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bay witch musings

~ thoughts on parenting, paganism, science, books, witchcraft, nature, feminism, unitarian universalism, herbalism, cooking, conservation, crafting, the state of humanity, and life by the sea

bay witch musings

Tag Archives: herbs

Wednesday Musings

25 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by thalassa in paganism

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

books, breathing, chakras, earthseed, elements, gardening, herbs, jacqueline carey, meditation, memoir, mermaids, mindfulness, Naamah, octavia butler, tea

Whats in my teapot: Mint Magic by Celestial Seasons. Its one of the few commercial blends I like (I also like Moroccoan Mint Green Tea by Stash, Zen by Tzao, and Constant Comment by Bigelow).

Quote of the Day:

…It’s true.
Each prayer is caught by seaweed on the floor
and anchors itself deep beneath the sand.
The mermaids dig them up to use as bricks
and laugh at humans’ meaningless demands.

From the poem Taking a Mermaid to Church by Sarah Fletcher

A time to pull up what is planted…

“If you plant green beans in the spring, you won’t be pullin’ up turnips come tomorrow,” she said.  “Sometimes you gotta shout at them clouds til they tremble at yer voice and rain just to shut you up.  Sometimes you cry because the sky stays blue after blue with not a cloud in sight.  That’s when you know you got a bad harvest coming in the fall.  Or maybe buggies are gnawing your field.  Seems something always happens to crops when you need ’em to grow.  But when you just want to give it all up, the rain falls and those little shoots pop up like you’ve never seen before.”  She stopped and considered her garden, “Sometimes they don’t though.  You always reap what you sow, you just never know how much your crop might be worth at the end.”

All I know about a backyard garden I learned from a neighbor.  To my nine-year-old self, she was pretty old.  Ancient.  She’d been born during WWI and the first third of her life on a farm before moving “into town” in the WWII era neighborhood where I would later arrive.  Wrinkly like creased paper and brown from the sun like old leather. Hunched over and wrapped in worn wool sweaters over vintage style dresses, her tiny feet encased in giant rubber boots.   But she never let that stop her.  Her kitchen smelled like cookies and violets, and she always had a pitcher of lemonade or iced tea ready.  In the spring time, her widow sills and counters and shelves were covered in egg cartons of dirt with little seedlings popping up.  Too many to plant in her postage stamp yard.  The best looking seedlings would find a new home from her stack of pots that she stored on her porch though the winter.  Some were carefully selected for the neighbors, based on what went with their yard.  The rest were destined for her yard after the last frost.  And the seedlings that didn’t make the cut got relegated to the “kitchen scrap pile” (compost pile) out back.

Mrs. Bloom (her real name) mourned the loss of “the little sprouts”, but she also understood that some of those plants just weren’t going to make it.  Not every sprout can find a home in the garden.  Sometimes “you just gotta pluck out the unlucky ones little girl, and hope you made the right choice.” Its not quite time yet, but soon before the growing season is truly upon us, we’ll have to pull up some of what has been planted so the rest can grow.

Things to do with herbs this growing season:
DIY Smudge Sticks
Simmer pots
Infused Water 
Infusing alcohols

 Moment of Zen: Breathing

The chestnut sidled and pranced beneath me. I soothed him once more, and forced myself to cycle through the Five Styles of Breathing.

The Breath of the Pulse of the Earth, drawn into the pit of the belly and the depths of the groin, inhaled and exhaled through the mouth.

The Breath of Ocean’s Rolling Waves, drawn in through the nostrils to the middle belly, out through the mouth.

The Breath of Trees Growing, circulating energy to the limbs, trading nourishment with the world.

The Breath of Embers Glowing, in and out through parted lips, quickening the heart and warming the blood.

The Breath of Wind’s Sigh, pulled and expelled through the nostrils into the space between my eyes, making my head light.

