Herbal Lore - Lavender

Lavender would have to be one the most important and versatile plants to grow in a herb garden.  This magical plant is native to the Mediterranean and has many uses including culinary and herbal.  It is widely cultivated and thrives in most temperate climates.  You can recognise Lavender by its amazing scent and spectacular array of purple flowers.
 

I have Lavender growing throughout my garden and use it almost every day in some form.  Not only does it smell divine, it has many healing properties. It is one of my favourite plants and essential oil. 

History

Lavender has a long history dating back to the Egyptians.  The Romans used it in their bathwater and to wash their clothes.  In Tudor times, young women would sip lavender tea in the hope that they would be granted a dream in which they would see their true love.  Lavender tucked under the pillows of young men was thought to encourage them to ask for a lady’s hand in marriage.  Lavender has been associated with magic and sorcery as it was thought to ward off the evil eye.  As a natural insect repellent, it was popular in the middle ages as an anti plague herb as it repelled fleas.  Folklore suggests that used in combination with Rosemary, Lavender will preserve virtue.  

Herbal Lore 

Lavender has strong antiseptic and antibacterial qualities.  It is also an antibiotic and antidepressant. Use it as a tonic to treat headaches, colds and flu.  Lavender makes an excellent sedative.  A few drops of essential oil sprinkled on your pillow at night will encourage sleep.  Added to an oil burner it will help with relaxation and stress.  It is an excellent aromatic and mixes well with other floral scents and is widely used in perfumes.  Add to bath mixtures and healing sachets.  Aids in detoxing and stimulating the immune system.  Apply essential oil to cuts and wounds to encourage healing.

Culinary 

Sweet and fragrant, Lavender can be used either as a savory or sweet herb.  Use in baking in biscuits and cakes and as a garnish.  It goes well with strawberries, blueberries, pears, lemon, orange, black pepper and chocolate.  For savoury dishes it complements Rosemary, Thyme and Sage.  It’s best to use culinary Lavender as some varieties are not suitable for cooking.  Use sparingly as it can be quite strong.

Magical Uses 

Dried lavender sticks or wands can be burnt like incense for space purification.  It is also used to clear the mind and to encourage or strengthen pure love.  Used for protection and healing.

How to Use a Ouiji Board

Ouiji boards (or séances) are ways in which we can make contact with the spirits of those who have passed over.  As a psychic medium, I've been interested in the spirit world for as long as I can remember, conducting my first séance at the age of eight.  I rarely use the ouiji board these days (as I connect with spirit directly) but séances are still an interesting way to communicate with those in spirit.

There's a few considerations that need to be taken into account before deciding to embark on this experience which I have outlined below. This article will only provide some information and tips on how to use a ouiji board.  If you decide you would like to give it a go then I suggest Google as the best resource for an in depth how to. 

Treat it with respect 

First of all, spirit is very real.  Even if you don’t believe in it, it’s still real.  Any time you work with spirit you must have respect.  Do not indulge in alcohol during a séance.  Do not swear, be rude or disrespectful.   Cracking jokes and behaving badly could land you in trouble. 

Atmosphere 

You can have a séance at any time of the day or night but try to create a dark room with some candles for ambience.  You don’t want too many distractions so turn off the TV, radio and telephone.  Charge the room with as much positive energy as possible.  Prayer is often a good way to do this.

Work with a professional 

Anyone can nominate themselves as a medium but personally, I would try to find someone that has had some experience simply because they know what they’re doing and can guide the session successfully.  That said, anyone can purchase a ouiji board and if you want to do it yourself, there’s no reason why you can’t.

You need at least two people to use a ouiji board with two fingers on the glass or planchette at all times.  Nominate someone as the medium so that person can ask the questions.  Keep it simple and ask questions that aim for yes or no answers.  I have never in my years of doing séances seen someone get possessed.  However, minor poltergeist activity can happen at any time.  Don’t ask spirit for physical signs or for them to show themselves in any way other than moving the glass. 

Expectations

Having a séance means you are opening the door to the spirit world in a somewhat uncontrolled way.  As in the physical world, there are different types of spirits.  If you contact an entity that is negative then politely ask them to leave.  Accept that the information you receive is not always truthful or accurate, even if you feel you are speaking to a loved one.  Spirits contacted during a séance tend to tell lies.  Sieve through the information you receive and only take on board what resonates with you.

