Pressed Botanical Specimens

I have cabin fever, I can't wait until Spring! I'm dreaming of pressed botanical specimens. Design Sponge has some simple tutorials for pressed flowers and ferns. A press is really easy to make but you can buy the Deluxe Flower Press Kit here.

Lofty Dreams ~ Home Sweet Home #5

Ideally, I'd like to have a live/work loft space in the city and a cozy little cabin in the woods. I really miss living in a loft... Unfortunatly, gentrification has infected every last bohemian enclave in Chicago, so finding an affordable loft space is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I'm always up for a treasure hunt though, so I know I'll find what I'm looking for when the time comes. I'm dreaming of an old warehouse or factory with exposed brick walls and pressed tin ceilings, exposed beams, wooden flooring that go on throughout a huge open floor plan. I want plenty of room for an studio/office where I can make soap and candles, jewelry, art and pottery. I'd love to have a big play area where my kids can stretch out, let loose and play!



I dream of giant windows with tons of light! I picture the light pouring in over a little wooden indoor greenhouse where I can grow an herb garden. I'd grow common herbs to cook with, magickal herbs for witchcrafting charms and formulas, shamanic plants and entheogenic botanicals that make you "fly" and aid in lucid dreamtime!



I'm going to the Chicago College of Healing Arts next Spring to take a year long program called Foundations in Herbalism. "The program provides an introduction to plant medicine and lays the foundation for further plant medicine training. Students are taught the skills necessary for designing and making herbal formulas, as well as organic growing and wildcrafting of herbs, and the ecological and political concerns of modern herbalism. An integral part of the program is its series of country weekends, where students are given the opportunity to work with the growing, harvesting and processing of botanicals. Hands-on medicine making labs allow students to gain experience in creating their own tinctures, pills, salves, essential oils and more!"



I imagine creating a rooftop garden and keeping bees! Rooftop beekeeping could help to combat colony collapse disorder. Read more about urban beekeeping here...



There are many benefits of a rooftop garden beyond the fact that they can be quiet urban sanctuaries. They add another dimension of green space to an urban scape without taking up an extensive area of land in densely populated places. In some European countries such as Switzerland, bylaws have been passed that new buildings must be designed to relocate the greenspace covered by the building to their roofs. Existing buildings must also comply with the bylaw by greening at least 20% of their rooftops. Read more about "green roofs" here...

Something Wicked This Way Grows...

Another fantastic book that is sure to delight any botany enthusiast! Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities "A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. Amy Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations in an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend."



"Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers."

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Brooklyn, New York) is hosting a live Wicked Plants exhibition through Sunday, September 6th! If you live in the Brooklyn area go check it out! Briony Morrow-Cribbs, who created the botanical illustrations for the book, also has her hand-tinted botanical prints on display! I wish I could go!



"Visitors will come face to face with the potentially menacing powers of species that have the capacity to puncture, imprison, poison, and otherwise wreak havoc—as well as those that heal and salve."

See also: The Poison Diaries

Botany in Wonderland ~ Imaginary Botanicals

There is an artist known as "Fourteen (14)" who is working on a series of imaginary botanical illustrations for a book she's putting together called Botany in Wonderland! This is right up my alley since I'm totally botany obsessed! Oh, you are too? I have a whole string of "Green Magick" blog posts that you might enjoy so check those out! But now, feast your hungry eyes on this girl's wonderful illustrations! Her work reminds me of Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, which of course I LOVE!



If that tickled your fancy, I know you're going to want one of these fabulous candles from Black Chandelier! (They are on sale for half price!) If anyone wants to send me a gift :) hint hint...haha! "Black Chandelier has traveled far and wide to bring you the most strange and magical scents in exsistence for the Imaginary Botanicals Collection. From haunted caverns to man-eating swamps, we have tirelessly chased these illusive and legendary botanicals to create wonderfully intoxicating candles. Don't bother referencing botanical texts for the registry of these plants, leaves and fruits; search instead fairytales, legends and the dreamiest dalliances of your own heart."

Mushroom Magick: A Visionary Field Guide

I just purchased Mushroom Magick: A Visionary Field Guide, I can't wait till it arrives in the mail! This is an extraordinary collaboration! Arik Roper is a visionary artist known for his CD covers, posters, and animation. Erik Davis is the author, most recently, of The Visionary State. Daniel Pinchbeck is the bestselling author of Breaking Open the Head and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. Gary Lincoff is the author of the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms.



"For centuries hallucinogenic mushrooms have participated in a sublime relationship with humankind, thanks to their psychoactive chemicals that shift and modify the human mind. Arik Roper's exquisite painted portraits of magic mushrooms illustrate more than 90 of the known hallucinogenic species from around the world. He captures their powerful auras, adding to a tradition of Mushroom art that stretches back more than 400 years. Popular culture critics Erik Davis and Daniel Pinchbeck provide background and testimony in elegant essays, and mushroom expert Gary Lincoff contributes notes. This beautifully designed and profusely illustrated mushroom bible will appeal to nature lovers, mushroom hunters, and enthusiasts of all things psychedelic."

