Dark Star New Moon Rose Oil

כ"ט בתמוז תשס״ט
Lughnasadh 1

Capture the great Dark Star Goddess power of the New Moon and the longest Total Solar Eclipse of the 21st century!

Made this evening of the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, during the New Moon of the month of Lughnasadh, and under the planetary hour of the moon, Dark Star New Moon Rose Oil is a rare one-of-a-kind concoction of certified organic red rose petals, patchouli, myrrh and sandalwood essential oil in a safflower base oil. The entire oil concoction is charged with 5 onyx gemstones. Sealed with black wax, the 1 ounce corked potion bottle is hung with a pentacle charm by handdyed Sunset Sparkle ribbon made with a vibrant color mix of crimson red, maroon, brown, dark purple and mustard gold with an iridescent sparkle black edge.

The totality of the unique eclipse this night lasts 6 minutes and 39 seconds.

Awesome Goddess Tree Oil

כ"ז בתמוז תשס״ט
Faunus 28

Be lifted to the Awesome Goddess Tree which inhabits the Profound Mystery higher and deeper than either the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of Life.

This ritual oil is intended for deeply joyful spellcrafting only. It evokes the Great Power of Awesome Ice הקרח הנורא.

Awesome Goddess Tree Oil was handcrafted during the planetary hour of Mercury with the waning crescent moon 90% dark (*Devil Tzadi). This intensely Divine magic is brought forth from the Earth with frangipani (plumeria) flowers, frangipani (plumeria) essential oil and amber oil in a certified organic premium quality pomegranate seed base oil, charged with (Dark Ice) 5 black onyx gemstones, (Light Ice) 5 clear quartz crystal gemstones and scarlet (אודם כשני) shimmer (נצנוץ).

The 3 ml corked spell bottle is sealed with plum wax, and hung with a goldtone spiral Goddess charm using a copper jumpring by a beautifully handdyed black-edge ribbon with colors that swirl from soft cherry pink into light, milk chocolatey brown. Stunning!

Comes to you elegantly wrapped in black tulle.

*Note - "Devil" literally means "She Is" [The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, Z. Budapest].

Banishing / Uncrossing Spell Bottle

כ"ו בתמוז תשס״ט
Faunus 27

Handcrafted during the planetary hour of Saturn with the waning crescent moon 85% dark, this Banishing and Uncrossing Spell Bottle contains a triple botanical blend of dragon's blood, blue vervain and anise seed. Tucked inside the mix is a small specimen of red coral (almogim, אלמוגים). Evoke the power of the triple spiral Goddess to remove baneful circumstances from your life, cast out ill-being, open up blocked pathways, reverse malevolent magic, and guard yourself and your loved ones.

Burn as incense, use as a witch bottle, add to a mojo bag, or employ as a protective talisman.

The 3ml corked spell bottle is sealed with 3 waxes - red, black and gold - and hung with a copper Priestess Pentacle charm by black ribbon. Comes to you in a black organza bag.

Dream Magic

כ"ו בתמוז תשס״ט
Faunus 27

An experienced dreamer may go beyond merely interpreting her dreams. Once the dreamer validates that she is correctly interpreting her dreams through evidential alignments in her life path, improvements in character traits and dream progression, the witch is prepared to consciously direct her dreams.

An excerpt from The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries by Z. Budapest:

The experienced user of dreams is aware that dreams can be consciously directed to resolve conflicts. In a variation of this, something that bothers the dreamer is identified. The dreamer then directs that particular dream to come to a growth conclusion constructed by the conscious mind.

A dream is a link into the deeper threads of reality. The experienced witch may weave them as she wills.

Traditional Samhain Barmbrack

Photo by Podchef

כ' בתמוז תשס״ט
Faunus 21

I will personally begin gathering up my supplies and loading up my ritual intent to make my first loaf of Samhain barmbrack with the New Moon of the witches' month of Lughnasadh, which falls on July 21st this year.

Irish barmbrack (báirín breac), similar to Welsh bara brith, is a traditional yeasted tea bread prepared by witches for Samhain divinatory rituals. The authentic traditional Irish recipe below comes from Mike Lewis.

