Circle Casting

*Space Witch*

Witches who focus on the planets and stars. Their Book of Shadows will have information about each planet, the zodiac and astrology, and enjoy nocturnal magic.

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Lammas/Lughnasadh Masterpost

General

5 Ideas for Celebrating Lughnasadh (Solitary)**

Lughnasadh Incense/Herb Ideas**

Lushcraft: Lammas Refresher Bath/Shower

Foods Associated with Lammas

Recipes

Lammas Lentil Pot Pie**

Celebrating Lammas Gluten Free**

Lughnasadh Incense**

Lammas Oil

Arts and Crafts

Salt Dough Crafts for Lammas**

How to Make a Corn Husk Doll**

Tarot Spreads

Lammas Tarot Spread**

Lammas Inspired Tarot Spread**

Lammas Altar Inspo (None of these are mine)

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Two

Three

Four

Five

Astrology/Cosmic Witch

Wishing you a lovely, crystalline morning!

TeaLC --- Ten Herbal Teas for the Body and Soul

Here are a few of the herbal teas that I like to use when I’m stressed, anxious, tense, worried, or just want a nice calm evening with my partner. These tea recipes and formulae are my own creations, and I retain copyright on all of them! If you want to use them in your own works, please contact me first and I’ll be happy to give you permission.

All herbs mentioned are dried, and all seeds and pods are crushed or ground. It is recommended to use 400-500ml of water in each tea, and all water should be poured at boiling point unless otherwise stated. If the water is not brought up to boiling point before adding, the medicines in the herbs will not fully disperse into the water.

Steep all teas for at least 10 minutes in a covered container/teapot unless otherwise stated, otherwise the volatile aromatics in the herbs will evaporate into the air or will still be trapped in the herbs. 

Remember! 1 tsp = 1 teaspoon 1 tbsp = 1 tablespoon 1 h. tsp/tbsp = 1 heaped tea/tablespoon

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A Little R&R

2 tsp German chamomile

1 tsp spearmint

1 tsp marshmallow root

This gentle tea is soothing and calm, its properties relatively mild and suitable for both adults and children alike. It helps put the mind into a calmer state and begins the process of running the body down before sleep, and for that reason it makes an excellent bedtime drink. It can also be used after a long day at work to switch the body out of “work” mode and into “R&R” mode, hence the name. Due to the marshmallow root, it tends to thicken up if you leave it to steep for more than 30-60 minutes, but this is actually good for you!

A Bedtime Kiss

1 tsp German chamomile

½ tsp passiflora (passionflower)

1 tsp oatstraw 

This warming and pleasantly earthy tea is an ideal addition to the night-time rituals of anyone who struggles with persistent insomnia or restless nights. With the usage of chamomile for soothing, passiflora to encourage restful sleep, and natural oatstraw to calm worries and anxieties, this tea is like a gentle bedtime kiss from mum before curling up in bed. Also useful for those who suffer from nychtophobia, otherwise known as fear of the dark; its calming formula eases worry and makes sleeping at night just a little easier. This tea is only suitable for 7-year-olds and above. 

Cuddle My Hot Water Bottle

1 h. tbsp shredded fresh ginger

½ tsp cardamom

1 tsp fennel seed

500ml boiling water

This spicy and fragrant brew is an aromatic mix of warming herbs and spices that will calm the body and invigorate the mind. Ginger and cardamom are a powerful combination of potent healing and soothing herbs that will ease out any pains or aches whilst energising your mind, whilst the calming properties of fennel will relax your body and prepare it for the rest of your day. This is the perfect tea for a long day in the office or for pulling an all-nighter, simultaneously rejuvenating your senses and kickstarting your mind for quick, creative thinking.

Twinkle Twinkle Morning Star

1 tsp liquorice root

1 tsp fennel seed

½ tsp cardamom

1 tsp elderflower

1 tsp honey

This punchy little number packs a kick, and is highly recommended for when you wake up in the morning with a stuffy nose you just can’t clear. The aromatic properties of liquorice and fennel will wipe away your sinus troubles in time for your journey to work, and the gently soothing and potently antiviral nature of elderflower and natural honey will help your body rest up faster and recover more effectively from colds, flus, and a bad night of poor sleep. Paired with “Cuddle My Hot Water Bottle”, this combination is devastating to colds and flus! Those with high blood pressure should avoid long-term usage, because chronic consumption of liquorice raises blood pressure. 

A Midnight Breeze

1 tsp marshmallow root

1 tsp peppermint 

½ tsp passiflora

1 tsp elderflower 

When chronic coughing and two-week colds have left your nights sleepless and your evenings exhausting and stressful as you struggle to breathe, this aerating super-tea is here to help! The potent antiviral properties of natural elderflower help to fight back against viruses like colds and flus, whilst the expectorant and easing qualities of marshmallow root will calm your coughing and help give you a phlegm-free night. Passiflora and peppermint combine in this tea to prompt natural rest and relaxation from the body and to encourage it to get some much-needed healing sleep, to help you recover faster and get better sooner. This tea is best left to stew for at least an hour, and should be drunk every evening for the duration of your cold or flu. Not suitable for children under 7. 

