Lunar Magic Botanical Mocktail

This potion is a magical aid for both New Moon and Full Moon rituals – concoct it to increase psychic sensitivity and open up the body for deeper ritual work.

Makes 4

*not suitable for pregnancy

You will need:

Ingredients

13g mugwort

1 lemon

1 bottle of soda water

A herbal syrup, agave syrup, or honey alternative (CF recommends Hunny from The Female Glaze)

4 mugwort sprigs and/or 1 lemon slice for garnish

Equipment

1 saucepan and lid

1 jug

1 sieve

4 glasses 

Instructions

Inact all steps with mindfulness and intention, this is your ritual potion…

1. Boil the 13g of mugwort in 300 ml of filtered water for 7 minutes. You can use fresh or dried leaves.

2. Once the water has boiled and turned a strong gray/brown color, strain it into a jug.

3. While warm, mix in your l syrup. I normally add 1 tablespoon. 

4. Put the mugwort concoction in the fridge to cool.

5. Juice the lemon and add 2-3 teaspoons to each glass, or into a cocktail shaker.

6. Add ice to the glasses (or into your shaker).

7. Pour 50-75ml of your cooled mugwort concoction into your glass or shaker.

8. Stir your glass or shake your shaker and pour into the glass.

9. Top up your glass with soda water (this can be supplemented for ginger beer but you may want to add less syrup).

10. Add your garnish and consume in a relaxed state.

This botanical mocktail is ideal for a solo evening ritual, before a tarot reading or a group ritual. 

Lemon magically represents the moon, its cleansing energy refreshes the system and clears the way for deeper magical workings. 

Mugwort AKA Artemisia vulgaris is a wild herb associated with the Greek goddess of the moon–Artemis. Mugwort has long been associated with lucid dreaming and invokes the dream space, allowing us to access the well of the unconscious. I have found mugwort induces deeper meditations and visions.

To tailor your potion to the needs of a specific ritual, you can add a herbal syrup infused with a preferred plant ally For example a rose syrup would be suitable if you are working with love or ginger for inner fire and strength.

How to Make a Cold-Busting Rosehip Fire Cider

Longer days are coming. We’re beginning to see snowdrops and crocuses pushing through the earth .In the not-too-distant future, we’ll see the return of abundance: orchard fruits, wild garlic, elderflower, and mugwort. But for now, much of the forest still lies dormant. Some helpful ingredients can still be foraged from the woods and meadows in winter. One such plant is the common rosehip,  used by children as an itching powder, but also a versatile fruit that can be made into syrups, jellies, and tea, among other things. Rosehip is rich in vitamin C, known to reduce the length of colds. These berries have also been shown to help with heart health, and ease arthritis. Some say they can mend a broken heart. Where we are, a flurry of winter viruses are making the short days and long nights harder. Fern Freud – known as Foraged by Fern – has kindly shared a recipe with us for her rosehip fire cider – a potent immunity-boosting brew to help reduce the length and severity of colds and flu – and a tasty salad dressing or marinade. For this recipe, you’ll need to go outside and search the hedgerows and woods for rosehips and edible conifers.

Rosehip fire cider

Ingredients

1 red onion

3-5 garlic cloves

A large thumb of ginger

One lemon

One orange

1/2 cup of rosehips

Edible conifer (pine or fir)

Method

1. Roughly chop the rose hips, red onion, garlic cloves, and ginger.

2. Cut the lemon and orange into small chunks – keep the skin on.

3. Take the needles from the edible conifer off the woody stems until you have 1/2 cup needles.

4. Add everything to a 1-litre jar and top with good apple cider vinegar (it will take roughly 700ml).

5. Leave for 2-4 weeks.

6. Strain through a muslin cloth and squeeze the cloth to get all the liquid out! Pour into a jar or bottle and take 2 tbsp daily

A Brief Introduction to Elemental Magic

Illustration © Kaitlynn Copithorne

Humanity has long sought to understand the world by dividing it into its constituents parts. In the same way that scientists now recognise atoms as the building blocks of everything, and protons and neutrons as the building blocks of atoms, thinkers have also recognised that various elements constitute reality. In Chinese philosophy, there are five phases: wood, earth, fire, water, and metal. In Indian philosophy there are five, too: earth, air, fire, water and ether.

