St. John's Wort Salve

As many of you know, I am not a sun witch. I get burned by the sun very easily. I squint in the sunlight. I am a shade of trees and let's live in the woods kind of girl.

So adding the things that I miss from not being in the sun is a regular thing. I make sure to get vitamin D in other ways, plus I eat a lot of citrus. And I am fascinated by St. John's Wort.

St. John's wort is like sunshine in a plant. Most people know if for its ability to help people with depression which is like shining light into people's lives. There is more that it can do, too. Some evidence suggests it can help with pulled tendons and strained muscles, when applied topically on the skin. It has anti-inflammatory benefits because it contains hypericin and hyperforin so it can reduce swelling and pain associated with muscle and tendon injuries. This makes it a potential remedy for conditions like back muscle strain, sprains, and tendonitis. It also has analgesic (pain-relieving) properties. By soothing nerve pain and assisting with tissue healing, it can contribute to a more comfortable and effective recovery.

St. John's Wort can also help with the production of collagen. This connective substance helps with skin and tendons.

Remember, I am a witch and not a legal doctor. Please do your research before you introduce new things to your body. We are making a salve, and St. John's Wort can increase sun sensitivity in some people. Most herbs can have drug interactions.

If you hold a leaf from the plant up to the sun, you can see multiple tiny perforated holes which let the sunshine through. St. John's also starts flowering during the summer solstice. It's like sunshine in a plant. This is truly magic from the sun.

Today we are making salve. We start by harvesting the plant. I find that only the top 6-8 inches of the plant are effective in our potions. I do include flowers, leaves and stems from these top 7 inches. This is a fairly dry plant so wilting or pre-drying is not necessary.

Harvest in the morning while the plant is starting its day and sending energy up towards the sky. Do not over-harvest. Take just what you need and not so much that the plant can't reproduce. Also leave some for the bees.

I place what I collected in a jar and then I use scissors to clip the plant into smaller bits. Smaller bits allows the precious constituents to be easier pulled out into the oil.

Once you have minced it down, you add the oil of your choice. I am using jojoba because it is the most like skin's natural oil. You can use olive oil, sweet almond oil, or any other liquid-at-room-temp oil. There are so many to choose from and each has it's own good reasons for use.

More magic from St. John's is that if you press one of the flower buds between your fingers, you see a red smudge on your skin. When you soak the plant for tinctures or oils, you will also eventually see the red released into your liquid. When you see that striking red liquid being released, you're seeing hypericin, the powerful compound of the St. John's Wort plant.

I am also hoping there is a red or pink tint to the salve. That will be fun.

Cover your leaves with your oil. The oil level has to come up an inch over your plants to avoid molding.

You do need to give the jar a shake every day. 11 vigorous shakes 1x per day. This helps macerate the plant material (which allows more extraction). If you are an even number witch, please change 11 shakes to 12. Important- With each shake you should be chanting healing and wellness to the user of your salve. This spell is what separates our wares from commercial products. With each shake I chant for health, healing, wellness, happiness and I pour that into the mixture.

You need to let this plant material stay in your oil for 1 full moon cycle. I also let St John's sit for an addition few weeks to get the most pulled out of it. It's dry and holds on to its properties a bit harder. So I ultimately use 7 weeks. Again- if you're an even number witch, do 8 weeks.

Now we strain the oil.

I ended up with a cup of pretty red oil. I prefer a salve ratio of 1 part wax pastiles to 4 parts oil.

Slowly heat your oil in a double boiler with the wax pastiles in the mix. I stir slowly and constantly becuase I will pull my oil off the heat the exact moment the wax melts. I don't want my oil to get any hotter than needed because that can damage the constituents.

While you are slowly stirring, you should be putting your thoughts and powers into your conconction. You should be wishing and invoking health from the 4 directions into your salve for each user's benefit.

I will be using two jelly jars today because this is a personal batch for my family.

I put 2 droppers of vitamin E in the jars while stirring and about 5-7 drops or peppermint oil.

The moment the wax melts, remove from heat and pour into your jars.

Let the salve sit for 11 hours to harden and then it's ready to use. I am so excited about the color, too!