Tickle My Tummy

1 h. tbsp shredded fresh ginger

1 tsp lemon balm

1 tsp German chamomile

1 tsp honey

A warm and snuggly tea that calms nausea and eases indigestion, this tea is suitable for anyone who wakes up in the night with nausea or starts to feel sick during the day. Tender tums and sensitive stomachs are quieted and calmed by the warmth of ginger tea, whilst the lemon balm and chamomile eases indigestion, soreness and bloating. A little honey for taste is all that’s needed to cap off this pleasant, easy tea for those whose tummy is simply not cooperating! 

A Midsummer Night’s Tea

½ tsp mugwort

½ tsp wild lettuce

1 tsp German chamomile

1 tsp vervain

1 tsp spearmint

A mysterious tea for mysterious people, this dreaming potion will have you off playing with the fairies in no short order. Combining the calming and soporific powers of vervain, spearmint and chamomile with the dream-enhancing effects of mugwort and wild lettuce, this Shakespearean brew will produce vivid mental images and deep, dream-filled sleep that will leave you refreshed and inspired when you awaken from fairyland each morning. Not suitable for children under 13, or for those on sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication, or anti-psychotics. This is a very potent dreaming potion, and should be discussed with your doctor before usage to ensure it does not interact with any of your medications or health conditions. 

Better Than Oysters

1 tsp vervain

1 tsp damiana

1 tsp saw palmetto

Best served with chocolate

Sometimes, sleep and therapy and soothing music just isn’t enough to calm down all the tensions in your body and mind, and perhaps something else may be required to allow your energies to burn themselves off in a healthy, regular way. This tea is designed to allow consenting adults who may have the mutual desire to engage in such energy-raising activities but lack the physical ability to do so to gain a little edge in their quest for such potency. Using the temporary boost in testosterone caused by saw palmetto, combined with the neurochemical switches triggered by damiana and vervain, this tea is truly better than oysters when it comes to stimulating what should be stimulated and supporting what one desires be supported. This tea works for anyone of any gender, and will allow anyone of any gender or orientation to feel comfortable in their own latent sexuality and give you the confidence to bring all parties to a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Please note that usage of such products on another person without their consent is strictly illegal in all jurisdictions. Not suitable for children, or those with polycystic ovaries, or ovarian or prostatic cancer. 

A Quiet Night In

1 tsp German chamomile

1 tsp peppermint

1 tsp lemon verbena 

½ tsp lavender flowers

½ tsp rose petals

A cuddly tea for cuddly people, this one could be considered the “baby sibling” of the above “Better Than Oysters” tea. Designed simply to calm your body and mind and help yourself enter a warm and emotional state of being, this soft and snuggly tea makes a wonderful end to a quiet night in with the significant others in your life. German chamomile and lemon verbena cooperate to soothe and ease the mind and body, whilst peppermint, lavender and rose help you to open up your emotions and feel yourself and the people you love in your life. This tea is suitable for ages 3 and up, and may also help parents bond with their babies (only the parent should drink the tea).

The Voyager’s Companion

1 tsp gingko leaves

½ tsp powdered ginseng

1 tsp oatstraw

Those jetsetting off to far-flung lands will know all too keenly the irritation of those 3 first, crucial days of your holiday being cut short by the beast of jetlag. This simple tea is no outright cure, but will help cut the duration of jetlag significantly and also improve your mood when you do finally arrive. The melatonin-stimulating effects of ginseng, combined with the absorption-increasing powers of gingko and the calming properties of oatstraw harmonise to produce an excellent and fragrant tea for the neutralisation of the woeful symptoms of a jetlagged mind. This should be taken one day before departure, as well as for at least 3 days after the flight 1 hour before bedtime. Suitable for  all ages. 

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I hope these 10 helpful recipes and remedies help someone in need! 

– Juniper Wildwalk

How to Harvest your Magical Herbs

Most plants used for cooking can be harvested at any time of day but if a herb is being harvested for medicinal use there are certain times of the day and certain weather conditions that are best for capturing the strength of the most active ingredients.  Also if herbs are being used for magikal works there are times that the plants energy is at its optimum and therefore aids the work being undertaken. The perfect conditions for gathering leaves flowers and fruit for drying and storing is a very dry day probably around mid to late morning as any moisture on the surface from rain, mist or dew can cause the plant material to degrade quickly and can induce fungal and bacterial growth.  Harvesting should also be avoided when the sun is high and hot as the essential elements of the active ingredients can be evaporated or lose strength.

Having said all this there are times that you may stumble on a particular plant that has been eluding you and you are totally unprepared for collecting it in the perfect weather conditions, moon phases or with the correct tools and in these situations it comes down to the two choices

come back when the conditions are right which I have done and then been unable to find the plant again

pick it anyway and hope that the active ingredients are not too diminished (I have been in this situation and have had good results anyway)

It is best not to harvest any herbs that have been growing close to the road as the leaves take in the carbon monoxide and poisonous fumes given out by the traffic and take it down into the plant to the root where it becomes stored.  Do not pick wild herbs and plants from verges or throughfares as this contravenes several laws and also the fact that most areas like these are open to our friendly dog and cat population.