Barmbrack is usually baked in a round cake tin. I use a 20 cm (8 in) tin with a loose base, but the recipe works just as well with a rectangular loaf tin. The quantities given here will make one large loaf.

* 2 tea bags, or 3 tsp. loose tea (a strong black blend works best)
* 3½ cups (12 oz, 350 g) mixed dried fruit (raisins, golden raisins/sultanas, currants, candied peel)
* 1 cup (8 fl oz, 240 ml) milk
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 2 tsp. dried active yeast (not instant yeast)
* 3 cups (1 lb, 450 g) strong bread flour (I usually use white flour but you can also use a mixture of white and wheat meal)
* 1 tsp. salt
* ¼ cup (1 oz, 25 g) brown sugar
* 1/3 cup (3 oz, 75 g) butter or margarine
* 1 beaten egg
* 1 tsp. mixed spice (equal parts of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and mace, for example)

Oven: Pre-heat to 350F (180C).

Start by making two cups (16 fl oz, 480 ml) of strong black tea. Remove the tea bags, or strain the tea to remove the leaves. Soak the dried fruit in the tea. Ideally, the fruit should soak for several hours or even overnight, but if this is not possible, don't worry - just leave it soaking for as long as you can.

Warm the milk until it is hand-hot (you can do this in the microwave). Stir in the teaspoon of sugar and the yeast, and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes or until it becomes frothy.

Mix the flour, salt and brown sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine. Add the frothy yeast, the beaten egg and the spice. Drain any remaining liquid from the fruit, then add the fruit to the mixture. Mix well to make a smooth dough (add extra flour if the mixture is too wet).

Turn the dough onto a floured board and knead it thoroughly. Place it in an oiled tin, cover with a cloth, and leave in a warm place to rise for 45 - 60 minutes; the dough should have doubled in size.

Place the tin in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the tin, turn it upside down and put it back in the tin or directly on the oven shelf. Bake for another 20 minutes or so. The loaf will be ready when it sounds hollow when you tap (atap tap tap) on each of the sides. Cool the loaf on a wire rack before serving.

Recipe for Barmbrack (August 2005)

For Samhain observance, before the final rise of the bread, place meaningful parchment or greaseproof paper wrapped charms in equal intervals throughout the bread mixture. Some traditional charms include a bean, a coin, a thimble or pea, a button, a matchstick, a gold ring and a snippet of cloth. Here are the meanings this wycked witch has attached to the charms for my divinations:

fava bean - contact with the Ancestors
silver pentacle dime - protected success and prosperity
thimble or pea - steadfast fidelity and connection to one's core truth
celtic knot button - open map to pathways in the soul
matchstick - a warm home and cozy hearth
gold ring - clear path to the heart
snippet of linen cloth - weaving together destiny

Samhain barmbrack is in opposite harmony with Pesach matzot. It is magically important that Samhain barmbrack be prepared as a yeasted bread - don't be tempted to use self-raising flour, baking soda or other chemical rising agents.

Full Horn Moon Success & Prosperity Spell

י"ד בתמוז תשס״ט
Faunus 15

I've performed my first spell on behalf of someone else. My daughter asked me to perform a success and prosperity spell for her, so I did on this evening of the Full Horn Moon, beginning during the planetary hour of Mars (ג) and concluding during the planetary hour of the Sun (ד, malchut).

The ritual oil, incense and candle dressings were taken from the master stock supplies (see third photo on the linked page) I made for the Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit. I used a handcrafted hand-dipped green taper inscribed specifically for my daughter. Vetivert essential oil and flax seeds were burned directly on silver hookah charcoal, along with the incense. Onto a pumice stone was loaded all the pain of my daughter and her children. Then the pumice stone was wrapped with paper, smashed with a hammer into dust and the dust blown into the wind - all the pain of the is past blown away by all the good things coming her way, so mote it be!

Then, during the Full Horn Moon, I crafted a unique Seed of Success Magical Manna spell bottle for my daughter, placed it into a black organza sachet bag tied with a beautiful silver Celtic knot charm, and placed the package into a silver Witchy Care Bag. Lined with black tissue paper and adorned with black tulle, the silver bag also contains other selected magical goodies every woman-girlie would love - a silver skeleton key to success tied with handdyed vintage looking ribbon along with other charms and beads, lavender scented potpourri, a handcrafted burgundy votive scented with oils to attract all good, handmade sage and cedarwood primitive soap, good dreams herbal mix with dream pillow sachet bag, blessings perfume oil, and witches brew incense sticks in a lovely lavender fabric incense bag. This is such a cool little witchy care bag. I am so anxious to give it to my daughter. She'll love it. It was surely made with perfect love and perfect trust.

