Inspired by these beautiful sunflowers, this bath includes herbs representative of solar energy. The sun carries the energy of power, confidence, positivity, joy, physical energy, friendship, and removing depression and low mood. We often focus on moon based energy, or rituals, but there are other planets that have unique energies that can be used for not only rituals but also these baths.
Summer is coming to a close and I used a lot of what was growing in the medicinal garden here in the studio. So if you have these particular herbs that is great but you can switch them out for other sun herbs. There are lots of options for other herbs that have correspondences with the sun. If a particular herb or flower calls out to you that makes you feel joy and lifts your mood then use that!
Sunflowers⠀
Rosemary ⠀
Lemongrass⠀
Pineapple Sage⠀
Yellow/Orange Roses⠀
Citrine⠀
Quartz⠀
Rhodochrosite⠀
Carnelian⠀
* Other sun herbs you can use are :
Cinnamon, frankincense, calendula, orange, lemon (citrus in general), chamomile, St. John’s wort
*Orange and yellow crystals can be substituted if you can't find or don't have any of the ones listed above!
Prepare your space, light candles, burn incense anything that helps you relax and feel at ease.
Place the crystals in the water or on the edge of the tub (all water safe). Place the flowers and herbs in the water. Submerge you’re entire body including your head. Let go of any thoughts and worries. Focus on the bright, joyful energy of the herbs, and the powerful energy of the sun.
Relax in the bath for 20 or so minutes. As you drain the water focus on all the negativity, and cyclical thoughts and emotions going down the drain. ⠀
60-100 fresh champaca blooms
1/2 cup sweet almond oil
1/8 cup beeswax
Small glass jar or bottle
Fill your small jar with sweet almond oil. I used a small quilted jam jar which fits approximately 1/2 cup of oil. If you have a larger jar, just fill it halfway. Unless you can gather a consistent supply of champaca everyday for a month in large quantities, the few blooms you can gather won't scent the oil enough to make a perfume with it.
Every day, gather 2-3 flowers. Make sure they are newly opened, as the more mature flowers will have brown tips and won't impart as bright and fresh of a fragrance. Place the flowers in the oil and give your jar a little shake. The next day, remove the old flowers and replace with fresh material.
Replace and renew flowers every day for at least 20 days. The more changes of flowers you do, the stronger and more potent your oil will smell.
Once the oil has reached your desired level of fragrance, strain out any remaining flower material.
Place the oil into a glass measuring cup For every 4 oz of oil, add 1 oz of beeswax. If you have a smaller quantity of oil, or a much larger quantity, use the ratio of 4:1 of oil:beeswax. This will make a nice firm solid perfume. If you want it slightly softer, you can do a 5:1 ratio.
Place the measuring cup into a pot of simmering water. The water should come halfway up the measuring up. Bring to a boil, then turn to low and let it simmer. Once the beeswax is completely melted, pour into a jar, small tin, or whatever container you want to store your perfume in.
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There is nothing better than passionflowers blooming in the summer. While we are at the tail end of the bloom, passionflowers are still abounding in the garden. While I like to dry the flowers and stems, make tinctures and tonics; I thought I would create a cooling passionflower ritual bath. It is not often I take baths in the summer time but this is a cooling bath. You can use cold to tepid waters to help cool down during these warm (lets be real, blazing hot...) months.
Passionflower has so many relaxing, calming and anxiety reducing benefits. If you happen to follow our youtube channel (you should!) you would have seen that I recently posted a video on how to make a passionflower tincture and a passionflower flower essence. So there is an abundance of different uses for this magical flower.
Ritual baths can be done on their own as its own way of creating a sense of calm in this chaotic world, or as a precursor to any type of ritual work you might be doing. Working with passionflower is fantastic for reducing anxiety, calming racing or cyclical thoughts, and helping with insomnia. You could do this bath to begin the day if you know you will be encountering any stressful activities that day or at the end of the day to wind down and help you fall asleep.
Passionflowers
Amethyst crystals
Epsom salt
Optional (passionflower flower essence)
Fill your bath with cool water. Add a handful of epsom salt. Scatter your passionflowers in the water. If you have made the passionflower essence you could also add a dropperful or so into the water. If you don't have access to fresh passionflower you can also add a few tablespoons of dried flower into a muslin bag and soak it like a tea in your water. Add a single amethyst piece into your tub. Full submerge yourself into the water, take a few deep breaths and let yourself completely relax and let go of all thoughts and worries. You can hold the amethyst in your hand as your meditate or just let rest at the bottom of the tub or somewhere on your body. Let go of all your worries and imagine them sinking into the water. As you drain the water they are released.
