Magickal Herb Gardening Rambles

Catnip is always a Witchy favorite, and a must of in any witch's garden. This is my catnip from last year, that I kept indoors all winter.  Of course it is our feline friends favorite herbal plant as well. And we have a lot of stray and feral cats in our neighborhood, so keeping catnip in my herb garden has proven to be difficult. They REALLY like catnip.

There is a saying about catnip:
If you set it the cats will eat it
If you sow it, the cats don't know it.

This could be true. But where I live, it is hard to get a lot of herbs growing by sowing seeds, so I have had to use small live plants a lot of times, to get them to take off. When I had catnip growing in my garden, the neighborhood cats flocked to my herb garden and chew my flourishing catnip down to mere nubs. lol They loveddd me, no doubt ;-) 

Catnip has many magickal properties to it. It is a great herb to use in love satchets, and when given to your familiar cat, it is said to create a strong psychic bond between you and your familiar.

It is also said to be a great substitute to use in place of other herbs from the mint family, and can also be used medically infused in tea. It has been said to help calm colicky babies, and also to help purify a babies blood.

    
Sage! I love sage of any kind. I love the smell, the energy, and just everything about it. This particular type of sage is Russian sage, and blooms with purple flowers on top. Makes a great ornamental plant. The leaves and even flowers can be harvested to be used in magickal workings the way other sage can. But I still use the wild desert sage for making sage bundles. This one just isn't as bundle friendly as the others. But I still like it, and think it is a must have in the witch's garden. I do want to get some other sage variety's established in my magickal herb garden eventually. But, I am space limited for the time being. I have this small plot, packed full in the summer.

 Here is the Russian sage in full bloom. It blooms fairly early in the spring/summer for this area. One of the reasons, I love this type.

 Bee Balm or Bergamot.  The Bee's love it, the hummingbirds love it. And the Butterfly's love it.  A faery favorite. I just marvel at this plant, as it grows in all it's glory. It's a beautiful addition to the witchy gardens.

 The Magickal uses for Bee Balm:

 Bee Balm is used in purifying and relaxation spells.

To relax or to get rid of hexes, run hot bathwater over the herb before bathing.

To attract wealth keep Bee Balm leaves in a wallet, purse or pocket book. Also rub the leaves on hands before an interview or important meeting.

Affinities with Air and with Mercury.

Medicinally Bee Balm is a good antiseptic, and can be used for insect bites. Also to help ease menstrual cramps if infused into a tea.

 When using any herb for medical purposes, especially when ingested, care should be taken or advice sought if uncertain as to dosage and usage.

Always consult your doctor before giving a herbal preparation to an infant or child.

 
 Echinacea or cone flower is widely known for it's immune boosting properties to help with the common cold. It is also used in spells to help strengthen the spell or ritual. The flowers of the Echinacea plant are also a faery favorite, as well as a bee and butterfly attractant. 

 Lambs Ear or Betony is a new addition to my herb garden last year. This year I am hoping to be able to harvest it. It is associated with the element of Fire, and is good for protection.

 Horehound is another herb, that I just added last year, and looking forward to watching it grow this spring. In magick, it is bound to the Earth and to Mercury.  It's name is a derivative of Horus, the Egyptian God of sky and light.  It can be burned, used in sachets, or drunk as a tea for it's magical effects.   

Horehound can be used in a sachet carried on the person, and is believed to protect against spells or sorcery.

As a tea, Horehound is felt by some to increase mental clarity and strength.  Try some on Monday morning. 

Burned as an incense, Horehound is believed to honor Horus, the God of sky and light, and to increase protection from evil forces.

 This is a sad picture of the Comfrey I planted last summer. Another newly added herb to the garden. I am hoping it too flourishes this spring. Comfrey has many medicinal purposes. Also known as Black Wort, Bruisewort, Slippery root, to name a few. It has been known to promote the healing of bruises, sprains and broken bones. Magickally  worn or carried Comfrey ensures your safety during travels. Tuck some into your suitcase when traveling, to help your items to not get lost. The root is also used in money spells. Associated with the element of water, this is a feminine plant.

 Yarrow also known as the Witch's Herb. It can come in many different colors, Yellow is one of the the most common, or white. I like the red best because it helps attract the hummingbirds, and butterflys. That, and yellow and I, have problems with each other, on different levels. I do not have a favorite color, but I really do not care for the color yellow that much. I use to absolutely abhor it, but, I've gotten better over the years, and we can tolerate each other a bit better. But I do avoid it if possible.
Magickally Yarrow has many qualities. Protection from evil being an important one. It can be used in smudge sticks, or worn in amulets. It can be used in dream pillows and all magicks pertaining to the heart. It can also be used as an incense in matters of divining. It can be hung in doorways to prevent evil from entering, and as a protection from curses and hexes.

