Plant Spirit Work

Mandragora Spirit by Johnathan Blackthorn

This post by me originally appeared on the Samhain's Siren's group blog on October 10th, 2013.

Before pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies, before doctors and people in lab coats, people sought extra help with their healing from herbalists. They may not have called them “herbalists” back then- some were called “granny”, “bruja”, “curandera”, “strega”, or “cunning man”- but these healers were wise and knowledgeable about plants and their actions in the human body. Often they practiced what we now call magic(k) in addition to herbalism.

Many of these healers lived somewhat apart from the hustle and bustle of the village- allowing them time and energy to commune with plants and learn their secrets- though cultivation, wildcrafting, listening to plants, and experimenting with them to make medicines. And these generations of healers from across the globe, now called herbalists, have left us a legacy of amazing information. Indeed, to really master herbalism, one must study for years to get a basic grasp and then continue your education for a lifetime. There are tens of thousands of plants, just as there are myriad maladies to help cure.

I started out as most do- a dabbler called to heal myself and my friends. I made simples and teas, created poultices, and cured yeast infections. The more I learned, especially as I got into plant spirit work, the more I was fascinated and wanted to know. I personally believe that plants taught us what they could do- and those that knew how to listen became the first healers.

To listen to plants is not easy to relearn (I say relearn, because children do not seem to have a problem doing it- I distinctly remember my son, Rowan, even before he could speak to me in words, telling me to water a neglected plant by tugging on my shirt and pointing at the houseplant and making the sign for water (he was taught ASL as a baby).

When I was in herb school in California, we went out into the mountains to listen to plants. As I lie under a manzanita bush, I distinctly got the message “I was first” and saw strange strobe-like flashes of pictures of manzanita and madrone traveling across hard desert and clay before any other plant life. As they traveled, other plants befitted from them taking root in the hard terrain and breaking up the soil- so they followed and sprung up in manzanita's wake. After my “vision”, I did research and sure enough- this is what botanists believe happened. I was tickled and astonished the clarity of communication.

Recently on a hike with my apprentice, the wind rustled through the trees and I got a feeling of euphoria and joy- coming to me from a very specific tree. “This is how we move” said the tree. “You move from within, we move from without. ” The tree was delighted to be moved in this way.

We can remember how to talk to plants, though a series of conscious decisions. Taking a cue from the generations of herbalists before me, I try and live part of my life apart from the hub bub. Apart from other people, machines, and electronic communication. This is not easy to do when you live in a city, run a business, have a part time job, are a parent, and go to grad school! Not easy at all. It requires deliberate effort and choices.

I have told my apprentice as we begin this work: to listen to animals, one must lower their energy several notches. To listen to plants, you must go even lower (and by lower, I am not referring to hierarchy, I am speaking to vibrational frequency. Plants vibrate at a lower frequency than non-human animals and even lower than human animals. So to “hear” them, you need to “shift down”, too. I am still crafting language around this skill and truth, so this may not be the clearest explanation to you reader. Sorry for any confusion the language may cause.)

Cultivating this skill requires no distractions, stillness (in mind and environment) and the skill of knowing how (which comes from years of practice). I can do it at will when I have time, space, and no distractions, but it took years to be able to do this on command. Now I can make small spaces for this skill frequently, rather than needing hours at a time as I needed when I first started (although hours at a time is a luxury I would take!).

Rowan, helping mama wildcraft.

How do I work it into my busy life? I sought a part-time job that was within walking distance of my home. (Driving requires a brain wave state that is the antithesis of what you are cultivating. And it takes hours to “come down” out of that state.) I walk to work every day, taking back alleys alone. I drop my son off at the babysitter's and give myself 20-30 extra minutes to get to and from work. The alleys of Clintonville (my neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio) are lovely- overgrown and lush with “weeds”, crows and goldfinches, squirrels and murals. I have flipped over a flailing cicada, done augury, and wildcrafted red clover, melissa, dandelion, and plantain to and from work.

I do media fasts. In order to keep people up to date with my blog and business on social media, I queue up blog posts to self-publish, so I do not have to manually post frequently. Being on the internet is not being present with what IS- right in front of your nose. 

I send my three year old son, Rowan on playdates when I make Boline recipes or process ingredients each week. This a time for me to be hands-on and commune with my ingredients, so I can make the best possible product. I can infuse my remedies with intent and add my intent to the will of the plant to make the medicine stronger.

I have a sitting practice that reminds me of stillness and being present. And I grow and wildcraft many of my ingredients. My family does a red meal rite weekly and feeds a tree/the ancestors. We thank the animals and plants that doe for us to survive. And so much more that connects me in a real, daily, tangible way to the gods, the earth, its cycles, and all of creation.

Boline Apothecary is my small artisinal project that helps heal people through seasonally available remedies and body care. I hope you and yours enjoy what I make, with the knowledge that it is a labor of love.

Where is Witch Mom?

Hello, y'all! Sorry it has been a month since my last post. Witch Mom has been taking a back seat to Boline Apothecary and my call to heal  in this last month and the attention is creating some really wonderful things!

Boline Apothecary now in three retail locations, with two more in the works. I have three workshops to teach in October in November. I did two farmer's markets this summer and will be doing two more this winter (indoors, of course!). I have increased the number of products I offer (last year, I started with 5, I now have 60). I have been written up in a small local publication and have started to make even more local contacts that will be important next year (growers, beekeepers, store keepers, journalists, market managers and more)!

