Three NEW Teas!

 Three NEW Teas!

     Just in time for my blog post to go LIVE on Samhain Sirens today I'd like to introduce you to some NEW members of the Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends Family!

Peaceful Home Tea-tini

It's getting to be the steamy part of the year and when we're unwinding at night we could use something calming and refreshing.  This Lavender, Vanilla and Chamomile tea blends nicely with a quality vodka.

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/collections/frontpage/products/peaceful-home

Time: 3 minutes
Yield: 1 Cocktail
Ingredients:
2 oz quality vodka
1 1/2 oz sweetened Peaceful Home iced tea
Splash fresh lemon juice
Sprig Lemon Balm for garnish
Sugar for rimming

Preparation: Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar. Garnish with the lemon balm.

Holy (Spirit) Roller Cocktail

This blend of Ginger Oolong, Chamomile and Mint lightly dusted with lavender flowers will roll you over with serenity and calm.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:
2 oz Brewed Holy Spirit tea
1 oz Cognac
1/2 oz Simple syrup
3 Mint leaves
3 Thumbnail sized pieces of Ginger
Extra mint leaf for garnish

Preparation: In a mixing glass, place syrup, mint and ginger and muddle. Pour the Cognac and fresh tea over top and muddle a little more. Strain into an ice filled glass. Garnish with a mint leaf.

A Snake in the (Lemon) Grass

Van Van Tea's lemongrass, blood orange and ginger create a dark red tea that dances with citrus. Paired with a flavor profile of Glen Morangie,  orange and vanilla.  Bring that our with some delightful friends and you have a mildly citrus refreshment with character.

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Yield: 1 Cocktail

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/collections/frontpage/products/van-van-tea

Ingredients:
4 oz hot, fresh brewed Van Van tea
2 oz  Glen Morangie The Original Scotch whisky
1/2 oz Orange Blossom honey
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Angostura bitters
Juice of one lemon wedge
Orange slice for garnish

My-Tea New Moon (Non alcoholic Mocktail)

For a MIGHTY start to your New Moon cycle, try this non alcoholic beverage. 

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/products/my-tea-tea

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

Yield: 1 

Drink Ingredients: 

1 tbsp My-Tea spice tea (unbrewed)

2 cups apple cider

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Add Tea to Cider in sauce pan. Gently heat apple cider on medium heat. Add Agave to sweeten and lemon juice to taste. Enjoy! 

Florida Water Wheel Cocktail

Florida Water Wheel Cocktail

Let the smooth sultry blend of Blood Orange peel, warm cinnamon and spices and a hint of lavender warm and soothe this cocktail into your evening.  Amaretto adds just enough sweetness to your tea and reminds you of happy times and fresh breezes.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:
3/4 oz Grand Marnier orange liqueur
3/4 oz amaretto liqueur
Florida Water Blood Orange tea
Orange wheel for garnish

http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/collections/frontpage/products/florida-water-tea

Fiery Wall of Protection Chai Cocktail

Fiery Wall of Protection Chai Cocktail

This is a spicy, cozy cocktail that goes great in front of the fire pit in the back yard on a nice chilly spring night.

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:
2 ounces Baileys Original Irish Cream
3 ounces brewed Fiery Wall of Protection chai tea (if you haven't gotten yours yet you can find it here. http://blackthornhoodooblends.com/collections/frontpage/products/fiery-wall-of-protection
Raw brown sugar
Cinnamon stick (optional)

Preparation:
Brew 3 oz of Fiery Wall of Protection to desired strength. I'm using my favorite mug from Dancing Pig Pots. https://www.etsy.com/shop/dancingpigpots

Add 2 teaspoons of raw brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Fill a coffee mug with chai tea and Baileys Original Irish Cream. Stir with cinnamon stick.  Enjoy!

Sweet Rosemary Syrup -- Lattes and Steamers await!

      Recently a friend posted a photo of her homemade latte on FB. I don't even drink coffee and this concoction looked divine.  It was inspired by the utter delicious magic of Talula's Table, Rosemary Latte, in Kennett.  I'd always adored the flavor of Rosemary as a savory flavor, but had never thought of it as a sweet flavor.  The same friend had a recent dinner party.  I honestly can't remember if it was during an Ostara bonfire or just a nice dinner one weeknight.  Nonetheless, after dinner, coffee talk started.  "You have to try this," Laura said to the guests.  As I mentioned, I don't do coffee so I was just enjoying the chatter of the evening.  Laura had different plans.  Knowing how much I adore rosemary Laura suggested a rosemary steamer instead of a Latte.  I'm down!

