The timing of flu is unpredictable and can vary in different parts of the country and from season to season. Seasonal flu viruses can be detected year-round; however, seasonal flu activity often begins as early as October and November and can continue to occur as late as May. Flu activity most commonly peaks in the United States between December and February. There is no "cure" for the common cold or the flu, but there are tools available to increase self-care as you wait for the virus to run its course. 

One effective method of self-care is using essential oils as a topical rub or for aromatherapy. Essential oils can help alleviate your cold and flu symptoms, especially by clearing your nasal passage and reducing headaches and body aches. Some oils have antiviral benefits to help treat infections and reduce fever. Inhalation is the most beneficial way to use essential oils for cold and flu. You can inhale essential oils by sniffing the bottle directly or adding a few drops of oil to a cotton ball or handkerchief. This method helps clear your nasal passages so you can breathe better. The oils may also help you sleep better and reduce stress. You can add a few drops of essential oils to:

• hot bathwater
• a bowl of hot water for steam inhalation
• a diffuser
• a carrier oil, for massaging the head, neck, or feet
• hot compresses

Here are several great oils to use:

• lemon - antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which makes it ideal for fighting viruses as well as reducing cold and flu symptoms such as coughing, congestion, swollen glands and body aches. Lemon essential oil has long been considered a cure-all fruit and essential oil, especially for treating the flu and for reducing fevers. It is also a great treatment for fatigue as it is an energizing essential oil.
• eucalyptus - an efficient remedy for chesty coughs and to ease breathing.
• rosemary - good for relieving cold and flu symptoms because of it is a warming oil, reduces aches and pains, aids in circulation, and relieves nausea.
• frankincense - ideal for treating cold and flu because of its natural cold-fighting properties, such as being antiseptic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, and an expectorant.
• tea tree - antiseptic, antiviral and antimicrobial. Use this essential oil for colds as it diminishes coughs, bronchial congestion and sore throats. Tea tree essential oil is also an excellent, natural disinfectant, so you can use it to kill germs on surfaces and in the air.
• peppermint - cooling and effective for soothing headaches, chest congestion, soothing nausea and upset stomach, and reducing fever.
• lavender - helpful for respiratory ailments and symptoms such as influenza, colds, sinus congestion and coughs. Lavender essential oil can also help when phlegm is trapped within the lungs and sinuses.

The herbal home remedies below are meant to be simple to make using ingredients that are readily available. The best thing about these recipes is that they can be customized to the individual and many of the herbs can be used to address a variety of illnesses:

• Sage – carminative, antiseptic, and astringent – the mouth and throat plant. Used for sore throats and cough. Also used for sinus congestion.
• Thyme – antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, expectorant, and astringent. Thyme is great for respiratory infections and coughs.  It is also good for the stomach and relieves gas.

Herbal Remedies for Cough
Onion honey – 1 spoonful as needed
Onion cough syrup
Thyme honey
Thyme tea with lemon
Thyme and/or sage inhalation

Herbal Remedies for Respiratory Symptoms
Thyme and Sage tea are lung strengtheners and treat respiratory tract problems. You can use both thyme and sage alone or they can be used together
Thyme and/or sage steam inhalation, teas or honey

Herbal Remedies for Sinus Congestion
Sage tea in Neti Pot
Neti Pot with saline

*Lemon juice squeezed into your sage tea removes the bitterness.

Tea and Infusions! Herbal teas are a great way to treat cold/flu symptoms; not only do you get the medicinal benefits, but they are also soothing, warm, and relaxing. Infusions usually use more herbs than regular herbal teas and are steeped for longer periods of time. I find using a French press to be the best method of infusing and the easiest way to strain. But, any glass jar (mason or recycled food containers) and a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth can be used.
Herbal tea - general preparation:

• Pour boiling water over the herb, steep at least 20 minutes, and strain.
• You can also use a French press, preparing as above and pressing after 20 minutes

Infusion - general preparation:

