Rosehips are the fruit of the rose bush. If the rose's blossoms are left on the plant and allowed to drop their petals, they will form a seed pod that is known as the rose hips. I collected a good stash of rosehips from my garden yesterday, so what to do with them? Magickal uses: Associated with the planet Venus and the element of water, rosehips are a wonderful botanical to use for love and peace. Try adding some whole rosehips to magical pot pourri to create a peaceful, calm atmosphere. Use rosehips in a ritual bath for work concerning love, soulmates and companionship. Crush and add to incense, add to sachets and charm bags or string on a necklace as part of a love attracting ritual. For cleansing before a ritual, or to wash away stress after a hard day, fill a tub with warm water. Add some crushed rose hips tied up in a piece of cheesecloth to your bath water. Also add some rose petals or a few drops of rose oil. Sink into the tub and relax. Meditate and visualize all of your stress and negativity being washed away into the water. Unstop the drain and imagine your stress and negativity going down the drain with the water. For a spell to draw love into your life, set up your altar and cast a circle. Light a pink candle while meditating on attracting a compatible romantic partner. Send energy out into the universe to draw a proper mate to yourself, rather than visualizing anyone in particular. String rose hips with a needle and thread to make a necklace out of them. Place the necklace on your pentacle and charge them with your intent. Wear or carry your necklace with you when you go out. Share a rose hip tea sweetened with honey with your significant other at the beginning of a romantic evening. Place rose hips around the home to bring back harmony and peace if there has been a great deal of disharmony or upheaval. Consecrate and charge the rose hips to radiate with loving, calming energies that will fill your space. Tuck them in cabinets and closets, under pillows, and on window sills and door frames. Give a boost to any healing sachets or infusions with rose hips. Add them to your tea for a sore throat or upset stomach. Soak a cloth in a tea of rose hips, wring it out and place it on your head for a headache, over your back for a backache, or on any bruise or sore spot. When your feet ache from standing, soak them in a basin filled with warm rose hip tea. When honouring the goddess Venus in ritual, place a bowl of rose hips on your altar. Medicinal uses: Rose hip vinegar is good for colds, sore throats and a lovely salad dressing! Slit the skins of the hips with a knife and put 20 or 30 rose hips in a jar and cover with apple cider vinegar. Leave on a sunny window sill for about a month, then strain and bottle. Rose hip syrup is good for colds, sore throats and a source of vitamin C. Score the rose hips with a knife then layer then in a jar with enough sugar to fill up all the gaps. Leave on a sunny window sill for a couple of months or until the sugar has drawn the juice from the hips and liquefied. Strain off the liquid, bottle and store in the fridge. Take a teaspoonful or two daily to prevent colds. Tansy x Sources: Hedgerow medicine by Julie Bruton-Seal & Matthew
