Echinacea Herbal Extract (Tincture)- How To

Extracts are one of the easiest ways to process herbs. An extract is what most people think of when they use the term tincture. Tincture is a medical term, while extract is technically the more correct term for what we're doing in this recipe. However, tincture is commonly used by herbalists and dabblers alike and it's acceptable to use either. 

We're using echinacea in this recipe, but you could use any herb you want. Typically, an extract or tincture is medicinal in nature and taken internally. However it can also be applied topically depending on the herb, or used entirely for magickal workings. I like it when it can be used for all three, and echinacea fits the bill.

Let me say that extracts are so stinking simple you'll wonder why you haven't been making them all along. So much money goes toward buying commercial extracts and herbal tinctures in the stores when a fraction of that can be spent doing it yourself, and with far greater quantity and quality. 

Extracts can be used in food, like vanilla extract, medicinally, like echinacea, or magickally, like mugwort. Once you master extracts you will find all kinds of excuses to make them.

Unlike infusions, teas and oils, extracts require dried herbs. Never use fresh herbs for homemade tinctures and extracts. 

The whole echinacea plant can be used. Pull it up, root, flowers and all, and chop it up finely. It's OK to just use the roots alone, or the aerial parts while leaving the roots in the ground- you decide what you prefer. Not all plants can use all parts, so know your herb or plant before using. 

You can see the first picture above showing the size of the echinacea pieces. Once you've chopped them up, spread them out on a baking sheet and gently dry them in a warm oven set at 170 degrees or lower. Alternately, hang the fresh whole plant away from direct sunlight until dry, or put the whole plant into a dehydrator, then chop well. You can also buy already dried echinacea at your local herb store or online. I like Mountain Rose Herbs for their quality whenever I can't grow it myself or get it local. As it happens, my MIL grows echinacea in her flower beds. 

You'll need on hand some alcohol like vodka, 80-100 proof. Take any old clean jar with a secure lid, any size you want, and fill it half way full of the dried, chopped herbs. You can use an old salsa jar or a mason jar or jelly jar. 

Now pour the alcohol over the dry herbs and fill to the top. Once wet, the herbs will swell considerably over the first couple of days. If you overfill with herbs you might need to move it to a bigger jar, which is a hassle. 

Now add the lid and seal it, label it with the date you made it, what percentage alcohol you used (80 proof is 40%, or half), and a date for six week away, so you know when to decant it. 

Store in a place you'll see everyday, like a dark corner on the kitchen counter, away from direct sunlight, for six weeks. Because the herbs will swell, you'll need to open up your jar every day for the first week and top off with more vodka so no parts are exposed to the air, as this oxidizes the material and degrades it. Shake with the lid closed every day for the first week or two. Then shake every few days thereafter until the six weeks are up.

After six weeks, strain the contents through a fine mesh sieve, muslin bag or cheesecloth so no particulates make it into the finished extract. If they do, it's OK, you can run it through the cheesecloth again until it's clean. Press and press and squeeze with your hands if needed. You want to separate the extract from the plant material as much as possible.

Herbs inside the bag.

Straining herbs into a bowl. 

Muslin bag after hand wringing herbs.

Extracted liquid. Plenty to fill four 1-ounce bottles with a little leftover.

Pour the extract into a clean jar, preferably in a dark bottle if you have one, with a good seal or lid. Cobalt blue dropper bottles are a great way to store them. Discard the pressed herbs into the compost or trash, they can't be reused. Label your bottles. Your finished extract will last years.

You'll end up with about half the size of the jar of extract, so for an 8 ounce jar you'll get about 4 oz of extract depending on how well you squeeze it when it's done. 

So now the extract is made- what to use it for?

Tea with raw honey and extract.

Echinacea has been used widely by Native Americans and traditional herbalists. I invite you to do your own research for how to use echinacea medicinally. I like to add some extract to my tea when I am just starting a cold, have a sore throat, or apply it topically to cuts and minor wounds.

Magickally, this herb has played a role in sweat lodge rituals and may have been smoked in the sacred pipe in rituals, especially by Plains Nations.

