How to make a Heat-infused Herbal Oil
An infused oil is an oil that has been infused with the properties of one or more herbs. Infused oils make great massage oils and are often used as the basis for healing salves. Some herbal infused oils can be used for cooking, too.
How to Make Dryer Sachets: Easy All Natural Housekeeping
Dryer sachets are a frugal, practical, organic alternative to commercial dryer sheets. I usually hand-sew mine because it takes less time to thread a needle and get sewing than to pull out my sewing machine. I recommend a French seam, particularly if you sew by hand, to give your seam more strength.
How to Make and Use Dryer Hankies: Easy All Natural Housekeeping
Dryer Hankies are a simple, frugal, and surprisingly luxurious alternative to commercial dryer sheets. I keep a small stack next to my laundry machines along with a selection of my favorite essential oils. I usually use old wash cloths or hankies, so the edges are already finished. If you’re using scraps of fabric, I recommend […]
Milling Soap: A Kid-friendly How-to
This is a basic procedure, not a recipe. I haven’t included specific measurements but have instead described the process and what to look for as you’re working. For specific recipes using this technique, see The Practical Herbalist® Recipes.
Milling Soap: A Stove Top How-to
Soap milling, also called French Milling, is an easy traditional process for enhancing cakes or bars of soaps. Milling allows you to add a variety of healing, soothing, or cleansing ingredients, such as extra fats or oatmeal or essential oils, to your soaps. I like to make hand milled soaps to give as gifts as well as to add luxury to our daily lives.
Herbal Honey Facial How to: Easy Herbal Home Medicine
Honey is loaded with healthy properties, among them the ability to rejuvenate and heal the skin. As a facial treatment, honey removes acne without drying and helps smooth large pores; it’s great for teens and women facing unbalanced hormones late in life as well.
Elderberry History, Folklore, Myth and Magic
Elder is a relative new-comer in world folklore, holding her place most prominently in European history and mythos where she has been associated closely with the Celtic faerie lands and those similar otherworldly realms of various European traditions. Elder is sacred to many goddess-traditions and especially to the goddesses Venus and Holle. Most popular among […]
Raspberry History, Folklore, Myth, and Magic
Wild raspberry caught the eye of early cave dwellers, as evidenced by the remains of raspberry canes found at a variety of dig sites across Europe, Asia, and Northern America, and raspberries have been a part of our diet ever since. In Hellenistic Troy, Raspberry was linked inextricably to fertility and young children in the […]
Hawthorn History, Folklore, Myth and Magic
Hawthorn is the thorn of the Celtic phrase “By Oak, Ash, and Thorn.” Its association with faerie and as a gateway to the faerie worlds is long-standing, but Hawthorn’s place in myth and folklore extends well beyond the United Kingdom and the Celts. The ancient Greeks and Romans used hawthorn in marriage and birth ceremonies. […]
Apple History, Folklore, Myth and Magic
Although apple’s healing properties and uses have gone unnoticed in modern times, the ancient peoples were profoundly aware of the virtues of this fair tree. As early as 8,000 b.c., we have evidence that the apple was highly valued and cultivated in the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, Indus and Yellow River valleys. The apple has […]
Pomegranate History, Folklore, Myth and Magic
Pomegranates have enjoyed an important place in world history and mythos. As many as several millennia ago, pomegranate was cultivated in Persia, Georgia, Armenia, and the Mediterranean. Evidence that humans long ago valued pomegranate has been found in Egyptian tombs, early bronze-age Jericho, and even along China’s Silk Road. Beyond archaeological proof, we can look […]
Calendula History, Folklore, Myth and Magic
While Calendula’s origins are somewhat disputed, there is no question as to how important this garden flower has been in more recent history. Europeans and early American colonists relied on calendula’s sunny disposition and gentle immune boosting properties for protection against the damp, cold of winter. It was a common pot herb, meaning it was […]