Materia Medica

I am coming to the end of my most recent course in Herbalism and have learned so much. It has made me read books and research things that I would never have thought about.  My Materia Medica will be a living document to be added to constantly as I experiment with herbs and spices. 

I had company during a lot of my experiments in the form of my cat Edric who seems very interested in herbal remedies. 

Healing Herbs

I have been experimenting with herbal remedies lately as many of my garden herbs are still fresh. 

From fresh parsley, I made a warm decoction by simmering fresh leaves for 20 minutes.  The smell and taste was delicate and purifying as it is a good liver and kidney tonic. 

Warm Parsley decoction

I also made a Chamomile ointment using fresh Chamomile, beeswax and a scented oil. 

Following an injury on my knee I started to use the ointment which felt soothing and the massage has helped with the recovery

Unicorn Meditation Prayer Stick

Holly has the purest white wood when the outer bark is stripped away and has strong connection with the unicorn for strength, power and purity. 

I made this prayer stick to meditate with the unicorn as a spirit guide.

Holly Dream Pouch

Holly has powerful connections with dream working so I made a dream pouch using holly leaves. 


Take 7 holly leaves and boil them in hot water to extract the purifying gentle green liquid.  Then in a paper bag placed a note, with any dreams for the future written on it.

Once it has cooled down, place the bag into the liquid for just a few seconds then fish it out and let it dry before placing under your pillow.

Wait to see if the dream comes true one day. 

Rowan Berry Ice Pack

I recently had an accident where my legs and arms were badly bruised.  The Rowan Tree has many healing properties so I made an ice pack with fresh berries by simmering them in water until fairly soft  then pouring the whole contents into small ice molds before freezing them. 

The result was a perfectly formed ice pack to use with a cotton flannel.  It was incredibly soothing and my bruises are healing nicely.   

Warm Willow Bark Compress

 To make a warm willow and lavender compress is so simple and the smell was wonderful.  Great for soothing aching joints.

I shaved a small cup of willow bark off an old branch of willow, including the softer pale bark and the tougher outer bark.

Added to a large saucepan of water with fresh lavender and simmered for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool until it feels comfortable to touch ( hand hot)

Dip a cotton flannel into the mixture and apply to area in need.

BBQ Charcoal

I had great fun recently making some charcoal on my BBQ.  I was amazed at how good some of the pieces turned out and I was even inspired to create something with it. 

I placed a hand full of willow twigs onto the BBQ.

Closed the lid and left overnight.

Some of the larger pieces didn't work out so it's 

best to use smaller ones.

I was thrilled with the ones that did work out though.

I was inspired to draw something with them.

Purifying Pine Facial Toner

I have loved recently working with Pine.  We have so many varieties around us so it was a great way of studying the different species that grow in the area.

One of the most lovely things I made was a facial toner from fresh pine needles.

I found some paper bags over the internet for sale and they were perfect for filling with the pine.
I then poured boiling water on top and allowed to cool.

I then strained the liquid into an old glass bottle and decorated with miniature  pine cones.

It's wonderful to use, really cooling and cleansing.

Pine Floor Wash

I love cooking on an outside fire and now I have a tripod it makes it even easier.  I had a go at making my own floor wash using just a hand full of fresh pine leaves.  The smell was incredible as it boiled away over the flames. 

I left it to simmer for an hour, allowed it to cool overnight and then strained it into a jar. 

This little fellow was certainly interested in the final result. I look forward to using this on my log cabin floor, it still smells wonderful. 

Simple Apple Cup

I always find bought varieties of apple juice too sweet and hate to think of how much sugar is in there so had a go at making my own apple tea.  Nothing in there except for apple and water and it turned out to be simply delicious. 

I just used one sweet eating apple.















Grated it and placed into 
a bowl.

Allowed to steep in hot water for around 5 minutes.

Poured into a lovely glass mug with a slice of fresh apple to decorate.
Beyond simple and no hidden ingredients.  

Hawthorn Runes for use with Tarot cards

I went in search of Hawthorn the other day as I wanted to make some Runes from the wood.

I found a whole hedgerow full of this magical tree and was thrilled to find that there was also mistletoe growing from it.

It is unlucky to take from the tree so I managed to find some fallen bits that had come lose.

I took a small hacksaw and cut three small discs.
Then I sanded them down until smooth and with my wood burning pen inscribed the ancient Ogham sign for Hawthorn.

Now they were ready, I took my Tarot set out and laid every card on the floor face down.

I asked my question and closed my eyes.  I then dropped the first rune gently to the floor.  The card that it most contact with, I selected and put it to one side.  This is the first card and relates to the past.

I then did the same with the second rune, this is for the present and finally the third which represents the future.

I then turned the cards over to get my reading and I was amazed with the result.  They really did help me and gave me a clear view of the direction I am hoping to take in the future.  I felt this way of working with my tarot set very powerful.

Working with Ash

I have been working with Ash over the last few months, first by making a candle stick to honour the Ash Fairies and more recently looking at the health and medicinal things it can be used for.

I went for a long walk on the first of January and found an avenue of Ash trees, all of them had these lovely 'doors' as I see them.  This was particularly relevant as the first of January is also the celebration day of Janus the roman god of doors and openings.

I found a tree that had partly fallen over and there were lots of branches lose on the ground so I took them back home to make something special with - an ash bark face wash.

I shaved the soft bark off into fine slivers then crumbled them up further, they were very soft with all the rain we have had. In the Summer it is possible to simmer the bark to soften it a little.

Then I took an egg white, whisked it up and added the bark. Such a simple but lovely treatment.  It felt lovely as I rubbed it gently into my skin and when I washed it off my face felt glowing and smooth