HERB PROFILE ~ Lemon Balm

 Hello again my herbal friends,

I hope you are all keeping well and ready to do a mini-deep-dive into another herb with me - this time it is the wonderfully scented LEMON BALM....

Lemon Balm drying on my patio.

BOTANIC NAME: Melissa officinalis.
AKA: Honeybee
GENDER: Feminine (Cold)
ELEMENT: Water
DEITY: Artemis, Diana, Hecate
PLANET: Jupiter (and sometimes Venus & Moon)
CRYSTAL: Citrine

Lemon Balm is noted for it's calming affect on the brain, but also for helping the mind stay focused.

FOLKLORE: Lemon Balm was used to keep the sacred honeybees cultivated at the Temple of Artemis happy and returning home... hence the name Honeybee..

ALLERGIES: If you have issues with the mint family of plants, then I would give this one a miss too..

MEDICINAL USES:
Lemon Balm is good for stomach issues, it soothes away tension - which forms in the gut.  Can be used in a tea, tincture and decoction to take internally - or an oil infusion to use topically.
Lemon balm is good for shingles / chicken pox / herpes 2 zoster viruses.  It is used as a mild nervine, which helps you to relax and is also good for hormone support.
It has anti-inflammatory properties, so it is good for upper respiratory infections and sore throats.

WITCHCRAFT USES:
Lemon balm is used in spells and rituals which are focused on emotional healing, purification and attracting positivity.
It is a herb of Love, Light and Renewal.
It is said to keep evil away, ushers in health and love, boosts memory and interaction with the spirit world.

Lemon balm can be dried and used in herbal sachets/pillows, in incense blends, in bath bombs or just loose leaf for any ritual that you wan to enhance in a positive way.

As always I have put it in my plant grimoire

LEMON BALM TINCTURE:

Requirements:
1 Jar with a plastic lid
100% proof Vodka
Lemon Balm (fresh or dried)
Chopstick or a knife

Method :
Cut up the lemon balm and fill the jar 3/4 of the way up (you can push it down a bit to get more in there).
Fill with Vodka to around 1/2 inch (1 cm) from the top of the jar.
Remove any air bubbles with the chopstick (or knife) and make sure that the plant material is under the fluid - top up if necessary.
Put the lid on and label your tincture with the name and the date.
Place in a dark cupboard for 8 weeks.
Shake twice a day for a week.
Shake 1 - 2 times a week after that.

After 8 weeks, strain and store into a dark glass bottle (hopefully one with a dropper).

Dosage:
ADULT: 1-5 drops in a glass of water each day (start slow until you can tolerate it)
Increase to a full dropper nearer to winter to keep your immune system healthy.
CHILD: 1-2 drops in a glass of water each day.

GARDENING:

Lemon balm likes full sun with plenty of water (but very good drainage - she doesn't like soggy feet..) Can be grown in partial shade too.
Make sure you grow it in a pot because being of the mint family, it will spread 
throughout your garden very quickly - unless of course, that is what you want.

Loves a good feed in Spring and Summer, and the bees love it when it flowers.

I hope you enjoyed that mini-deep-dive into the lovely
lemon balm - join me again next time as I take another mini-deep-dive into either
a herb, flower or tree that is in my garden.

Until then, stay safe - take care & many blessings to you.

Annette )O( xxx

Herbal Profile ~ Flower Power ~ ROSE

 Hello to all seekers of plant knowledge,

I hope you are all keeping well ~ it's summer here in Australia, and I must admit that I do not do well in the heat.  So instead of being outside in the garden, I am under a fan in my office doing this blog instead.

Today I bring to you a mini-deep-dive into the most beautifully romantic flower in all of history - the ROSE.  I know that some people absolutely love roses - whether they be in their garden, or gifted 30 long stemmed red roses from a loved one - and some people hate them completely.

I have 6 rose bushes growing in my garden, ranging from light pink, dark pink, red & white, lilac and orange.

                                    ROSE

BOTANIC NAME ~ Rosa spp / Rosa Rugosa

AKA ~ Dog rose, Rosie, Rosetta

GENDER ~ Female (Cold)

DEITY ~ Venus, Isis, Eros, Cupid, Adonis, Aphrodite, Demeter

PLANET ~ Venus

CRYSTAL ~ Amazonite

NOTED ~ Roses are noted for use in enticing a lover.  It's intoxicating scent is good for enhancing the mood and is used in stress relief.

FOLKLORE ~ Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, was seen as the creator of the rose.  Adonis her lover was mortally wounded by a boar while hunting.  She hastened to his side, and from the mixture of his blood and her tears grew the most fragrant red rose.

