This necklace is a one of kind jewelry piece, with the name of the Irish Goddess Morrigan represented in the ancient Ogham script in the center of the pendant, wood burned by hand and then painted red, and the whole piece has been sealed with varnish to prevent any damage from wearing on the skin. It is made from ancient Irish bog oak that is dated to between 5000 and 8000 years old, that was unearthed in County Roscommon, Ireland, an area not far from Rathcroghan, the Ancient seat of Queen Medb in Connaught, and near many of the named sites from the Celtic mythos related to the Morrigan.
This is what I’ve been working on the past week or so! Now if you saw the original concept sketches you’ll notice some differences, like the insert, no longer a tray with compartments. The bones of it are still there, pretty well realized if I may say so.
Antique brass astrology knobs and the hand woven rope handle make it easier to transport.
*The handle can be unwoven relatively easily as it is one extremely long piece of burlap twine.*
The inner lid details are still being worked out, if that’s a removable wooden spirit board, or pockets/loops for a mini book of shadows (copying some of my most used stuff and info and leaving room for new stuff) pen, pencil, knife and other tools, haven’t decided.
Black working ritual cloth and chalkboard painted wooden box make up the first layer. The chalkboard box can be used as pendulum board, mini spirit board, altar whatever you can draw on it.
Day 26 #marchmeetthemaker - Books, blogs and podcast
I don't like podcast at all. All the blogs I like are in english and I would really love to read it, but it is difficult for me to translate long and complex texts into my native language, so usually I don't read it but look at the pictures lol Books! I love to read, I love books forever-ever. And as long as I have no idea what to write today, let it be a long (but still short) list of my favorite books (I'm not sure that someone will read this, but still:)
1. Series of novels about Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. "The Master and Margarita" by russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov
3. "Pygmalion" by Bernard Shaw
4. "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh
5. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen (of course:)
6. "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
7. "My Antonia" by Willa Cather
8. "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy
9. "The Woodlanders" and "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy (but to be honest I like all of his books)
10. "Pollyanna" by Eleanor Porter
11. "Je l'aimais, J'ai lu" and "35 kilos d'espoir" by Anna Gavalda
12. Witches Series by Terry Pratchett
13. "Under the Tuscan sun" by Frances Mayes
14. "The Railway Children" by Edith Nesbit
15. Susan Coolidge series of "What Katy Did"
16. "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
17. "The Scapegoat" and "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
18. "Mio nonno era un ciliegio" by Angela Nanetti
19. "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle
20. Many of O.Henry's short stories, but "The Ransom of Red Chief" and a "Peach" I truly adore
21. "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey" by Susan Wojciechowski
22. "Jennie Gerhardt" by Theodore Dreiser
23. "Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man", "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe", "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" by Fannie Flagg
24. "The Shell Seekers" by Rosamunde Pilcher and her other books
25. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach
26. "Nobody's boy" by Hector Malot
27. "The Canterville Ghost" and "Lady Windermere's Fan" by Oscar Wilde
28. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
29. "Ball of fat" and "Bel Ami or The History of a Scoundrel" by Guy de Maupassant
30. "The Painted Veil" and "Theatre" by Somerset Maugham
31. "Znachor" by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz
32. All books of Jack London
33. "Little Zaches, Great Zinnober" by E. Hoffmann
34. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
35. "Pollyanna" by Eleanor H. Porter
36. “The Pursuit of Love” by Nancy Mitford
37. "My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell
Hey there witches! I’ve covered water infusions aka Hydrosols before, but it’s time to move onto the hard stuff: alcohol
A tincture is an extract which has an alcohol base. Traditionally, these were herbal infusions used for medicine, but for today's topic, we'll be talking about tinctures in all forms, but it's up to you as to what's for consumption, and what may be used as a perfume, floor wash, or ritual spray etc.
Tinctures can be a lot easier to make because they have a cold infusion method, as in no heat source is used to speed the process. Alcohol absorbs plant matter and dissolves quite easily, so heating it is a dangerous step not necessary for the occasional infusion.
What can be made into a tincture?
Flowers
Berries
Leaves
Roots
Stalks and barks
Spas and resins
Seeds
These can be dried or fresh.
