You can make beads out of things you find in nature: shells, nuts, berries, antler, bones, petals, seed pods, bark, sticks, and stones.
For nuts, bones and shells you need an all out a small hand drill to create the hole to string through. Acorns, hazel nuts, small vertebrae and all poocka shells are all excellent examples. With a fine drill you can turn any of these into lovely beads. If you have bigger pieces of bone, stick, antler, or shell that you need to cut down, you may also need a fine toothed saw or a carving knife to make the smaller pieces you can then drill for beads. And perhaps a bit of sand paper to smooth them out. If you really get good with carving you can make shaped wooden and antler beads, although just making flat disks of beads is plenty awesome enough too.
Berries and seed pods need only be pierced with a blunt ended needle while they are fresh and put directly onto string to dry. You might want to move them around a bit every few days while they are drying so they don’t stick. Rowan, holly, elder, and hawthorn all make decent beads like this. You can also cut and dry pieces of leathery fruits like apple and dry them into beads.
The papery bark of birch and cedar can be rolled with glue into cylindrical beads. Some larger long petals can also be preserved into beads in this manner. Coat the bark or petal in glue and then roll it, set it out on plastic wrap or wax paper and let it dry.
Petals like rose petals can likewise be partially dried and minced up and then worked into a paste to roll into round beads, then pierce the balls with pins and let dry to create lovely scented beads.
For stones and harder bones, you need a dremmel to drill through them to create beads. Or if you find stones with natural holes in them, like holey-stones/hagstones, they make wonderful beads.
The lovely thing about making beads out of natural materials is they are excellent for prayer beads, charms, and witchy magic. Rowan on red thread is traditional for protection and travelling. A rowan prayer bead set would be great for counting as you go into trance for hedgecrossing. Hawthorn is often associated with the white faced goddess and the beads could be great in a devotional piece to her. Rose rosary beads are excellent for Mary Mother of Peace. Antler or Horn is excellent for many a god like Pan, Cernnunos, and Callieach. Oak and Acorns are great for Dagda, and Hazel for Brighid. A sea shell bead would be excellent for Aphrodite or Mannanan and sea witch magic. The list goes on. Be creative and have fun!
I have been using homemade rose water as a facial toner & hair rinse for some time now and love it. You can always go and buy some, but I’m always afraid of the additives and don’t want to risk getting a pesky rash since I have overly-sensitive skin!
You can also use rose water for glamory spells, love spells, self-care spells, etc. You don’t have to stop at just rose water; you can basically use any flowers & herbs you would like - lavender, thyme, orange peels - just make sure if you’re going to ingest them or use them on your skin that they are safe and pesticide-free.
What you need:
A handfuls of fresh (prefferably) or dried herbs or flowers
Distilled water
A glass jar with a lid
Vodka (optional)
You can use regular tap water to make herbal waters, but then you have to keep it in the fridge and use it within a few days, or freeze it (I like freezing them into ice cube trays, that way you can just take one out each time you need it). For longer lasting rose water, use distilled water. You can find distilled water in the pharmacy, but a much cheaper way is to go to your nearest gas station and buy some car battery water – which in essence is pure distilled water as well! You can add a tablespoon of vodka to the mix to prolong the shelf life, if you like.
If you use fresh flowers, rinse them well before using. Take a glass jar and fill add a couple of handfuls of dried or fresh herbs or flowers of your own choice. I chose to use rose petals, lavender bud and orange blossom. You could also try thyme, jasmin, chamomile, peppermint, yarrow or a mixture of several different herbs.Bring water to a boil and fill the jar up to three quaters. Put a lid on the jar and let stand for a couple of hours up to overnight. Strain and add the tablespoon of vodka if you like.
I would suggest testing out a bit on your skin if you plan on using it on your body. You can swab a bit on the inside of your wrist, arm, or ankle and leave on overnight to be sure no reaction occur.
halved-orange “candles” will burn cleaner (remaining moisture affects the smell) if baked on a low heat in an oven first rather than being air dried! see oven drying herbs.
If your craft involves casting a circle, use a circular rug to mark the boundaries of your sacred space. The rug is ideal for quick setup, quick cleanup, and discreet practice. Save time fiddling with boundary measurements and making marks on the floor.
For discreet witches, the rug is becomes an every day decorative aesthetic.
Crafty witches can crochet a circular rug, maybe incorporate some knot magic to the project.
If a buying new rug is out of your budget, acquire a large piece of fabric and draw a circle on it.
Or you could use a large hula-hoop or some similar toy and just paint/decorate it to your heart’s desire.
Hey there witches! I’ve covered water infusions aka Hydrosols before, but it’s time to move onto the hard stuff: alcohol
A tincture is an extract which has an alcohol base. Traditionally, these were herbal infusions used for medicine, but for today’s topic, we’ll be talking about tinctures in all forms, but it’s up to you as to what’s for consumption, and what may be used as a perfume, floor wash, or ritual spray etc.
Tinctures can be a lot easier to make because they have a cold infusion method, as in no heat source is used to speed the process. Alcohol absorbs plant matter and dissolves quite easily, so heating it is a dangerous step not necessary for the occasional infusion.
What can be made into a tincture?
Flowers
Berries
Leaves
Roots
Stalks and barks
Spas and resins
Seeds
These can be dried or fresh.
Especially for flowers, some fragrance doesn’t carry once the flower withers, so using fresh can be super helpful if the fragrance is important!
What do I do to make one?
Take your container like a mason jar
Fill with plant material about halfway*
Add in your alcohol**
Shake and let infuse***
Strain and decant into its new container
Now it’s simple, but you do have to make some decisions like if you’re making individual tinctures or a blend. Individual tinctures can be blended later of course, but takes more containers and individual checking than throwing it all together. Go by instinct and research until you’ve got the experience.
That sounds simple, but I want some more tips:
Break apart or cut up ingredients so more of the matter gets mixed and infused. It releases fragrance, juices and gives more surfaces for the base to interact.
Shake your tincture while it’s infusing every day. You may want to infuse for a day, a week, or a full cycle of the moon, you do you!
If you’re using a mason jar or other metal lid container, a piece of Saran Wrap/cling plastic can protect the lid from corroding.
You can get a high proof alcohol and dilute it with distilled water.****
If taking internally, do so with care, and dosage is usually only a few drops at a time. Check with your doctor before starting any regiment.
If you want to make a ritual tincture for a salt bonfire, the alcohol has to be minimum 100 proof or it won’t catch fire. Don’t burn yourself.
I have a ginger tincture I use for upset stomachs. Just a few drops in mineral water and it settles right down (think ginger ale).
For tooth aches, I use a few drops of clove tincture in warm water and swish around. Plus my breath smells great afterwards.
Just remember, it’s concentrated, and in a lot of cases may not taste great by itself, just like if you took a spoon full of vanilla extract. Start small, dilute, or use in ritual.