Jacqueline Carey, Naamah’s Curse

People, like all animals, need to breathe. Its necessary for cellular respiration–brings in oxygen and rids the body of carbon dioxide. Inhalation brings in air (and filters it using cilia and mucousal membranes), and exhalation takes it back out. Biomechanically speaking, breath travels in through our nose (or mouth), through our larynx (voice box), into the trachea, the bronchi, bronchioles, and into the aveoli (special blood vessels in the aveoli exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood cells). But when we focus on our breath meditatively, we can feel it traveling through out our body, beyond just our lungs. Anapanasati is a Buddhist meditative technique centered on the mindfulness of breathing. The goal is to feel the sensation of breath through the body as one breathes. To do this, I’ve adapted the Five Styles of Breathing from Jacqueline Carey’s Naamah series.

  • 1) Breath of Ocean’s Rolling Waves–Breathe with a light but long inhale through the nose as the breath flows in and slides down along the central axis of the body (corresponding with the nadi for those familiar with chakra work) to the area of the solar plexus chakra, where it pools briefly before flowing back up and out through the throat with the mouth open in a way that feels almost like making the sound “huh”. Focus on clearing your self of burdensome emotions. Repeat until you feel calm and still (or as calm and still as you get).
  • Breath of the Pulse of the Earth–Breath in slowly and deeply through the mouth, down through the belly, and into the groin. Circulate the breath between the Sacral and Root chakras and allow it to ground you, connecting you to the earth. As you exhale, purse your lips and slowly but strongly blow out your air. Repeat until you feel solid and seated in the earth.
  • 3) Breath of Embers Glowing–Breathe with a naturally paced breath in and out through parted lips as if blowing on the embers of a fire to get it to relight. Allow your breath to ignite in the area of your heart chakra, warming the blood and spreading that warmth to the body as it travels into your muscles and organs. Focus on kindling your compassion until it permeates your entire being. Repeat until you have acknowledged and released any excess ego.
  • 4) Breath of Tree’s Growing–Breathe in deeply but swiftly through the nose, holding the breath before exhaling through the mouth. Push your breath outwards on the exhale, down your limbs and past your fingers and toes, and draw it back along the same path, exchanging nourishment with the world. Focus on building the web of connections between you and the world. Repeat until you feel renewed.
  • 5) Breath of Wind’s Sigh–Breathe swiftly and lightly in and out through the nose, up into the space between the eyes into the top of the head (the area of the Third Eye and Crown chakras). Focus it filling the space like a balloon and expanding your brain, your mind, your very thoughts. Repeat until you feel expansive and embracing.

What I’m reading now:
A (long) while back, I started reading a book called Shaman, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion by Brian Hayden.  I never got to finish it because it was a library book, and it was when we were in transition between Virginia to Illinois and back again, but I finally managed to snag a used copy online at a decent price. I’m also reading a newer book (via Kindle) called The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be adding both to my big list of Recommended Reading for Paganism.

Parting thought (a quote from Octavia Butler’s Earthseed books):

“All that you touch
You Change.

All that you Change
Changes you.

The only lasting truth
is Change.

God
is Change.”

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June Forage: Japanese Honeysuckle

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by thalassa in food, herbal, herbs, plants, witchcraft

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bioregionalism, edible plants, forage, herbs, honeysuckle, invasive species, know your flora, magical herbs, medicinal herbs, wildcrafting

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Not long ago, when most people were still fairly attuned to nature, it was commonly noted that her flowers resembled lovers entwined, thereby making “Love Bind,” as she was sometimes called, a symbol of devotion and love. In Victorian times, it was said that if one brought a Honeysuckle bouquet into the house, a wedding would follow within the year. Prudence being the operative theme in those days, perhaps marriage was the only possible option for release of wanton desires, for it was well-known that the perfume that spills from her honey-lipped blossoms would spark dreams of passion and desire.

(source)

If there is any plant that I have a love-hate relationship with…its honeysuckle.  On one hand, its fragrant and tasty and medicinal.  On the other hand, its a pervasively invasive species that does an incredible amount of damage to native ecosystems. When it comes to plants like these (kudzu, garlic mustard, mimosa, etc), I’m particularly bloodthirsty (sapthirsty?) and more than happy to pick ’em til they’re gone (a number of parks are more than happy to let you rid them of invasive species, if you ask the persons in charge of them).