Most importantly, I am furthering my healing abilities with Boline and answering the call of my patron to heal. Boline has reached more people in need that I ever did as just me, Lily. I have done one-on-one consultations with several here in C'bus for their ongoing conditions and feel like I am helping. And even bigger news- I am adding to my healing abilities by entering a master's program for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCN, which includes acupuncture, Chinese herbalism, cupping, moxibustion, and more) this week!

I am all at once excited, anticipatory, fearful, and intimidated. I got my textbooks for the quarter last week and have been doing the first week's assignments (I got my syllabus in one class already- surface anatomy.) and... wow. I will be memorizing a LOT of stuff. Unfamiliar stuff. Time to brew up some brain tonic! Good thing I have some ginko, gotu kola, peppermint, and rosemary (my fave blend for such a thing!)- and Boline will probably sell the stuff as "student helper"!

My TCM program is three years long. I will likely post here about what I am learning both in class and outside. I will also post about the other aspects of my life: I continue training with my apprentice and teaching my son the Craft. We are organizing a rite for Samhain. And I encounter interesting information that gets added to my theological knapsack weekly.*

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* Last week on The Forum (A wonderful BBC radio program), they were discussing breath. A scientist there was studying "breath prints", explaining that each person has a unique exhale, based not only on the air that they inhaled, but their unique biochemistry and what they have consumed through their digestive tract. They are as unique as fingerprints. I have been, since a wee tot, using deliberate exhales as an offering to our sap-kin and green-kin. Sometimes it was an unsolicited offering. Sometimes I offer this in exchange for taking a part of the plant for medicine. Now I understand it is not only food for the plant, but also a personalized gift, that could only come from me.

The Farmer's Market

My new regular in-person home is in the
Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus- and is a
lovely mix of art, performance, farms, artisans, and crafts.

Lately, a lot of my time has been taken up by Boline. Making new products, creating packaging,  building my own ecommerce site, and now- direct sales at the 400 West Rich Farmer's Market.

The market is currently twice a month, but is gearing up to go weekly in June. And I have worked very hard to have enough different products, cute signage, and nice displays so that I can have a compelling booth to passers by.

I now have even more products available at the market than I have on the Boline website. (Because they sell faster than I can keep them in stock and get them photographed! A good problem to have!)

I have been next to a reptile rescuer who does
educational shows, someone who makes pipes
from antlers, a soapmaker, and a ukelele instructor!

I have met some wonderful people- both vendors and customers- at the market. And customers are very helpful to help me understand what people are looking for, what their current understanding of herbalism is, and how people think.

For example, many folks do not understand the way tonics work, as they are used to (growing up in our culture) treating conditions only as they arise and are acute.* And while I am personally committed to saving the honeybee by using and getting local honey, wax, pollen, and propolis from eco-friendly beekeepers in my remedies, many vegans will shun beeswax in their topical remedies.

Starting in May, Boline will also be tabling at other outdoor fairs and festivals, too- an art festival in my neighborhood called The Clintonville Art Crawl, an Etsy-sponsored "Eco-Chic Craftacular", and a local street fair called CrestFest. I have also enlisted a friend to help me staff the booth and he offers massages in his massage chair (he is an amazing massage therapist).

I have also talked with the folks at Small Business Beanstalk, and they have made suggestions about my next steps to move from retail only to wholesale- and having my products in local stores.

As I said- I have super busy! Starting in May, every Saturday is a Boline day- and that is so much more than sales. I often talk with people about their health concerns and recommend remedies, even ones that I do not currently sell. In this society where so few have access to affordable health care, I hope to be of help to those that need it.

In the works: a migraine tincture, medicinal mushroom tinctures (for immunity and cancer), and sore muscle rub in a roll up stick, a sun block, and a few more teas. I also have two forms of lozenges that are not on the website, as I do have photos of them yet.

See you at the market!

Medicinal Teas

One of the newest products I've added to the Boline store is Medicinal Teas*- I have six varieties to choose from with more formulations on the way. Why would I offer teas? (Well, first off- they aren't actually tea (which is a specific plant)- they are medicinal herbs that you would steep with boiled water to make what we herbalists know as "decoctions" or "infusions".)

They are a fantastic way to get nutrients and medicine into your body! When I am taking a tea as a tonic (meaning that I take some every day to keep it in my system- like with my Preggers Tea- which I used myself when pregnant with Rowan), I often make a huge batch and drink it iced from the fridge.

The teas I offer come in these bags- and inside are fresh,
organic herb blends and an unbleached cotton muslin bag for steeping.

When I am taking a tea for a temporary condition (like Dream Well or Kid Calm tea for insomnia for example), that's when I tend to drink it hot.

Many people are used to drinking tea that comes in prepackaged tea bags, even the medicinal herbal teas. It is much better for you to take loose tea. Sure, you could buy bags of herbal teas that have similar ingredients at the grocery store, but they will not work as well. Why? The main difference between loose teas and tea bags is obviously the size of the leaves. When producing the tea bags, whole leaves are chopped, sliced and diced into small particles ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 millimeters called fanning and dusts. With all this slicing and dicing, the plant compounds interact with moisture and oxygen, leading to rapid quality loss.

