Springtime, the time of the first great growth of the plants is the time when dandelion is in flower. I have been joyously gathering dandelion blossoms for over 20 years now. I often make tincture, herbal vinegar and sometimes I make oxymel, syrup and wine with the blossoms.

Dandelion Flowers absorb the light and the energy of the sun.

Late April and early May is the time for the robust dandelion flower to be harvested.

And every year I make dandelion flower infused oil.

Over twenty years or so ago, I took my first wise woman classes and learned of the healing properties in dandelion. My teacher of infused oil was Sally King, a wise woman with a joyous love for plants of all kinds. After this class, I bought my first large quantity of olive oil and set out to harvest the bright yellow suns of dandelion. I easily prepared the infused oil and set it rest for awhile on my counter.

During this first year of harvesting and crafting with plants, I began to read about the plants I was utilizing. In a little book somewhere, a book without a name or author I can recall, I found the wisdom that dandelion flower releases emotions trapped in our muscles. This propeled me on in my quest to make a salve for my mother for pain relief and healing of her stiff and seemingly arthritic knees.

I read in Susun Weed’s Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way that dandelion flower has an affinity for our breast tissue and the infused oil of the flower is lovely for breast massage. Later reading brought more information about how dandelion flower nourishes the skin and will fade away age marks and bring a healthy glow to our complexion.

It is a joyous experience to harvest dandelion flowers.

Making Dandelion Flower Infused Oil

Listening:

• Go outside on any kind of Spring day to where the dandelion flowers are blooming.
• Bring attention to your breath and breathe naturally.
• As you see each flower, greet it and smile.
• Now, breathe the yellow into your heart. Breathe out smiling.
• Imagine that the sun is absorbed into the dandelion flower and as you breathe it in, you are breathing the sun into your being.
• Offer gratitude to the dandelion for its healing at this time of year.

Asking, Harvesting and Gratitude:

You will need:

• A day when the sun has shown for at least two days on the dandelion flowers.
• A basket with sides.
• Scissors are optional

Wildcrafting Dandelion Flowers:

• Remember to breathe naturally as you set out to gather the dandelion flower and remember to smile.
• Ask permission of the dandelion before you harvest and wait for an answer.
• Pluck or cut the dandelion flowers one by one, just the top, not the stem and place them in your basket.
• Harvest until you are done.
• Leave some for the bees.
• Offer gratitude to the dandelion flower in the way that feels best to you.

Making Dandelion Flower Herbal Infused Oil:

• You will need: A jar and lid, label and pen, a bottle of olive oil, organic is bes
• Place the dandelion flowers in the jar, whole if you like. You can also cut them up if you are drawn to this.
• Fill the jar to about 3/4 full.
• Pour olive oil over the flowers up to the very top.
  

  Dandelion-Lavender Massage Lotion, bright yellow like the flowers.

• Put a lid on this.
• Label with name and date and any thought you may have had when you were listening and/or harvesting.
• Put this on a plate. Infused oil oozes even when you screw the lid on very tightly.
• Wait for six weeks.
• Every once in awhile, open the lid and look in. Make sure there is oil over the top of the flowers. If you get a bit of mold, just scoop this out and pour olive oil up to the up again.
• Strain after six weeks, utilizing a strainer and cloth. I use a two quart pyrex strainer, put the strainer in this and drape the cloth over the strainer. Pour the Flower/Oil concoction in the strainer.
• Squeeze the oil out through the cloth, not fully squeezing every drop.
  Pour the beautiful golden yellow herbal infused oil into a jar or bottle. I have found it very hard to wash the oil out of bottles and so I now store my oils in wide mouth mason jars.
• Your oil is ready for healing.

Utilizing the Dandelion Flower~Herbal Infused Oil:

You can utilize this oil for massage. Once, a long time ago, I strained a very large quantity of dandelion flower infused oil. My hand were covered with it. I had been having a great deal of pain in my right hip. I massage all that oil into my hip and soon after I had the most intense pain I had yet experienced with this challenge. I breathed and listened and remembered the story I had read about the dandelion flower oil releasing emotions trapped in my muscles. I knew something very strong was happening and I trusted it. The next day, my hip felt very different and I had no more pain.

You can utilize this oil in salves and lotions. I still add it to my Ease Your Pain Salve that I have been making for over 20 years with the same recipe I created long ago for my mother. I also make Dandelion~Lavender Massage Lotion with this golden yellow oil, lavender flower infused oil, filtered water and bees wax.

Beach Dandelion. You know this plant grows everywhere!

You could cook with this oil and you can drizzle this oil over your salads.

There is something significant about crafting and utilizing an herbal infused oil. The process is simple, you do it in your kitchen, its sustainable for our earth and it offers you the kind of healing that comes through nourishing.

There is an over use of essential oil in our culture. Essential oil is an extraction of the volatile oil in the plant. It is just one part of the plant. Essential oils are very strong and drug-like. They are anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal etc. When you utilize essential oil as a fragrance you may actually be killing your gut flora, especially in undiluted amounts. A great deal of plant material is used to make a very small amount of the essential oil.

Herbal infused oil captures the essential oil in the plant as well as other healing constituents. It is whole and simple. We only utilize a small amount of plants to make herbal infused oil. Herbal infused oil is gentle and sustainable.

May you discover the simple, earth-friendly nourishment of the plants.

May it be in Beauty.