I’ve been decorating tincture bottles with wire, inspired by the massive amounts of herbal research I’ve been doing in the past few months. They make me happy. The idea is to develop this aesthetic further as I explore my thoughts on worth, the economy, classism, energy, healing, nature, capitalism, availability, and erasure (or invisibility).
I filled a clear bottle with a St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) oil I made. It’s great for healing cuts, bruises, scrapes, nerve pain, and sore muscles and it has such a lovely pink color! I’ve begun labeling with oil pens using both a common name and binomial nomenclature (“latin” name), while inscribing lot numbers on the bottom of filled bottles. I’m still developing exactly how I intend for them to be labeled fully, but it’s a good start.
The photo below is a Damiana tincture I made next to a green bottle I decorated. I’ll be concocting a Damiana elixir or bitter from the tincture to fill it with.
What does this have to do with being kinky? Good question! This weekend I was at a queer and kinky play party. I took a “Hot Nuts” challenge someone decided to lead at the event, wherein I ate 10 extremely spicy peanuts, 2 at a time at 5 different heat levels. The first level (the least spicy) started with Carolina Reaper saturated peanuts, and moved on to Carolina Reaper + Ghost Pepper, all the way up to Carolina Reaper, Ghost Pepper, and some insane number of units of pure Capsaicin added in! There was no drinking or eating of other foods between rounds, and we had to sit and wait at least 2 minutes after all the spiced nuts had been chewed and swallowed in order to win the challenge.
I’ve never done a spicy heat challenge before. I don’t even really eat spicy hot food much. I am a masochist though! It was a trip. I loved the challenge, and thoroughly enjoyed the heat and pain which bloomed fiercely in my face and throat. I laughed through the twitching, snotting, and uncontrollable streaming of tears down my very red face for approximately 30 minutes, which is how long the challenge took including the pain that stuck with me afterwards. What I did not like was the cramping and intense nausea which incapacitated me for another half hour when the spice worked its way past my diaphragm toward my stomach. I offer many apologies to the other event attendees for taking over one of our bathrooms for a solid 15 minutes as I alternated between laying on the floor, trying to poop, and dry-heaving… Oy! I won alongside one other adventurer though!
The next day, as you can imagine, my stomach was not very interested in warm or stimulating foods. Elimination was rather punishing as well. I mixed some marshmallow root powder in cold water and shook it in a capped jar until it was nice and thick and viscous. I drank some and waited, and then took sips of it between mouthfuls of food. Marshmallow is the perfect herb to have on hand for this situation. Every single sip felt like a cool happy coating relaxing, nourishing, and comforting my digestive system from mouth to tummy (and beyond). It allowed me to eat without immediately having to use my bowels or getting stomach cramps. Such a lovely friend to have in my time of need.
In the future, should I be confronted with an opportunity like this again, hopefully I’ll be prepared ahead of time. In that instance I’d definitely take marshmallow infusion before eating the spicy things (and probably after), to enjoy my “neck up” masochistic experience without having to deal with that same amount of nausea and discomfort as it passes on down.
I suspect the same curiosity within me which adores breaking the body down masochistically and sadistically is the same curiosity which adores plant medicine and natural healing methodologies. One day perhaps I’ll spell out on my shingle, “Come session with the Dominant who breaks you down and patches you back up naturally!”. There’s something very primal and exciting about trusting one’s body, the skills of one’s friends, and Nature to provide challenging and healing experiences as we roll through life. This 21st century we’re in is overcomplicated and anything but natural when it comes to contemporary lifestyles. We live completely unsustainably, and we don’t have to. There’s a missing knowledge needed to bridge the gap. I want to be part of handing down these wisdoms. I want to offer opportunities for personal examination of physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually realized experiences. The current (overblown and unbalanced) emphasis on mental and intellectual note-taking fractionates what we know of each other and ourselves.
Onward, and into a
Temple of the Body
School of Experience
Love of the Earth that we come from and return to~
Art, Herbs, and Kink.
Play On My Friends,
~ Creature
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