USES ~ Roses have a calming affect, they are anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic and antispasmodic.  Rose tea can be a good digestive aid and immune support.

Rose water can be used in sweets and deserts (as can the petals themselves).  The rosehips are high in Vitamin C and can be made into a syrup to keep your immune system functioning. Used in weddings to line the path of the bride's walk to the altar.

ALLERGIES ~ Roses are pretty much allergy free, some people can get hey fever from the pollen, and some people can get contact dermatitis when handling the plant.

WITCHCRAFT USES ~ Rose is used in spells and sachets to do with love, healing, conciliation restoration and self-love.
Petals can be used in attraction spells.
The thorns can be used in banishing spells, as they are potent guardians against negativity.

The oil can be used in salves/balms and has a nurturing aspect for the skin.
The dried petals can be used in herbal incense mixes, and used to clear negativity away before ritual.

My little book of herbal info

With a little flip up bit :)

DECODING A ROSES COLOUR ~

  BLUE: desire, mystery

  GREEN: abundance, peace

  IVORY: charm, elegance, thoughtfulness

  ORANGE: desire, enthusiasm.  

   PEACH: gratitude.              

  PINK:  admiration, gratitude, thanks

  PURPLE-DEEP : celebration, splendour

  PURPLE-LILAC: enchantment, love at first sight

  RED: love and passion

  WHITE: purity, remembrance, youth

  WHITE & RED: union

  YELLOW: friendship, joy

I must admit that I love roses, they were my Father's favourite flower.  He used to grow them in every garden that we had - either in England, or here in Australia.

I remember him taking pride in his rose bushes, attending to their every need, pruning them, sorting out issues like black spot (though in those days he used chemical sprays, which I try not to use today).  He would research as much as he could (didn't have internet in those days), and he would make notes in a diary of what he did and how it turned out.  I would love to have those diaries now - I don't know what ever happened to them, which is a shame.

So there you have it - a compact version of the Rose.  I hope it encourages you to delve a little deeper into this luxurious, wonderfully scented plant.

Do you have roses growing in your garden?

What do you like about them? (or dislike about them).

Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading this far - have a lovely week ahead and I am sending you many blessings my friend.

Until next time,
Annette )O( xxx

Hello and Happy New Year 2026

Hello my lovely Green Guru's, Magical Folk and Mystical Creatures,

I hope you had a wonderful end to the 2025 year, and that your start of 2026 has been so far - Bloody FABULOUS.

It's been a hot minute since I put finger to keyboard and had a catch up chat (in writing) with you all so I thought it was about time I did, especially seeing this is my first post of 2026.

Not to be a total downer - but...... (WARNING: My miseries are following)

Our end of 2025 was a bit of a fizzle as none of us were feeling well or in the mood for Christmas/New Year celebrations - even my Litha celebrations were rather lame - I did manage to make a twisted loaf in celebration, which we all enjoyed - but that was about it....

I even missed the Full Moon on 3rd January - so nothing was done for that either...

I have not been well at all, always sad and exhausted (go to bed tired, not having a good night's sleep, waking up more exhausted than you went to bed).

My stomach has felt very bloated and inflamed and my IBS has flared up which makes you feel like your body is toxic.  You just hurt all the time.

I must admit I have eaten WAY TOO MUCH chocolate (Maybe I should join Chocoholics Anonymous.......    Hello - My name is Annette and I am a Chocoholic...   it's been 4 hours since my last chocolate...   hahaha), which no doubt has caused most of my stomach issues. So hence my weight has gone up to a whopping 73.2 kilos.... which for my height, is bad for my back.... and my self image is at an all time low as nothing looks good on me and everything feels wrong.

I had a week off work for my birthday and all I did was rest - and I still felt exhausted when I went back to work.  I wondered if this is what 65 years old looks like - a permanently exhausted pigeon.

2025 was a bit of a hard year for me - physically, emotionally, spiritually, work wise and health wise as well.  It was kind of a bad year for all the family really ~ Paul got very sick in August with his Heart, and he has taken precedence over everything else, as he is the most important person in my life and I don't want to lose him.  Caetlyn who had laser eye surgery a few years ago is getting cataracts in both eyes again and will need surgery to remove them, she also suffered with sinus issues for the last 6 months and finally went to the doctor to get something for it.  Poor Mavis hasn't been for an actual walk since we all got unwell, she is very difficult to walk at the best of times as she wants to attack everything and is like a bull at a gate, pulling on the lead - we haven't been able to break her of those habits yet.  We try to play with her to keep her happy.