I loved that she asked me to do this for her. I am so happy!

Grocery Store Magic List

Passing it on for those of us on a budget:

Grocery Store Magick List

For when you can't find that eye of frog!

African Violet - spirituality & protection
Alfalfa - prosperity, anti-hunger, money
Allspice - money, luck, healing
Almond - money, prosperity, wisdom
Aloe - protection & luck
Apple - love, healing, garden magic, immortality
Apricot - love
Avacado - love & beauty
Banana - fertility, potency, prosperity
Basil - love, exorcism, flying in aeroplanes, protection, sympathy, wealth
Bay - protection, psychic powers, healing, purification, strength
Bean - protection, exorcism, wart charming, reconciliations, potency, love
Blackberry - healing, money, protection
Blueberry - protection
Brazil Nut - love
Cabbage - luck
Cactus - protection & chastity
Caraway - protection, lust, health, anti-theft, mental powers
Carnation - protection, strength, healing
Carob - protection & health
Carrot - fertility & lust
Cashew - money & communication
Catnip - cat magic, love, beauty, happiness
Ceder - healing, purification, money, protection, stopping sexual harassment
Celery - mental powers, lust, psychic powers
Chamomile - money, sleep, love, purification
Cherry - love, divination, victory
Chestnut - love
Cinnamon - spirituality, success, healing, power, psychic powers, protection, love
Clove - protection, exorcism, love, money
Coconut - water, purification, protection, chastity
Coloured Pencils - colour magic
Coriander - love, health, healing
Corn - protection, luck, divination, money
Cotton Balls - luck, healing, protection, rain, fishing magic, communication
Compact Mirror - banish negativity
Crayons - colour magic
Cucumber - chastity, healing, fertility
Cumin - anti-theft
Curry - protection
Dill - protection, money, lust, love
Eggs - healing, removing negativity, fertility
Endive - lust & love
Eucalyptus - healing & protection
Fennel - protection, healing, purification
Fenugreek - money
Fern - rain-making, protection, luck, riches, external youth, health, exorcism
Fig - divination, fertility, love
Garlic - protection, healing, exorcism, lust, anti-theft, relief from nightmares
Ginger - love, money, success, power
Ginseng - love, wishes, healing, beauty, protection, lust
Gourd - protection
Grain - protection
Grape - fertility, garden magic, mental powers, money
Holly - protection, anti-lightning, luck, dream magic
Horseradish - purification & exorcism
Lavender - love, protection, sleep, chastity, longevity, purification, happiness, peace
Leek - love, protection, exorcism
Lemon - longevity, purification, love, friendship
Lettuce - chastity, protection, divinations of love, sleep
Licorice - love, lust, fidelity
Lime - healing, love, protection
Maple - love, longevity, money
Marshmallows - healing & friendship
Marjoram - protection, love, happiness, health, money
Mayonnaise - prosperity & cleansing
Mint - money, lust, healing, travel, exorcism, protection
Mistletoe - protection, love, hunting, fertility, health, exorcism of negativity
Mothballs - stop sexual harrassment
Mustard - fetility, protection, mental powers
Nutmeg - luck, money, health, fidelity, relief form nightmares (mixed) Nuts - fertility, prosperity, love, luck, communication
Oats - money
Olive - healing, peace, fertility, potency, protection
Onion - protection, exorcism, healing, money, prophetic dreams
Orange - love, divination, luck, money
Palm/Date - fertility & potency
Papaya - love & protection
Parsley - lust, protection, purification
Pea - money & love
Peach - love, exorcism of negativity, longevity, fertility, wishes
Pear - love
Pecan - money & employment
Pepper - protection & exorcism of negativity
Peppermint - purification, sleep, love, healing, psychic powers
Persimmon - healing & luck
Pimento - love
Pineapple - luck, money, chastity
Pistachio - breaking love spells
Plum - love & protection
Pomegranate - divination, luck, wishes, wealth, fertility
Popcorn - wishes, luck, prosperity
Potato - image magic, healing, seperation
Pretzels (knotted) - success & protection
Radish - protection
Raspberry - protection & love
Rhubarb - protection & fertility
Rice - protection, rain, money, fertility
Rose - love, psychic powers, healing, love divination, luck, protection
Rosemary - protection, love, lust, menatl powers, exorcism, purification, healing, sleep, youth
Rye - love & fidelity
Sarsaparilla - love & money
Sassafras - health & money
Savory/Summer - mental powers
Safety Pins - protection
Sesame - money & lust
Shoelaces - cord & knot spells
Spearmint - healing, love, mental powers
Strawberry - love & luck
Sugar Cane - love, lust, sympathy
Sunflower - fertility, wishes, health, wisdom
Tea - riches, courage, strength, health
Thyme - health, healing, sleep, psychic powers, love, purification, courage
Tobacco - healing & purification
Tomato - prosperity, protection, love
Tuna - prosperity & abundance
Turnip - protection & ending relationships
Vanilla - love, lust, mental powers
Walnut - health, menatl powers, infertility, wishes
Wheat - fertility & money
Wintergreen - protection & healing
Witch Hazel - protection & chastity

