Tag Archives: dreams

Herbal Sleep Sachet

**WARNING – Please do not use essential oils if pregnant or breast feeding, as they can be very harmful. Also, please ensure any ingredients do not have any contraindications with medication you are using, or that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients. Thank you!**

A few months back, I was struggling to sleep, due to some of my medical conditions flaring up and causing me pain. Despite the herbal tea (Sleepy Tea Blog) and bath salts (Bath Salts Blog) I make and use, I needed something a bit more powerful to add to my bedtime arsenal.  Therefore, I decided to make a herbal sleep sachet for inside my pillow.

I do a lot of crafts and have drawers full of bits and bobs, including some cute Disney fat quarters (I found these in Aldi a few years ago). I chose a nice pattern and cut it to the size I needed and hand sewed it, inside out, along two sides, with one side left open and a flap to tuck in. Once sewn, I then turned it inside out again, so that it was the right way round and the two sewn sides were now on the inside.

I put the following dried herbs into a bowl:

• 2 chamomile teabags (opened and emptied, but you could use loose, dried chamomile flowers) – for it’s mild tranquillising effect and sleep inducing properties;
• 1 piece of star anise – to repel nightmares (use sparingly);
• 2 teaspoons of catnip – for increasing restful sleep;
• 2 teaspoons of lemon balm – for it’s ability to reduce anxiety and insomnia, in addition to relieving stress;
• 2 teaspoons of jasmine flowers – to reduce stress and anxiety, help with symptoms of depression and to help get a good night’s sleep;
• 2 teaspoons of mugwort – for pleasant dreams and to help fall back to sleep if awoken (I do this a lot, so need something to help me fall back to sleep again);
• 2 teaspoons of rose petals (mine were pinky red, but you could use any colour) – for loving and peaceful thoughts and dreams; and
• 2 teaspoons of Lavender – for it’s anxiolytic (anxiety relieving) properties and as a sedative, to increase relaxation and calm, and help for bringing about sleep.

I then put 8-10 drops of each of the following essential oils into the dried herbs and stirred deosil (clockwise), imbuing the mixture with my intent for peaceful, relaxing and restorative sleep.

• Frankincense – for it’s aromatherapeutic benefits, which help relieve stress and promote relaxation;
• Clary sage – for it’s natural sedative properties, which can provide a calming effect to help fall and stay asleep. It is also known to reduce the levels of hormones associated with stress, such as cortisol, which helps your body prepare for a good night’s rest; and
• Bergamot – for it’s calming effect and ability to induce physiological changes that precede sleep, such as lowering heart rate and blood pressure.

I also wanted to include some crystals in my sachet that are associated with sleep, so I looked into the properties and correspondences of various crystals and chose the following.

• Amethyst – this crystal helps with sleep by blocking stress and negative energies. It is especially helpful when insomnia is caused by stress and over thinking.  It also protects against nightmares;
• Rose quartz – this crystal is helpful as it is the stone of unconditional love and peace. It can remove negative energy and replace it with positive vibes and can provide restorative healing and self love;
• Moonstone – this crystal has been used for centuries as a sleep stone and can also increase sleep quality.  It is also fantastic for calming and stabilising the emotions and promoting a restful sleep; and
• Clear quartz – this is the most powerful healing crystal, in addition to being a great energy amplifier and can be used to enhance the energies of other crystals. Therefore, I added it to my sleep sachet to increase and amplify the energies of the amethyst, rose quartz and moonstone. 

Once everything is thoroughly mixed, I carefully spooned the mixture into the open end of the sachet, until all the mixture was inside. I then folded in the edges, along with the flap, and sewed it shut.

It’s been in my pillow ever since and if it needs refreshing, I just sprinkle a few drops of each of the essential oils I used onto the material of the sachet. I’ve honestly been sleeping so much better!

My Witchcraft Journey

I have been fascinated by witchcraft, forteana, the paranormal and cryptozoology (I had a subscription to the Fortean Times from about 11/12 years old onwards) for as long as I can remember (I am 44 now). There’s a bit of paranormal history in my family too, with both my mum and my grandma on my dad’s side having had encounters with Spirits on a couple of occasions. My mum was also once told by a psychic medium that she had latent psychic abilities that she should develop, but she never did as far as I’m aware. I was also one of those kids that had an imaginary friend. Mine was a pony called Poppet and he was with me for years!

Looking back, I think my journey into witchcraft started when I was about 12 or 13. I found some dream books and books on herbs in the loft at my parents house that were my mum’s. I started foraging for the herbs in the books, or finding them in our garden, and made teas, tinctures, soups and condiments, anything I could really.  I once made my dad nettle soup, which was truly awful, but, bless him, he ate every drop and pretended to love it! I also persuaded my mum to buy me more herb and natural remedy books from the garden centre too.

I also had what I now realise as being an altar of sorts, from about 13/14 onwards (without actually realising what it was), which was a big shelf above my radiator, over which I painted a big Mandala on the wall with a Yin Yang symbol in the middle.