 
 Wormwood is another great addition to the Witch's garden and another great plant to make smudge sticks out of. It is often burnt to summon spirits. It can also be burned to help aid in opening psychic centers.  When these centers are open and receptive communication with those that have 'passed over' is much easier. It is also a great insect repellent and mice hate it.

 
 

~Moon Rambles

One of my favorite past times is capturing Moon pictures. These are some of my favorite shots, from 2012 last year.

 This one was during the Moon eclipse. Which was actually taken winter of 2011 before christmas.

Another of my all time fave's. I love it when she lets me capture her, big, round and orange! Sometimes she can be difficult, and a bit shy during a Full Moon time, to be able to capture the essence. 

These next few pic's were taken during the Super Full Moon of 2012. While not all the pictures, are top quality moon pictures, some are note worthy just for the special effects and orbs that came with them. The one above here, did not capture the MASSIVE FULLNESS of Luna as she was rising on the horizon, but I did try.

This is one that has the orbs, but the orb to notice is in the bottom left hand corner, as it streaks through...just awesome, IMO. I love getting orbs in my pictures!

Albeit a bit blurry, one of the better pictures of the Super Full Moon of 2012.

 
 
 While the moon in this picture, itself was nothing to brag about, it was the thing that showed up below that caught my interest. It looked to me, like some sort of ancient symbol. But who knows? I just liked it.

I like trying to capture her in all of her stages. A Silver Cresent is one of my favorite moons, but hard to capture on film for this amateur! 

 
 But I do like it when they look pretty cool, if I do say so myself!

When the full moon is out, during the same time of the Sun just setting is another favorite time for me. It reminds me of the movie Lady Hawk, which was a favorite movie of mine as a child.

 
 Full Moon in July 2012 during our annual family camping trip.

 This one is during the Blue Moon 2012. It was a hard one to get good pictures of as well. Not only had my camera batteries died, and I had to make a quick run to the rural gas station and pay an outrageous amount for crappy batteries, I also had to chase the moon around, and try to capture it while it was lookin' good. She did not want to be captured during the Blue Moon either.

 


 Then it got cloudy. But the clouds looked pretty cool.


While this is but a few of the pictures I took last year, and I have many many more, my internet is not wanting to play nice today. So I shall end this here, and maybe post a few more, later on. After all...tis' only March, and I have already started the capturing of the moon during 2013...yet to be seen ;-) Blessed Be. )0(

 
 
 
 

Garden Witchery

One of my favorite Author's first books is on sale on kindle today for $1.99 this is a greaaatt deal, for anyone interested!!! 

Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Witchery-Magick-Ground-ebook/dp/B001T4ZA5G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1362390806&sr=1-5 

I highly recommend this book, or any others by @Ellen Dugan! She is an awesome Garden Witch! I love her books!

Monday Monday...

Monday mornings are just not my thing...and our spring like weather from the weekend? It's gone...there is a new dusting of snow on the ground. Apparently I have not watched the weather, I did NOT see this coming...

I was under the impression it was going to be nice this week. But no, back to school, back to work, in the snow.

I have to go warm the car up soon. Still working on my first cuppa java to get myself going. I am going to need a lot more than that.

~Spring Fever~

To say Spring Fever has hit my household this weekend, is putting it lightly. The husband went golfing yesterday {GOLFING! My husband, is NOT a golfer! hahaha!} But he just had to get out and about. And son, he too, was out and about all day.

During one of his *check-in's* my son and his friend came in, all excited, because they had seen a HUGE RABBIT...a HUGE RABBIT with black ears and a LONG tail...bigger than our dogs! { Which, okay doesn't take much, since we have a chiweiner, and a chihuhua} but still, it must've been a big one!

I said, well it was probably a Jack Rabbit. "NO," My son said, all serious..."it didn't have any horns." 

If you are not familiar with the mythological Jack-a-lope, it is a much sought after rabbit with horns, out here. But apparently the one my son seen yesterday did not have horns. { tongue-in-cheek }

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope 

So, I said, well maybe it was the Easter Bunny? " Nope, it didn't have a basket either" .....Well I said, he could have just been hopping around, scoping the place out. You just never know ;-)  

It was, the highlight of the day.

