As Within, So Without: Herbs for Beauty Rituals
Have you ever thought of your skincare routine as a ritual? Learn how to blend herbs into your beauty regime, raise energetic vibrations with preparations for the skin, herbal baths, tea and oil infusions.
Beauty from the Soul
What makes someone beautiful? It is a question I ask often, which leads to a deeper and more thorough understanding of the proverbial answer – the soul. That is where this impression starts and ends. Beauty becomes subjective to our own perception and thoughts surrounding the word. If we are to embrace the true nature of beauty, we must always start with the soul.
As witches, practitioners of magick, we are surrounded by herbs, crystals, oils, and candles. These tools aid us in transformational ways, yet, the most important tool will always be our mind – focus and perception. So, although beauty seems to suggest a dominant characteristic of the physical, it is actually conceived from the innermost depths of character, love, sacrifice and truth.
Energetic Vibrations
To tap into these depths, we can rely on our plant allies – herbs. Herbs have a multitude of uses ranging from the medicinal to the magickal. The beneficial properties they possess can be utilized in many ways, including care for the skin. By being a direct link to nature, they hold the sacred wisdom of the Earth.
Infusing our intentions into herbs before using them on our skin for example, provides the energetics of the herb a focused purpose. Everything holds an energetic vibration; therefore, we can learn the benefits of a particular herb and further enhance that energy with our own energetic vibration.
Below are four beauty preparations that utilize the following herbs for the enhancement of beauty, within and without.
Herbs
Calendula: uplifting, soothing, restorative
Chamomile: calming, soothing
Lavender: peaceful, calming, soothing, protective
Rose: love, healing, feminine
St. John’s Wort: protective, strengthening, masculine
Four Beauty Preparations
1. Facial Steam
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Always use this beauty method with caution and care, steam can burn the skin if not careful. I recommend transferring the water after it has been boiled to a heatproof bowl, pouring it over the herbs of choice. Feel the steam with your hand first and if the steam needs time to cool let it sit until ready to expose your face to it.
Cover your head with a towel to trap the steam and place your face over the bowl and breathe in deeply. When herbs are steeped in boiling water, their beneficial properties are evaporated into the steam. Steaming your face aids the skin as well as the respiratory system. What is left over from the herbal infusion is a tea you can drink, which is the next beauty preparation.
2. Tea
Skincare is not only dependent on what we put on the outside of our skin (which is absorbed into the bloodstream), but also what we drink or eat. A healthy diet can be transformational for the skin. An herbal tea aids the healthy processes of the skin, such as increased circulation. It also promotes a healthy digestive system which has a huge impact on the health and function of the skin.
3. Baths
Baths serve a multitude of purposes and are also used for clearing unwanted energies. Test out a blend of herbs that you feel most drawn to. How about Lavender and Rose for a relaxation beauty bath before bed. Adding Himalayan Salt, Epsom Salt or Dead Sea Salt will provide minerals to soothe the skin and provide protection from unwanted low energies.
4. Macerated Oil
This is an oil that has been steeped with an herb or blend of herbs in oil for 4-6 weeks in a sunny location. These are also known as solar infused oils. The oil soluble components of the herb are infused into the oil by using this process.
*Note: Please use dried herbs for this method. Although fresh herbs can be used, they run the risk of breeding bacteria because of the water content still within them.
How to Create a Macerated Oil:
- Decide which herb or blend of herbs you would like to use after researching their properties. Calendula is an excellent herb for the skin, along with Chamomile, St. John’s Wort, or Rose.
- Fill a Mason Jar 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 full of the herb of choice.
- Pick an oil that you would like to infuse. This could be Sunflower, Olive, Avocado, or Almond. Pour this over the herb all the way to the top of the jar. Try to have as little air as possible left at the top.
- Cover with the lid, shake, and place in a sunny windowsill for 4-6 weeks for gentle heating. Shake everyday.
- When the oil is ready, strain with a coffee filter. This process can be somewhat slow so allow a couple hours for the oil to strain into a clean container.
- The leftover herbal remnants can be sprinkled into your yard with a magickal blessing or used as a foot soak in warm water.
Balancing Beauty Meditation Ritual
The reason it is important to incorporate balance in this meditation ritual is because the inward and outward parts of the self strive for harmony. However simple the act or ritual, the outcome depends directly on your state of mind and intentions. It is important to be aware and understanding of your current state of being, and to find connection with the truest part of yourself.
Depending on how you choose to begin any type of ritual or meditation, I ask you to do so. Burn white sage to clear energy and focus your mind on what beauty means to you, what the characteristics are, what it feels like. Embody the truest form of what beauty represents for you.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- What is beauty?
- What does beauty mean to me?
- What does beauty look like in the soul?
- How can I find the balance between the inner and outer expressions of beauty?
To harness true beauty, not just a mask or a façade of beauty, we must do the work within, hence the expression:
“As Within, So Without”
What you will need:
- Herbs of Choice or Radiant Glamour Herbal Spell Blend
- Balancing Candle such as Balance Herbal Alchemy Spell Candles
- Crystals of Choice
Directions:
Begin by bringing attention to the breath. Relax into the calm and supportive state of meditative awareness. Through keeping the focus on balance and beauty, charge the herbs, candles, and crystals with this same intention. Ask these tools to guide you towards uncovering the truth within these topics.
See what comes up for you. When you are done with the meditation, the herbal blend may be used in a bath, burned, sprinkled in your sacred space, or, if your herbs are safe for consumption, made into a tea blend. Find creative ways to utilize the energy infused into these items and embrace the lessons hidden within them.
~The world possesses an abundance of beauty; it is to train the eye into the truth of seeing.
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