Kitchen Witchery: Making an Arnica Salve

My husband has been suffering from a pinched nerve that has made his entire arm and shoulder feel as if lit on fire. For nearly two weeks he's been wrought with constant pain from the nerve and associated muscle soreness and tightness. Prescriptions and over-the-counter muscle creams couldn't touch it. A few days ago he reminded me of an arnica salve that I'd made a couple of years ago - I had totally forgotten! (The helenalin in arnica montana serves as a powerful topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic*) So I set out to make another, and was pleased to find that I had everything I needed on hand:

A cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of beeswax
Dried arnica montana flowers (about a half cup)
Rosemary essential oil 

There are a couple of ways to create herb oils, and due to time I chose the short method: letting the dried flowers steep in hot oil for 30 minutes (being very careful to keep the stovetop heat low so as not to cook the herbs).

While the oil was doing its thing, I set about chopping up the beeswax (you can use beeswax beads which work perfectly well, but raw beeswax is something special!)

I paused halfway through and lit a green candle for the healing goddess Eir. May this salve effectively help ease Jorge's pain. Since my arnica wasn't extra fresh, I also asked for a little boost in the potency of the herb itself. I thanked the plant, and its source. I opened my heart to Eir in invitation.

I traced the runes Uruz and Kenaz over the heating oil, and chanted their names quietly. After 30 minutes I strained the oil into a saucepan.

Then, at very low heat, I added in the beeswax and about five drops of essential oil. As the beeswax melted, I used a wooden chopstick to stir.

As I was preparing this salve rather out of the blue, I didn't have a jar or other receptacle ready to receive it. I decided to use a small glass storage bowl that has a fitted lid. As soon as the beeswax was fully integrated, I poured the salve into the bowl to cool.

Cooling is a surprisingly fast process, almost as if the wax desperately wants to be solid and is trying to return to that state as quickly as possible. Within an hour (probably less) I was spreading it over Jorge's back and shoulder and arm.

There is something truly magical-feeling about creating medicines out of such simple and natural ingredients. When it works, it almost seems like an accident, or something too good to be true. It's silly to feel that way, but we are so trained to rely on pharmaceuticals (most of which are based on plants anyway!). And so I found myself entirely warmed over and thoroughly pleased when Jorge reported to me a couple of days later that this arnica salve has been the only medicine to make a substantial difference in his pain level (his exact words were: "You should label this stuff 'miracle salve'"). It is this rather humble blend of plants and oils and wax that has managed to provide true relief.

*Arnica is toxic to consume orally unless specially prepared by a certified homeopathic practitioner. 

Making a Calendula Salve

All of my children have suffered from eczema, but my littlest one has had it most extensively ever since he was an infant. We've used lotions especially suited to the task, as well as steroid creams from the doctor's office, with varying degrees of success in treatment.

Finally I decided to simply make my own salve at home to help my little one via the goodness of the earth. Calendula (Calendula officinalus), also called "pot marigold," is an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory that soothes skin ailments such as bee stings, scrapes, burns, chapped lips, and dermatitis, so it's quite useful for treating eczema. And making salves at home is a simple and satisfying process.

Dried calendula flowers; two types of beeswax (beads and unprocessed)

I used dried calendula petals (a little over 1/4 of a cup) with roughly a cup of canola oil and 1/4 cup of beeswax beads. I gently heated (on the lowest setting on the stove - the goal is not to stir-fry the poor things!) the oil with the petals for about a half an hour, then strained the oil through a cheesecloth into a steel pot and added the beeswax beads. Once they melted, I poured the mixture into a small canning jar to cool. And that's that! 

Calendula oil, after straining

This is the quick method, and in all it took about an hour to an hour and a half to finish the entire process. You can use fresh petals/flower tops for this as well, though you must use a much higher quantity, and you can also steep the flowers in your chosen oil in a closed jar for a week or two for a slower, gentler way to infuse the oil with the flower's essence. You can use beeswax beads (which I did for this particular recipe) or raw, unprocessed beeswax (I have this in stock for the next batch!). If you know a beekeeper, you may even be able to secure some wax through them! Otherwise you may find some at a health food store, metaphysical shop, or herb supplier. 

Petals strained from the oil

Cooling in a glass jar

Gabriel was quite excited to have his very own, homemade eczema salve, and it goes on smooth and light, with a lovely aroma of calendula blossoms!