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2-3 elderflower heads
Handful of fresh rose petals
3-4 sprigs of lemon balm
1 bottle of white wine
Mason jar with lid
(lemon verbena, tulsi or pineapple sage, any fruity herbs would also work really well if you wanted to add those in!)
Gently rinse all your herbs under cool running water. You can also shake them off to get rid of any bugs or dirt that might be caught between the leaves or stems. Take your elderflowers and remove all the stems. This might be a little time consuming but the stems and twigs contain a mild amount of toxins. It might cause a slight stomach upset if you leave them in, so I suggest you separate the flowers from the stems or as much of them as you can. Use flowers that have fully opened but are still bright creamy white without any brown spots or blemishes.
Once your herbs are clean, gently dry them off with a clean towel. Put all the herbs into your jar and top with wine. Chill the wine in the fridge overnight. You can leave the wine for 3-4 for maximum flavor but if you want to drink it the next day you definitely can! The longer you leave it, the more flavor it will impart.
There are plenty of recipes out there for elderflower cordials and syrups, so if you wanted you could even turn this into a frozen wine! If you saw my post from last year, you will see the magical flower confetti frozen wine I did, and you can easily turn this infused wine into a frozen slushy!
Instead of infusing the herbs directly into the wine, you will first make a syrup with the herbs then pour into the wine when its cool. I came up with the infused wine recipe because I don't really like adding sugar to drinks in general and sweet wine just isn't for me, but the sugar helps this wine recipe stay slushy and will give it that lovely herb flavor.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3-4 heads of elderflower
Handful of lemon balm
Handful of rose petals
1 bottle white wine or rose
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup of infused syrup
Bring the water and sugar to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes until it begins to thicken slightly. Turn the heat off and add the flowers and herbs. Cover the pot with a lid and let the herbs steep for 30 minutes. Strain the herbs out and let the syrup cool.
In a shallow baking pan, pour in a bottle of white wine. Put it in the freezer for about 3-4 hours until it's nearly frozen. Once the wine is frozen, scrape into a blender along with the infused syrup and lemon juice. Blend until slushy.
You can drink it just like this, but it will melt pretty quickly from being in the blender, so for the perfect consistency, place it back into the freezer for another 30 minutes. Scoop into glasses and top with some of your rose petals and elderflower and enjoy!
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I was inspired to make this tincture today as I drove past hillsides covered in our state flower - the California poppy. This is the time of year where the hills are speckled with these bright orange flowers. Since we cant go hiking or enjoy the wildflowers this year I thought I would bring some of the wild California flowers to the kitchen and whip up a tincture.
Tinctures are a fantastic introduction to beginner herbalists. You only need 2 ingredients the herbs and the grain alcohol. It is very difficult to mess it up. This tincture I have aptly named poppy potion. But it also includes chamomile and lavender buds. I opted to use fresh as I like the energy that comes from fresh material. If you have dried herbs, you can of course use those if you like. But if you have the opportunity to use fresh material, I would give it a try!
You will also need to use a higher proof alcohol like an ever clear when you are making tinctures. Grain alcohol which has a higher percentage of alcohol can extract more constituents of the plant than a regular clear alcohol like a vodka can. But if all you have is some plain ol vodka, that will work too. Since these are all such delicate flowers, you can get away with using vodka.
1 part fresh chamomile
1 part fresh lavender
1 part fresh California poppies
120 proof grain alcohol (or 80 if its all you can find)
1 glass mason jar (whatever size you want)
Start by chopping up your herbs. Cutting them up makes more surface area, thus allowing more of the plant to permeate into the alcohol. You can use the stems and leaves of all three of these plants. I suggest you collect the poppies from cultivated source. California poppies are 100% illegal to forage so if you have the chance to grow them all the better! You can leave the chamomile whole since they are pretty small anyway.
Once you have your herbs prepared, just pop them in the jar and top with alcohol. Make sure you fill the alcohol so it covers all the herbs. They tend to float to the top in the first few days, but they will sink with time so dont worry so much that they will rot. As long as they remain covered, you will be fine. Leave this for 6-8 weeks before you strain. Once it's ready, strain out the herbs and return to jar. You can keep this as the mother jar, and pour off what you need into a small dropper bottle. Take 20-40 drops before bedtime for insomnia, and for anxiety you can take smaller doses of approximately 8-10 drops throughout the day. Always start off small and you can increase dosage when you feel comfortable.
