New Project for Us Wild Witches

Ok, so we have had some time to think and re jiggle our ideas since the Government through the MHRA - Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency - got in touch with us last summer. We had a meeting in a windowless office with one of their representatives and someone from the local trading standards. It was very very frustrating to be told that what we are doing is illegal and we must stop selling our beautiful, handcrafted herbal remedies (unless of course we pay them £80,000 per product in licensing fees). It was also frustrating being told that our smoking mixture has been deemed TOXIC by their chief toxicologist, but  we are still totally legal prescribing our toxic herbs to our patients??????? Surely that means the Mugwort isn't that toxic then?

Basically we can prescribe anything to our patients under the Henry 8th laws but nothing to the general public. -Herbal Medicine throughout history has always been protected under Common Law. However, in 1542 the medical profession at that time wanted to prevent Herbalists from practising. Fortunately, Henry VIII, as an avid user of herbs, came to the rescue and implemented "The Herbalist's Charter" which underpinned the Herbalists right to practise and anyone with knowledge of herbs could continue to use them.

We have spent time thinking, plotting n planning and came up with all sorts of weird n wonderful ideas -A radio show being one of them. 

But we have decided to focus our energy on a new legal product. Our origin SuperHeroHerbs Green Powders were made up of various delightful herbage -

We are now in the process of tailoring these powders to fit in with current legal regulations yet still inline with our NATIVE ethics and also containing potent health giving properties.....

So watch this space for US WILD N WICKED WITCHES to launch something Wicked n Wild -

A TASTE O' DA GARDEN.........

JERSEY HERBIN...

Over the choppy seas to Jersey the land of glorious gardens.  Plants fall over every wall, almost tropical in their nature and abundance.

Neanderthal Men inhabited Jersey's caves about 100,000 years before Christ and the Iberians of about 2,000 B.C. left seven Dolmens or chamber tombs. Its had a right old time of occupation and changing hands and was French speaking until the turn of last century. 

Jersey’s been through the wars literally, it was the last stand point of German occupation in the 2^nd world war. 

With its miles of beaches, amazing rocks, luscious north coast and majestic castles poking out into the water its somewhere I was loving hanging out.

Wild carrot and fennel were abundant on the coastal spots, too early for the seed harvest, its definitely worth a visit in September.  Local orchids, yarrow in swathes, and one of the finest herb garden in Europe.

‘Wild carrot seed is one of the oldest forms of contraception, used in large doses it is reputed to make your womb slippery.  Mrs Grieves has a boit more to say about it here An infusion of the whole herb is considered an active and valuable remedy in the treatment of dropsy, chronic kidney diseases and affections of the bladder. The infusion, made from 1 OZ. of the herb in a pint of boiling water, is taken in wineglassful doses. Carrot tea, taken night and morning, and brewed in this manner from the whole front, is considered excellent for a gouty disposition. A strong decoction is very useful in gravel and stone, and is good against flatulence. A fluid extract is also prepared, the dose being from 1/2 to 1 drachm.

The seeds are carminative, stimulant and very useful in flatulence, windy colic, hiccough, dysentery, chronic coughs, etc. The dose of the seeds, bruised, is from one-third to one teaspoonful, repeated as necessary. They were at one time considered a valuable remedy for calculus complaints. They are excellent in obstructions of the viscera, in jaundice (for which they were formerly considered a specific), and in the beginnings of dropsies, and are also of service as an emmenagogue. They have a slight aromatic smell and a warm, pungent taste. They communicate an agreeable flavour to malt liquor, if infused in it while working in the vat, and render it a useful drink in scorbutic disorders.’

The gardens at Samares were created in the nineteen twenties by millionaire shipping magnate and philanthropist, Sir James Knottwere.  They were in full bloom when we got there; globe artichokes, lavenders, lots of mint varieties, lemon verbena, summer savory (really anisidy flavour).  Vervain, valerian, southernwood…

We use lavender in our digestive delight Liver Cleanse.  Its calming for the gut as well as the nerves, is antifungal and uplifting to the spirits.  We can’t sell our product direct online anymore but you can call us or email for a consultation if you think you’d benefit.

I couldn’t resist a yarrow harvest while I was there.  So abundant and fragrant.  There was even a few sprigs of the lesser spotted pink yarrow flowers.

