Making Pine Balm

Most of these pics are from last years pinebalm making (Imbolc 2012)
It is a Imbolc tradition for us to make healing balms at this time of year as well as candles. This year at Imbolc we made our pinebalm as per usual but I was really busy with many other things so I did not take as many pics.
In our home we practice holistic healing, we also do alot of wild crafting and making Pine Balm combines both :) 

Bug and I collected some boughs from a big beautiful Spruce tree on one of our walks. We let them dry for a couple weeks, then the girls pulled off all the needles.

 This year Gramma provided the needles for our balm

We chopped them and added a little dried orange peel

Put them in a jar and filled it with olive oil. Seal it and put it in a dark cupboard for a minimum of 3 weeks shake regularly

Then strain the needles out and reserve the oil. We ended up with about 2 1/2 cups

I warm the oil on a double boiler in a glass bowl and then add pine resin about 2 tbsp, warm till it melts in then add the beeswax about 2/3 of a cup grated. Stir clockwise till melted. This is also the point when I infuse the mixture with healing energies and chant to thank Spruce, olive, orange and Bee for their contributions

Let cool slightly and pour into containers

As it cools you will see a cool color change. Bug and I review liquid to solid reaction.

It is such a pretty color when done

This years batch

This is an excellent balm for minor scratches and scrapes. It is also great for softening callouses on your feet and preventing cracking. Happy crafting