If harvesting wild plants leave a large amount of flowers, seed and root as the plant population of that area will very quickly die out if you go in mob-handed and wrench up the only two plants for miles around.  Make sure you know what you’re picking this is very important when harvesting in the wild there are many pocket spotter books available that are invaluable when identifying plants, I try to carry one with photographs rather than drawings as sometimes they can be a little misleading.

When to harvest

Most herbs are harvested in the summer either before or during flowering.  Seeds and most types of bark are collected in early autumn and roots in early autumn and spring.  The leaves of evergreens are collected throughout the year but don’t collect large amounts before or during a heavy front as this will leave the plant vulnerable.

Early Spring: Collect Dandelion roots

Late Spring: Arial parts during flowering; Lungwort, Sweet Violet, Flowers: coltsfoot, cowslip, elder

Early to Mid-Summer: Arial parts/leaves before flowering; Agrimony, Angellica, Catmint, Cleavers, Dandelion, Dill, Fennel, Feverfew, Garlic, Hysop, Ladys Mantle, Lemonbalm, Motherwort, Parsley, Peppermint, Plantain, Sage, Stinging Nettles, White horehound, Yellow Dock.  Bark while flowering: Rose.  Flowers; Borage, Camomile, Honeeysuckle, Linden, Pot Marigold, St Johns Wort

Mid to Late Summer: Arial parts whilst flowering; Californian Poppy, Heartsease, Marjoram, Marshmallow, Meadowsweet, Mugwort, Shepherds Purse, Skullcap Thyme, Vervain, Wild Lettuce, Wood Bettony, Wormwood, Yarrow.  Flowers: Hops, Lavender, Mullain.     Leaves After Flowering: Borage, Colsfoot, Cowslip, Fenugreek, Lungwort, Sweet Violet.

Autumn: Roots/ bulbs when leaves have wilted: Angellica, Black Cohosh, Burdock, Comfrey, Cowslip, Elecanpane, Garlic, Goldenseal, Lovage, marshmallow, Soapwort, Valerian.  Seeds/ fruit: Celery, Elder, Howthrorn, Dill, Fennel, Lovage

N.B. When getting plants from the wild, respect the area and plant you are harvesting, never strip a plant bare, never pull it out by the roots to get a few leaves and always check if there are other plants of the same species around. Also be very sure that the plant you are about to pick is what you think it is, Mother Nature can be very tricky sometimes, and 2 seemingly identical plants can have very different effects when ingested. 

It is best to ask permission of the plant before taking it’s bounty, and remember, respect, respect, respect !

Transporting your herbs must be done carefully to retain their valuable powers. It’s best to take an open-topped basket or cotton bag with you and some layers of tissue so that herbs can be transported dry and safe back to home, it is pointless seeking out a special plant, than sticking it into a carrier bag in your pocket so it sweats, bruises and it unidentifiable mush by the time you get home.

Witch tip

“Drink rosebud tea before bed to induce prophetic dreams” ~ Scott Cunningham 🌙🌸🍵

Moon Phases

New Moon- New Moon magick begins on the day of the new moon to three-and-a-half days after. Use the energy of the new moon for new ventures and new beginnings. Also use the new moon for love spells, job hunting, and healing.

Waxing Moon- The waxing moon begins seven to fourteen days after the new moon. Use the waxing moon for constructive magick, such as love spells, magick for wealth and success, courage, friendship, luck or good health.

Full Moon- A powerful energy for rituals of prophecy, divination and protection. Any spell work that requires  extra energy, such as finding a new job or healing serious conditions, is best begun during the full moon. Also for love, gaining sacred knowledge, legal matters, attracting money and prophetic dreams.

Waning Moon- Begin waning moon magick three-and-a-half to ten-and-a-half days after the full moon. The waning moon is used for banishing negativity, for curing addictions, and illness.

Dark Moon- The energy of the dark moon is useful for working magick against attackers, and for understanding your own angers and passions. Also for rituals designed to bring justice to bear in very negative situations.

Sleepy Soak

Sleepytime Soak

For the sweetest of dreams

The Botanicals

½ cup of dead sea salts

4 drops of chamomile essential oil

2 drops of marjoram essential oil

2 drops of ylang-ylang essential oil

1 drop of basil essential oil

2 chamomile tea bags

Boil 2 cups of water to make some chamomile tea, leaving the teabags in the cup until you are ready to bathe. Mix bath salt and oils in a bowl and pour into a full warm or hot bath (33c/92f- 40c/104f). Disperse well, blending with your hands.

The Mood

Set a tranquil tone. Light blue candles; they soothe, relax and create serenity. Burn some sandalwood incense. Dim the lights. Play soothing music. Place warm drained chamomile tea bags over your closed eyes and sip from your cup. Think of the ocean at low tide, remnants of slow waves at your feet. Now drift…

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