Power Tools....

Yes, power tools. Just not the Black and Decker or Bosch you may be used to. You'll never find a paslode nailer in my hand unless I'm taking down 'Unmentionables' in the zombie apocalypse. Which, I may add, requires little effort to rig and you get 100 shots off before a new fuel cell is required. But, I digress....

               Power Tools I speak of are those objects you have no idea why you have them around, they just are. Those items you grab for luck, focus, or otherwise. They can be anything as complex as a hockey stick (Harry Dresdon) or something simple and modern as a car key locator when you are running late for work. Despite the major differences in both, you can agree that you'd be lost without it. Power Tools in this instance being the peice of driftwood I found today, or rather, was directed to. Five feet long, smooth, with a double twist at the end. Heading from Hamilton back to Missoula, I just had to have my fiance turn around and drive down to a boat launch landing I randomly noticed. Large piles of dead flood debris, a wide expanse of rotting floodplane, both circumnavigated by streams and the Clark Fork. I climb out of the car, approach the heavily eroded bank, pause for a second to admire the view. I look down and there, lying at my feet, a power tool. A staff. A blank canvas to the woodburning creator within me. The possiblities were, and are, endless with what you can do to personalize an object. This one in particular will be cleansed tomorrow morning, followed by grounding, then finished off with a ritual to empower it. When all that is finished, I will begin the personalization process. This will be accomplished through meditation, instinct, and the muse that drives me as well as all creative people in the world. Upon completion, this power tool with join the ranks of many other tools I have and await its purpose... whether that be decided by me or not.
                      So, scoff if you will. Ignore those little signs or warnings from others before touching that "So called 'Bad Luck Rock'" (You know who you are). Pass up that opportunity to unleash your creativity on an object that, somewhere down the road, may help you out or get you through a rough patch. And if it doesnt, you'll have the memory of the joy you had creating it. Dont run out and look for something, it will find you.

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh my!

Well...none of those, but just as exciting. For me anyway. When you love herbal work as much as I do, its natural to blow a gasket when you do your weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly herb inventory and realize you need to go shopping again (SQUEE!!!!) for a supply run. Now having a list in front of you comprised of 86 herbs/elements, would make most people say "Damn, thats alot of frakkin' crap", but me... I look at the empty bags and remember all the things I did with the contents. Things I learned, mistakes I made, new guidelines to follow, and always remember which ones resulted in a rash. Apparently that one needed repeating to sink in. The list, as follows, are things that I actually use. Yes. I will, at some point within the next 4 months, use all of these for one thing or another.

Organic Comfrey Leaf, Slippery Elm Bark Powder, Yarrow Flowers, Slippery Elm 'Bark', Lindenbracts,
Egyptian Mint, Eyebright, Mugwort (2 lbs!), Jasmine Pods, Mace, Blue Malva Flowers, Cloves, Organic Calendula Flowers, Cats Claw Bark, Cardomum Pods, Juniper Sprigs, Arigimory, Organic Catnip, Caraway Seeds, Vervain, Jasmine Flowers, Hyssop, Black Walnut Bark, Violet Leaf, Safflower Buds, Hibiscus Flowers, Organic Licorice Root, Blue Violet, Sulphor, Oak Moss, Lavender (2 lbs!)(I love the stuff), Vetivert Root, Eucalyptus Leaves, Peppermint Leaves, Angelica Root, Organic Wormwood, Snake Root, Sarsparilla Root, Organic Sage, Fennel Seeds, Gum Mastic, Kava Kava Root, Althea Root, Spearmint Leaves, Cinquefoil, Basic Ground Wormwood, Hops, Ginger Root, Lemongrass, Pau D Arco, Sunflower Petals, Labolia, Copal, Benzoin, Dragons Blood, Dandelion, Boneset, Damiana Leaf, Rosemary, Celandine, Feverfew, St Johns Wort, Coriander, Asafoetida, Aloes Cape, Organic Comfrey Root, Ground Sumac Berries, Rosehips, Kudzu Root, Orange Blossoms, Star Anise, Rue, Bayleaf, Whole Cumin, Gum Arabic, Witch Hazel Bark, Henna, Goldenseal Leaf, White Copal, Devils Shoestring, Juniper Berries, Frankincense, Arrowroot Powder, Ground Slippery Elm Bark, and Turmeric Powder.

      And, as I said, these are just what I have on hand. Pretty crazy amount, huh? But, candles need charging, satchets need sewing, pillows need stuffing, teas need brewing, incense need mixing, and people need helping. And that, my friends, is my goal. If there is the will, there is a way.