Lavender for Body and Soul

Good Witches Homestead

Lavenders have everything for the modern garden as an amenity plant. They are
evergreen, fast-growing, compact and fragrant. The origins of its name are
probably from the Latin word Lavare indicating the plant has another use as it
means to be washed and suggests it was regularly used to perfume bathing water.
There are numerous references to other qualities of lavender in Roman times – such
as a cure for mild epilepsy and as a laxative. The production of lavender for
aromatherapy, perfumery and alternative medical purposes are now well developed
in countries where various species of lavender are found naturally i.e. from the
The Mediterranean to the Middle East, India, North Africa, and Asia.

Climatic Factors

Lavender production requires dry roots and shoots, free draining soils and
reasonable light levels. Low fertility sandy soils are ideal with a Ph range of 6.0 to
7.0. When selecting suitable sites frost…

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SOME POST-ECLIPSE CRYSTAL + AKASHIC GUIDANCE

By Krista Mitchell

Post-Eclipse Crystal + Akashic Guidance / krista-mitchell.com

Hello everyone! Recovering from that epic full moon eclipse this past week?

Key word seems to be PURGE – a lot of things coming up for people to heal and release.

In turn, this has created clarity, space, and focus on how we lead our lives, which we can now use to co-create a new, different, or better reality!

What’s exciting is that in less than two weeks we have THREE occurrences ushering in energy to support our new paradigms:

Imbolc, from the evening of February 1st – 2nd, is a Goddess festival celebrating the return of the maiden Spring and a blessing of the land. I’ll be writing more about this for you next week!

The new moon in Aquarius on Monday the 4th.

The Lunar New Year (year of the piggie-wiggie!) on the 5th.

BUT FIRST! Before we gallop gaily into fresh pastures, we need to make sure we’re on solid ground.

Continue reading “SOME POST-ECLIPSE CRYSTAL + AKASHIC GUIDANCE” →

Recipe: Wildcrafted Herbal Blessing Oil

The Druid's Garden

A herbal blessing oil is a simple magical tool that you can make that directly comes from the living earth. The herbal blessing oil can be used to bless tools, seed balls, trees, yourself, other people, or anything else you like. You can include it as part of your Druid’s Crane Bag. Your own unique blend of herbs and wildcrafted ingredients will make it an amazing and potent tool for your practice. While druidry doesn’t use oils extensively, other traditions, like the American folk magic and Hoodoo, use oils a lot to dress candles and do other kinds of energetic work.

Choosing Plant Material

You can harvest material from one plant or from a variety of plants and combine them. Here are some possibilities for you:

Lavender, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon Balm, Majoram, – Garden herbs that offer healing and protection. Add one or more of these as…

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Urbalive Worm Farm: Making worm composting indoors a simple process

Life & Soul Magazine

There’s a myriad of choices when it comes to composting, and if you live in a small space with no access to a garden, worm composting, in particular, is still an option. Urbalive Worm Farm is an indoor kit for composting kitchen bio waste with red worms.

Designed by Czech designer Jan Pelcl, the Urbalive Worm Farm is a stylish container which stands on wooden stilts, like a stool. Its modern design is made up of composting layers where worms help create vermicompost leading to a container where the worm tea collects.

Vermicompost contains essential enzymes and natural growth hormones that are great for soil fertility and feeding gardens. Worm tea is rich in natural nutrients and enzymes that help plants grow strong and healthy. The tea can be mixed with water and added to soil in flower pots and plants for use as food.

By following a few simple basic rules,

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January Gardening In The Low Desert

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

January is generally a slow month for gardening in the low desert. Take advantage of this “quiet” time by preparing and planning for the upcoming spring months.

January is a good time to prepare a new vegetable garden bed for spring planting. Prepare your vegetable bed by using a digging fork or rototilling to approximately 12-18 inches deep. Do not work soil if it is too wet as it can permanently damage the soil structure. Apply compost generously (several inches) and incorporate it into the loosened soil. If you have an existing vegetable garden this is also a good time to add compost.

Continue to protect cold-tender plants including Euphorbia spp., Adenium spp., Pachypodium spp. and sub-tropical cacti. Many aloes will be blooming at this time and flowers may need to be protected if we have frost events. Aloe clumps can be divided at this time.

Mesquites will begin to…

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Lavender and Aromatherapy

Good Witches Homestead

Lavender is one of those scents that have the power to evoke the senses. Most notably, feelings of relaxation and well-being. In fact, it was long believed that Cleopatra’s secret weapon, in love, was Lavender.

Calm and refreshing it’s not surprising the word Lavender in Latin (Lavoie) means for wash or bathe. Because of its sweet aroma, it was widely used in Europe as a herb to wash linen. Later, Lavender’s antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties were discovered, giving rise to its use as an aid to bug bites, burns, and skin abrasions. This essential oil is also used to repel mosquitoes. Planting Lavender in one’s garden is a great way to naturally repel unwanted pests. If you like to make your own honey, bees LOVE Lavender flowers or if you prefer to buy honey, you can make a Lavender honey infusion using dried Lavender buds…

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Just What Exactly Is Ayurveda?

Good Witches Homestead

Ayurveda, an ancient Indian stream of medicine, is basically a Sanskrit term that has been drawn from two roots – ‘Ayus’ denoting life and ‘vid’ meaning knowledge. In effect, life or ‘Ayus’ manifests an amalgamation of the body, the mind, the sense organs as well as the soul. It may be noted here that the Vedas are earliest Hindu texts of knowledge which are known to have been exquisitely discovered by the sages or wise men of India several thousand years back. The four Vedas enclose the information, cadence as well as the makeup of the universe, in addition to the secrets behind the ailments and health.

As aforementioned, there are four Vedas – the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. Precisely speaking, Ayurveda is an element of the fourth Veda, which comprises comprehensive critiques related to treating the sick by means of using mantras, potions, and…

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Kick Off 2019 With A Health-Minded Resolution!

Good Witches Homestead

All of us want to live happy, fulfilling, and creative lives. How can we achieve this goal? Undoubtedly, creating and maintaining good health is key. Most importantly, we need to pay attention to what is unfolding in and around us. This means regular internal “check-ins” to determine what we need – rest, nutrients, emotional and physical contact, stretching and movement – as well as the daily practice of healthy habits. We must literally “practice to be healthy,” rather than practice to be sick. This requires effort, knowledge, support, and repetition. In today’s world, it also necessitates knowing how best to manage the daily stress that is part of our lives in a way that works for us personally and individually.

Reducing stress and its effect on health is a challenge for nearly everyone. Some of us turn to pharmaceutical medications, which often not only fail to truly reduce stress but…

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NYC’s largest student-built hydroponic farm leading students and Bronx community to healthier futures

The Essence of Your Essential Oils

Good Witches Homestead

About Your Essential Oils…

The Essence…

- Essential oils are organic, volatile, liquids that are secreted by tiny structures in a plant’s various parts such as the seeds, leaves, fruits, flowers, resins, and woods.

- An essential oil gets its name from the plant from which it is derived.

- These oils were given the name “essential,” because they were believed to capture a plant’s essence, that is its odor and flavor. They lend plants their distinctive fragrance.

- Essential oils act like their original plant’s defense mechanism and are more powerful due to the concentration of healing compounds collected in the oil.