• 2 ounces of herbs or 2 generous handfuls of dried herb
• 1 pint of water (if not completely covered add more water until the herb material is completely covered)
• Steep for 4 – 10 hours or overnight
• Strain herbs

EarthShine also has handmade, all-natural, chemical free products to help you during cold and flu season. I personally recommend our Echinacea tincture, Headache Healer and Wildflower and Herb Facial Steam:

Blessed be! I handcraft all of EarthShine's products; each product is created with the highest intention of love and positive vibes. When I'm creating our magickal items I'm very focused and specific, ensuring that I first cleanse myself, then the supplies. I also bless our magickal products with earth, air and water once complete.

Intention oils:
Intention is the practice of holding in our minds that which we desire in the physical world. The universe is malleable and flowing and is in a constant state of change. I craft several different intention oils for your use. Suggested ways to use our Intention Oils:

• Anoint your body -  rub a thin layer into your skin daily or in your hair roots while visualizing the intention. Mantras are excellent for this! You can also add the oil to your bath.
• Anoint ritual tools - rub the oil on any new ritual tools to heighten their power and effectiveness. Additionally, you may wish to anoint the corners of your altar or magickal space by dabbing the oil in five points, creating the pentacle symbol.
• Anoint crystals - crystals can be anointed to charge, consecrate, cleanse or empower. Be careful as some crystals and gems should not come in contact with water oil oils, so be sure to research the structure and hardness of your crystal or gem before anointing them. 
• Anoint jewelry - Choose a crystal or gemstone that fits with your magickal intent; match that with our one of EarthShine's Intention Oils and wear your magick!
• Candle magick - Dip the wick of a candle into your intention oil and set intentions while the candle burns.   

Mojo bags:
Mojo bags are handmade pouches filled with items that grant the owner the properties they desire. They can be created and used for almost any need, want  or desire; they are powerful allies in magick.
You may keep your mojo bag in your pocket, book bag, purse, dresser or car. I recommend that you carry it with you when you specifically want it's magickal effects around you. To make your mojo bag even more powerful, feed your mojo bag with an intention oil: put a dab on the four corners of the mojo bag and one in the middle; this helps keep the energy strong. 

Self-care Ritual Bath Soak:
Charged for working with goddess energy, self worth and love as well as attraction. A magickal blend of natural salts, essential oils and herbs for relaxation and spirituality. Suggested use:

• Shower before you use! As you soak, visualize barriers or obstacles that prevent love, abundance or attraction melting away and evaporating in the healing salt steam. Inhale the essential oil and herb steam and visualize your abundance manifesting into your life. 

Air Fresheners and Sprays:
Designed for people who have difficulties being around the smoke of incense and/or want to cleanse a space where an incense isn't able to be lit. Use in ritual or when you want to rid your space of negative energy!

