Saturday, May 19, 2012

Salve with Roses to help you sleep

Sweet Dream Balm (adapted from Rosemary Gladstar's recipes)
Rub on temples at night for sweet dreams. Great for children!

1/2 cup Borage Flowers
1/4 cup Chamomile Flowers
1/4 cup Rose buds
1/4 cup Hops
1/4 cup Mugwort
4 cups Olive Oil
4 oz. Beeswax
50 drops Lavender Essential oil
20 drops Chamomile Essential oil.
To begin your salve, measure the herbs into an enamel, glass or stainless steel pan (never use aluminum), or into a crock-pot.  Cover the herbs with oil. Heat the herbs and oil over a low heat for several hours (about 3 hours). If you are using roots you should heat the oil longer (about 5 hours). Do not fry the herbs, and keep the vessel covered to retain all the wonderful medicinal qualities of the herbs. After the oil is infused, strain the herbs through a cloth. When most of the oil has filtered through the cloth, squeeze as much oil as possible from the herbs and cloth. Be careful not to burn yourself in this process! Measure the infused oil to ascertain the amount of beeswax needed to make the balm.  You need about 1 oz. beeswax for each cup of oil.
Pour the oil into a clean pot, add beeswax to the oil and heat it until all the wax is melted. To test to see if your salve is firm enough, put some on a spoon and set it in the freezer for a few minutes. If your salve is too soft, add more beeswax. If the salve is too thick, you can add a bit more oil to soften it. If you are using essential oils or Vitamin E you can blend them in now. Finally, pour your salve into containers and label.

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