The Cauldron - Blog RSS

I've been reading about soap nuts for a while now.  After a long winter, I finally have my hands on some.  Meet Sapindus mukorossi, also called Reetha fruits, and known as Indian Soapberries, Wash Nuts, or Soap Nuts. These berries have been used for centuries in India to clean and wash as they contains secretions called saponins.  Saponins are what make all soaps work, in that they will bind to both water particles and dirt oils to basically make them water soluble allowing them to be washed away.  These Saponins make these dried fruits a wonderful, natural detergent for washing the...

Spring is always a time where we emerge from the cold winter into the outdoors.  Whether it's a social cue, or some primitive biologic drive, we tend to take this time to assess our nests.  Our motivation to clean and organize our spaces peaks during this time of year as we welcome in the sunshine and fresh air with the highest hopes for the upcoming season. Spring is a great time to create new habits and intentions and a perfect time to walk a new path.  We think it's a great time to combine the desire to clean and create...

Spring is in the air and our skin is sure looking like it has a long road to recovery.  Just why does our skin get so distressed from the cold and wintry weather? One of the main problems is from our indoor climates.   The air inside of our homes and temperature controlled buildings becomes very dry during the heating and ventilation process and then... so do we. That dry air also feels colder to us than humid air does and in tern, we turn up the heat and create more dry conditions. Colder temperatures also do not hold the same...

The Caldarium is hopping!  The last of the fresh is being collected and preserved for use in our products.  For those that don't know, we grow or wild harvest as many of the spices, herbs and medicinals as we can in our climate.  We believe in the idea that 'Fresh is Best' as from the time of harvest, plants begin to experience nutrition atrophy.  This is why we find very little medicinal value in most bulk, dried imports and we choose to grow what we can. Plants like Lavender, Geranium, Chamomile, Calendula, Sage, Rosemary, Yarrow, Echinacea, a variety of Mints...