Tea at Trianon: Liquid Gold: How to Make Calendula Oil

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Liquid Gold: How to Make Calendula Oil

From Learning Herbs:

Summer means more outdoor activities, and time spent outdoors means more ouchies like bug bites and sunburns. Thankfully there are a number of plant allies perfect for addressing our summertime skin complaints; Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is one of my personal favorites and can be made into a versatile Calendula oil.

This powerful medicinal plant is beloved around the world, finding its way into countless home remedies and commercial skin care products, especially on account of its skin-restorative abilities. Calendula is a premier skin support herb with broad medicinal use.

Applied externally, Calendula is a powerful wound healer: soothing traumatized, inflamed tissue and stimulating rapid growth of healthy skin cells.1 Calendula not only helps wounds heal quicker, it reduces their risk of becoming infected and scarred.2 The astringent, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties of the herb grant its ability to not only treat, but prevent, sunburns3 – while its moistening nature hydrates dry, itchy skin.

Calendula also has an affinity for the lymphatic system: addressing fluid stagnation, supporting the elimination of toxins, and relieving conditions such as varicose veins, bruises, and sore muscles. Massaging Calendula oil into your skin daily can help to achieve healthy, toned skin. (Read more.)