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essential oils, hekate, herbalism, herbs, lavender, magical first aid, magical herbs, mint, pagan, Pagan Blog Project, paganism, practical magic, rosemary, spirituality, teatree, tools, witch, witchcraft
Sorry I’m a day late on this one, guys.
I started a new job this week at a daycare (finally putting my diploma to good use), and so things have been rather charged here at home!
This week for the Pagan Blog Project 2012, the theme is ‘E’ again. As soon as I signed on for this, I knew one of my ‘E’ posts was going to be essential oils! I’m really pleased though, because not so long ago I got really inspired by a picture on my Tumblr to make a small carrying case for some of my oils, and I finally got the base of it made this week!
Originally I had planned to make it out of an old Altoids tin (that still may happen), but while visiting the Dollarama I came across a small change purse that may also work, and picked up a cigarette case that I would try out for this idea.
The great thing about the cigarette case is that it has elastic bands to hold things in place already, though I only have enough depth to put oils on one side. The Altoids tin will have enough depth for both sides to hold oils, but I will have to jimmy-rig something to hold them in place.
This is all part of my plan to start making spiritual practice part of my daily life; my daily devotions aren’t going as well as planned, but they are going far better than they usually would. I am still planning out a set of prayer beads for myself, and now this Practical Magic/First Aid Kit that I can carry around at all times!
Here are the things contained within my kit:
- Salt; it’s a magical basic. I can use it during any impromptu spell work, or if I feel I need a quick cleansing.
- Stones; in the one vial I have mostly Fluorite to enhance the effects of the other stones, but also of my oils. Also in that vial I have a few shards of amethyst, and a shard of tourmaline to help with my mental/psychic awareness and to ground me, respectively.
- Needle & Thread; in one vial I have several safety pins, a few sewing pins, and a couple of sewing needles. Also, some black and white thread. This is both for practical and for magical use.
- Teatree essential oil; You know in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the father wants to put Windex on everything? Well, that is me with teatree! Cuts, scrapes, pimples, rashes, in the laundry, in the shower, in my hair, on my feet, in the air, EVERYWHERE! It’s a natural disinfectant and helps with my oily skin so I use to it get rid of pimples, but I use it on any minor cuts or scrapes I get while working, too. Its inclusion in this kit is mostly practical.
- Rosemary essential oil; this oil is a natural disinfectant as well (to a point), but I keep it in my kit for magical reasons as well. Rosemary oil is the cure-all of the magical herb world; it’s good for blessings, love, purification, exorcism, money, luck, you name it! I’ve read before that you can use it to replace any other herb or oil, the way you can use white to replace any colour. I also find it good for times when I start to feel bogged down with negativity; it inspires clear thoughts and pushes me ahead.
- Lavender essential oil; Lavender is a close second to teatree in that I put it on practically everything as well. It’s not as antiseptic as teatree, I believe, but it helps to dull pain and soothes sensitive skin. I use lavender on bug bites and irritations, but also for its calming and soothing attributes for the mind and spirit. It is another useful herb, magically. It helps with love, purification, and can be used with spirit work.
- Mint essential oil; Mint is great to energize and clarify the mind, like rosemary (try mixing the two! It smells amazing and will work wonders!), but it has the added benefit of the physical coolness it creates. I use Mint on achy feet, or put a drop on my forehead and neck (I don’t have sensitive skin; be careful if you plan to try this technique) when I feel a headache coming on. It can also be used in banishing.
Also in the kit are some bandaids, and Q-tips for application of the oils (that way I won’t contaminate them).
Soon, the blank side of the kit will contain an image, or maybe a compact mirror for practical or magical use! If I go for an image, I’d like it to be related to Hekate as I pray to her as Queen of the Witches and Cunningfolk, so herbalism is one of the ways I worship her. Do you guys have any ideas?
A Changing Altar 
I’ve been thinking about doing this myself and it’s fascinating to see someone else’s choices. I love the cigarette case with the band.
My planning was more for health than magical purposes and I’ll just quick mention two things that I consider essential for trauma: Rescue Remedy and Cayenne. Cayenne can be sprinkled on bad cuts to stop bleeding and taken on the tongue to slow down internal bleeding (it’s not nearly as bad as I expected to take by mouth). It lowers blood pressure and can help during heart attacks and strokes. You’re young so I expect the use for external bleeding would be most helpful.
Cayenne, eh? That sounds really interesting. I’ll have to look into it further, maybe for when I get my bigger kit!
And as for Rescue Remedy, well, I know people swear by it, but homeopathy and flower waters seem a bit…hmm, how shall I say this? Spurious? I have never tried them though, so I can’t say one way or the other! I’ll give it a go some time soon.
Thanks for the help!
What wonderful ideas! I love the way you’re blending the various aspects of your life. Your choice of essential oils is really interesting and practical! The cigarette case is shear genius! Would it be counter-productive to include bits of mirror into the pic you paste to the inside lid of the case?
Not counter productive at all, but a bit more complicated to be sure 😉
It’s not a bad idea though; i’ll keep it in mind once I get the right image to put in!
Use modge podge to attach the pictures, but hot glue for the mirrors! I found out the hard way that mirrors should be attached extra good! I also suggest a little bit of fabric around the mirrors especially if they are sharp. I have given more blood on glass projects than I care to admit!
Haha, I will learn from your mistakes!
Thanks for the tips!
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