It can help provide inner strength during trying times. Traditionally this herb has been used as an offering to the spirits or ancestors. Just like it is used to boost the immune system, it can also be used to strengthen and boost any magickal working, spell or potion. Excellent for defensive, healing and protective magick.

Echinacea can be used magickally as a whole plant or just certain parts, powdered, fresh, dried, in an oil, tea, infusion, or extract. It can be used as an incense, in a floor wash, a ritual bath, anointing oil and smoked. There are other magickal properties of this herb that vary from tradition to tradition.

Pine Resin

If I say "wind in pine"

Will you hear it?

Only waves of air

Washing around inside you

Through limbs of trees

You planted there long ago

Or yesterday

Will deliver my words to you alive

Will carry you into

The pure wonder of wildness

Like a dry needle swept into the sky

-Garth Gilchrist

A couple weekends ago we visited some local White Pine trees and harvested resin and sap. Since tree sap is the mechanism for trees to seal wounds and protect itself from bacteria, fungus and invasion by insects, we are careful how we extract this resource. Tree sap is first and foremost for the health of the tree, so we use common sense and act conscientiously when harvesting so as not to disrupt the tree's natural protective and defensive process. 

This is a sticky, sticky production to harvest. Did I mention it was sticky?

Pine resin is oil and alcohol soluble, so you can dissolve it in either oil or alcohol for salves, tinctures and other medicinal goodies. You can also use some cooking oil to clean it off your hands and tools. Just like when making soap or candles or working with beeswax, it's best to have dedicated instruments. Here I am using a pocketknife. A dull butter knife and an old mason jar also work great. 

Medicinal Uses

Pine resin and sap have numerous medicinal and survival attributes. A well documented history of this plant's resin and sap was used by Native Americans. used for all manner of skin afflictions to protect & disinfect wounds and draw out impurities, including cuts, sores, skin eruptions, bruises, scabs, slivers, abscesses, and boils.  

It's antimicrobial properties are antibacterial and antifungal, making it particularly helpful at fighting infection in scrapes & wounds. Herbalists utilize pine resins to stimulate topical circulation, speed healing, draw out mucous, respiratory congestion, and as a warming rub for sore muscles & painful joins.

I encourage you to do your own research and learn about how you can add pine resin into your homeopathic first-aid supply. 

Pine Resin Salve

Ingredients

¼ cup pine resin

½ cup oil (olive, almond, etc.)

½ – 1 ounce beeswax, grated

Directions

• Add pine resin to oil in a simmering double boiler. Heat together on low heat until pine resin melts.
• Strain mixture through a coffee filter or strainer.
• Return to double boiler and add grated beeswax. Gently heat until mixture is melted. Pour into tins or jars and store in a cool, dark place.

Magickal Uses

Pine has as many magickal uses as it does for wound care. It is said that a pine wand or cone on your altar will ward off evil or malicious influences. If you have ever been to my home, you will know we keep several pine cones on our hearth for this purpose. Known as the Tree of Peace by the Iroquois, it can he hung in the home or over the front door to protect and bring peace, healing and joy. 

Pine is an excellent plant to burn for purification, exorcism, banishing negativity, breaking hexes and attracting money. Pine oil can be added to floor washes for cleansing away negativity and to ward off illnesses. 

Home & Ritual Purification

Use any combination of of tree parts, 

including needles, chipped wood, cones, resin.

1 part pine

1 part cedar

1 part juniper

Burn the mixed dry ingredients together as a smudging incense 

to purify and cleanse your home or ritual space.

Cleansing & Stimulating Magickal Bath

Add pine needles to a loosely-woven muslin, cotton or cheesecloth sachet or bundle and run bathwater over it and soak for twenty minutes or more.

Shepherd's Purse

 Just now this cute little wild one is growing around places it aught not to. A rebel after my own heart. Hidden in gardens, peeking through fences and sidewalk cracks, it thrives in disturbed soil and waste spaces.

