Vibrational Medicine: Flower + Gem Essences

Borage

Flower and gem essences are a form of vibrational healing that recognizes the energetic foundation of all healing work and that all living things are infused with energy. Flowers and gems appear again and again through the ages as potent healing medicines, often used in religious rites to alter the states of those present, to cleanse hearts, bodies, and minds of impurities, and to protect against illness and disease. There has been a recent renaissance of the use of flower and gem essences as a healing therapy, starting in the early 20^th century with the work of Dr. Edward Bach and continuing to grow and flourish as a practice around the world.

Flower and gem essences are inherently mysterious in the way they work – a perfectly enchanted form of healing that we love at the Apothecary. There are many theories on why and how flower and gem essences work, but essentially they affect our emotional, spiritual, and mental foundations. A flower or gem essence can be taken to deal with anxiety, address feelings of inadequacy, and in conjunction with traditional herbal remedies to heal physical symptoms such as acne. Vibrational medicine by and large affects our emotional states, but have definite impact on our physical conditions.

Milkweed

Creating flower and gem essences are simple. The basic idea is that the healing essence of the flower or gem is imprinted in the water it resides in through use of sunlight, moonlight or heat. Flower and gem essences are generally taken 3-4 times per day and at small dosages of usually only 1-5 drops. A dosage cycle usually lasts about a month, but changes are usually felt within the first few uses. We'll cover creating your own flower and gem essences in later posts.

Our flower and gem essence blends have been created in the same way that all of our remedies are created – through building a relationship with the plant and gem material, being as guided by their wisdom as well as guided in our training in traditional techniques of herbalism. The process of creating our flower and gem essence blends is a bit magical and we hope that you feel as enchanted as we do when using them.

Our current flower and gem essence blends are:

Grounded & Centered: When you feel unbalanced, light-headed, and have difficulty staying focused. Helps you feel grounded, steady, and centered. Includes the essences of Hematite, Feverfew, Lavender.

Uplifted: When you feel burdened and overwhelmed by responsibility. Helps relieves anxiety around the tasks at hand while helping you to find what brings you joy in life. Includes the essences of Lavender, Chamomile, Blue Violet, Amethyst.

Courageous: When fears fill your head and you don't feel strong enough to face them. Helps you to find courage while feeling protected and nurtured at your very core. Includes the essences of Wild Mustard, Borage, Rue, Milkweed, Feverfew.

Renewed: When recovering from an illness, emotional trauma or other times of strain on your system. Helps return vitality to your whole being, freeing you from previous disruptive patterns of behaviour. Chive, Wild Mustard, Chamomile.

Find all of our essences and more in our S H O P!

Teas to Bring About a State of Awesome

Sometimes we just need a tea to help us restore us to the state of awesome we deserve to be in.  What, pray tell, is the state of awesome?  Awesome is a state of inspiration, of being awe-full, and full of wonder all at once.  In many ways, being in a state of awesome is what so many of us need to be able to remember the world as an enchanted place.  The more folks reside in a state of awesome the closer we get to bringing the unicorns back. I have made two teas to help return to and maintain a state of awesome in your daily life.  A General Sense of Wellbeing is probably one of my most consumed teas amongst my friends, family, and my own home.  It is a very nutritious and soothing tea with a slightly sweet taste made to set hearts, minds, and bodies at ease.  Start your day with A General Sense of Wellbeing and you'll be feeling pretty shiny with that crown of awesome a top your head.

A General Sense of Wellbeing is made of:

CHAMOMILE Matricaria recutita: One of my favorite herbs for providing relief from stress and upset tummies.  Chamomile is also antispasmodic, which helps to soften twitching muscles, as well as antibacterial, antiviral, and antiparasitic.

OAT Avena sativa: Nutritious to the nervous system, Oats help relieve melancholy, states of exhaustion, and build up our strength and ability to focus.

NETTLE Urtica dioica: Nettles rejuvenate, nourish the whole body, and repairs our energetic wiring so we are able to function at our best.  Nettles are very alkalinizing which helps to balance our bodies pH balance.

The next tea to help you in your journey of awesome is the beauteous Bliss Blend.  While Bliss Blend can be enjoyed throughout the day, I find it to be wonderfully suited to the evening hours.  I made this tea originally when a friend of mine was feeling overwhelmed and anxious by trying events in her life and I continue to recommend it to folks who are more prone to anxious states, nervous chatter in the head, and insomnia.  Bliss Blend will help to relax you, refresh you, and help you sleep if that's your need.

Bliss Blend is full of bliss and the following herbs:

SKULLCAP Scutellaria lateriflora: For nervousness, fear, and a sense of being overwhelmed, Skullcap stimulates the brain to produce more endorphins in the system.  It also relaxes spasms and promotes healthly sleep patterns.