Datura Stramonium: Thornapple

Datura stramonium (Thornapple) is, like Henbane and Belladonna, a member of the order Solanceae. The plant is strongly narcotic, but has a peculiar action on the human frame which renders it very valuable as a medicine. The whole plant is poisonous, but the seeds are the most active; neither drying nor boiling destroys the poisonous properties. The usual consequences of the poison when taken in sufficient quantity are dimness of sight, dilation of the pupil, giddiness and delirium, sometimes amounting to mania, but its action varies greatly on different persons. Many fatal instances of its dangerous effects are recorded: it is thought to act more powerfully on the brain than Belladonna and to produce greater delirium.


Cast Silver Thornapple Candle by D.L. & Co.

The effects of Datura have been described as a living dream: consciousness falls in and out, people who don't exist or are miles away are conversed with, etc. The effects can last for days. Tropane alkaloids are some of the few substances which cause true hallucinations which cannot be distinguished from reality. It may be described as a "real" trance when a user under the effect can be awake but completely disconnected from his immediate environment. In this case, the user would ignore most stimuli and respond to unreal ones. This is unlike psilocybin or LSD, which only cause sensory distortions.


Cast Pewter/Silver Plated Thornapple Pod available at Gold Bug

Datura stramonium is native to either India or Central America. It was used as a mystical sacrament in both possible places of origin. Aboriginal Americans in the United States have used this plant in sacred ceremonies. In some tribes datura was involved in the ceremonies of manhood. The sadhus of Hinduism also used datura as a spiritual tool, smoking it with cannabis in their traditional chillums. It was also widely used by the Magyar (Hungarian) spiritual leaders (the Táltos) since ancient times.

Shop Update, Ect...

Gosh it's been a while! I've been so busy...so many changes, but I won't go into any of that right now! I'll be back blogging on a regular basis soon as I sort through some of the chaos I'm currently experiencing. I've added a couple of really cool items to my Etsy shop. Check out this amazing Antique Mandragora (aka Mandrake) Apothecary Jar! A must have for any Witchy Woman, Herbalist, or collector of strange medical antiques!



I've also added the second Witchy Taxidermy Raven Claw necklace. The last one I posted sold immediatly so don't sleep on it. I will only have one more after this. Taxidermy raven claws don't grow on trees ya know!



The girl who bought the first claw asked about it's origin after she received it and wrote "the raven claw is simply breathtaking (tell me, do you know if it came from a raven or a crow? where did the specimen come from?)" So if any of you are curious too I wrote "The claw was found here in my local Humboldt Park, Chicago (207 acre urban sanctuary) home to many wonderful creatures. I found two different specimens actually...one looked as if had been eaten mostly, the raccoons I'm guessing. And the other, quite flattened. I'm gross and salvaged what I could...always looking for a good skull! I'm not sure if they are from Raven or Crow for sure...but I beleive it is from the common raven due to it's size, a very large bird!" So there you have it! Have a lovely week everyone! xo Lavona

Fungi Fever!

It's true...mushroom madness is contagious! It all started when I saw these brown ceramic mushrooms at my friend Amy's shop, Willow. They sold so fast I didn't have a chance to snach them up! After some investigating on the Web, I found them at Velocity. Here are some other mushroom themed home accessories that I lust for...I love these porcelain logs with mushrooms growing on them by Roost. Availabe at Velocity. The porcelain mushrooms on the right are from the Curiosity Shoppe.



I love these silver painted ceramic mushrooms, available at Doe. This place has lots of mushroom goodness, especially of the bright happy toadstool variety.


I adore these handmade mushrooms by Tamar Mogendorf. She makes all kinds of cute softies!


You can even grow your own with a mushroom kit from Fungi Perfecti! Check out the Certified Organic Indoor Mushroom Patches, the results are beautiful. Each kit comes with illustrated instructions and is guaranteed to produce.

In a Perfect World

Pangea Organics' molded fiber box is the first of it's kind. They collaborated with UFP Technologies to create the first 100% compostable biodegradable and plantable product packaging. It is manufactured with zero waste and created from 100% post-consumer newsprint. Simply soak the box for one minute and plant it about 1 inch deep in soil. Before you know it, medicinal herbs will spout up right before your eyes! This kinda thing restores my faith in humanity and the future of the planet...

Mandrake Root: Medicine and Magick

Mandrake was much used by the Ancients, they used it for procuring rest and sleep in continued pain, inducing what is called the "Twilight Sleep of the Mandrake Root". Also used to treat melancholy, convulsions, rheumatic pains and scrofulous tumours. They mostly employed the bark of the root, either expressing the juice or infusing it in wine or water.

The roots of Mandrake were supposed to bear a resemblance to the human form, on account of their habit of forking into two and shooting on each side. In the old Herbals we find them frequently figured as a male with a long beard, and a female with a very bushy head of hair. Many weird superstitions collected round the Mandrake root. As an amulet, it was once placed on mantelpieces to avert misfortune and to bring prosperity and happiness to the house. Bryony roots were often cut into fancy shapes and passed off as Mandrake, being even trained to grow in moulds till they assumed the desired forms. In Henry VIII's time quaint little images made from Bryony roots, cut into the figure of a man, with grains of millet inserted into the face as eyes, fetched high prices. They were known as puppettes or mammettes, and were accredited with magical powers. Italian ladies were known to pay as much as thirty golden ducats for similar artificial Mandrakes.