The Ancient Greeks recognised four classical elements: fire, water, earth and air. Earth speaks to the material and physical world: plants, trees, animals, and soil, but also earthly pleasures such as money and crafts. Fire keeps us warm and allows us to cook nourishing food; from the fire we can forge something new, but we all know that if untempered, fires have the power to burn and destroy. Water is cleansing and mysterious. By the sea we peer into the unknown, but also into the place where life began, catching a glimpse of the unconscious mind that developed there. Air is so inconspicuous we sometimes forget that it is there, and that we are breathing it; within air lies all unseen, including the mysterious animating forces that keep us alive and allow us to communicate across time and space. Elemental magic allows us to tap into these four aspect of existence, and tune into different aspects of ourselves.

Here is a brief introduction to working with elemental magic. The rituals described are suggestions but not prescriptive; you are welcome to play around with different ways of tapping into the elemental energies.

FIRE

• Write a list of attributes you consider fiery. Consider which of these you wish to channel.

• Write another list of places and situations you associate with fire. A few examples: a volcanic landscape; a campfire; sitting beneath the warm sun.

• Consult the Suit of Wands in the tarot deck of your choice. Lay out the cards in numerical order and look at the story that forms across the deck. Write down any reflections in a journal.

• Think about which myths, stories or songs speak to this element. A few that come to mind: the tale of Prometheus stealing the fire from the gods; the story of the phoenix, a bird who is reborn from the ashes; the fiery pits of hell; the passion in Arthurian Romances, and other steamier love stories; tales centring creative and ambitious people who set out on a journey looking for a thing and are unafraid to burn big fires; the fiery songs of Leonard Cohen; stories centring dragons from Europe, the near east, Africa and China, among other places, including modern iterations such as A Song of Ice and Fire and The Lord of the Rings.

• If it resonates, create a ritual that involves this element. It might entail sitting beside a fireplace or lighting a candle, or taking a walk on a sunny day. You may also write a list of the habits that no longer serve you and burn them in a ritual bonfire, a cathartic way to expel the past, while laying down the groundwork to forge a future from the ashes.

WATER

• Write a list of attributes you consider watery. Consider which of these you wish to channel.

• Write another list of places and situations you associate with water. A few examples: the sea, a lake, river, pond or puddle; taking a bath; washing your hands; sitting beneath a veranda and watching the rain.

• Consult the Suit of Cups in the tarot deck of your choice. Lay out the cards in numerical order and look at the story that forms across the deck. Write down any reflections in a journal.

• Think about which myths, stories or songs speak to this element. A few that come to mind: Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale The Little Mermaid; Jules Vernes’ adventure novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; tales of selkies and sirens and monsters who dwell in lakes and lochs; the biblical Noah’s arc, where the world is immersed in water to start anew; myths centring dolphins as messengers of Poseidon; the 16th-century ship folk tale about Davy Jones’ locker, the oceanic abyss and final resting place of drowned sailors; the many rivers and springs associated with goddesses, such as Sulis, Celtic goddess of the hot spring at the Roman baths; “The Stolen Child”, a melancholic poem by WB Yeats; the Irish tale of the Salmon of Knowledge, who ate nine hazelnuts and gained all the knowledge in the world.

• If it resonates, create a ritual that involves this element. It could involve showering, bathing or washing your hands; it might mean swimming in the sea, scrying into a vessel of water, or charging a stick with negative thoughts you then cast into a stream to be carried away and cleansed.

EARTH

• Write a list of attributes you consider earthly. Consider which of these you wish to channel.

• Write another list of places and situations you associate with earth. A few examples: being fully present in a forest; sitting or standing on the grass; taking a mud bath or putting on a clay face mask; doing some kind of physical exercise, whether dance or yoga, and tuning into the sensations in your body.

• Consult the Suit of Pentacles in the tarot deck of your choice. Lay out the cards in numerical order and look at the story that forms across the deck. Write down any reflections in a journal.

• Think about which myths or stories speak to this element. A few that come to mind: the Russian tale of Baba Yaga, a wild woman who lives deep in the woods; Fern Gulley, a film about fairy-environmentalists; stories about Herne the Hunter, said to have antlers growing from his head; stories about Dionysus, god of wine, fertility and ritual madness; the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, and Eve’s eating of the apple of knowledge.

