This is my first post on my newly-minted digital grimoire, so I thought I'd start out with info I already know. Here's a short little guide on how to dehydrate herbs and other materials at home in your oven (if you have one). I usually dehydrate fresh materials instead of hanging them as firstly: I have a cat who will find a way to reach anything I hang up to dry, and secondly: there are some materials I don't feel comfortable leaving out in open air as they will likely rot. Also, it just saves on drying time.
Steps:
1. Grab whatever you want to dehydrate whether it be fruits, peels, herbs, veg, or (my favourite) eggshells.
Important Note: DO NOT EVER put plants which are known to be toxic or whose origins are unclear in your oven. It's never worth it.
2. Place your items on a sheet pan with parchment paper underneath (there may be lingering oils on the pan, but if you are okay with that feel free to skip the parchment).
3. If your oven is fancy and you have a dehydration setting, great! Use the recommended temperature. If not, set your oven between 160-190*. I usually set it lower, but if you're short on time it will work higher.
4. This is the most crucial step: keep your oven door slightly ajar in order to let moisture escape. However, very importantly DO NOT EVER LEAVE YOUR OPEN OVEN UNATTENDED (or your closed one, for that matter), especially if you have an older oven. Basic fire safety applies here.
5. The process usually takes around 2 hours if you are dehydrating thinner plants, but may take up to 3-4 if you are dehydrating something thicker like citrus peels or fruit slices. Either way, be prepared to wait a bit. You will know they are done when you can easily crush them if plants or they are breakably-solid if peels. With eggshells they will be brittle anyways, but it's nice to dehydrate them to more easily grind into a powder and also to kill any lingering bacteria.
6. Store herbs as you usually would in a container away from sunlight. Enjoy!
Sources:
Printer's Ornament (Chiswick Press, 192)
Hey babe that spell might not be working because your associations with an item may not be the same as another's and how you feel about an ingredient is what's going to impact how it influences your spell!
Something I feel like people getting into folk magic need to understand, for many people of many backgrounds, is folk magic started as a means of survival. It was struggle magic, and it is still struggle magic.
Where I'm living now and where I'm from, people planted by the signs to ensure their crops wouldn't go bad before harvesting. People used ocean water to soothe joint and muscle pains when they got old. People studied the native plants for medicine and were mindful to only take what was needed. People did little rituals and minded their grannies' words to keep their good luck. If they didn't know how to do something (or couldn't), they went to people who did.
Learning folk magic to reconnect with ancestral traditions from before your time is valid. Learning folk magic to connect with and work with the land is valid. There are many valid reasons to take up folk magic. Still, understand that folk magic is survival, and folk magic is community.
I wish people understood that "folk magic" isn't just another homogenous flavor or type of magic, it's literally unique and different depending upon where you are in the world. Every culture and belief system will have folk magic and practices. They aren't 1:1. Some will have similar or overlapping elements, sure, but they're unique to where they come from and who they're practiced by, to the degree that two different individuals in the same area from the same culture could have completely different practices and methods. Often they lack larger structures and systems.
Yesterday I learned my backyard is home to purple ground ivy and its place within herbal witchcraft and herbal medicine was fascinating so I want to continue this journey. Obviously I know a few herbs and plants that are good for certain things but I really want to educate myself deeply!
I was looking into the Green Witch but really all and any suggestions are welcome for a beginner such as myself.
as a reminder, since a TERF tried to follow me, you aren't allowed here 😄👍
my blog is a safe place for all of my LGBTQIA+ brothers, sisters, and siblings.
i do NOT tolerate homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism, racism, anti-semitism, xenophobia, etc. and if i see it on your blog when you like my posts, reblog, or try to follow me - you WILL be blocked.
“What do I do if I want to—“
Go into the woods.
“How do I—“
Go into the woods.
“I am going through—“
Go into the woods.
Or if you live next to the sea, to the sea.
Or a desert, into the desert.
Or a grassland, into the grassland.
Or a park with as much treecover as you can scrounge- better yet, make a day of it, leave the city, and go into the woods/the sea/the desert/the grassland then.
Any answer to your question won’t come from another person, but from going into the wilderness. So stop talking, stop asking and babbling, and go.
If you are a witch that likes to journal or keep a book of shadows, you can use this to help plan out your crafts. You can write down what you want to make, your goals, the colors, and what hooks you are using. This allows you to focus your intentions, your goals, and even color magic into the craft! Crocheting and knitting can also be calming and possibly meditative! It can help you get ready for a different spell as well, if you are not using the yarn for the spell itself!
This can also be a form of knot magic, and you can focus protection or any other outcome as you work and make your stitches/knots in the yarn/string! You are most likely zoning out anyway while working, so thinking about your intentions should be easy to do in the moment. If knot (:3) then you can write your intentions in a journal to help you!
You can also burn incense or a candle while you work to help calm yourself, breathe life into the craft, and help set your intentions.
Did you know that you can make a familiar out of yarn? They obviously behave differently from a living familiar but they are still used for protection and companionship!
Yarn can also be used for jinxing and hexing. You can weave your intentions into the yarn and then burn it at the end of the project. Please make sure you are being careful and practicing proper fire safety!
You can also make offerings with the objects you’ve made. Remember, deities often prefer handmade offerings than store bought offerings!
Queer beginner witch ☆ Experimenting with tarot, folk magic, and herbs ☆ Tree lover ☆ They/Them ☆ Minor ☆ TERFs/bigots/etc DNI ☆ Main is @i-am-an-omniscient-snail.
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