HOW TO MAKE DAISY OIL

As we approach the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s especially magical to work with the abundance of plants and the strength of the sun to make nourishing spirit medicine.

I encourage you to look around you and see which plants are available to you in multitudes. Sit with the plants and ask them if they’d like to work with you as medicine. Listen to the answers they give.

In the Northeast, the land around me is currently bursting with daisies. This sweet and tender plant can help us see the world with the eyes of a child, fill us with a sense of wonder, and invite us into healing the parts of ourselves that we cast aside as a response to trying to fit in.

On a physical level, daisy makes a great healer for the skin, especially for bruises, cuts, and scrapes. In the same way, it can assist with healing emotional bruises, making it a nourishing oil to apply if you’re going through a period of increased tender-heartedness.

Try this Daisy Oil recipe — or swap out a flower that’s growing in abundance where you live — to capture the unctuousness of the Summer Solstice energy.

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SUPPLIES

Daisies — dried or fresh

2 16 oz mason jars

Chopstick

Coffee filter and rubber band

Fine mesh strainer

Cheese cloth

INSTRUCTIONS

• First, harvest enough daisies to fill a 16 oz mason jar. When harvesting, be sure to ask permission first and wait for an intuitive “yes” from the plants. I like to tell the plants what type of medicine I’ll be using them for.

• Make an offering back to the plants as you harvest — maybe it’s a song, a crystal, or a piece of your hair. Be sure to leave enough for the pollinators and never harvest more than you need.

• Wash any excess dirt or bugs off the flowers and let the water dry. Alternatively, if you’re choosing to work with dried flowers, spread the flowers out in a place where they can dry out — on top of newspaper works great — being sure not to overcrowd the flowers. Wait until there is no more moisture left in the flowers to start the next steps.

• Be sure to sterilize the jar you’ll be using and wash your hands thoroughly.

• Gently place the daisies in a 16 oz mason jar. Don’t pack the flowers down or overfill.

• Fill the jar with olive oil (or another oil of your choice) until all plant matter is covered.

• Use a chopstick to move the plants around and get rid of any trapped air. Top off with more oil if needed.

• Cover with a coffee filter held on by a rubber band.

• Label and date, then place in the sun to steep for half a moon cycle.

• Move the plant matter around every day or two by shaking the jar.

• After two weeks time, into a new sterilized jar with clean hands, strain the plant matter out of the oil using a fine mesh strainer.

• Strain again through cheesecloth to catch any tiny particles left over.

• Now you have your final daisy oil. Be sure to label and date it and enjoy!