Yarrow is our all time best childhood fever remedy.  It literally takes a fever down in minutes.  I’ve used it with my daughter since she was just a few weeks old and have never used a drop of calpol in her life.

We hung out with fab family, ziggy looked for crabs in the vast rockpools (the tide goes out for miles), I swam in the sea, benny kayaked, we all rock climbed...it was a well needed mid season escape for a week or so.

Refreshed and restored after a rainy week…ready to head off on tour to sunny Cornwall!  Surya yoga camp and Holi fair here we come...

Boring Politics

So after studying a 4 year degree towards natural healthcare and herbal medicine Fiona and I started our company Sensory Solutions -We went out and picked the plants astrologically and made beautiful remedies, then found nice bottles and good talented designers to help us package them up to look wonderful and to celebrate all that is nature.

We knew that the powers that be were working on safeguarding the public from dangers and that one day in the future we would be contacted and told it was now illegal for us to supply folks with our remedies unless we did a face to face consolation with them...... that day has come. Our remedies must say goodbye to public life and live in the shed. We honestly feel confused. I our hearts we really want to help people that need decent healthcare, we have the knowledge and the capabilities to effect peoples lives and to help them on their personal health journeys. There are some other people out there that seriously hate us, want us to disappear, go up in smoke. It is 2012 and there is a witch hunt raging, traditional independant midwives and herbalists are being driven out of mainstream culture and more and more drugs are being introduced.

So what do we do? Can it be challenged? Do we lay down, do we run away to lands where is it cheaper and easier to live off grid? Do we change careers and become coffee shop managers? All very confusing and a waste of time and energy.

Roses got my Heart Singing

It is the height of summer and in between the showers the balmy scent of the rose is calling me like never before.

I have had a connection with her from a young age as my grandmother loved her rose garden. My first concoctions were crushing smooth, pale peach, petals for rosewater potions. I remember feeling slightly cheated as the petals browned and lost their beauty over time.

Roses have a long and colorful history. They have been symbols of love, beauty, war, and politics.

This year I seem to be re connecting with her on a very deep level, hardly a plant I pass without needing to go have a chat, sniff and stroke. I have been amazed at the sheer diversity of roses growing in my little village alone. . In nature, the genus Rosa has some 150 species spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and then there are the entire hybrid created for our gardens, apparently there are over 30,000 varieties leading to the most complicated family tree of any known flower species. Garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years ago, in Asia. She truly is an ancient ancestor, according to fossil evidence aging her at 35 million years old.

Included in her vast family Rosacea are hawthorns, Apples, plums, raspberries and Ladies mantle to name a few, most having astringent cooling qualities as medicines.

The rose is a rose,

And was always a rose.

But now the theory goes

That the apple's a rose,

And the pear is, and so's

The plum, I suppose.

The dear only knows

What will next prove a rose.

You, of course, are a rose--

But were always a rose. –

by Robert Frost 1874-1963

There has been one rambling rose with pinky peach petals that has been attracting me; she sits on the corner of a valley on our walk to and from school. So enticing in her magic, we have been late a few times. She has been teaching us the joy of being soft, delicate and approachable with clearly marketed boundaries, over step them and you’ll get a sharp reprimand!

Rosa Heartspetal we call her and in spirit she is the elderly midwife, who has seen and birthed so much with generosity and kindness, never taking any nonsense, full of gifts of nurture and infinate knowledge.  

Her delicate petals perfectly heart shaped in our native Dog Rose (Rosa canina) providing real heart support, cooling anxieties and steadying the nerves. We make a tincture out of the petals, roses are under the domain of Venus so a Friday (ruled by Venus) around the full moon, so that all the energies of the plant are up in the ariel parts, we harvest the petals on a dry bright day, filling a jar to the brim with the petals, asking or setting intentions for what the medicine can gift us then covering with good quality vodka, we then leave it in a cool place for a lunar cycle to brew. Strain out the petals and you are left with a Powerful brilliant Rose Petal tincture.

We have long used her sexy, deep red, fruits, the rosehips to make syrups pack with valuable nourishment in the form of vitamins  & minerals, tasting delicious. The content of ascorbic acid/Vitamin C in hips is ten times more than in blackcurrant, 50 times more than in lemon and 100 times more than in apples.