Whole leaves contain natural compounds that are good for you and different essential oils which are what we would call the basis of the amazing tea flavor and taste. When the leaves and flowers and roots are broken up, those oils tend to evaporate, leaving the fannings with a dull aroma which will lead to a tasteless beverage.

Further, who knows how long that tea has lived in those bags, in that box, on a shelf somewhere? All of the teas I sell are fresh! So choose fresh (medicinal grade) loose teas!

There are several ways to make yourself a potent decoction. Just making a single cup for yourself? Then I prefer the infusion cup method:

These three cups are mine- all have the mug, an infuser insert,
and a lid. The lid keeps in all the important bits!

The lid is necessary, even if you don't have a cup like this- all the essential oils from the medicines will escape with the steam if you don't cover your infusion. The longer you steep (I do 15-30 minutes, depending on the blend- ones with roots will take longer), the more medicine is in the brew.

There are also other ways to make a small amount:

Unbleached cotton muslin bag (like the ones that come with Boline teas),
tea ball, spoon, infuser, and larger infuser for a larger pot.

Disposable or compostable versions are also available:

These are unbleached paper tea infusion bags.

And of course, there's the ubiquitous tea pot:

If all you have is a mug, you can always heap the herbs into it, pour water over, cap it with a saucer or small plate, and then strain it before drinking. I just tend to drink so often that I have specilty equipment lying about to take pictures of!

What are my favorite herb blends at the moment? Anything with nettles (it is green, yummy and sooooo good for you!, chamomile is lovely when fresh, and I grow lots of peppermint (trying some chocolate mint and pineapple mint this season too).

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Currently Boline offers Dream Well (for those of you looking to relax and have productive dreams), Kid Calm (which is for stress, insomnia and anxiety- and safe enough for kids), Preggers Tea (for those expecting), Fertili-Tea (for women trying to conceive), Menopause Tea (for hot flashes and other symptoms and nutritional needs of that phase), and Allergy Tea (for seasonal allergies like hayfever).

Prep for Boline photo shoot

My wonderful friends are coming over this evening, one of whom is a photographer. He is shooting my products for the Boline website. I am busy staging shots and gathering props before he arrives!

My task is to try and find interesting objects for the photo staging that are not distracting, but also reflect the balance between my herbal medicine making and how it is inspired by my spiritual practice. After all, that is the essence of Boline- a coming together of the conjure and cunning that have marked my 23 years of Witchcraft and my near-decade of herbal medicine practice.

This is a Thai "spirit house" that is normally on my beloved dead altar. Today, it will show off Boline lip balms.

So many items here- an altar for a religious statue becomes a home for Elderberry elixir.
My oak bowl displays all my salves instead of offerings to Lilith.
My bee priestess drum forms the backdrop for tinctures.

The Benefits of Valerian and Hops

As many of my regular readers know, I am an herbalist. I run an apothecary and botanica called Boline and also help people through personal consultations. People see an herbalist for many reasons- I have helped folks with "female troubles", allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, and much more. 

Common maladies, especially in our crazy culture, like insomnia, stress, and anxiety also take their toll and people have come to me in relief. One of the ready-to-go remedies that I have created is a tincture of hops and valerian for these symptoms. This one two herbal punch will help you relieve anxiety, get to sleep (even after taking in too much caffeine!) and relieve your stress. It works for most people in a gentle, non-addictive way.

Valerian

It is calming without exerting too sedative an effect and is practically non-addictive. It is a valuable treatment for insomnia, the sedative effect due to the valepotriates and the isovaleric acid. 

At least two double-blind studies have demonstrated that valerian extract can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes people to fall asleep without changing the normal stages of sleep. 

Documented research has noted a mild hypnotic action from Valerian in both normal sleepers and insomniacs, indicated by a beneficial effect on sleep latency, wake-time after sleep, frequency of waking, nocturnal motor activity, inner restlessness and tension and quality of sleep. Sleepiness and dream recall the morning after were unaffected. The valepotriates have a regulatory effect on the autonomic nervous system; research suggests that they have a calming effect on agitated people but are also a stimulant in cases of fatigue.


Valerian is also used as a mild tranquilizer for people experiencing emotional stress, much as anti-anxiety drugs are prescribed and has been prescribed for exhaustion. Valerian has occasionally been tried as part of a program to take a patient off antidepressants or benzodiazepines, and is sometimes used as a muscle relaxant to treat pain.


Valerian does not impair driving ability and produces no morning hangover effect. It is a gentle relaxant and an effective sleep aid.

Hops

Hops have been used traditionally for nervous disorders and to help anxiety or sleep for generations. Once, scientists scoffed at its use, but studies have finally been done and show reasons for its effectiveness and use. (Dr. K-H Schiller from Hoexter demonstrated that hop preparations reduced the spontaneous locomotor activity, increased the ketamine-induced sleeping time and reduced body temperature, confirming a central sedating effect)


Pairing hops with valerian has its own benefit, according to the studies:
Pairing hops with valerian may help treat insomnia, according to a 2010 research review published in Australian Family Physician. The review included 16 previously published studies, 12 of which found that the use of valerian on its own or in combination with hops helped improve sleep quality and lessened the amount of time it takes to fall asleep. Used as a bittering agent in beer, hops are thought to deliver sedative effects.