• If it resonates, create a ritual that involves this element. This might mean dancing or standing barefoot on the earth, or eating something delicious and paying attention to the sensation. You could also ground your thoughts or spells via writing – or by carving sigils onto a fallen branch.

AIR

• Write a list of attributes you think airy. Consider which of these you wish to channel.

• Write another list of places and situations you associate with air. A few examples: a windy hilltop or mountaintop; in an aeroplane over the sea; a place with clean air (you can check the air pollution level via a weather app); breathing.

• Consult the Suit of Swords in the tarot deck of your choice. Lay out the cards in numerical order and look at the story that forms across the deck. Write down any reflections in a journal. Think about which myths or stories speak to this element. A few that come to mind: tales of winged animals, such as Pegasus, the hippogriff and griffin; stories of witches taking flight, including the fantastical scene in Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita where a young witch applies flying ointment for the first time, and Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service; the magic carpet of One Thousand and One Nights, the popular collection of Middle Eastern folklore.

• If it resonates, try to create a ritual that involves this element. The simplest way of connecting with air is by bringing awareness to our breath and consciously slowing it down and deepening it; you might also wish to take a walk and feel the breeze on your skin.

Herbal energetics

• Medical systems such as Ayurveda and Ancient Greek medicine see wellbeing as synonymous with the balance of the elements. A patient can have too much air, for instance, and suffer from melancholia and digestive issues. Consult a Ayurvedic doctor to find out your predominant dosha, or try a fun online quiz such as this one. You can do the same for your temperament, or humour.

• Learn about the herbs and spices that can help remedy dryness, create heat or reduce it, provide a fiery energy kick, or ground you. Try cooking foods that are used to address imbalances.

• Read too about the other non-edible consumables thought to affect our elemental balance, including the type of music we listen to, external stresses, and the visual stimuli we consume, and how switching these up could address a balance. For instance, for those who feel outside of our bodies, drawing and dancing can allow us to feel more embodied, and a greater connection with the earth.

Further reading

• Timaeus, Plato

• Medicine and Society in early Modern Europe. Cambridge University Press.

• Hippocratic Writings (Penguin Classics)

• Earth, Fire, Water, Air by Mary Hoffman (an illustrated children’s book)

• Ayurveda, the Science of Self-healing by Vasant Lad

• The Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. Consult chapter III: ‘Of the four Elements, their qualities, and mutuall mixtions.’

• The Elements: A Very Short Introduction by Philip Ball

• The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (The Elements of Nature and the Cosmos)

• Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack

Issues 2-5 of Cunning Folk were centred around the four elements. Pre-order limited reprints of Fire and Water via our online shop, or email us at cunningfolkmagazine(AT)gmail(dot)com. if you'd like to be on the waitlist for reprints of Earth and Air.

How to Make a Wand: A Grounding Earth Rite

Illustration © Kristin Heldt

It’s unclear when wands first came into use; they may well be one of the oldest ceremonial tools, with roots in prehistory. Birth tusks or apotropaic wands were used in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt during birth ceremonies, while wands, or rods, first appear in Homer’s The Oddssey; Circe was one ancient witch to use a wand and, with it, turned Odysseus’ men into pigs. Wands cropped up again in medieval to early modern grimoires and fairytales, wielded by sorcerers or fairies. Vivianne Crowley shares a ritual to create an earth wand, or work with one you have made already. 

• In the occult and Wicca, a wand is understood as a an instrument for directing energy. Magically, it symbolises our will. We can use a wand to direct our personal energy into another object—a crystal, for example, to draw a magic circle, or we can use it to focus on meditation when we want to strengthen our will. 

• By day, find a piece of earth to sit on. It may be in your garden, a local park, meadow, or wood. Take a blanket to sit on, a trowel or spoon to dig up some earth, a bowl to place it in, bags to take it and other found objects home, and a sharp blade to cut or carve your wand. Optional: take beer, mead, wine, or juice for a libation, plus cakes, biscuits, or bread. Have a notebook to record what you notice. 

