Solstice Dream Pillows

Materials needed:
1-4 oz (30-120 gms) each of the following five herbs:
dried chamomile
mugwort
catnip
hops
lavender
whole oranges & lemons
cinnamon sticks
allspice berries, (optional)
myrrh or frankincense resin lumps.
Scraps of lightweight cloth (4-7 inches/100-175 mm, two for each bag) optional
bits of ribbon, embroidery floss, scraps of lace or a few small beads.

For those who are sitting up all night on the Solstice, this is a special dream
pillow you can make for prophetic dreams when you go to sleep the next night or
throughout the year. (If you are not sitting up a vigil, go ahead and make them
anyway – I get some interesting quirks to the dreams when I use the spices in
the dream pillows.)

Take the  first five dried herbs and mix them in whatever proportions you
desire/ have on hand. More Mugwort will lead some folks to more psychic
dreaming, more hops will lead to a sounder sleep for some others, more catnip
may encourage feline pillow sharing.

As the night passes, eat the oranges, and use the lemons (minus their peels) in
teas/punches/hot drinks. As you use them try to remove the peels in large chunks
or in easy to work with sections. Using a spoon, carefully scrape out as much of
the white inner rind as you can without damaging the zesty outer peel. Scatter
the remaining outer peels on a cookie sheet and dry them on low heat in the oven
(200F or less). Watch them to make sure they are drying but not scorching.
Remove them from the oven, and let them cool.

If you have a fire or incense burner, burn some of the incense resins, saving
most to use in the pillows.

Crumble the dried peels up into smaller bits, break up the cinnamon sticks up
into smaller pieces, and add the spices, resins and peels to the herb mixture.
Mix well. Gather up the scraps of material, and sew up small bags: 3-6
inches/75-150mm should be fine. Leave one side open: small openings will make it
more difficult to fill the bags later. If you want to use the ribbons and floss
to embroider protective or other magical symbols or representative designs, it
will be easier to do before you stitch the sides together. Work on this to keep
you awake, thinking of the season and what it means to you as you do it. If
these are intended as gifts, think kindly and lovingly of the folks you will be
giving these to.

Fill each of the bags with the herb/spice mixture, but not so full that it is
hard: people will want to smell them, but they need to be soft enough to sleep
on. Fold the last side inward, and stitch closed. If you want, a small loop of
ribbon may be added at this point at the top.

After the sun rises, and you have finished your celebrations, set these aside,
and finish them when you have/make time during the day if they aren’t done. When
you go to bed, slip one or more of these into you pillow case, and inhale deeply
as you relax before sleeping. Watch for special dreams as you sleep