     It was heaven in a mug.  Heaven.  I quickly asked Laura how she had made such amazing treats in her kitchen and I was hooked.  Laura had used rosemary teabags, but I didn't find them in the stores I looked, and frankly wasn't thrilled about rosemary I couldn't see or smell beforehand.  I just grabbed the herb pack seen above from my local produce section.

     I grabbed four healthy sized sprigs of rosemary and threw them in my tea infuser (below) and filled it with three cups of boiling water.  I let it sit over night to steep, though with rosemary being woody, I could have sped the process by boiling the rosemary with the water and making a decoction.

     Because I had left the infusion over night, I boiled 2 cups of infusion to bring it to a boil.  I added two cups of sugar to a pyrex bowl.  Once the rosemary infusion was boiling I added it to the sugar to stirring vigorously to make a syrup. I did have to add a teeny bit of infusion to bring it to an even 4 cups of syrup.  I then added a splash of homemade vanilla syrup because vanilla is awesome in just about everything.  

     Once I finished my syrup I couldn't wait to try it, so I heated a mug full of milk slowly on the stove, poured it into my mug and topped it with fresh Rosemary Vanilla Syrup.  Heavenly.  Now I can enjoy whenever I want.  My husband is thrilled because now I'm drinking milk. Everyone wins.

     My fabulous mug is a favorite from Dancing Pig Pottery that says, "Gruntled Minion".  Thanks to my friend Laura for the inspiration for this blog.

      

Updated Tea Flavors

Presented in a 6 fl oz tin.  Roughly 14 cups of tea depending on preparation strength.

-Van Van Tea: The most popular Hoodoo oil in a Tea form.  Lemongrass tea removes Obstacles with just a hint of cinnamon and caffeine. Defeat Mercury Retrograde! Purification.  Banishing.  Ritual Preparation. 

-Fiery Wall of Protection: Surround yourself with this caffeinated, protective fire. Reading the 23rd Psalm over your tea, optional.  This cinnamon and ginger blend helps fill in the gaps in your defenses.  

-Come to Me: This spicy milk and honey flavored tea is a love drawing blend to bring the right lover your way.  Just a hint of cinnamon flavor means it is good with or without sugar and the rooibos base means no caffeine. 

-Peaceful Home: This comforting, caffeine free blend of vanilla, lavender and peppermint will help you focus on the path you need to get your house in order.  Bring peace back into your home with this comforting blend.  It’s your favorite cardigan with a hint of lavender. 

-Helping Hand: Feeling hit from all sides?  Get a leg up with this caffeine free blend.  Energetically promote healing, calm and boost your luck too! Soft mint and vanilla lifts you over the hurdles life brings your way. 

-Meditation: This fulfilling, herbal blend of herbs will  get you to the right state of mind.  Calm a racing mind and unwind.

-The All Seeing Eye: Boost your intuition with nutty flavors of wisdom and higher self.  Caffeine free blend turns your third eye into a magnifying glass.

-Gossip Stop: Others using their words against you? This Lemony fresh blend includes slippery elm to let their words pass you by and Burdock will keep their mud from sticking to your good name. It’s caffeine free too!

-Crown of Success: You deserve Success!  All your hard work is paying off with this soft and spicy blend of citrus and delicate florals will have you in the right frame of mind to get out of your own way and a bit of caffeine to help you achieve your goals. (Color Purple and Gold)

-Adam and Eve: This sultry black tea blend is perfect for all matters of love, faithful partnership and attraction.  This mildly caffeinated blend has enough vibrancy to keep you and your special someone up until the job is done! 

-Florida Water Tea: This blend of Clove, Orange and a hint of lavender will leave you energetically cleansed, lightly caffeinated and ready to take on the world!  Great with or without sugar!

-Triple Fast Luck: This light mint and vanilla blend paves the way and cinnamon brings your good luck on in a hurry.  Lightly caffeinated and great for a gentle morning ritual, brings good luck all day.   

