JUNE ~ Aromatic Muse Perfume 6.6.13 ~ Under the Linden Tree

~ JUNE ~

Amrita Aromatics'

Aromatic Muse Perfume

6.6.13

Inspired by....

Linden trees

River basking

Water flowing through rocks

The color green. Beach glass. Warm grass.

Old style stationery

Cherry flowers and woods

Irrepressible sunlight

Paradox. 

Negative and positive space. 

Gemini. 

Balance.

~ JUNE ~

Under the Linden Trees, in the river, at the edge of the woods.

Featured Notes:

Crown: Lime, Ginger Lily, Rosewood

Heart: Linden, Champa, Labdanum, 

Root: Agarwood, Vanilla, Orris, Oakmoss

{with other botanical essences, carried in a small amount of coconut oil}

Available:

through the Aromatic Muse membership ( only until June 20 or while supplies last)

or singly in the shop

Full Flower Moon, The Little Things, Self Care

May is in full flower.

The lilacs are in honey. The honeysuckle's in oil, the dandelion infusion is done. The violets have dried on my work island into tiny little curly blue jewels.

The nettles are getting taller, and the cleavers is celebrating. Celandine spots the roads with yellow, and apple blossoms are everywhere. The Lady's Slipper orchids have begun. The black cherry tree flowers are minutes away from opening. Everything is humming with life.

It's been a busy time for me, but not too busy. I am finding a good rhythm lately and am so grateful for the warmer weather, singing frogs, and time in nature. Things will shift again soon as my kids are almost finished with programming and will launch into summertime spontaneity and short burst camps and such. I can't wait to get myself into the river water.

I'm finding rooting in my not-as-new location (now here 2 1/2 years.) I see people I know at the market, I don't get lost (as often), and I'm finding a sense of belonging and community that I hope will grow and deepen.

The cycles of my plant allies are reliable sources of  daily replenishment, of course. This week I'm putting together my Lady's Slipper Ring membership herbals and they are full of flowers and nectar and the healing that bubbles in our spirit when we experience beauty.

My first Aromatic Muse perfume (FloraLuna) departed to their first new Queens already. I'm incredibly inspired by this journey and have begun concocting something unique for June, while soaking up the glamorous FloraLuna in the meantime. It is so.... womanly. mm

Taking care of ourselves is so important, and having beautiful, earthly, sensory conduits for self-care catalyzes cell-response, sensory pleasure responses, immune system functions, positive memories associated with self-love, and creates a biological connection to feeling good without attachment to collateral. Self care first - then achievement becomes enabled. Although I teach this, I am still a student in daily practice. I must be deliberate and devoted to moments of time carved out for my health and well being.

Here are some snapshots of my pleasure medicine as of late .... 

what beauty and pleasure restores you?

Herbal Inspirations

 INSPIRATIONS

What's inspiring me this week....

Willow

the yellow explosions across the land

the tiny baby leaves

the flowers that arrive before the leaves,

like coltsfoot

and forsythia

Medicine

Bitters, barks, and beauty

Sweet and fresh smells,

that heal the skin and spirit

white sage

blue chamomile,

bulgarian lavender

creativity

and service

offered in pretty bottles

Women taking good care of themselves

taking longer walks in the cattails,

daughters romping in the fields

bringing home feathers

Poetry, naps, and journals.

frogs. eagles. herons.

yawning.

