutch to talk about
them to outsiders.
The custom of hex signs comes from the Old World and was brought from Germany and Switzerland by the German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s and 1800s. In the Old Saxon religion, it was customary to paint protective symbols on barns and household items.
In Germany, tradition calls for hex signs to be placed on the frames of barns, but not on houses; in Switzerland, it is customary to place the signs on houses. The Pennsylvania Dutch borrowed both practices. Among the Pennsylvania Dutch, regional customs developed in style and placement. In the 19th century, hex signs proliferated throughout the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside then diminished along with interest in the folk magical arts.
Be sure you have all the tools you will need to complete the sign you have designed or found. If you are doing an original drawing, plan it out first on a blank piece of paper.
Be sure that the picture will represent the result you desire.
On a round disk of wood or metal, draw out the hex sign.
As you draw, ask a blessing. For example:
“This is the universe that surrounds me. It is blessed with the universal power of the almighty forces of creation.”
After the initial drawing is completed, paint the sign with colors selected for their symbolic harmony with the aims of the sign.
For example, a design featuring a rooster, representing watchfulness and spiritual vigilance, might be painted red and white for power and protection.
Once the hex sign has been painted, it should be blessed and consecrated to the purpose for which it was made.
This is done by holding your hands over the sign and charging it with personal energy and power.
If the hex sign is for protection, you will want to recite a simple chant or prayer that will convey your thoughts verbally as you focus on the sign.
For example: if the hex sign was made for protection, you might want to say:
Powers of the present and the past
There is none beside thee.
Be now a guard, remain steadfast
In perfect love and purity
As soon as the sign has been blessed, you will want to hang it outside of the house in a place for all to see.
If the sign is for protection, you might want to place it over or next to a bedroom window.
If the sign is for love, hang it over the kitchen door or window.
If the sign is for prosperity, fertility, and good fortune, hang it over the front entrance of your home.
Supplies needed are as follows:
1)One egg,
(Fresh eggs are the best)
2)Magic marker
3)shovel or digging tool
4)black candle
5)sage
6)matches or lighter
7)cinnamon incense
8)pepperment oil, or olive
9)angel trumpet pedals
(Beware, angel trumpets are poison) *Handle with care!
If you don’t have angel trumpets Mistletoe will work, hemlock works, point settas, or even poison Ivy..
*****All those are poison plants and should be handled with care*****
10)handful of nails, thumb tacks, needles, rusty iron that’s sharp..
(Basically anything with a point or sharp edge works)!
11)container of broken glass.
I say about a bowl full is good.
12)wand
13)bottle of urine or spoiled milk
14)candle holder
A) Take all these items to outside to whichever spot you are drawn too. I always target trees and creeks for this purpose. Seems to have powerful energy associated there.
B)Light your sage and go in a clockwise direction creating sacred space. Use your own chant.
C) Dig a hole about 8-10 inches deep.
D)Light the cinnamon incense for protection. Sick it in the ground beside your working area.
E)Carve a pentagram into the black candle with your thumbnail. Now hold your thumb over the pentagram,close your eyes and visualize a zap of pure white energy going into the candle. You should feel a small zap or tingle. This let’s you know the candle is blessed.
F)Anoint the candle with peperment oil or olive oil.
G)Now carve the persons name into the candle with a rusty nail or pin. Visualize the grime of gain green,and Screeching nails across a chalk board.
(Your candle is empowered)
H)Light your candle and place in a candle holder.
I) place all your nails, thumb tacks, rusty sharp iron or tin, pins..
(Make sure its at least 4-5 inches deep)
J)now take you egg and get your marker out. This actually represents the Host.
Write their name on the egg, along with any other symbols like the Eye of Horus.
Hold the egg in your left hand, (since that is your receiving hand)
And close your eyes. Visualize black,dark energy from your black candle going into the egg. See all that hurt, and pain that this person caused you. Know that this is going to jinx anything good in their life and they will always suffer from bad luck,and chronic pain in their future. See them actually going into the egg and getting trapped as they will be born again into a world of pain and hate.
K)now place the egg in your right hand and and chant the following :
*You caused me pain
(______________________)
Persons name!
And I think its funny, cause now I will do just the same.
You thought it was cool and you had lots of fun,but guess what, now your Hexed you stupid Fool.
As this egg rots over these nails, may your soul be forever black within your own Hell.
From the power of within and the nature spirits all around, you will now and forever be looked upon as clown.
As I will it,
(So Mote It Be)!
L)Now with your right hand smash the egg into the nails and sharp items breaking it into to pool of torture.
