New Listings on Etsy

I have recently added a few new items onto the Unfettered Wood Etsy shop:

 

Homesteader's Blend Wortcunning Plant Offering Powder

 

A nourishing offering powder for veggies and other edibles in your garden or on your farm.

 

 

 

Necromancer's/Ancestors' Witch Ball

 

A painted glass ball charm with various herbs and dirt inside of it that are associated with working with the deceased and protection. Made for those who practice necromancy or ancestor reverence.

 

 

Happy Home Beeswax Herbal Hearth Charm

 

Made with local beeswax and herbs to promote happiness, protection, abundance, love and harmony in the home.

 

 

Love of Ancestors Beeswax Herbal Charm

 

Another charm made with local beeswax, along with some of my Ancestral Graveyard Dirt and herbs to encourage connections with ancestors or as a memento of love to remember those who have come before us.

 



2012 Seeds Now in the Etsy Store

This is just a wee update to let folks know that I have put seeds up in the Etsy shop, including Purple Foxgloves, Great Mullein, Datura, Opium Poppies, Mixed Sunflowers, Common Milkweed, Wild Tobacco, and Orca Bush Beans.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Mullein Candles & Torches

After collecting the seeds and leaves from my mullein plant I cut down the stalk as part of my on-going garden clean up, and instead of just tossing it onto my compost heap I decided to have a go at making mullein candles/torches. It's been a couple of decades or so since I made them at camp, which were used later in our stay around the firepit as rustic lighting.

The Witch of Forest Grove suggests that mullein torches can be used in necromancy rituals, and this would make sense as according to Maud Grieve in her A Modern Herbal says of mullein:

'Torches' is another name for the plant, and Parkinson tells us:

'Verbascum is called of the Latines Candela regia, and Candelaria, because the elder age used the stalks dipped in suet to burne, whether at funeralls or otherwise.'

My mullein stalk was already dried when I harvested it, and I tried to get as many seeds from it before chopping it up into 5 inch pieces. I decided to go for candles in lieu of a torch so I can use them indoors. I got four in total and they were dipped into approximately 50 gr of melted beeswax {with some pretty essential oil added too}.

Some lovelies for my Ancestor altar this Samhain. If you decide to try this please do let me know how you like them! 

Sláinte!

Laurel

P.S. According to this site mullein candles that are 6 inches long burn for about 50 minutes and have flames that are 2 to 4 inches in height; once lit they are to be burnt to completion. 

Collecting Seeds

I spent a bit this morning collecting seeds from various of my flowers. Many of them will give off a bit at a time, so I will need to keep an eye out on them if I want to have any control over their scattering.

Once my shop is finally up and running I will also be selling seeds for plants that I use for healing and magical purposes, and perhaps some edibles as well. Pictured below are some of the types of seed that I will most likely be selling.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Opium poppy.

Swamp rose mallow, common foxglove, and blue columbine.

Light purple datura.

an old seed-planting rhyme

One to the Good Folk,

One to the crow,

One to wither,

And one to grow.

Wonderful Maple Syrup: Some Lore & Customs

photo by Brad Smith

Maple syrup season has "officially" started in my area, which was ushered in this past weekend at a first tapping ceremony. So I thought that I would do a post about some folklore and customs around maple syrup and its production.

Production of maple syrup had been going on in North America prior to European colonization and is a craft that was discovered by the First Peoples of North America. {North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual}

My family's old farm in Restoule at one time had an active sugar bush, mostly for household and neighbour consumption. It was used for decades, but it was at most productive when diversified farming was still the norm here in Northern Ontario.

In her book Reflections of Restoule, June Hample writes:

"Many families {in Restoule} made maple syrup and maple sugar. Often this was the responsibility of the woman too, as her husband was in the logging camp or on the river drive at this time of year. The first buckets were hollowed-out blocks of wood and the first spiles were also made of wood. The sap was gathered by hand and carried to a huge iron kettle which was suspended over an open fire on a tripod of poles. When the syrup was almost thick enough, it was taken to the house to be finished where milk was added to it. As the syrup boiled up, the milk rose to the surface bringing all impurities with it. The foamy milk was then skimmed off leaving the syrup clear, pure and delicious; ready to be poured, piping hot, into empty whiskey bottles and stored for future use."

A little later on she says:

"The last boiling of the syrup was kept thin then cooled. Vinegar 'mother' was added to it and in a few weeks the vinegar was ready to be used for pickling and salads."

While settlers used block buckets, the Anishinabek people of the Restoule area seemed to prefer sticking to the birch bucket to harvest maple sap.

royalty free photo

Maple syrup season was quite a festive time of year, one that children of the village looked forward to almost as much as Christmas. Families would host "sugar on the snow parties". Today there are still various festivals to go to, including the local Powassan Maple Syrup Festival.

At the local first tapping they had a town-crier open up the festivities. In times past the "sugar on the snow parties" were kicked off by a reverend saying a prayer of thanksgiving.