There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, most native to the northern hemisphere. The greatest number of species is in China with over 100. North America and Europe have only about 20 native species each, and the ones in Europe are usually toxic.  Taste is not a measure of toxicity. Some Lonicera have delicious berries that are quite toxic and some have unpalatable berries that are not toxic at all. This is one plant on which taste is not a measure of edibility. Properly identify the species.

(from one of my fave wild edible sites, Eat the weeds)

Our favorite way to enjoy honeysuckle, of course, is sucking the nectar out of the bottom of the freshly picked flower…but we also dry the flower buds and fresh blooms to use in teas and salves.  I’m more then happy to pick as many of the flowers as possible, because less flowers mean less berries, and less berries mean less seeds, and less seeds, mean less honeysuckle plants taking over and smothering native plants.  Unfortunately, honeysuckle is a difficult plant to control the growth and spread of.

General Description: 

Japanese honeysuckle is a perennial vine that climbs by twisting its stems around vertical structures, including limbs and trunks of shrubs and small trees. Leaves are oblong to oval, sometimes lobed, have short stalks, and occur in pairs along the stem. In southern and mid-Atlantic states, Japanese honeysuckle often remains evergreen – its leaves remain attached through the winter. In colder northern climates, the leaves may fall off after exposure to prolonged winter temperatures. Flowers are tubular, with five fused petals, white to pink, turning yellow with age, very fragrant, and occur in pairs along the stem at leaf junctures. Stems and leaves are sometimes covered with fine, soft hairs. Japanese honeysuckle blooms from late April through July and sometimes into October. Small black fruits (photo) are produced in autumn, each containing 2-3 oval to oblong, dark brown seeds about 1/4 inch across.

(from the National Park Service’s “Least Wanted” list)

Parts of interest:   Harvest the unopened blooms early in the morning for infusions or tinctures.  Open blooms can also be harvested for tea and for culinary preparations (honey suckle flowers are tasty in salads).  The young leaves and vine tips of Japanese honeysuckle are edible after boiling (I haven’t tried this myself yet)–the big thing to remember here is the “after boiling”–the leaves are said to have high levels of saponins, which can make you sick to your tummy, but are mostly removed through parboiling, and not readily absorbed through the human digestive tract anyhow. Additionally, it is reported that the vines themselves can be used for basketry. DO NOT INGEST THE BERRIES!  Reports of toxicity vary, but honeysuckle berries are generally agreed to be mildly poisonous in  most species.

How to prepare flowers:  There are a number of ways to use honeysuckle blooms.  First, consider drying them for later use in infusions.  Honeysuckle makes an excellent additive in salves, and a lovely and fragrant infusion.  The unopened blooms are best for drying, but the opened blossoms are suitable for using fresh.  Flowers can be candied, used to make a simple syrup (which can even be used in adult beverages), infused in honey, or turned into jelly.

What its good for:  Medicinally, honeysuckle has been traditionally recommended to combat inflammation, fever, infection, and skin conditions.  Magically, it is said to attract friends, love, prosperity, fidelity, and clear thinking.

Errata:  Honeysuckle is a plant that has quite a bit of disagreement about its use–which species and which parts of a particular species should be used for which ailments, which parts of the plants from which species are safe, etc.  If you choose to forage for honeysuckle as a food or medicine, please do so with caution.

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Catch-a-weed

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by thalassa in children, family, food, herbs

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

cleavers, foraging, herbs, kids, playing outside

One of our favorite edible and medicinal foraging plants is one we never end up eating.  Sure, we could make tea, or a coffee substitute, or take a bath in it, or use it on wounds.  But…we generally have too much fun with it and it never makes it there!

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Food for Friday: Wild Spring Greens

08 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by thalassa in cooking, food, herbal

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

chickweed, dandelion, foraging, herbs, recipes, violet, wild edibles

chickweedToo bad we are having miserable weather as I write this, when I was out and about last week I noticed the chickweed was out and about…  (I’m actually a bit bummed, because I was going to going take the munchkin on a photo-taking expedition for this post!!)

The thing to remember about spring is that when and where chickweed leads, the rest of the greens follow!

