Monthly Spell
October 2022
Samhain Dreams
Welcome to spooky season! This month I decided to focus on sleep. Partly because I’ll be recovering from hip surgery, and partly because fall makes me want to take naps. If you recall/have been around a while, I made a video where I started a dream tincture. This is that!
Here’s what you are getting in the box this month.
Dream tincture (ingredients to follow)
Carved soapstone dolphin, for protection and courage in your dreams
Baby powder incense because it makes me feel snug and I got nostalgic when I smelled it
Creosote shower/bath bundle for a hit of dopamine right before bed
Italian filled (per the package, I haven’t eaten any yet) candy for more nostalgia
Apple cinnamon rooibos tea (ingredients to follow)
Plus boxes get a dream charm to hang by your bed or keep under your pillow, with a bindrune for lucid dreaming and amethyst to guide you into the dreamworld.
The tincture is made with vodka and dream herb (calea zacatechichi), mugwort, valerian root, blue lotus flower, nutmeg, and 3 Cherry Zinger teabags. If you’re making it yourself I recommend looking for Red Zinger or Trader Joe’s version of it, because cherry bark and hibiscus are 2 other good dreamy plants to include. It steeped for about six months(ish?) and then I strained it. It will taste like you might die. It is truly horrific. Do NOT eat or drink anything that tastes good before you take it, but DO have a chaser that does taste good for immediately after.
The autumn-inspired tea is made from cinnamon, dried apples, rooibos tea, and chamomile- - that means it’s decaf so you can drink it before bed.
The creosote (also known as greasewood or chaparral) can be used in the bath for joint pain, or hang it in your shower and splash it to smell the truly amazing way the desert smells after it rains. If you haven’t smelled it before, it’s vaguely like petrichor, and probably is called petrichor, but it is not the same smell. It is, however, wonderful.
My advice is to light the incense (or just put it next to you for a while as you relax, unlit). Then take a leisurely warm bath or shower, being sure to wet the creosote bundle to get the full effect. Make the tea and add sweetener but do NOT drink it yet. Take a half-dropperful of tincture (I drop it into the back of my throat to avoid as many tastebuds as possible), and immediately chase it with the tea or some other sweet thing. I’m sorry in advance. Then curl up in a soft blanket and enjoy the tea while you relax before bed. For best results, avoid screens (phone, computer, TV) until the next day, though a (soothing) book might be good. If you have selenite or amethyst, consider putting it near your pillow unless your experience says otherwise. I personally can’t sleep with selenite. The bindrune I decided on is algiz for protection and to connect you to the “higher” version of yourself. Eiwaz, the tree of life reaches both the upper and lower planes- and you need to transform into your dream self to travel along the tree. When you go to sleep, you become your dream self, able to make this journey. Finally is Laguz, my favorite. In this case we’re calling upon the watery aspect of Laguz so we can flow into the mysteries of the subconscious mind,
Put a notebook and pen by your bed so you can write down what you dream about when you wake up.
Sweet dreams!