A Modern Approach to Herbal Traditions
By Andrea Jackson I love weeds. There, I said it. Don’t worry, I do pull them (there’s a reason why they’re called weeds, after all), but I am much more likely to make a tincture or a salve or something good (yes, good) to eat than to discard them completely. After all, weeds were really […]
A Weed Lover’s Manifesto — The Herb Society of America Blog
Rose water is lovely to have around for both drinking and using externally in beauty products. Rose is specific to the heart chakra is known to ease depression, anxiety, and grief. It can also relieve headaches, especially those caused by stress. Externally, rose is a skin healer and rejuvenate-r. It is great for mature skin, as well as skin that has blemishes, scars, eczema, rosacea, sunburn, and on and on. Basically, if you have skin, rose water is good for it. In the summer I like to have a little spray bottle of rose water in the fridge for fresh spritzes during the day. I also use it in homemade toners, in a proportion of 50% witch hazel and 50% rose water. It’s easy to make and there is plenty of room for variation. For drinking, rose petals combine well with strawberries for some infused water goodness, or try sprigs of lavender with rose petals in water for a true stress reducing combination.
The fastest way to make rose water is to make an infusion on the stove top. This is fine for external uses and in a pinch if you need to drink rose water in a hurry, but I recommend the cold method for rose water if you have a night of sleep to spare. The hot method makes a browner version, while the cold method makes a pure, translucent, rose water.
For the hot method, use half the amount of rose petals as distilled water, (example: 1/2 cup rose petals with 1 cup distilled water,) bring to a near boil but not quite, then simmer until the color drains from the petals into the water which doesn’t take long. You can do the whole process in half an hour. Strain using cheese cloth over a metal strainer so you can easily squeeze out the rose petals. A coffee filter works well if you don’t have a cheese cloth.
The cold method involves the same proportions, but honestly if you want a less potent rose water just use less petals. This is an herbal craft so variation is both expected and encouraged. Place the rose petals and distilled water (half the rose petals as water, so 1/2 cup rose petals to 1 cup distilled water for example) in a glass jar and let it sit overnight. In the morning the color and healing benefits will have moved from the petals into the water. Strain as described above, pictured below.
There are so many ways to enjoy herbs that it’s hard to imagine them not a part of everyone’s life in some way. They offer so much health, beauty, and joy, and it is my greatest hope that you have a variety of ways to have them as part of your life too.
Thank you for reading! Let me know if you make some rose water and if so, what you do with it~ I’d love to hear! 🌹🌹🌹
I tend to think of trikatu as the sibling of triphala, which I wrote about here. Both are ayurvedic combinations of three herbs which tonify the digestive system. Triphala is for the later end of digestion, toning the intestines and aiding in regularity, while trikatu is for the beginning of the digestive process with firing up the stomach in order to digest food successfully. There is a difference in who should take these formulas though, as triphala is generally safe and helpful for all people while trikatu has a more narrow market it is suitable for. The combination of ginger, pipali (long pepper), and black pepper make it a fiery herbal combo that suits those who have weak digestion and low acid creation. In other words, if you have heartburn, this is not the herbal supplement for you. In ayurvedic terms, if you are a vata or especially kapha predominant person who tends towards coldness and wetness with bloating and a sense of stagnation in your stomach after a meal, then this could be for you. Pitta predominant people (say that three times fast!) should not take trikatu unless told to do so by an ayurvedic professional.
Trikatu is much less well known than triphala, at least here in the U.S., which makes sense since the modern U.S. lifestyle stokes pitta elements in such an overwhelming way that even vata or kapha predominant people can have pitta imbalances such as heartburn and inflammation 🔥. It can be found online though (I’ve never seen it sold at a brick and mortar) and some reputable companies I like are Himalaya and Organic India. It is always important to buy herbs from reputable companies as we have all heard of the herbal supplements marketed and sold out there which have little to none of the herbs in them that they are said to. Stick with quality and not the lowest price with herbs and considering herbs are generally not that expensive to begin with, it should be considered a small investment in yourself.
Take trikatu at the beginning of a meal, much like you would enzymes or bitters. You can even take trikatu up to a half hour before a meal with a large glass of water, but be sure the water is room temperature and not ice water. Ayurveda teaches that cold water reduces the digestive fire so that would be counterproductive.
If you have any experience with taking trikatu, let me know! I’d love to hear about it.
I wrote this post last year but it’s relevant every summer.
This is somewhat counter-intuitive, but bugs do not like essential oils. That always struck me as odd since bugs and plants seem like they should be natural friends, but I guess the strength of essential oils is off-putting to them. This works out really well for us because we can lather ourselves up with essential oil laced products and smell divine while playing in nature, without having to endure the nasty smells and questionable ingredients of over the counter bug sprays. Citronella is an essential oil that is already commonly used in mosquito repelling products such as candles, but there are other essential oils that can be just as effective and perhaps more appealing to put directly on your body and/or your clothes.