• In your chosen location, place your hand on the ground and attune yourself to earth. Beneath the surface, soil teems with life – worms, insects, moles, rabbits, descending roots, and upward thrusting shoots. Think of its colours–brown, black, red, yellow. Dig up a small bowlful. Take a stone in your hand. It might be cold to the touch or warmed by the sun. Feel its strength, longevity, endurance, resistance. 

• What else can you find? There may be autumn leaves to make a covering for your earth shrine and, for decoration, chestnuts or acorns. There may be hazelnuts to eat or blackberries. Take only a few, leaving the rest for nature. 

• Different woods are associated with different elements or planets. This rite focuses on enhancing the qualities of earth in our lives, so find a tree associated with the element of earth. “Earthy trees” are slow-growing and long-lived, such as oak, yew, or horse chestnut. Select a small branch or large twig. You may find one newly fallen. If not, cut the wood respectfully. Medieval grimoires recommend a length from the tip of your middle finger to the inside of your elbow. My preference is for something shorter. See what feels right for you.

• [In my practice], I seek the rough direction of East, South, West, and North, working these out by the sun’s position, or you can use your phone’s compass. Lay down your blanket to sit on and arrange your found items so you can meditate on them.

• Take some time to work with your wand. Using your blade, you could strip the bark or carve into it some symbols. 

• Now sit quietly, absorbing what is around you. What can you smell, see, hear, touch? Crumble the earth in your bowl between your fingers. Smell its richness. If it has rained recently, you may get a strong scent of petrichor, a heady combination of plant oils and geosmin. 

• Write down what you notice–thoughts and feelings about earth and its qualities. Where do you manifest these qualities in your life? Where might you need to be more earthy? A poem, invocation, or other creative idea may come to you. If so, note it down. 

• Starting in the North, use your wand to draw a circle around you, either on the ground or in the air, saying quietly or in your mind, whatever invocation, poem, or thread of words comes to you.

• In my practice, I speak my invocation aloud, then I turn East and ask for the blessing of air, turn South and ask for the blessing of fire, to the West for the blessing of water, and to the North for the blessing of earth. Then I draw an earth-invoking pentagram, starting at the topmost point and drawing down to the left, the point of earth, and then all the way around and back to earth again. 

• You may wish to say a blessing over any food or drink you have brought, thanking the Earth for what she has given us and bidding the four directions farewell. Leave a few discrete crumbs and pour a small libation of your drink on the earth to symbolise that you will give back for what you have been given. It reminds us of sacred reciprocity, our true relationship with our planet. 

• Depart, leaving nothing behind except your libations.

• At home, clear a shelf or small table for an earth shrine. Place your found objects there with your wand. Add anything earthy that you have in your home–some pottery perhaps, or a cloth of earthy colours. Leave the shrine in place for a while to remind you of earth and its qualities and your need for them in your life. 

Vivianne Crowley is the author of several books, including most recently, Wild Once: Awaken the magic within. Unleash true power. You can find an interview with her in the Air issue of Cunning Folk.

An Incense for Beltane

Beltane—or May Day—is upon us. We’re at the halfway mark between Spring and Summer. “Summer is Icumen in” as they sing in the Cornish town of Padstow, while the Obby ‘Oss makes its way through town, bestowing fertility, and children dance around the Maypole. Move through the mists of time, and many of our ancestors will have celebrated the turn of the year—some danced around maypoles or feasted—some towns lit fires on hills. Chanting and dancing and lighting fires in unison, one cannot help but lose oneself to the beat of drums and the flicker of the flames. At their most potent, these celebrations can reconnect us with something old and forgotten. Most of the pre-Christian customs have faded from our national calendar. Others, arguably, have been reduced to mere spectacle. But we can still carry the fire and keep some of these traditions alight, allowing them to evolve to meet changing needs. For our Fire issue, Maggie Eliana wrote a piece for us about fire rituals. Here is an excerpt from her piece, and a recipe to make an incense for centring—necessary as the Wheel of the Year continues to turn—sometimes so fast we have little time to process what we’ve been through.

Symbolically, fire has also held an important social role. The hearth of the home is where life revolves. The fire in the hearth can be thought of as the agni of the family, nurturing, providing, and protecting. Gathering around the hearth, the kitchen table, and the campfire, is how we come together with our community to share ideas, experiences, and stories. It is an opportunity for group bonding, for teaching lessons, and searching for truth. In this way, fire is instrumental to our rituals and practices of safety, security, and meaning-making. 