M)Now place the poison items you brought
(Angel trumpets,Hemplock,poison Ivy, etc)
In the hole on top.
Pour the spoiled milk, or urine on top.
N)Cover the hole with dirt, wave your wand over the hole and visualize sending all that black rotten energy to the Earth plane with a snap of your wrist..
*Let the candle burn all the way out. Do not leave a burning candle unattended.
*clean up all your supplies
*Every so often you can return to the spot and pour urine or spoiled milk over the spot.
*Leave the nature gods a offering of honey and honey sickles…
There are many uses for herbs in sachets, pot-pourri, pillows and other containers where the herbs may not be visible but release their delicious scents. No one could resist a lovely collection of lacy herb sachets for their cupboards or linens. Most of these ideas are very simple to make, yet are perfect presents for all generations. The sachets and pillows can be varied according to the likes and dislikes of the recipients. Many inexpensive fabrics can be used and then decorated, so none of these ideas need be expensive.
Herbal Pot-Pourri
Pot-pourri is a very traditional aromatic accessory for the home and many recipes have been handed down through the generations. There are several ways to make pot-pourri. The oldest method is for a moist pot-pourri where layers of rose petals, spices and salt are arranged in a large crock and left to rot down for six weeks or more. The strength of scent is excellent but the visual appearance is not good (the salt bleaches out all the color in the rose petals). That is why traditional pot-pourri jars are closed, with holes for the fragrance to waft through.
A prettier finished effect is gained by mixing flowers and herbs with essential oils and a fixative, such as orris root. This is also a fairly lengthy method but the finished effect can be lovely, particularly if some flowers are dried with silica gel and placed on top for decoration.
As most of the projects here are for sachets or other items where the herbs are hidden away behind some fabric, the look of the finished pot-pourri is not of paramount importance. The main point is that the scent should be strong and long-lasting. When making small sachets it helps to use fairly small ingredients of an even size, so there are no unsightly lumps and bulges in the sachets. The best answer for this is to use small sprigs of dried herbs and flowers with a much larger proportion of fixative.
Many recipes call for powdered orris root, but I use cut and sifted orris or blue flag root instead, as I find the powder spoils the outward appearance of pot-pourri. However, as the recipes here are mainly for use on sachets, either powdered or cut orris root will do.
Many of the recipes here can easily be altered to suit whatever ingredients you have available. Once you have made several batches of your own pot-pourri you will become more courageous and want to experiment. It is easy to make up your own recipes, just keep to the basic guidelines on quantities of ingredients.
Orris Root and Oil Mixture
As a general note, I use a measuring jug when measuring out the various dry ingredients, unless they are measured by the spoonful. The orris root is best mixed with the essential oil first and put into a small screw-top jar to mature for a couple of days. If you are intending to make several types of pot-pourri, I would suggest you build up a collection of jars with different orris root and essential oil mixtures which you can use as you wish.
Mix the oil and orris root in the proportions of 4 oz orris root to 1/2 fl oz essential oil. Once it has matured for a couple of days you can use it by the tablespoonful as indicated in the recipes. Make sure that you label the jars clearly, stating the particular essential oil you have used. The collection of orris root/oil jars can then sit in a neat row on your kitchen shelf or worktop, where you can shake them occasionally to encourage the mixing process. Avoid storing them in strong sunlight as it will reduce the strength of the essential oils.
Delicious Mint and Cinnamon Pot-Pourri
1/2 pint cinnamon pieces
1/2 pint mint leaves, crumbled
2 tbsp cinnamon/orris mixture
1 tbsp apple/orris mixture
1/2 tbsp mint/orris mixture
Use a large mixing bowl and mix together all the ingredients. As these recipes are mainly destined for use in sachets, you should break the cinnamon pieces up fairly small. Having mixed it well, turn the mixture into a large jar or polythene bag and seal. Put it away for two to four weeks, shaking it regularly to ensure even distribution of the oil mixtures. Check the smell after two weeks; if the aroma seems satisfactory you can use it, but if not, you should wait another couple of weeks. If you are still not happy with the smell, try adding other orris root/oil mixes until you like the balance of the fragrance.