The valerian/ hops medication was capable of reducing (2 tablets) or inhibiting (6 tablets) the arousal induced by caffeine. This pharmacodynamic action was observed 60 minutes after oral administration, indicating not only competition between the antagonist caffeine and the partial agonist, i. e., the valerian / hops extract but also bio-availability of the compound(s) responsible for the agonistic action. In conclusion, the valerian / hops extract acts via a central adenosine mechanism which is possibly the reason for its sleep-inducing and -maintaining activity.


Because of its sedative action, you should not use hops while on other CNS depressors including benzodiazepines, narcotics, and barbiturates.


Boline's tincture is 100% organic and Witch made. I work magick on my remedies, making them the old-fashioned way- which takes time. If you are interested in getting some, click here.

Detox!

The older (and crankier!) I get the more I am convinced of the toxicity of everyday life in this culture. We are spoonfed products and ideas that harm the body, mind and spirit on a daily basis and this Witch is now actively working to simplify, detox, and create harmony within my body and on my little patch of soil.

I was thinking about this while showering today. I had just cut my hair (it is liberating to have short hair again, in a simple flattering style that I can cut myself) and was hosing off the little hairs from my body. I reached for my handmade body scrub and exfoliated, invigorated, and oiled my dry skin simultaneously. I then reached for my No Poo and Rinse and treated my hair. I was one of those that dyed my hair from the age of 15 and my hair was always a split-ended dry mess. Since stopping that and using homemade products it is healthy and shiny beyond belief!

I ran out of product, so afterwards, I went downstairs to make more.

Add essential oils of choice to a carrier oil. While many use sweet almond for skin products (and I do, sometimes for products whose fragrance is subtle and I want it to be noticed), this oil is plain old organic extra virgin olive oil. I use it for cooking, toiletries, and lighting. It is a great all purpose oil and everyone can find some!

While my last batch of scrub was rosemary/eucalyptus, this batch was lemongrass/wild marjoram/tea tree. That's what's great about making your own- you can change it up and create whatever you want! And you know exactly what goes into it.

Some people make sugar scrubs, others make salt scrubs. I do both. Both are inexpensive and exfoliating. Salt has cleansing properties while sugar won't sting any cuts you may have. It's up to you!

Mix infused carrier oil with salt or sugar. I use a non-porous mixing utensil- wooden spoon, not so good. I personally use a plastic chopstick that I stole from a chinese restaurant in San Francisco in 1997. 

My much-used bottles for No Poo and Cleansing Rinse.

No Poo is 1 TBS baking soda to every cup of water. Too astringent? Use less. Need more oil cutting? Use more. The ratio can be personalized.

Rinse is also 1 TBS apple cider vinegar to every cup of water and be adjusted as necessary.

You can also add herbal power to each by using an infusion for No Poo and an infused vinegar for Rinse. This Time, I used plain water for No Poo, but used a citrus thyme infused vinegar for my rinse.

I continue to make natural medicins and toiletries for myself and others. Boline is chugging along, and my next plan (now that I have a logo and final packaging complete) is to get the products into local stores (in addition to my online presence). I just listed a couple more remedies on Etsy, Poppyswap, Copious, and Bonanza today: Clove Oil, Vitex Tincture,  and Calming Tonic (Valerian and Hops tincture).

Medicine Making as Spiritual Practice

Yesterday, I made and packaged three new remedies for Boline. I thought that I would tell you about them (they are not yet up in any store for sale).

Clove

Clove Oil. This is a versatile remedy- check out all its uses here. As a dental topical anesthetic, safe for children and safe to use orally. Hence, many generations of folks have used it for teething pain or canker sores. (Rowan recently started cutting his two year molars and I had actually forgotten the drooling, runny nose, fussiness, and fever that accompanies his teething- I am glad we have this now!)
I am bottling it in two ounce tincture bottles and selling it for $5.


Calming Tonic. I made a tincture of valerian root and a tincture of hops buds. While I have both are available as simples, this combination is particularly potent! It is great for insomnia, stress, anxiety, PMS and the like. A two ounce tincture bottle is $12.


Vitex tincture. Vitex, or Chasteberry, is an amazing herb for most women. It is a hormonal regulator, meaning that whether you are having issues from too many hormones or not enough, it helps your body achieve balance. So it helps with PMS, menopause, heavy bleeding, night sweats, painful menstruation, and more. It also has been known to be used in trans women's formulas to assist them with their hormone regulation. I also seel this two ounce tincture for $12.


I make my remedies and even package them all by hand, slowly and with magickal intent. I create the labels myself and hand glue them on each package. I could buy pre-made labels, but I like the meditative deliberate quality of doing everything myself, with known non-toxic materials.

Valerian and Hops

I will be bottling an triple antibiotic oil and a ginger tincture soon. As soon as I buy more alcohol, I'll have a medicinal mushroom tincture (my reishi harvest is going really well!), an artichoke tincture, and a cinnamon tincture to start. The last two are to be combined with the ginger, hops, and gentian for a great digestive bitters formula I like.


I have plans in the works for facial scrubs, deodorant balms, bug sprays, body and baby powders, and a muscle rub. Just need a few more ingredients for each recipe.


My herbs are growing! Echinacea, ephedra, calendula, feverfew, and more are making their debut and will be featured in my remedies next year. This fall, I'll be buying all my beekeeping equipment, so that I am ready for the spring. I'll also be building a green house for herbs and veggies during the winter.


I also finally created new uniform packaging for Boline products and am relabeling all my things. I am going to take them around to local stores to see if I can sell locally. I hope to be a part of the new harvest farmer's market just starting this year, and have a booth.