There have been plenty of studies documenting how the hips have given numerous folks relief from Arthritis. And we use Tinctures and powders for this and also heart conditions very effectively.

One of our favourite remedies are our Drops of Love made from – rose tincture, rosehip syrup and peppermint tincture mixed together…

These beautifully cooling and centring drops gently nourish and support the nervous and digestive systems. 

Peppermint helps to clear a fuzzy head and calm digestion thus aiding the free-flow of all mental processes. The word "mint" derives from the Latin for thought. 

Rose has an amazing history as symbol of mystical or divine love. It is used here for its uplifting, calming properties. The binding nature of the tannins found in rose gives the potential for containment of nervous energy and erratic patterns. 

The delicious, nourishing rosehip syrup is made from the wild dog rose. Its vastly nutritious make-up provides a wonderfully nurturing support system for the whole body, mind and spirit.

The Final Weekend - for now!

Our Forth and Final weekend of the First year of our Apprenticeship was focused on the Element Fire and the qualities of Flowers – and how beautiful were those delicate pink and pale apple blossoms that we tinctured?  They looked so incredibly prefect. We made Apple Blossom Brandy, infused with each individuals intentions which was what ever they personally intuited from our abundant, giving and open Apple friend. It was humbling to think of how supported we have all been through our lives by this Fruiting Tree - How many Apples have you eaten in your life??

We started the weekend with a hilarious trip out to the prestigious Chelsea Physic gardens dressed as Herbs! – We had Pictish Blue Woad, Bandaged Comfrey, Hatted princely Chamomile, Porn Star Nettle, Refined Linnen clad Flax, Seedy Poppy, Unforgettable Forget-me-not, Frothy Meadowsweet and Nutty Fly Argaric toadstools to name a few. We were shown around by Anne, who explained a little of the history of this brilliant place. London’s oldest botanic garden, Chelsea Physic Garden was founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries for the purpose of training apprentices in identifying plants. It subsequently became one of the most important centres of botany and plant exchange in the world. It now houses an impressive collection of medicinal plants, many which are the beginning of Pharmaceutical drugs.

Back at Base, We spent a morning dissecting, drawing and marveling over the diversity in the flowers of our native plants. Tiny, perfectly designed fragrant beauties…white dead nettle, comfrey, daisy…

We then honed in on immunity and the lymphatic system and took a wander to see what was out n about that could be used in the treatment of coughs. We made honey Daisy syrup from those fairy princess folk, breath easy tea from herbs collected in the past few months and Ache Ease balm from a combination of everyone’s horseradish and comfrey oils.  Bags were a jangling as people left with additions to their medicine cabinates.

Our red-hot chilli Saturday night culminated in the Hokie Cokie around the fire and a few verses of Lily the Pink –our anthem.


We shared in all the fab work that's been produced in the amazing sketch, scrap, journal, art books.  It was astounding the love and care that has gone into these beautiful creations...ready for you all to carry on your herbal work.

We want to thank all of you partakers for making this past year’s Apprenticeship possible –it has been an amazing learning curve for us and a truly unforgettable experience. 

Sensory Herbcraft Apprenticeship...3rd wichin' weekend

The 3^rd weekend of our sensory Herbcraft apprenticeship was based around the element of water –we focused on the urinary system and the detoxification herbal tea consisting of freshly plantain, nettle, yarrow, cleavers and dandelion kept us all flowing freely!

Everyone had detoxed themselves for the week prior to the course so we chatted a while about how incredibly difficult unstructured or planned Detoxing can be also about cravings and the lack of decent food in the shops.

We started the weekend with a hot horseradish recap and after eating a few crackers with horseradish sauce and taking a few squirts trying out the differing tinctures of horseradish Dan’s cough disappeared. We had diminished numbers, as Hattie and Janice were sadly ill in bed –sending loads of love from everyone in the group.

We used the element of water to cleanse ourselves on saturday morning...leaves and water free flow careful with emotions while we go. 

Saturday was potion tastic, it saw the creation of nettle iron tonics and spring green vinegars, pick pick, chop chop, glug glug. Amazing drawings of leaves were produced, leaves from our detox tea, so green and vibrant and all so different in structure and taste...

Saturday night, music and sharing...where are we at, where do we want to go?  How far inside us have the herbs reached?  Open, honest, funny, emotional chatting.

