tincture
The Metaphysical Properties Of Houseplants
Many people who use houseplants to brighten their living space do not realize that they also have metaphysical properties to enhance our spiritual and energetic well-being. Plants, in addition to beautifying our environment, have mystical qualities, and also serve to purify and detoxify the air we breathe.
Herbs are especially powerful and traditionally associated with mental clarity, serenity, and purification. An ancient spiritual cleansing tradition is smudging in which the smoke of burning dry sage and other herbs is used to purify spaces and banish negative energies.
Many herbs are also edible and can be made into elixirs, teas, or potpourri mixes. Delicious and nourishing herbal teas are the perfect way to begin or end a day. Herbs can also be added to healing baths and to enhance nutritious food. Some of my favorites are lavender, mint, rosemary, and basil.
Herbs are easy to grow and do not take up much space. They are no doubt the most versatile houseplant, and even a small apartment can host a herb garden if it has a sunny windowsill.
If you’ve never owned houseplants before, begin with a succulent, such as a cactus or aloe plant. They don’t require much maintenance or watering. Many succulents have spines or spikes, which is why they are associated with protective energies and healing. They are the ‘armor wearers’ of the plant kingdom and keep feelings of despair, gloom, and anxiety at bay. Aloe is also well-known as a treatment for minor cuts, itches, and burns, so grab a piece if you have a slight accident at home and rub some on.
Energy Work With Lunar Herbs
The Moon is traditionally associated in healing and metaphysical practices with several flowers and plants, specifically herbs. Many of these herbs are silver, grey, or pale blue, as well as green, much like the Full Moon itself. Many of these plants are also associated with water, or grow near it.
There are several ways to use herbs in your practice, such as ingesting it in teas or other edible formats, and burning it as incense to purifying ourselves and our living spaces.
During the peak of the moon cycle when it is at its strongest during the Full Moon, is a powerful time to reflect on our emotions, the subconscious, healing, and parts of the body associated with water (blood, digestive system, reproductive system). We can enhance this powerful lunar energy by drinking an appropriate herbal tea, or burning an incense blend consisting of lunar herbs.
Different herbs are associated with the different energies of the lunar cycle. If you are working through some difficult emotional baggage, try lavender, wild rose, lotus, poppy, or kava-kava.
Since the Moon encourages healthy consumption of water and moisturizing, herbs like aloe vera, coconut, chickweed, or marshmallow and aniseed roots act as both natural refreshers and soothers. They are excellent to ensure healthy water absorption, and gels made from aloe are well-known as natural moisturizers.
If you wish to deepen your levels of compassion and understanding during a moon cycle, try mugwort, wormwood, or passionflower. Many of these herbs are edible and delicious. Just be sure to double check first, before adding them to your salad or your teapot!
Practical Ways To Cleanse And Protect Your Energy
We often blame other people or circumstances for feeling tired, burdened, overwhelmed, or depressed, while in truth it is due to our own choices and actions.
When we do not take care to maintain a raised energy vibration, lower or ‘dense’ energies begin to affect us in a negative way. It typically manifests as general physical and emotional exhaustion, or feeling drained. There may also be recurring episodes of ‘bad luck.’
How do we cause this lowered energy frequency? The main cause is negative thoughts and limiting, false beliefs. Our daily reality experience is the result of our thoughts and beliefs. We are personally responsible for the vibes we exchange with our surroundings and the rest of the world.
No matter what belief system or religion you subscribe to, energy protection is always necessary. Every day we are exposed to etheric energies imbued with despair, conflict, hatred, and anger, but nothing can get into our energy field if we do not allow it to enter. So, always protect yourself and shield your energy.
True spiritual protection and energy shielding is however never about fear, insecurity, or paranoia, nor is it about focusing on the negative. On the contrary, it is a way to keep our lives open to the blessings available to us every day. By protecting our energy, we make sure that we are open to every good thing that moves around us and to every soul that wants to vibrate in a key of joy with us.
There are many spiritual and metaphysical practices for achieving and maintaining energetic security and a raised vibration, such as prayer, meditation, visualization, cleansing rituals, and invoking guides, saints, or a particular deity. The following practices are also useful to incorporate in your everyday lifestyle.
Practical Guidelines For Aromatherapy – Part 3
Aromatherapy and essential oils are often used in spiritual and metaphysical practices, but it can also enhance our health and well-being in many ways, including relaxation, relieving tension, calming the mind improving concentration, and increasing mental clarity.
Below are five practical ways to use your favorite essential oils in your home, as well as personal health and beauty.
CANDLES
Any essential oil can be used in a candle to infuse your home, or any space where energy needs to be shifted, cleansed, or recalibrated.