Herbal Work!

They say that you should write about what you know. Lately, all I have been knowing is Boline and its projects! (And it makes me really happy.)

Three of my tinctures.

I have been creating new products and testing them on myself and others. In my medicine cabinet are protoypes of a deodorant balm, a body/baby powder, and some allergy tincture for seasonal woes. I have given the neighbor, who does not have dental insurance, a powerful antibiotic oil for a tooth infection as well as some clove oil for topical pain relief. I have given some my my myrrh slave to a friend with painful shaving rash. I get reports every couple days about the status of their conditions and so far so good.

I have also been making my tried-and-true recipes and offering them for sale on Poppy Swap and Etsy. I have several more in the works. Some are mid-process (making herbal remedies is often a multi-step, time consuming process) and some are waiting and on the "to make" list.

For folks unfamiliar with medicine making, here's an example of what I mean by "multi-step, time consuming process":

To make my herbal antibiotic salve, I first had to make three types of herb infused oils. I chose oregon grape root, goldenseal, and thyme.

4 types of my salves.

Step One: Create herbal oils. You must let the oil steep for many weeks, sometimes in direct sunlight, before they are ready and potent. You must choose the carrier oil that best suits the herb and the ultimate recipe you are making. I always choose carrier oils that are suitable for external as well as internal uses. You never know what you might want to make!

Step Two: Strain oils. I usually strain a couple of times- especially if the herb you used was a powdered preparation.

Step Three: Melt beeswax with herbal oils in a double boiler til liquified. Add vitamin E oil for stability.

Step Four: Package the product. I put this salve in 2 and 4 oz tins.

Steps Five and Six: Label (create cute label with ingredients, company information, and how to use the product and possible warnings.) Then, list in stores.

It has been taking a little over a month to create salves, balms, and oils. It takes double that to make tinctures, as the same plant matter needs to be soaked in alcohol and then water. Each liquid extracts different effects from the plant, so herbalists first soak in one, then the other, then combine the liquids for a whole plant medicine. I just strained the alcohol from my valerian and vitex, and now the plants are soaking in water for a few weeks.

Preliminary sketch of my new logo. It has a boline,
the full moon, and two medicinal herbs.

Many tinctures are not simples, they are complex blends with specific purposes or custom-made for clients. For example, my preferred digestive bitters blend is 4 different herb tinctures, blended together. My sleepy tincture is 2-3 different herbs and my allergy formula is based on the region and type of allergy.

I haven't gotten enough variety of herbs yet to create any old concoction that I desire at the drop of a hat. I have been acquiring ones as I can- and creating wither an oil or tincture from it as I get them. I have not been making medicines in Ohio long enough for that. I envy the stock that my old herb school had- jars upon jars of anything that you could ever imagine! I could easy create my own custom blends with everything they had. One day, I will have that! I dream of an apothecary room full of glass jars of roots, flowers, leaves, liquids and butters. When that happens, I will be able to make anything I need for anyone within a day.

In business news, I have been working with an artist on a logo (it should be finished this weekend- yay!) and I am designing a website and labels myself. Right now, the labels I am using are temporary until I get a real logo (and I love the look of this logo!)

Stay tuned for more Boline news, as it happens!

Life in Columbus, An Update

Life is settling in nicely here in Columbus. My Witch Mama told me that she could see moving here was following the flow and I agreed with her then and even more so now. My life is full of possibilities and promise here and the living is so much easier than in my beloved Bay Area.

In fact, I have been surprised to see other die-hard Bay Area folks moving or contemplating moving to unexpected places lately. I think we may see a mass exodus- one that I had no idea that I was a part of!

My partner was blessed with a transfer from his previous job in Appalachia to a facility here (he works taking care of seniors- this time with folks with Alzheimer's related dementia). So that stabilized our income a bit while we transitioned. But it is not enough to live on in the long term. So I have been hustling to make money while also trying to start a business (Boline). I have been selling things on Amazon and Ebay, and freelancing for some folks that I worked for back in California.

Rowan plays with a baby rhino sculpture at the Zoo.

I spend my days with Rowan, of course. Once a week we go to the library and adjoining playground and he is learning so much. We also go to the Zoo or COSI (where we were blessed to be given memberships for Rowan's birthday!) about every two weeks. The librarians and new friends are astounded at his age because of how verbal and obviously smart he is. Yes, I am bragging, but this mama is proud! My goals for his learning are that by the end of this year, he will not only know his alphabet but the sounds that each letter makes, he will be able to count to twenty, and he will be able to say his address and mama's name and phone number. I also am trying to model how to answer the question, "why?". So far he just repeats his original statement or just says "because". I am hoping to model reasoning to him so he can start putting his motives to words soon.

I also have fallen in with a few groups- The Helping Hands Community Garden, which raises food for the local food bank; Art Party Columbus, which is a social and event organizing group of artists. (They put on shows and events, have monthly social gatherings, and are working to increase the profile of local artists here in Columbus.); and Queer Behavior, a group of queer activists and artists who are working to make all kinds of events happen here in Columbus. Queer Yoga, Queer Cinema Nights, and my very own Crafternoons are but a few.

My very first table for Boline!

I also have made fast friends with our wonderful neighbors. We have a weekly potluck dinner and our kids play together regularly. And guess what?! Pagan Playdate is starting up THIS FRIDAY! I am very excited to meet other Witches. Pagans, and their kids. We plan on doing playdates as well as kids' sabbats.

