Touch of Lavender Magic
Hello dear reader. Sho, August has felt intense! I am writing this on the eve of the August full moon in Aquarius and it feels like a birthing and completion cycle all wrapped up in a cosmic shifting and opening. A call to truth and clarity. A call to honoring the sacred, stepping back to step in deeper with more fullness and fire. It’s been a time of birth and death, a burning away from stories, belief and the parts of ourselves that no longer serve the greatest becoming of our beingness in this world. To step up and in.
The Intuitive Astrology report from Forever Conscious (which I recommend reading for insightful lunar readings) states: “Under this August Full Moon, we can connect to the fuel that reminds us of our strength, our power, and our courage. We can connect to the fuel that created the rivers and the mountains and some of the greatest ancient civilizations. We can connect to our ancestors, their voices, and their wisdom. We can connect to the life force that lives all around us and will continue to live on till the end of time".
The themes coming up for me have been birth and death, even an intense visceral dream of birthing a child. I launched my podcast, wrote my first articles for Soul Writers Journal and now prepare for a pilgrimage to the Eastern Cape with my witchy sisters. Expansion into all the fullness of self is felt deeply.
A plant companion that has been with me this month has been Lavender. It has felt like a firm and gentle companion, gently bringing me to earth with her pungent aroma and woodiness. At the beginning of the month I started the creation process of a Lavender and Comfrey oil infusion which has been a delightful daily ritual of connection. It stands and seeps in the olive oil for six weeks and requires daily stirring and shaking to keep the plant matter fusing with the oil in the most potent way. Each day watching it change colour and smell. Feeling it on my skin and honoring the process of creating this medicine.
"A plant companion that has been with me this month has been Lavender"
I’ve used lavender in my yoni steam (more on this in a later journal) and have fresh cut leaves drying to make into teas and other delightful treats.
In my post today on Soul Writers Journal Instagram I offer an invitation to you the reader to connect with some Lavender magic in your life. To touch, and smell. To connect with it on your skin, feeling the sensation of its leaves and tender flowers. Inviting it into your practice and dream world as she creates a softening and mellowing into sweet restful slumber. A simple way to create some Lavender magic in your life is to find a small cloth pouch and fill it with fresh leaves and flowers. Place this under/near your pillow and allow it’s magic to aid in the crossing over into dreamland.
There is a reason Lavender has blossomed in my life this month as she offers a soothing, nurturing energy to my inwards journeying. Our bodies know the medicine that we need, simply listen, watch, notice what is called in at what time and honor the divine purpose of these helpers. Lavender uplifts, conjures, evokes,relieves, clears, opens, rejuvenates, purifies, calms....
Here are a few suggestion for incorporating some Lavender magic in your own life:
Make a lavender tea hair rinse to promote a healthy scalp, and soothe the senses.
Make a sleeping pouch as suggested above
Make your own oil infusion by filling a jar with fresh leaves and flowers, stirring in 1tsp of strong spirit alcohol like vodka and covering with a good olive oil. Stir and shake and leave in a cool place away from direct sunlight for six weeks. Stir/shake daily to infuse the plant materials and make sure the plant matter is always fully submerged in the oils otherwise mold and other fermentation will start taking place. Add the essential oil in a burner or bath
Make a smudge stick with lavender, binding tightly and allowing to dry
Spend some time sitting with lavender, connecting to the magic of the plant and allow their medicine to speak to you. What is your message or medicine? Is this the time to slow down and listen to your body and rest? What has been moving and shifting for you in the past few weeks and can you make space for more stillness and presence to allow
for the expression of your true beingness….
With love and contemplation in this time of much birthing -
Sarah Lee Beckett
"She offers a soothing, nurturing energy to my inwards journeying"