DIY: FIRST AID SET -for out of the country travel!-

TRAVELER'S FIRST AID KIT 

- Party of 15 - to Nicaragua - March, 2013 -

~~~~~~~~~

*fine print* - This is not a first aid training, or an herbal training. This is simply to show what is packed in the kit. You take all responsibility for the contents and use of this information.

**This especially does not cover severe emergency protocols, ie; broken bones, eye injuries, CPR, anaphylaxis, seizures, concussion, or any other medical emergency that should be tended by a medic. Always know your emergency contacts!

Resources for first aid training can be found at the very end of the article.

**

Oh Great Spirit,

I am the woman walking in the fields

collecting plants to heal the people.

I give thanks to this plant

and I have faith with all my heart

That this plant will heal the sickness of the people.

~ Gathering prayer of Belize ~

---------

------

---

We started with a workshop

Where we discussed the possible hazards, and basic first aid protocols.

Together, we made a super-sticky spruce resin salve, and a tincture they named 'after-bug care' which contained 3 kinds of Artemesia and a little Rue. Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua) is specific for malaria, so we made this the primary ingredient, backed up by Mugwort (A. vulgaris) and Wormwood

 (A. absinthium). Rue (Ruta graveolens) is a well loved anti-venom and anti-parasitic, so we added a bit of that too.

We discussed Chewing Herbs, and their effectiveness, ease and versatility for travel.

I packed them up together, one pouch for each traveler. Clove, Licorice, & Osha.

After our super-fun workshop where we donned bandanna fashions and fumbled with rubber glove removal,  as well as tasted various elixirs both candylike and heinous, I got busy assembling the full kit.

The goals of the kit were several: 

• 1) Lightweight enough to carry - so I used primarily plastic 1/2 oz tincture bottles.
• 2) Address all of the circumstances the group brought up in class, and traditional ones necessary.
• 3) Be well organized, accessible, and efficient to use.
• 4) Be incredibly versatile, so each herbal packed can serve at least a few purposes.
• 5) Be theft-resistant - proper sizes so no trouble at the airport, and of the major sets, there are 2, packed with different travelers - so if one suitcase is lost or stolen, there will be another kit sufficient.
• 6) Be non-breakable and non-meltable, it's hot there. 

The team (13 teens and two adults) from North Star have been working together for months - practicing Spanish, learning stove building techniques, understanding travel responsibilities and logistics, fundraising, learning how to obtain a passport, insurance, and proper items to pack. 

They've also done team building initiatives with seasoned Outward Bound Mentor, Pandora. Who was seriously spectacular and fierce.

They've spent time also learning about the landscape, the climate of Nicaragua, and some of the Native culture and daily life of the people. They've each done a research project on something specific. My daughter studied the bugs, which are not only fascinating, but also a wee bit scary!

So ... for the final outcome, here is the full contents of the kit. If you are traveling with a group, you can use the following documents to help you assemble your own, or reduce/adjust to your own needs for the size or location of your adventure.

These INFO CARDS, to go into the 3 main baggies. I laminated them for waterproofing, and then paired them together into what seemed logical herbal/sanitary overlap. Click to download & print:

(*note: cards not organized how the bags are - I made them first :)

VECTORS/VENOMS, WOUNDS

BURNS, SOFT TISSUE INJURY

FEAR/ANXIETY/INSOMNIA, FOOD POISONING

Then I took stock of all the contents, and packed them up into their thematic baggies.

MASTER INGREDIENT LIST

MASTER LIST OF WHAT IS IN EACH BAG

And a little Jitterbug Perfume Oil - aka bugs don't like this smell and it's good for those of you who like patchouli and get a headache from too much rose-geranium. Alas, you still must bring and use deet, so I hear.

Bug Essential Oil Blend: 

Cedarwood 3 parts, Patchouli 1 part, and a touch of vetiver and mugwort, with a little jojoba oil. I did put these in little 1/4 oz glass roll on bottles, as essential oils really need to be in glass.

Here are the ingredients for a few of the other combinations found in the kit: 

Burn Dressing

to a 2 1/2 oz bottle, color coded cap blue:

Aloe Vera Gel, Rose Hydrosol, Witch Hazel Hydrosol, equal parts.

St Johnswort tincture, about a tablespoon

Lavender essential oil 6 drops

Blue Chamomile essential oil 6 drops

Helichrysm essential oil 6 drops

Wound Wash

to a 2 1/2 oz bottle, color coded cap green:

Yarrow tincture, 2 parts

St. Johnswort tincture 1 part, 

Witch Hazel hydrosol 1 part

essential oils of Lavender & Blue Chamomile (7 drops ea)

Alien Elixir: (aka random fears)

Equal Parts Skullcap and Passionflower tincture

Panacea III - Traveller's Insurance essential oil blend 

10 ml glass eo bottle

(this blend is a proprietary recipe, but I will offer the ingredients and you can either create your own version or commission an essential oil practitioner to. Summer and fall I usually have it for sale.)

contains:  Pure Essential Oils of Eucalyptus, Lavender, Roman Chamomile,

Peppermint, Blue Chamomile, White Sage.  

~~~~

So, here they go! Geared up, and ready for a transformational adventure. 

It's been a great honor and joy for me to do this project, both as an herbalist, and a mom. In addition it has fulfilled my goal in giving something this year - the first time I've made a philanthropic goal, and what better way to start that tradition in my work. I look forward to most of the medicines being unneeded, but also look forward to hearing what was successfully utilized.

Now, I ship my open heart off to Central America, and hope it returns to me still beating strong, maybe even stronger.

Thank you to North Star for being a truly remarkable place for teens to flourish, and to all of our friends and family that supported my daughter in making this dream come true - from donations, to gifts of colorful bandannas, and help with everything inbetween.

It takes a village.

~~~~~~~

~~~~

(now if you need some comic releif after the sap I just poured on you, here is North Star's rendition of the Harlem Shake!)