Saturday, September 21st, is the fall equinox, which marks the day when the earth is at equilibrium. Other names for this day include Harvest Tide, Harvest Home, Second Harvest and Wine Harvest. At this point, the world begins its descent into slumber for the winter. Traditionally, this is seen as the time at which the crops are all harvested: perfect for witchcraft, as we approach the latter half of the year and closer to Mabon and Samhain. The name “Mabon” is a rather recent name for the Sabbat, coming into usage in the late 20th century. Mabon was a Welsh mythological figure whose origins are connected to a divine “mother and son” pair, echoing the dual nature of the relationship between the Goddess and the God. Symbols of Mabon are reflective of the season: it's associated with rich, vibrant jewel tone hues and objects that possess grounding, comforting qualities. Vegetables such as squash and gourds, apples and anything made from their fruit, seeds, nuts, and corn are all appropriate for the holiday.
Witchcraft in autumn is the height of witch season as we approach Samhain and the harvest provides an assortment of ways to create autumnal magick. Vegetables such as squash and gourds, apples and anything made from their fruit, seeds, nuts, and corn are all appropriate for the holiday. If you have an altar, honor the new season by decorating it with any of the aforementioned, as well as with baskets to symbolize the gathering of the crops. Mabon is a useful time for practicing protection magic as well as prosperity magic. Any form of divination you partake in will be particularly revealing now, and meditating on the balance between light and dark and this space of equilibrium is also customary. Whether you're celebrating with a ritual, a feast, or simply by spending time outside, this is a perfect excuse to enjoy the season.
As any practicing witch can tell you, the equinox is a powerful time energetically; the start of autumn, specifically, marks the point at which the light begins to wane. For pagans, equinoxes are particularly significant events, and the autumnal equinox is somewhat equivalent to Thanksgiving. This is an important time to give thanks to Mother Goddess and the earth for her gifts. As you celebrate the harvest you've reaped, you simultaneously recognize that the soil is dying, that the nights will start to become longer, and that the earth is slowly going into hibernation. Pagans often also take this time to find connection to Gaia, the goddess of the earth and nature incarnate. 
But how should you celebrate Mabon? For starters, Mabon rituals can include decorating your altar with acorns, pine cones, seasonal fruits and nuts, and/or a few of the first colored leaves that drop from the trees. Candles and altar cloths in autumn colors like rusty red, orange, brown, and gold are appropriate. If you have a feast, whether solo or with others, include seasonal vegetables like onions, potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables. Here are a few suggestions:

• Pumpkins are synonymous with the autumn season, especially around Halloween/Samhain. Pumpkins and gourds have been used for centuries as a form of protection from evil and malicious spirits when the veil between this world and the other side is thinnest. Pumpkins can be put on display outside your door as a form of protection. If you hollow out the inside of the pumpkin, you can place a spell candle inside anointed with oil for your magickal intention. Smaller, miniature pumpkins can be placed on shelves and tables as a form of protection and assistance for divination. Pumpkin seeds can be added to charm bags and spells. Pumpkins can be used in magick and spells for: Divination, Protection, Prosperity, Money magick, Healing. As a powder, bulb or in a braid, garlic can be used in charm bags, hung by doors and/or windows, added to spells or carried in a purse or bag. Garlic can be used in magick and spells for: Protection, Healing, Warding off negative magick and spirits, Honoring Hekate.
• Corn and maize can be used in magick as well as for decoration in the home. Corn can be used in the form as an ear or as kernels on your altar, hung on your wall to welcome the energy of the season. Corn can be of any color and size for the purpose of witchcraft in autumn. Corn and maize can be used in magick and spells for: Luck, Prosperity, Abundance. Most trees will have their leaves change color and lose their leaves by October and November, which the leaves and branches from the trees can be used also in spells and magick.
• Wood and leaves from trees can be used in magick and spells, such as: creating a wreath of leaves, grinding the leaves into a powder or mixture, burning wood in a bonfire or  fireplace, carrying a leaf or piece of wood with you; or using on your altar or in your home to attract the magickal properties of the tree. A few common trees that begin to change the color of their leaves in the autumn: Maple can be used in spells and magick for: Love, Money, Sweetness, Good luck, Wealth. Oak can be used in spells and magick for: Wisdom, Strength, Youthfulness, Healing.
• If you’ve got kids at home, try celebrating Mabon with some of these family-friendly and kid-appropriate ideas:
  • Visit an apple orchard. Nothing says autumn quite like going apple picking, and if you’ve got kids in your home, it’s a great way to get them out of the house. Choose a day to go to the local apple orchard. Many orchards are also a business, full of hayrides, corn mazes, games, and other fun family entertainment – if that’s what you enjoy, great! If your family is a little more low-key, find an orchard that just offers picking from acres and acres of apple trees, without the bells and whistles. Apples themselves are kind of magical, and there’s a primitive sort of feeling, almost a throwback to earlier, more agrarian times, when you pick your own apples direct from the source. Your kids will probably end up in the trees, because apples picked while climbing apparently taste better than the ones you can pick when you’re standing on the ground. By the end of the visit, you'll have a bushel or two of apples to bring home, and you can spend the day making applesauce, apple butter, craft projects, and all kinds of other things. Apple picking is a great way to spend your day together as a family, get back to nature, and harvest delicious and healthy foods for everyone to eat.
  • Seasonal crafts. For many of us, fall is a time when we start feeling our creative juices flowing. The leaves are beginning to turn, and the vibrant colors of the season are everywhere. There’s a crispness in the air, the smell of campfires on the breeze, and it’s a great time to try some new craft projects. Gather up fallen leaves, acorns, corn-husks, gourds, grapevines, and all the other things you can think of, and start getting crafty!
  • Celebrate Hearth and home. As autumn rolls in, we know we'll be spending more time indoors in just a few months. Take some time to do an autumn version of your annual spring cleaning. Physically clean your home from top to bottom, and then do a ritual smudging. Clean things up both inside and out; the kids can easily help with tidying up. If they’re older and a little more responsible, they can do larger tasks like vacuuming, yard cleanup, and more. Decorate your home with symbols of the harvest season, and set up a family Mabon altar. Put sickles, scythes and bales of hay around the yard. Collect colorful autumn leaves, gourds and fallen twigs and place them in decorative baskets in your house. If you have any repairs that need to be done, do them now so you don't have to worry about them over the winter. Have everyone go through his or her closets. Designate a box for trash, and fill it with the clothes and shoes that are no longer in wearable condition. Set aside another box, and fill that with the items that can be donated. Donations of coats, jackets, hats and scarves are always in demand in the fall, so make sure that if your kids have any of these that they’ve outgrown, get them boxed up and out the door as soon as possible.