Candle-making is an art and a fun craft for the entire family. You can use molds, tall fireproof glasses, dixie cups. Just be sure to add the oil while melting the wax, not after the candle has been poured, I learned this the hard way!
SOAPS AND LOTIONS
Soap making is also an art and especially useful in gift-making around the holidays. Making a personalized gift of soap, lotion or candles is inexpensive and always treasured instead of commercial retail products. Soaps can be either in liquid form, or a bar form (or any shape you can think of).
Practical Guidelines For Aromatherapy – Part 2
Aromatherapy and essential oils are often used in spiritual and metaphysical practices, but it can also enhance our health and well-being in many ways, including relaxation, relieving tension, calming the mind improving concentration, and increasing mental clarity.
Below are three of my favorite essential oils and the best ways to use them.
PEPPERMINT
I use peppermint oil regularly. It has a crisp, clean scent that is both energizing and soothing. It evaporates rapidly and has an intense aroma. Peppermint is one of the essential oils commonly used for gastric issues and in muscle rubs. I used it for morning sickness and my mother put a few drops on a cotton ball pinned to her collar to help with nausea caused by chemotherapy.
It’s expectorant and decongestant properties make it excellent with upper respiratory ailments, colds, chronic bronchitis, sinus headaches, and seasonal allergies. Diffuse it in an oil diffuser, put 10 drops in a bathtub (4 for children), or make an alcohol plaster.
If you choose to use a tea light diffuser, be sure to put water in with the oil, or the oil will burn, and smell unpleasant. When using an oil diffuser start with 4 or 5 drops, then adjust as desired.
You will need a dish towel, or another rag that will fit around your person’s neck, rolled to fit, 2 or 3 inches wide. Pour 2 or 3 caps full of rubbing alcohol on a 2 to 3 inch square, put 3 or 4 drops of peppermint on the alcohol, place the square on the throat and pin to keep in place. The alcohol will help the oil evaporate evenly through the night.
Practical Guidelines For Aromatherapy – Part 1
Aromatherapy and essential oils are often used in spiritual and metaphysical practices, but it can also enhance our health and well-being in many ways, including relaxation, relieving tension, calming the mind improving concentration, and increasing mental clarity.
According to Dr. Brent Bauer of the Mayo Clinic, some studies have shown that aromatherapy might also have health benefits, including relief from anxiety and depression, improved quality of life, particularly for people with chronic health conditions, as well as improved sleep.
But I believe it is important to use only good quality oils. There are several ways the oils are extracted from the plant. Distillation and expression create the purest form of oil, which is the kind of the essential oils I prefer to use for health purposes. Other ways are infusion and extraction which create perfume oils, the ones you can buy in any store that also sells perfumed candles and related products. These can used as room deodorizers, but not for treatments.
Furthermore, not all oils are created equally. Most are easy to use, but some can be too strong and must first be diluted with other ingredients before it can be used. Some oils are simply too toxic and should never be applied directly to the skin. Before using any oil, please do some research online or talk with someone knowledgeable who can advise you.
Diffusion Methods
Light bulb rings. I recommend the ceramic ones, the metals in the brass rings aren’t good for the lungs, no matter how safe they seem to be, plus they’re harder to clean. The biggest advantage in using a ring is that the oils fill the room quickly. The biggest disadvantage is that it needs to be placed on a traditional rounded top bulb, but in my house I have energy efficient bulbs, which have a twisted shape.
Do You Believe In Magic?
Do you believe in magic? I certainly do! I have not only experienced it, I have also been told by several different psychic readers over the years that I am descended from a very long line of witches. This does not really surprise me, as it is a well-known fact that people like me were called witches in our time.
People that were labeled witches were often those that others confided in. They were the sages that others went to for advice from spirit, the ancestors, or the cards, runes, bones, and many other divination traditions.
They were also the healers who cured with herbs and tinctures. Most witches had a sense of what plants and food would aid in healing the body and strengthening the mind.
And they were the mystics who blessed the tribe with rituals and ceremonies, and the prophets who guided the community’s warriors and leaders.
When people don’t understand something, it creates fear. The ‘evil witches’ often also knew too many of the local secrets. So, the witches were branded as malicious and wicked, instead of being appreciated and admired.
They were shunned, ridiculed, and even executed. Common methods were hanging, drowning, and burning at the stake. Burning alive was often favored because it was seen to be a more painful way to die.
But the esoteric wisdom and knowledge was passed down to select members of families and communities for generations by word-of-mouth. Not everyone was trusted with their secrets and not much was written down at that time either, for fear of persecution. But some would rather practice alone to avoid harassment, and much wisdom was lost in the process. Continue reading
