Today was a day of making healing balms and magical salves. Even after ordering all those herbs and wildcrafting in summer and fall, I still had to go into the woods to gather some Oregon Grape roots to substitute for Balm of Gilead, which is out of season until May, and also some Juniper tips as I had run out of Juniper oil for my Pain Balm recipe. There they are above freshly harvested (yes I ritually harvest even for medicinal plants) and washed and in the picture below both plants have been processed by hand.
I only started the process of the healing balms today as it will take a week to make them. I stuffed the herbs for each recipe in recycled glass jars and then filled them up with olive and almond oils. I made five different varieties instead of my usual trio; Wildcrafted Healing Balm (made with only native plants), Arthritis & Rheumatism Balm, Sore Muscle Balm, Hemorrhoid Balm (for pregnant ladies and uncomfortable men), and a gentle Eczema Balm to get rid of the rashes without using scary cortical steroids. They will be left in their jars on a window sill in sunlight and moonlight for a week, then I will heat them gently in the oven for a few hours, strain them, add beeswax and essential oils, and lastly pour the balms into their glass jars and make pretty labels.
What I did finish today was a Toadman’s Salve I’ve had absorbing the sun, moon, and stars for a couple weeks. What the heck is a Toadman’s Salve? Well, a toadman is a folk magician who draws their power from toads. Toads are usually their familiar and most often this person is also a hedgecrosser. Salves and ointments have been used by shamans and witches for goodness knows how long – some as offerings to the spirits & gods and others to travel to meet them. This salve I made is used for such persons to rub upon their brow, eyelids, neck, chest, hands or feet in order to shapeshift into a toad (no it won’t turn you or anyone who touches it into a toad -nice try), to walk between worlds, or to commune with or call a toad familiar.
This is essentially a flying ointment; dandelions, chamomile, toadflax, and toadstools all have a long association with toads in magic and folklore. I also added some calamus root as an aid for flying as it is a marsh-loving reed and has been used in ancient flying ointment recipes from the Bible and classical Greek sources. The toadstools are fly agaric skin and a wild native magic mushroom (I sooo can’t say that on Etsy, hmm secret ingredients?). To extend its shelf-life naturally and to make it smell good I added rosemary, cedar, and vetiver oils. Behold it’s golden awesomeness and the eerie blue light created from sunshine through the herbed oil:
Today I strained the oil three times: once through a wire mesh sieve and twice through a very fine sieve. Then added shaved beeswax and heated the jar to melt it. Once the beeswax was incorporated and I tested the consistency, I then poured the mixture into small jars and allowed them to set and solidify. Then I made labels using an old woodcut with toads – and there they are pictured below finished. I should have some for sale in the Botanica tomorrow.
I loved the first pic of the toadman oil with all the herbs and roots still sitting in it! It looks surreal and ethereal… would probably look great as a wallpaper when blown up! He-he!
Me too! I admit while the herbs were infusing I kept picking up the jar just to stare at it’s contents – like a witchy kaleidoscope!
That’s the perfect description!
I could just imagine always walking by it and noticing the colours out of the corner of your eye… then just having to pick it up! He-he!
Oh Snap! Guess who got the last one! ME!
I can’t wait. Seriously, I am so excited. I just sold some dragon’s blood ink, and that means I could buy some toad salve. Woot woot!
Say, would it be too much trouble to inquire about your sources and citations for this Blog, please?! Now, I have been researching the history of Witchcraft and Paganism for many, many years, and a lot of what was mentioned was new to me:
* Toadmen
* Hedgecrossers
* Dandelions, chamomile, toadflax assoc. with toads in magick/ folklore (okay, toadflax should be an obvious one to me, but it’s actually an herb that I’ve never heard of before!)
* Calamus-root having been employed in Flying Ointments in antique Greek sources as well as the Bible.
Did most of this come from Dr. Emma Wilby’s book? Sadly, I have not had the joy of reading it, yet… Heck, I likely would have bought it by now, but….I’m in the process of saving up for a Kitchen Aid stand-mixer!
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Hi Wade!
Look for Toadmen in British folklore (they can also be found in association with the Horseman’s Word) and hedgecrossers in Germanic folklore. One of my favourite books for classical Greek, Egyptian as well as Norse correspondences is Witchcraft Medicine – I can’t say enough good things about that book. It has some of the most amazing authentic recipes as well and gives the best historical investigation and definition of hedgecrosser I’ve ever seen. For the Calamus root my sources are the Bible (Old Testament) and recipes from old Folklore journals.
Emma Wilby’s book is amazing and I highly recommend it as well, but it is much more the work of a historian and folklorist than it is full of correspondences and instructions. She touches on hedgecrossing, but indirectly using the terms for the same person from the UK (mainly Scotland and England).