Goldberry's Wash Day

I'm reading JRR Tolkein's The Fellowship of the Ring .....  again....and came across this poem from the Chapter called The Old Forest.  This is one of my favorite parts of the whole adventure.  The hobbits are rescued by Tom Bombadil - an ancient being of the Forest - over whom no enchantments hold sway - that is, except for the magic of his lady, the River's daughter, Goldberry.

Now let the song begin! Let us sing together

Of sun, stars, moon and mist, rain and cloudy weather.

Light on the budding leaf, dew on the feather,

Wind on the open hill, bells on the heather,

Reeds by the shady pool, lilies on the water:

Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter!

Thank you JRR Tolkein for creating such magic in my life!

Healing Salves

With the Super Moon of 2012 just passed, the herbs and plants down in the yard are full of magick healing potential.  Now is probably the best time of the whole year to make herbal preparations. This week I started off with a salve that can be used for all kinds of skin irritations.  Here are the ingredients: Lemon Balm ~ Chickweek ~ Jewel Weed ~ Comfrey ~ Plantain ~ Lavender Essential Oil ~ Virgin Olive Oil ~ Beeswax.   Follow any of the videos posted on YouTube for infusing the oil with the herbs - I like LearningHerbs.com videos.  Once you have your oil - add pieces of beeswax until you have the right consistency.  Easy to make and good to have on hand for any skin emergency.  Happy Herbing!