Lunarantics

For the Full Moon Equinox we had a photo shoot and interview with Spirit and Destiny Magazine about the Elderberries and Moonlight harvesting. It was lovely being out picking as the Moon rose on the crazy Equinox, there was an electrical storm, owls and munjacks about....the issue will not be out for a while so we have to exercise patience… boring!

Yesterday we…

Sorted out the lists of ‘to do’ (the whole shed was full of tincturing, macerating n dried herbs all ready for processing n sorting) out today so have recruited some help. We are all getting stuck in. Sasha, Sam n, Oriole, Fi, Elektra n myself and little ziggy-may all spent the day in the Front room picking leaf n flowers off Yarrow, Mugwort, Calendula, Goldenrod, Hypericum. Tinctures of Poppy n Henbane, Lavender, Goldenrod, Wormwood, Oregano n Thyme & Vervain were strained and bottled, Oils of Hypericum and Lavender also strained and pots of rich red antiviral Hypericum Lip balm made. The Elderberry syrup we’d made got bottled n labelled – altogether a productive chaotic day.

Flying Ointment…
We then had a few folk round to make the witching ointment with. We all added ingredients to the jar with the intentions of growing positive community.

We did a shout-out of words we think are important for community,
Courage
Strength
Patience
Tolerance
Positivity
Reliability
Abundance
Excitement
Passion
Love
Fun
We thought of these as we prepared the oil and burnt our words on the fire later sending them up to the moon….

Aconite/ Wolfsbane was added first, I had dug the fresh root up minutes before washed the earth off it and chopped it up on the wooden board the creamy white root turned pink as I sliced it. We all tried a tiny piece of it and noted how it dried out our mouths instantly and how trippy everything suddenly became!

Next to go in the mix was the spiky Henbane picked from one that had self seeded in a pot by my front door, we discussed the Wolf and Hen energies that are inherent in these plants then the Datura from Austria, the foxglove from the garden grown from seeds collected on the Yorkshire moors, the poppy heads from a friends garden here we discussed the war on plants and all spared a moment to think about the heavily guarded poppy fields everywhere and asked for some freedom for this abused imprisoned beautiful, delicate, feminine plant. Fi has seen poky bitter opium juice drunk daily by the men of small mountain tribes in the mountains of southern India to go to work with.

Woody Nightshade berries were then tasted by all to understand and sense the flavour of the Atropine Alkaloids and a generous bunch thrown in the mix. I have found reference to being worn around the necks of people suffering from tinnitus. Fly Argaric fairytale toadstool, was next in our jar I have read an interesting article in The Sacred Hoop about some anthropologists off in Deepest Russia staying with peoples who use this Magical Mushroom regularly some off them everyday as a kind of pick me up. The Eyebright picked from the Alps went in to aid us to see clearly and focus when using this ointment.

We had a really lovely time around the fire into the early hours under the light of the moon chatting about the future and trying to release judgement from our daily lives!

WOOHOO Article published in The Green Parent Magazine

I am excited because I have had my article about Making Balm with Elektra published in this months 'The Green Parent' Magazine hehehehe So I shall start working on the next one now.........

The Dark Lady of The Lanes...Sam Black

I had a lovely stroll through the dorset lanes with lily ziggy-may and her nana last full moon to harvest the deep purple elderberries.

Steeped in magic, these amazing berries spark the imagination. If you fall asleep under an elder tree it'll bring dreams if death or you'll be taken by the fairy folk. Her character's name is Sam Black from the Latin for elder, Sambucus nigra. She is dark and wise, always there to answer any question.

Hypocrates called them a 'medicine chest'. We've used them in our Immune boost mix for many years now as their immune boosting properties are well recorded.

There has been research to suggest their use in HIV and the herpes simplex virus (which causes cold sores).

There is so much more besides, we'll be doing a piece on elder with Spirit and Destiny magazine next full moon so will keep you posted for further reading. We'll also be bottling up syrup for sale in the next few weeks.

Here's a basic recipe to make you're own...

Elderberry Syrup

Stuff you need:

Elderberries
Water to cover
Cinnamon sticks or any other spices
Sugar (a pound a pint of liquid)
Sterilised bottles


Directions:

1. Pick the elderberries off the stem with a fork and place in a pan. Add any cinnamon sticks, clove, ginger or any other warming spices you fancy.

2. Cover with water and warm through gently until just simmering. Cook for 20 minutes or so like this and mash up the berries.

3. Strain through a piece of muslin laid in a sieve over a big pyrex bowl, and rinse out the pan.

4. Measure the amount of liquid as you return it to the pan and add 1lb of sugar per pint of elderberry liquid.

5. Warm the mix through, again until gently simmering, stirring all the time to stop it sticking to the pan.

6. When it looks nice and syrupy, pour into sterilised bottles.

7. Enjoy a splash of syrup with a squeeze of fresh lemon in a cup with hot water.