Fire and smoke cleansing practices can be seen through a similar lens. Using smoke to cleanse a holy room, for example, creates a practice that offers contemplation and a spiritual mindset for the participants, and leaves a smell as a physical reminder to others who enter the space that it should be treated with respect. While this is undoubtedly an important aspect of ritual, the benefits are much more complex than our ancestors likely knew. Lack of true understanding, awe and wonder, and a desire for meaning led to a mystical view of the natural world. We took these gifts of nature and ascribed them with otherworldly power. However, modern scientific studies into smoke cleansing (Braithwaite et al 2008, Nautiyal et al 2007) have shown that antibacterial properties from the plants cleanse and deionise the air of a room for 24 hours after being burned. Herbs such as bay leaves, rosemary, lavender, rose petals, or pine needles can all be used to cleanse a space.

Bringing the element of fire into your practice can be achieved by lighting some candles or burning incense. For an even more holistic and personalised approach, you can make your own incense blends. You can customise the herb blends to suit your needs and preferences, and have fun experimenting with recipes.

 An Incense Cone Blend for Centring (makes about 10 cones)

Here is a simple incense for finding your centre. It can also be used for space cleansing rituals, as a feature on your altar, or simply as a relaxing mood-enhancer. You can tailor the herbs you use to fit your individual needs. Some other good herbs are pine needles, calendula, juniper, lemongrass, or tree barks such as sandalwood. 

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp lavender 

1 tsp rose petals

1 tsp bay leaves 

1.5 tsp marshmallow root powder

Approx. 1 tbsp water

1. To make your own incense cones, all you need is finely powdered dry herbs and some water. You can buy herbs ready-powdered or powder your own using a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. 

2. Slowly add water to the mixed powders to form a paste until you get a consistency similar to wet sand. 

3. The mixture can then be pressed into cones. 

4. Allow your cones to dry for about a week. 

5. To light, place the cone in a fire-safe dish, light the tip and allow to burn for a few seconds before blowing out the flame. 

Kitchen Magic: Herbal Lattes

Image: Unsplash

Most of us tend to start our day with a good brew—usually this contains caffeine. Whatever your preference, coffee and black tea tend to dominate our morning drink choices. While some of us enjoy the caffeine buzz and find it helps get us going, others avoid it, finding it a bit-overstimulating. For those who still want a warm and comforting drink without the caffeine, herbal lattes are a great and flavoursome alternative.

To create a herbal blend, first consider what properties you want it to have, then build your flavours around that. For example, if you want a warming, energy-boosting and circulation-stimulating blend, a chai spice blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg is perfect. If you want a soothing, calming effect, then lavender, rose, or chamomile are all good options. You could choose ginger or mint for a digestive blend, or adaptogens such as tulsi or ginko for mental and physical robustness. Other herbs to try are lemon balm—often incorporated in remedies to reduce anxiety—turmeric, an anti-inflammatory, or antioxidant-rich hibiscus. You could make a simple herbal latte using any singular herb of your choice. You could also use these formulas in spell work. For example, a potion to open the heart for love could consist of rose, hawthorn, hibiscus, and cardamom. The more comfortable you get with your herbology, the more creative you can be with your recipes and tailor them more specifically to your needs. 

This recipe is my personal favourite blend, which I drink first thing in the morning to ground and centre myself. If you usually prefer caffeine in the morning, this might be a better evening drink for you (although even caffeine-lovers may enjoy experimenting with bringing in different energetic states to their morning). 

A Herbal Latte for Centring

You will need:

½ tsp Lavender

1tsp Rose

1tsp Nettle (fresh or dried)

1tsp Tulsi

1tsp Chamomile

½ cup oat milk or coconut milk 

¾ cup water

1 teaspoon agave or brown sugar (opt.)

To make:

1. Boil herbs in water and milk for 5 minutes.

2. Strain into mug or jar.

3. Use a hand blender, milk frother, or allow to cool slightly before lidding the jar and shaking to create a frothy latte.

