Make your own tincture

If you want to make your own tincture, you must know something about the herbs you want to work with. For example, which part of the plant you use and when and how you harvest it.

A tincture is an infusion of the herbs. The active substances or constituents are absorbed by the alcohol. This gives you a mother tincture that can be kept for a very long time (years). Now I often make a new one after a few years because the times and the energies change. Also from plants.

You need: A neutral tasting alcohol with an alcohol content of at least 35% (for carrots you can take more%, up to 60%).

Provide clean tools such as a glass jar and scissors. Disinfect it with alcohol. For women, you should not make a tincture in the first three days of your moon phase. Your mood also influences, so preferably start with a good mood. Because you also put that energy in your pot. Fill the glass jar 3/4 with alcohol and take it with you to the place where the plant grows. Unless it is a tincture that you make from the roots, from Dandelion and Comfrey for example. You tune in and ask for permission to harvest. With the right intention it will soon be good, for the herbs are here on Earth to guide us on our path of consciousness. But still ... asking doesn't hurt. And that is certainly appreciated. You can also give something in return. A nice stone, for example. Or feathers.

When the jar is saturated, close it with the lid. Put the date and name of the herb on it and put it away dark. For tinctures you use the Latin name with a ø sign, which stands for mother tincture.

For the first week, gently shake the jar once every day. And after that week you leave the pot for another 3 weeks (can also be longer) before you sieve it. This can be done first through a colander or sieve and then just remove the fine particles with a tea or coffee filter.

You prefer to keep the strained tincture in dark glass bottles with a sticker on it so that you still know what it is and when you made it.

Have fun creating and if you have any questions about it, please let me know! Cindy

Use

I recommend that you always use tincture internally in consultation with a herbalist. Adults take 15 drops in some water 3 or 4 times a day. Keep it on for about 3 weeks and then see how it goes. After 3 weeks it is almost always useful to take a week of 'rest'. Children take the number of drops according to age: 5 years is 5 drops. But also look at how the child reacts, because one is more sensitive than the other. That also applies to adults by the way!

In babies it depends on the complaint. Sometimes the parent has something to do. A mother can also take the adult amount while breastfeeding. Then the baby receives it through her. Otherwise up to 3 years: max 3 drops and a maximum of 3 times a day. Especially with such young children, keep a close eye on the reaction.