Lemon Pot-Pourri
1/4 pint lemon verbena leaves
1/4 pint lemon balm leaves
1/4 pint lemon thyme leaves
1/2 pint lemon and orange peel, dried and chopped
1 tbsp bay leaves, crumbled
1/4 pint mint leaves
3 tbsp lemon/orris mixture
2 tbsp neroli (orange blossom)/orris mixture
1 tbsp mint/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Herbs and Spices Pot-Pourri
1/2 pint ginger root
1/4 pint cinnamon sticks
1/4 pint star anise
3-4 nutmegs, broken
1/4 pint angelica root
6-8 bay leaves
1/4 pint lavender flowers
1/4 pint rosemary
1/2 pint sage leaves
1 tbsp thyme
5 tbsp allspice/orris mixture
3 tbsp cinnamon/orris mixture
1 tbsp thyme/orris mixture
1 tbsp rosemary/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Herb Garden Harvest
1/4 pint lemon verbena leaves
1/2 pint rosemary leaves
1/2 pint lavender flowers
1/4 pint lemon balm
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp crumbled bay leaves
1/4 pint sage leaves
1/2 pint oregano
1/2 pint scented geranium leaves
5 tbsp geranium/orris mixture
4 tsp lavender/orris mixture
1 tbsp rose/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Spicy Lavender Pot-Pourri
1/2 pint lavender flowers
1/4 pint cornflowers
1/4 pint cloves
1/2 pint crushed cinnamon sticks
1/2 pint pink rose petals
2 tbsp lavender/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Moth Chaser Sachets
1/4 pint Santolina, crushed
1/4 pint Artemisia
1/4 pint mint leaves
1/4 pint rosemary leaves
5 cinnamon sticks, crushed
1/4 pint cloves
1/4 pint lemon peel, dried and chopped
1/4 pint lemon-scented geranium leaves
3 tbsp lavender/orris mixture
3 tbsp clove/orris mixture
2 tbsp lemon/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process. Use in sachets that can be hung in cupboards or laid in drawers to ward off fierce moths.
Christmas Sachet Mix
1/2 pint pine needles
1/2 pint conifer leaves
1/4 pint bay leaves, crushed
1/4 pint eucalyptus leaves, crushed
1/2 pint orange peel, dried and chopped
1/4 pint cinnamon sticks, chopped
1/4 pint allspice berries
5 tbsp pine/orris mixture
3 tbsp orange/orris mixture
2 tbsp allspice/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Hop Pillows
For centuries, hop pillows have been popular remedies for combating insomnia and promoting restful sleep. Originally, mattresses would have been filled with grasses and herbs, which is why the plant Galiumordorata is commonly known as ‘ladies bedstraw’ or ‘hedge bedstraw’. From there we progressed to stuffing pillows and mattresses with down and horsehair, but the smell of the grasses was replaced by an herbal pillow. During the Victorian era, herb pillows were much favored, particularly ones made from lavender and roses.
Although it is traditional to slip herb pillows into the main pillowcase and therefore keep them out of sight, they look best when decorated with plenty of lace and ribbons, especially if you are giving them as a present.
Many fabrics can be used for making pillows, ranging from plain calico that can be slipped into the main pillowcase to antique linens and lace that give a really luxurious effect and deserve to be left on show. The two most popular scents for inducing sleep are hops and lavender, but these fragrances do not blend well together so choose one or the other. Both of these recipes smell heavenly and will help you drift off into scented sleep.
Sweet Hop and Spice Mix
2 pints dried hops
2 tbsp allspice
2 tbsp orange peel, dried
2 tbsp lemon balm leaves
1 tbsp allspice/orris mixture
1 tbsp neroli (orange blossom)/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Victorian Flower Sleep Mix
3/4 pint dark red or pink scented rose petals
1/2 pint elderflowers
1/2 pint lavender flowers
1/4 pint rosemary leaves (they keep away evil spirits!)
5 tbsp rose/orris mixture
3 tbsp lavender/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.
Making a Hop Pillow
To make a hop pillow, you will need the following ingredients:
1/2 yard muslin
Sweet Hop and Spice Mix
1/2 yard plain or patterned cotton lace or ribbons
Cut out two pieces of muslin, each approximately 14×12 inches and machine or sew by hand around three sides. Turn right sides out and fill with the hop mix, then stitch up the fourth side firmly by hand. Now cut out two pieces of the cotton, slightly larger than the muslin and allowing extra for seams approximately 16×14 inches. Placing right sides together, machine sew around three sides, incorporating the lace if you wish at this stage. Turn right sides out, then turn under the seam allowance on the fourth side and place the hop pillow inside. Finish the last edge by hand with neat oversewing stitches. You can then decorate the pillow with lace or ribbons.
When the fragrance of the hop pillow begins to fade, all you have to do is remove the inner filling, replace the hop mix with a new batch and then sew up the pillow again. This is quicker and easier than having to replace loose contents in the cotton pillow.
