Last year a good friend (who is a witch, too) gave me rose-salt as birthday present. It was very tasty but we used it quite much for coocking and magical stuff- so it was empty soon. Last month on a friday after the new moon i walked for hours through the fields and forests and collected flowers of wild roses (in germay we call these dog-rose).
I have put them into salt and after a month i grinded it and so i got a very good smelling selfmade rose-salt. We will use it for coocking, but for blessed water and for magical stuff, too.
On the dark moon i harvested my wormwood and created smudge sticks. Usually i used just the normal wormwood for incense, oils and tinctures. But last year i planted french wormwood. This variety has a more intensive smell- and i look forward to see if it will smell different then the normal wormwood when i use it as incense.
The summer here in germany was very dry- but most of the plants in my witch garden grow very well. This year i have less mints through the dry weather- many sorts of mints didn’t start to grow so far. But i have more lemon balm than in “normal years”. And my wolfsbane is so full of flowers that i had to bind it together- because the flowers were to heavy and brought the plants down. On dark moon i harvested the first flowers too and offered some to Hekate in the Deipnon.
At the moment i do all my rites outside in my garden or on the crossroad (the shrine there is still intact and was not damaged anymore). And i really enjoy it to work outdoors. I love it to see the stars and moon above me, to feel the wind and to be able to search for omens and signs of the spirits and Gods around me during my rites.
Where Three Roads Meet... 