Sunday we spent time thinking about the digestive system, dandelion root, rosemary and milk thistle.  Carminatives of fennel, peppermint and chamomile.

We also homed in on our pragmatic mothering comfrey...flexible to a point with her clear boundaries, an abundance of children but likes to stay put lest she should wither in a new environment...and she wares wax jackets...but they're from Millets!

A watery, flowing, loving weekend was had.  It's so clear how far everyone has come, and yes it felt easier and we had slowed it down, but the apprentices have absorbed so much.  Their are complex concepts that are now like second nature to them...well done you fantastic folk.

Bring on Chelsea Physic Gardens and our plant costumes!!!

Eucalyptus Honey

On a hunt for Nettle tips at Kingston Maurward in Dorchester we came across some really majestic Eucalypti trees - and noticed these amazing little buds shaped like knobbly stars -if you remember the game Jacks, they were a bit like those. We tasted one and the essential  oil content was very noticeable as perfumed juices hit our senses-then came a strong refrigerant effect and as we breathed deeply felt our airways really open. Very pleasant and lovely.The eucalyptus plant contains several chemicals, including eucalyptrin, hyperoside, quercetin, quecitrin, tannins, and associated acids. The primary constituent of the volatile oil is eucalyptol (1,8-cineole).

We pick a few and some leaves and brought them home for chopping and adding to some lovely local honey.

I goggled the buds and found that the trees are -Eucalyptus gracilis -


It is said that the Eucalyptus tree is one of the most useful trees in the world, belonging to the Myrtacea family –same as the Tea Tree. A tall water loving tree is also one of the fastest growing trees in the world  


Eucalyptus trees have always been part of my Materia medica as I often burn the essential oil when anyone has any respiratory infection as it is antibacterial, decongestant and stimulate the immune system. I have also made teas from brewing up the fresh leaves but this honey we'd made is amazing -

It was Baron Ferdinand von Müller, the German botanist and explorer, who made the qualities of  Eucalyptus known all over the world. He was the first to suggest that the perfume of the leaves resembling that of Cajaput oil, might be of use as a disinfectant in fever districts.. The rapidly growing Eucalyptus trees are now largely cultivated in many temperate regions with the view of preventing malarial fevers. In Sicily, also, it is being extensively planted to combat malaria, on account of its property of absorbing large quantities of water from the soil.

Next on the agenda is trying some pine needle honey out.... I think if anyone has any pine or eucalyptus trees near- start by going and tasting the leaves/buds/flower do this really slowly with attention to your reactions -if you feel benefits or drawn to the plant - simply take home chop up and add to honey.

Imbolc Germination Workshop

Three weeks ago we held an Imbolc Germination of Seed workshop both in Herts and Somerset. We based the workshop on the Energetics of Germination of Seed, having an in depth looking at differing herbs in their new bud stages. We got ourselves some seed trays and set about planting many differing herbs and plants -we raided the kitchen and found caraway, fennel, and poppy seeds on the selves, some aduki beans and milk thistles –

Fi also germinated 2 trays of Wheat-grass to juice. We wanted the essence of the message to be creating intentions from a clear and cleansed space, and really promote the message of detoxification for clarity of thought and actions.

We opened the workshops with thought of future projects -all lit candles to welcome the light back into our lives and with the light more fire energy to help drive us forward to achieve our goals. The groups made combined intentions for the coming spring -intentions to grow and nurture projects. As the Earth around us grows and nurtures all new life at this time. We juiced greens one by one pushing the vegetation into our juicer speaking aloud our intentions and then raised a glass of delicious nutrition vibrant juice to toast the energy.

The weather turned cold literally after the first workshop, it started to snow! The insulating blanket of pure sparkling white was so magical. The world turned into a fairytale adventure.  Elektra delighted in being able to eat it, create huge snowmen and sledge. I was slightly worried about all the new growth on the plants and how they would cope with the freeze. But they seem to be doing fine....

Now 3 weeks on, the front door is ajar letting sunlight flow into the home - planting on re-potting and clearing dead out in the garden today -Spring has Sprung.

Plants of Warmer Climes

I have just arrived home to Blighty on this beautiful crisp clear frosty morning of Friday the 13th, from the volcanic island of Fuertaventura. 