One way to take a precautionary measure before even getting dressed in the morning is to apply a body oil with essential oils on your arms, legs, and stomach. To make a body oil, you just need a base oil or a mix of base oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, and add whichever essential oils you want to wear. Almost any essential oil or blend of essential oils will deter bugs, but especially good picks are lavender, peppermint, thyme, and lemongrass. You will want there to be 5-7 drops of essential oils per 1 teaspoon of base oil. (There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce, so aim for 30-42 drops of essential oils per ounce.) Make sure to shake the mixture before blending, and allow time for the oil to dry before putting your clothes on for the day to avoid oil stains. This can be reapplied throughout the day, but it is probably easier to make a spray for day time reapplication.
To make a bug spray, add essential oils to distilled water in a spray bottle (preferably dark glass) in the same proportion as above, 5-7 drops of essential oils per teaspoon of distilled water. You can spray this as often as needed on yourself throughout the day and it will help deter bugs and also provide a nice little scent pick-me-up when you do so. Again, any essential oils will be helpful, but the ones mentioned above would be a great place to start. Of course, citronella is always an option too.
In Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, she gives this recipe for a great blend to keep away the little buggers:
4 drops Thyme
8 drops Lemongrass
4 drops Lavender
4 drops Peppermint
She recommends putting a couple of drops of this blend on a cotton ball at night and placing near open windows or around your head or body, especially while traveling. Another technique for traveling is to add a couple of drops to boiling water and placing it by an open window or if you are sitting outside, right on a table next to you. Even very hot water in a mug will dissipate the essential oils, so as long as you travel with an essential oil or two, or a blend like the one she suggests above, you don’t need to worry about a diffuser.
I actually do like to take a little terracotta diffuser with me when I travel. They are quite small and do not require any heat, so it’s a convenient option. These make cute little gifts as well, and are one way to easily use essential oils in your car or in other places where you don’t have the option to light a candle or use an outlet.
If you do happen to get bitten or stung by an insect, lavender can be applied neat to the area. Applying essential oils to the body without a carrier is 99% of the time NOT recommended, but lavender is one of the few that can be applied without a carrier and it actually is quite good for burns, bites, and other skin issues. Do use caution if you have sensitive skin though.
Thanks for reading and enjoy your bug-free outdoor time! Please share this article with anyone who might be interested in flower powered bug repellent.
In case you missed the links above, here’s more information on making your own body oil: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/body-oils-diy/ and more details on making a body spray: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/essential-oil-sprays-for-body-and-home/.
One of the most engaging aspects of herbs is their lore. Women in particular spent a significant amount of time growing, gathering, processing, and using herbs all day, every day, for much of humanity, so of course a literature of its own grew around them. Because herbal knowledge was passed on through oral tradition, many rhymes and rhythms were involved for easier memorizing. Keep in mind that for most of humanity’s time, the majority of people were not literate, and even when the populace started to learn to read and write, it was the males who were educated long before females. Grandmothers had no other options for passing along remedies, rituals, and traditions than through songs and poems. By the way, I recently learned that wife (wyfe in old English) was just another word for woman before it had the marriage connotation, just as ‘wort’ is the old word for herb. When you see a plant with wort in the name such as mugwort, motherwort, St. John’s wort, etc, then you know it’s had a long history of herbal usage.
Herbs have such rich lore attached to them that they can be tied to certain planets and/or astrological signs, or the moon or sun, they are said to govern over certain professions and/or aspects of life such as willows are the tree of poets and artists while bay laurel is the herb for creativity, they of course each have many medicinal attributes, divination use, and roles in rituals and rites. They also have their own language such as a red rose given from one person to another means romantic love, while rosemary means friendship and remembrance. There are many charms and symbolism with herbs as well, and since we could all use a bit of luck, protection, and magic, here are some ideas to consider:
Growing sedum, known as hens and chicks, will protect your home and garden, especially from lightning. Here’s a traditional rhyme about it:
“Round and green, hen and chick Sting of burns allay Rosy leaves will stick and prick But keep lightning away”
A white hawthorn hedge protects the garden and home from bad luck and mischievous spirits.
Feverfew hung in the house cleanses it and wards off disease as well as treats melancholy when applied to the head. (Make a crown of feverfew and I’m sure you will be jolly indeed!)
Garlic wards off evil and disease. Putting a sprig of mugwort in your shoe prevents weariness, however, if you do this on Midsummer’s Eve you run the risk of being carried off by a white fairy horse which will then leave you stranded! This one is timely for the quarantine I’ve heard~ if you have had a falling out with your spouse, you are to each give each other pennyroyal to make amends. Growing sage assures a happy house and that the woman there is the master. Eating sage ensures a long life as this traditional rhyme promises:
“Those who would live alway Must eat sage in May.”
