Polish Your Cauldron + Keep Away the Cold

A lovely night for a a bit of flying.Woodcut dated 1579 in France.

The Witches be cacklin’ tonight!  As black as night with a purple glow, our Cauldron Polish Cold Care Elixir is your ally when it comes to charming away colds.  Take at the first sign of a cold or ‘flu and our Cauldron Polish’s anti-viral enchantments will prevent tricky colds and ‘flu from taking hold.  Cauldron Polish has a sweet taste with a bit of tang and just a bit of Ginger bite, making our Cold Care Elixir a delicious addition to your home wellness repertoire.

ELDER BERRY + FLOWER Sambucus nigra: The Elder Mother is a fiercely protective spirit surrounded in the mists of magic, so we employ her mighty powers of healing and protection in our cold care elixir.  Elder flowers are soothing and calming as well as being anti-inflammatory.  The berries of Elder are delicious, nutritious, immune-boosting and high in vitamin C.  Elder will not only strengthen the immune system but help to shorten recovery time from colds, stress and physical exertion.

GINGER Zingiber officinale: Ginger is especially potent in preventing colds and the ‘flu if taken at the onset of symptoms by increasing the bodies vital energy needing to fend off infection.  Warming and circulatory, Ginger will heat up your extremities and soothe aching muscles while dispelling mental fatigue.  Ginger also helps with stomach upsets, gas and cramping because it is such a darn generous rhizome.

RAW LOCAL TEXAS WILDFLOWER HONEY: Used for thousands of years as good medicine, raw Honey is a golden treasure of healing.  Full of vitamins, minerals and living enzymes, Honey is a perfect medium to carry the medicinal powers of our Cold Care Elixir.

RAW APPLE CIDER VINEGAR: Alkalinizing Vinegar chock full of vitamins and minerals rounds out our Cold Care Elixir in healing qualities and taste.  Raw Apple Cider Vinegar helps to bring the body back into balance while providing essential nutrients and with its anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial powers.

Our Cauldron Polish Cold Care Elixir is currently offered in a 2 ounce size and comes in a clear, square glass bottle.   To purchase our Cauldron Polish Cold Care Elixir visit our S H O P.

Autumnal Equinox: Herbs for Balance

The Autumnal Equinox is a mark of the end of summer and the return of the dark of the year.  From the equal balance of night and day, we now journey towards longer nights until the longest night of all on the Winter Solstice.  The Equinoxes are a time for us to nurture our ability to balance the complexity that makes us who we are - and that is a lot of work!  The Autumnal Equinox is an opportunity to slow down, take a deep breath, honor the work of the year so far and carry summer heat through to winter fires.  We have a few herbs in the Apothecary that we consider great friends during this season as they are particularly inclined to help us find balance during the early days of Autumn.

P.S. Check out our post on recipes for the Autumnal Equinox!

Hawthorn from wikipedia.org

HAWTHORN Crataegus monogyna: We've written about Hawthorn before and using it as part of our Autumn cold and 'flu preventative routine, but we wanted to highlight what makes Hawthorn, especially its berries, such a particularly powerful herbal ally for the Autumnal Equinox.  Hawthorn is an herb of boundaries and perforation, excelling in circulating the energy of the body through all its parts.  As we balance between night, day and the turning of summer to fall, Hawthorn helps us to adapt to change, by addressing and preventing stagnation.

Skullcap from wikipedia.org

SKULLCAP Scutellaria lateriflora: Skullcap and the next herb on our list, Horsetail, are both herbs of Saturn, the planet that works its force most strongly during the Autumnal Equinox.  It is an herb of rest and a nervine that addresses issues such as nervous headaches, anxiety, insomnia and muscle twitches.  Skullcap helps us welcome in the darkening of the year, soothing stress and the tense muscles that sometimes develop when folks pummle through their days and sleep little at night.

Horsetail from wikipedia.org

HORSETAIL Equisetum arvense: A potent source of silica, Horsetail is an ancient plant that helps the body to expel toxins and is a tonic for the kidneys.  While Horsetail is a plant best wildcrafted in the spring, it can be dried or tinctured and used later in the year and is especially strengthening as the seasons turn from the dry of summer to the damp of fall.  It has survived since the time of dinosaurs and can certainly help us move through the turning of the light of  the year to the dark.

Try using these plant allies as teas, tinctures, essences, in baths, hang them about your home and carry them with you to imbue your senses with balance, your spirit with the grace of changing.

P.S. Check out our post on recipes for the Autumnal Equinox!

Buzz! Buzz! New Tea Blend for Children and Busy Folks!

Buzz! Zoom! Zip!

There they go again! Our buzzy little bees are off on another adventure! Let’s help them land back down softly on the earth (or at least dock for some down-time) with our calming, soothing and altogether centering Buzzy Blend. We work with a lot of kids (whether as a nanny or herbalist) and appreciate the importance of children maintaining their equilibrium so they can explore the world in a mindful and joyful way. Buzzy Blend is full of delicious, nutritious and deeply calming herbs to balance buzz with bliss.

LEMON BALM Melissa officinalis: With a name referring to the bees and their love of plant (Melissa is “honey bee” in Greek), Lemon Balm is a suitable choice for the Buzzy ones our Buzzy Blend is meant for. Calming anxious and over-excited children is one of Lemon Balm’s skills. It is also useful in helping to prevent nightmares when taken before bed.