California poppies are known for their relaxation and pain relieving properties. Unlike the opium poppy, this poppy does not contain any opiate effects but has similar benefits from pain relief to calming anxiety. It is not addictive, and very safe. In combination with the mild nervines, chamomile and lavender, this makes for a very gentle but powerful calming tincture. It works well for both the physical manifestations and more mental tension and stress. It is one of the best herbs you can use for the nervous system, that is this mild in nature. If you suffer from insomnia or racing thoughts before sleep, taking this blend will help lull you into a sound sleep.
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HYACINTH FLORAL PERFUME
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Hyacinths are often used in love potions, perfumes and workings. Hyacinths are also associated with grief and loss. In Mexico, they are used in funerals for small children. They help the departed cross over into the other plane with ease. Keep a hyacinth in your pocket to help ease grief and bring a renewed since of joy and happiness. They are said to prevent nightmares and keeping this flower by your bedside will keep you safe throughout the night.
Hyacinths have such a strong aroma, once I saw these in bloom, I knew I had to do something with them. Perfumes with hyacinth notes are often very pricey. If you saw my post last summer about trying to infuse champaca flowers into oil you know I love experimenting with these fragrant flowers. I did both an oil and an alcohol extraction. I will report back once I strain them!
For Oil Infusion:
Bunch of hyacinth blooms (about 4-5 heads)
2 cups almond oil (or grapeseed, sunflower)
Pint sized mason jar
For Alcohol Infusion:
Bunch of hyacinth blooms (about 4-5 heads)
2 cups Vodka
Pint sized mason jar
Remove flowers from stalks. Fill jars with the blossoms and pack them down gently. Fill the jar to the top with the oil or alcohol. Leave these to infuse for approximately 4 weeks. Keep an eye on the jars as fresh flowers or herbs can cause the oil to spoil. Just make sure that the flowers are completely covered by the oil and there's none poking up over the top. Watery flowers tend to release a lot of moisture, so every few days I like to pop the lid open and air out the jar. One time I made a mistake of leaving a fresh pine oil infusion sitting for a few months and when I opened the lid, it almost exploded on me from the pressure built up inside!
This is also a great flower to attempt enfleurage with. You will need a larger amount of flowers to use that method, but I can see you having some great results with a coconut oil and hyacinth enfleurage!
Once the oil has reached the level of aroma you like, strain out the spent flowers. You can use the floral oil as a light perfume. You can also add some beeswax or candelila wax and make a solid perfume or balm!
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Large rectangular tray
Variety of glass jars/ bottles
Water
Variety of plant cuttings
pothos, philodendrons, orchid kikis, monsteras, begonias, fiddle leaf fig, grape leaf ivy, prayer plant, scindapsus are all good choices.
Gather all your jars and bottles and arrange them in your tray. Make sure the tray has sturdy handles, and sides tall enough to come up halfway the bottles. You dont want any of these getting knocked over! Also try and not use bottles with too narrow of a neck. When the plant begins to root, if you try and remove it from a tall thin bottle, some of the roots could potentially break off.
Take cuttings from your plants. Cut right below the node. Remove all the leaves from the bottom, so you have about 3-5 inches of stem. Pop your cuttings in the water. You can start this a few weeks before you give it as a gift, so they begin to root, or you can cut them the same day and do this super last minute! Makes no difference, and it looks equally as stunning!
Share if you decide to make this!
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Handful of Epsom Salt
Quartz Crystals (pink, yellow or purple stones also will work)
Tons of flowers (roses, daisies, jasmine, whatever flower uplifts you)
Optional: essential oils of orange, lavender, ylang ylang, jasmine (add in 2-3 drops of any sensual essential oil or e.o blend)
Firstly, set the mood for your ritual. Make sure your area is clean. Tidy up, sweep the floor, clean your tub etc. Light candles, incense, put on soft music, whatever puts you in a relaxed state of mind.
In light of everything going on in the herbal community and our collective awakening to unethical practices in general I wanted to touch on the ethical sourcing of crystals. I have been working with crystals for nearly 15 years as well as being an avid rockhound. For many years when I first started selling, I would sell some of our local San Diego rainbow quartz! I loved going out to the desert to dig up my own stones- but as we grew it was no longer an option to make the drive and do this for anything more than just a hobby. We also were making formulas with much more than just quartz. We had to source our crystals from other places. This is when we began to go to the big gem shows every year.