Closing the session 

It’s important to always close the board.  When you are done with the session, thank spirit for their help and manually slide the glass or planchette to ‘Goodbye’.  I always rinsh the glass/planchette under running water at the end of the session.

Séances tend to get bad publicity, but done in the right way they can be an interesting experience, particularly if you want to connect with loved ones who have passed over.  If you do decide to give it a try, approach it with a light heart.  It's important to be sensible and respectful but at the same time, not take anything too seriously.

How to Stop Repeating Life Lessons

We’ve all been there.  You tell yourself, never again only to find yourself back in the same situation.  It could be with the same person or someone else entirely but with the same set of circumstances.  So how does this happen?  The short answer is, very easily.  In fact, most of us are unaware that there are lessons repeating in our lives constantly.

As humans, we are on an evolutionary journey and we need earthly experiences and life lessons in order for us to evolve.  Put simply, lessons will keep repeating until we either get it right or learn whatever it is we are meant to learn from that experience.  Once something has been learnt, it generally will not repeat.  It sounds simple right? The problem is most of us don't know what it is we're meant to be learning, which is why we find ourselves in these recurring patterns.

So how do we stop this from happening?  In order to stop an experience from repeating, we need to recognise why it is happening, what we are doing wrong and bring it to consciousness.  Listed below are a few suggestions:

Be honest 

The first step towards self realisation is to be completely honest with yourself.  Whilst our ego tells us that we are perfect and innocent, the reality is that we’re not.  We are human beings and as such we are flawed.  You need to be able to look at yourself in an honest way and accept your bad parts as well as the good parts.  A good exercise is to ask someone you trust to list all your negative traits.  Be prepared to feel uncomfortable!  The ego doesn't like being attacked and will put up obstacles to prove the other person wrong. 

Accept full accountability for your actions 

Blaming others and pointing the finger will only lead to further pain.  Until you accept full accountability for the part you played in the drama, the lesson will keep repeating.   It takes two to tango and if you find yourself in the same or similar situation, you need to accept that you have subconsciously put yourself there in order to learn something.

Seeing the situation clearly 

It goes without saying that regular meditation will give you insight and help you see everything more clearly.  If you find yourself repeating a life lesson, you need to start analysing why.  Ask yourself what drew you to that particular person or scenario in the first place?  What is it about that person/situation that you find detrimental? How does that impact on you personally?  For example, maybe you didn’t set clear boundaries or maybe you’re too forgiving?  Our weaknesses are not necessarily bad, sometimes they’re just personality traits that need to be worked on. 

Role Reversal 

Often it’s difficult to see the situation clearly when you’re the one involved.  A good way to be more objective is to imagine you are giving advice to a friend about their situation, but with you being the friend.  What would you say to them?  What advice would give them?   Whatever the answer, chances are that’s the advice you need to give yourself.

Seeing another point of view 

Another way to gain objectivity is to imagine how the other person is feeling.  Having empathy is a great skill as it allows you to gain insight into another person’s point of view.  Understanding why someone may have reacted in a certain way will allow you to identify any negative behaviour patterns within yourself.

Do something different

As the saying goes if you change nothing, nothing changes.  Try to identify patterns in your life and do something else.  For example, if you keep meeting the wrong type of person, try going out with someone you normally wouldn't go out with.  It may seem obvious, but the person you need to meet may be the complete opposite to what you think you need.  Keep an open mind and take some chances.  Stepping outside of the box and changing things up may be the solution.

Getting the answer

Sometimes we don’t know the answer and we never will.  No matter how much work we do on ourselves and do the right thing you still may still find yourself questioning why something is repeating in your life.  That’s okay, because often it’s not about the lesson itself but how well we recover from that particular experience.  Judging yourself too harshly is essentially a waste of time and non productive.  Learning to pick yourself up and getting on with things could be what it is you need to learn.

Be Kind to yourself 

Finally, it’s important to be kind to yourself.  As I mentioned before, we are all human and therefore flawed.  It’s important to understand that sometimes we need to be in a situation for longer than we want to be in order to gain something from that experience.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  There's no time limit on learning.  Every soul is different and each of us are here on our own journey.

Self realisation takes effort.  Stepping outside of the ego is often difficult as admitting fault with ourselves can be uncomfortable.  By recognising and being aware of repeating life lessons it can release you from unnecessary pain and allow you to move forward in your life.