Today is another beautiful day. The husband and son are out metal detecting today for *treasures*. I hope they don't scare off the Easter bunny or jack-a-lopes.

*I* on the other hand, am doing the mundane things that mother's do on sundays. Like getting the laundry finished, and making sure everyone has clothes to wear for Monday morning, all the while, dreaming of the next few weeks, when I can get outdoors and start digging in the dirt again.

   This is my Ostara altar from last year. 16 days till spring! I. Can. not. wait! What a long winter it has seemed to be, with January and February being the two longest months of it!

 I can't wait for the yarrow to start blooming!!

Or the wormwood! I made some spectacular smudge sticks out of my wormwood last year. I just love this stuff.

I plan to add many more herbs to my herb garden this year hopefully. These are just a couple of what are already there. Last year, I added three new ones, lambs ear, horehound, and comfrey. I hope they made it through the winter. Maybe I will do a blog post on just the herb garden alone, if I can find all my pictures.

Happy Spring....almost! 

 

Not like the rest...

I just love this picture. For one, I want a pair of those stockings! They are the shit! And for another, it's so true.

It's been true, for most of my life. I didn't fit in with the uppity girls in grade school, or junior high, or highschool. By Highschool, I didn't give a shit, but couldn't figure out why. It wasn't till after school, that I found my place...in the witchy world.

Yes, of course, I am pagan. But that word has so many meanings to it anymore, and seems too generic. So I just use witch. That's the one that fits.

Then here we are out in the west, where all the cowboys and indians are running around, like it was the 1800's still. Yes, our first few years here, I thought we had jumped the time warp...and literally went back about a 150 years....because, not much has changed out here, in the last 150 years.

Of course, the fact we were living 100 miles from civilization at the time didn't help matters. Or the fact we were living in a log cabin, with limited electricity and/or indoor plumbing, that didn't help either. Ok, so I may be exaggerating a teeny tiny bit, but not by much.

The packs of coyotes that would come into our yard at night, trying to lure our dogs away one by one, that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand out straight. The black wolf we seen, while out wandering around our close countryside...and everyone telling us we were nuts, because there were no wolves .... { yeah, that's been a few years ago, but the wolf, WAS still there, eating away at a deer carcass.}

I seriously felt like I was living on the little house on the prarie, but where the hell was the prarie? I was surrounded by mountains and deserts. And the 1800s have never been a good time for me. { I seriously believe that I died somewhere on the Oregon trail, back in another life.} SO when hubs was WAY excited that the oregon trail, WAS IN OUR BACKYARD...I was NOT. 

When people think of things out here, they think. NO running water, NO electricity, they think of the life of Laura, on Little House on the Prarie, and I am happy to say, that life, really is NOT like that now.

But we are not cowboys, so we still don't fit in there. We are not Native American, so we don't fit in there...we still, don't fit in anywhere, out here in the west. We didn't fit in, anywhere back east....

So where in the hell....are we suppose to be? Where are we supppose to fit in at?

Honestly, I like, not fitting in. There is no stereotype for myself. I find, that I can rarely even fit into the pagan world. Which is why I have chosen this solitary path. I don't have to fit in. My family loves me, that's all that matters. My friends accept me, for the most part. I have never been one, who needs a LOT of friends, to say I have a lot of friends. The one or two, that I do have, are true, and love me regardless, of the stereotype.        

In like a Lion, out like a Lamb

The old saying, that March comes in like a Lion and will go out like a Lamb. Well today out here in the west, you would think Spring is well on it's way! It's coming in like a lamb. So I know that we will probably see the lion's roar, at some point this month ;-) But that is okay. We will take what we can get out here, when we get it!
Two days ago, or was it three? It's hard to remember now, but as hubs and I took our long awaited road trip, the weather was horrendous! We wound up having to make the trip an overnight one. 1- because of the weather and 2- because of the doctor wanting to see him again the next morning, and the fact that after a 3 hour drive, and the horrid road conditions, we knew we weren't making the same trek....twice.
But we did get the pleasure of seeing a huge bald eagle, sitting on the fence post, in the blowing snow, along the way. There was no way to stop for a picture, although I was whining to do so.
    Yesterday the prairie dogs were out playing along side the roads. So Spring is definitely in the air around here! I can't wait to start planting and digging in the dirt! Even if we do see more snow, more weather, it will be short lived, and much needed moisture. Soon, there will be  hints of spring flowers peaking their heads out. I. Can't. Wait.!!!

Happy March!!!