My garden is a mess.  All the things I tried to grow have either been eaten by birds or rats, or have died in the heat because I have not had the energy to do anything about it.  My work life is very stressful as we negotiate systems that do not work well together with the demands of the people both in and outside of the organisation.  I have not had any time (or energy) to do any witchcraft or work on my spiritual side either, and I have not had the time (or inclination)  to exercise. And whilst my house doesn't smell, housework has taken a backseat - everywhere could use a good dust, but that will come in time...

The summer heat is making me miserable too as it is too hot for me to go outside and garden, I can do it for around 10 minutes and then I start to feel nauseous and giddy.... I can't wait for Autumn.

I feel like a hollowed out husk, out of energy, out of the will to do anything about it, ready to be blown away by the next windy day.

SO after all that whinging I hear you say "Well, what are you going to do about it?"..

I dunno - maybe moan, whinge and complain more??? (LOL).

For the last month I have been off of all my socials as well - no Blogspot, no Instagram and no YouTube, and I must say - I have thoroughly enjoyed it... I am thinking of getting rid of Instagram as I went on there yesterday to see if I had missed anything and found myself feeling very depressed after 15 minutes....

I have tried to put together a video for my YouTube channel - but I can't seem to get enthused about it - I know there is another channel on there that wants to collaborate with me this year, but I don't know if I have the "right stuff" to see that through.  My channel hasn't got many followers - after 2 years I only have 74 followers, hardly any views on my videos and I don't get very many comments at all - I have to wonder if all that hard work is really worth it, do I really have anything worth saying - or more importantly, are people even interested in what I have to say - do I need to come up with a new angle? 

I don't know - I guess I am questioning everything at the moment...

I do know one thing that is going to make me immensely happy this year - RETIREMENT...

YES - I will be retiring from work on 30th June 2026... I have worked since 1976, and I think 50 years is long enough to dedicate to working and paying taxes in this life, I want to see if I can enjoy the time I have left on this beautiful earth before it's my time to pop off...

I am SO looking forward to that I can tell you (retiring - not popping off).

Hmmm well - Looking back on this travesty of a blog I must try to do something to get myself in a better place - any suggestions?

I don't know if any of you lovely readers have been in this situation before - or are going through the same or a similar thing right now... let me know in the comments below.

I know I DO want to feel better, I know I HAVE to sort out my priorities especially for where my health is concerned - it's just a daunting task when you are too tired to get enthused! Anxiety hits a new high when you feel overburdened and overwhelmed with the things life throws at you.

Sorry about all this - I basically had to get this off my chest so I can start to heal, I think acknowledging your faults and/or issues is the first step to going in a positive direction - then the only way is UP.

Anyhoo - thank you for sticking with me and listening to me whinge... I promise this will be the last time for a long while and normal blogging will return next week with herbal and flower profiles (which I have been working on).

I DO hope you are all doing well, that you are happy, healthy and kicking life in the balls.

Until next time,

Many blessings to you all....

Annette )O( xxx

Herbal Profile ~ YARROW

 Hello again for the fourth time this week (can you tell I am on holidays???).  

Today I am bringing you another herbal profile - this is another plant that I have growing in my garden, and I am currently drying - it is YARROW.

BOTANIC NAME ~ Achillea millefolium

AKA ~ Herbal Militaris, The Soldier's herb, Seven year's love, sanguinary, thousand seal, woundwort, stench weed, ladies mantle, milfoil, field hops and many, many more..

GENDER ~ Female (cold).

ELEMENT ~ Water.

PLANET ~ Mars & Venus.

DEITY ~ Achilles, Venus, Quan-Yin.

CRYSTAL ~ Bloodstone.

NOTED ~ For its healing properties both internally and externally.  It is a herb of peace and friendship.

FOLKLORE ~ It was used on battlefields during times of war and conflict to stop wounds from bleeding out.  The Druids used yarrow stems to divine the weather for each coming season, and according to the ancient writings, they were more accurate than those of our satellite pictures today. Used by Chiron the Centaur to cure the heel wound of Achilles

USES ~ Internally it has a calming affect and can also increase perspiration.  Yarrow tea can be taken to relieve all bodily weaknesses caused by infectious diseases like colds and flu, or any other prolonged debilitating illness, it is often mixed with other herbs to speed up its work.  Externally it is an antiseptic and speeds up wound healing.  Can be used in oils and salves for a healing balm.  Great for men who cut themselves shaving - just go out to the herb garden, grab some Yarrow leaf and press it firmly against the spot - the bleeding will stop.

WITCHCRAFT USES ~ It is used in workings for Healing, Courage, Friendship, Psychic abilities, Hex breaking, Love, Clairvoyance, Exorcism and keeping negative energies at bay.