I have told my story with mental health issues many times so I won't go further into that but basically I started making crystal infused products to help people because it had helped me, and there wasn't anything else like it out there. This was before natural skincare and the new wellness movement really took off. I never in a million years thought vogue and allure and other huge beauty magazines would be featuring crystal infused products. I didn't think this small idea would become a huge trend. It is still hard to believe sometimes.
This journey for me began after my own studies with crystals (metaphysical and geology) and the intention of spreading this knowledge and healing with others. I truly believed in what I was trying to share with the world. Now with so many others following suit, everything from herbs, to essential oils to crystals are being called into question because of its sheer prevalence. I have had several people ask me whether or not our crystals are ethically mined. As a rockhound myself, who is deeply connected to the earth in many ways I can only say that the crystals we sell are ethically and responsibly sourced to the highest degree possible.
We have strong ties to each of our mineral and crystal suppliers, many of whom are small family run businesses that gather material from their own land. It is hand processed by them and only sold at smaller gem shows once a year or by appointment. We get our serpentine from a husband and wife team who found this beautiful lime green variety of serpentine on their own land in Washington and the husband tumbles and polishes it on site. Our Quartz comes from Arkansas from a 5 generation family run operation. All our crystal chips and smaller pieces that are in some of our smaller products are byproducts of larger tumbling operations. So pieces that normally would be tossed are saved and can be used in smaller bottles. Our Kunzite, and aquamarine come from another family run operation that grew up about 15 minutes from my home in San Diego but moved back to their homeland of Afghanistan to work in the gem business. Our selenite, calcite, and obsidian come from yet another family run business based out of Mexico.
While not all stones can come from the US, we try and only buy from reputable suppliers with whom we have trusted for years. Jade comes from China (and other places) just like quartz can come from Brazil, Arkansas and pretty much every place on earth. So for people who ask if a specific stone is from China isn't a matter of being of poor quality it's a question of where is the stone found. We form relationships with the people from around the world who sell these stones and many of them have the same stories of family and love for the work they do. I only buy small quantities of stones from legitimate sources. We are not about selling mass quantities of crystals for profit, we hand pick only the best, clearest, most high quality stones from legitimate, ethical sources. Otherwise we would just choose not to sell it at all.
How do you feel about crystals? Have you ever purchased any that you felt weird about? Not knowing where it came from or if it's being over-mined? Not knowing if child labor has been used? Just like the textile industry, beauty industry, etc we have to call into question where are things come from. If the intent of owning crystals is to provide some kind of spiritual and physical healing then it is counterintuitive to be making an in uninformed purchase from a possibly unethical source. What are your thoughts?
]]>Growing your own herbs is one of the most rewarding things you can experience. Not only is the quality better than buying from a big corporate herb supplier, but you get to see the plant grow. Whether you start with a seed or a small herb plant, you will witness every stage of its growth. You will learn how much water, sunlight, nutrients and care each plant needs. When the day finally comes when its time to harvest your leaves, flowers or roots you will feel such a sense of satisfaction. Only then will you be able to see why its not the best idea to wildcraft. It takes so much energy for the plant to thrive and when the growing conditions are not optimal or we as humans interfere in some way, the plant suffers.
Many people have asked me will sage grow in X place. What I will say is that you can grow sage just about anywhere if you take your plant inside during winter (if you don’t live in a desert/Mediterranean climate like here in Southern CA). But will it flourish where you live? Probably not. But it will grow, and it is definitely worth a try to see how healthy you can get it. You will never know unless you try!
Here in Southern California, you can find white sage at most nurseries in a native plant section along with some hardware stores. But I realize in some other places its probably a very specialized plant that might only be available at herb or medicinal plant nurseries. But there are some resources online like Strictly Medicinal Seeds or Crimson Sage Nursery that will ship to you!
How to Grow from Seed
You might have heard that sage is notoriously difficult to start from seed. Its not that its “difficult” per say but that the germination rate is very low. Its about 10-20% but honestly its more like 10%. Some companies say it can be up to 50% but I doubt it. This means that out of a package of about 100 seeds, on average only 10 will sprout. In the spring I sprouted about 10 trays, which is about 72 seeds per tray. Only 5-8 per tray sprouted.
