Jade, Coral, Turquoise Beads, New Votives and Soaps, Other Crystals in Urbana Shop

Hope to have the Summer Schedule published in about a week. Things should get hopping once again here at Beads N Botanicals starting in June. In addition to our Psychic Fair on Saturday, June 12, from 10am to 5pm, Marlita will continue to be available every other Wednesday (and a Saturday or two) for reflexology (foot massage) and Reiki energy healing sessions. Call for an appointment.

In other news, by the end of next week, we should have most of our new crystals, crystal candleholders, faceted glass rondelles and other beads out and available for purchase. We were lucky to get a few more Selenite candleholders (our regular supplier is no longer carrying them), citrine cluster and amethyst cluster tea light holders. They are absolutely gorgeous.

As you may know,Amethyst is known as a Stone of Sobriety, love, intuition, intellect and healing. Cuts through illusion. Good for meditation. It is a crystal that also increases psychic gifts.

Citrine is used to detoxify the body and regenerate tissue.  It is a stone of hope and abundance. This crystal does not hold negative energy, but instead transmutes it. This “merchant’s stone” is placed in a cash box to product more income for the merchant. Helps in maintaining wealth as well. Stimulates mental focus & endurance.  Dispels fear & brings sunshine into darkness.

There's already an incredible selection of real Jade, Carnelian, Coral and Turquoise beads new at the shop. If you thought we had a great selection before, check out these beads now! If you have not been in the shop for a while, you've been missing out.
 
 Looking for blown glass pendants or metal focal pieces? Or are wood beads or mother of pearl (MOP) pendants and beads more your style? New gemstone chip necklaces and beads include blue lace agate, smokey quartz and snowflake obsidian.
 
In addition to beads and findings, we've been making more of our signature brand Wise Weeds Botanicals votives, soaps and incense. By June we will also have incredible Shea Butter soaps, with natural essential oils of lavender, peppermint, patchouli and more.
 

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Beads N Botanicals In Urbana

Ribbon cutting at Beads N Botanicals(Pictured l to r, Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing,
Beads N Botanicals Owner Catherine Novak and Ethel Womble)

Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing officiated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new shop in downtown Urbana, Beads N Botanicals, at 117 N Broadway Ave.

Aromatherapy: help or hype?

The monthly magazine, Central Illinois Health Magazine, just published an article on aromatherapy in its February 2008 issue. The article: “Aromatherapy: help or hype?” by Kelsey C. Blackwell, takes a close look at whether or not aromatherapy can help people become healthier.

Although the article is credited to Blackwell, Greta Hale, the magazine’s editor, is the person who interviewed me in December 2007. Considering the skeptical tone of the article (which, overall, was very balanced in its presentation), I am very pleased with how I was identified and quoted (although I’ve actually been studying and teaching for more than 15 years, rather than the 12 years noted in the article.)

Normally I would just include a link to the article, but unfortunately the magazine is not web-friendly right now. The following quoted material is from p. 33

Catherine Novak also knows the value of essential oils. She owns Beads and Botanicals in Hoopeston and the online business Wise Weeds.net [Please note: this should be wiseweeds.net C.N.] …She believes aromatherapy is a useful and non-threatening tool to complement traditional medical treatments.

“What I see a lot coming into the shop are people who have already seen a doctor and they’re looking for more relief, she said.

Novak sells custom blends and essential oils. One blend, named banish pain oil, contains essential oils mixed in with another oil infused with St. John’s wort. Her customers have found that it works to relieve arthritis and chronic muscle pain and even helps with pain from carpel tunnel, Novak said.

The article also included information on some of the types of aromatherapy blends I offer clients and customers, including my Banish Pain and Clear Air formulas.

I found it sad that one of the scientists quoted in another section of the text said that peppermint oil was not effective for headaches or migraines. I say sad because I’ve seen where a little bit of peppermint oil mixed into a carrier oil has given relief to headache/migraine sufferers.

Still, all in all, this is a great article with a lot of information.

Central Illinois Health Magazine is published by the News-Gazette in Champaign, IL

A Consumer's Right to Know About Essential Oils and Oil Blends

Wise Weeds Botanicals is celebrating its 15^th Anniversary in 2007.