-Holy Spirit: A lightly floral and green tea base with a soft, soul quenching taste.  Cleanse your space and yourself with this blessing tea.

-My-Tea Tea:  This mighty blend boosts inner strength with an empowering (and caffeinated) blend of Chai, cinnamon, ginger and lemongrass.  Instead of leaping tall buildings with a single bound, you’ll be picking them up to walk under them.  


http://blackthornhoodooblends.com

Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends tea!

Hey!  For you Witches, Bitches, Root Doctors and Joes alike, I've launched a new line of Hoodoo Teas.  They're modeled after traditional recipes for oils like Vanvan, Triple Fast Luck, Helping and more!

 Hey, guess what!  My FUNDLY Guest Blog just went live, EARLY.  :)  Learn what made me decide to start making tea and more.

http://fundly.com/2014/03/guest-blog-tea-store/

Here are some sample teas to whet your appetite for tea!

Vanvan Tea he most popular Hoodoo oil in a Tea form. Removes Obstacles with just a hint of caffeine. Defeat Mercury Retrograde! Purification. Banishing. Ritual Preparation.

Come to Me Tea This spicy milk and honey flavored tea is a love drawing blend to bring the right lover your way. Just a hint of cinnamon flavor means it is good with or without sugar and the rooibos base means no caffeine.

Peaceful Home Tea This comforting, caffeine free blend of vanilla, lavender and peppermint will help you focus on the path you need to get your house in order. Bring peace back into your home with this comforting blend. It’s your favorite cardigan with a hint of lavender.

Helping Hand Tea Feeling hit from all sides? Get a leg up with this caffeine free blend. Energetically promote healing, calm and boost your luck too! Soft mint and vanilla lifts you over the hurdles life brings your way.

Triple Fast Luck Tea This light mint and vanilla blend paves the way and cinnamon brings your good luck on in a hurry. Lightly caffeinated and great for a gentle morning ritual, brings good luck all day.

‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens

‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens:

 the Realities of Feelings

Black Salt, Good for Banishing Spirits & Protecting a Home

 
     A friend and former coworker tagged me in a comment on Facebook sometime during the night. I rolled over and checked my email as I wake up, the way I do every morning. (Hey, some people drink coffee, I read my email to get my brain in gear.) He had encountered an animal on his way home from work late and it left him with a feeling of foreboding. The discussion progressed to supernatural reasons for seeing such a thing. Without something to add, I moved about my morning.

     Once I’m at my office and settled in, I pulled up Facebook. Right now, my job involves a lot of hurry up and wait. So they allow me to occupy my brain, as long as I make sure the customers are taken care of. So, back to Facebook, I’m looking through my feed when I see an update from the same friend.

     “So update to last night's story- I had a flat tire this morning and I'm just waiting for something bad to happen. Creepy, eh?”

     I told this friend I’d be writing a blog post about our interaction because this is something I’ve seen more than once and it’s something I wanted to discuss.

     Amy Blackthorn: Fuck that waiting around shit. Don't allow it into your space. Do something. Dump a McDonald’s packet of salt into a cup of water and anoint yourself. Say a prayer. Say, "Fuck off!" Light a birthday candle. Cast a circle. Cast a Square. Don't just sit and wait for bad shit to happen. Well protected is good. Just remember what they say in martial arts, "No matter how good you are, somewhere there's someone better." We have those senses for a reason. Any time I've had that sense and didn't do something about it,

BAD SHIT happened.

(Hello Tractor trailer, 27 broken bones, 72 pins and years in a wheelchair).

     I’m trying to figure out where we are in our personal evolutions. Go to a gathering of Pagans or Witchy folk and you’ll likely hear a mention at some point about feelings, ‘juju’, or the like. Most people are quick to jump in with their experience, but that’s usually where it ends. People want to talk and share their experiences and occasionally they’ll ask for opinions, personal revelations or simply validation of their feelings on the subject.

     I’ve noticed this outside of our little world in one place in particular, “Reality” ghost hunting television shows. People hear something go bump in the night, and the next thing you know, you’ve got a bunch of yahoos in fatigues running around your house with night vision cameras strapped to their heads. Viewers see people attempting to antagonize the dead, using dramatic pauses and fervent “Did you hear that?” questioning. One of the issues I have with shows of this ilk is If they find something they feel is compelling evidence, they show the owner of the property, and then pack up and go home. “Yup, it’s haunted. Bye!” Wait. What just happened?