Part of the Canary Islands,  located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara . Fuertaventura is the second biggest of the Canaries with a relatively diverse landscape, although also the least densely populated.

The first settlers are believed to have arrived here from North Africa - the word Mahorero is still used today to describe the people of Fuertaventura and comes from the ancient word 'mahos' meaning a type of goatskin shoe worn by the original inhabitants.

Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the Canary Islands dating back 20 million years to a volcanic eruption from the Canary Hotspot. The majority of the island was created about 5 million years ago and since then has been eroded by wind and weather.

The climate on Fuerteventura is pleasant throughout the year. The island is also often referred to as the island of eternal spring. The sea adjusts the temperature making the hot Sahara winds blow away from the island. The island's name in English translates as 'strong fortune' or 'strong wind'

 I have had an amazing 3 weeks exploring this interesting place and discovering new plants in barren, water absent habitats. There has been no rain at all this year in the past the rainy season is from Nov- Feb but the last 7 years the rainfall has been getting less and less.  Now the old reservoirs are the greenest places on the island with mini forests growing!

There are many rare plants on the island that are on a endangered list –most impossible to find outside of the canary islands because of the incredible habitat.

One of the main exporters of Aloe Vera –the island host perfect conditions for this valueable plant medicine –

The name Aloe Vera or True Aloe probably stems from the Arabic word Alloeh meaning "Shining bitter substance". We still refer to "bitter aloes" describing the laxative drug still listed in thePharmacopoeias of today. This drug was made from the sap of the plant found under the hard green rind. It contains mainly aloin, chemically an anthraquinone, which has been known since ancient times to possess very powerful purgative action if used neat.

Aloe Vera has been used by mankind for several thousand years and over the centuries there have been many references to Aloe Vera in many cultures: from the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, as well as in the literature of the Indian and Chinese peoples. Several famous physicians such as Pliny the Elder, Dioscorides and Galen, the father of modern medicine, who first described how the circulation worked, all used Aloe Vera as part of their therapeutic armoury.

The true Aloe has been endowed with such marvellous properties that over the years around the world it has been given many wonderful names such as Burn Plant, Medicine Plant, Wand of Heaven and Plant of Life.
The first reference to Aloe Vera in English was a translation by John Goodyew in A.D. 1655 of Dioscorides' Medical treatise De materia Medica which he wrote in AD 70-90.

Traders first brought Aloe Vera to London in 1693 and by 1843 considerable amounts were being imported to be made up into medicines. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries it remained one of the main popular prescribed and over-the-counter medicines.

Aloe has a huge range of different actions perhaps most famously for skin inflammation and burns, ulcers, digestive disturbalnces …the list goes on and on –there is also research into anti tumour activity –

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=aloe+vera+tumors

and blood sugar regulation so helpful in diabetes

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=aloe+vera+diabetes&hl=en&lr=

I loved the farm we visited and have been taking the fresh aloe juice for the past 2 weeks and using the gel on my face and body –feeling clean inside out!

Another fab sighting was the Deaths-head which feeds on members of the Solanaceae, our favourite - Datura innoxia and Nicotiana glauca which are common weeds all over the inhabited parts of the island.

I love the Islands and am looking forward to one day returning to visit Gomera……..

Sensory Herbcraft- Rootz weekend

We Wild Witches wanna say a massive Thank you to all of our lovely apprentices - What a Full Earthy Weekend!

They shared, shed, dug, buried, tasted, discussed, flew, drew, wrote, designed, consulted, reviewed and created…full-packed witchi work.  From opening the Nu Moon Circle with shedding ol' unproductive bits n bobs through diggin deep whilst protecting our muscular skeletal saturnal bodies, thinking about what stresses our daily lives to Nigella n Delia in the Kitchen making Calendula Balms. 

Seeing the pure connection that’s coming through between the apprentices and their herbs is so brilliant, what a fantastic kru. Seeing the confidence to start talking to people candidly about their health and suggesting small ways in which herbs can enhance the lives of their nearest and dearest…bloody brilliant.   The main aim of this course when we laid it out was to connect folk to the plants in a grounded sensory way and through developing intuitive work and above all to instill confidence in people to use herbs.  This seems to be coming through…woop woop.

The raucous cackling and group dynamic, even through the intensity of the work and length of the days was so refreshing.