LAVENDER Lavandula officinalis: Settles the nerves and promotes calm while providing the mind with much needed clarity and focus.

SACRED BASIL Ocimum sanctum: Brings us to a vibrant state of health and well being through its adaptogenic properties.

You can find both of these teas in our S H O P.

Herbs for Sassiness

The first of a series of teas for pregnancy, labor, and postpartum, Sassy Mama, was made with the postpartum in mind, whether it has been a few weeks since the birth of your bundle of baby or a few years.  Or let's be honest, a decade plus.  With the entrance of a new member of the family into your life it is important to feed body and spirit because so much change has occurred and sometimes it can seem hard to keep up with it all.  That's why we keep it sassy!

Sassiness needs to be nurtured in order to be maintained and our Sassy Mama tea blend gives your body the respect it needs, saying “That's right!  You’re awesome!”  Full of nutritive herbs, Sassy Mama helps restore vitality and lift the spirit and keep you cool under the stresses of daily life with kids.  Most importantly it just might help give you the peace you need to really appreciate the family you're creating.  Or at least give you the clarity to call up some help from your community of friends and family  (who wants to spend some quality time at your Aunties' house?).

Sassy Mama is best steeped overnight to bring out the full flavor of the following herbs:

HAWTHORN BERRIES Crataegus monogyna: Hawthorne Berries are like a love letter to the heart.  Their adaptogenic, nervine, and nutritive rich properties are very strengthening, promoting circulation and calm.

CHAMOMILE Matricaria recutita: A very attentive and cheerful herb, Chamomile helps soothe the irritation in both body and mind.  Helpful when sleep is difficult because of stressed nerves and indigestion caused by stress and maybe less-than-ideal eating habits from grabbing what we can.

ALFALFA Medicago sativa: Nutritious, delicious, Alfalfa helps the body better assimilate nutrients – which means more energy for being sassy!

ROSE Rosa damascena: Enhances positive emotions and reminds us to love who we are, what we got, and how we show up in the world.

LAVENDER Lavandula officinalis: Cooling, calming, and refreshing, Lavender improves mental clarity and accuracy.

SACRED BASIL Ocimum sanctum: An especially holy herb, as the name implies, Sacred Basil helps grow our bodies into vibrant health, helping the body adapt to stress both internal and environmental.

Find Sassy Mama in our S H O P!

Let's Talk About Rainbows

Teas are very important in the Worts & Cunning Apothecary household.  Our tea kettle is  an abundantly used tool in our home and tea pots and tea kettles are found on shelves about our kitchen.  And tables.  And the floor.  And in the hands of clever tea drinkers.  Yet, there is another concoction that plays as important role in the health and happiness of our household: the herbal powder.

Herbal powders, while not as widely used in the current herbal market when compared to teas or tinctures, are an effective and easy way to use herbs daily.  I mix herbal powders into smoothies, juices, dressings, sauces, and have on more than one occasion just taken a spoonful directly (which sometimes resulted in a cough and an herbal powder cloud which leads to laughter and general states of silliness).  I love herbal powders when on the road because they can be easier to take than tea (there is not always a roadside kettle to employ) because they can require nothing further than a bit of water to mix them with.

I take an herbal powder daily and usually mix it with beautiful whole foods like spirulina, dried and powdered fruit like blueberries, and cacao.  Powders are absorbed quickly in the body and I like ingesting the whole herb, which herbal powders, unlike teas and tinctures, allow you to do.  They are also easily encapsulated for those folks who are more inclined to the ease of ingesting capsules.

So when, you might be asking yourself, are we going to talk rainbows?  Right now, my friends!   When creating this herbal powder I wanted to name it something that described its powers and so SUPER! RAINBOWS! LOVE! GO! Powder came to be.  It is an herbal powder like none other and its ability to make you smile starts with its title.  Made to be enjoyed on a daily basis in juices, smoothies, mixed into food or with a bit of water the herbs of this blend are restorative, adaptogenic, and tonifying to mind, body, and spirit.  It makes me feel full of rainbow energy goodness which might explain my love of wearing day-glo colors in wild patterns.  Results vary!

HE SHOU WU Polygonum multiflorum: Said to turn grey hair black and restore vitality to the body, He Shou Wu, stimulates liver, gall bladder, kidney, and intestinal function, increases libido, and lowers cholesteral. Current research is being done to explore He Shou Wu’s benefits for treating folks with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and impaired cerebral circulation.

SPIRULINA Arthrospira platensis: High in amino acids, Spirulina is a complete protein, as well as containing lots of iron and multiple vitamins and minerals (vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, E, and K).  Packed full of antioxidants, Spirulina is also anti-viral and immune-boosting.