     Why do we stop there? Why acknowledge the fact that you feel something bad is going to happen, only to sit around and wait for the other shoe to drop? Magic is supposed to be a last resort, after all of the ‘real world’ things have been ruled out. That doesn’t mean we have to sit idly by and wonder at our fate. If it really is fate, that the other shoe drops, it will. However, if taking a step out of the way saves your bacon, I’d take that step. Wouldn’t you?

     If we accept that we have developed these feelings for a purpose, then it stands to reason that we were meant to DO something with them. So do it. Rearrange the furniture so that energy doesn’t have a place to lie. Smudge the house. Open the windows and let the fresh air in. Get rid of your clutter. Just do Something.

Int'l Pagan Coming Out Day Part 2: A Price above Rubies

     I intended for this to go live last night.  Instead, I spent my evening counseling a student with a crisis, and then meeting a friend for dinner.  We were meeting discussing her non-profit women’s group she’s launching and wants help with. During part of my evening my Superego was screaming, “International Pagan Coming Out Day is rapidly coming to an end! Cut this short and go WRITE!” and sometime during my evening the Ego said, “Look. This is Important. Your history took almost 22 years to write. Don’t limit your experience to one day.” So here we are, part two.

     With my friends, I’ve been out of the broom closet since I talked to my parents in 1995. At one point, I’m sure people in space knew. Not because I introduced myself, “Hi, my name is Amy and I’m a WITCH!” As silly as it sounds, I’ve met those people too. It’s called immersion. You have a spiritual or identity change and you feel the need to spend more time with those people that identify similarly, because they understand. Most people deal with it for a little while and then happily, move on to a more subdued attitude.

      However, I was attending school in a county where a particularly violent hate group preached in broad daylight on the street corners on Sunday. Being out of the broom closet (OOTBC) was something that was a scary option at first. So, at school, other than some close friends, I was ITBC.

     Back in those days I wore a simple, beautiful crescent moon pendant with a tiny star (not pentacle) on the tip of the moon. One day a girl I believed was a buddy (not friend exactly) of mine asked whether my moon made me Muslim. I gave her a simple explanation about nature, staying away from buzz words like Witchcraft, Wicca, Witches or magic. It turns out this ‘friend’ was holding a grudge that her ex-boyfriend left her, and a month later asked me out and she spread my note (Yes, back in the stone ages before texting.) like wild fire. It came back to me scribbled with horrible things written in the handwriting of most of my grade. One of the ‘popular’ boys went so far as to corner me and threatened to kill me. The Witches Voice had recently featured a sad tale of a 14 year old girl who was beaten to death by members of her high school football team because her school mates found out she was a Witch.

      I brought it home that day, and went next door to my best friend’s house to cry. My 16 year old self was convinced that life was over. He came up with a most inventive and highly cathartic way of destroying the letter and the feelings that I had about those people. It was beautiful and empowering. (Just one of the many reasons my then best friend, is now my husband of 8 years as of May 1.) Even with dealing with feelings of betrayal, loss, and more, someone important in my life helped me see that, though it was an awful day, there can be beauty in all of life’s shitty days.

      It’s important to me to remember the hard days of being Pagan, because honestly, if it were easy, anyone would do it. I’ve had millions of moments of beauty that being Pagan and out of the Broom Closet has brought me. The cruddy moments I can count on one hand and still have fingers left over.

      During Blessed Be and Meet Me in DC in 2001, a particularly moving ritual by Elspeth and Nybor was interrupted by Rugby players from the next field over. The park police that we had informed of our event showed up and the 2 players and 1 coach were escorted from our Space and no harm came to our people. It gave the participants the organizers hope that we could be treated just like anyone else by authority figures.

     In late 2004 I created the Newark (DE) Pagan Meetup (which is still going strong, though I stepped down years ago, and is still being held by original members) and its ranks swelled to 200+. We had a setting on the website to prevent anyone under 18 from joining for liability reasons. If any of the moderators got emails from persons under 18, they were encouraged to discuss it with their parents and their parents could join, and attend meetings with their children for propriety and safety of the minor. A few years after the meetup was established one such request came through. The pre-arranged response was given. The next thing I know, my meetup linked email is filled with email. Screaming, hate filled threats dripped from my inbox. Threats to picket the business where the meetup was held were popular, but also included threats to burn down my house, kill my pets and my family.