These roots are sought after till this day by Modern Witches. Mandrake is most commonly used in Love/Sex Magick! The Mandrake has even been mentioned in the Bible, in Genesis 30, as an aphrodisiac that helped to get Leah pregnant. A Mandrake root, placed on the mantel in the home, will give the house protection, fertility, and prosperity. Mandrake is also hung on the headboard for protection during sleep, and worn to prevent contraction of illnesses. Where there is mandrake, demons cannot reside, and so the root is used in exorcism.


Now you can have your very own faux Mandrake Root! This adorable little thing was handmade by artist Caroline Gaedechens, and is available in her Etsy shop NuitBlanche.

The Poison Diaries

I am totally botany obsessed! I'm particularly interested in the poisonous plants and flowers known as "Baneful Herbs". Such herbs, including Henbane, Hemlock, Hellebore, Mandrake, Datura, and Belladonna, were popular in Renaissance magic for inducing visions, creating the illusion of psychic awareness, drawing love, tormenting the mind and even alleviating pain. The most famous use of baneful herbs was in the preparation of the "flying ointments." The ointment was rubbed onto the body, and the anointee often laid before a fire and hallucinated. The hallucinations often contained the incredibly realistic sensation of flying. I've also experimented with many plants which contain thujone, such as Mugwort. It makes a great divination tea due to the fact it is slightly hallucinogenic! Shaman's herbs like Salvia Divinorum produce visions too when smoked properly. More of that later though...

I want to tell you about Colin Stimptson! He was commissioned to illustrate a book called The Poison Diaries, written by Jane, the Duchess of Northumberland. She has long researched poison gardens. She is responsible for creating the Poison Garden at Alnwick Gardens in England, which opened in 2004 to worldwide acclaim. The Poison Garden is the culmination of her life’s goal to teach children and adults alike the curative and lethal properties of poisonous plants. Colin Stimpson worked as an animator at Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation studio in London and then at Disney Feature Animation in California.



Book Description
This truly gothic tale—a “facsimile” of Weed’s journal found at Alnwick Castle, in England—is not only a story of the battle between good and evil, but an educational parable of the curative and lethal properties of plants.

Weed—an orphan boy who apprentices with an evil old apothecary—is both used and abused. His journal is part botanical workbook and part diary of his own relationship with poisonous plants.



Weed discovers that he is one of the few people whom the plants talk to, and they try to persuade him that, with their help, his master can easily be disposed of. Although he refuses at first, after Weed’s first love, Marigold, experiments with the poisons and dies, he is pushed over the edge and plots to kill his master with a taste of his own evil medicine.






Each chapter of the story begins with Weed’s botanical notes: a plant’s appearance and properties, where it is found, how it should be cared for, the most poisonous parts, and how poison is extracted and administered. Accompanied by Weed’s sketches of the plants in their natural form, his diary also reveals the “real” personalities of the plants.

How to Make Victorian Terrariums

Terrariums are small, self-maintaining, self-enclosed ecosystems. They can maintain themselves as long as you select the right plants and give them the right amount of water. For the instructions here, I use jade plant and a pear plant...Orchids would be lovely too!

If your a beginner, try a terrarium kit like Carnivorous Creations. It contains a seed packet of a variety of beautiful, exotic, carnivorous plants like: Venus Fly Trap, Cobra Plant, Yellow Trumpet, Hooded Pitcher Plant, Sweet Trumpet, Purple Pitcher Plant, Maroon Sundew Plant, Pink
Sundew Plant, White Sundew Plant.





Materials:
Rocks or marbles for drainage (for a fun alternative, try glass beads, dainty wood or bark chips)
Large Apothecary Jar or Terrarium
Dirt with peat moss
Plant specimen (something that loves a moist environment, such as jade, a pear plant or a fern)
Sheet moss (available in craft, hobby and gardening stores)

Tools:
Small spade or trowel
Scissors
Spray bottle
Watering can

Instructions:
Put your rocks in the bottom of the jar for drainage. Next, top that off with a wee layer of lovely dirt, rich with nutrients, mixed with peat moss. Pull your plant specimen out of its container and place it in the jar. Add a little more dirt around the edges to secure it if necessary.

Cover the dirt with some moss that has been sprayed with water to bring it back to life. This is best done by tearing the sheet into small pieces and placing it around the base of your plant. Water your little miniature garden lightly, and put the lid back in place.

Keep an eye on it for the first few days. If the jar fogs up, that means there is too much moisture in there. If this happens, take off the lid and leave it off for a little while to let the moisture evaporate. But be careful, you don't want it to dry out completely. The key to a self-maintaining terrarium is the right amount of water. Once you've figured that out, you'll be able to leave it for extended periods of time without having to add water.

It's fun to experiment with plants and containers. Larger apothecary jars and smaller specimens will make it possible to use more then one plant, which can add variety to your display. Have fun!