Even if you live in a temperate climate, I always try and give the seeds the most optimal growing conditions. I have a spare shower where I am able to set up a grow light so the seeds stay at a pretty even temperature all day long. If you have any spare area of your house where you can set up a table, or a closet, or a windowsill, that’s perfect!
I would recommend buying a seed starter soil mix. You can use a good quality soil from a hydroponic store as well but seed starter is very finely ground so theres no big chunks of wood or anything else. Its also better at retaining moisture. Fill your trays with soil and use your finger or the end of a pen to create a ¼ divot in each cell. Drop a single seed in and use your finger to lightly cover up the seed. Water the tray then put a lid over it. Many seed trays can be purchased with a dome lid either at a hydroponics store or even a Home Depot/Lowe’s. Every few days check the moisture of the soil and mist the tray lightly then cover it back up. Don’t let it get super wet, just moist enough. White sage will take a bit longer than many seeds to sprout but in about 2 weeks you should see some start popping up. Wait until the sprout is about 3 inches tall before you transplant.
If you don’t want to grow these indoors, you can also do it outdoors using natural sunlight, but I just find that if you do it indoors you can control the environment more and give them a better chance to sprout.
If you want more information I would highly recommend you read Richo Cech’s book The Medicinal Herb Grower: A Guide for Cultivating Plants That Heal. He has some wonderful recommendations for caring for sage and he is a great resource! There are some amazing suggestions about how to recreate the natural environment of sage and the yearly wildfires in order to get the seeds to pop. One of the best books you can read on the subject!
How to Propagate Sage
To be quite honest, this is something I still have not mastered. I have spoken to several nurseries and many do not propagate but purchase from larger wholesale companies that do propagate from cuttings. I can only tell you from what I have read and tried to do myself as there isn’t much information out there on this subject which is a shame. Everyone should be able to learn this not just those that are selling it!
You can do this in 2 ways. You can either use soil or go hydroponic. I have tried both with little success. I think you have to have a lot of patience with this, and if you choose to try the hydroponic method you have to be very careful and keep your equipment VERY sanitary.
First I will discuss hydroponic method as its least talked about. To go this route, I would suggest buying a clone box. This is something that’s mostly used in the cannabis industry but can be used to clone many kinds of plants (anything from tomato’s to flowers). You can find instructions to make one out of a 5 gallon bucket but I would spend the extra money if you plan on doing this long term to just buy a professional one because in the end making the bucket still costs about $40 and the real one is about $60-80 for a small one. But the small one can hold about 40 cuttings whereas a bucket might only yield 12-16.
To get a cutting from a sage plant you need to choose, young tender shoots. Don’t bother cutting from a woody stem. The woody stems are far too tough to grow roots and are hollow inside. Find the new growth and find the longest stems you can. Strip the leaves off the bottom end of the stem and only leave about 3-4 leaves on the top. To cut the shoot, use a sterile razor blade, always cutting at an angle. Carefully cut the bottom leaves off with the razor. It requires only a light push of the razor against the base of the leaf for it to fall off. Try not to nick the stem at all. If you cut into the stem or damage it in any way you don’t be able to use it. Then dip the end of the sage into a cloning gel. Make sure to keep the ends of the sage wet with the gel while you gather the rest of your cuttings so they don’t dry out. This is so they have the best chance of growing and don’t seal up at all.
Once you have all your cuttings, follow the directions with your clone box. They should start to grow roots in about 2 weeks. You have to be super careful that you keep the water inside clean. Completely sanitize your box when you start using it as it can grow mold quite easily.
Once your sage has roots long enough to plant, go ahead and transfer into soil or coco fiber if you want to try growing it totally hydroponically. But soil is easier if you don’t want to go through a whole nutrient cycle that coco fiber requires.
For the soil method, follow the same directions to get cuttings of the sage. Then use a rooting powder to dip the ends into. Use a sandy, cactus mix or something similar and fill up a seed tray or small 4 inch pots. Plant the cutting in the soil. Water regularly and if you are successful you might have some roots in about a month. I have never been successful with soil propagation but I have heard its possible!
How to Care for Sage
White sage is a pretty resilient plant, but that doesn’t mean it can be neglected. In definitely needs water, especially if you plan on potting it. If you have the space I would suggest planting it directly in the ground, but if a pot is your only option that’s fine. In the ground they can get up to about 6 feet, but in a large pot even a very healthy specimen might be around 2-3.