I discovered Shepherd's Purse, or capsella bursa-pastoris, in our garden a few years ago and instantly fell in love. The dainty little heart shaped buds are simply enchanting. 

Other folk names this plant goes by include:

Lady's Purse, Witches' Pouches, Pick-Pocket, Pick-Purse, Blindweed, Pepper-and-Salt, Poor Man's Parmacettie, Sanguinary, & Mother's Heart. Depending on the quality of the soil is has decided to grow in, it can be a few inches high up to two feet tall.

When dried and infused into a tea, it was considered by ancient herbalists and battlefield medics to be one of the best plants for stopping hemorrhages of all kinds. 

Today's herbalists are still using Shepherd's Purse. Internally, it is especially used for menstrual periods with abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding.

Externally, the herb has been used for healing minor wounds, cuts and scrapes.

The herb’s ability to stop bleeding can be contributed to the plant's substances that are able to accelerate the coagulation of the blood, and a protein that acts like the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin stimulates contractions of the smooth muscles surrounding blood vessels, especially those in the womb.

Always do your own research and talk with a trained professional before using wild plants for medicine and food. 

Very soon these little guys were overgrown in our garden by more aggressive weeds and plants. If I hadn't captured a few photos as early as I did, they would have been lost for this season. When I went back a couple weeks later they couldn't be found in the sea of tall grass and foxtails. Luckily I was able to snag a few specimens from around the neighborhood during my walks for drying and storing. 

Magickal uses for Shepherd's Purse are as a protective charm against bleeding. Add the dried herb to poppets, candles, offering bowls, and other workings. The seeds have been traditionally used as an amulet for teething children. It is said that eating the seeds of the first three Shepherd's Purse plants you see will protect against all manner of diseases for the rest of the year. In candle magick, the herb can be used in spells to heal bruises, skin irritations and other ailments. A much beloved herb by Frigga, it's a great plant to use in a charm bag for a healthy pregnancy. *Do not ingest if pregnant.  

When it blooms, it has small white flowers that emerge from its cute heart fruit pods. They are sometimes described as having 'triangular' shaped fruits, but they are clearly heart-shapes, along the stem. I guess we see what we want. 

Shepherd's Purse is a member of the mustard family. It flowers almost all year-round depending on climate, and can reproduce many generations each year. 

While on the bitter side, this wild plant, roots and all, has been a food source for hundreds of years, especially in Asian cuisine. The leaves can be added to salads or cooked as a vegetable. The seed pods have a “peppery” taste and the seeds have been used as a substitute for mustard seeds.

In Japan, Shepherd's Purse is an essential ingredient in Nanakusa-Gayu (Seven-Herb Rice Soup) traditionally served on January 7th. 

It is one of the seven edible wild herbs of spring in Japan, which are:

• Water dropwort — seri (せり )
• Shepherd’s Purse — nazuna (なずな)
• Cudweed — gogyō (ごぎょう)
• Chickweed — hakobera (はこべら)
• Nipplewort — hotokenoza (ほとけのざ)
• Turnip — suzuna (すずな)
• Radish — suzushiro (すずしろ)

Nanakusa-Gayu (Seven-Herb Rice Soup)

Makes 6 servings

4 cups water
4-inch piece dried kombu (kelp) <-- you can get this at Fred Meyer in the health food section or at Stay Well Health Food Store on Fillmore)
1 1/2 cups steamed Japanese rice
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 pieces mochi (<--video below)
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup herbs (listed above, or substitute with what you have on hand), rinsed and minced

1. Make the kombu dashi: The best way to make this stock is to soak the kombu in the water overnight, covered, in the refrigerator, then discard the kombu and use the stock. Quick method: Allow the kombu to soak in the water in a saucepan for 30 minutes. Then place the saucepan over medium-high heat. As soon as bubbles start to appear, remove the kombu from the water and remove the saucepan from the heat. Do not let the liquid come to a boil, as the kombu will then give the stock a bitter flavor.

