No related posts.

No related posts.

Brighid/Imbolg Incense

Roughly equal parts of:

White clover (flowers and leaves)

Red rose (petals)

Orange (dried peel)

Meadowsweet (flowers)

Spruce (cones, needles and some twig)

Rowan (berries and leaves)

Juniper (berries)

Yarrow (leaves and flowers)

Oak (leaves)

As well as:

Stuck it on my altar for the photo

1 thistle flower

A few Star Gazer Lily petals

Small amount of (ground) copal resin

All pieces were either ground to powder or chopped to roughly pea sized pieces or smaller.

We tested it after dinner and found that it was good. Earthy, subtly feminine, and invoking the feeling and scent of a hearth fire. So we put it in an attractive bottle and now it awaits Imbolg.

Related posts:

1. New Addition 2
2. Wordless Wednesday: Devotional
3. New Years Reading

You say that you feel the most connected with the divine and the land when you are working in your garden.
You’re happiest when you are doing things like repotting your geraniums.
But you are frustrated when standing in front of that altar, candles burning and all, while trying to pray because it has no real meaning to you, you just don’t feel it.
So
Why aren’t you praying when you are repotting your geraniums?
Why are there no geraniums on your altar?
Why isn’t your altar in the garden?

~ Juniper

Related posts:

1. The Red Velvet Altar Cloth
2. The Mandatory Altar Photos
3. A Few Things That Work (and other things)

Many years ago, people had no microscopes or laboratories to tell them what to use a certain plant for. They relied on shamanic practitioners and their own daring to discover the properties and uses of the plant life that grew around them.

Here is an exercise to help you see what it must have been like for early humans learning about our world.

Choose one culinary herb, your choice, fresh if possible but dried is fine. It will be best if you choose a herb you do not know much about, just head on over the grocery or fresh greens shop and choose a bundle of fresh (or dried) herbs that strikes your fancy.

You will want your notebook handy. Take a moment to clear your mind and relax. Gently touching the herb, feel free to say any prayer, blessing or charm in gratitude for this gift from the earth. Now take some of the herb in your hands and close your eyes.

 Breath slowly and deeply until you are relaxed. Try to turn as much of your focus and attention on the herb. With respect, ask the herb to share with you its nature, it’s energies, its purpose. Be still and calm and just let any feeling impressions and such drift across your consciousness for a while. Remember to keep your attention focused on  the herb. Write down any thoughts, feelings and impressions you have about the herb.

Put some of the herb in your hand and just look at it for a few minutes. Go ahead and write single words, anything that goes through your mind about the herb. Feel free to draw if your are an artist.

Spend sometime considering what the lifecycle of this plant must be, where it might like to grow, what sort of soil it would prefer?

Rub a few leaves against your cheek and through your fingertips. Write down any thoughts, feelings and impressions you have about the herb.

Now smell the herb a few times, taking slow deep breaths. Pinch some and rub it between your fingertips as you smell. How would you describe the smell? Any feelings associated with the smell, or when breathing in the herb’s scent?

Put some of the bruised herb on your tongue, and move it around your mouth. Focus on how it tastes. (You can rinse your mouth and spit it out if you want) How would you describe the taste? Any feelings associated with having the herb in your mouth?

Crush some of the herb and mix it with a small amount or warm water. Mix into a paste. Now rub that paste on the inside of an elbow. Leave there for as long as you like (at least a few minutes), and concentrate on that area with the herbs on it. Then wipe off. Feel your skin there, your energies there. Write down any thoughts, feelings and impressions you have.

Boil a small amount of water and then add your chosen culinary herb to the water, making a tea. You can use a tea ball or some such thing, or just let a small amount of the herb float in the cup. Once the tea is steeped, drink it. Going through the same observations, as before, how does it taste, would it be better with honey or sugar? Would you ever drink it again? Write anything down.

