Nikki Van De Car - Wellness witch : healing potions, soothing spells, and empowering rituals for magical self-care

The simplest and, therefore, often the most powerful form of witchcraft is what we do ourselves, for ourselves. Todays wellness witch is part of a long and honored tradition of invoking the natural world, personal creativity, healing, and the power of the feminine. This kind of magic transmutes surviving into thriving and basic health into true wellness and personal power.

Becoming a wellness witch can begin with something as simple as intentionas, indeed, all magic does. When preparing a meal, direct your thoughts to the sustenance it brings with gratitude for the life you take from your food. Then, go a step further and season with herbs that enhance your intentionwhether for healing, prosperity, love, or psychic power. Remember always that your body is a temple, the vessel through which you live your life. Use your spirits connection with your physical self to enhance the whole through something as simple as a gentle balm or even a powerful essential oil potion. And make your home, your hearth, into a place that lifts you up, soothing and inspiring you.

The concoctions, teas, rituals, and spells in this book are merely a jumping-off point, a way for you to begin your wellness magic practice and then expand into creating and refining it for yourself. For instance, most potions here include instructions on methods of stirring, either clockwise or counterclockwise. The choice you make depends on the kind of potion youre producing. If its a healing potion, then you want to harness the power of the sun by following its path clockwise as your stir to invite that energy into your work. On the other hand, if youre expanding your awareness into the mysterious, the unknown, and the unseen, stirring counterclockwise or widdershins helps fulfill that intention.

Along those same lines, gathering fresh herbs by moonlight or sunlight, or charging dried herbs thereby, follows a similar pattern. Moonlight evokes femininity and mystery; it allows you to see into the depths of the soul. Sunlight, on the other hand, invites warmth and healing, and often a kind of childlike joy. But if you want to work your spell at a different time of the month or sunlight or moonlight isnt available to you for whatever reason, make your own adjustments based on what you will learn here and follow your own instincts. A candle, a lamp, a stone, or even a whispered spell can produce the same results as drawing on the power of the celestial bodiesas always, it is about intention.

The power, the magic, that comes from making something yourself, free of harmful chemicals and imbued with mystical essence, and the knowledge that you can create everything you need or want is undeniable. By calling on the traditions and expertise of women who have come before us and merging it with our own intuition and creativity, we can bring peace, power, and everyday magic into our lives. Wellness magic is not just something you do; its a way of life.

A wellness witch relies on her garden. She grows her herbs with care and intention, harvests them at the right time, and dries them in bundles that hang around her hearth and home.

That home, of course, will vary from witch to witch. We cant all live in a cottage in the woods. But a tiny studio apartment or even just the corner of a bedroom can be enchantingas can its garden. The size and location are meaningless, for its the intention of the gardener that matters.

In a plot of earth or a small window box, cultivate any combination of the following commonly used herbs:

BLUE VERVAIN: Vervain should be allowed to flower for a few days before it is collected. Both the leaves and the flowers should be harvested; trim the vervain as you would thyme, and pinch off the flowers to dry separately as you would with marigold or chamomile.

CHAMOMILE: The flower is the most beneficial part of this plant, and youll want to wait to harvest it until it is at its peakwhich tends to vary from blossom to blossom. When the sun is high in the sky in the late morning, go through your chamomile looking for a blossom that is just about to open. Pinch it off at the base and leave it to dry in a woven basket, adding more flowers to your collection throughout the summer. Be sure to allow a few blossoms to go to seed so that your chamomile will continue on next year.

LAVENDER: Allow your lavender to come into full bloom, then trim the stem three inches or so below the flowers, using scissors or a harvesting knife. Do this in the early morning, before the dew has dried. Gather the stems into a bundle and hang this upside down to dry.