ELEUTHERO Eleutherococcus senticosus: Addresses fatigue, stress, indigestion, and enlivens without overstimulating.  As a nervine, Eleuthero improves quality of sleep.  Strengthens the immune system, improves alertness, and supports moments of brilliance.

KELP Ascophyllum nodosum: Neutralizes free radicals, purifies the blood, detoxifies body tissues of heavy metals and radioactive agents, immunostimulating, and calming.  Reminds us to be mindful of all the water we carry in our beautiful bodies.

ASTRAGALUS Astragalus membranaceaus: Spleen tonic, enhances the immune system, relieves fatigue, strengthens the lungs, prevents colds, and has tumor-inhibiting properties.

NETTLE Urtica dioica: Nutrient rich, Nettles will give your skin, hair and nails a gorgeous glow.  A very nourishing nervine tonic.

GOTU KOLA* Centella asiatica: For the brain!  Enhances energy and concentration while reducing mental fatigue, irritability, and anxiety.

SACRED BASIL Ocimum sanctum: Known as Tulsi or Tulasi in her native India, Sacred Basil is a powerful adaptogenic herb, promoting health and long life.  Sacred Basil helps to balance the body’s energy systems, is immunomodulating, an antidepressant, antibacterial, and antiviral.

Find SUPER! RAINBOWS! LOVE! GO! Powder in our S H O P!

* Use with caution during pregnancy because of Gotu Kola which is inconsistently contraindicated for pregnancy.  As with every product you use in and on your body, I encourage you to do research and make an informed choice in regards to your health and wellbeing.

The Tides of the Moon - Herbs for Heavy Menstruation

A full moon sat round in our sky just a few evenings ago.  As the moon waxes and wanes, our human bodies ebb and flow, mirroring its cycle.  Those who menstruate can find themselves especially sensitive to the cycles of the moon.  Or not at all.  There is not a single, definitive menstrual experience - though it would seem that our mainstream media attempts to define one all the time ("Oh no!  Not your period!  How will you ever have a social life?!  It will embarrass you!").  Many times advertisements for menstrual products propose a "solution" to menstruation which usually involves being able to pay less attention to it.  I feel that just as when we pay better attention to our breath we are able to breathe better and when we are more mindful of our menstrual cycles we are able to bleed better.

Choosing how we treat ourselves during our menstrual cycles can be as simple as a shift of perspective.  Instead of a burden or "invasion" of our social calendars as so many advertisements would have us perceive menstruation, we can acknowledge the cycle that our body is going through, giving ourselves space and time when we need it.  Asking for space and time can be perceived in itself to be burdensome, but it is an important part of our health and wellness.

For those of us who have especially heavy periods, known as menorrhagia, menstruation can feel like a great weight on our bodies, our mental outlook, and relationships.  Fortunately, we have many green allies who can work with our bodies to reduce bleeding, cramping, and the emotional exhaustion that can come for some menstruating folk.  Moon River is a restorative blend that provides the body with nutrients both physical and emotional, renewing energy, regulating the menstrual cycle, and relieving symptoms such as cramps, headaches, and mood swings.

The following herbs are helpful for those with heavy cycles and can be found in Moon River.

RASPBERRY LEAF Rubus idaeus: Toning and strengthening for the uterus, Raspberry leaf is also helpful with its astringent qualities in treating menorrhagia as well as diarrhea that can occur during menstruation.  Raspberry leaf also reduces inflammation and is antispasmodic.

NETTLES Urtica dioica: Very nutrient rich, especially in iron, Nettles nourish the body.  Nettles are also useful for treating menorrhagia because it reduces excess bleeding and replacs nutrients loss, especially iron.  Nettles are drying and stimulating, which is important when treating the wet and exhausting symptoms of excessive bleeding and energy loss.  Nettles also support the liver, spleen, and gallbladder, allowing them to support the body during menstruation, such as the liver's role in breaking down excess estrogen.

OATS Avena sativa: Rich in calcium, iron, manganese, and zinc, Oats are very nourishing when the body feels depleted and exhausted.  Oats can also relieve tension headaches and melancholic states that might occur before and during menstruation.

SACRED BASIL Ocimum sanctumto: An excellent adaptogenic herb, Sacred Basil lifts the mood, balances the energetic body, and relieves cramps.

While drinking herbal teas are very useful and beneficial, when our menstrual cycles our burdensome, there is usually some underlying cause that needs to be addressed to restore balance.  Making sure to take time to be quiet and reflective during menstruation can often provide the insight needed to make changes to how we menstruate.  Menstruation is an opportunity for change and can be a very powerful time to re-focus and re-vision, but first we must take the time to do so.