May each day find you safe, healthy and your Heart content.

~unknown

Making Herbal Ointments And Salves

כ"ט אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 30

To make an herbal ointment or salve, you will need:

• Selected herbs. Use 1-2 ounces dried or 2-4 ounces fresh herbs.
• Base fatty substance such as purified liquid anhydrous lanolin, almond oil, coconut oil, olive oil, safflower oil, cocoa butter, wheat germ, vitamin E, or pork lard. Use approximately 1 pint oil base or 8 ounces solid base. Use oils singly or in combination with one another.
  
• Thickener such as lanolin, shea butter, cocoa butter, glycerin, honey, liguis lecithin, powdered gum or resin (agar-agar or Irish moss), acid fruit pectin (from green apples, for example) as desired.
• Hardener such as beeswax (use approximately 2-4 tablespoons or 1-2 ounces) alone or beeswax in combination with paraffin.

Procedure:

1. Heat herbs and base together until the normal color of the plant is lost (the healing essence having been absorbed by the base at this point).
2. Strain the plant material out of the base with a filter cloth or strainer, transferring the heated/melted ointment into a storage container in the process.
3. Add (melted, if necessary) thickener. Mix well.
4. Add (melted, if necessary) hardener. Mix well.
5. Allow to set.
6. Store herbal ointment in tightly closed labeled container.

Making Herbal Tinctures

כ"ט אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 30

To make an herbal tincture:

1. Grind selected herbs with mortar and pestle.
2. Cover completely ground plant material with high quality vodka, grain alcohol or whiskey.
3. Let mixture stand loosely covered for 3 weeks.
4. Add glycerin (optional preservative) in the ratio: 2 tablespoons for every pint of mixture.
5. Dilute with distilled or spring water in the ratio: 90% water, 10% herb-alcohol-glycerin mixture.
6. Strain with filter paper or filter cloth (cheesecloth) into seal-able amber or cobalt blue bottle.

For a stronger tincture, ground herbs may be placed in a cone-shaped piece of parchment paper. Pass the alcohol repeatedly through the herbs in the parchment, catching the slow drippings in a jar. The greater the number of passes, the stronger the tincture.

To dilute or make a water tincture, evaporate the alcohol and add 20-40 drops of the remaining tincture to 1 cup of distilled or spring water.

Making Herb Infused Oils

כ"ט אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 30

Helpful Tips

1. Use dried herbs and botanicals. The water in fresh plants may allow bacteria to grow and spoil the oil.
2. The longer the shelf life of the carrier oil, the longer the shelf life of the herb infused oil.
3. Refrigerate finished oil infusion to retard oxidation, slow rancidity and prolong shelf life.
4. Infused oils may be re-infused to make double and triple strength brews.
   

Hot Infusion Method

Hot Method #1. Fill a jar with selected dried herbs. Cover herbs with carrier oil. Place the jar in a saucepan of water up to the neck of the jar. Simmer for up to 3 hours on low-medium temperature (no higher than 120-130 degrees F, frequently monitor the water level in the saucepan).

