Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Making Oils Doesn't Have to Be Expensive

Making Oils Doesn't Have to Be Expensive
When I set myself purposefully upon this spiritual Path I read everything I could find, there was no internet, so research was through libraries & bookstores. Learning the correspondences of stones wasn't so difficult as there are books all over about those and Melody's book set was easily obtained at the bookstore. And it's about the only 2 books you'd ever need!

But when it came to oils and making them....good luck! Although expensive, it was just easiest to buy them. So I picked carefully and got ones that were "general" in use, such as "Come To Me", "Money", and "Witch's". By using one in conjunction with another I could pretty much cover the spectrum of any work to be done.

Over the years though I bored with these. While they worked great, I wanted something more personal and more specific. And by this time the internet was the go-to place for everything. The problem I ran into though was that most recipes called for Essential Oils - and those are, or can be, quite expensive. It was cheaper to just stick with my "general" oils. Nothing I read explained how it would've been done historically in the sense of the average lay-person and their extremely limited budget and the availability of "foreign" oils. THAT was the information I was looking for.

The Hoodoo/Rootworkers that began to show up online were the closest I'd come to up to that time. But still, they use the EO's and other "foreign" materials & ingredients. Once I adapted my herb craft practice to my oil craft I realized that all that was missing was the oil! I already had the herbs, I just needed to put them in a carrier oil, let them stand for a few weeks and voila! I'd have my oils, for any and all spell work purposes.

Many people suggest Virgin Olive Oil, but I found it to be too thick, too heavily scented (and not a pleasing scent to me), and relatively expensive. I prefer the lighter oils: Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, and Soy. These are also crops that are grown in this area, thus historically, would've been easily available to use for crafting oils for spell works.

It was in front of me all the time!

So I now have quite a shelf full of oils made with my own recipes - and many more are written down and ready to be made. All I need are the bottles to put them in. Which is another point I'd like to make. I don't buy my bottles, unless I find some interesting ones at a flea market. Most of mine are re-purposed from jelly jars. It's taken many, many years, but I harvest or wildcraft my own herbs & plant materials, and I finally make all of my own oils, and all at a very inexpensive cost!

Here is my shelf of oils:


Here are a couple of close-ups of the bottles:

Banishing, Protection, Money, Love

 
Love, Mandrake, Dragon's Blood, Blockages Removed (Strong & Fast) (small bottle), 
St. Joseph's (small bottle in front)

Fiery Wall of Protection, Juniper, Cedar, Blockages Removed (Slow & Steady)


Cedar, Blockages Removed (Slow & Steady), Blockages Removed (Strong & Steady), Dragon's Blood, Control Over Others, 
Blockages Removed (Strong & Fast) (small bottle in front)

I'd like to find more of the corked bottles. There were only 5 of them so I bought all of them. The small bottles are syrup bottles from Cracker Barrel. The liquor bottle I found out in my woods buried in the mud by the creek. and the square bottle I got at a yard sale. I have a few other bottles that don't have lids or corks for them - yet - so they have to wait to be used. LOL I love bottles, so making my oils just gives me another excuse to find & collect them!

8 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your article. I practice hoodoo and was raised with Granny Witches while being taught the ways as well. Not many write on this.

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  2. Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it. "Not many write on this" is basically why I began a blog. No real rhyme or reason, just write what I know and experience. I wish I had found someone who liked to share their knowledge when I began researching what it is that I did naturally. When I receive confirmation from others, it's more than a little heart-warming to know that I'm "doing it right"! Thank you, again. :)

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  3. When they say use an herbal base (carrier) oil, what kind do they mean? They specified safflower and sunflower for "clear" bases but left the other part vague. Thanks!

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  4. I'm not sure what you're referring to as "clear", as there is nothing in the article that mentions it. The "lighter" oils mentioned are Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, and Soy. The heavier one, Virgin Olive Oil, I don't like because it's too thick and has an odor that I find unpleasant. These lighter oils have the herbs placed in them and the oils are then infused with the herb, as explained in the article. Very simple procedure: jar, herbs, oil, and let set for a while before using. Some wait weeks, some just hours, it's up to the person how long they prefer to wait. I usually wait several weeks.

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  5. This is really interesting because I was wondering why we are using the oils and did they really do it back in the days when they were living in plantations with no space to store it all secretly.

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    1. :) Yes, exactly! Everything I read on recipes from the online sites all said that their recipes were "hundreds of years old," "passed down for 7 generations," or "found in a Book of Shadows that was 500 years old."

      Well, maybe a recipe was a few hundred years old and passed down through the generations, but it certainly didn't have essential oils in it! More likely it was an infused oil, which is as easy to make today as it would have been several hundred years ago. As for the "Book of Shadows" bs...read any of the ancient texts and the herbs & oils were written in terms that are unfamiliar today, most likely even in a code we only know a portion of.

      It was this reasoning that finally had me making my own. And they've not failed me yet! In fact, I find that they are stronger than the store-bought oils with the EOs. :)

      So, go see what plant materials you have in your area; wildcraft them; place them in jars & cover with oil; let sit for a week or more, and you now have Oils of Intent gathered and made by your own hand, with your own intent, guided by the Divine, put into it as you make it. NOTHING is more powerful than that!

      :)

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    2. I totally agree, I have a few herb stores here around so I will visit them and start my oil collection. :) I will be getting a garden soon and then I will try to grow as much as possible. Thank you for an awesome and genuine blog. :)

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    3. Wildcrafting plant materials from Nature is a great experience, and very relaxing. But growing your own! I am still in awe of the miracle of growing something from a seed, or even caring for a seedling and watching it grow into a plant that I can enjoy looking, smelling its aroma, and harvesting for its uses!

      And thank you for the complement! I appreciate it very much. :)

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