Monday, July 16, 2012

Lovely Lavender!



Southwest Idaho is an agricultural mecca, a pretty trendy thing these days,and I feel so blessed to live in this community. Since Jen and I started the Magickal Harvest group, we have created opportunities for ourselves to get out and enjoy all the offerings of this area, from wild crafting and urban foraging expeditions to local community events and festivals. We live in wine country (the Snake River AVA was designated official status in 2007) and to drive along the Snake River looking out at all the vineyards is truly a sight to behold! We have spectacular farmers markets offering an abundance of farm-fresh and wholesome, real foods. Our desert climate makes for excellent growing conditions for lavender!


So, it's early Monday morning, and I'm sitting here reflecting on the events of this past weekend. Jen and I did a live broadcast from the Lakeside Lavender Festival here in Nampa and we couldn't have asked for better weather conditions. Vendors hawked their wares, and our local Brick 29 Bistro, provided a deliciously simple boxed lunch. Oh, and the lavender ice cream, lavender frappes, and lavender Italian Soda was immensely enjoyed! I got lots of beautiful photographs of the lavender fields, the lake and our baskets of overflowing bundles of lavender! 






This was our second annual trip (as a group) to the Festival, and we plan to continue this tradition of harvesting lavender for years to come (or at least as long as the organizers see fit to continue the Festival!) 


 The Magick and Folklore of Lavender

If you listened to the show this past Saturday, you heard us talk all about the lovely lavender plant! This herb is so magickal and has a rich history in folklore and legend. You can listen to the broadcast for all the tidbits and anecdotes that we shared, and you can continue reading for recipes, spells and tips for using lavender in your mundane and magickal life!

My Magickal Lavender Wand

 

Lavender for healing:  

Lavender promotes healing and emotional well-being. In history, lavender was used as a general mood tonic, to lift the spirits and for calming. It also used it to treat head lice, and to repel insects and moths. Lavender was even mixed with other herbs and smoked.The history of lavender includes healing, for calming, inhaled for headaches and dizziness and used as a compress for fevers. Queen Elizabeth the 1st had frequent migraine headaches and drank lavender tea.

Lavender oil was rubbed on the chest for colds and bronchitis at night. Sometimes it was mixed with thyme and inhaled. Both lavender and thyme is known today to be good against bacteria. Mix it with a carrier oil and rub it on painful joints. Science is now looking at lavender in cancer treatments. Studies have shown it to reduce the size of breast cancer in mice.

Lavender oil is also one of the few essential oils that you can apply directly to your skin. It is an excellent healing oil for burns and minor scrapes. I (Dawn) burned myself last summer and upon application of the oil, I experienced an almost immediate relief! 

Lavender is associated with the heart chakra, which makes sense considering it's used to promote the healing of broken hearts. Energetically, lavender can help to energize and balance a dysfunctional heart chakra. Keep a bunch of lavender around to promote feelings of self love and restoration.

 

 

Lavender Recipes:

Jen's Love Custard 

Recipe to follow 

 

 

Lavender Simple Syrup

  Ingredients

Vanilla Bean, split down the middle
1 c sugar
2 c water
3 sprigs Culinary Lavender

Add all dry ingredients to water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and remove bean and lavender sprigs from syrup. Let cool. Use in Italian sodas, to flavor lemonade, and any time your recipe calls for simple syrup.

 

 

 

 

 

Lavender for magick: 

Method 1: 
Fill a small bottle with lavender buds, dragon's blood and a strand of your own hair. Keep the bottle near you, or wear it on a string around your neck. 

Method 2:
To protect against abuse of all kinds, take your birthstone and rub it with lavender. Keep the stone on your being at all times. 

This makes an excellent charm for children who may be dealing with a bully. I find it interesting that the color adopted by the National Bully Awareness movement is purple. Lavender has long been used as a protective herb, especially in cases of domestic violence and abuse. Women would wear lavender sachets to protect against abusive spouses. Considering the lavender plant promotes feelings of serenity and calm, it makes sense that it would have that effect on an aggressor.  

(Dawn here: if you are being abused, PLEASE seek help! And if you know of a child who may be experiencing abuse, PLEASE call for help! You do not deserve any kind of abuse and all sorts of help is available! Contact your local women's shelter, the police, your local Strengthening Families organization or domestic violence prevention organization for resources!)  



Basic Candle Spell for protection
1 chime candle (color depends on your intuition)
dried lavender
Lavender Oil

On a new moon, grind lavender into a powder. Anoint your candle with oil and roll candle in your lavender powder. Light the candle and as it burns, envision the flame projecting a protective shield/bubble around you and your property.  



 



1 comment:

  1. Jen here!.. Now I am in the process of developing the Perfect Love Custard. I will Share the recipe as soon as I complete it and the measurements and Steps are correct. It will be titled Love Custard. I hope to have it ready by next week end!

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