I would suggest getting a cactus or native soil mix but if you have the funds and time and space, you can mix your own. I like to use a good quality soil like Happy Frog but you can use something less expensive but please don’t use Miracle Grow its complete junk. Mix in about ¼ perlite and ¼ sand to 1 soil. You can also mix in some of your native soil if you like. If you live in Southern CA or other areas where sage grows naturally, I would suggest you mix in a bit of your native soil for sure!
Water sage once its dry, it should never be wet, but don’t let it go too long. Once the leaves start to shrivel or turn down, that means you waited to long to water. About once a week is a good rule of thumb. Check the soil with your finger in the winter it might be more like once every two weeks.
If you bought your sage from a nursery, it’s probably still very young, and you will need to wait at least 3 years before you harvest any leaves. If you have a bigger plant I would still wait about a year for it to settle in to your garden.
How to Harvest
Once your plant has reached the maturity required to begin to harvest, its time to keep the benefits of all your hard work! When you want to take some pieces off your plant, its important to only trim the tops. Sage has little clusters of leaves that form small bunches at the very tops of the branches. These will be quite obvious to you once you are looking at your plant. Trim these tops off carefully with a pair of sharp trimmers or gardening shears. Never cut any of the older, woody stems. If you trim the woody stems or trim too far down the plant, you wont get any new growth here. Also if you ever see a plant full of woody stems with no new growth on it in the wild, you will know someone has been improperly wild harvesting! Which is why its important to know how to do this the right way. While we do not encourage harvesting in the wild AT ALL its good to know regardless so you never harm the plant. Also make sure when you are trimming your plant, never take more than a few pieces, especially from a young plant. Never take more than 1/3 of your sage.
How to Dry
When you harvest, try to do it in the mid to late morning or early evening once the morning dew has dried. You do not want your sage to mold when you are drying it. This rarely happens with sage but if you do it improperly it is possible.
I would recommend you buy a foldable mesh drying rack if you plan on drying herbs in any larger quantity. This rack is great because it stores flat. But if you have any kind of drying rack, shallow basket or you can also hang it. Find a well ventilated, dry area of your house. Lay the sage in your drying rack making sure none of the pieces overlap or are lying on top of each other. If you want to hang the pieces, bundle them together in groups of 2 or 3, but no more as you want a good air circulation. Tie them by the stem and hang them upside down. In warmer months it should take about 10 days to dry. In cooler months it could take a few additional days. You will know when they are dry when you can snap the stem, or the leaves snap in half. It will sound crispy. If the leaves still bend without breaking leave them for a few more days.
How to Use
While I wont go too much into the Native background of this plant (more on this in a future post) I will say this has a great history of ritual use as well as for food and medicine (which a lot of people aren't aware of). You will commonly see huge bundles for sale in new age stores, health food stores, online etc. But what you don't know is how wasteful and unnecessary this is. You certainly do not need a mondo sized bundle of an endangered plant. Especially when its being sold so cheaply. Its really sad. For cleansing purposes you only really need a single leaf. I have used a single leaf in my own rituals and its lasted 2-3 uses. It has a really strong scent and energy and you really don't need to waste such a precious plant.
Please think twice before you buy white sage from a store. Most of this sage is wild harvested and even companies who claim its done "ethically" are using deceptive language to fool you. Nothing about wild harvesting an endangered plant is ethical. Before the days of social media, maybe taking a few leaves for your own personal use was ok, but now it is imperative that we spread the message of not wildcrafting this plant as there are people out there who have absolutely no respect for it and are destroying this plants chances for long term survival. Imagine all the white sage you see in stores and multiply that by the thousands. How many thousands of wild harvested sage bundles are there across the country? We must put an end to this practice and grow your own!
Happy gardening!
]]>Much like mercury retrograde, this planet's retrograde brings up a lot of past memories and issues to the surface. Venus is the planet that rules love, sex, beauty and feminine energy. When venus goes retrograde, a lot of past relationship patterns and traumas are stirred up. We might experience trouble in a current relationship, break up with someone or on a less dramatic scale, begin to really work on healing our traumas with or without a partner.
If you have found yourself entering into the same kinds of relationships over and over again or experiencing problems in your current relationship because of abandonment issues, past sexual or emotional traumas, now is the time to really delve deep into these issues. Once we can learn to let go of this trauma, to forgive, to truly heal ourselves, only then can we begin to be in a healthy relationship both with ourselves and a partner.