Thank the herb for sharing its lore with you as its last act. With the remnants, you may eat them, compost them, give the back to the land in some way, make incense etc…

Now go and research this herb! Compare what you felt in the exercise with what you discover as you research.

Can you find it growing or planted anywhere? From your backyard, to the woodland outside the city, to a planter in a garden store …

 
Need some ideas of what sort of info to look for? Below is a list of suggestions, you can go as in depth as you’d like. A good place to start is just by putting the chosen food and the info you want such as “Peach parts used” or “Rice Cultivation” into a search engine.

Info Outline

Common Name:
Botanical or Scientific Name:
Other Names:
Genus and Species:
Type (tree, flower, herb etc):
Leaf/Needle:
Form:
Flower:
Fruit:
Twig:
Bark:
Wood:
Climate and Habitat:
Soil Preference:
Places Commonly Found:
Places I have Found In Wild:
Parts Used:
Poisonous Parts:
Safety and Warnings:
Bouquet (aroma):
Flavour:
Magickal Gender:
Elements:
Celestial Bodies/Zodiac:
Special Date or Holidays:
Medicinal Uses:
Medicinal Actions:
Magickal/Ritual Properties:
Aromatherapy and Essential Oil:
Culinary Uses:
Cultivation:
Preparation:
Storage:
Mythology and Folklore:
Constituents:
Other Uses:
Other Notes:
Feel free to share folks ~ Juniper

Related posts:

1. The First Thing You Need
2. Gathering in the City
3. Why Isn’t Your Altar in the Garden?

Hints & Tips 

Also some common sense, and not so common sense, rules

Make sure you have all the tools and equipment you need before you head out.

Get to know as much as you can about your area, the weather, climate, the plant and animal life etc. It is very important you have intimate understanding of the land you gather from.

Take the time to learn about the area/land you will be gathering from, in all seasons. Also, get to know the plants at different phases of their lifecycle.

Start with only a few plants and learn them well before you begin to study and gather more.

Make sure you have the permission or the permits that might be needed for collecting at the site.

Keep a journal (and/or a map) and make sure to carefully note where you gathered each plant. Refer to this to ensure you do not gather too much from the same place. This also makes sure you can find again where you gathered a certain plant.

Taking pictures of each strand of plants before you harvest, and each time you revisit, can help you to keep track of how your gathering is affecting it.

Make sure to study any poisonous plants in your area, so you can recognize them easily.

Make sure to study any endangered plants in your area, so you can recognize them easily

NEVER gather an endangered plant.

If there be ten, leave seven. If there be five, leave three. If there be three, leave two. If there be less than three, leave them be.

Never take the best plants, leave those to seed the next generation.

Double and triple check every plant you identify. Many dangerous plants look a lot like harmless or medicinal ones.

If you can return the gift by spreading seeds (you can also replace crowns and plant roots) from nearby or from same-type seeds from your garden, please do.

Make sure the area you wish to gather from is not sprayed or chemically treated in any way.

Do not gather from fragile ecosystems, such as places that are protected or in danger of dying out.

Gather from places that are soon to be bulldozed and destroyed etc. You can re-seed nearby if possible, or let the strands live on in your garden, rituals and herbal remedies.

Take from the largest strand you can find, this will have less effect on the area.

If you find evidence of wildlife grazing on the strand, try to gather from elsewhere, or take much less. Those who rely on the strand for food get preference over us.

If you have noticed a decline of the plant in your area, go elsewhere.

Do your research on any plant you wish to gather, so that you collect at the right time and gather the right part of a plant. Make sure you know how to handle the plants and transport them properly.

Try not to disturb the native soil anymore than you have to.

Try not to disturb any sites that you know have endangered plants or wildlife there.

Be careful and respectful of the plant.

It is best to ask permission and give a gift or offering of some sort.

Explain your purpose for harvesting and give thanks.

Pay attention to what you are doing; be careful.

Clean up after yourself, do not leave trash and fill in any holes you make.

Do not be wasteful of your harvest.

Related posts:

1. Gathering in the City