Around Christmas some folks would sing to the sugar bush and give some of the older trees a wee drink of whiskey or ale. Sounds a lot like wassailing to me!

Apparently maple syrup season was important to the First Nations as well, who called this time "Sugar Month" or "Maple Moon". Some tribes celebrated with  various rituals including dancing to encourage the maple sap to flow. {The Maple Sugar Book by Janet Eagleson & Rosemary G. Hasner}

There are a few First Nations' legends about maple syrup and maple sugar. There is a story that I believe is local to Northern Ontario that can be found on the website of Professor Ian McKenzie {Nipissing University}.

First Nations woman tapping for maple sap, circa 1908

In this particular tale maple syrup flowed straight from the tree by simply breaking off a twig. That was until Manaboozho changed things. He was slightly peeved to find his people all lying down with their mouths open beneath a constant stream of syrup coming from the maple trees. So to keep them from being "fat and lazy", he pour baskets of water over every maple tree. With this all the trees would just produce sap, so to get syrup the people had to work for it.

Another legend says that maple sap was first discovered after Chief Woksis pulled his tomahawk from a sugar maple and sap flowed from it. His wife used the sap to cook dinner and it has been a dietary staple ever since {source}.

Besides its wonderful culinary uses, maple sap, sugar and syrup have a history in folk healing as well. Maple sugar was used by settlers for wounds and stomach problems, while some Natives used it for diarrhea and sore throats {American Folk Medicine: A Symposium Edited by Wayland D. Hand}. Breathing in maple steam while sitting in a sugar shack was supposedly used as way to cure colds {source}.

As far as magic goes, sugar maple products are not something that I

photo by Chiot's Run

use, so I am not too familiar with their properties. However, I do have a vegan friend who uses maple syrup in lieu of honey for honey jar spells and seems to think it does the trick.

On a final note, I find that maple syrup is a suitable and well received offering to local and nature spirits here in Northern Ontario.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Sweetfern {Comptonia peregrina}

{originally posted on my other blog}

photo by Sten Porse

Other Names: Sweet-fern, Sweet Fern, Fern Gale, Spleenwort Bush, Sweet Ferry, Meadow Fern.

Description: The name 'Sweetfern' can be a tad bit misleading, since it is actually not a fern but a deciduous shrub. When one sees it, especially when young, it is understandable why it has 'fern' attached to its name; the foliage strongly resembles narrow fern leaves.

Sweetfern grows to about 3 feet high, its trunk is brown with a hint of red and can sometimes be quite hairy. The whole plant can smell very pleasant, especially the leaves when the are rubbed or bruised.

It is native to North America, and can be found growing in the wild from Quebec to the East, Saskatchewan in the West, to about North Carolina in the South. It is in the Myricaceae family, and the Bayberry is a close relative.

Warnings: As with all herbs, one should make sure to be thoroughly informed before ingesting them, and is best to do so under the guidance of a qualified healer.

photo by dogtooth77

Cultivating: Sweetfern can be found growing on hillsides, open fields, and in places where pine trees thrive. It does well to hardiness zone 3, and needs to be grown in full sun. It is drought resistant and prefers soil that is sandy, acidic and well-drained. It makes an excellent ground cover on land that has very poor quality soil!

You can buy plants at nurseries, but it maybe a little difficult to find. Another option is to propagate it through root cuttings, instead of seeds {unless you are up for an extreme challenge!}. Once Sweetfern has made itself at home, it needs very little upkeep and will spread very well via its rhizomes. It is a perennial and will mature around its third year.

One disease to be aware of is Sweetfern blister rust, which can also spread to various pines including Jack Pine, Scots Pine, and Ponderosa Pine.

Medicinal/Remedial Properties and Lore: Anti-inflammatory, aromatic, astringent, emollient, haemostat, stimulant, tonic.

Sweetfern has been used by both Natives and settlers to treat various different ailments. One of its most popular uses that is still appreciated today is as a tonic. All parts of the plant would be used, especially the top leaves in a tea to promote overall good health.

A decoction was used internally to treat dysentery, leucorrhea, rheumatism, diarrhoea, and internal bleeding. Henriette's Herbal recommends a dosage of from 1 to 4 fluid ounces, 3 or 4 times a day.

It is apparently quite effective when used topically to sooth Poison Ivy and other irritations, and can be used in this manner to treat rheumatism as well.

Magical/Spiritual Properties and Lore: According to Melvin Gilmore in Some Chippewa Uses of Plants,  Sweetfern was burnt as an 'incense' in religious ceremonies by some Indigenous poeple.

European settlers would sometimes use it in folk magic for love talismans and spells, and was sometimes planted in their farm fields in the hopes that some of its hardy properties would brush off on to their own crops.

photo by peganum

Other Uses: The nutlets are edible and apparently quite tasty! The leaves can be used to season foods, such as poultry or fish as well. Growing it in the garden is handy as it improves the soil by fixing the nitrogen, and is an excellent plant for wildlife. Deer, birds, and butterfly larvae will feed on Sweetfern, and birds such as grouse and killdeer will nest underneath it.