4. Pour frothed mixture into mug or leave in the jar and stir, adding sugar or agave if preferred. 

5. Top your latte with a sprinkle of herbs if you like. 

Kitchen Magic: Blueberry, Rosemary, and Walnut Toffee Tart

At Cunning Folk we’re huge proponents of the idea that everything can be magical. Our kitchens are full of ingredients that nourish us and change us, uplifting us or calming our nerves, fighting inflammation or aiding concentration. Even the common herbs that grace our cabinets can be powerful. Folklore has spoken of rosemary as a herb to help improve memory, and research is catching up. Below is a (slightly adapted) recipe from Lauren Lovatt’s beautiful book Mind Food. This recipe is vegan and gluten free.

Photography © Sara Kiyo Popowa

Blueberries are an incredible brain food, not just for their antioxidant properties, but they are also one of the best sources of anthocyanins, which help to reduce inflammation in the brain through fighting free radicals. Of course, they are also here for their taste and there is nothing better than a fresh juicy blueberry, grown in season. Paired with our omega-rich walnuts and memory-supporting rosemary, this blueberry frangipane-filled tart is quite the Mind Food treat.

Serves: 12, makes one 30cm (12in) tart

Time taken: 1 hour

For the pastry 

200g (7oz) chickpea flour

200g (7oz) tapioca flour

2 tbsp maca

100g (3½oz) cold plant-based butter or coconut oil

50g (scant ¼ cup) olive oil

20g (¾oz) rapadura or coconut sugar

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt

For the blueberry jam

200g (1¾ cups) fresh or frozen blueberries

1 tbsp maple syrup

For the walnut frangipane

100ml (scant ½ cup) vegan butter

100g (½ cup) rapadura or organic caster (superfine) sugar

100ml (scant ½ cup) aquafaba (chickpea water)

250g (2½ cups) walnuts, finely ground into a flour

3 tbsp buckwheat flour

Zest of 1 lemon

½ tsp baking powder

To serve 

Fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C/400°F/Gas 6). Lightly grease a tart tin.

PASTRY Mix the flours with the maca in a large bowl and then add the butter or coconut oil. Lightly rub the flour and butter between your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 

Make a well in the middle of the breadcrumbs and add the oil, salt and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring the pastry together with your hands. Add another tablespoon of water as needed and a smooth dough should form. When there are no breadcrumbs left, combine the dough into a large ball, then place it onto a floured surface and roll it out to 4mm (1/8in) thick.

Lightly grease a 30cm (12in) tart tin with a removable base. Carefully place the pastry into the greased tin. It might crack slightly and if so, keep calm and simply fix any cracks with the pastry offcuts. Prick the pastry with a fork a few times to prevent it from rising, and bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden, then remove from the oven briefly and meanwhile make the fillings.

BLUEBERRY JAM Place the blueberries and maple syrup in a saucepan over a low heat and simmer for 5 minutes until they are slightly caramelized. Set aside.

WALNUT FRANGIPANE To make the walnut frangipane, cream the butter and sugar together in bowl with a whisk. Fold through the aquafaba, walnuts, flour, lemon zest and salt to form a reasonably thick, well combined mixture.

Place half of the blueberries evenly across the base, followed by the walnut frangipane. Bake the filled tart for a further 25 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and leave it to cool, then cut into slices and top with fresh blueberries and a sprinkle of bee pollen for a wonderful afternoon boost.

Mind Food, published by Quarto, is full of nutritious, healthy recipes to eat with every season.

An Introduction to Aromatherapy Magic

Photo: Unsplash

The power of aroma has been employed at least since the advent of the written word. The ancient Egyptians used a variety of fragrances for bathing, healing and even embalming their dead. Aroma has been used as a magical resource to connect to spirit, known by many names from different cultures. Walk into a Hindu temple or a Catholic church at the right moment and you will smell the burning incense of Frankincense—and it will help you transcend. So often we forget about this sense, prioritising sight and hearing, but there is much to be gained from paying attention. 

Aroma is intoxicating. Upon the inhalation of a scent you are transported into another world; memory is evoked, feelings and sensations arise in the body.  Much like when Proust’s Swann tasted a madeleine dipped in lime blossom tea and was plunged into the past, or more explicitly regarding scent, the way Oscar Wilde begins A Picture of Dorian Gray and transports us to that room: “The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn”. We can say that scent, like the other sensory triggers, can be a portal. 