Taking ritual baths is a way to cleanse our physical as well as mental body of whatever is weighing heavy on our minds. Adding crystals and flowers or herbs that correspond with love, trauma, and the heart can be used in combination with the element of water to purify ourselves. For this bath, you don't have to use a ton of crystals like I do, but if you have them, go ahead and go wild! But all you need is a single stone if you have one to make it work.
Rose Quartz
Amethyst
Rhodochrosite
Rose petals (pink, red, lavender, peach color)
Coconut Milk
Pink Himalayan Salt
Candles
*Optional: You can use our Coconut Rose Milk Bath Soak, Rose Moon Bath Soak, and a splash of our Sacred Fire Massage oil)
ROSE QUARTZ
The ultimate love stone. Rose quartz carries an extremely gentle, healing, feminine energy. This makes it one of the top stones for healing trauma. It allows you to open yourself up to loving yourself and treating yourself with compassion, and comfort. Treat yourself gently, slowly allowing yourself to bring old traumas to the surface while feeling calm, relaxed and safe. Rose quartz will teach you how to learn to love yourself. This will bring you closer to your partner, or help you be on the same vibrational level as a partner that will perfectly compliment you. Once you open yourself up to loving yourself, you will attract someone on the same wavelength as you. Once you truly love yourself, you can feel a sense of contentment and peace within you which will radiate out into the world.
AMETHYST
Another wonderful stone for healing trauma. It helps you break any addictions or negative cycles you have been stuck in. It is great for anxiety, as it has many soothing, relaxing properties as well. If you feel anxious about a loss, a breakup, or just issues that are coming up you are finding difficult in dealing with, amethyst will help alleviate some of that nervous tension. Amethyst is associated with your third eye and crown chakras. Using this stone is perfect for meditation and the spiritual realm. It connects you to your higher powers and can help gain some insight into your situation
RHODOCHROSITE
Like rose quartz, rhodochrosite, is another tender, and compassionate stone. All pink stones can be used for matters of the heart, but rhodochrosite is especially gemmy, raspberry colored and beautiful. Rhodochrosite is helpful with childhood issues, past trauma, and old wounds. It lets you move forward with compassion towards yourself and with others who might have hurt you in the past. It allows you to acknowledge the pain you feel, let it go and to also release any negative patterns you are stuck in that you use to cope with the trauma. Unresolved issues dissolve away, revealing the true self and a healthier, happier self.
Center your mind however you typically do. This can be a grounding exercise, meditation, whatever form resonates with you. This helps you mentally cleanse before you enter your space.
While your bathwater is running, place your crystals around your bathtub. You can also place one of each stone in your bath water to directly charge it. Pour your coconut milk (Coconut Rose Milk Bath Soak) into the water, letting it dissolve. Pour in a handful of Himalayan salt (or our Rose Moon Soak) and stir with your arm to help the salt dissolve. For extra moisture, and energy, add in a splash of Sacred Fire Massage Oil. This oil is infused with garnet, rhodochrosite and rose quartz along with essential oils that correspond to love. Once the tub is full, scatter your rose petals across the surface.
Light candles, cleanse the space with aromatic herbs and set intention for your bath. Relax in the bath as long as you want. As your thoughts come up, acknowledge them, and let them fall away. Let your all your negative thoughts, patterns, and anything which you want to let go of flow into the water. Breathe in positive energy. Imagine the crystals energies vibrating all around you, creating an orb of light. You are also emitting an orb of light all around your auric field. Let these two light sources meet and inhale the healing energies. Allow yourself to completely let go and feel yourself full of light, love and healing. As you drain the water, imagine these released energies swirl around the drain and out of your life.
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1 bottle of white or rose wine
1/4 cup of simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water)
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 cup of edible flowers
(extra handful of edible flowers for garnish)
Baking dish
pot
1 head of cauliflower finely chopped
1 tomato diced
1 small cucumber diced
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup yellow onion
1/3 cup cilantro finely chopped
juice of 3 limes
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper finely chopped
2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
dash of cayenne (optional)
avocado sliced
hot sauce
tostadas or tortilla chips
This recipe is a slight variation of one my aunt made for me over the summer. If you come from a Mexican family you know how hard it is to find something to eat at parties if you are vegetarian and if you are vegan yikes! So it was to my great surprise walking into the kitchen to find she was making me my own vegan ceviche! This recipe is pretty much the same with some slight additions to make it more filling.
