The Soaping Diaries

     Entry One : Monday, January 22, 2018

It was nearing the end of 2016 when my curiosity was piqued about the idea of making my own soap.  John and I had started veering towards a more natural lifestyle for a number of reasons that year.  Mainly due to how drastically we had to rethink the items we used in our home after bringing our boys into our family.

Let me elaborate.  Our boys are birds.  We are the proud parronts to a Platinum Lutino Cockatiel who we renamed Astraeus, and a Congo African Grey named Smokey.  Both of our boys are rescues.  

What most people are unaware of, is how highly sensitive birds are to toxins in the air.  Hence, taking a canary into the coal mines.  They breathe differently than mammals.  More efficiently than mammals.  But it leaves them more susceptible to dangerous inhalants.   Most aerosol items can kill a bird the size of Astraeus.  A single scratch in Teflon cookware can leach enough toxin into the air to kill a bird.  

We started to realize most, if not all, things that are dangerous to our boys are dangerous to us as well.  We just tolerate it slightly better than the typical family pets of dogs and cats.  (People are now coming to understand the dangers of some common household products around mans best friend.)  So I replaced cookware and I started making my own household cleaners as well as buying natural items that I could not make myself, like dish soap.  I also learned how to make my own laundry soap.  

I research and research.  I want to rid our life of all unnecessary chemicals and additives and hormones.  It's not only possible, it typically saves us money as well.

Soap.  We all need it and use it.  

It was when I started making laundry soap that I began to ruminate on soap in general.  To make laundry soap, you need soap.  And all the recipes I found and read about talked about what kind of soaps you would want to use.  Because, if you aren't looking to make laundry soap as an effort to rid your laundry of unnecessary chemicals, you probably were not looking into finding recipes on making it yourself.  So obviously, you would want to use soap that doesn't contain a lot of the things you are looking to rid your wash of!  Well, if I can buy soap that is pretty basic and without unwanted chemicals, then can't I just make it myself?  Then it would be more natural as well as handmade.  

So I bought a couple books on Amazon.  When they arrived, I was overwhelmed with what I read.  I needed to take so many things into consideration!  I needed to have the proper tools and space to make soap.  Can I do this in my home as a parront?  I set the books aside.  Time went by.  Substantial amounts of time.

I'm a creative.  This whole soap making thing sounded too fun to pass over.  It was nagging at me daily; this idea that I could be a natural chemist and make something good.  (Alright, I really fancied the term alchemist over chemist!  But lets consider the outcome and the century....no, maybe alchemist is realistic.  Handmade natural soap could be considered gold!)  I get giddy at the mere thought of the words apothecary and alchemy.  And in a way, the chemical reactions, even though explainable, seem to be magical all the same.  

So I started more research into soap making.  As longs as I took the proper precautions, I could make soap in my home.  So I started collecting the necessary tools and ingredients.   It took too much time for someone as impatient as myself.  But I'm proud to say that I did it.  

I made a two pound recipe of cold process soap on October 31, 2017.  It took five weeks to cure.  I tested its pH in secret.  What if I'd failed?

I was ecstatic and elated and every other positive word in the dictionary.  I was full of pride.  My soap was pH neutral and perfect for use!  I did it.  And I needed to do it again.  I was hooked.

I gave away bars of my soap as holiday gifts.  Then I decided I needed to make shower steamers.  You can make them and use them the next day.  I tried melt and pour soap, also able to use the next day.  After a few batches of shower steamers and another batch of the same cold process recipe, I am waiting on the final shipment of supplies/ingredients to make bath bombs.  They are going to be decedent.  

Since I am 100% passionate about this hobby, I am starting The Soaping Diaries.  I will share this journey and the knowledge I gain along the way.  I hope you'll follow along!

New Age Freedom

Last month, I posted a status update on Facebook about how much I enjoy the spike in the popularity of witchcraft and how it makes it much easier for me to find what I need online.  I included a line about what a shame it is that people of varying religious beliefs took so long to realize that witchcraft is not the "devils work."

There are many misconceptions floating around about what witchcraft is or is not.  Hollywood made up stories to sell movie magic and twisted much of the symbology into something evil for its cause.  Unfortunately, with the widespread reach of Hollywood, these fictions have been set into the mindset of most people who oppose religious freedom and tolerance to become thought of as fact.  This is just one of many reasons people abhor and fear the thought of witchcraft.

Witchcraft is a practice, not a religion.  I know several people of varying religions who are also practicing witches.  Jewish, Christian, Pagan, Catholic, Atheist - all of these groups, and more, contain practicing witches.

If you enjoy the uses of essential oils, natural remedies, the use of herbs, incense and candles, etc, you are dabbling in witchcraft (black salve for drawing out splinters, stingers, spider venom, etc).  If you eat particular foods for their healing properties, you are dabbling in witchcraft.  In example: 12 almonds provides the relief of 2 Tylenol.  These are some of the things that would have condemned you as a witch in times mostly forgotten.  These are some of the things that healers, shamans, medicine women, etc were known for and revered for.  Mostly knowledge of properties that were beneficial to our needs as a community or even individually.

With the wider acceptance of many things the majority of the country has kept oppressed until recently, we are able to be more open about our practices and beliefs.  There are several companies pushing wares such as essential oils and DIY ways for a natural home and lifestyle.  Popularity for these traditions has grown exponentially over a handful of years.  These are not new.  These are things that were, until recently, hidden from the general public because they were frowned upon so much so that people were murdered for knowing and practicing them.

I am happy the world is finally more accepting of these traditions as commonplace and good.  This is a great time to be a witch, where everything you need is at your fingertips and there is much less fear and shame in practicing.  We are moving forward.  But please remember where this knowledge came from, especially if you have never had the intention of calling yourself a witch.

Maybe this can be your first step into freedom, acceptance, and respect for what others believe and practice.

It is time we all stop attempting to force others to believe as we do.  It is time to forget our hate and time to stop spreading our hate and fear.  It is time to learn truths.  It is time we stop to be kind and helpful to each other no matter what the circumstance.