Used in Love sachets and marriage charms.

If worn as an amulet it will ward off negativity.

A tea of Yarrow drunk before divination will enhance one's powers of perception.

Can be added to incense blends to keep evil at bay.

FOR GARDENERS ~ it is a great thing to mix Yarrow and Comfrey into your compost bin to speed up the compost activation.  All you need is a few leaves chopped up and mixed in to your compost.  Yarrow will also enhance the flavour, strength and health of any other herb gown near it (but beware - it spreads like the mint family does, so be careful where you put it in your garden).  I have a white variety (as seen in these pictures) growing by my Sage and WOW - that sage (& Yarrow) is potent..  I would love to find the pink or red variety to grow as well - but I haven't seen any for sale yet.

YES - I did another entry into my little book of Mischief,

even has a little secret addition:

Yarrow pressed onto the page from my garden..

Yarrow has to be one of my favourites in the garden, not only is it handy to have, but it looks pretty with its feathery leaves and stems of flowers in the spring and summer.

So there you have it - a run down on the wonderful YARROW.

Join me next time when I will be looking into another herb from my witches garden.

Until then, take care of yourself and those you love,

Blessings to you all.

Annette )O( xxx

Herbal Profiles ~ Chamomile

 Hello my lovelies,

Here I am again with another Herbal Profile from the plants in my garden ~ this time it is the beautiful calming CHAMOMILE...

Roman Chamomile

BOTANIC NAME: Anthemis nobilis.

AKA: Maythen, Manzanilla, Whig plant, Roman chamomile, German chamomile, Ground Apple, Chamaimelon, Camamyle, Camomile.

GENDER: Male (Hot).

ELEMENT: Water.

PLANET: Sun.

DEITY: Ra, Helios, Apollo, Balder, Cernunnos.

NOTED ~ For it's calmative, purification and meditative states.

FOLKLORE ~ Egyptian women mixed it with rose petals to apply it to their skin for a youthful appeal.  Cooks used to soak rancid meat in to mask the odour (way before modern food preservation techniques).  In the Middle Ages they use to scatter the flower on the floor to repel vermin and pests, plus as to serve as a natural deodoriser. 

About my 4th harvest of 2025

USES ~ Make into a tea for a good night's sleep. Make into an infusion to cleanse your house (windows, door frames, floors) by adding the infusion to a bucket of water.  You can make a hair rinse (infusion same as cleaning for your house) or add powdered chamomile to your shampoo mix. You can soak it in milk to add to baked goods.

Plant near other plants to dispel pests.

Drying it on paper

ALLERGIES ~ If you are allergic to ragweed, daisies, chrysanthemums, marigold, or any plants related to the Asteraceae or Compositea species ~ best avoid this one.

If you are pregnant ~ then consult your medical practitioner before using any herbal remedy.

WITCHCRAFT USES ~ Use in prosperity charms to draw in money.  Add to incenses to bring on restful states for meditation, it induces sleep if burned.

Used for purification, love, evil eye protection, strength in difficult times.

Here is the excerpt in my book - not a really good picture because of the shadow in my room and the fact that I did a drawing on the other side of the page which sort of buckled the paper a bit...hence why I have taken to drawing on a piece of paper, cutting it out and sticking it in my book...

Again - please don't mind my scribble hahaha..

I keep mine in a jar so that I can use it when I need to (for tea, or tea blends, for using in incenses, oils, washes etc).

I also have an deck of cards called "The Green Witch's Deck of Magical Herbalism" by Arin Murphy-Hiscock, which has the most beautiful cards of all the herbs and flowers that a Green Witch would use. Each card has a load of information as to what it is used magically for - but also the booklet has a lot more.

I am finding them handy as I research the information for my own purposes.

I use it to find a plant to work with for the week - when I say "work with" it's more like a get to know in depth - though I feel like I have only skimmed the surface with these plants as I go - there is much, much more to know about them.

So this is CHAMOMILE, I am sure you are all familiar with it, or have used it in one capacity or another.  Maybe I have told you something you didn't know ~ maybe not.

AND - if you have any further information on the wonderful Chamomile, I would be only too happy to receive that in the comments.

Until next time take care,

Blessing to you all,

Annette )O(

Garden Vlog ~ 9th to 15th August 2025 ~ Seed sowing & a Cake disaster!!

Hello my lovelies,

I hope you have had a great week!!

This weeks video is up on YouTube for your viewing pleasure...

I promise I will use this blog for other things than just promoting my videos - it's just that I am trying to get more subscribers to fulfil the algorithm requirements....