This can be served as either as a snack with tortilla chips and the ceviche as a sort of dip or with tostadas as a full meal. You can serve this with avocado slices on top and a few dashes of hot sauce. You can also modify this to your own taste. It was originally made with all yellow onion, but I find that flavor too strong so I halved it and added red onion as well. If you like cilantro add more, if you hate the taste, add less or omit it. All my recipes are done with intuition and tasting as I go along so nothing is exact, customize it to your liking!
Cut the cauliflower into florets. You can either chop it by hand or in a food processor. If you want to make a big batch, definitely use a food processor if you have one! Make sure this is pretty fine, almost like a cauliflower rice, but you can leave bigger pieces in it as well. While regular ceviche has bigger pieces of fish, if you leave the cauliflower too big it will not absorb the flavors as well and you will just be biting into big hard pieces of bland cauliflower. Add into a big bowl.
Chop your tomatoes- you can use any kind you want, as well as your cucumber and add that to a bowl with your cauliflower. Finely chop your onion, cilantro and jalapeño (or serrano for more heat) and add that in. Juice your limes directly over your mixture. Add salt and pepper and mix well. You can add a few dashes of cayenne for some extra flavor but its completely optional.
Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes for all the flavors to meld. You can also make this the night before and let it sit in the fridge.
Serve ceviche over some good quality tostadas and top with avocado slices.
Enjoy!
]]>While we have discussed the scarcity of white sage many times across different channels, many people are still unaware of the 'at risk' status of white sage. It is something that we need to be aware of when making conscious purchases, especially online where you don't really know where something comes from. It is easy to look past this when every new age, health food store and insta-hippie sells these online. They seem like they are everywhere so it must be growing prolifically right?
White sage is a plant native to Southern California and parts of Baja California. It also grows in other Southwest regions of the US and Northern Mexico but its range is very small and often scattered. White sage is traditionally used by Native American and some Native Mexican people. It is a sacred plant that is really only used in very small amounts. Burning just one leaf at a time can be all you need for one person to cleanse themselves. While I won’t be getting into discussions on who should be allowed to use this plant, I am just giving a historical perspective so you know the basis of where the rituals originated from. (plus there are TONS of other uses for white sage that are rarely discussed)
If you don't live in these regions, it can be easy to assume that wild harvested white sage just grows like crazy and is always ripe for picking. You dont get to see the dry, shriveled little plants that exist in what is technically a desert region. You forget that Southern California is essentially desert when you think of beaches, warm weather and tropical landscapes. We are actually in a desert, where water is scarce. Not to mention the drought we have been in since I can remember. While sage does tolerate dry climates like this, that doesn't mean it doesn't need water, and that in times of water scarcity it doesn't grow smaller in stature, its stems remain woody and dry and its leaves shrivel to half their normal size. Plants react to the climate, the season and the availability of water. Not to mention all the wildfires California has every year that destroy the sage’s habitat, and growing population that will bulldoze native white sage land to build houses!
Every year, every season, we return to the same lands over and over to observe the plants. We keep a file of what the weather was like, what the plants looked like, etc. When the plant is ready to give of its leaves, you will know. If you could see what the plants looked like now, you would know the plant needs to conserve everything it has to survive. You would know you were doing something iniquitous by ripping away its precious leaves.
While we aren’t here to say whether you should be wild harvesting plants or not, this is just one plant that is not ready to be wild harvested. Until we have a sustainable, cultivated source of white sage, I would say we shouldn’t gather at all from wild sources. Unless this grows on your own land, or you are able to grow it in your own garden, you should refrain from using and buying sage until you can find a readily available source. There are so many, and I am talking hundreds of varieties of sage that can be substituted. Black sage, sagebrush, great basin sage, culinary sage etc. Also cedar, sweet grass, rosemary, lavender; you can grow so many of your own herbs for cleansing purposes. Also many small farms or existing companies are beginning to grow their own cultivated sage for sale. We hope to be doing the same thing in the near future.
If you want to try your hand at growing your own sage, I suggest trying seeds. Propagating from a cutting is a little more tricky. It doesn’t always work, it can take a long time and you might get discouraged going this route. Growing from seed is no picnic either as they have a low germination rate. To give you a better idea, I set up 5-6 trays of seeds and only about 2-5 out of 100 sprouted per tray. But it is well worth your effort! You can either gather the seeds yourself or buy seeds. I like to get mine HERE.
So next time you see that photo of the enormous white sage wand online think twice of where that came from, ask questions, stay informed and be mindful. We all need to make a conscious effort to help keep this plant alive for many generations to come.
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