Especially for flowers, some fragrance doesn’t carry once the flower withers, so using fresh can be super helpful if the fragrance is important!
What do I do to make one?
Take your container like a mason jar
Fill with plant material about halfway*
Add in your alcohol**
Shake and let infuse***
Strain and decant into its new container
Now it’s simple, but you do have to make some decisions like if you’re making individual tinctures or a blend. Individual tinctures can be blended later of course, but takes more containers and individual checking than throwing it all together. Go by instinct and research until you’ve got the experience.
That sounds simple, but I want some more tips:
Break apart or cut up ingredients so more of the matter gets mixed and infused. It releases fragrance, juices and gives more surfaces for the base to interact.
Shake your tincture while it’s infusing every day. You may want to infuse for a day, a week, or a full cycle of the moon, you do you!
If you’re using a mason jar or other metal lid container, a piece of Saran Wrap/cling plastic can protect the lid from corroding.
You can get a high proof alcohol and dilute it with distilled water.****
If taking internally, do so with care, and dosage is usually only a few drops at a time. Check with your doctor before starting any regiment.
If you want to make a ritual tincture for a salt bonfire, the alcohol has to be minimum 100 proof or it won’t catch fire. Don’t burn yourself.
I have a ginger tincture I use for upset stomachs. Just a few drops in mineral water and it settles right down (think ginger ale).
For tooth aches, I use a few drops of clove tincture in warm water and swish around. Plus my breath smells great afterwards.
Just remember, it’s concentrated, and in a lot of cases may not taste great by itself, just like if you took a spoon full of vanilla extract. Start small, dilute, or use in ritual.
Stay safe my little beasties.
🦇Cheers, Barberwitch
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*, **, ***, **** down below the break
*If you’re using fresh material, you can use about 3/4 of the container to get as much extracted as possible. If you’re using dried material, you may want a little less than 1/2 the container.
**decide if this is something that will be consumed or not. Consumed: use vodka, rectified spirit or everclear (or some other neutral spirit). Not consumed: rubbing alcohol is fine, but use at least 70% isopropyl alcohol. The higher the percentage of alcohol (the proof is double the percent [150 proof is 75% alcohol by volume] the more can be extracted like volatile oils, and plant liquid, or dissolved when using resins and saps so keep that in mind!
***Infusion rates vary a lot. Dried herbs infuse faster/stronger than some fresh herbs, but even then, some will infuse faster still! This is important if you’re making a blend because you won’t be able to take individual ingredients out, and something may be more potent than you’d like.
****I use everclear when I'm making tinctures because it's technically consumable unlike rubbing alcohol, and has a high proof (150 proof = 75% alcohol content). The other thing with getting a high proof alcohol to start with, is you can dilute with distilled water (those ratio skills and absolute values you never thought you'd use come in handy here. 2:1 everclear to water makes a 100 proof or 50% alcohol base for instance)
Original content of this blog is licensed under a Creative Commins Attributution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.
Crows have been a part of history for eons. They cross cultures and time as omens, harbingers, watchers, shapeshifters, tricksters, symbols of life, luck, wisdom, and as witch familiars.
Midnight labradorite beads connect to transformation, especially from dark to light. Things appear one way, hiding alternative aspects. Mystery lies within the depths.
Pyrite beads in sections of 8, the number of infinity on sterling silver chain. Fools gold, the currency of tricksters offers passage for the witch. Iron and fire hide behind an alluring exterior. Infinite fates, endless paths, and unknown pasts ripple through each person.
Antique three-eyed bone bead grounds the individual; though appearances change, and airs put forward, at their core, the witch stands stalwart, it’s felt in the bones.
The physical tether of the crow hangs down with an antique black glass pearl, the eye of the crow, hanging from an English Carrion Crow foot (ethically collected).The bridge between worlds, the omnivorous crow pulls life from death, heavens to earth. It adapts to its surroundings, changing as needed.
Patience is the trade of the crow, waiting for the perfect moment it balances need and want, care and disregard are weighed with the wisdom of the Corvid. It watches as do we, and waits for the moment to take what is deserved or coveted.