I am thinking of using this platform for plant profiles as well..... but we will see, it all depends on the time that I have (as I work full time, and have an invisible illness which limits my energy).

But anyhoo - please take a look at my latest Garden Vlog..

Leave a comment of what you would like to see???

Blessings to you all,

Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden & Witchery - Garden Vlog # 18 26 31st May 2025

Hi my Little Lovelies,

Wow - what a week it has been.  Not the best week to end my holidays on, but there you go:

As I say in the video, I don't know when I will be able to do another garden video due to work - but we will see, you never know!!

I hope you enjoy it my lovelies - ALSO there is a herbal remedy one up as well if you want to take a look at that one - all to do with Four Thieves Vinegar...

Have a great week and I will catch you next time!!

Blessings to you all,

Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden & Witchery - Garden Vlog # 17 (20th 24th May)

Hello Everyone,

Just following through with another gardening video for my third week of my holidays - it can be viewed here on my YouTube Channel:

Don't forget to like and subscribe as this really helps my channel grow, and just like a garden, I am planting the seeds in hope that the internet gods will be kind to me and grow my channel into a flourishing community of like minded individuals who cherish Mother Earth in ALL her glory.

So tell your gardening or witchy friends about my channel, hell - tell your neighbour, your grocer or even your pool guy hahaha..... just kidding, I really do want to grow this channel so I can keep making videos - my channel isn't monetised, I am not in it for that - it's just to show you all what I do in my garden and witchcraft practice, plus my herbal remedies, my sewing and crochet projects and any other things that I can come up with along the way - it's a Journey, and I hope you will come along with me on it!!

Anyway, I have one more week of holidays left and if I do not win x lotto, I will have to go back to work on the 2nd June.

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead.

Blessings,

Annette )O( xxx

Garden Vlog # 16

Hello my lovelies,

Here is just a quick catch up video of what is happening in the gardens at the moment.

I am on holidays, and have another 2 weeks off - so hopefully I will be able to do a couple more videos before I have to go back - maybe a more witchy one!!

I hope you are all doing well and I hope to catch up with you all soon.

Blessings to you all,

Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden & Witchery - GardenVlog # 15 ~ 1st - 4th May 2025

Hello my Green Thumbed Guru's,

I hope you are all keeping well....

I have done another Garden Vlog on my YouTube channel, just to keep you in touch with what is happening in my little part of the world..

Please leave a comment and tell me what you are up to...

Also, if you like the type of videos I am doing, please feel free to like and subscribe - I am trying to build my channel up, but don't have the algorithms working for me yet to get me out to the millions of folk out there in cyber land.

Your help with this would be greatly appreciated!!

Anyhoo - here is the video....

Enjoy,

And I look forward to catching up with you all soon.

Cheers for now,

Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden - Vlog # 14 - Easter

Hello my lovelies,

HAPPY EASTER if you are celebrating..

I have another Garden Vlog Catch-up thingy video on my YouTube channel...

I hope you will enjoy it!!

Catch you next week,

Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden & Witchery - Garden Vlog # 13 - GARDEN TOUR April 2025

Hello my Lovelies,

It's that time again for another Garden Tour video - what is happening in my gardens in April 2025.

I hope you enjoy it...

I have something a bit special coming up next week with herbal remedies that I make for my health - so I will be showing you what I do to make them.

Have a wonderful week!!

Blessings,

Annette )O( xxx

Autumn in South Australia 2025

Hello my little Magickal Unicorns, 

Well here it is the 15th of March and we are supposed to be in Autumn now. 

Mabon is upon us next Friday (21st - is usually when I celebrate), and nobody has told the weather that it is no longer summer. 

We have 39 degrees Celsius today, so I am sitting in my witchy room under the fan - trying desperately to keep cool. I'm not a fan of the heat. I used to be when I was younger - pre going through menopause. But now I love the cooler months (still not liking the heart of winter when it is too cold hahaha).

Spring is my ultimate favourite season - when everything starts to burst forward with life. Secondly is Autumn (if one should ever get an Autumn that is) then I guess I would have to then take Winter over Summer. 

I find the heat of Summer drains the energy out of me - most days all I can do outside is water my gardens.... and then.... collapse!!! For me, it is easier to keep warm than it is to keep cool - yes we can put the air-conditioner on, but that dries the air out and causes breathing difficulties (though it is nice at night when it is still in the high 20's and you need to sleep). 

Just a quick catch-up - So this year - 2025 - is there any signs of Autumn yet? 

Yes there are - even though most of my garden is still quite green (other than the plants that have died in the extreme heat we have had), some of the leaves are starting to turn yellow. The trees are a bit confused though as they are starting to bud!! 

