Eastern white pine ritual salv

A cool-weather folk charm, which I used this weekend in a ritual salve made with our King of the Waxing Year, the eastern white pine:

Turn what harms.
Hold what heals.
Keep what grows.
Seal what shields.

Eastern white pines are common throughout our region, woven into local folklore for generations. They can reach 150 feet, towering like cathedrals over old-growth forests. I’ve been lucky to spend time in Cook Forest, known for its ancient pines and hemlocks, including some of the tallest trees north of the Smokies.

In Haudenosaunee tradition, the eastern white pine is known as the Tree of Peace. When the Peacemaker, Dekanawidah, and Hiawatha united the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations, they planted a great white pine whose four roots stretched in every direction, carrying the message of peace.

(If you’d like to read more about evergreen folklore and properties, my brilliant friend @bloodandspicebush has a beautiful, in-depth article on her blog titled ‘Evergreens in Appalachian Folk Medicine and Magic.’)

I like to make a witch’s salve every season or so, blending specific herbs, prayers, and ‘qualities’ into a balm for ritual work. For fall, I infused yarrow with my needles (and a few other elements) into jojoba oil before combining with beeswax.

I’ve previously shared recipes using a 1:4 beeswax-to-oil ratio. For this batch, I wanted a softer consistency, so I increased the oil to 6 parts. (Less than 4 parts oil to 1 part beeswax usually makes a balm too hard and waxy.)

I got my inspiration to feature pine from @thewoodlandwitchh's new book, Cottage of the Woodland Witch, the most lovely resource on hearthcraft.

The shop will reopen this Friday, October 30th at 3:00 p.m. ET. All profits from items listed “in offering” will be sent to @the.auto.body.shop, a Pittsburgh-based mobile resource supporting bodily autonomy and community care.

You can also bid on one of my Mary statuette/prayer bead sets (or lots of other awesome art) to support the Pittsburgh Palestine encampment defendants, either online or in person tomorrow at the screening of All That’s Left of You at Pitt. More info: @pittsburghpalestinecoalition