Green Household Magic

[Greenwitch]

I hope this is the right place to start this topic!

I love finding ways to use herbs to make home feel more sacred and magical. What are your favorite ways to use herbal magic for the home???

[ItalianBee]

I have a pot of thyme on my kitchen windowsill. Thyme has been my best friend since I was a small child - lately, when I take her off the sill at night (because it's too cold for her on the windowsill at night), I've spent just a few minutes with her breathing in her scent and thanking her for being there.

[Brooke]

I have a old potpourri burner ( the kind you can put a teas light under & little removable bowl on top) that i use to simmer herbs. In the winter i use clove & cinnamon sticks, i Love the warming scent & the Love it brings to My home. It's nice when anyone has a cold, i simmer Thyme. It's a Great Little Cauldron!

[Greenwitch]

ItalianBee that is so sweet! Thyme has the most wonderful energy, I have a few different kinds in my garden and I love to pet them and talk to them.

Brooke I like to simmer herbs on the stove the same way--keep the heat super low so the water just steams and puts all that good magic into the air. Rosemary and our native Western Red Cedar are my favorites. They make everything feel sort of smoothed out and happy.

[Lady Alinor]

I like to make and use magikal herbal sachets. These stay in 'use' until the next Holy-Day or there is the Witch Bottle type that stays active throughout the term of residency or 'need'.
I like to include herbs, stones, feathers....etc.

Of course I bet we all have herbs hanging in our homes.

[Kezzie]

Mmmmmm.... I like to make my smudge sticks with lavender at the center. There is a wonderful oregano branch hanging from a shelf by the stove so that I can sniff and sprinkle whenever I like. But the very best of all; when I need it most, I open the glass doors of my potion cabinet and take deep breaths. There is no better smell.

[Lady Alinor]

I have to wholeheartedly agree with you about the Ahhhhh of the Apothecary!
I really look forward to my Starwest Botanical herb orders....open the box and bury my face in the contents!

Another way I like to include herbs, medicinal and magical, is in Herbal Spritzes and Rinses.....Lavender is my Favorite and it is a great way to use the stems and leaves after flower harvest.

[ItalianBee]

I think my sweet thyme plant is really at the end of her life - this is her second winter on the sill, and that's usually how long they tend to last in the pot. I'm thinking about doing something with the dry branches (which have a lot of scent)when the time comes, so this conversation about steams and so on is good. I also thought of adding them to a broth the way I add Astragalus, and I may do that.

[Lady Alinor]

ItalianBee, if when the stems are broken and there is scent then shoot yeah toss them in the pot!
I also use a lot of Astragalus, the jar is next to the stove because I use it daily....
Here is another herby idea I have been working on....I'm saving all my spent roots, barks, and berries (if they still have their shape and dry well) for an Herb Mandala for the garden.

[Greenwitch]

I've been away for a bit and how exciting to come back to all these wonderful ideas!!!!!

Italian Bee, I know it's possible to use dried lavender stems like incense sticks, I wonder if you could do that with your dried thyme stems? I also like to bundle up the dried out stems after stripping leaves away and time them with string and use them as fire starter for the ritual fire, they smell so lovely and light up quickly! I know you'll figure out exactly the right use.

Lady Alinor, I LOVE your idea for a garden mandala of spent herb parts. LOVE LOVE it. Wouldn't it make a wonderful ritual to bless the garden?

Kezzie, lavender is the BEST smudge. My favorite is a combination of lavender, rosemary and our native red cedar (the one I talked about before). The blend seems to purify and bless at the same time, and all three plants have so much LOVE. Also I'm with you on opening the apothecary cupboard and just breeeeeathing it all in, mmmmmmm.