I don’t know about you but I want to plant all the plants possible just to be on the safe side because it seems they all have their specific domains to give luck and protection to. This is a very small snapshot of herbal lore of course because it is a vast history with variations as plentiful as the individuals who passed this history on. If you enjoy this aspect of herbalism, I recommend the book, Mugworts in May by Linda Ours Rago, which is where I got most of the above little tidbits. I hope your July is magical and your hearth and home are protected and graced with luck for the rest of the year.
Happy July and Happy Canada Day to all of the Canadians! I’m sure we are all pretty happy to enter into the second half of this unusual year. Here in the Seattle area there is a common understanding that summer weather does not begin until July 5th, and true to form it’s windy, drizzly, and cool this morning (see above pic). The sunny days are coming though and if your skin tends to burn easily, this after sun spray is easy-peasy to make.
Peppermint and lavender will be the stars for this after sun spray, as well as aloe vera juice and/or witch hazel. Peppermint needs to be used with care because it can irritate sensitive skin, so although it is cooling, use it in moderation. Lavender’s healing effects on burns started the study of aromatherapy as we know it, so it’s fabulous on its own in this recipe if you don’t have peppermint or are too sensitive to it. Aloe vera is a great plant to have around your house in case of burns, or the juice can even be used as a facial mask for its firming action. Witch Hazel has tannins which help soothe sun burned skin and you can use it alone as the base if you don’t have aloe on hand.
–2 oz spray bottle (preferably dark glass)
–1oz witch hazel (can be plain or infused)
–1 oz aloe vera juice
–10 drops lavender
–5 drops peppermint
–Store in the refrigerator for up to one month, or use 2 oz witch hazel instead of aloe and store for 6 months in a cool, dark place.
Don’t forget to label your bottle with what it is and the date you made it. Writing down your recipe for next time is always beneficial too, as well as any notes such as ‘too much peppermint’ or ‘try aloe juice next time’.
May your July be a fresh start to this year with many happy summer days ahead.
In last week’s post I mentioned HopTea but hadn’t tried it yet. From the packaging to the taste, this is so similar to beer that honestly I didn’t care for it because I have never liked beer. My sons both liked it though (what is it about males and that beer taste? I swear it’s innate!) but my oldest liked it best and drank the bulk of it quite happily. He would love me to keep in stock so now I have another thing to add to my grocery list! They have ones with caffeine too, which seems ideal for people who want a beer taste without the alcohol or the sedative effect. Although I don’t care for the beer-like taste, I still think this just a really cool, unique herbal product and appreciate the simple, clean ingredient lists. The packaging is excellent too although it was a bit confusing at first to figure out if it had alcohol in it or not. I scoured the can, then their website, and it seemed not to have any, but just to make sure I did ask the company and it is indeed free of alcohol.
Since this is St. John’s Day (June 24th) which is why St. John’s Wort is named such (blooms this time of year and considered the best day to harvest it), I’d thought I’d share a fun little folklore of the herb. Most know this herb for its anti-depressant actions, and some know it is also anti-viral and externally eases aches and pains, but there is still more to this herb. St. John’s Wort has been used for hundreds of years as a protector and wound healer, and also used in divination. Because it is flowering around summer solstice, there are many variations of rituals for young women to divine who their future husband is and/or how long it will be until they are married. One way is to pluck a few flower tops in the dewy morning on solstice, in secret of course, then place them under your pillow and you will then dream of your future husband that night. Or, hang the fresh cut solstice flower tops on your bedroom wall and again, you will dream of your future husband. Another version actually begins the entire story line of a cute little-known book called The Lark by E. Nesbit where the main character uses St. John’s Wort on a summer solstice night along with an accompanying magical rhyme to see the face of her future husband. This takes place right after World War One and I love how herbs were still such a part of life in the not so distant past. E. Nesbit is known for her children’s stories by the way, so although The Lark is not labeled ‘young adult’ it would fall into that category I believe if it were written today. It’s a fun little read for an adult too, but perfectly appropriate for young adult or even middle grade readers if you are looking for summer reading options for your kids. And if you are disappointed that you missed this magical night of marital prophesy and now have to wait an entire year, rest assured you can sleep with a rose petal under your pillow and dream of your future spouse any night of the year.
If you are the crafting sort, I have a couple of videos on making St. John’s Wort tincture and several on making herbal oils so you can follow those directions using fresh St. John’s Wort. I don’t have a video making St. John’s Wort because it is one of the only herbs that does need to be fresh, not dried, in order to make oil and I have never had access to a large amount of fresh flower tops.
Enjoy the magic of summer.