What actually happens when we smell a fragrance? On a physiological level the inhalation of aroma sparks change within the body; on a more energetic level it allows your body and mind to interact and react to the plant's essences. To me, the fragrant essence of plants have magical powers, if magic is the power of change. The magician is the person who wields it, in this case the aromatherapist.. 

To better understand how to harness the powerful aromas of plants let me introduce you to the Fool's Journey, a term you may have come across to explain the general narrative arc in the Major Arcana Tarot. It might seem like a leap, but stay with me. Storytelling is useful when working with aroma. At least I have found it to be.The first card in the Smith-Waite tarot deck is the Fool. The Fool is depicted as a young man about to embark on a journey. The journey the Fool takes is depicted in the tarot cards that represent universal archetypes and moments within our lives. It is a journey and a cycle that mimics all the tribulations, joys and lessons that we experience as humans. It mirrors the archetypal stories we see in fairy tales, and indeed in all variety of narrative forms, from films to novels. The unexpected changes that happen to a protagonist along the way--or to us--are actually quite predictable.  Like when a hero is sent on a quest, we face inevitable obstacles in life. They lead us off course and offer us a chance to learn, grow, gain wisdom and transform. We are also changed by the people we meet along the road: parents, lovers, oppressors, wise people such as the hermit depicted in the tarot deck, or in my mind, the witch figure, like Baba Yaga, who we meet in the forest. 

I use Aromatherapy as a tool to help guide people along their Fool's Journey. The process is a magical quest--the job of the aromatherapist? The witch wielding the spirits of the forest. The therapist, with a certain anonymity and objectivity, sees the person as they are, discovers where they have been and what steps they need to take to get to where they need to go. Aromatherapy is far more than beautiful smells if you focus your intention and let the fragrance in, though that is an enjoyable aspect of this strange art. 

Aromatherapy Magic is indeed a beguiling art form; it helps your mind find a path and walk along it, with the helping aid of  plant extracts, ritualistic exercises, and spellwork. Every plant essence has a quality and energy within its cells—each has its own magic, or plant spirit. Finding what plant fragrance will give your mind what it needs is the magician’s task. It is the work of the protagonist to find the courage to set out on this quest and transform. 

An Aromatherapist is not often the first person you would think to turn to find healing or personal development. There are so many therapies out there it can be hard to choose. But if you are willing to open up to its process and make time for what it asks, if you have an inclination to listen to the spirits of the earth and let them guide your way, it may just be the therapy for you. 

In the meanwhile, there are ways of being more receptive to the plant scents we encounter daily though seldom think about. You may pass a Mexican Orange Blossom on your daily walk. Inhale the aromatic spices that drift through residential areas at dinner time. Your bath bomb may be infused with neroli, patchouli or jasmine. Walking into a holy place, you may pick up frankincense and myrrh. What are these plants saying to us? Listen closely—alone or with a guide—and we might understand. 

A short exercise for thinking differently about plant aromas

Procure fresh rosemary, either from a garden or shop. Brew with freshly boiled water. After 5 minutes, sit down comfortably, relax your muscles,, hold the cup close to your face and inhale the scent of the freshly brewed tea. Continue to breathe deeply and close your eyes. Think about how it makes you feel. Locate yourself. You might imagine summer, and the heatwave warming up the rosemary bush and sending it into the wind. You may be in the garden on a warm day, or cycling down a country road, and you inhale the scent. You may be in the kitchen infusing rosemary with diced tomatoes and olive oil. The fragrance fills the air. After 2-5 minutes of deep breathing and inner journeying, write down your visions in a notebook under the sub-heading Rosemary. This may be a chain of words, a half-formed or fully formed sentence; it might be a recollection of a memory, or a story. Re-visit it after a month, and then in a year, and see whether you can return to this feeling and this place and reflect on what has changed.

We can explore scents alone to an extent, but as with most magical arts, it can be a deeper practice with experience and training, or when guided by a skilled practitioner. To delve deeper into the aromatherapy magic, book your aromatherapy package with Phoebe Howe now via our shop. Phoebe will concoct a potion for you and a series of exercises, designed with your individual needs in mind.