#natural magic

I’m writing this in the freezing dark of early morning, sitting in my chair by the window, wrapped in a blanket. A cup of tea. An open notebook. The moon is out, splashed bright across my knees though waning. No birdsong, no breeze, just cold stillness, the starry dark is lantern-lit with Luna’s bright white. Everything is breathless waiting for the sun. This is when the land speaks to me most clearly, when the Goddess moves in closer and says Listen…

 And this is what she showed me.

 Samhain season is here. Summer’s end. It’s a weird one, though; despite the first fall of light snow yesterday morning, the leaves are still on the trees, some yellow, some rusty, but the hazel leaves are still very green. So strange. There is a reluctance to let go, to drop into the dark, to see the bare bones stripped of their finery. And I am the land and the land is me. Am I reluctant to drop into the dark?

 Possibly. It’s been a hard year, with enough darkness. I’ve learned a lot. As a witch, I’ve come to recognised these cycles of learning, these hard roads travelled beneath the grindstone that leave you with a glass-like clarity, full of revelation and reassured by your resilience. But the dark of Samhain contains no grindstone, this should be an easier letting go.

 I see myself standing amongst the fallen leaves, every colour, every shape. I pick up a leaf – Oak for courage. I write my fears upon it, the things I am ready to release. One leaf, two leaves, as many leaves as I need. Each tree means something different to me, something different to you. Go with your own correspondences.

Walk in meditation amongst the leaves. What do I need to let go to move forward? What little deaths do I still cling to? If you don’t recognise the species, be easy on yourself, pick the leaf that calls to you and write upon it the thing you wish to let go. Gather a pocketful, a basketful, and wheelbarrowful. As many as you need; feel utterly blessed in this abundance. The Goddess is here and magic is afoot.

Now do the witch stuff. I collect my leaves together and sit with them, visualizing the things I wish to let go, until every leaf becomes potent, full of meaning. This can be at your altar or beneath your favourite tree. You can even dowse for a favourable spot, or simply feel it; some places of power (and they can be as close as the end of your garden) are perfect for this kind of work. I often aid this visualization by using the Death card from the Wildwood Tarot – the image of Raven cleaning the bones of what is gone seems pretty perfect – but you could use a rune or an oracle card, whatever resonates. I find seeing  this image on the leaves clarifies the message.

Get a container – a small lidded bucket, or use your compost heap (or make one) and cut those leaves into strips, adding them to the heap/bucket with a good double handful of garden soil. Keep adding to this compost all winter. Add veg peelings, herbal left overs, biodegradable witchy things, all chopped up small. Basically, anything that will rot and not attract rats. There are a lot of compost making resources online.

For those witches with restricted access to the land, you can use strips of paper, or even leaf shaped paper, and bury your leaves in the soil of a house plant.

Give this compost some attention. Be conscious of the work that is being done; the transmutation of your fallen leaves, those things that no longer serve you, into a magical, fertile substance. Stir or shake it at the changing of the moon (unless your heap is large), whisper to it what you wish it to achieve, call on a goddess of transformations to add her power to the process. Let those things you wish to be rid of rot away, be changed utterly.

And as the land sinks down into its roots, feel yourself sink down also. Where are your roots? Who are you once the finery is stripped away? Who will you be once those things that needed to be released have rotted away?

Samhain season is the time I sink into my roots and ask the hard questions. The time when I have to be the witch I think I am, because these journeys inside can be hard. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so start gently, be kind to yourself. Use your cards and oracles, call on a guide to help you, ask for a plant helper, an animal guide, an ancestor, your great grandma-in-spirit. Sit in the dark and allow the magic in.

When the light returns, the land starts to warm and the land energies rise once more, your witch compost will be rotting nicely. By May Day/ Beltane all the things that were weighing you down or holding you back should be transformed into a nutrient rich, magic infused, highly charged substance that will help you grow the things you need for next year. But that’s a post for spring.

Remember - you don’t have to carry around the bullshit that has been forced on you – let it rot. Let the dark of Samhain work its magic.

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Oil Based Infusions

Macerate - oil based macerate is best if you want to extract herb’s essential oils. It can be eaten (if intended for this, like garlic oil) and used externally for rubbing (warming, pain relief), cosmetics or anointing. There are two ways for oil macerate:

• “Hot method” - good for thicker matter. Chopped/crushed matter sprinkle with 40% alcohol (it helps the oil work with the herb). Place in a jar and pour over the oil. Place the jar in a pot of water, heat it to 40-50 C/ 104-122 F. Close the jar and set aside for about a week. 
  
• “Cold method” - Chop or crush the material a little, sprinkle with 40% alcohol (it helps the oil work with the herb). Place in a jar and pour over the oil. Leave for 2-3 weeks. Every day, rock the jar to wake up the herbs.

For each method, after the appropriate time, drain and refrigerate for up to 3 months.

Enfleurage - the oldest method of obtaining essential oils. It’s hard to do it at home without special equipment.  A good quality oil must be called an essential oil (it is nautical) and not a fragrance oil (synthetic). To make sure it’s best to check the composition, it should be short, preferably the essential oil itself. You can use them for aromatherapy, add them to cosmetics and ointments, and include them in spells.

Salve - also known as ointment, for external application. To prepare you need base oils (like Argan, Avocado or Jojoba oils, Coconut or Shea Butter). Melt it with beeswax and essential oils. You can also infuse base oil first with any herbal matter for specific purposes.

Alcohol Based Infusions

There are two ways to prepare stronger alcohol based infusions:

• Tincture (cold method) - for this one you can use fresh or dried herbs. Put in a jar, pour over the alcohol and shake it. To prepare a stronger infusion you can use a bigger part of ready tincture in the same process and add a part of new alcohol.
• Intract (hot method) - use fresh herbs. Heat the alcohol to 80 C/ 176 F and pour over the herbal material. 

For both methods leave for 7-10 days and drain (this is for herbal tinctures). Use 40-70% alcohol and keep 1:5 proportion (herbal matter : alcohol). For stronger infusion you can use 1:10 proportion. 

Liniments- alcohol based herbal infusion intended for rubbing.

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Infusion - is the process of extracting medicinal or flavor compounds contained in herbs in water, oil or alcohol, by leaving it over time. The temperature of the solvent and the time of leaving the herbal matter may vary depending on the extract’s strength, purpose and properties of the material.

Water Based Infusions

Decoction - resultant of boiling herbal or plant material. Best for stems, roots and bark (for example willow bark or dried elderberries). Gives a little bit stronger extract.

Macerate - herbs are put in a jar and poured with cold water and left for several hours, at the end you can make a water bath (put the jar in a pot, watch out for the bottom, do not boil). Best for herbs containing mucus like linden.

Tonic - can be prepared from tea, decoction or macerate. Usually for external use for skin care, so you can add argan oil, vitamin E or a few drops of essential oil. To preserve for a bit longer use add a teaspoon of vinegar or alcohol (be careful with the latest as it is for your skin).

Inhalation - vapor from an infusion. For example in case of sinus problems or coughing, you can add essential oils to the hot water and inhale.