In the middle of everything.

I've got a load of things on the go at the moment but nothing is finished and pretty just yet. One of the things that I am working on is a second wee house. I'm thinking that this one might end up as a House of Mundane Magic. We'll see where it takes me. Here are a few 'in progress' shots...

It's got a fair way to go but it's getting close to the fun part... filling it up with goodies. There are a number of things that did not get included in the last house so I'm excited to see if they will fit in here. If not I've got two more houses that are quite large to work on after this... those ideas will fit in somewhere.

In other news, we went herb shopping today and are planning a rather large herb garden. By "we" I mean I say "Oooh! Wouldn't it be lovely to have a huge patch of silvery wormwood over there!" and the husband is stuck doing most of the work because of his much greener thumbs :)

Soapwort Floor Wash

I decided to try my hand at making a magic floorwash using soapwort. Here goes...

I grabbed some soapwort growing in the ditch across the road and gave them a quick rinse.

I filled up a big pot with water.

Tore the leaves, stems and roots into smaller bits and tossed them in the pot.

I brought the whole she-bang to a boil...

Then boiled it some more.

After about 10 minutes I took out some of the liquid.

Not very bubbly. Wonder what would happen if I gave it a shake...

Lovely foamy bubbles!

I strained the liquid into a bucket and added some water.

Just look at that!

At this point I added some essential oils to my floor wash (grapefruit, gerainium, sage and a drop or two of ylang ylang to encourage a happy household)...

which made all of the bubbles disappear but smelled an absolute treat.

Next time I will add herbs to the pot  instead of using oils and hopefully keep that fantastic foam for just a little longer. The few minutes it took to prepare the wash was a nice way to focus on the magic at hand so I just might add this to my cleansing routine. If you want to give this a try, keep in mind that this is a very gentle cleanser, as a magical wash I think it will work very well, but for dirt and grime it's not exactly the bees knees.

FYI soapwort roots and stems can be dried for later use.

Spooky Words for Halloweeny Inspiration

I have Halloween on the brain even more than usual at the moment. I've signed up for the Vintage Halloween swap on craftster.org and my mind is racing with all the crafting possibilities.

To get the juices flowing I typed up a list of Halloween-ish words on an old Underwood typewriter I bought last month. You can download the page and use it in your own crafting if you like.

*sigh* Nothing quite compares to old type.

Herbs, Magic and Wildcrafting

I think I've made a nice start to the Knickertwist's wildcrafting section. I haven't really bothered with the medicinal uses of these herbs, focusing mainly on the folklore and magical properties. So far I've got Chicory, Dandelion, Goldenrod, Soapwort, Queen Anne's Lace, and Yarrow, with plans to add more as time goes on.

The internet can be a good resource but there is a lot of silly misinformation out there. It's sort of like that telephone game where people repeat things and the message gets all messed up. If you are interested in herbs and herbalism consider investing in some great books. These books are my absolute favourite herbal resources:

Culpeper's Complete Herbal, published 1653, by Nicholas Culpeper,

A Modern Herbal, published 1931, by Mrs. M. Grieve,

Rodale's Illustrated Encycopedia of Herbs, published 1987

Magically speaking the most popular and useful book on herbs is probably Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham.

Enjoy and be safe!

Wildcrafting ~ Queen Anne's Lace

I've just finished my page on Queen Anne's Lace... the original carrot!

What a surprisingly fascinating plant.

The most popular story surrounding this plant is that it is named after Queen Anne who pricked her finger while making some fine lace, staining the white with a tiny drop of red blood. Very often a purple or red 'drop' representing the blood on the lace can be seen in the centre of the flower.

Also known as 'Wild Carrot', this plant was gathered by Scottish women on the Sunday preceding St. Michael's Day... Carrot Sunday. The women would sing special songs or 'runes' while gathering....

Cleft fruitful, fruitful, fruitful,
Joy of carrots surpassing upon me,

Michael the brave endowing me,
Bride the fair be aiding me.

Forked roots were highly prized and considered very lucky.

The wild carrots were washed and tied in bundles with three-ply red string, then kept in sand until St. Michael's feast day (September 29th). On that day the carrots are given with wishes of plenty, prosperity and fertility and were highly prized as gifts.

Magically speaking, Queen Anne's Lace was predominantly used in fertility and virility spells and rituals.

You might also be interested to know ....

~ The leaves contain porphyrins, which stimulate the pituitary gland and lead to the release of increased levels of sex hormones.

~ The seeds have been used as a 'morning after' treatment to prevent pregnancy.

~ Considered an excellent cleansing herb for the body.

*DO NOT HARVEST THIS PLANT UNLESS 100% CERTAIN OF IT'S IDENTITY. IT IS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH POISON HEMLOCK WHICH IS DEADLY. • DO NOT USE THIS PLANT IF PREGNANT OR TRYING TO BECOME PREGNANT

Wildcrafting

I've been a busy bee lately, staying up far past my bedtime to work on my knickertwists.com site. I really like how it is coming along but I'm a bit concerned that the witchery part is is dire need of some attention.

While walking to our mailbox I often admire the wildflowers that grow along the side of the road. I'm sure most people over look these beauties, which is an absolute shame.

That's Queen Ann's Lace, Soapwort, Yarrow, Goldenrod and Chicory.

And so, I'm working on a section dedicated to those pretty weeds and the magic that can be performed with them. Sure, exotic herbs and spices are dandy, but let's not overlook those bits of magic mother nature leaves on our doorsteps.

For you...

because I appreciate every kind word and sweet comment.
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Thanks for being nice :)

xoxo