My homestead is gearing up- I have plants sprouting indoors and we will be building raised beds and a brick oven from reclaimed materials soon. We have chickens that won't live here, but at a friend's and we will share in the chicken-y goodness by visiting often and sharing expenses and eggs. I will be building an herb spiral in the front yard and also using the front and back porches to grow things. I have created a fund that I am asking people to chip into- so we can afford beekeeping equipment. This will allow me to use honey and beeswax that I am 100% sure of the source and quality.

I am in the running for not one but TWO positions at Unitarian Universalist churches. I interviewed for a Summer Sunday School position this past Friday in Columbus and I am waiting to tell the Director there whether or not I can accept the position. I didn't say yes right away, because I am waiting to see if there is a *permanent* position at another church just north of Columbus. This second position would ease me into Religious Education (RE) work, help pay for credentialing, and is in admin, which is easy work for me and I can do much of it from home and stay with Rowan. But there are lots of possibilities with this second position to get my foot in the door of an RE position!

Calendula sprouting in the window,
on the land spirits altar.

My semester at Starr King is more than half over, and I am looking forward to finishing and having more free time in the summer. This semester I took a world religions class and did a class of my own making, writing RE and social justice curricula. Next semester, I will be volunteering at that second church I mentioned doing tasks a Director of Religious Education would do fo school credit and continue writing my curricula. All self directed work- woot!

Boline is shaping up too. I have about 5 more remedies in the works for the next couple weeks and managed to get some in the store already. I am making a natural anti-biotic/anti-microbial salve, a body/baby powder, some insect repellent, some first aid cream, and some face cleanser. I also hope to make a mouth wash soon. I have a logo prototype from the artist that I am working with, and I am excited to create real labels, business cards and the like once it is finished.

So things are shaping up to be great here. The move was exactly what we needed, I think. I still miss my  friends and kin in the Bay Area and I wish there was more dim sum, sushi, and artisanal bread in the supermarkets here. But I will find what I need and much much more.

I'm An Herbalist Again!

Tinctures and Vinegars brewing.

After many years of only treating myself and friends and family, I can finally say that I am an herbalist again! In fact, I am more of an herbalist than I ever was- as I am starting to grow my own medicines as well as make them and sell them- and it makes me profoundly happy.

I have plans to put in an herb spiral in the front yard- I am so excited to replace boring useless grass (the patch is small enough that it isn't even useful for playing on!) with useful herbs and wildflowers!

Boline finally has some remedies in the apothecary, with several more on the way- and I have magicks in the works, too. So what have I been up to?

Elderberries simmering in
a thyme infusion.

I made some elderberry-thyme cold elixir. I don't know about where you live, but here in Columbus, there has been this awful respiratory thing going around. Elderberries are amazing, potent, and quite tasty- my son gulps down this syrup happily! They help boost the immune system while fighting off critters. Thyme also is a powerful anti-microbial (and one of my favorite herbs!), and I used raw local honey to finish it off. Because the honey was not cooked, this helps alleviate seasonal allergies, which always make these colds worse.

I set some tinctures up. I have valerian, vitex, and hops brewing, and I have Hydrangea, St. John's Wort, and a digestive bitter tonic available in the store.

My table at a local event.

I made Witch Dance Lip Balm- organic beeswax, virgin unrefined coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, and organic peppermint essential oil. I intend on making another batch with essential oils of cinnamon and cardamom and calling the flavor "spice cookie".

I made Dream Well Tea, available loose or in bags- for dreaming. It helps get a person relaxed, asleep, and then invokes dreams with the triple whammy of hops flowers, lavender flowers, and mugwort. It smells divine.

I went wildcrafting. I found all kinds of great medicinal and culinary delights, right within walking distance of my house. I found turkey tail mushrooms, shepherds purse, and wild ramps, to name just a few. The ramps were delicious in a couple of breakfasts this week, and I am planning on harvesting the turkey tail soon. I have to wait for many of the plants to mature though- it is quite early in the season.

An example of an herb spiral.

I am making a batch of citrus-thyme vinegar- which is as germ killing as any bleach as a cleaner for my home.

I have been harvesting all my medicinal mushrooms as they come and drying them, so I can make a big batch of tincture when the time comes.

I am starting my herb garden for the year- and already have sprouts of calendula, parsley, sage, and rue coming up.

I have oils brewing of calendula, clove, thyme, comfrey, goldenseal, and oregon graperoot. With these I will be making  healing salves and anti-biotic ointments for first aid. They need a couple more weeks.

Elderberries in my compost! Woot!

Additionally, Boline has been keeping me busy in other ways. An artist is working on some logos, so that should be coming soon. Another artist is helping me with labels- the ones you see in the store are my temporary ones. I tabled at my first local event with my remedies and got to know folks. It was exciting to talk to people about their maladies and how they might go about working with me to set a path of healing in motion. Several people took cards or flyers for my Crafternoon series (which starts this month!)

At the event, I explained to several folks that usually just getting an over-the-counter medicine is not how herbalism usually works (usually an interview usually happens and an herbalist creates a remedy for them afterwards and it is tinkered with until it works perfectly). Most people in this culture are not focused on wellness, they assume a magic pill will restore them to "normal" when their normal was probably leading to their illness! They were intrigued and I hope that they seek me out for assistance.