One of the Highlights for us was the individual Presentations on Trees…

Hatty introduced us to her mum, Hazel, the sustainer…the first arrival after the ice age and responsible for the survival of man in these regions!!!

Ingrid to her rosehip, sexy temptress of pain and pleasure with her puppy filled rosy bosom, the dagger in her garter.  Pure womanly medicine.

Yvette to her weeping Urtha Willow, used to bind sacred handles and weave the stories of the world with her bracnches.

Dan introduced us to his neighbour Birch, a delicately pressed leafy twig, a memory of the changing seasons, yellows and greens.

Trini took us on a journey through time next to her mountain Rowan, the feather blossom and compact orchard, feasted on by the local giant.

Sue brought us through the path of her ancestors and memories held in each conker from the horse chestnut tree.  Milky potion, driving horses...earth connection.

Janice moved us to tears with her friend the Ash living in her back garden. Felled after neighborly abuse in the name of safety but to rise again to live happily ever after…phew.  Straight Ash twigs, foundation for our knot magic.  Thank you to Janice for the use of her wonderfully moving and funny plant dream of lavender. 

Margaret, also saying hello to Fraxinus excelsior told us of this fantasic Tree of Life and the Viking men of Ash.

Ame accidently found her naughty whisperer, the Poplar, with its thick skin and zest for life.  A tree with lessons for us all.

Joyce and her ancient Holly tree, feeling everlasting, when found in a hedge you know that hedge has been nourishing with its medicines for lang lang time….

Freya found Captain Walter Jupes, the walnut trees residing where she lives.  We heard of his swashbuckling adventures on high seas while we sampled his many fruits, wiled away from the squirrels.

Daisy found her sisters, the cradling hands of Lime blossom in her local graveyard.  Light emitting, honey nourishment, beauties.  And what was the name that came to you after your fabulous flighty dream?

Dawn found her yew and her intuition in the back garden just through the gate.  Her protective friend for birth and love, another tear shed in the class by us weeping witches…In birth and death our great protector.

And Michelle with her Elder world of magic and dark witch mayhem.  Fabulous drawings, photos, elder-bling, a whistle and sacred beads for us all to ware.

You wild, wicked, creative, wonderful witchi wonders…

Roots down, homework to go…big up witch wanderers everywhere, lets get making costumes!

GREEN PARENT ARTICLE

 I have been making ‘skin healing medicine’ with my three-year-old daughter Elektra.  It’s a herbal ointment we use for her dry skin that is a mix of the delightful sunny Calendula officinales also known as marigold, the intriguing Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort), and the fragrant lady Lavendula officinales (lavender) with her famously calming blooms.

Harvesting the flowers from the garden over the summer months is a total joy.  Elektra is extremely observant of every plant and cuts each flower head so carefully (with her Hello Kitty scissors) all the while singing little ditties to the world.  Hypericum’s yellow flowers stain your fingers deep, dark, red as they are picked, we try to harvest as close to the full moon as possible on sunny dry days.

Once we have our floral crop they are individually placed upon newspaper in the airing cupboard to dry out for a couple of days. We do this because if we were to infuse them in oil straight away they can be more prone to moulding. Once dry we fill three glass jars with the flowers and cover them with organic Almond oil (that a friend sends from her yield in Southern Spain).  The herbs are then left for one lunar cycle.  We leave the Hypericum oil in the full sun of our south facing front garden so all visitors are met with the alchemical process, it is truely amazing to watch the yellow flowers colour the pale almond oil a deep blood red within days.

The Latin name Hypericum is derived from a Greek word meaning "over an apparition" and the plant was believed to ward off evil spirits.  This highlights its modern use as an anti-depressant since depression is often described as ‘being taken over’, ’loss of control’ or ‘feeling low’.  Perforatum signifies the perforations or little dots on the green leaves that you can see if you hold them up to the sun.

The name Calendula stems from the Latin kalendae, meaning first day of the month, presumably because pot marigolds are in bloom at the start of most months of the year.  Early Christians named the flower "Mary's Gold" marigold and offered the blossoms in place of money at the foot of her statues.

Applied externally to the skin Calendula is primarily a wound-healer, but it also has anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects.  The yellow and orange flowers of our Calendula plants dye the oil a brilliant yellow. This one is also left for one lunar cycle.

