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As the summer solstice approaches, we rejoice in the strength of the mature
God at the height of his powers and look for herbs that will help to keep us cool and remind us of the carefree happiness of the earth at this time of year.
Two major cooling herbs are elderflower and peppermint. Both are in abundance at the moment. The elderflowers hang on the sacred Elder tree like huge white pancakes and when they are picked and hung to dry, they fill the room with possibly the strongest scent of any herb. Elderflowers can be made into a cooling tea to be drunk either hot or iced, by pouring boiling water over a single flower and infusing in a covered container for around ten minutes. This is a useful tea for dealing with menapausal hot flushes as well and can be combined with sage and motherwort.
Elderflower can be made into cordials, wine or champagne, combined with gooseberries to produce a delicately flavoured muscadet jam or cream or frozen into an ice for those extra hot days.
Peppermint is one of the most popular herbs to drink and it has a noticable cooling effect. It is an excellant aid to digestion, but do not drink more than five cups a day or you might start to leak! Also, do not give peppermint tea to any child under the age of two years. Children can be safely given a tea of fennel seeds or leaves or a tea made from catmint, which is very soothing.
Lemon balm is another herb that can be used for its cooling and soothing effect. All three herbs can be used to cool and reduce stress using absorption through the skin. Make a strong tea with 2-3 tablespoons of fresh herb or 2-3 tsps of dried herb in 1 pint of water infused for ten minutes and then add the strained tea to your bathwater and soak! This method is especially good for hot, cranky children who will not take calming herbs in any other way.
When you think of summer, the first flower that comes to mind is the rose. Wild roses bushes are covered in flowers at the moment and their delicate essence can be captured in a tincture to take internally to lift the spirits during the dark days of winter, or distilled into rose water to use as a toner for fair and dry skin or as a scent. Rosemary Gladstar gives two simple methods of making rose water in her book, "Herbs for Natural Beauty" using either steam distillation or an extraction of witchhazel.
Dog Rose Petal Tincture
Gather petals from wild roses well away from any roadsides or other forms of pollution. Pack them into a clean glass jar and cover with vodka. Stir the contents with a chopstick to remove any air bubbles and refill the jar with vodka. Seal the jar with a screw top and leave in a cool, dark place for three weeks or more. Shake the jar occasionally to remove any more air bubbles. If the vodka levels go down, add more spirit. After three weeks, decant and strain the liquid using a non-metal seive and pour into dark jars. Seal and label.
I also use my rose petal tincture to make a wonderful body lotion with infused marigold oil.
There are many herbs associated with the summer solstice, which can be brought into the house for good luck at this time or used to decorate wherever the ritual is to be held. Solstice herbs include yarrow, bird's foot trefoil, larkspur, ragged robin, orpine, lily, wild roses (dog roses), wild thyme and St John's Wort. In olden times, a stem of St John's Wort was hung over the doorway to keep evil from the house and it was always burned on solstice bonfires.
Other important solstice herbs are mugwort and sweet woodruff. The latter is scentless until it is dried, when it gains an aroma similar to new mown hay. This is because the herb contains coumarin, which is also present in sweetgrass, a sacred plant to Native Americans. Traditionally sweet woodruff was used to sweeten the air and encourage good health and good luck. Roses and sweet woodruff together used to be made up into garlands which were hung up to attract peace and goodwill. Sometimes these garlands included ragged robin.
Whatever herbs are available to you where you live, now is the time to honour the earth for its abundance by using the herbs in food or drink or during rituals. If you are able to grow and harvest your own herbs, their potency will be increased by their personal affinity to you, however you wish to use them.
References:
Gladstar, R; Herbs for Natural Beauty 1999 Storey Books ISBN 1-58017-152-4
Hawkey, S; Herbalism: Using herbs for stress relief and common ailments 1997 Anness Publishing Ltd ISBN 1 85967 352 X
Herb Society, The Herbs 2000 Vol 25 No 2
Jay, R Herbal Wisdom 1999 Godsfield Press ISBN 1-899434 29-1