Stay tuned for more remedies, more teas, more toiletries, and more magicks coming soon to the store!

Crafternoons!

There's always one square peg...

As part of my community involvement here in my newly adopted city of Columbus, Ohio (as well as getting my business Boline off the ground), I have decided to host a series of "Crafternoons"- events that are all about fun DIY projects in a single afternoon!

All Crafternoons are about doing it ourselves, sustainability, creativity, and community building. I hope that all will be fun and create amazing projects that people will remember. When Boline is eventually a brick and mortar store and community center, I hope that the Crafternoons will continue in that space as well- bringing the pagan, herbal medicine, and sustainability communities together under one roof.

I am hosting my first Crafternoon on Sunday, April 22nd. It being spring and all, I figured making seed bombs (also known as Earth dumplings) was a great first activity. I hope that the attendees will make their seed bombs, then go out and make Columbus a better place by disseminating them in places of blight and neglect.

Heart shaped bombs.

I am trying to build community and also exposure for Boline here, so I am keeping the fees very low. Fees cover materials, space, and marketing and not much more (so people from all income levels can participate). The materials fee for this simple April Crafternoon is only $15 and should sell out pretty quickly as space is limited to 10 people (so if you want to come, do not delay!).

Future 2012 

Crafternoons will host several sessions this year. This spring and summer, we will be making beeswax candles, making lip balms and other toiletries, and pasta making. This fall, we will be using a bouteous harvest to can tomatoes (and tomato products!), pickle and make kraut, and make sugar skulls for Dia de Los Muertos. Come explore new things and learn with us! Check out the site and register for one of the first three events!

Manifestation Spells

Miscellaneous old spells.

As I have been unpacking here in the new house, I have found several old spell remnants of mine. One dates back to 1992! Back then, I was living in Boston, MA and my landlady was an old hermit-y Witch whom I adored. On secular New Year's Eve that year, we did a spell where we burned away the old things we did not want in her fireplace and wrote and kept things we wanted to cultivate in our lives.

I have come across these ragged pieces of paper several times since originally packing them away in pouches and am astonished at how my young Witch self had the foresight to cultivate these things (I was a mere babe back then of 22). This is why I have kept these scrawled-in-the-dark-on-the-back-of-old-tax-forms-spells. Here were my life goals back then:

1. Be satisfied at the end of each day.
2. Work towards my perfect world, one step at a time, starting with myself then with others.
3. Work towards my ideal life.
4. Appreciate others more.
5. Look towards my spirituality and take time for it.
6. Love and be loved.
7. Stay healthy!
8. Make my home wherever I am.

I think that I have been moving these ways in my life since that moment. I needed to move from Boston to San Francisco to Oakland to Columbus- but I made my home in each of those places, fully. I have been a spiritual seeker in all these places, finally finding a spiritual home in Faery Witchcraft, Cunning Craft, Conjure, and Unitarian Universalism.

Found these spells packed in my manifestation cube
which is a tool of mine. It is shown here with a
spell available for purchase at Boline.

My ideal life is an integrated one- and my seeming disparate interests of religion, herbalism, urban homesteading, the Craft, working with kids, homeschooling my son, and community building are all coming together in my new home and with my new store, Boline. Living this life does indeed make me satisfied at the end of the day. It also keeps me and mine healthy and creates the kind of world that I want to live in.

It's not all done and checked off my list, though. I still work to be in right relation with others in a loving way. This is my struggle. I am gruff, blunt, and often misunderstood. I am a "do-er" that offers advice and assistance when folks often just want a sympathetic ear (to me, that just feels like not doing anything about a problem and wallowing! My baggage, I know.)

I also found two other spells which I cannot print here, as they are more private (ahem). I also found two sigils that I created that I would meditate upon first thing in the AM- a simple self spell where I would envision the sigil written in fire across my third eye. Witch meditation is so unlike my Vapassana practice!

Do you keep old spells around? What do you do with them?

Big Dreams

So as followers here or on Facebook may know, I have launched an Etsy store, and I have dreams of having it become so much more- a sustainable way of life, a brick and mortar store and community center, and a way to teach my son the Craft. Boline is the culmination of many years of cultivating myriad interconnected interests and crafting it into a way of life.

What interests? Magick, the land and its plants, rocks, and animals, and healing modalities. I have always been interested in nature, and became a self-identified Witch waaaay back in 1989 (I am dating myself here!). I studied with so many different groups- Gnostics, Masons, the OTO and ceremonialists of many stripes, and Witches, always Witches- all kinds of Witches (we are actually quite a diverse group, you know).

I have been talking to animals, plants, and nature spirits since early childhood (much to my parents' chagrin- I would release animals from suffering, such as live traps in our neighbors garden. I would take all our carrots and celery and place them in front of where I knew the rabbits lived. I would beat the crap out of neighbor boys who stomped on ant piles and smeared lightening bugs on their jeans to make them glow. And if you deigned to abuse a larger animal like a dog or cat and I saw you- woe unto you.). I knew earth spirits and talked to animals and they would tell me their secrets. I am just getting familiar with Columbus and its spirits, but they are already talking to me.

I have been interested in spell work, conjure, whatever you want to call it for decades as well. I have been making spells and building altars long before I knew that they were called that- and when I learned that there were others doing this "odd behavior" and that they had knowledge than me to make them more effective, you could bet that I went to learn from them! I have had so many teachers since I learned Witchcraft had a name.

