lavender – Melusina The Green Witch

Lavender, Sweet Orange and Rose Petal Hand Scrub

My hands have been super dry recently, with peeling skin, rough knuckles and have been pretty irritated and sore. I’ve tried loads of hand creams and moisturisers, but nothing has really helped. So, I decided to make something that would help!

I started with a sweet almond oil base (around 200ml), as this type of almond oil is excellent for moisturising and caring for your skin. It is deeply moisturising, whilst being gentle on sensitive skin, and also has regenerative properties. Chinese cultures have been using almond oil as a natural medicine to treat dry skin and scarring since ancient times.

I then added about 50ml of Vitamin E oil, which is found in many commercial moisturisers and can be used to prevent or treat dry, flaking skin. Some research even suggests that vitamin E may promote wound healing. It is also thought that Vitamin E may also alleviate the dryness, itching and flaking associated with eczema, or atopic dermatitis. It also acts as a preservative for the whole mixture, giving it a shelf life of 2-3 months.

I then added about 20 drops of lavender essential oil. Lavender is probably the most popular essential oil when it comes to healing skin conditions, burns and cuts. With its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antimicrobial and detoxifying benefits, lavender essential oil can help reduce redness, soothe and calm the skin and rapidly heal minor cuts and scrapes, as well as any rashes. It also smells amazing!

I also added about 10 drops of sweet orange essential oil. This fragrant oil can enhance the skin cell rejuvenation, enabling the skin to lock in moisture more effectively. It can also fight off free radicals, to prevent premature skin aging, and promotes cell growth and collagen synthesis.

I then added red rose petals, for two reasons. The first reason is that the natural oils found in roses help to retain the skins moisture, resulting in smooth and soft feeling skin. The sugars in rose petals are also especially beneficial those with sensitive skin, like me. They are additionally a rich source of vitamin C. Secondly, the rose petals can provide a gentle exfoliating action.

Finally, I added coarse pink Himalayan salt for more of an exfoliant action and mixed, until the mixture had the consistency of damp sand, not too loose and oily, but not too dry.

To use, I took a small scoop of the mixture (about the size of a large marble) and just worked it all over my hands and through my fingers, as if I was thoroughly washing them with soap. I did this for a few minutes and rinsed off with tepid water (not too hot as you want to retain some oil to soak into your skin). I patted dry and immediately locked the moisture and goodness in with a collagen rich hand cream.

My hands are healing up so well and are really soft now!

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!

Daily Witchcraft

A lot of the time, Witchcraft isn’t complicated. It’s not all about casting circles, long and contracted rituals and spell casting. It about saying daily affirmations out loud, stirring love and positive intent into a meal you’re making for your loved ones or carrying crystals in your pocket (or bra, I don’t judge!). It can also look like self care. Ritual baths, filled with fragrant and healing salts, oils and herbs. Taking that time out to be on your own, so you’ve got peace and quiet, space to be reflective and mindful and you can just ‘be’.

I’m relaxing in a bath with a lavender & jasmine epsom salt blend, dead sea minerals, hemp, coconut and lime bubbles, nag champa oil, candles and freesia and sweet pea incense.

I can just relax, clear my mind, not worry about what I’ve got to do tomorrow, or whether what I’ve done today was good enough. I just need to know that I do my best in everything and that’s all I can ask of myself. Now’s the time to just be present in the moment.

Lavender and Lemon Candle

Even though I love my job, it can be stressful and I can get anxious about certain aspects of it from time to time. My clients are usually the Environment Agency and local Councils, so I often have meetings with pretty important people, or have to meet with Consultees, such as Natural England, or the Marine Management Organisation, to discuss the environmental aspects of our schemes. They can make or break a project and it can be really stressful!

Therefore, I decided that the first candle I was going to make, with the coconut soy wax and box of coloured pigment dye I got for my birthday, would be one for calming and boosting my mood. As I’m still working from home (and still will be doing for a good time longer!) and all my meetings are online, I can light the candle next to me whilst I’m in these meetings.

Lavender essential oil is great for having a calming effect and for boosting a low mood. It can also decrease anxiety and calm the nerves. Lemon essential oil can also reduce anxiety, helps make you feel more relaxed and is very effective at relieving stress.

Here are some photos of my process. By the way, the glass receptacle I’m using is a recycled candle jar that a melted all the wax out of, along with another, to make a ‘new’ candle with new wicks, so it’s safe for the high temperatures.

Here is a photo of the finished candle! I think next time I’ll use more dye/pigment, as it set a lighter colour than a wanted, as I hoped it’d be a bit more of a vibrant purple colour.