Spell-work related to protection and security is appropriate now, as are workings for self-confidence, prosperity, harmony and balance. Here are some ways that you can easily work protection magick into your routine:

• Witch Protection Bottle or Jar: this can be a small or medium sized spell jar filled with protective herbs and items (some jars include broken glass, nails, knives, urine or vinegar) for protection. The jar or spell bottle is commonly placed near the entrance or buried under the front step/porch. (Back door will work also too.). Spell jars and spell bottles for protection can be anointed regularly or often with protection oil.

• Protection Candles: burning black or white candles daily can help to keep your home or space cleared. If you use a large tumbler or jar candle, you can light it every day and let it burn for as long as you can or feel the need. You can anoint the candles with protection oil before lighting it and leave the candle to burn someplace safe in your home or on your altar. You can anoint your doors and windows with protection oil and/or Florida water daily or weekly to keep your home protected from unwanted energies. A protection wash can be used to wash your floors and home for additional protective energy. Four Thieves Vinegar can also be effective for protection from negative energies, banishing and healing, which can be used as a floor wash, anointing windows and doors or to anoint yourself. Autumn is the most witchy time of year, full of so much that can be used in natural and elemental magick. As we approach Samhain, we come to a close of the Wheel of the Year and await the beginning to happen at Yule. During the autumn season, the Crone aspect of the Goddess (i.e. the Dark Goddess) rules the time of year.

Though temperatures may still be warm during the day, summer has truly come to an end. The leaves on deciduous trees have begun to turn colors and fall to the ground, and there is a chill in the evening air. The days were longer than the nights until this moment, and after this the nights will begin their reign. The God is making his exit from the stage of the seasons, heading toward his symbolic death at Samhain in just a few short weeks. As with Ostara, the theme of balance is highlighted here, reminding us that everything is temporary, that no season lasts forever, and that neither dark nor light ever overpowers the other for long. All Sabbats are occasions to express gratitude to the God and Goddess for the blessings in our lives, but Mabon is particularly so, coming at the height of the harvest season. Traditionally, this was a very busy and physically exhausting time. This holiday provided a brief rest from toiling in the fields—a day to sit back and enjoy the fruits of the labor thus far. In these modern times, most of us are not involved in agriculture, but we can still take a moment to rest from our labor and relax, appreciating all that we have. It is a time to recognize the need for balance between work and play.