Some of the common green spring wild edibles include chickory, chickweed, henbit and deadnettle, clover and (Asiatic and Virginia) dayflower, wood sorrel, purslane, plantain, violet, garlic mustard, and wild onions and wild garlic, and dandelion.  Around the neighborhood in early spring, its mostly mouse-eared chickweed, with some henbit and red deadnettle, and  narrow leaved plantain (as opposed to broadleaf plantain).  We also have a bit of dandelion and the occasional wild onion (rather than dig it up, you can top off the leaves and use them like chives) and (pink and yellow) wood sorrel.

Wild Green Pesto

2-3 cups wild green (chickweed, plantain, dandelion greens, etc)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c pine nuts or walnuts
3/4 c grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp salt
1/3-1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Wash greens in cold water and remove leaves from stalks, drain greens. Run garlic through a food processor at chop and then add the greens, nuts, cheese, salt and 1/3 cup of olive oil and process until pest consistency. If the mixture is too dry, add up to the 1/2 c of olive oil.

When it comes to picking greens, the most important thing to remember is to choose locations that with a minimum of pollution.  Also, know the best time to pick–most greens are the tastiest when the leaves are small and sometimes (as with dandelions) before the plant flowers, or before the weather heats up.  If you want to try grocery shopping in your lawn (or someone else’s lawn), you can easily substitute many wild greens for conventional ones (never forage a plant you can’t absolutely identify).

Once you bring your greens in, make sure you wash them well before preparing them.  Mild greens, like chickweed or violet leaves, can be eaten raw in salads or pesto (see the above recipe) as well as cooked.  Chickweed specifically is a great (and nutritious) ingredient in juicing or smoothies. Bitter greens (like dandelions) can often be blanched or to remove some of the bitterness and then sauteed or otherwise cooked (don’t forget to drain them before sauteing or cooking).  Most greens need to be removed from the stems to make them more palatable, with the notable exception of chickweed*.

Chickweed “juice”

A Pile of Chickweed, washed and coarsley chopped**
An apple
An orange
ginger
A cucumber

Juice it and drink!

Recipe Round-up from the Interwebs

  • Wild greens gourmet
  • Wild greens Florentine 
  • Chickweed Pakoras
  • Wilted dandelion greens
  • Wild green risotto
  • 16 ways to do wild greens
  • Chickweed Salad

*Can you tell how much I love chickweed? Its a great medicinal herb too!
**BTW, never try to juice the long stems of chickweed, it will clog up the juicer.

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Wordless Wednesday: My Book of Tea

23 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by thalassa in correspondences, food, herbal, herbs

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

herbal tea, herbs, tea, tea diary

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None is as free as one born on the wave, Born on the wave to the song of the sea; None can be brave until they are free, Free of all, but the call of the sea.

Month By Month

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About me

*Just an FYI: If you are wondering why there's not been a new post recently, new posts have been a bit slowed down by the new job...*

I am a (occasionally doting) wife, a damn proud momma of two adorable and brilliant children, a veteran of the United States Navy, beach addict, (American) Civil War reenactor and Victorian natural history aficionado, lover of steampunk, canoeing fanatic, science professional (and amateur in my preferred field), graduate student, and semi-erratic blogger.

If you have found this blog, you have also figured out that we are a Pagan family.  More aptly, I would describe my theological belief as a pragmatic sort of pantheism with a polytheistic practice and my religion as Unitarian Universalist Pagan.  I practice a bioregional witchery and herbalism (foraging ftw!), mainly working with domestic and elemental magics, and I have a thing for sea deities. For the most part, my blog covers a bit of all of these things, with a bit of randomness tossed in from time to time.

I enjoy playing with my kids, chillin with the hubster, swimming, being nerdy, the great outdoors, NCIS re-runs, chai tea--iced or hot, yoga, trashy romance novels, singing off key, kitchen experiments (of the culinary and non types), surfing the internet and painting.  I also like long walks on the beach and NPR's Science Friday and Neil deGrasse Tyson.  I love to read, sleep in on the weekend, and make the Halloween costumes for my kids every year. I am passionate about watershed ecology and local conservation efforts and vehemently anti-disposable plastics. But most of all...I'm just trying to take extravagant pleasure in the act of being alive.

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