We have not had any rain for 4 months now, so I lost a lot of plants even though I have watered sometimes twice a day to keep them alive. 

Some of my produce I grew this year was disappointing - small and bitter. And everything in my top garden beds just turned up toes and died there maybe something wrong with the soil up there, so I am going to do some testing and amending of soil, plus put in some green manure to grow over winter - just so those beds will be ready for Spring planting. 

My greenhouse is still WAY TOO HOT to start any seeds off yet - it's going to be late planting this year.  

On Sunday there will be another Gloomy's Garden Vlog coming out with a little tour of my garden and all its issues.... I hope you enjoy a sneak peak into my garden world. 

PLUS - hopefully, if all the stars align, I will have a witchcraft video out for you the very next weekend to do with Mabon...

My Autumn Altar 2025

Until then - I am just about to go and process my pomegranates (which we harvested a couple of weeks ago and had so many that we have fed 6 families with them), so I can make some apple & pomegranate jam.  Plus I am hoping to save some of the peels to dry them out for tea making purposes.

I hope all is well wherever you are.

Have a blessed week ahead, thanks for catching up with me today!! 

Annette )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden - Vlog 11 - End of Summer Catch-up

Hi Everyone,

Just another Gloomy's Garden Vlog for end of summer...

I hope you enjoy it!!

New Year - New Moon - New Beginning - First blog of 2025!!!

 Greetings and Salutations All & A Happy New Year!!

I bet a few of you have hangovers today hahaha - a few parties and few too many drinks later!

Did you make any New Year's resolutions?

We spent our New Year's Eve at home, nothing special really - I managed to clean out my Greenhouse of all plants and give it a good sweep through.  We then sat under the gazebo and Paul wrote a couple of new guitar tracks, so we listened to him and sang along whilst I was repotting a fern and ripping up cardboard/paper for composting.  Caetlyn was doing her knitting (swearing a lot because she miss counted or dropped a stitch... hahaha) and Mavis the dog was just following anyone around to see if she could help or sleeping under the table!

Later in the day we just had a normal meal, watched a bit of telly and then played scrabble until it was time to wish each other a HAPPY NEW YEAR.  We did consume a lot of sweets and biscuits/cookies though - which we con't normally do as we have reduced our sugar and salt intake over 2024 quite substantially, so when we have a burst of sugar like this, it does disrupt our bodily patterns somewhat!

As it was also the New Moon, a time to start something new, a fresh beginning as it is the start of the new moon cycle.  I did light my huge candle and some incense to welcome in the new year - however, I don't really get excited about it because our (witchy) new year isn't until Samhain on 1st May.

This year in the Chinese Horoscope it is the year of the Wood Snake (which means it's Paul's year this year). That doesn't come into effect until 29th January 2025.

Thinking of 2025 - I do hope that this year will be a better year than the previous 3 years, which have been a bit rough - and even though I do not make resolutions (as I am always disappointed in myself when they all fall apart), there are a few things (goals perhaps?) I would like to do:

1. Keep trying to get fitter and healthier - as I am getting older I need to make sure that I maintain my flexibility and fitness levels so that I don't end up on the "Medication Merry-go-Round".  I believe that Mother Nature has provided us with all the help we need in the forms of herbs and food for medicine.  I have created a spreadsheet for the next 6 months with every detail I need to form an opinion on patterns (good or bad) so that I can tweak my fitness progress:

Front Page of my Fitness Plan

I have included things like exercise, rest, daily health assessments, supplements taken, fortnightly weight and monthly body measurements.  With this information I should be able to see what progress I am making, and if I am not making progress, I should be able to see where I am failing with all the collected information.  I also have a page for NOTES after each month and on there - well it's like a journal - I put my feelings on certain days so I can see if there are any cycles or patterns there.

It should be all very interesting!!

2.  I would like to progress my YouTube channel by varying the content on there, hoping I will get more followers (but if I don't, ah well C'est Lavie), I will still have fun documenting my journey in life...

My YouTube Banner
Annette McLean's YouTube

So if you want to see more videos on Gloomy's Garden, or on my witchcraft practice, herbal remedies, book reviews, Q&A's and Tea & Chat videos, hop along on the bad foot to my channel and press subscribe, and ring the bell so you are notified of when I upload.  It would be greatly appreciated!!

3.  I would like to learn how to make my own soap - from scratch - right now I have done the melt and pour soap, and I am about to embark on the reusing the old soap bits that usually get thrown away - to make soap bars... but I would really love to learn how to make pure soap from scratch, using the oils I have infused with herbs and flowers from my garden.  I am a bit wary about the Lye though - I have heard that can be quite a thing to get used to!!