Hot Method #2. Alternatively, place herbs in a crock pot, covering herbs with carrier oil. Stir gently. Simmer for up to 12 hours on the lowest setting (no higher than 120-130 degrees F), monitoring and gently stirring frequently so that the herbs do not scorch on the bottom of the pot. If the temperature control of the crock pot is not reliable, let simmer for an hour, then let cool, then simmer again, and repeat until desired infusion strength is complete.

When simmering is complete, cool a bit but not completely before straining. Strain cooled brew through a filter paper or filter cloth (cheesecloth) into a seal-able amber or cobalt blue glass bottle. Use a rubber band to secure the filter over the opening of the jar.

Note - Hot methods lose some of the natural perfume fragrance and if overheated during the infusion process, some of the volatile medicinal properties of the herbs are lost.

Cold Infusion Method

Place dried herbs in a jar. Cover herbs to approximately 1-2 inches above the plant material with a lightly warmed carrier oil. Cover jar tightly with lid and place in a sunny spot for 24-48 hours (up to a week). After the infusion time is complete, strain sun brew through a filter paper or filter cloth (cheesecloth) into a seal-able amber or cobalt blue glass bottle. Use a rubber band to secure the filter over the opening of the jar.

Note - When using the cold method, make sure the herbs are covered completely with carrier oil and that there is as little air space as possible in the top of the jar to prevent the plant material from molding.

Walking With Benevolence

כ"ב אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 23
Gevurah sheb'Yesod

My newest creation for WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - Sacred Altar Oil.

Purify, consecrate, bless, call companion spirits to your ritual altar, and open and close candle rituals with Sacred Altar Oil, handcrafted during the sacred seventh day during the planetary hour of Mars. In magic kabbalistic tradition, Mars represents the action of bringing benevolence forth into the physical world through the strength of understanding. Through the magical Hebrew letter gimel corresponding to Mars comes the blessing of 'walking with benevolence.'


Sacred Altar Oil is a potent blend of frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood and bergamot in a certified organic safflower base oil, charged with a purple amethyst gemstone. Look closely (second photo) and see the thick concentration of myrrh (protection, spirituality, healing) which walks with the amethyst (happiness, peace, prophetic wisdom) in the bottom of the bottle.

Midsummer Balefire Liquid Light

י"ח אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 19

This exquisite ritual oil for Midsummer Litha Sabbat celebrations is a blend of Damask Rose and Sandalwood essential oils in a certified organic Safflower base oil. Handcrafted during the planetary hour of Saturn, Midsummer Balefire Liquid Light is charged with the energies of a dark blue Lapis Lazuli gemstone, Red Rose petals and Chamomile flowers (both flowers are certified organic botanicals). You can easily see the Lapis Lazuli gemstone in the bottle in the third photo (at WITCHCRAFTS).

This unique blend (embraced by the arms of the Fae and by the awesome spirit of this tree-bush) brilliantly comes together to form liquid light, revealed like a splendid rainbow weave of crystal colors in the bottle. Truly beautiful!

The two oils (Damask Rose and Sandalwood) and the two flowers (Red Rose and Chamomile) each magically correspond to elemental water, while the Sun is the planetary correspondence of the Chamomile flowers. In Midsummer Balefire Liquid Light Ritual Oil, fire (understanding) in the form of liquid light (conscious awareness) is born through water (wisdom) with the power of the Sun waxing toward the summer solstice.

About Ten

ט' אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 10

My newest treasure handcrafted for WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - Woodland Wytch Bath Salts.

An extraordinary, sensually relaxing delight for body and soul. Handcrafted during the planetary hour of the Sun, Woodland Wytch Bath Salts are made with premium quality Sea Salt harvested from the Mediterranean Sea on Spain's Costa Blanca, therapeutic grade Epsom Salt and over 20 drops! of pure essential oils, including sandalwood, patchouli, clary sage and amber.

Soothing, deep earth, woodsy aroma. Very grounding, soft and gentle, naturally exotic. Transform your bath into a magical experience.

Good for about 10 baths. Salts are blended in a half-half ratio.

