Celebrating the Spring Equinox by the light of the moon

Being the earthy hippie chick that I am, I follow the moon cycles. I learned recently that the Native Americans named the Full Moons of the year as a way to keep track of the seasons. We’re in the third full moon cycle of 2011 right now. January’s was Full Wolf Moon, February’s was Full Snow Moon and here we are, in the Full Worm Moon.

Sounds kind of funny, right? The description I have of it says, “as the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation.”

And Sunday the 20th marked the Spring Equinox. I happened to have one of my (I’m not a) dirty hippie parties that day, so we not only made something awesome and earth friendly (the ever popular body butter) and drank vodka cocktails, but we also celebrated the coming of Spring together.

My friends Joni and Michelle and I began celebrating the solstices and equinoxes together, which have all incidentally coincided with the full moon since we began this ritual last fall.

The Winter Solstice was a pretty big party and I took a picture of the full moon through the fir tree in Michelle’s yard, and before that for the Autumn Equinox we all lingered outside as the moon rose over us. So to have this Equinox coincide with the Full Moon again was pretty cosmic. I loved celebrating it and making something useful with my friends.

And through this week I think I’ll plant some more seeds for the garden I’m planning, as well as plant some ideas for things I want to bring into my life too. Happy Spring!

Does she or doesn't she? She doesn't - no poo!

I’ve given up shampoo. Yep, I’ve gone hard-core hippie. It actually took me a couple of years from when I first learned about going what some call ‘no-poo’ to make the leap, but true to my I-must-question-everything nature, I did some reading about shampoo and conditioner and the reasons to not use them made a lot of sense.
Regular shampoos generally contain sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), which is not a soap but a detergent. As such, it strips the natural oils from hair. This is where conditioner comes in, to replace the oils that were stripped out.

Since the SLS detergents are harsh, the scalp works overtime to replace the natural oils and hair gets oily quickly, meaning, you guessed it, you feel like you need to wash your hair daily or it will drive you crazy. And it’s a vicious cycle.

Not for me, not any more! I finally tried not using shampoo. I basically use the following: Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap, which is very gentle and doesn’t strip oil, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar. I love it a whole lot. I use a little bit of castile soap, lather it in and add some baking soda. (By the way, baking soda is a mild abrasive, and great for getting rid of product build-up.) Then I rinse that out and use about ¼ of a cup of vinegar diluted with warm water to equal a cup or so, work it into my hair, and rinse well.

That’s it! It works really well for me, and as a bonus, it’s another way to stick it to the Man. I don’t need their artificially scented shampoos and conditioners, thank you very much, and I save money and am treading more lightly on the earth by saying no, thanks.

'Hippie chicks' still mixing it up the natural way

   Cortney Horstman showed us how to cook with herbs

Six months ago I wrote about my foray into deodorant making with my friends at an inaugural ‘(I’m not a) dirty hippie party’, where we ate and drank and mixed ingredients like cocoa and shea butter and essential oils to create little jars of homemade deodorant (really works!). I’m happy to report that these parties have become a monthly event and we’re reclaiming a bit of DIY initiative and having a great time in the process.

Being the flighty, somewhat unfocused person that I am, I haven’t kept track of what all we’ve made, but we racked our brains and came up with this list: deodorant, laundry detergent, facial cleanser & moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, sugar scrubs, and toothpaste. We even had a ‘Hippies cook with Herbs’ party in July, where my friend Cortney showed us, well, how to cook with herbs. So fun to get together and talk about compost and bring our herb and garden pickings!

We’ve had a ton of laughs, and these are some of the most awesome women that I know. We’ve all learned things too, one of which is this: do not mix baking soda and vinegar together unless you want the bubbling, overflowing volcano effect.

We plan to continue these monthly get-togethers, so to my friends reading this that aren’t on facebook (that’s how I do the invites), call me and get in the loop!

Here’s the Sugar Scrub recipe, which is so super easy and effective:

1 jar (baby food jars work well), 1 cup sugar, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, and essential oil (optional). Mix sugar and olive oil, add any scent(s) you like. Use as an exfoliator, and shake before use.

Wow, and I love that basic home/bath products don’t have to be bought from a store. Rock on, hippie chicks!