Summer Solstice: Work With Plants & Bring Your Herbs Home

It's that time of the year. Time that many pagans and paganism inspired and nature based religions and spiritual paths consider the most magickal time of the year. And, so do I. It' s Summer Solstice time.

I grew up with Summer Solstice being the most magickal time of the year. The night of the solstice was time when the neighbors came together to spend the shortest night of the year all together at a bonfire, all women were wearing flower crowns, and everyone merrily eating and drinking, laughing, occasionally playing games or going into wet meadows to search fireflies. all being together to meet the sunrise. It become the night of the year I was waiting for the most. Staying up all night, dwelling through darkness, playing with other kids at night with a flower crown on my head - what's not to love about it?

But the greatest magick of the solstice time for me has always been plants - harvesting herbs, decorating with flowers, some of them used for decorating specifically for the summer solstice - for blessings and protection. When I was little, my mom was great at keeping the traditions alive and teaching us kids. Gathering and putting herbs to dry still are my main Summer Solstice ritual  I give my time to every day up to 24th of June, with the peak on 20-21st of June which is the time of the longest days and shortest nights here in Northern hemisphere. It's time when nature is in full bloom, vibrantly charged, full of energy and magick. Perfect, to gather herbs from garden and meadows for using them later in the kitchen and steam-bath, for culinary, medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Folklore tells that herbs gathered during the Summer Solstice are the most powerful and hold more power than harvested in any other time. 

Harvesting herbs during this energetically charged time of the year for me is magickal. It's time to be in nature. Not just be, but tune in it. Meditate in and with nature. Thanking. Appreciating. Feeling it. Talking to it. Listening to it. Searching. Finding. Bringing home abundance and setting it to dry for using later. It's ritualistic. This year also falling in Full Moon - perfect for gathering blooming herbs!

When harvesting herbs from gardens or meadows during this time of the year, make it magickal for yourself. Feel it to the bone. It's time of celebrating the Earth, giving nature and Sun that affects everything on this planet. 

A few suggestions to do it right: 

• Spend time in nature before you start gathering herbs. Meditate or just sit in a blooming spot to tune in nature. It helps to notice, see, hear and get connected. 
• Kick off those shoes. Go barefoot, or if it inspires you more - go earthing! It's the same thing. Walking barefoot is known to improve balance and body awareness, foot mechanics, strength and stability in body muscles. And feeling those different surfaces under your bare feet is pure pleasure, massage, joy and reminder of staying connected. Connected with the Earth. You might not want to walk into overgrown areas or crawl into bushes barefoot, but wherever you can - take the shoes off. 
• Before you take from a plant - talk to it. Thank plants for what they give you! Even if you haven' t received their healing benefits yet, thank them already as they have given them to you!
• And keep in mind - no matter where and how you harvest, the rules of ethical harvesting apply to you always and everywhere. Read my short guide to harvesting herbs here: GUIDE TO HARVESTING WILD HERBS: HOW, WHERE AND WHEN (opens in new window). 

And a few of other thing to do with plants during this time for more magick in your life: 

• Decorate your home with plants that are considered to bring blessings and protection. A branch of a rowan tree or stinging nettle are a few of those that in folklore are considered protective, but I won' t give you a list. If you don' t know what plants you need, go out and spend time in nature: you will feel, your mind will create associations and you will find the right plants. Trust yourself. Observe. The properties of plants you can see and feel by touching, their scents, colors and patterns  of them are those things that speak. Your personal associations with their esoteric powers is what matters for decorating your personal  space. You can't go wrong. It's you, your life, your intention and your associations. 
• Brew sun tea: Choose a glass container to prepare your Sun Tea. Pour clean, fresh, cold water over fresh herbs, let it sit in the sunniest spot for a few hours and enjoy the subtle flavors of the season. Drink sunshine & stay hydrated!
• Use sun tea of cosmetic herbs to wash your face and hands. Rose petals, calendula flowers, peony petals are perfect, but you choose  - what speaks to you? What flowers do you associate with beauty and cleansing? Those are the ones you need, of course, if they are not poisonous. 
• Take a bath with plants that have skin healing, softening and soothing properties. It can be also a feet bath or hand bath. Pour warm water over the herbs, let them steep for a while so the healing plant properties, colors and aromas get extracted in water, and enjoy! 

