Spiral Herb Garden

Two posts in one day? What is this madness?! I guess you can tell I'm having a light-homework-load weekend, huh?

Well, I celebrated Esbat today with something pretty special. My university's sustainable gardening team got together to build a spiral herb garden outside of the Gaia House Interfaith Center, and I got to go and help put it together.

Spiral gardens are really interesting for several reasons. There's the perhaps obvious metaphysical symbolism of the spiral, often associated with the goddess and ideas of eternity and continuity. Then there's the actual, physical construction of them. These gardens are actually a sort of terrace, spiraling not just toward the center, but upward in height as well.

What this does is create a unique sort of microecosystem. Soil at the top will have a lot of drainage and full sun, while areas down the slope get progressively less drainage and different amounts of sunlight. As a result, plants requiring different amounts of water and sun can all be in the same garden together. Here are some further examples from the internet:

For the one we built, we started off with a stake in the ground to mark the center point. Then, we laid cardboard across the whole area we wanted the garden to cover. For the walls, we dry-stacked coal ash bricks, donated to the group from another vendor. Those were in turn made of coal ash (surprise), thus recycling the waste material instead of just disposing of it. 

In order to get the placement correct, we worked off the idea of the Fibonacci Sequence, which goes 1 1 2 3 5 8 13, etc. Basically, you add each number to the one before it to get the next in the sequence (1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5, etc.). We laid one brick with the short end against the stake, and one at a right angle to that, and then two at a right angle to that, and so on and so forth; we were making a smaller garden, so we only went through eight bricks max, and even then we ended up adjusting the pattern slightly to get the look we wanted. Here's a diagram of the Fibonacci Sequence for reference:

Once we had a single brick layer set out in a spiral, we then started building up the walls. The goal was to create a gradual slope upwards, with the highest point being the very center. We then went back and added a few stakes around the perimeter. Since we were dry-stacking, we wanted to make sure nothing shifted when we added the dirt.

Speaking of dirt... We actually started with leaves! Lots and lots of leaves all packed in for drainage and also gradual decomposition. Then we layered that with topsoil, mushroom compost, and more topsoil mixed in with some of the clay-rich soil native to our area. Periodically, we threw in another layer of leaves for the heck of it.

Here it is with all the soil added. I was a little worried about the dry-stack holding up, but it seemed to be really solid! Next up was plants.

Rosemary! One of my favorite herbs, both for its fragrance and for its usefulness in memory charms. Finals coming up? Grab some rosemary...

Then from the bottom up there is pictured chamomile, kale, dill, cilantro, and more dill. Uses for these can include what follows.

Chamomile: calming (great for bedtime teas), purification, prosperity, meditation

Kale: I couldn't find anything on kale (trust me, google "magical properties of kale" and you'll just get a million pages of pseudo-scientific health websites), but entries for lettuce include, protection, love, sleep, and divination, so use that as a starting point and experiment!

Cilantro: protection, peace

Dill: prosperity, protection, love

Not pictured are the sage and thyme we planted.
Sage: PURIFICATION! protection, wisdom, health
Thyme: warding negativity, protection, health

Here's the finished garden! I think I'll go back tomorrow and do some painting on the stakes to make them pretty. 

If you would like to build your own spiral herb garden, consider using earth-friendly, recycled materials if possible. Also, consider the magickal properties of the herbs you plant in it. One could plant flowers in a bed just like this, as well. Either way, they needn't take up a lot of space, and are extremely easy to construct. With about ten of us working together, this got built in under an hour. These make great places to grow herbs for your Craft, and to dedicate plants to your deities. 

January 15th, 2013

Eek, it's finals week! I've got tests Wednesday through Friday, and although for the most part I'm feeling pretty confident, I have had some trouble the past two nights getting to sleep and staying asleep, and then even once my brainwaves have slowed down to a sleeping state, I keep having nightmares. As such, I've decided to make and empower a sleep sachet, and call upon the Baku, a Japanese Shinto spirit who eats nightmares and turns them into happiness and good fortune.

