Herbal Shampoo & Conditioner

Using this wonderful template from Mountain Rose, yesterday I created my own herbal shampoo/body wash.

Not only is this healthier & less expensive, the scent & feel is so wonderfully luxurious that I thought I'd share the recipe:

HiddenWitch Herbal Shampoo

8oz distilled water

3oz Castile Soap

1Tbsp dried Nettle

1tsp dried Sage

2tsp dried Basil

2tsp dried Rosemary

20 drops Rose Essential Oil

10 drops Rosemary Essential Oil

1/4 tsp Olive Oil

Make an infusion of the herbs & water - almost boiling water poured over the herbs, cover & allow to sit overnight.  Decant herbs (strain & squeeze out all the goodness from the herbs).  Compost the herbs & reserve the tissane.

Add to the tissane the castile, oil & essential oils & pour into an old shampoo bottle that has been well cleaned. 

Shake before using.

This produces a liquid, not a gel-type soap.  It is very bubbly & smells amazing!

I don't use commercial conditioners, but instead use Queen of Hungary water from the recipe in Rosemary Gladstar's book as a rinse.  This step is really important, because the shampoo opens the follicles of the hair shaft & your hair will feel really dry (clean) & is more fragile in this state.  The vinegar rinse closes the shaft & brings the amazing softness & returns the strength of your hair.

When I'm done, I rinse my hair with lukewarm water & it feels so thick & soft!  Much nicer than any commercial product.

Wild & Bright Blessings,

~*Rhi*~

Natural Spell Candles

Welcome to the Waxing Moon!  Are you as energized as I am?  Wow!

As I woke up & visited FaeryLand (the back yard), this is what I saw:

Kitty Visits the Bird Feeder

She is a regular visitor of late...funny, we never saw her until my husband's familiar (who looks exactly like her!) passed away 6 months ago. 

After wandering in the gardens, it was time to get to work!

It was Spell Candle day at the Hidden Witch's home.  I've been wanting to make intention candles out of soy wax, with as few artificial additions as possible.  After pondering this for a while & researching natural dyes for candles (not gonna happen), I decided to try something different.  Today I created spell candles with colored sand, herbs & oils.

Love & Romance

I've been using Jasmine scented oil lately, because I cannot find Jasmine EO within my price range.  The Rose Absolute was incredibly expensive, but has no rival in the scent department, so I use it for a few special projects.

Visions Candle

I made 8 Spell Candles in all today, with a variety of applications.  The 1st I'll use is a prosperity/fertility candle as I kick-off this Waxing Moon cycle.

Prosperity Candle on the Altar

This afternoon, I'll make bread & butter pickles, a feather shapeshifting mask & will begin on a Plant Spirit costume.

Wild & Bright Samhain Blessings!

*~Rhi~*

Witch's Ramblings

Lots of magickal concoctions are brewing around here! 





~Magickal Graphics~

This week I started Comfrey Oil & Base vinegar for Queen of Hungary Water. The Comfrey Oil is for a healing salve (recipe from LearningHerbs.com) & the Queen of Hungary Water is from Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health.

Here's a video of Susun Weed chatting about comfrey & the skin:






Some other workings in the Hidden Witch's Botanica are perfumes.  My Rose Tincture is finally finished after 6 weeks; result of waiting 6 weeks is just divine! The rosebuds retained some of the tincture, so they are drying on my Home Spirit Shrine, releasing their wonderful aroma to the living room.  I'll be using the Rose Tincture for my 1st real perfume & hope to have it ready by Full Moon.

Today we went to the local "flea market" & found some beautiful antique bottles.  I can't wait to bottle up some magick!


Wild & Bright Blessings,

~*Rhi*~