I will soon be adopting residence at a small little home in town.  I'm actually rater excited at the concept of "a space" and a sacred space at that.  One room.  One whole room for all my witchie-herbey-yogi goodness to totally inhabit.  My mind is a reeling with plans and hopes.  A large walk in closet for my herbs I tell you!  *swoons*
     I've always contented myself with the makeshift alter and understand that the whole world is my alter but wow.  a space.  A real space.  I'm looking forward to a north east facing alter decorated for the season, with large pillar candle and wooden offering bowl.  Herbs dangling from racks while the dehydrator will of course, be outside those walls to protect from electrical interference. 
     I'm thinking a light grayish-blue walls....
I can hardly contain my excitement.  What an amazing feeling.  A space for my practice.  A space for me. 

To be sprinkled around workspace before a ritual. 

Ingredients
1 oz Dried Angelica
1 oz Dried Caraway
1 oz Dried White Sage
4 oz Dead Sea Salt 

Supplies
Mortar & pestle
½ oz  Jar
Label
Pen

Timing
Make during the waning moon. 

Directions
Grind up all the herbs finely with a mortar & pestle working in a clockwise fashion.  Allow yourself to be filled with ideas of protection & purity.  The elements filling your body and the thoughts filling the herbs.  When you feel the herbs have been sufficiently ground and infused with the ideals of protection and purity, set aside. 

Placing the salt in the jar, cover the jar with your right hand.  Visualize the salt being charged with a vivid white light, Vanishing and negativity and charging with protection & purity.  Once charged and cleaned.  Add the herbs.  Close the container and shake thoroughly.  While shaking feeling the energy vibrating within and subdue.  Label the jar.  Feel free to include protective mantras or symbols.  Use within one year of date. 

Work Verses Family & Love

Who hasn’t faced the conundrum of balance. Trying so hard, to take aspects of one’s life and rationalize them into equal measures. I find myself in a constant state of limbo, trying so hard to give each area the respect it deserves.

Starting my own business is one of the most rewarding & challenging steps to being more self-reliant. The constant record keeping, the forging of useful friendships with other local businesses. I work primarily as a yoga instructor but I’m trying a new approach by offering one-on-one classes that are equally priced to a group class as to make the benefits more accessible. I enjoy immensely working with clients and allowing for the growth that comes with yoga. And in fact, I get a sort of high simply, coming up with business strategies, marketing, and so force. But when is it to much. On the road of 6am, At the Center from 7am-5pm, Back home, I’m working on reports and marketing from 7pm to well into midnight. 4 days a week. Not to mention Mondays evening classes and periodically having to go visit the local spa to offer consultations. An exercise in Balance.

And here I am, with my fastly growing boy. Now in his 4^th year of life, trying to explain to him why mommy is so busy. Why mommy is so stressed (not that it’s all bad stress). Because mommy is trying to give others the chance to slow-down, minimize, and distress. Ah the irony. But I still wouldn’t trade it for the world.

My boyfriend, ever supporting, has watched me grow as a teacher and I think he understands that this is just what I HAVE to do. But I’m forever grateful for his loyalty, his undying love, and his patience. As I attempt to find my balance between my work & my family and love. It gets dark from time to time and I wonder if it’s worth it. But how can I not continue, after all, good things don’t lay on shelves in a store, but rather on tops of mountains, perched precariously on pillars of rocks. All this will cultivate the balanced needed and I am forever grateful for every moment.

     Any earth loving, herb crazy, witchie can not help but get excited around the full moon. Not only because of the heightened energy level but also it is the ideal time for collecting many herbs and preparing them. I’m most certainly not exempt. Tinctures, lovingly crafted from yarrow, raspberry leaves, lily of the valley, & dandelion roots now sit in a place of honor on my alter. Today’s gather was much like the other but I turned my attention to the lowly burdock.
    I was not in the dark to the many benefits burdock is reputed to have but I did not have the eyes to really appreciate the plant. Harvesting the medicinal roots was an exercise in patience, often severing and not receiving the whole root, I felt rather out of my element. Finally making peace with the fact I might not have a whole root to show for my morning of sweating under the July sun, I managed to extract a whole, rather large root system. Preparing the burdock became an effort of making peace with the plant, that so haunted the scarves and mittens of my youth. Now jarred, the crystal vodka now a crisp clean gold, ringlets of roots suspended, I have to show, the fruits of my labors.

Medicinal Value:  Anti-inflammatory, protects the liver from toxins, stimulates the release gastric acids aiding in digestion, and also good for treating acne, eczema, endometriosis, psoriasis, and uterine fibroids

Ayurveda: Pitta & Kapha Pacifying. Vata Stimulating

Magical: Protection

      Sometimes we romanticize healing. Believing a far off plant will free of us of our pain. Our delusions leading us to overlook the true magic of a previously pestilent  plant that has caused us grief as we pulled burrs from our hair. It’s often the overlooked plants that are the ones we need the most, not for the medicinal value, but rather there ability to teach us to appreciate what is.