Sage Witch Wand

ט' אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 10

I've acquired a new wand. In addition to my wand of the epiphany (made from wood of the lilac bush right outside my childhood bedroom window), I now possess this sage witch wand made from the wood of an Elder tree in the UK.

The Elder tree is known as the witch's tree. A home for the Elder Mother, wise and powerful matriarch of hedgerows, woods and semi-wild places, the Elder tree corresponds to the Ogham letter Ruis and to the mystery of the Unhewn Dolmen (the secret doorway to the mysteries). Elder is a highly charged and magical threshold tree, guarding and guiding through portals to the hidden realms.

This stunning knobby knotted wand is perfect for my initiation into mystical maturity. Its patterns and colors are simply wonderful, whispering of spectacular depths and inner glory. It called my name as soon as I saw it, and I answered its call. This is real magic.

Wytche Blessings Perfume Oil

ב' אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 3

In perfect love and perfect trust. Give wings to your spells and prayers, invoke the highest form of love, bring blessings down from the stars, and call up inspiration from the earth.

Wytche Blessings Perfume Oil is an intoxicating blend of frangipani, sandalwood and 3 types of wildharvested handpicked wildflowers from my yard, in a certified organic safflower oil base. Charged with a peridot gemstone, Wytche Blessings Perfume Oil was handcrafted during the planetary hour of Saturn (corresponding to reish, the magical letter of serenity) with the waxing crescent moon 5% full.

Naturally magical, powerfully enchanting, simply divine, the mother of all perfumes. A flower from the Pagoda tree (revered in India as the Tree of Life), frangipani epitomizes Sacred Perfection, its mesmerizing scent stimulates the unobstructed flow of benevolence, mercy and goodness into one's life, to shower blessings upon the soul. Peridot brings joy, health, wealth and happiness.

Awen Ancestor Conjure Incense

ל' ניסן תשס"ט
Annwn 1

Open a magical door to the ancestral spirits of the Otherworld. Awen Ancestor Conjure Incense is a sacred brew derived from a traditional Celtic Faery Witchcraft recipe for pathworking with the Ancestors. A blend of certified organic dittany of Crete, whole star anise with seeds, marshmallow leaf, acacia leaf, myrrh and patchouli with cedarwood essential oil, the botanicals were ground using a natural olive wood mortar and pestle, and called with three breaths of Awen to awaken as a bridge to the Ancestors under the erev shabbat New Moon of Annwn during the planetary hour of Jupiter.

The 4 dram corked vial is sealed with black wax, pentacle stamped and hung with a silver key bearing the letter "E", the fifth letter of the alphabet. "E" is the English descendant of the ancient proto-Sinaitic letter "hei" (from which is also derived the modern Hebrew letter ה). In Jewish Kabbalah, it is taught that the letter "hei" gave birth and ever continues to give birth to all the magical letters of the Hebrew alphabet (as is Awen the origin of all the magical Ogham of the Coel Bren).

Ogham staves:

Ruis - Elder (unhewn dolmen, r, reish ר)
Ailm - Fir/Pine (wonder, a, aleph א)
Huath - Hawthorne (awe, h, hei ה)

ראה - perceive, see, investigate, examine, understand, determine

Made under the Dark Moon of Annwn, use under the evocative power of the Full Moon. Caution - Ancestor work is not to be undertaken lightly or as a hobby.

EMail Address Change

כ'ט ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 29

I've cancelled my paid email account and will not renew it. My public free email is linked near the masthead. I won't be sending out any email announcements regarding my email address change.

Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit

י"ח ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 18

The Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit is now available at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu.

In Jewish kabbalistic tradition a "remedy for livelihood" is called a "segulah for parnassa". My Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit comes to you born from my own experience with a spell I created and performed for myself when I was unemployed. Importantly, after SEVERAL YEARS of unemployment and underemployment, LESS THAN A MONTH after performing my own segulah for parnassa, I became employed in a full-time well-waged position more commensurate with my skills, ability and education, with weekends and my "alternative holidays" off. May this Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit bring to whomever acquires it equal success in her/his search for suitable employment and for overall wellbeing. So mote it be!