2. Add the rice to the dashi and cook over low heat, stirring to break up any clumps of rice.

2. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the grains of rice swell and begin to lose their shape. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the mochi, and then the boiling water and stir.

3. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally to prevent the soup from sticking to the pot. When the mochi has softened and has begun to lose its shape, add the herbs. Stir and cook for an additional minute, then remove from the heat and serve immediately.

It is a simple porridge-like soup made with rice and water, or a light broth, seven different varieties of herbs (each chosen for their unique health promoting properties), and sometimes mochi. Possible substitutes for herbs you can't find locally would be basil, watercress, turnip greens and cilantro. Experiment to see what you like. The soup is meant to let the “overworked” stomach and digestive system rest and bring longevity and health in the coming year.

Here's a video for how to make the Mochi as well, though you can leave it out if desired.

Star of Bethlehem Plant

You might see these bright little six-petaled white flowers growing in neglected areas of your garden or yard, or around town in places that grow wild. They are certainly cute and dainty and very easy to admire. Their common name is Star of Bethlehem, but before the time of Medieval pilgrims this plant was known by other names, like Dog's Onion. It is thought this little flower derived its name from the Greek word ornithogalum meaning “bird’s milk flower”. Ornithogalum umbellatum is its proper name.

Related to garlic and onions, they are part of the hyacinthaceae family. They have small bulbs and grass-like leaves. If you ever pull these up and see the bulbs, they do look like wild onions or garlic even, but without that easy-to-spot onion scent. 

Every year when we work our garden soil we find oodles of the bulbs that we guess must have been planted long ago, as our home is around 75 years old. I'm sure whatever was planted back then, the ones we have now are the result of decades of unchecked proliferation. These plants don't need any help, they grow as they please. Some states consider them an invasive species and noxious weed. They are banned in Alabama. If you want to grow them, it is recommended to plant them in flower beds or pots. 

They bloom in late Spring from about May-June. 

While history tells us many stories of people eating the bulbs and flowers as sustenance during famine, they are in fact poisonous, and cooked incorrectly, they can cause heart attack and even be fatal. 

The white of the flower symbolizes innocence, forgiveness, truth, honesty and purity. They are often used in flower arrangements for weddings, baptisms and Christenings where these themes are common.   

For spells and magickal workings, they are well suited for trauma or loss of a loved one. Add the dried flowers to sachets, mojos, amulets and ritual powders to give comfort and to ease the pain of grieving, or any kind of trauma. 

Striking a Balance: 20 Ethical Guidelines for Wildcrafting

Dandelion greens are a rich source of nutrients, with vitamins C and B6, thiamin, riboflavin,
calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, folate, magnesium,phosphorus, and copper.
Add to smoothies, soups, salads, and saute' with garlic and onions. 

1. Harvest in areas with abundance, and avoid areas where the plant community is young or not well established yet
2. Always gain permission from the landowner- this includes calling parks departments ahead of time for rules and restrictions at local parks and public lands
3. Leave rare, unusual, at-risk, threatened and endangered plants alone
4. Know your plants and positively identify them- when unsure, take a picture for identification later and leave the plant undisturbed 
5. Gather in small quantities, no more than 10% to avoid decimation of an area, with the understanding that sometimes even 10% is too much for that area and you will need to scale back 
6. Collect plants during their proper growing phase
7. Spread the harvest wide rather than concentrating on one bunch or area
8. Harvest away from areas of known herbicides, pesticides or chemical contaminants, roads and trails, industrial areas, areas with livestock, or downstream from livestock if collecting streamside
9. Always leave the area looking as good as you found it, or better
10. Gather on sunny days after the morning dew and before the hot sun comes out
11. Take only what you can use, and no more
12. Be willing to walk away with nothing if your harvest would injure the plants or the balance of the area
13. Always take the middle growth plants, leaving the smallest and largest members of the community
14. Ask the plants and land for permission- it may feel silly at first, but remember you are building relationships
15. Aid the plants in growing and flourishing by removing invasive weeds near them, picking up trash and litter in the area, thinning where needed, and taking dead, broken and fallen branches instead of live ones 
16. Be mindful of how the plants reproduce and harvest in a way that meets the plant community's needs
17. When collecting water plants, know where the water is coming from and be aware of environmental toxins
18. Bring the right tools
19. Always thank the plants, and share your bounty
20. Process your harvest immediately, either in the field, or as soon as you get home 

