~ International Women's Day ~

Celebrating International Women's Day with

Ishtar ~ goddes of all that comprises woman ~

Diana and Venus

and

Alchemilla vulgaris ~ Lady's mantle ~ 'women's best friend'

Being a woman...how I love being a woman. I love that we nurture and care; are intuitive and aware of our loved one's needs; are homemakers and multi~taskers, makers and creatresses(!), feeders and lovers, healers.

I am so glad that I have knowledge of healing. I am so glad that when Our Boy was coughing in his sleep last night, I knew to grab the nearest bottle of Lavender essential oil (I have a few) and massage just one drop into the hollow of his throat and that in less than five minutes he was cough free and sleeping restfully for the rest of the night. I am so glad that when he woke up today and was complaining of a painful shoulder, I knew how to first, massage the muscles as deeply as he could tolerate with my choice of essential oils, in this instance Black Pepper, Rosemary and Lavender (it gets used for so much), and secondly, apply a hot compress with essential oils of Chamomile Roman and Lavender, finishing off with a light and soothing massage. I am so glad that when we have flu or colds, I know to treat us with these.

I was fascinated by my thought process a couple of months ago when Our Boy had a very bad flu and his tongue became dry, cracked and bleeding. It was like watching a film in fast forward as ideas flashed from the memory banks...to be rejected as not quite right until the aha moment of  ~ honey as a carrier....healing and soothing in its own right....with a drop of calendula absolute....so beneficial for healing inflamed and cracked skin. I was thrilled to bits when it had worked its magic by that night. 

It was the same when a friend recently badly damaged his hand and the corrective surgery had left deep scarring, which needed to be kept soft and supple. It was a joy to me to be able to delve deeply into intuition and knowledge and produce a cream that has been a great success.

This is not at all what I had in mind to write to honour International Woman's Day. I was going to write about goddesses, and trees ruled by Venus, and specific women's herbs, but all the above just flowed out and, really, it is a huge part of who I am as a woman. It is my life. It is what I do. And I am glad.

~ A month of Haws ~

Oh beautiful October how I am loving this summery autumn you are gifting us ~ thank you*

The Rowan berries are in full orange fire
and the air is biting into an Autumn crisp;
while the light is sliding from its warm summer pink
to the cooler blue of shadowy fall.

Twice this month I have collected, simmered in cider vinegar and water, mashed and strained through a sieve, the meditative process of making hawberry ketchup. The picking and de-stalking are reminiscent of sitting as a child with my nana on her peaceful doorstep, shelling peas we had just picked from her abundant garden.

Red haws

blue sky.

A willow basket

made with love to hold 

these berries

~ little capsules of heart medicine ~

It is an excercise in patience to mash the cooked berries through a sieve, but listening to this, which makes it summer at any time of the year, and this which must surely make anyone just want to dance made it purely pleasurable. Many berries have to be picked to make up a weight of 500g which, as a ketchup fills just one bottle, but the taste is so good that it was worth the effort of doing it twice, so we could have two bottles!

I heard that if you turn the bottles upside down when you have poured in the hot sauce, it makes them self sterilize, so that is why these two are rather a sticky looking mess :~)

Cold busting ~

My Man had sneezing fits all day Sunday. He has allergies, so sneezing is fairly normal, but when they went on for so long, we decided he must have a cold. We had noticed many people coughing and spluttering in town last week, so he most likely picked up the vicious little virus then.

I have loved herbal medicine since I was a young teenager, so home remedies have always been my first choice. One of my favourite things to do is make my own infusions, decoctions, tinctures, creams, syrups and lotions, with our kitchen often being transformed into a working apothecary.

Sunday evening, and again today, I made my cold busting concoction. I have evolved it over the years to include:

:: A decoction made with fresh root ginger, cinnamon sticks and dried liquorice root.

:: Tinctures of Echinacea purpurea, elderberries, (this is one I make myself), and myrrh (we only need a few drops of this one - it's POWERFUL!), with mullein leaf if there is a cough present.

:: Freshly squeezed lemon juice, cider vinegar, honey and a small pinch of cayenne.

We find it potent, warming, comforting and it works so well. My Man's sneezing had gone by Monday evening and his sore throat had cleared by Tuesday evening.

It satisfies something old and deep in me to be able to help my family and our sweet little dog using our herb and essential oil friends. We control MM's high blood pressure with a lovely herbal tea mix that I make up, as well as acupressure and the yogic alternate nostril breathing.....oh! and I give him craniosacral treatments too! 

Four of my favourite books to refer to are:

Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine

Acupressure for Health: a Complete Self-Care Manual

The Fragrant Pharmacy

Aromatherapy an A-Z