     While the hullabaloo lasted a week or less, and never amounted to any actual harm, it was a stressful week. It never made me regret being a public face and doing public outreach for other Pagans. I was glad that I always used my Magickal last name, but it didn’t dissuade me, or make me crawl back into the broom closet or to stop meeting with those of a like mind.

      Just like anything else we do of import, it’s not always easy. It should be. It really should be. It should be easy to just be who you are, no matter your faith. To me, that feeling that my faith is something that has stayed with me almost 22 years, though ridicule, threats, and a near death experience is worth its emotional weight in rubies.

Dyeing with plants and flowers

So my current interest has turned towards natural dyes and plants used for dyeing.


With "the military look" being popular this fall, I thought I'd mention that Black Walnut hulls (the fleshy green part) make and excellent Natural "OD" Green dye.

It's simply the easiest thing!

1) Hit walnuts with hammer to break 'shell'. Place green hulls (the more hull, the richer the color of dye) into a pot (mark for DYE use only, as some plants used for dyeing are poisonous if ingested)

2) Fill with water and slowly heat water to 170 degrees over an hour or so. Make sure to slowly heat the water, as boiling can ruin the dye for fabrics, textiles and wool.

3.) Once it is up to temp, leave it to 'cook' over the next hour.



This is a range of colors that can be achieved with Walnut dye.



4.) Immerse textiles to be Dyed in cold water. Let them sit in water during your hour simmer.

5.) Once hour has passed remove textile from water bath, and introduce it to the dye pot. Leave for 3-4 minutes. Check the depth of color, and feel free to place back into dye bath if the color isn't as dark as you'd like it to be.



There is a wide variety of color to be had with natural colorants like flowers, grasses and nuts, so you can bet I'll be planning next year's garden around flowers I can dye with!



This silk scarf was dyed with Japanese Indigo. This annual self seeds here in zone 7 and will supply you with three batches of Indigo dye a season!


Indigo Dye pot getting ready for dyeing!

Suggested reading:
A Dyer's Garden: From Plant to Pot: Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers by Rita Buchanan

A Weaver's Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers by Rita Buchanan

Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing (Formerly Titled: Natural Dyes in the United States) by Rita J. Adrosko

The Craft of Natural Dyeing: Glowing Colours from the Plant World by Jenny Dean

The Chemistry of Natural Dyes (Palette of Color Series) by Dianne N. Epp and Mickey Sarquis

At home Cosmetic toners

While we're all eagerly awaiting the time where we (each in our zones) can start planting our gardens for the summer, I thought I'd discuss something we can all get behind. "Free" cosmetics!



Now this is not "makeup" so I'm hoping you guys are still here. These low cost toners can do a lot for your face. Wipe your face with these toners after washing your face and it'll make your face a lot happier.

Summer will be here before you know it and Male or Female, we all sweat. This means we all need face cleansing and we all can develop blemishes at any age. Apply these to cotton rounds and wipe your face after washing and it'll make your face a lot happier.

Since these need to steep for a few weeks, if you start them now, they'll be ready in time to face the sticky heat of the summer! Since there is no alcohol in them they won't dry your skin, but they're still astringent.

You've got to start with quality ingredients since you will be "ingesting" this, via your skin. And since this is the main ingredient, your cost will be LOW for the final product. Start with a good quality apple cider vinegar.

You'll need two cups of herbs if you're using fresh, and one if you're using dried.

Steep the blend of herbs in four cups of apple cider vinegar for 4 weeks. Shake daily for the first week. Store in a cool, dark place. Then you can strain and bottle. (If you can find dark glass bottles, all the better.)

Once you've strained the material out, blend 1/2 cup herbal vinegar to 3 cups water. Keep the remaining herbal vinegar in it's labeled and dated "undiluted" bottle so that you can make more toner when the current batch is gone. You can put it into a spray bottle. (wallyworld carries small 1 oz spray bottles for about .49)




*You can keep a small bottle of the mint toner in the fridge for those hot summer days when you need a cool down. (After mowing the lawn for instance.)

*You can rinse your hair after shampoo with the undiluted mint vinegar to stop itchy scalp and remove shampoo residue.