Lemon Balm growing wild between cement pavers. Lemon Balm is a member of the mint family, and is a wonderfully calming herb safe for even children.
It can help reduce stress, anxiety, promote sleep, improve appetite, and ease pain and discomfort from indigestion and colic.
Drink as a tea, dab fresh leaves on bug bites, and throw into culinary dishes.  

Wild Dandelion. Let the Dandelions grow!  The peak flowering time is March to May, though we will see these little yellow flowers well into Fall. Each flower is packed with nectar and pollen, making them a perfect early food source for pollinators just coming out of hibernation. A whole range of garden wildlife depends on Dandelions for food and survival. Bees, birds, butterflies, moths, and pollen beetles need them.

Harvested Dandelion roots can be dried, ground and made into a very tasty coffee substitute. Traditional herbalists use Dandelion root to support the healthy functioning of the liver, kidneys spleen and gallbladder. 

Juniper Berries

I began my love for Juniper several years ago. There is no interesting story for why I was drawn to it, only that one day I noticed them, and that was that. Specifically, I was drawn to the cedar berries of the Juniper tree, or as most people call them, Juniper Berries. In their fresh state, they are green and blue, and almost perfectly round, like tiny little peas. The shape, size and colors appealed to me first. Then the scent, and finally the uses.

The berries are actually tiny cones, and take two or three years to mature. The green berries are the youngest, and the bluish black berries are the older ones. They have an aromatic resiny fragrance. 

Juniper berries can be wildcrafted easily. Junipers grow everywhere here, and you are likely to have one in your yard, or one nearby at a neighbors. They also grow at local parks, and a short drive or hike will get you there.

I find mine at several local spots. I have partnerships with a few people and neighbors around town who let me harvest their Junipers. One neighbor on the next block has a giant juniper tree that is plentiful and easy to access, and is happy to let me and my son visit anytime for berries. 

I personally collect the needles, twigs and berries. Once home, they get separated and dried. The berries are too small to go into my dehydrator, so I lay them all out in a large cookie sheet and dry them outside on dry days for several weeks, occasionally moving them around so they dry evenly. Some of the supply goes into incense making, and others get used for other culinary, ritual/magickal and medicinal purposes.  

*Note: Because it can cause contractions of the uterine muscles, 

pregnant women should not use Juniper.*

Before drying, you can save some of the berries to make into beads. Poke holes through them when they are fresh, and then dry. Once dry, they will crumble if you try to drill through. The beads can be strung onto a string or sinew to make Ghost Beads. Ghost Beads are a Navajo tradition that uses a necklace or bracelet of strung juniper berries and other beads for children to wear. It keeps nightmares, evil spirits and bad energy away. 

As incense, it makes a great sage or smudging alternative. Burn like a smudge stick or over a charcoal disc. The berries throw out oodles of smoke, making it perfect for rituals calling for such an effect. The smoke of the wood, needles and berries are perfect for cleansing and purifying your home of negative energy, illness, and banishing spiritual activity you don't want around. At Samhain / Autumn Equinox, it is said to aid in clairvoyance and connection with the spirit world.

During the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, which tallied an estimated 20 million deaths, many hospitals found Juniper essential oil, sprayed into the air, to be particularly effective in preventing air-born infection from spreading. We know now that Juniper contains antiseptic and disinfectant properties.

You can eat Juniper berries, and grind them over food like peppercorns when dried. Many French and Southern European dishes use Juniper, and there is a Juniper-flavored beer enjoyed in Sweden. But Juniper is probably best known for being the ingredient used to flavor Gin.