Melt & Pour Lavender Soap

I thought that the soap and pour ones were very easy to do and with the soap colours, they looked quite pretty (plus I did put some Lavender blossoms and oil in the mix as well).  For my first try I was quite pleased with them - I  did some flowers and some stars - it was a gift for a friend (along with a load of other witchy items) that was moving interstate.

4.  I want to repaint and redecorate my witchy room come office.... I want to make it feel more mystical and magickal, full of beautiful things that make me feel peaceful and joyful.

My messy work desk and Altar

My witchy cupboards and a load of mess

My bookshelves filled with odds & sods (mess)

However, if I don't get to these things this year - there is always a next, I am not going to be putting undue pressure on myself just to prove a point. 

To do my room I will probably have a month off in either April or May so that I can take my time and get it how I want it.

Isn't it lovely to have a new year, a fresh start?  To get rid of ALL the negative aspects out of your life (as much as possible - unless you live in a cottage deep in the heart of a wild forest somewhere, where nobody visits and you have no media to drag you down, just nature) and just breathe a sigh of relief, knowing YOU are in FULL control of what happens in your life - sure, those around you or situations can influence that and how you react, but at the end of the day - YOU are the one who makes the decisions for YOU!!

Take control of that aspect this year - say NO more to things that you don't want to do - even at the risk of upsetting someone you love or the boss at work!

This year is a time of YOU

Now you might think that this is self-centred... and maybe it is to a point, but we have all been living under a man made stress for so long despite our mental and physical health.  Self Care is NOT self-centred, it is hard to be everything to everyone if your health is on the brink of crumbling around you.... To be strong, you NEED to concentrate on getting YOU right FIRST.  That is why NO is going to be the word of 2025....

If you don't want to go to a party and you would rather stay home in your PJ's with your cat/dog, watching something on TV or reading a book - then say NO.

If you don't want to take on more responsibility at work, tell them that you don't have the capacity to do that - say NO.

If you have a gut feeling that something isn't right and you don't want to proceed - then NO!!

It just amounts to prioritising YOU first.

Anyway, enough of me ranting - I'm off to spend some time in nature (my back garden), so have a lovely first day of January 2025 - get some rest, eat well, spend some time in nature and breathe in all that goodness, and I will catch you in the next blog or vlog on YouTube.

Blessings to you all )O( xxx

Looking back at 2024 and what is new for 2025, (Last BLOG of the year)

 Greetings all,

Merry Christmas Eve 🌲🔆🌟🔥

What a year 2024 has been!!

I was going to write about what a crap year it has been, but I didn't want to leave a whole bunch of negativity here, there is so much of it in the world these days that I don't want to encourage it here on this platform, so I have taken a "well needed" step back to reflect on the year that was, and found that there were a few things that threw the curve ball at us - like losing our beloved Rudy boy, ongoing health issues, work issues etc - but there were also good things as well, like enjoying nature, the garden and adopting our Mavis from the Animal Welfare League...

Mavis and I doing a selfie...

Whilst work has given me the absolute heebee-geebees (I cleaned that up pretty nicely!!!), I was blessed  to have a whole month off in September - part of my long service leave - and in that month we redecorated parts of the house, did some planting in the garden, relaxed and just enjoyed life.

My home life has been great, we have it good, and are very grateful for what we have as we know we are in a good position financially and do not want for anything in particular (we haven't always been there so we know it is a hell of a good place to be in) and what with my garden coming to life in spring and summer, good food and also benefitting from a daily witchcraft practice. 

We do all have our moments of depression or sadness, which has only been so predominantly around us since we have had the C Virus shots in 2022 (I know, I sound like a broken record - but honestly, if I knew then what I know now - I would NEVER have got them).  We all struggle on a daily basis - sometimes we feel good - other times we feel ill, and very, very exhausted (we can have a good night's sleep and wake up SO tired) but it's nothing you can put your finger on and honestly - the Doctors are no good in this situation because they do not know anything but taking a guess at what's wrong and loading you up with pharmaceutical drugs, which cause more harm than good - and we do not want to go down that Merry-Go-Round.  Most of the time we all suffer from varying issues - differing body aches and pains, headaches, earaches, itches, migraines, constipation, diarrhoea and just an overwhelming sadness that prevails even when things are going splendidly.  It feels as though your very soul is too heavy to carry around - Sometimes it is very hard just to get up of a morning...

We are trying to keep off of junk food, sugary items, salty items and cooking things with too many oils - eating healthier foods and getting adequate exercise and rest to see if we can combat these issues and bring in a change of good health.

