Hearth Witch Herbal Recipes

© Anna Franklin 2005

Herb Pillow

Oblong of cotton fabric

1 oz dried red rose petals

2 oz dried mint leaves

3 tsp powdered cloves

Sew the herbs into the cotton cloth to make a small pillow or bag. Use at the side of your regular pillow to promote restful sleep and a clear head. Use chamomile and lavender if you are having trouble sleeping.

Clove Oil Rub

This may be used for bronchial infections, colds, headache and backache

1 oz ground cloves

2 oz ground ginger

4 oz dried thyme

2 oz dried sage

2 oz dried rosemary

4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 pint vegetable oil

Put half of the herbs and spices into the oil in a jar with a tight lid. Put the container into a pan, fill with water up to 1 inch from the top of the pan and simmer for two hours. Cool. Strain the mixture through muslin. Discard the used herbs. Place the fresh ones in the jar and add the oil again. Simmer in the water bath for another 2 hours. Keep an eye on it as burnt oil is useless. Cool and strain. The mixture will keep for 1 year, or longer if you add wheatgerm oil at 5-10%. Pour into a clean bottle, label, and store in a cool, dark place.

Coltsfoot Tobacco

Coltsfoot leaves dried

1 part rum

3 parts water

1 part honey

Mix the rum, honey and water. Strip the mid ribs from the coltsfoot and pack the leaves into a container, sprinkling a little of the mixture between each layer. Press down tightly and put a weight on top. Leave for two days, then take out the block and shred it.

Dreambringer Smoke

1/8 part cinnamon

3 parts damiana

1 part crushed juniper berries

3 parts passion flower

3 parts wild lettuce

4 parts coltsfoot

2 parts catnip

Meditation Smoke

1/8 part cinnamon

3 parts damiana

1 part juniper berries, crushed

1 part rose petals

3 parts coltsfoot

3 parts catnip

Comfrey & Calendula Healing Salve

1 tbsp beeswax

1 tbsp lanolin

1 tbsp cocoa butter

1 ½ tbsp infused calendula oil

1 tsp glycerine

¼ tsp borax

2 tbsp comfrey infusion

6 drops pettigrain essential oil

Melt the beeswax. In a separate container melt the lanolin and butter and then stir into the beeswax. Warm the calendula oil and glycerine and then stir into the wax mixture. Dissolve the borax in warm comfrey infusion and add to the mixture. Stir well. When cool and thick add the essential oil and spoon into jars.

Daisy Salve

8 oz daisy flowers and leaves

8 oz petroleum jelly

½ oz beeswax

Melt the petroleum jelly and beeswax in a bowl over boiling water. Add the flowers and leaves. Simmer for two hours, and then strain into a pot.

Elderflower Salve

½ lb petroleum jelly

4 pints elderflowers (remove the stems)

Melt the petroleum jelly in a pan, add the flowers, and simmer 30 minutes. While still hot, strain through cheesecloth into small jars. This will sooth bites, sore and chapped skin and chilblains.

Wormwood Salve

1 lb petroleum jelly

1 oz wormwood

1 oz elderflowers

1 oz rosemary

In a double boiler, melt the petroleum jelly and add the herbs. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the jelly has taken on the scent of the herbs. Strain and bottle. This is good for rheumatism and lumbago. Do not use for extended periods.

Marigold Salve

½ lb fresh flowers

½ pint olive oil

2 oz beeswax

Warm the oil (do not boil) and add the petals, trying to avoid the green parts.  Simmer very gently for 30 minutes and strain out the flowers. Add the wax and melt in. Remove from the heat and stir continually while it cools. Spoon into clean jars and label. This is good for burns and as an antiseptic cream.

Elderflower Water

1 pint of petals (removed from the green stems)

2 pints hot water

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp glycerine

2 tbsp witch hazel

Steep for 2 hours and keep refrigerated. This is a good lotion for the skin. Omit the glycerine and witch hazel and use for bathing sore eyes.

Honey and Lemon Cough Syrup

2 lemons

¼ pint runny honey

2 fl oz glycerine

Juice the lemons and strain it through muslin to get a clear liquid. Add the honey and glycerine and mix together well. Bottle and refrigerate.

Cough Sweets

2 tbsp rosewater

2 tsp gum Arabic 

Caster sugar

Cinnamon powder

Warm the rosewater and dissolve the gum Arabic in it. Mix together equal amounts of  cinnamon and sugar, and work this into the gum paste, keep adding some until it becomes quite solid. You can shape this into little pastilles.

Queen Elizabeth’s Electuary

1 pint honey

Bunch of hyssop, bruised

¼ oz liquorice root

¼ oz aniseed

1/8 oz elecampane root

1/8 oz angelica root

Pinch pepper

¼ oz fresh ginger root

Boil the honey and skim off the scum. Add the hyssop and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Strain off the honey and add the other ingredients. Simmer 10 minutes, then strain off and bottle. This is good for coughs, colds and indigestion.

Nettle Syrup

1 lb young nettle tops

2 pints water

Sugar

Boil for 1 ½ hours, then strain the liquid into a clean pan and add 1 lb sugar for every pint of water. Boil for 30 minutes and bottle in sterilised bottles. Keep refrigerated. The syrup is good for rheumatism.

Ginger Syrup

4 oz fresh ginger root

2 pints water

Rind of 1 lemon

Place everything in a pan and bring to the boil, and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain and to every pint of liquid add 1 lb sugar and the juice of 1 lemon. Put in a clean pan and boil 10 minutes. Cool and bottle. For coughs and colds, take 1 tablespoon in hot water.

Rose Petal Vinegar

Rose petals (red or pink)

White vinegar

Fill a glass jar with the rose petals. Cover with the vinegar and leave on a sunny windowsill for 2 weeks until the vinegar has turned a good red. Strain into a clean dark bottle and seal. When you have a headache, pour some of the vinegar into a bowl and soak a clean flannel in it, wring out and apply to the forehead. Repeat as necessary. (You can also chill the bowl of vinegar in the fridge which will help if your headaches are relieved by cold.)

Elderberry Rob

2 ½ lb elderberries

½  lb sugar

Simmer together in a saucepan until it thickens to the consistency of runny honey. Strain and bottle. Take a couple of tablespoons in warm water for colds, fevers and coughs. If you like, you can add a little whisky.

Garlic Salve

Take a jar of petroleum jelly and add a chopped clove of garlic. Place in the airing cupboard for 10 days. Remove and massage into the back and chest for bronchitis and chest complaints.

Horehound Cough Sweets

2 pints boiling water

1 oz dried horehound (Marrubium vulgare)

Demerara sugar

Cream of tartar

Pour the boiling water over the herb. Cover and infuse 30 minutes. Strain through muslin and squeeze out all the juice. For every two cups of infusion you have, add two cups of brown sugar and 1 tsp cream of tartar. When the sugar has melted, bring to the boil and continue boiling until setting point is reached (drop a little of the mixture into cold water and see if it hardens). Pour into a buttered swiss roll tin. When slightly cool mark into squares and allow to set.

Oatmeal Bath Bag

Tie up some coarse oatmeal in a muslin bag, and tie it beneath the hot tap when running a bath. You can also use the bag in place of soap. This will benefit eczema.

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