Since I grew up in Concord, NC, and my favorite jelly is grape jelly, and because I always believed Concord, Massachusetts MUST be trying to copy us and that where I lived was the REAL Concord, and because they pronounced theirs like 'conquered', which seemed pretty arrogant, AND because they were considered Yanks by all who lived below the Mason-Dixon line, here is a Juniper and Concord cocktail drink recipe I believe you will enjoy.

Flight of the Concords

1/2 c water

1/3 c sugar

2 t Juniper berries, lightly crushed (fresh is OK, use half if using dried)

12 oz or about 2 c seedless Concord or black grapes

1 orange rind strip (about 2 inches)

1 rosemary sprig (about 2 inches)

2 c tonic water 

1 c club soda

1/4 c orange juice

4 rosemary sprigs for garnish  

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small saucepan.

2. Over med-high heat, bring to a boil; reduce heat to med-low and simmer 14 minutes or until liquid is slightly syrupy, stirring occasionally to break up grapes. Cool completely. 

3. Remove and discard orange rind and rosemary. Place grape mixture in a blender or food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Strain liquid through a fine sieve over a bowl, pressings gently to extract liquid from solids (like when making loose tea). Discard solids. 

4. To prepare each cocktail, place 1/4 c grape mixture in an ice-filled glass, or combine grape mixture and ice into blender for an adult slushy. Add 1/2 c tonic water, 1/4 c club soda, and 1 T orange juice. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary. 

Serves 4. 

Grape (Wild) Hyacinths

The first century Greek physician Discorides wrote, 
"of this wort it is said that it was produced out of dragon's blood, on top of mountains, in thick forests."

The Grape, or Wild, Hyacinth is in bloom right now and will hopefully continue through the end of May to early June if we are lucky. These little flowers are not true Hyacinths, which have six-petaled star-shaped flowers. Grape Hyacinths have little bluebell or 'grape-like' flowers. They can be planted but spread quickly, and are often found in the wild in large numbers in open fields or in forests.

The flowers have a slight, starch-like scent, which are not especially enjoyable and while beautiful to look at, are not grown for their scent. 

This little plant was named after Hyacinthus. Hyacinthus was a charming and handsome Spartan youth, loved by both Apollo and Zephyrus. Hyacinthus preferred the Sun-God to the God of the West, who sought to be revenged. One day, when Apollo was playing quoits (a game kind of like our game of horseshoes) with the youth, a quoit that he threw was blown by Zephyrus out of its proper course and it struck and killed Hyacinthus. Apollo, stricken with grief, raised from his blood a purple flower on which the letters 'ai, ai,' were traced, so that the cry of woe might for evermore have existence on the earth. 

Magickal uses for Grape Hyacinths include grieving and loss spells, rituals and as incense to help ease the pain of loss. Some varieties can be made into tea, though other species are so bitter that they have earned the name Bulbus vomitorium. 

Poplar Buds & Balm of Gilead

Right now is the time to gather Poplar buds. Cottonwoods, or Poplars, are usually found easily along rivers and near water, but you might have one in your yard or near your home. Waiting even another couple of weeks may prove too late, as the best time for harvesting the buds is before the temperatures turn warm enough for the buds to open. 

I like to gather fallen branches after wind storms. They are abundant on the ground near the tree. 

Poplar buds are sweet and very pleasant smelling. It is described as having balsamic undertones and heavy vanilla honey top notes. 

I take the branches home and remove the buds. They come off very easily. I like to process the buds over something I can scrub easily with steel wool. The buds contain a sticky resin that can be challenging to clean off your fingers or surfaces. Here I use a smooth & shiny-topped TV tray I picked up for $1 at a yard sale. It's perfect for a job like this, and makes clean up easy. You can always lay down old newspapers, too.

It's hard to see in this picture above but that arrow is pointing to the red resin that has leaked out and hardened on the outside of the bud. There's more of that good stuff inside, waiting to be extracted. 

I'll use the resin from these buds to make an oil called Balm of Gilead. It has numerous medicinal uses. We use it topically but it can be processed to be taken internally as well. Do not take internally unless working with a qualified practitioner. 

