The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2017

Extracting the Energies of Herbs
Create and Craft Green Witch Magic
Walking the Green Path

Herbs and plant matter are most commonly prepared for use in an infusion, which you may better know as tea. Teas aren’t used only for consumption, of course, which is why books on magical and spiritual applications use the word “infusion.” In this book, if I use the word “tea” I’m referring to something you’ll drink; if I use the word “infusion” I’m talking about a liquid that you’ll use in some other application.

The basic preparation is known as a “simple,” which is a single-herb preparation. This is the best and easiest way to access the energy of an individual plant and the safest way to test new herbs for their effects. The following four methods explain how to extract and preserve the energies and benefits of various herbs:

1. Infusion is the process by which leaves and/or flowers are steeped for a period of time in water of a particular temperature. As the water cools, the herbal matter steeps. This is a gentle technique that allows the water to extract the benefits and energies from fragile herbal matter. An infusion creates the weakest extraction.

2. Decoction is the process by which denser herbal matter is boiled in water for a specific period of time. This technique is used for roots and twigs and bark. A decoction creates a slightly stronger extraction.

3. Enfleurage is the method by which oils and energies are extracted from herbal matter by soaking the herb in an oil or a fat, either heated or at room temperature. The result is an essential oil if the liquid is at room temperature, and a pomade if the result is a solid. Your oil will vary in strength depending on how long you saturate your herbal matter and how frequently you change the depleted herbal matter for fresh. Without professional equipment, it is difficult to make a perfume-grade essential oil with a strong scent at home. While scent is an important aesthetic element, its strength does not necessarily correspond to how much energy is held in the essential oil. A magical oil may not, therefore, have a strong scent. Essential oils are used externally. (To avoid serious illness or accidental poisoning, never use a homemade essential oil internally; only use medicinal-grade essential oils from a reputable company.)

4. Maceration is the process by which herbal matter is steeped in a solvent such as vinegar, alcohol, or glycerin. The result is called a tincture. Tinctures are commonly used for medicinal purposes, usually by adding a few drops to a glass of water or spoonful of honey and consuming it. Tinctures can also be used magically. A tincture will last for many more years than the dried herb. A dried herb loses its flavor and magical potency after one to three years, whereas the tincture preserves the herbal extract.

OTHER HERBAL PREPARATIONS

In both medicine and magic, there are a variety of ways to apply herbal energies. The four methods previously described result in liquids of varying viscosity. To deliver those liquids in methods other than pouring or drinking them, they can be combined with another base to offer a more flexible application. The results of mixing these liquids with another base include the following possibilities:

✵ Salves are created by melting beeswax and adding a liquid extract (usually an oil) to it, then allowing it to cool. Infusions and decoctions are almost useless in preparing a salve because they aren’t strong enough to carry the required energy or extract. Salves are rubbed into the body or an object.

✵ Liniments are liquids that are usually alcohol based. A liniment is designed to be rubbed briskly on the body.

✵ Soaps take your liquid extracts and combine them with a base of fats designed to raise dirt from a surface, enabling it to be washed away. Magical soaps are particularly interesting because they also pull negative or undesirable energy from an object and allow it to be washed away. A magical soap removes undesirable energies and leaves desired energies.