PASSIONFLOWER Passiflora incarnata: Promotes focus and helps kids to center when they are overstimulated. Very calming without being sedating.

CATNIP Nepeta cataria: Another calming herb, Catnip addresses feelings of restlessness. Also helps with upset tummies!

CHAMOMILE Matricaria recutita: For the cranky complainer who is prone to whining, Chamomile restores equilibrium (and hopefully peace!). Another herb that is soothing to the digestive system.

BEE POLLEN: A little golden powerhouse of nutrition, Bee Pollen is full of amino acids, trace minerals, essential fatty acids, enzymes and more. Naturally sweet, Bee Pollen helps to fill out the flavor of our tea blend.

Find Buzzy Blend and many more of our delightful teas in our S H O P!

Boundary-marker, boundary-breaker: Hawthorn

Hawthorn from botanical.com

Hawthorn Craetagus monogyna gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon word “haw” meaning hedge or enclosure and is used as such in parts of the world like the UK to mark the boundaries of fields.  Known simply at times as “thorn,” Hawthorn is one of the sacred trees of Celtic folklore that along with Oak and  Ash, help mortals to see the Good Folk.  Hawthorn is both a charm of fertility and chastity (quite a permeable boundary there) – place it in a bouquet for a fertile union and beneath the bed to make it less so. The Hawthorn hedge is a sacred plant of May, used to decorate May Poles, though is must be carefully harvested so as not to anger the Gods to whom it is so sacred.  Witches were sometimes called “hedgeriders” invoking their ability to ride the hedge from the fields of humankind to the fields of faery.

For times when someone feels misplaced and disconnected because their heart has squeezed shut, aching from the pain of disappointment, grief and change.  For those who have lost touch with the desire of the heart when life challenges us with unexpected outcomes. They fidget, are anxious, have trouble sleeping, and may even experience heart palpitations as they close off from the pain rather than engage in the process of transformation.  It's as if they’ve been thrown up in the air and can’t seem to find their way back down, left only to fall, feeling disoriented and so they close up to try and protect themselves from the impact.  Hawthorn might be the green ally to help them fall in love, not fear.

Hawthorn is used extensively in both Chinese and Western herbal traditions.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hawthorn is primarily used as a digestive tonic, whereas in the Western tradition of herbalism it is generally used as a heart tonic.  As a heart tonic, Hawthorn tonifies the heart through normalizing blood pressure, dilating blood vessels, improving the heart’s muscle contractions, promotes circulation, lowers blood pressure, and strengthens the endothelial lining of the heart, blood and lymphatic vessels.  Hawthorn also helps to prevent future heart complications, including atherosclerosis.

Hawthorn flowers from wikipedia.org

Herbalist David Winston uses Hawthorn with clients with ADHD for its centering abilities that address disturbed and unsettled energy.  Hawthorn restores calm and is also very nutritive, full of vitamins and minerals such as C, B1, B2, and calcium.  Topically the leaves and flowers can be used as a gargle for sore throats and the berries can be eaten raw or as a jelly.  In Germany, the leaves are even used as an alternative to black and green tea.

Since Hawthorn is a slow-acting adaptogenic herb, it is important to take it for at least three months for its medicinal qualities to truly take hold.  Hawthorn is not only a tonic for the physical manifestation of our heart, but our emotional and spiritual heartache, too.  Just as Hawthorn acted as the enchanted boundary between the worlds of humans and faeries, so will Hawthorn help those who are struggling with change, usually stemming from a source of deep grief, open their hearts to compassion and acceptance.  It not only strengthens a person’s connection with their own heart, but the heart and beat of the earth who many of us call Mother.

Add Hawthorn berries into your diet, either in tea, tincture or raw, as a good source of vitamin C.  I add Hawthorn berries, leaves, and flowers into iced tea blends for its naturally cooling qualities, especially when I'm feeling irritated in the hot heat.  I especially incorporate Hawthorn into my daily Fall practice as part of my cold preventative routine.

Flower + Gem Essence Remedy Kits!

Drift Uplifted into the sky,

Be ever more Courageous as you fly!

You'll be Grounded + Centered on landing, we trust -

And truly Renewed by your journey of flowers, gems, and starstuff!

While bad poetry is not included all four of our Flower + Gem Essence combinations certainly are! Our Flower + Gem Essence Remedy Kit comes in a lovely green pocket box along with a card describing each of the Essence combinations qualities and ingredients.

The Flower + Gem Essence Remedy kit includes one 1/2 ounce stock bottle preserved in organic vodka of:

Grounded + Centered: for when you feel unbalanced, light-headed, and have difficulty staying focused. Helps you feel grounded, steady, and centered.

Uplifted: for 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.

Courageous: for 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.

Renewed: for when you are recovering from an illness, emotional trauma or other times of strain on your system. Helps to return vitality to your whole being, freeing you from previous disruptive patterns of behavior.

In addition to taking Flower + Gem Essences as drops you can: ★ Add them to your drinking water, smoothies, and juices ★ Spray them throughout your work and living spaces ★ Rub them onto pulse and chakra points ★ Put them in your bath water

Read more about our Flower + Gem Essences here.

Our Flower + Gem Essence Remedy Kits can be purchased in our S H O P.