At home we use it for superficial wounds, injuries and sunburn. The sticky resin of poplar buds contain salicin, which your body (liver) converts to aspirin. It is traditionally used as a remedy for muscle soreness and headaches, and has anti-septic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, analgesic (pain killing), expectorant and anti-inflammatory properties. Do your own research to learn more about poplar bud medicine. 

I'm left with a pile of knotty looking sticks after removing all the buds. I'll compost these later or use them in some other craft project.

After I'm done, there are red specks everywhere on my tray. I carefully scoop them up and add them to the bowl with the buds. I don't like wasting even a speck of this red gold. 

After all that, the buds go into a big jar and I cover it with oil plus a couple inches. Mine is a mixture of olive and coconut oil. This picture (above) is after about a week in the oil. The buds expand and open and so the extra oil is needed to keep them covered. 

The first two days the filled jar sits in my crock-pot in a waterbath on low. I stir it every few hours and press on the buds with my stirrer to get them to release all that good stuff into the oil. Be sure the jar sits higher than the water so none gets inside the jar, which will ruin the batch. 

Leave the lid off, because gas inside the jar will accumulate and needs to escape. I cover mine with cheesecloth and a jar ring or rubber band to keep dust and whatnot out of the jar and still let it breathe. 

After a couple days on low heat in the crock-pot waterbath I strain the oil into a cheesecloth covered handled sieve that fits perfectly inside the jar opening. Then I put it right back into the jar and re-cover the buds, and add more oil if needed. It no longer needs any heat. I can now use the cheesecloth and sieve as a 'lid' that is much easier to take off. The soaked-in oil holds the cheesecloth down nicely and keeps it in place. 

I use a wooden skewer as my stir-stick. If you use a spoon or other utensil, it should be long enough to get in the bottom of your jar without getting your fingers and hands sticky. Whatever you use, it WILL accumulate resin like nobody's business. This is a new clean one but after a couple days of stirring it will become red  with resin again. 

Keep your jar out of direct light in an out of the way space and stir once everyday. How long you let it infuse is up to you. After the two days in the warm bath you can call it good, or continue on for weeks or months. The longer it goes the more good stuff gets into the oil. I like to go for six months or longer. I have a batch on hand from prior years so I don't need this right away, and I can let it go for a while. It's OK to infuse this for a year, so since the best time to collect the buds is in the Winter, you can make this and let it infuse most of the rest of the year then turn them into gifts for the holidays come December, as well as renew your own supply. I would advise a minimum of six weeks, but many people do it for shorter and it's all fine. 

Once you are done infusing, whether it's a few weeks or a few months, strain your buds and oil through a few layers of cheesecloth. There will be some dirt sediment and you want all of that stuff to stay out of your finished oil. Once you are done straining, you can discard the buds, add a little Vit E as a preservative (maybe a teaspoon or two for a large jar like mine) and keep the oil in a dark bottle with a good lid. You can also use the oil to make salves, lotions and other products that fit your needs. You can even cut it with more oil if you want to use if for sore muscles or massage, for example.  

The finished oil will keep for 1-2 years. 

Magickal Uses

The finished oil of the poplar buds is what we call Balm of Gilead (BoG). Not to be confused with another plant by that name, the Cottonwood or Poplar tree has it’s own set of magickal properties.

BoG is a highly protective and powerful oil. It’s both energizing and grounding at the same time. Because of it’s sweet perfume, it’s often used in matters of love.

Use it for consecrating and anointing tools, candles and people, especially when working healing magick.

The buds alone can be burned as an incense to attract spirits and for divination. The rustling leaves of the tree are regarded by many Native American tribes as a spirit conductor, carrying messages from the spirit world if you just listen. In fact, the Balsam Poplar or Cottonwood tree is one of the most sacred trees in Native American plant lore. Sacred objects, like Hopi Kachinas, were made from this tree.

This oil is excellent in workings of reconciliation, knowledge, protection, strength, wisdom, love, fertility and healing. Because of its connection to the spirit world, BoG is used in many flying ointment recipes.