It's a wonderful time for ritualistic self-care with the powers Mother Nature generously gives. Take it, soak up the love of Mother Nature and give back! Give thanks and appreciate! 

All things Calendula Officinalis: Between the Garden, Kitchen, Medicine Chest and Pure Magick

Calendula officinalis – Pot Marigold, Poet’s marigold, Marygold, Sunbride, Drunkard, Marybud, Summer’s Bride, Bride of the Sun,  Gold-bloom, Holigold, Bees-love, Ruddes

If you are growing your own medicine cabinet, don’t forget calendula that in medieval times was considered a cure for almost anything. The bright orange or yellow heads of calendula flowers are beloved in herb, flower and even vegetable gardens. Besides the bright, decorative flowers and low maintenance calendula offers great medicinal properties. It’s a popular home remedy for skin issues widely used in cosmetics and dermatology nowadays just like it was used to rejuvenate skin by Ancient Egyptians.  It is also an edible plant that is used fresh and dried.

This gentle, yet strong herb that tolerates poor soil in many cultures is related to the Sun, fire element and Virgin Mary. There is another flower that is also called marigold – it’s tagetes (African, Mexican or Aztec marigold with scientific name tagetes erecta) – not less magickal flower and also from the same Asteraceae family, but it’s not the marigold we are talking about here. Referring to the hero of this page – calendula officinalis – eccentric Wiccan Scott Cunningham writes: “If a girl touches the petals of the marigold with her bare feet, she will understand the languages of the birds.”

Calendula in the garden

Calendula is an annual plant that is cultivated from seeds and grows around 30-60 cm/1- 2 feet tall. Growing calendula is easy as it doesn’t ask for much except the full sun or partial shade and some water. Poor soil isn’t a big issue for this plant that pleases the gardener with yellow to bright, deep orange flowers all summer long.

Calendula is a healer not just for humans and animals, but also helps in the garden. It’s a garden tonic and nutrient accumulator that repels asparagus beetles and tomato hornworms, it is planted as a helpful neighbor also next to chard, radish, carrots, parsley and thyme, and basically there is no plant around the garden who wouldn’t enjoy the company of calendula.

If left to sow the seeds at the end of the season, it often successfully comes back the next year even in regions with harsh winters. In autumn the seeds can also be gathered from dying flower heads and successfully sown back in the ground on spring the next year.

All parts of faded calendula plants can be embedded into the soil as it is observed to work as a soil fertilizer and sanitizer freeing it from disease causing elements.

From garden to pantry

Calendula flowers are harvested in the peak of the bloom, usually harvesting whole heads and after drying taking off the petals or harvesting only the petals gently pulling them off the center disc of the flower, then dried for culinary and medicinal use. After drying, keep the petals in a paper bag, well sealed wooden box or a jar. It can also be grind in a powder for adding to food.

One of the ways of preserving calendula is making infused oil with fresh or dried petals. Such oil can be successfully used for different skin conditions and for making calendula ointments for healing purposes, of course, it can also be added to baked goods and salads.

 Around the house

Traditionally calendula flowers have been used as a yarn and fabric dye producing bright yellow to khaki green color.  

Dried calendula petals are often used in homemade soaps adding to the soap sunny color and gentle abrasives.

Fresh calendula flowers are also popular for flower arrangements and used in decorative garlands.

Calendula infused oil is used for making skin creams, beeswax lip balms, lotions and salves. It is also used to heal the skin irritations in cats and other pets.

 Calendula in the kitchen

Most of us know calendula from the use in different herbal tea mixes, but it has some other culinary uses as well. The whole plant actually is edible – young leaves can be used in salads, but bright petals make excellent décor for any bowl of green salad.

Dried petals are used in cakes and for decorating any dish before serving. They go well with egg dishes, are used in butters, soups, cheeses and breads to add some color and flavor. You can also prepare calendula syrup and preserve it for winter season. 

In some dishes it can be used instead of saffron, for example, when preparing rice, calendula petals can dye the rice yellow just like saffron does. If fact, it’s even sold as a fake saffron. When buying saffron powder, it’s good to know where your saffron comes from because often, especially in powder it is sold mixed or even fully substituted with other herbs, for example, calendula petals that look similar to saffron when dried.  It really has some saffron-like qualities and is used in culinary as a cheaper substitute for saffron.

