Imbolc Lavender & Rosemary Seed Cake — Gather Victoria

There is nothing like cake to celebrate a special occasion and Imbolc (on February 2nd) is no exception. And I think this “naked” sponge cake would be a wonderful addition to any Imbolc Feast! It’s kept gorgeously moist with brushings of lavender and rosemary syrup (between cake layers) but the slight tang of the Mascarpone…

via Imbolc Lavender & Rosemary Seed Cake — Gather Victoria

Total Lunar Eclipse — Mixed Blessings

Dear all,

The Total Lunar Eclipse happening Sunday between 9:30 pm and early Monday 1 am is a complex one for several reasons. First, we have several tense aspects building up to it in the next couple of days that will already set the stage for the challenges that this Lunar Eclipse will bring to the forefront.

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WHAT ARE HERBAL TINCTURES?

Good Witches Homestead

January is here with its fresh start, and we are enjoying our snowy Utah landscape, cozy fires and turning inward. This time of year is about resetting, refreshing, finding balance and focusing on self-care and the care of loved ones. This is a wonderful time to start new healthy habits that can stay with you all year long. It’s also a great opportunity to share the beauty and accessibility of herbal tinctures with friends and family, resolving to build good health within your community!

When we think about using herbs in our everyday life, there are a few ways that come to mind; fresh harvest from the garden, herbal infusions (tea) and herbal tinctures. While many of you know what a tincture is and use them often, many folks don’t, and our goal is to get more people comfortable using plant medicines and to be inclusive in our information; we…

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Thinking About Planting a Dye Garden?

Good Witches Homestead

Traditional dye plants offer intriguing materials for the gardener who is also a spinner or weaver, or who just wants to experiment with the vast usefulness of the natural world. Nature has its own subtle palette of colors and this little garden represents a few of the dozens of plant dye possibilities, which even include some nuts, fruits, vegetables, and other common foods.

And even if you’re more inclined to pick up some easy powdered dye at the corner store than to make a dye bath from the plants in your garden, you still might appreciate this connection to history and tradition. All of these plants are desirable garden plants.

About Dye Plants

A separate garden isn’t necessary to grow dye plants, as you can incorporate them into an existing flower border or bed (and you might unknowingly be growing dye plants already), but this small corner bed can give…

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How To Celebrate Winter For More Personal Empowerment

Good Witches Homestead

As the sun reminds us, it is time to begin considering the year behind and the new one ahead. This year you might consider how winter can aid you in finding more personal empowerment.

Standing in our own personal empowerment allows us to no longer feel like the victim and begin to take full accountability for our own feelings, emotions, situations, and relationships. When we feel victimized by others actions or reactions we are actually giving our personal power away to that situation. No one gives us our emotions, instead, they come from within us based on our core beliefs, our experiences, and our expectations.

When we begin to take full responsibility for our own emotional state we have stepped into our empowerment. Personal empowerment is often associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra. This winter we hope you will take the time to take a personal inventory of your emotional…

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Elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire.

Good Witches Homestead

Earth:

Elementals: Gnomes

King: Ghob

Rulers: Kerub

God Name: Adonai ha-Aretz

Quadrical: North

Archangel: Uriel

Angel: Phorlakh

Angelic Order: Cherubim

Quality: Stability

Color: Yellow, brown, black, and rustic

Complementary Color: Blue

Form: Square, cross

Sense: Touch

Sign: Taurus

Tattwas: Prithvi

Magical tool: Pentagram

Focus: Senses

Created: Stones

Stones: Dark stones, and stones that help with grounding oneself

Metal: Lead, silver

Plants Anatomy: Roots

Animals: Burring animals

River of Hell: Acheron

River of Eden: Euphrates

Musical Instrument: Drums

Musical Note: “f”

Archdaemon: Mahazael/Mehazaer

Planets: Moon, Saturn, and Earth

Signs: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn’s

Body: Feet to the knees, the body itself, bones

Chakra: Muladhara

Finger: Ring finger

Elemental creatures: Gnomes, brownies, elves, sylvetres, satyrs, pans, dryads, hamadryads, durdalis, goblins, dwarfs, leprechauns, giants.

Herbs: Patchouli, mugwort, horehound, sagebrush, sorrel, vervain, magnolia, horsetail, salt, roots

Some Virtues: Patience, builder, strength, thrift, acquisition, conserved, practical, dependable, stable, endurance, protective

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A Passion For Herbs

Good Witches Homestead

Herbs are a fascinating group of plants with a history of cultivation stretching back to the dawn of civilization. Once the herb garden was a practical project, necessary for supplying flavorings for the kitchen and medicines for the family. Today, gardeners are growing herbs for medicinal purposes and for their attractive looks, pleasing fragrances, and tasty flavors. Whether your interest is kindled by taste, aroma, beauty, or history, you’ll find herbs a satisfying addition to your garden.

What is a Herb?

Traditionally, herbs have been defined as plants that are useful to people. The oregano and thyme on your pizza are herbs just as the ornamental foxglove, from which we once extracted the medicine digitalis, is a herb. The insecticide pyrethrin is derived from the painted daisy, making it a herb as well. The list goes on and on; we use herbs and herb products every day.

Choosing Herbs:

In…

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EASY MORNING CRYSTAL RITUAL

By Krista Mitchell

I start every day with my spiritual practice. My students will tell you that I’m big on maintaining a consistent daily energy + spiritual routine, and of course crystals are always a big part of that for me.

Even if it’s just taking five minutes to tune in to myself, center, and connect with my soul or the Universe, those five minutes can initiate a palpable energy shift that can help set up my whole day for the better.

If you’ve been considering ways to integrate crystal energy into your daily life, or for ways to add an energy healing component to your daily spiritual practice, the following morning crystal ritual is easy, quick, and effective.

I do this every morning, and by evening when I reflect back I can see how much it affected how productive, less stressful, creative, and happy my day went in general.

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Druidry for the 21st Century

The Druid's Garden

This is a challenging age, doubly so for anyone who is connected spiritually with the living earth and who cares deeply about non-human life. The Fourth National Climate Assessment, released towards the end of 2018, presents a dire picture for the future. This isn’t the only recent report from governing bodies globally–report after report continues to paint a clear picture of what humanity is doing, and what we need to do to change. And yet, it seems to be business as usual.

The cycles of nature

When I talk to druids about their thoughts about this present age, there seems to be a few ways to think about it.

First, the glass half empty approach is feeling extremely demoralized, looking at climate change reports and long-term forecasts and seeing the continued inaction on behalf of world leaders. The glass half empty approach may also have feelings that nothing we…

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Already Thinking About Designing A Herb Garden?

Good Witches Homestead

There are many books written on the various types of herb gardens. Invest in at least one good book on growing herbs that includes garden tips, what herbs to use for what purpose, and harvesting guidelines. Several types of gardens with plant suggestions are outlined below. You may notice that some herbs appear in more than one garden type. This is because herbs are versatile and have many uses.

Culinary Herb Gardens

Historically, a culinary garden is planted as close to your kitchen door as possible. This allows you to step outside and harvest the particular herb you need for the dish you are preparing. If you have too much shade, or your hardscaping won’t allow you to plant right outside your door, you can add culinary herbs to the vegetable garden or plant a container garden instead. Culinary gardens are generally governed by what the planter uses the most…

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