Ground, Fly, Touch

י' ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 10

Three new enchantments are now available at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu:

Dew Of The Forest Floor ritual perfume oil. A truly exquisite, mesmerizing ritual perfume oil with the deeply penetrating scent liminally reminiscent of dew from an ancient forest floor. A potent potion of oakmoss absolute, labdanum absolute, wildcrafted guaiacwood, vanilla musk, juniper berry and vetiver in a safflower oil base, Dew Of The Forest Floor is full of pure pleasure and mystical magic. Deep, dark, moist, earthy, grounding. A hedgewitch's dream. Charged with a small natural amethyst crystal inside.

Witch's Flight Smudge is a shamanic blend of certified organic and wild harvested white ceremonial sage, black sage (artemesia vulgaris, also called mugwort and croneswort), uva ursi, pinon pine resin (pinus edulis), myrrh resin, frankincense resin, and premium white sandalwood with drops of hyssop pure essential oil.

Faery Finger Ritual Tea is my unique blend of Chinese foxglove (nonpoisonous rehmannia root), Ancient Forest black tea (from ancient tea plants 500 to 2,700 years old), white peony root, mullein flower, sweet cinnamon, elder flower, ginger root and licorice root. Enchanting, powerful, magical - this is a bold, dark, deeply penetrating, inviting tea.

I'm still using my mother's auto-focus digital camera, but my photography skills are already starting to improve dramatically, I think. Fewer blurs, more focus. I'm having fun with creating artistic perspective, and adding some visual magic into the mystical mix. Yay!

Herbs & Spices With Antioxidant Properties

ד' ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 4

Certain herbs and spices like cloves, rosemary, oregano, sage, vanilla, peppermint, allspice, garden thyme and lemon balm have natural antioxidant properties, which sometimes can be quite strong. Adding these herbs and spices to magical recipes may naturally work to extend the shelf life of your preparation.

From the Publication: Journal of Nutrition. 2003 May;133(5):1286-90 :

Herbs are usually considered as plant with aromatic properties and are mainly used spice foods and for preparation of herbal teas. Herbs also contain many phytochemicals including antioxidants. The aim of this study was to determine the daily intake of antioxidants present in culinary and medicinal herbs. To determine the level of antioxidants in herbs use was made of the FRAP (Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma) method. The results show that there are large differences in antioxidant levels: the herb with the highest level of antioxidants contains 1000 times more antioxidants than the herb with the lowest level. The herbs with the highest levels of antioxidants are oregano, sage, peppermint, lemon balm, clove, cinnamon, Cinnamomi cortex and Scutellariae radix.

The levels of antioxidants found in culinary herbs were influenced by crop year and season of harvesting. These are some levels of antioxidants in common culinary herbs grown and harvested in Norway, (expressed as mmol/100g):

Oregano 138
Sage 102
Peppermint 79
Thyme 75
Lemon Balm 75
Marjoram 56
Hyssop 38
Tansy, leaves 37
Purple Coneflower, flowers 23
Roseroot, stem 18
Chamomile 18
Angelica, leaves and stem 15
Roseroot, root and leaves 6
Angelica, root 5
Coriander 3

These are antioxidants levels found in dried commercial herbs (expressed as mmol/100g):

Clove 465
Allspice 102
Cinnamon 98
Rosemary 67
Thyme 64
Marjoram 54
Bayberry leaves 24
Ginger 22
Nutmeg 20
Mustard 10
Cayenne 6
Garlic 2
Coriander 2

The researchers also tested some medicinal herbs, mainly Chinese and Japanese herbs. These were the levels of antioxidants found (expressed as mmol/100g):

Cinnamomi Cortex 120
Scutellariae Radix 112
Cimicifugae Rhizoma 64
Paeonaiae Radix 55
Glycyrrhizae Radix 12
Angelicae Radix 3

The researchers concluded that the intake of herbs contribute significant to the overall daily intake of antioxidants. Intake of 1 g of culinary herbs may contain 1 mmol antioxidants. Culinary herbs are even a better source of antioxidants than other foods such as fruit, vegetables and cereals.

Autors of the article: Dragland S, Senoo H, Wake K, Holte K, Blomhoff R

Research Institute: The Norwegian Crop Research Institute, Apelsvold Research Station Div. Kise, Nes (Norway)

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