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Baku's Sleep Sachet

• A piece of blue or purple cloth, at least 4" X 4"
• Scissors
• Ribbon, possibly matching the color of the cloth
• Rosemary (dream recall)
• Lavender (peaceful sleep)
• Tumbled Agate, Amethyst, and/or Geode
• White slip of paper
• Pen

First, cut the cloth into a square if (like me) you just grabbed a weirdly-shaped fabric scrap because it was on hand. Remember, keep it at least four inches on each side!  Then, using the scissors or another, similar implement, make holes around the fabric's edge, spacing them evenly. This way, the cloth can be turned into a draw-string pouch later. In Circle, cleanse, consecrate, and empower all the supplies. You might recite an empowering invocation that draws on the associated powers of the herbs, and stones, for example, asking for protection from night terrors while bestowing kind, insightful dreams and restful sleep. Place the herbs and stones in the center of the fabric. Then, on the slip of paper, write the following, three times: "ばく, 食べて ください." This is Japanese for "Eat it, Baku!", the spirit's traditional invocation. If desired, say the invocation out loud as it is written. The Japanese phrase is pronounced "Baku, tabete kudasai." Next, roll up the paper and put it in the center of the cloth, also. Thread the ribbon through the holes cut previously, and draw tightly closed. Then say a final blessing over the pouch, perhaps holding it in your hand: "Through this cloth, magick seeps to bring me a good night of sleep, and dreams that come be peaceful and kind, remembered tomorrow in my waking mind.". The sleep sachet is done. To use, just set it either under your pillow or next to your bed. Sweet dreams!

January 17th, 2012

Whew, talk about an intense weekend! I went to Hazelnut's place on Saturday to meet her new pet parakeet, Sugar.


I read some tarot cards for her about finals since they start tomorrow, and I'll be excited to see how accurate my interpretation comes out to be, since I don't read them too often. Sunday morning, her dad took us to a river where several flocks of ducks and geese were staying, and a family of eagles was nesting in the area.


Some geese in flight.


The river and birds thereupon*.


Seconds after I took this picture, the ducks began catapulting themselves into the river.


Hazelnut and I chilling in front of a rather treacherous, now-unused train bridge.

Then yesterday, since we had Monday off from school, I went skiing with other high-schoolers from my parent's church. Not, perhaps, my preferred company, but I had fun nevertheless. Since finals are starting tomorrow for Hazelnut and I, here are some things to magickally increase your test scores, after you study, of course.

• Rosemary is associated with memory and education, so empower the herb itself or essential oil before the test. In the case of the herb, keep it with you on or near your desk during the test. If using the oil, rub a few drops on the pulse point of each wrist and rub together until a slight tingling or warmth is experienced.
  
• Yellow is also associated with memory, so the night before testing, light a yellow candle while sitting next to any notes, textbooks, etc. pertaining to the subject you are to be tested on. You could even add the rosemary in by lightly dressing the candle with rosemary oil.
• If burning candles is not an option for you, wear some yellow the day of the test. This could be anything from a shirt to a hairclip, or even an armband or socks. Be creative. Creativity is, after all, the root of all thought.
  
• The element air is likewise associated with intellect and memory, so during or before the exam, call upon air to add some elemental backing to your mental prowess. Incense is a representation of air, so burning your favorite kind (or rosemary, if you were so inclined) could be another great meditation experience for the night before.
  
• If all else fails, and you're quietly (or not so quietly) panicking five minutes before the test begins, take a deep breath, relax, ground, and center. I can say from personal experience that the easiest way to bomb a test is to get worked up while taking it. Panic releases adrenaline, which makes it difficult for the brain to focus. So visualize all that negative worry draining away, and your concentration will improve immensely.
  

*Just for the record, as I was sitting here typing that sentence, the song "A River of Birds" started playing. o.O

October 25th, 2011

Today, I had a history test I wasn't feeling all that prepared for. I had studied, but the information wasn't really sticking, so after eating a good breakfast and going through my notes again, I took a rosemary sprig and empowered it for retaining information, as one of rosemary's traditional uses is in tandem with memory, education, etc.. I took it to school with me, and set it on my desk during the test. I feel I did pretty well, actually. I'm leaving it in my pencil case, to help empower my school supplies. Such things can be done with any herb. For example, if one wanted to sleep better, one could take a sprig of lavender and empower it for deep, healthy rest and keep it near the bed, or even under one's pillow. You could also drink a tea of that plant (assuming it's not poisonous), or take several sprigs and infuse your bathwater with their oils. Essential oils infused with herbs are also great if you have them. A drop or two rubbed on the pulse point of the wrists and rubbed can be very powerful. If you have a particular way you use an herb, comment and let me know! I'd love to hear it!