Calendula in the medicine chest

For healing and medicinal purposes usually calendula is used brewing herbal tea of dried flowers, making tincture or calendula infused oil for topical applications and using in homemade calendula creams and other ointments. Only the flower petals are used for medicinal purposes. Skin-healing, anti-ulcerous, tumor growth inhibiting, oxidation and inflammation stopping and spasm-relieving properties of calendula have been researched and observed by modern science providing satisfying results to suggest this herb for medicinal use.

This is one of the most popular herbals for all kinds of skin issues – from soothing skin, treating minor wounds, cuts, scrapes, bruises, insect bites, skin negatively affected by sun and wind, and other kinds of skin irritations and swelling, to using for curing acne, dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema. Due to the skin healing properties calendula is widely used in commercially produced skin creams and also homemade cosmetic ointments.

To soothe skin you can take a bath with calendula flower infusion or you a can also massage your skin with calendula infused oil. It also aids in alleviating hemorrhoid bleeding. 

Creams containing calendula extracts are used for healing cracked nipples after breastfeeding.

Calendula extracts are often used in pharmaceutical preparations for sore throat and swollen glands. Fungi, bacteria growth and inflammation stopping properties of calendula have been observed, so, calendula infused water is used as a throat gargle and mouthwash to treat mouth sores and speed up the process of healing gums after tooth extraction.

To treat conjunctivitis calendula infused water is used to rinse eyes or applied as a compress.

This is also one of “women herbs” as it can aid in normalizing the menstrual cycle, promoting menstruation, easing the menstrual pain and PMS symptoms. It’s not advised during the pregnancy, but can aid in labor gently promoting contractions.

Calendula tea or tincture are used to aid in healing digestive tract issues, promote food digestion, relieve constipation and abdominal cramps, expel toxins from the body and reduce swelling.

In folk medicine calendula ointments, creams or infused oil are suggested for treating varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Not very popular is the use of calendula for curing ear infections and stopping bleeding nose. It might have helped some people as it is a part of folklore, but successful use of calendula for these problems isn’t really reported.

Calendula infused vinegar is used in place of commercially produced hair conditioner to add shine to your hair, but it can also be added to foot soaking water for gentle care and reducing fungal issues. Those who don’t like using vinegar for hair, can also use calendula tea as a hair mask or rinse. It is especially advised for naturally light hair to highlight and brighten it.

Tea frozen into ice cubes can be a great facial tonic for mornings – while a light facial massage with ice cube will be refreshing and help to wake up, the healing properties of calendula will soothe skin and both together they can delay skin aging. 

It is recognized as generally safe herb for internal and topic use for adults and children, negative side effects haven’t been observed, but theoretically they are possible just like with any other substance existing in this world. Probably one of the safest home remedies to use without worries of negative consequences.

Esoteric calendula

As the flower of the Sun it is used in all kinds of festivities and rituals for honoring the power of the Sun and expressing the gratitude for the prosperity and beauty it brings. This simple flower that is one of the sacred herbs in Celtic traditions, can also be used in all kinds of love and admiration attracting magick. Added to the bathwater calendula might not only soothe the skin, but also make you respected and admired by others.

The modern spirituality seekers consider this a flower of sacral chakra – the 2^nd chakra located below the navel – the center of feeling, pleasure, passion, creativity and emotion. Modern folklore suggests using calendula to bring comfort to people who have gone through traumatic experiences, struggle from nervous tensions and fears.

Garlands of calendula flowers can be placed on the doorposts to protect the house from evil energies entering it, and as the herb of the Sun it is also used to consecrate magickal and ritual tools to remove the negative energy from them.  The cup you use for drinking calendula tea should be safe and sound! Modern folklore also tells that calendula can activate your inner self-healing abilities and enhance the energetic protection.

It is also used in helping to develop psychic powers, for example, the bright petals of calendula scattered under the bed or added to dream pillows might bring prophetic dreams.

Celtic folklore tells that if the flower petals of calendula are rubbed on the eyelids the liquid that comes out of the petals will help to see faeries, but Norse mythology reveals that if calendula flowers are picked on the full moon and used in incense or infused in water for washing your face and body, it will help to see elves and dwarves. I guess it depends on where in the world you live and what mythical creatures might live around you.