And healing- I have been interested in all kinds of healing for quite some time- and in particular natural forms of healing such as herbalism and energy work. I became a Reiki master a few years back, and my patron has bestowed on me a form of energy healing that works differently than Reiki and is quite powerful. I used to work on Cora Anderson and another of my elder teachers often- they would allow me to experiment with this new gift and benefit from it. Lilth wants me to heal in her name in myroad ways, that is quite clear from her communications to me.

She urged me towards herb school and I learned a lot there. I would like to return to a school nearby, as there is always an elder who can impart wisdom! And now that I am in a different part of the world from where I learned (I trained in California)- there are be local plants that I need to meet.

As the world become more and more crazy and contentious, I yearn for sustainability and connection- connection to a tribe, connection to the land. That is happening as I build my homestead. My neighbor and I share a yard (we are in one of the ubiquitous duplexes in Clintonville) and we have plan together to remove decorative plants to make way for food and medicine, build raised beds, and raise bees (well, OK that's just me- she's allergic to bees- but she is fine with them being placed in the back yard for me to work with).

I have a large front porch, a huge box in the front (shrubs are being removed for other plants), a small patch of a front yard (where I will build a widdershins herb spiral for flying ointment herbs), a place upstairs for more window boxes, and places on the side yard and back for raised beds. I am planting an elder tree. I started a worm composter. I have medicinal mushrooms in the basement (where I have a workbench and storage ready for my medicine making!).

Last night, I dreamt of medicine making all night long. I made herb infused oils, tinctures, and balms. I boiled syrups and dried teas. I am yearning to start this new life. Of course building such a dream takes time. Plants need time to grow, and I need to time to connect to this land. But I also need money.

The move across the country and setting up a new home was expensive and we used student loans and tax returns to make that happen. We are not wealthy (at least not in money) and are asking our community to help us get started. We need beekeeping equipment, plants, containers, soil testing and possible amelioration, and supplies. We left so much behind in Califormia that could have been useful, but we could not afford to move it all. And so now I turn to you, my friends whom I know and whom I do not know personally to help me make our dream come true.

Below you see a "Chip In" widget. I have set a modest sum of $2000 that will get us the basics of what we need for now. If we are able to get a start on this growing season with what we need, it should sustain us through the winter and allow me to make medicines, toiletries, and remedies for Columbus (we plan to sell at the farmer's market) and worldwide (through Etsy).

If you have a few dollars (or more) to spare, my family and I would be most grateful. Once things are grown and made, I plan on sending tokens of appreciation to those that give as well. Thanks fpr reading my story from the bottom of my heart, whether you give or not!

Growing Medicinal Mushrooms

One of the new projects that I am taking on this year is growing mushrooms- mostly medicinal for Boline, my online botanica and apothecary. Unlike western herbalism, with which I am familiar and know the plants and how to grow them, mushrooms are their own strange little adventure!

I have several types of mushrooms growing in my home: reishi, shiitake, maitake, turkey tail, and oyster. The oyster is for me for food. All but the oyster varieties are growing on sterilized, organic, hardwood sawdust (the oyster is growing on my used organic coffee grounds (reuse! reduce! recycle!)).

Mushroom life cycle.

I have been tending them multiple times a day (they need watering two-three times daily) as well as in bursts (when it is time to innoculate the sawdust or harvest) and I am just starting to see the fruits (literally!) of my labor.

The shiitakes are fruiting like crazy and the oyster has started to pin as well. The maitake is in the pre-fruiting stage, also known as the pinhead and priordium stages. My turkey tails and reishi are slowly spreading their mycelium throughout the substrate and have created hyphal knots (the stage before becoming priordium).

Take a look at my mushrooms!

Shiitake mushrooms fruiting.

A close up of the Shiitakes.

Aren't they adorable?

Harvested Shiitakes. I will now dry them.

This is oyster and shiitake spores in liquid. Once they form mycelium strands,
they will be used to innoculate sterilized organic hardwood sawdust or rye grain.

The shiitakes under their humidity tent.

Look at all that mycelium! (This is a bag of oyster innoculated sawdust for a friend.)

The Maitake under its tent. See the big bumps? Those are GOOD.

Harvested shiitakes in my dryer.

Here, they will dry out and then be used in medicine making: either dried tea or a tincture.

These are my oysters in coffee grounds. Look closely- do you see the pinhead?

There it is!

About Shiitakes
Why grow Shiitake mushrooms in particular? Most people in the US only know them as a tasty mushroom found in Japanese food and do not understand its myriad medicinal properties. "Modern research has indicated shiitake mushroom may stimulate the immune system, possess antibacterial properties, reduce platelet aggregation, and possess antiviral properties, possibly through antiviral agents known as proteinase inhibitors. ... It also possesses lentinan, which is a compound isolated from shiitake, is used as an intravenous anticancer agent in some countries. Studies have demonstrated lentinan possesses antitumor properties, and clinical studies have associated lentinan with a higher survival rate, higher quality of life, and lower recurrence of cancer."*

As an herbalist, I believe that the whole plant is better for you and contains more healing properties than isolates. So I would rather use the whole dried mushroom in a tea or create a tincture form the whole fruit for remedies. I will be selling this through Boline.

Stay tuned for more interesting information on the other mushrooms that I am raising as well as their properties.

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*Wikipedia