FIRST AID RESOURCES:

SOLO Wilderness First Aid Certification (manual seen in second photo)

HERBAL 1st AID training with Sevensong

HERBFirstAID online course, add your name for future enrollment

( I receive no compensation for these endorsements - they are my personal recommendation)

travel smart, travel safe!

xoxo

Ananda

Anticipation Milk: February

This month, February, seems the most pregnant of all. Quiet in gestation, yet loud in longing. The sun glares at us in daggers of razor light, bouncing off the stark white snow mirrors. Seeds of ideas vibrate with moisture and swell with readiness, yet cannot burst forth until the thaw.

February cultivates a kind of sharp anticipation. Buzzing under the tree bark is the impatient flow of maple sap, the first sweetness of the day. With the holiday of Eros, wounds of old love ache arthritically like a once broken bone, and the desire for intimacy and companionship are magnified.

Songbirds return, as if to midwife the Elm flowers and Fiddleheads. Poplar branches surrender to the winds, dripping with vanilla pearls. Eagles return, Falcons scream, clouds paint. February freezes and melts and freezes and melts, and all the dreams of gardens and foraging and feasting on the earth's bounty become wild in our heads!

Thaw the berries form last year's pickins, eat them up in thanks for what is to come. Soon we will be scrambling to keep up. For now, we sit in the cave of winter's womb, sipping anticipation.

Pierce the cold with 

Vedic Roots & Spices Milk Brew:

Set out a medium sized non-reactive pot.

For every 4 oz mug of water, add the following dried herbs:

• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon chips
• 1 heaping teaspoon dandelion root
• 1/2 teaspoon burdock root 
• 1/4 teaspoon chaga
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1 pinch black pepper

Keep your herbs and water just below a simmer for 30 minutes, covered. Then add whole milk, at the same quantity you added of water.
Continue to let brew just under a simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Ladle out a mug at a time (strain through a tea strainer), and add a small dollop of: Ghee, grass fed or cultured butter, or virgin coconut oil.

This is a variation on traditional Ayurvedic milk with ghee, which warms, nourishes, and lubricates all faculties of the body. It's a brew I speak of often; in the summer with rose petal jam, in the fall with more spices. And especially for children, elderly, athletes, undernourished/overworked, and new mamas.

February is extremely dry here in New England. Many folks come down with bloody noses, sinus infections, and severe head colds. Keeping the body well lubricated and our digestion tip-top with bitters and aromatics, strongly supports our immune system during these bitter weeks.

So does cuddling.

xoxo

Dear Hormones

Dear Hormones,

I hear you.

Thank you for reminding me that I can feel way beyond reason.

Thank you for reminding me that I am worth nourishment, tea, cream, and honey.

I hear your needs for warm touch, moments of respite, and deep breath.
I hear your needs for tissues and tears.

I am listening, even when I'm busy. Sometimes I need to accomplish something that depends on me before I can rest for soup. Sometimes my children need me more than I need a nap. Sometimes I need you to understand that people are not trying to hurt my feelings, or piss me off. I know you feel through a magnifying glass, and that is o.k., as long as we both know that I have choices, and can choose to be calm if I think something isn't as dramatic as it may seem to you.

I love you and am here to steward my body temple. Thank you for communicating, for asking for what you need. It keeps me real. Keeps me connected.

Here,
take my red scarf, and touches of Sandalwood and Rose. We go together, you and me. I bring your wisdom to my work and art, while you poke at me with your ancient reminders to go within and be quiet.

But listen here, you can't make mayhem out of simple daily struggles. They are normal, small.
Just remind me that I feel, and that will be enough.

Love,
me

~~~~~~~~~~

Wild Ride Moon Tea

~One pot of water, about 2 quarts

bring to just below simmer

Add the following dried herbs

~~

~One heaping teaspoon roses

~1/4 cup red clover blossoms

~1/4 cup linden leaf/flower

~1/4 cup passionflower or skullcap

~1 teaspoon kava kava

~1 teaspoon marshmallow root

~1 teaspoon cramp bark

~dried cherries as desired

~1/2 teaspoon stevia

~~~~~

Keep gently warming for 30-50 minutes, covered. 

Strain out single cups to sip as needed.

Serve with cream & honey if desired.

Breathe, Rub Belly, Hug.

xoxo

Alchemy Seeks

Plants.

They make me think, create, feel. Grow.

The get me going.

both within and without

and in so many ways are my muse.

Inside all of these seemingly indoors kind of bottles,

paper designs,

and handmade wearables,

is a piece of wild.

A piece of stone, water, green, air, cloud, soil, sun, mineral, molten, fire.

Alchemy stirs elements

with emotion

with intention

and imprints upon the cells a kind of open magic.

Alchemy seeks in the corners of the commonplace, and the vastness of the feral lands. Most of all it seeks 

in-between.