Guide 2 of 5 · folklore with its feet on the ground
Lavender, rosemary, sage and chamomile. Read on while it turns.
Herbs have been mixed for ritual, for the bath and for the kitchen for longer than anyone wrote it down. The old distillers mixed them by the handful. This guide covers the four simple ways to mix them at home, and the one rule that comes before all of them. For the herbs you must never mix, read Guide 4.
Everything below comes from a named source in our library, and each one is listed under its rule. Where our library is silent, we say so, and we don't guess.
Many people believe herbal remedies are safe because they are natural, but herbs and medicines can interact, and herbs can be dangerously contaminated. Buy herbs named by species, from a shop that can tell you where they came from, and look for clear sourcing and batch consistency.
Sources: "Herbalism", Wikipedia; "Herbal store", Wikipedia.
An infusion draws the scent and colour out of a plant into a liquid such as water, oil or alcohol. The liquid is brought to the right temperature, poured over the herb, left to steep, then strained. Tea is an infusion.
If you are not using it straight away, bottle it and keep it in the fridge. Boiling the plant is a different method, called a decoction.
Source: "Infusion", Wikipedia.
A tincture is a plant steeped in alcohol. Strengths of 25% to 60% alcohol are common, and a tincture should be at least 20% alcohol so it keeps. Alcohol is a good solvent and a preservative, but it can also spoil some of the plant's scent.
The Aromantic Catalogue 2009 says thyme tincture should be diluted in water when used in a mouthwash or gargle, at no more than 10%. A tincture is strong. Treat it that way.
Sources: "Tincture", Wikipedia; Aromantic Catalogue 2009.
A herbal bath soak is one of the simplest preparations to make at home. The Aromantic catalogue describes rosemary in the bath as traditionally strengthening and refreshing. A bath soak does not replace medical care: if you are under a clinician, follow their advice.
Sources: "Herbal store", Wikipedia; Aromantic Catalogue 2009.
The old distillers mixed herbs by the handful. The Art of Distillation gives Dr Stephen's Water as handfuls of sage, mints, roses, thyme, chamomile, lavender and rosemary, steeped together. Mix dried herbs you know, in equal handfuls, keep a note of what went in, and store the blend dry, cool and out of the light.
Source: J. French, The Art of Distillation.
Our library has no sourced doses for drinking herbal mixtures, so we won't give any. The blends in this guide are for scent, the bath and ritual. If you want to drink a herb, ask a qualified medical herbalist or a pharmacist, especially if you take any medicine.
The old herbalists matched each herb to a planet. In Real Alchemy, Robert Allen Bartlett calls rosemary a herb of the Sun, and the book Tarot, Spells & Talismans says some herbs carry more magical potency when harvested at particular times.
Take the care, not the calendar pressure: pick or buy your herbs fresh, dry them well, and mix them with a clear purpose.
Sources: R. A. Bartlett, Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy; Tarot, Spells & Talismans.
The Society's five guides: 1 How to mix oils · 2 How to mix herbs · 3 Never mix these with your oils · 4 Never mix these herbs · 5 Herbs and oils together
This is folklore and general safety information from named sources. It is not medical advice. If you are pregnant, take medicines, have a health condition, or have children or animals at home, ask a pharmacist, doctor or vet before using herbs or essential oils. The Wand & The Crystal Ball Society is part of Peckham Crystals · Increatus, London.