The name lavender derives from the Latin lavare, meaning, “to wash”.  The Romans who brought this lovely herb to Britain used it to scent their baths.  As well as smelling fabulous it has wound healing, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.  We bury the lavender and almond oil infusion at the bottom of our garden in the vegetable plot – we found this technique for infusing oils in an old herbal and have had fantastic results.  The cooling earth energies are exactly what we wanted buried deeply amongst the roots of our Fig tree this infused oil took on a dark green tinge and a still quality – prefect to counteract itchy irritated skin problems – we left this on in the ground for 3 lunar cycles.

Once all the oils are ready we strain the herbs out and store the oils until we are ready to create our magic ointment

Equal amounts of each oil are poured into a Bain-Marie and then melted with beeswax and organic fairtrade Coco/Shea butter to form a creamy ointment.

The beeswax is from our local beekeeper, Michael, and it arrived as a big round cake of deliciously honey waxy smelling beauty – He cleans out his spent hives and filters the wax with rainwater.

 It was quite tricky chipping bits off this cake of wax to weight for the balm, as it is a very sticky consistency, so we used a little knife to literally chip away little flakes of wax. It is so much nicer than using mass prepared snow white pellets of wax than one can buy from wholesalers and some chemists.

Beeswax is the natural wax made by honeybees in the hive and its Latin names are Cera alba and Cera flava. A wide variety of cosmetics use beeswax as an emulsifier, emollient, and moisturizer.  After processing, beeswax remains a biologically active product retaining anti-bacterial properties. It also contains vitamin A, which is essential for human cell development.  Throughout time, people have used it as an antiseptic and for healing wounds.

Beeswax is added to the herbal infused oils to "set" them giving the ointment its consistency.

The Coco or Shea butter (both from Africa) give the ointment a soft creamy consistency.  Shea butter contains more vitamins and is said to have superior healing capabilities than coco butter.  In the past Europeans would have used lard or egg yolk.

Recipe

50ml Hypericum

50ml Calendula

50ml Lavender

25ml Coco/Shea butter

15ml beeswax

It is a good idea to do a spoon test when all the ingredients are melted together to get the consistency perfect.  Drop a little of the mix onto a plate and leave for five mins, then mash it up with your fingers.  If it’s too hard add more oils, too soft add more beeswax.

As we dispense the ointment into jars we add lavender essential oil (about 3-5 drops into each 60ml jar).  A brilliant book that I have used constantly for recipies is Herbal Remedies by Chris Hedley and Non Shaw, full of useful creative ideas.

Since birth Elektra has had very sensitive skin with a predisposition to eczema. I was quite perturbed by this as I am not a sufferer myself and my eldest Harry has never had any kind of sensitivity reaction, but Elektra has a different dad to Harry and he is a classic allergy type, meaning he is prone to eczema, asthma and has sensitivities to dust, animals and pollen.

The healing balm has been amazing on Elektra’s skin really helping to clear the eczema.  We have also cut out all dairy and wheat products from our diets, mine whilst breastfeeding, and now hers.  She loves drinking almond, rice and sometimes soya milk.  I recently stayed with a friend with a hemp seed milk maker and I now want to invest in one, because I am concerned at the sugars and additives in the packaged ones.

The digestive system is where a lot of skin problems and allergies originate so I have always used Chamomile with both kids to aid digestion brewed from the fresh flowers out of the garden. Chamomile is a mild bitter and herbal bitters have profound actions on the guts stimulating appetite and digestive processes she happily drinks unsweetened chamomile tea and now eats the flower heads right off the plants!!

Chamomile is totally safe for Babies and young kids and it is important to get children into drinking herbal teas and use to the many diverse flavours so that when they are ill administering herbs is easy. As a herbalist I see many parents wanting to give natural treatments to their children for specific health problems and my advice for getting children to happily take their medicine is to make herbal teas your daily family drink, making a pot of different delightfully coloured, aromatic smelling herbs is magical and a form of healing in itself.

I am a Karen Lawton, a Green Witch living and working with plants in Hertfordshire, over the summers I tour with Sensory Solutions’ Witch theatre, dress up in Witchy costumes and teach folk about the joys of Herbs through practical sensory workshops around festival and fayres all over the U.K.

www.sensorysolutions.co.uk

The Witches Blog…

 What a delightful twisted and intense journey that led Us Witches to This Our first ever weekend of our Herbcraft apprenticeship.  