Sláinte!

Laurel

No Man's Land: Keeping a Piece Wild

{originally posted on my other blog}

original photo by Rezzan

I had gotten my earliest plant and gardening wisdom from my Grandmother, and for that I am grateful to her. She was also what some would call very 'superstitious' {or as I like to think of it, smart enough to heed old lore!}, and I am pretty sure that I got that trait from her as well. There were various practices in the garden that were taboo to stray from, and while I know many were very sensible {in the material sense}, others were definitely carried out for more esoteric reasons.

One of these practices was to keep a piece of her property wild, and let the plants and other wild ones do with it as they willed. This was the place for the 'Dandy Wee Folk' to stay in as long as they wished, and to hopefully protect the land around them.

At the time when I was a child, her property was a modest suburban lot, so this space set aside for this purpose was quite small. In a yard enclosed in zealously manicured cedar hedges, you found a humble but flourishing garden, and in the far South corner this little wild space nestled between a couple of old trees.

Discreet, just like my Grandmother.

I admittedly found some of her practices odd, but this was one that I had respected to the letter, and I made sure not to disturb that space and its residents {or the bread and bowls of milk sometimes left there by my Grandmother}.

In my research travels I have come across similar traditions where farmers and gardeners would set aside some land and leave it be in the hopes of appeasing 'evil' spirits and Genii Loci. In England these parcels of land are often called Jack's Land, in Scotland Guideman's Field and Cloutie's Croft, and in Wales The Devil's Offering {Gardener's Magic and Folklore by Margaret Baker}.

I wholeheartedly believe that at the core of superstitions, there are practical reasons behind their existence, and one does not have to believe in Faeries to see how this practice is a good thing!

This is a practice that has been adopted by Permaculture, which is reflected in design zone 5:

ZONE 5 — A wild area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural eco-systems and cycles. Here is where the most important lessons of the first permaculture principle of working with, rather than against, nature are learned.

Click on this link to find out more about the design zones in Permaculture.

In a world full of human sprawl and the destruction of wild spaces, the least we can do is set aside pieces of land just for Nature.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Consecrating Seed

{Originally posted on my other blog}

{royalty free photo}

This is a personal adaptation of a ritual that is found in the Carmina Gadelica, which is sometimes used as a source of inspiration by Gaelic polytheists for rituals and prayers.

This is a two part ritual. The first part is done on a Tuesday which is the actual seed consecration, and the second part is done on the following Friday when the seeds are planted.

Tuesday

Making offerings are central in both my religious and magical practices. For this ritual I ask for blessings of the gods {in general}, ancestors, and land spirits, so I make offerings to all three. Three of our household deities are also left offerings, as they all play a key role {Macha for fertility & agriculture, Airmid for healing plants/herbalism, and Flidais as a "diplomat" for the wild parts of the land & critters}.

In a bowl I place one of each type of seed that will be planted on the following Friday. I will also bring in any seedlings that might be planted out too. For the ritual I will also have spring water, which is used to consecrate the seeds; as well, I will have three candles, one to represent the gods, one to represent ancestors, and one to represent the local nature spirits.

Before sprinkling the seeds/seedlings with the water, I walk in a circle sunwise with the spring water nine times {1. blessings of the gods 2. blessings of the ancestors 3. blessings of the local nature spirits 4. blessings of Macha 5. blessings of Airmid 6. blessings of Flidais 7. blessings by land 8. blessings by sea 9. blessings by sky---land, sea & sky are thought to be the Three Realms of Celtic cosmology by many CR Pagans}. Then I sprinkle the seeds nine times {same reasons and in same order}.

That's pretty much it for Tuesday. I will keep the seeds on the altar until Friday.

Friday

Before planting on Friday, I will make another round of offerings. Those for Macha, Airmid, Flidais and the local nature spirits are made outdoors. The offerings for the nature spirits are separate from the ones of the three goddesses.

Then I say the following:

I will go out to sow the seed,
In names of Them who gave it growth;
I will place my front in the wind,
And spread a gracious amount on the ground.
Should a seed fall on a bare rock,
It shall have no soil in which to grow;
As much as falls into the earth,
The dew will make it to be full.
Friday, day auspicious,
The dew will come down to welcome
Every seed that lay in sleep
Since the coming of cold without mercy;
Every seed will take root in the earth,
As the Rulers of the elements desired,
The braird will come forth with the dew,
It will inhale life from the soft wind.

I will come round with my step,
I will go rightways with the sun,
In name of the Gods that are mine,
In name of the Ancestors and the Nature Spirits kind.

Gods, Ancestors, and Nature Spirits
Be giving growth and kindly substance
To every thing that is in my ground,
Till the days of harvest shall come.

Then I get to planting. Later on I will bury the consecrated seeds and some of the offerings in a pit on the property.

Well, that's it. Happy gardening! :)

Sláinte!

Laurel