To try to conquer these feelings -most mornings I light my candles on my altar, light some nice incense to cleanse my space and pull an oracle card for the day.  It has been very insightful, and has helped me gain a wee bit of confidence in my abilities as a witch.  It helps me focus for the day and gives me some sort of calmness before all the madness begins (especially my work day!)

I have also started to 'craft' things and was able to make a few witchy items for a friend that was moving interstate - I made her a goodie spell bag with lots of things in it, like a protection jar spell, a protection sigil, some herbal tea, some bath salts and soap (all crafted by me), some seeds for her garden when she gets established (Sunflower and Calendula from my garden) - she was so happy with it all....

I have been making more of a connection with my plants and insects in my garden too (yes I talk to them hahaha) - which shows as the garden is looking very lush and green

Looking through the portal....

I purchased a new greenhouse this year as my old one kind of got demolished in the very strong winds we have had this year (and continue to do so):

Gloomy's Greenhouse....

I will be doing a product review of the new greenhouse on my YouTube channel in 2025 - so stay tuned for that one if you are thinking of getting one of these types of greenhouses - (there have been many learning curves with this one) - so maybe you will learn some tips and tricks!!

Speaking of YouTube and my channel, I started uploading Gloomy's Garden Vlogs in 2024 - something I spent many years wanting to do but didn't have the courage, I thought I was too ugly, fat, old etc and could think up any excuse not to do videos.  Then one day I thought "why not", other people do it and they are just themselves, I could do that too... I have started out doing a VLOG every so often and am up to #9 at the moment.

I wish to keep doing more videos in 2025, but expanding the repertoire to not only do garden vlogs, but to do other things such as monthly herbalism posts, Q&A's, Product reviews, Herbal Remedies, Health Tips and Tea & Chat type scenarios.  So if you are interested in any of this - please hop over to my YouTube channel and Hit that SUBSCRIBE button and the bell notification so you are advised when I put a new video up - Hopefully I will get a few more followers, I think I have around 20 at the moment.  I have to wonder how people get hundreds of thousands of followers!!!???!!!

Gloomy's YouTube Channel

I will also be doing a book give away in late January 2025 - as I received a book from a relative for my birthday, but I already have it, so I thought a nice give away would be great.  I will advertise it on Instagram and YouTube - the proviso is that you have to like and subscribe to my YouTube channel to go into the draw.  After a month, I will do a video of the drawing of the name - hopefully with my trusty Super-Hubby sidekick, and then make someone feel good about themselves for getting a free book!  I will advise when I have that all organised so you can follow the links and put your name in if you want 😁

So there are a lot of plans for the future of my YouTube channel in  2025!!

In the meantime, I have two weeks annual leave and we still have around 7 days left in 2024 - Christmas Day is tomorrow - we will have our own little celebration as we are not Christians, so we will do something Witchy and make good food and just be together with our pupster Mavis.

What ever you are doing or celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful time and feel very blessed that you made it through another year, looking forward to the new year ahead.

Until next year my friends,

Blessings and Good Health to you all,

An Irish Blessing

Cheers,

Gloomy )O( xxx

Gloomy's Garden Vlog # 9 - The Summer Solstice - LITHA

Greetings my lovelies,

I have decided to share my latest video blog (or VLOG) on my website from now on - just in case you are interested in what I am doing in my garden.

Today we celebrate LITHA or the Summer Solstice here in Australia. It is a time to honour the Sun and the energy of the summer season. A time to connect with the natural world and to celebrate the beauty and diversity of life. It is also a time to reflect on personal growth and to set intentions for the year ahead. The colours of LITHA are red, gold and green (just like the Christian Christmas), so you can celebrate by decorating your house or space with these colours.... you could make wreaths from native plants and hang them on your door for prosperity - or any other intention you require. As we are in the fire-ban season, we are not allowed to have the usual bonfire (like Lithe in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21st), but you could use battery powered candles instead of normal candles if you are celebrating outside - you could also have a barbecue with your family and friends (which uses fire). Litha is a celebration of abundance, light, growth and joy. In the Celtic language LITHA means 'Light". Things you can do to celebrate at this time: Spend time outside under the sun. Get energised, feel renewed & be grateful to be alive. Reflect on peak moments of accomplishments and be proud of yourself. Embrace your Bad-Arse Awesome self (even if you do look hot and sweaty after being in the sun!!) To celebrate my LITHA, I am planting some climbing plants, that I bought yesterday, in my front garden (in the full sun). I embrace the shining light of the Sun for it will bring me vitality and beauty. Blessings to you all )O(

Gloomy