This has been in the pipeline for many years, and to realise sections of the Dream is so very exciting. There are so many of you herb-lovers, earth walkers out there who have energised us on our walk. Thank you for your support and love. 

Thank you too to John P Rogers with your cementing and Inspiring Words which form a foundation for our work.

15 slightly frazzled, travelers arrived to the Cheshunt Youth Hostel to land and find their accommodation for the weekend while 2 excited witches waited in the Robinson lair, their base for the weekend. 

Listening to the introductions, seeing the openness, feeling the warmth was indeed nectar that we all enjoyed supping into .  

Where does conscious perception lie? (Our starting point ) 

‘In my skin’, ‘all over’, ‘I feel like a lightening rod sometimes’… 

Our Hearts are the seat of our perceptions here, dropping our attention down and being ready to receive.   

15 warm and open hearts relaxed into what was to be a busy, experience-filled time.  In these hearts, the processes of intuition and observation were being interpreted into some useful form of interpreting information.   Observation. Intuition. Interpretation - the key to all our work and movements -Grounded Healing deeply connected to the Source. 

It seemed right we start with the heart.  We looked at how to approach a patient with a heart condition and what may have led them to it in their lives, saw patients and shared our observations and intuitions to find out how we might approach them, designed questions to consider during a consultation. 

Sensory Herbcraft -Smell, Study, Taste, Feel, Sing, Dream, Create. 

Weave together and meet your Guides your Plant Allies. 

We had the blessing of being introduced to Hattie Hawthorn, Old Timothy, Mr Fit Guy, Emlyn Redfire, Maggie Crategy, Rex and the Craggy Crone, to name but a few.   

These personifications of the blood red-berried hawthorn all had common themes.  Loving, Tough, sharp talking, eccentric, hard to reach but nourishing if you dare to delve into its realms.   

Witches waiting to dance, waring a green leather coat that tastes of greenery.  Health in its fundamental self.  Hawthorn was our major heart herb, a masterful tonic.  

Always bringing it back to Movement -Circulation -Fire -Smash stagnation. 

Horsechesnut Gellified and Nettle Iron Tonic…mmm 

Saturday nightlife,

What does it mean to be a witch?

To study witchcraft?

Who are we all and what are we doing?

We’re here with this physical plane how do we work with it to blossom and become. We looked at practicing ritual in an intuitive way and moving away from dogma. We looked at the history of medicine and some lesser-spotted female influences on it….who was Lily the Pink?

 As the Moon Moved into Gemini on the Sunday we began with Seed --- Air 

The midpoint of it all, the space between life and death, potential, patience.   

What is seed?  Fertilised and ready.  How do we make seeds as humans and what conditions could get in the way of this process or what complications can arise from these complex and sensitive systems?  Rosehips and nettle root were the focus of the day.  And with the herbs we need get even more movement…get the circulation flowing through our loins.  Releasing our hips, opening, yoga and massage.  What old old stuff is lurking in our hips preventing that release… 

Stress is all around us, daily, we are in constant flux to try and regulate our position in the external environment.  It was clear that stress is a major factor in all dis-ease (looking at the heart and reproductive systems) and that we can help our bodies to be more adaptable by removing extra strains such as caffeine and nicotine.  There was a few caffeine withdrawals by Sunday which some felt got in the way of their studies.  It was a good challenge to be able to stay focused and a big lesson that something like caffeine or a lack of it can affect you so much and impinge on your enjoyment!  Our bodies relying on other substances to wake them up and get going…..lets be free from unnecessary constraints. 

What a pleasure to have walked this 1^st weekend with such open, intuitive and up-for-it folk…a truly magical experience. 

We are Planets Earths Secret Service and we all need Costumes…..


We have a couple of witchy days coming up and a couple looking into the birth warrioress artemis, also known as mugwort...


Witching Herbs Workshops:
22nd October @ Crews Hill, HERTS
www.triple-moon-apothecary.co.uk/visitus.html


and


29th October @ Bowden House in Totnes, DEVON
www.woodshedcollective.co.uk

Mugwort workshops:

Saturday 19^th November in Bedfordshire 

http://www.clophillcentre.co.uk/classes/mugwort-day/

Saturday 3rd December @ 5 Penny Farm, DORSET