Known as “the Wise Weeds Lady” to many people over the years, I have been blending essential oils, cosmetic grade fragrance oils and herbs to make my herbal healing, mystical, magical and spiritual oils for even longer than the establishment of Wise Weeds in 1992.

I’m a certified medicinal herbalist, transpersonal hypnotherapist and Reiki practitioner who has taught herbalism, aromatherapy and other healing practices in a variety of venues, including a community college, many adult education programs, Barnes & Noble bookstores,gift shops, beauty spas and salons, festivals and many other places. I've appeared on radio,cable and network television shows over the years, as well as been featured in newpaper articles.

Over the years, I’ve learned more and more about safe practices using oils. I’ve also seen how many vendors sell their products via false advertising, whereby they confuse the consumer
by promoting oils as being essential oil based, when they are not.

A Consumer’s Right to Know What S/he is Buying

As a consumer, you have a right to know what you are buying. I make no bones that I use cosmetic grade fragrance oils in some of my blends. Unlike many others on the market, whether ignorant or greedy, I do not call my blends “essences” thereby giving the impression, but not the reality, that certain oils are essential, plant-based oils.

There are some spiritual practitioners who value only actual essential oils and/or herbs in oil blends. Their reasoning is that the plants imbue the product with a type of natural magic that cannot be found in synthetically based products.

While I myself tend to follow this belief, on a practical level, certain scents are NOT generally available, except as synthetics. For example, Gardenia Absolute is rare, hard to obtain and VERY expensive. Rose Otto is more readily available, however, it is still extremely expensive. It is virtually impossible to obtain a natural Lilac fragrance. So I will use synthetic versions of these oils in blends. But, again, I don’t hide the fact from anyone, nor do I try to mislead anyone.

If you’re buying a one-dram bottle of rose oil essence for $5.00, it’s not the real McCoy. Believe me, I've had people insist they had found a "bargain." Well, you get what you pay for.

On the other hand, if someone has infused rose petals into oil to get the scent, the oil blend will not be an “essential” oil, but it may be a wonderful treat. I used to own such an oil many years ago, and the scent was delightful and quite magical. But it was not an essential oil, nor had it been sold to me under that guise.

What actually are essential oils?

The essential oils of herbs contain their concentrated energies. An essential oil usually bears the aroma and/or flavor of a plant, although the intensity of the scent may be overwhelming compared to what you're used to the plant smelling like.

Found in Various Plant Parts

Unlike fixed oils, essential oils are volatile. This means they evaporate rapidly at room temperature, whereas fixed oils, such as vegetable or motor oils, are more stable. Chemically, essential oils consist of a complex mixture of 30 to 100 or more compounds.

The oils themselves are found in various plant parts. Peppermint, patchouli, basil and geranium oils are derived from their leaves and stems. Clove oil comes from flower buds. Jasmine, rose and tuberose oils are derived from the open flowers. Essential oils are also derived from the seeds, wood, bark, roots, needles and skins of various plants.

Herbally-Infused Oils

Herbally-infused oils are different creatures than essential oils. An herbally-infused oil consists of plant material that is infused into a carrier or base oil. This base oil takes on the medicinal qualities of the herb, and can often be used either by itself or with another vegetable oil for massage therapy or as the base for an herbal salve.

I, myself, will often include some herbs in certain oils blends, taking a cue from certain hoodoo and voodoo traditional blendings of spiritual oils.

More often, I make herbally infused oils with a direct medicinal usage in mind. For example,
Hypericum oil consists of the fresh flowering tops of St. Johnswort infused into olive or some other carrier oil. Comfrey infused oil forms the basis of comfrey salve, used for healing.

And, of course, my Banish Pain oils consist of a combination of herbally infused oils and essential oils to help reduce or eliminate inflammation and pain.

To check out my oils in my webstore, you can go to

http://wiseweeds.net

essential oils, healing oils, hypericum oil, magical herbalism, medicinal herbalism, essences, perfume, parfume, magical oil blends, pagan, wicca, witch

More on Essential Oils for Honey Bee Mite Control

Here's a bit more about research into using essential oils to help bees.

Apparently the idea has been around for awhile as this article was last
updated in 1996. This particular article talks about wintergreen and
spearmint essential oils.

Read more at

Results of Research: Using Essential Oils for Honey Bee Mite Control