For this blend you can use your own blend of peppermint (anti itch, cooling, and good for getting rid of pimples), Rosemary (toning and removes dryness) Sage (will kill the bacteria that cause blemishes). I suggest you start with one part of each herb, and blend to your liking until you have the amount you need.



Lavender makes a lovely toner. (You can use flowers or leaves). Lavender can relieve the pain of cystic pimples, and enhances circulation. According to OrganicFacts dot net, lavender, "It is used to treat various skin disorders such as acne, wrinkles, psoriasis, and other inflammation. It heals wounds, cuts, burns, and sunburns rapidly as it aids in the formation of scar tissues. Lavender oil is added to chamomile to treat eczema."

You can add Thyme to any of theses mixes because it's great for your skin and even removes blemishes, scars and other spots according to organicfacts.net.



If you have a lot of redness in your complexion you can make a Rose vinegar. Make sure you're using roses that aren't treated with harsh chemicals. Roses are susceptible to many pests and diseases, so the ones you buy from a florist or grocery store aren't the ones for you! You can also add rose hips. Rose will take the redness out of your skin. It's also an antidepressant, antispasmodic, and will also help fade the scars from acne and other causes (including stretch marks!)

Dried orange peel also makes a handy vinegar because of it's sedative properties. Unlike it's Lemony 'cousin', the orange can help calm you after a bad day, especially a long, hot one! It's also a lot better for you than the prescription variety, that can cause damage to heart and other internal organs.

You can mix any of these diluted vinegar waters with 2 tablespoons of fine clay (available from your local natural food store) for a nice refreshing mask!

If you suffer from migraines, try a mint / lavender vinegar blend to use when your headache starts!

Feast of Diana

Feast of Diana

With the recent passing of the Feast of Diana, I thought I’d like to look more at the family of plants named for her Greek counterpart, Artemis. Artemisia can be found from the kitchen cabinet, to the Herbalist, New Age stores and even your local bar.

One of the more notable plants, Artemisia absinthium is found flavoring Vermouth and is the most infamous ingredient in Absinthe. Many people then “demonize” wormwood and many Artemisias because of the notoriety of Absinthe and it’s hallucinogenic reputation. A. absinthium though, isn’t the only ingredient that has an effect in this particular brew. Many traditional recipes call for Anise as a flavoring aid. Anise also acts as a relaxant. This species of wormwood has also been known to induce “sensual feelings” according to the Book of Aphrodisiacs (Pg 104, Dr. Raymond Stark, 1980).

Artemisias of all species have been associated with sex, childbirth, reproductive issues and cleansing for as long as people have been documenting them.

Medicinals

• Artemisia keiskiana is associated with correcting sexual issues in men and women, potency issues in men and amenorrhea in women.(pg 11)

• A. abrotanum (Southern Wood) is said to be a mild aphrodisiac, emmenagouge (to induce menses), as well as to strengthen digestion (pg 89).

• A.vulgaris (Mugwort meaning “fly plant” because it repels bugs) has been suggested as another emmenagogue, but also as a herb to induce psychic dreams and visions. (pg 147) It’ s also said that if you hang a branch in the home it will protect the home from lightning, thieves, and evil. Carried in your shoe it is said to prevent fatigue and protect you in your travels.

• A. tridentata (Sage Brush, not to be confused with "White Sage") was used by Native tribes, both as a poultice to induce menses and burned after childbirth to cleanse the birthing area. Sage Brush was made into a “tea” to cure headaches, sore throats nausea, stomach aches, and to cleanse and heal external wounds.

• Artemisia dracunculus (Tarragon) is likely to be found in your kitchen or local produce section. It’s a mild sedative, good anti-bacterial wash for cuts and shallow scrapes as well as a good helper for Stomach ache, toothache (it numbs the tooth / mouth) and kills intestinal worms.

Decorative:
The shiny silvery leaves of these species can even show up as decorative borders in landscaping. Dusty Miller, Silver Queen, Desert Sage or Sage Brush and Powys Castle are all great in the decorative garden.

Maybe next year you all can join me in a toast to Artemis. Whether you
toast with Absinthe or your own herbal tea, we can all agree that these herbs dedicated to the Goddess of women, forests, hunting and the moon can add a lot to your garden, and your lives.