The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2017
Build Garden Stepping Stones
Create and Craft Green Witch Magic
Walking the Green Path
This magical craft incorporates herbs, gems or crystals, and any other natural element you wish to include.
Following are two different kinds of stepping stones. The first calls for you to mix and pour your own concrete; the second uses a premade concrete or stone slab purchased from a garden center. Each method produces a different magical stepping stone, but with imagination you can substitute one set of magical supplies for the other, or come up with your own combinations for your own goals.
Once your stepping stone is decorated and varnished, keep it inside for another week to ensure that it has completely cured. During the pouring process and while the stone is drying, do not move the mold.
When you place your stepping stone outside, consider carefully the area best suited for it. While these are commonly called “stepping stones,” they are often very unsuitable for being actually walked on because of the raised decorations set into them and the detail you may put into embellishing them. Placing them in a garden near a patio or walkway where they can be seen but not disturbed is often the best choice.
Although these stepping stones are theoretically weatherproof, to avoid crumbling or breakage you may wish to bring them inside for storage if you live in a climate with a severe winter. Inspect your stepping stone every couple of weeks or so to see how it’s holding up to the elements. If you use too much water in your concrete mix, the stepping stone may slowly crumble away. If that happens, make a note in your green witch journal to use less water next time, and declare this stepping stone to be a time-release spell. When it has degraded beyond recognition, or to a point where you no longer wish to display it, then remove it with respect, thank it for its work, and dispose of it in the trash. Do not bury it, as not all the supplies you may use will be biodegradable.
PROTECTIVE STEPPING STONE
Place this stone in your garden or by your front door to extend its protective energy to the area. This magical craft is best done outside, and it’s best to wear an apron over your work clothes. While it will only take approximately two hours to make the basic stone, it will take at least three days for it to dry.
✵ Newspaper
✵ Rubber gloves
✵ 1 (1-foot × 1-foot) piece of screening
✵ Aluminum foil pie plate (at least 2 inches deep)
✵ 1 tablespoon each of three protective herbs (your choice; try angelica, rosemary, and cloves)
✵ Paint stirrer
✵ Small bag of concrete mix (quick-setting, or a special stepping-stone blend)
✵ Bucket
✵ Water
✵ Measuring cup
✵ Old serving spoon (optional)
✵ 4 obsidian stones in the shape of arrowheads
✵ Twig or Popsicle stick (optional)
✵ Acrylic paints and brushes (optional)
✵ Clear varnish (a spray varnish is easiest) (optional)
1. Spread the newspaper over your work surface to protect it.
2. Put on the rubber gloves and cut the screening to fit inside your pie plate. The screening will serve to reinforce your stepping stone once the stone is dry.
3. Blend the herbs together and set them aside.
4. Use the paint stirrer to mix the concrete powder with the water in the bucket. A proportion of five parts concrete to one part water generally works well, but read the directions on your bag. Add more powder to thicken it, more water to thin it. The mixture should be thick and wet, but not splashy—more like drop-cookie dough than cake batter. Do not make up the entire bag. Use only as much as you think you’ll need to fill the pie plate (with a bit extra just to make sure).
5. Pour or spoon the concrete into the aluminum pie plate (the mold), filling it approximately half-full. Tap the mold to release any air bubbles, and use the stirrer to smooth the concrete out.
6. Lay the screening on top of the concrete in the mold. Pour more concrete on top of the screening, filling the mold approximately 2/3 full. Tap the mold again to release any air bubbles.
7. Sprinkle the herbs on top of the concrete, visualizing their protective energy spreading through the concrete.
8. Pour more concrete on top of the herbs, filling the mold completely. Tap the mold a third magical time to release any air bubbles.
9. Leave the mold to rest for approximately thirty minutes to one hour (check the instructions on your bag of concrete mix). This will allow it to set slightly and give you a firmer surface into which to press the stones.
10. Place the four obsidian stones in a starburst shape in the middle of the stone, with the flat ends forming a square in the center and the points facing the edge of the circle. Firmly press them into the surface of the concrete. As you do, visualize the arrows repelling any negativity that approaches the stone.
11. If you desire, use a twig or a Popsicle stick to draw symbols or write words on the surface of the stone.
12. Now set the stepping stone aside in a safe place to cure for at least two days, preferably three. Again, verify the instructions on your bag of concrete. You may want to leave it longer to be on the safe side so your stone won’t crumble if you take it out of the mold before it has completely dried.
13. Pop the stone out of the mold by turning it over and placing it on the newspaper-protected surface. Gently loosen the sides and peel the aluminum pie plate away from the stone. Turn the stone over so that the obsidian starburst is on top.
14. If you choose, you may paint the stone. Once the paints have dried, coat all sides of the stone with a clear varnish to protect the surface.
HAPPINESS STEPPING STONE
This stone attracts joy and laughter. Place it by your front door to invite this energy into your home. With this project, it is best to use a small precast stone as a base because you’ll be covering the entire surface with your chosen gems and crystals. This technique uses mortar and grout to affix the decorations to the precast stone.
✵ Blank paper larger than the precast stepping stone
✵ Pencil
✵ Plain precast concrete garden stepping stone
✵ A selection of tumbled gems and stones such as citrine, tiger’s eye, moonstone, sodalite, or rose quartz
✵ Heavy rubber gloves
✵ Bucket or clean plastic ice-cream container
✵ Thin-set mortar
✵ Paint stirrer
✵ Water
✵ Mortar trowel
✵ Tile grout
✵ Old rubber spatula
✵ Sponge
✵ Soft cloth
1. Trace the stepping stone on the blank paper, then set the stepping stone aside. On the paper, arrange the gems and stones in a pleasing pattern inside the outline of the stepping stone. Use enough stones to fill the outline almost completely, but the gems should not quite touch each other. Set the paper and stones carefully aside.
2. Rinse the blank stepping stone in water to remove any dirt. Washing it under the garden hose will work well.
3. Put on the rubber gloves. In the bucket, mix the thin-set mortar according to the package directions. Do not mix up the entire package. Blend only as much as you think you’ll need for this project, with a little bit left over just to be sure. You’ll need to cover the surface of your precast stone to a depth of approximately 1/2 inch.
4. Using the trowel, spread a 1/4-1/2-inch layer of mortar over the damp surface of the stepping stone. The depth will depend on the size of your gems. The larger the gemstones, the deeper the mortar must be to hold them securely.
5. Preserving your pattern, carefully transfer the stones from the paper to the mortared surface of the stone, pressing them into the mortar so that they lie relatively evenly. Make sure that you leave a bit of space between gems for the grout.
6. Set the stone in a safe place to cure for at least 12 hours. Wash out the bucket you used for the mortar.
7. Put on the rubber gloves again. In the clean bucket, mix the grout according to the package directions. Again, do not mix the entire package. Mix only enough to cover the stone to a depth of approximately 1/2 inch, plus a little extra to be sure.
8. Scoop the grout onto the surface of the gems and smooth it out with the spatula. Make sure you work the grout in carefully between the gems. Spread grout on the sides of the stone as well. When you are finished, use the spatula to smooth the top of the stone to remove any excess grout.
9. Using a damp sponge, gently wipe any remaining grout off the top of the stone and the gems. Wipe from the middle out and across to be sure that all the grout is smoothed down between the gems as well as washed off the tops of them. Rinse the sponge frequently to keep it clean and damp. Be careful not to wash or scrub away the grout between the gems.
10. Leave the stone to dry for approximately 24 hours. Polish it with a soft cloth.