Handkerchief Pillow
The easiest way of all to make a pretty square sleep pillow is to use pretty lace-edged handkerchiefs. Most of the work is done for you then, and a pretty pillow can be made in a very short time.
You will need:
4 lace-edged handkerchiefs
1/2 yard plain white cotton lawn or cotton
1/2 yard muslin
Join the four handkerchiefs together in a square by oversewing the edges or using a zigzag stitch on a sewing machine. Cut the cotton backing to the same size as the square of four handkerchiefs and then turn in the edges by the depth of the lace so the square fits the fabric area of the four handkerchiefs. Machine-stitch around three sides of the fabric, leaving the lace free and one side open. Make a square muslin pillow as described for the hop pillow and fill with any of the sachet mixes, the Victorian flowers mix might be the most suitable. Insert the muslin pad and close the pillow with small slip stitches. You can decorate the top of the cushion with some ribbon bows if you wish.
Small Perfumed Sachets
Smaller sachets have many uses; they can be tucked in drawers and cupboards, or used to scent linen cupboards or lingerie. There is nothing more glamorous than a drawer that exudes a lovely floral aroma whenever it is opened. Desks can benefit from sharper scents if work has to go on through the night, a sachet filled with basil to relieve tiredness, or cardamom to help concentration, might be appropriate.
To sleep in bedlinen scented with the sweet smell of lavender has long been a luxury. The easiest way to make little sachets to give as presents, or to use yourself, is to buy a collection of pretty lace-edged handkerchiefs. Place a couple of tablespoons of one of the mixtures in the center of each handkerchief, gather up the edges and tie with pretty ribbons to make an elegant and fragrant bundle.
If you wish to use a printed or plain fabric, you can cut out two pieces of fabric of the size you require, with a small allowance for seams. Sew around three sides of the main sachet and similarly on two slightly smaller pieces of muslin. Turn the muslin right sides out, fill with pot-pourri and sew up the fourth edge by hand. Turn the cotton sachet right sides out, insert the muslin sachet and sew up the fourth edge by hand. It is not essential to make the muslin liner but it does save time when renewing the sachet as you can throw away the old sachet and replace it with a new one. A liner also reduces the likelihood of the oils staining the outer cover.
Padded Coat Hangers with Fragrant Sachets
Another luxury with a practical purpose is a padded coat hanger that has a matching sachet hanging from its center. Padded hangers are much kinder to clothes than ordinary wire ones and are less likely to leave hanger marks on delicate fabrics. The sachet can be hung inside the article of clothing, making it fresh and fragrant the next time it is worn. You can either use a flowery pot-pourri mix or the moth chaser recipe, which will keep away moths and help to protect woolen clothing in particular.
You will need:
6 wooden coat hangers
1/2 yard wadding
1/2 yard printed cotton
2 yards 1/2-inch wide ribbon
matching cotton
extra ribbon for bows
Cut a strip of wadding 36×2 inches and wind it around a coat hanger, stitching it securely at each end. To cover the hook, fold 1 inch of ribbon over at the end and then bind the remaining ribbon tightly all the way down the hook. Stitch the end of the ribbon to the wadding at the base of the hook, then cut off the surplus ribbon.
Cut out a piece of the fabric about 4 3/4 inches wide and slightly longer than the hanger, then fold it in half lengthwise with the right sides together. Stitch across both short ends. Turn to the right side. Neaten the raw edges on the long sides by folding the seam allowance over and pressing or tacking it into position. Press a crease line along the bottom of the casing.
Place the wadding-wrapped hanger inside the fabric casing, with the open edges along the top of the hanger. Pin in position while working. Join the seam edges with running stitch, leaving the cotton loose at the end. Also sew running stitches along the bottom crease and again leave the cotton loose at the end. Pull both ends of the hanging threads to form gathers all along the hanger, then secure the threads tightly. The hanger can now be decorated with a large or small bow. Make a matching sachet in the same way as for the small perfumed sachets, then hang it from the hook with some ribbon or lace.
Gentleman’s Mix
Most pot-pourri and sachet mixes are rather too feminine for a man’s wardrobe. So here is a mix that would suit most men and might appeal to some ladies as well!
1/4 pint lemon verbena leaves
1 tbsp mint leaves
1 tbsp cloves
1 tbsp rosemary
1/4 pint raspberry leaves
1 tbsp lemon/orris mixture
1 tbsp mint/orris mixture
1 tbsp oregano/orris mixture
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and place in a large jar or polythene bag. Seal and put away in a dark place for two to four weeks, shaking occasionally to help the mixing process.