Backlog. What do I mean by that?
When documenting recipes in this blog, I like to note if I did a brew that day, or at least very recently to it, versus discussing a potion I made weeks or even months in the past. "Class in Session" means I've just cooked a potion up, whereas "Backlog" . . . Yeah. That means I got busy, lazy, lost my notes, or otherwise had to enter a recipe I wanted to put in here at some future date. A backlog just means I'm a bit behind in work --- not necessarily work I have to do, thankfully, but work I want to do. (The Tome has a huge backlog, mostly due to the quantity of delicious things I keep dredging up off the Internet.) Insert here, in a voice like Judge Dredd and Severus Snape combined: "30 points, dunderhead! And a detention!"
One such experiment I made on January 3rd, the day after returning from holiday. Glad to be back in my sweet loft after the general family idiocy (now can I say "screw you all" and dye my hair black?!?!) and ready for a fresh start, I made a potion.
The first stage in any brew is to define an intent (unless you go out on a whim, add stuff as you go, and see what evolves --- in real life we seldom have to worry about a full-scale cauldron meltdown, unless you're using lab chemicals instead of herbs and newt eyes). As I empowered each ingredient, the intent I held in my mind was indicative of the changes I'd like to see myself make in my life this year:
"Stabilize, energize, cleanse away fear and replace with love and abundance."
Lately, I've been limited to a small stash of herbs, since I haven't collected too many, and most of my old ones are in storage. Still, there is a wide range of possibilities with but a few ingredients.
As I did with the Solstice Brew, I used my new pendulum technique to find appropriate measures for ingredients. I'd been reading up on gemstone magicks, had just collected quite a few stones for a new wand, and so I decided to add some to the brew to charge it. But which ones to pick?
The gemstones and crystals for charging this brew
I'd say my results with the pendulum usually coincide with where my instinct and conscious logic nudge up against each other. But not always. As I asked each stone if it wanted to be part of this brew, if it had anything to contribute, if it wished to work with other crystals, I got a lot of emphatic "Yes"es, and a smattering of eighty-percents. But there were a couple of flat-out negatives, which need to be honored.
I also got surprises. Milky, or rough "road gravel" type rocks, versus clear or high-polish ones, didn't all read the same. All my pieces of yellow fluorite wanted to be in, along with the quartz points. But so did a ragged chunk of smoke-gray flint. Yet a rounded piece of white agate, while similar in color and waxy texture to the flint, most definitely opted out.
After brewing the herbal portion of the potion, I strained it off into a large (4 cup) Pyrex measure, then placed the crystals in the bottom of the measure one by one. I allowed the brew to enchant overnight.
Alas, none of this brew remains in stock. I left it on the altar long enough, tapping glasses from it over a period of days, and finally what remained of it molded!
Guess I'll just have to brew some more.
Fresh Start Potion
Herbs:
Rhodiola - 3/4 tsp
Red Root - 2 tsp
Reishi - 2.5 tsp
Teasel root - 3/4 tsp
Eleuthero - 1/2 tsp
Star Anise - 1/2 unit
Chrysanthemum - 1 Tbsp
Damiana - 2.5 tsp
Holy Basil - 2.5 tsp
Minerals (Gemstones):
Amethyst clusters - 4
Amethyst point - 1
Lemon-yellow Fluorite - 4
Quartz points - 7
Quartz point cluster - 1
Smoky/Black Quartz - 1
Rose Quartz point - 1
Pink Spirit ("blanket") Quartz point - 1
Lapis Lazuli ring - 1
Prehnite with Epidote nodule - 1
Gray-green Flint sherd - 1
Bring a couple cups water to a boil. Beginning with roots, add herbs to mortar one by one, and grind with pestle while holding intent. Add roots to brew first, let simmer on low for 11 minutes; if you like, watch over brew as it simmers and meditate to enchant it.
Add other herbs to mortar one by one, pestle with intention. Add soft-herb mixture to brew, cover, and steep for 11 minutes.
Uncover and stir/swirl brew seven times with one more intention, then strain into Pyrex vessel (I like this Pyrex glass measuring cup thing, because I can see the brew and its ingredients within). Once brew cools to warm (or at least nearer room temperature), carefully add crystals to bottom of vessel with a spoon one by one.
Tap Pyrex vessel lightly and very rapidly an odd number of times, i.e. 27, 33 or 39 (as multiples of 9, 11 and 13, these are good), so as to begin charging the brew with the signature vibrations of the stones. This technique, which I borrowed from homeopathy, is called succussing, and is used when making more subtle and powerful dilutions from a stock or "mother" solution; this is merely a simpler form, with fewer taps or succussions, than is found in homeopathy.
Enchant one more time, then allow to charge with stones in place, at least overnight, or even longer as desired.
Remember to remove the crystals and stones, rinse with fresh water, and air-dry them.
Drink as needed. If you want to preserve it past about three days, add an equal volume of medium proof alcohol.
Lab notes:
• For Star Anise, it says units because Star Anise comes in those lovely little, star-shaped seed thingies.
• Caution: Some crystals can dissolve or break, especially if water is too hot.
• This is very much a hybrid of medicinal healing herbal brew (with cleansing stuff like Reishi, Red Root) and magickal potion. I'd like to brew it again, see how I feel, since it's not based on astrological conjuctions and need not be tied to the calendar New Year. Thaaaat's why you write down the recipe. And, try not to lose it.
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