The Tale of Mountain Mint
The story behind Witch Canyon’s first soap formula begins with a retainer wall on our property that is made entirely of cinderblocks jam-packed with a sweet mix of mints. Here you’ll find varieties like peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint…. even some lemon balm tucked in. These abundant and fragrant plants often make their way to our communal dinner table as freshly steeped tea, the perfect post-meal tummy tonic.
An experienced gardener (which I do not claim to be) might advise you to be very careful where you plant mint as it’s known to be a “vigorous spreader”. The way it behaves makes me think of a slow, deliberate kind of tenacity with a simultaneous humming, kinetic, forward-bound energy. Mint wants to hug you and energize you all at the same time. Sounds like a pretty lovely balance of vibrations that I know we can all use more of on the daily.
Once harvested, bundles of fresh mint are hung upside down to gently air-dry for a day or two. The delicate leaves are then topped with olive oil in a glass jar to infuse and mingle together for a fortnight, maybe two.
This precious mint-infused oil gets added to a blend of other skin nourishing oils, butters, powders and ingredients aligned with the same purpose - to transform into a luscious bubbly bar of soothing minty soap. For me, the quintessential witches cauldron moment is when all of your carefully gathered elements come together in pure alchemy. The saponification process is truly a perfect lesson in magick.
Each batch is blessed with my own witchy incantations that are whispered over every step of the dance, as I swirl, mix and toil over precise measurements and temperatures. Soap making might just be the most witchy craft I have ever woven my witchcraft into. More than meets the eye, these bars contain a lifetime of practice and focused intention. My life’s journey inside each beautifully wrapped little package of sudsy love.
I leave you with a couple more images to illustrate Mountain Mint’s journey. Also, I have composed a quick little visual reference guide for those of you witches who want to work with mints magickal aspects. You’ll be seeing more herbal lore of this kind, I think that might just become a “Page From The Grimoire” series at some point,
Call in all of the focus, abundance and protection! It’s there ripe for the taking, if you’re ready for it. Until the next summoning….
Love & light to all of you beautiful souls out there,
Scarlet
LEFT: freshly poured soap in the mold. RIGHT: freshly unmolded soap loaf. CENTER: cut soap bars ready to cure for 4-6 weeks.
Witch Canyon’s debut soap collection pays homage to the spirit of its birthplace: Topanga, California.
Mountain Mint was named to honor the epic Santa Monica Mountains that we are so blessed to live in. Much like the landscape this soap is simple, all-natural, rustic yet artfully detailed and full of magickal folklore.
Made with pure peppermint essential oil, it has a delicious, bright scent that will activate your senses and make your skin lightly tingle. Also blended with the gentle exfoliating qualities of colloidal oatmeal makes this soap an easy favorite.
Click here to shop this soap and learn more.