On this shelf I kept interesting stones, fossils and minerals I’d found, shells and feathers, bits of plants and dried flowers. I also burned incense, had candles and drank herbal teas, sometimes with added herbs from the garden or spices from my mums spice rack. Here I’d make wishes on candles to do well in a test, or to get that boy I liked to notice me, which were in essence my first spells. I’d also write things down on paper and burn them, which I now know is a way of manifesting your desires.

I used shufflemancy with my CDs, and my own version of bibliomancy with my books, to make decisions, long before I found out these were forms of divination. I would also have little fires at the bottom of the garden and just sit out there, watching the moon and stars whilst drinking my tea.

We didn’t have the internet at home when I was younger and the local librarian was loathed to lend me Stephen King books, let alone anything to do with witchcraft or the occult, so I had no choice but to make things up as I went along. Even at university there was limited access to the internet! It’s so much easier nowadays for people to do research, watch videos and join online groups and communities to learn about witchcraft. I wish there’d have been something like that when I was younger.

It’s only really been since my mid 30’s that I realised the things I’ve been intuitively doing since I was a young teen could be classed as witchcraft. I just didn’t realise, because these things just came naturally to me. As I’ve got older, the pull towards properly learning and researching has become stronger and our house has become more cluttered with stones, feathers, shells and dried flowers I’ve found, in addition to crystals.

Over the years I’ve read so much more into it and got so invested in the idea and history of witchcraft, that to NOT develop it was becoming impossible to resist!! So here I am! I’ve only recently started to refer to myself as a Witch, or even been comfortable in telling people about it.

However, I found a few communities for Witchcraft online and became an active member, writing blogs and articles on things I’d researched, or spells/rituals I’d developed/undertaken and hosted/co-hosted chats on crystals, nature, kitchen witchery and candle magick etc. I also found out, through helping and advising the younger or more inexperienced members of these communities, that I knew a lot more about witchcraft than I realised.

For me, the next logical step was setting up this website, and associated social media, as a way of recording what I know and have done and to help others starting out in their journeys into witchcraft

Sleep and De-Stressing Bath Salts

One of my favourite bath salt blends to make is this one, for helping to relax, unwind, de-stress and sleep. I always have some made up on hand at all times, stored in a recycled gherkin jar (washed out, obviously!), so it’s there ready if I need to use it. I also try and make it well enough in advance to give the ingredients time to meld together and infuse. 

These sleepy salts really help me to relax and unwind and, combined with some sleepy tea that I make (Sleepy Tea Recipe), along with playing rainstorm or crashing wave sounds through Alexa in our bedroom, or guided meditation through my headphones, I am guaranteed a full nights sleep.

Here’s the ingredients I used:

• Himalayan pink salt for cleansing, centering and grounding;

• Dried jasmine flowers for their sedative effects and use for reducing anxiety and depression;

• 6-8 drops of ylang ylang essential oil to boost my mood, alleviate anxiety and reduce depression;

• 6-8 drops of rose essential oil for also relieving anxiety and stress; and

• 6-8 drops of patchouli essential oil to relieve depression, provide feelings of relaxation and helping to ease stress or anxiety.

I first put the salt into the jar. I then added each essential oils, 2-3 drops at a time, putting the lid on and shaking to mix well in between each addition. Each time I shook it I thought of my intention for this to help me destress, not be as anxious and to try and relax more, whilst soaking in a bath containing a handful.

The last thing I added was the dried jasmine and gave it a final shake.

It smells divine and the other thing about it that soothes me, is that it smells of my mum’s favourite perfume. I lost my mum very suddenly and quite traumatically in 2016. It took me a long time to get over that. This smell reminds me of her, and how wonderful and loving she was, and makes me feel connected to her. The label at the bottom of the jar has her initials as I’ve dedicated this blend to her.

Sleepy Tea

When my husband or I struggle to sleep, I make us both this ‘sleepy tea’ and it works really well (with the added bonus of vivid dreams and occasional lucid dreaming!). I know most people have their own version of this, but here’s the recipe I use.

The ingredients are as follows:

🚫 Please check that you aren’t allergic to any ingredients, that they’re safe to take whilst pregnant or breast feeding or there aren’t any contraindications with medication you are prescribed or taking over the counter. 🚫

• Dried mugwort to relieve sleeplessness and induce vivid dreams (do NOT use if you are pregnant);
• Dried lemon balm to improve sleep quality;
• Dried chamomile to induce/initiate sleep (you can use chamomile teabags); and
• Dried Yarrow for it’s mild sedative properties.

I add one teaspoon of each herb per person, boiled up in just over two mugs worth of water (as some water will steam off) in a pan for 5/6 minutes.

Stirring clockwise occasionally, imbued with your intent for a good nights sleep. I often combine this with a spray I created, made from a around 200ml moon water and 10-12 drops of lavender essential oil, sprayed on our pillows and the tops of our duvet, 10-15 minutes before bed.

Drain and strain the herby liquid mixture through muslin (or a clean tea towel, even kitchen roll) in a fine sieve and squeeze the pulp in the muslin to get every drop of lovely liquid out. Sweeten with honey (or sweetening of your choice) to taste.

Drink around half an hour before bed and you’ll have a great nights sleep and some pretty awesome dreams!!