Mercredi: The Art of Beauty

Wednesday here at HQ is all about taking care of yourself inside and out. You can’t look good if you don’t feel good, but you can make your “routine” more than just a daily chore. We’ll start out with something that most of us have tried, or at least are familiar with. But I’m adding my own twist so that your time is well spent even if you hardly have two minutes to rub together.

Cucumbers are not a big part of “rootwork” which is the colloquial term for hoodoo in practice. You put them in your salad. Or, you put them on your eyes to keep that annoying puffiness at bay. They don’t do anything per se. Well, said I, why not change that up?

Most of us don’t have time to lie around with day-glo facial masques on and cucumber slices covering our eyes in the middle of the day. That’s for “Desperate” and “Real” housewives; the gals who don’t have kids and jobs and dinner to cook. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get just the same benefits from nature’s bounty. Try this tonic for puffy eyes and psychic slump; it might be just what the root doctor ordered.

While you are getting dinner together, cut two ½ inch thick slices from a fat cucumber and sprinkle them with dried mint (peppermint or spearmint, either is fine, or you can use fresh mint leaves if you have a kitchen garden or window box handy) before sliding them into a Ziploc bag and popping them in the fridge. At the end of the night after the kids are down, the coffee maker is ready for tomorrow, the TV’s off and your face is clean and moisturized, climb into bed, lie on your back and place your cucumber slices over your eyes mint-side up.

Now breathe in and appreciate the surprisingly soothing yet rejuvenating mixture of scents. Focus but don’t frown or strain. You’re relaxing, after all. Think of your psychic abilities - be it lucid dreams, seeing the future, interacting with spirits/ancestors or spiritual protection – expanding, improving and strengthening even as your worries drift away. Keep breathing deeply and, if it helps you, repeat a set of words in your head such as “I remember my dreams” to keep focused. Don’t force it; the benefits will come as you continue to practice.

After ten or fifteen minutes, return the cucumbers to the bag and zip them up. They’ll be fine overnight for disposal in the morning. Remember that relaxation and rest do more for our health – physical, mental and spiritual – than just about anything else. And that goes for you gentlemen too. Fear not the cucumbers over the eyes!

Get some rest now, and repeat your cucumber magick as often as you like. Bonne nuit ~

Header: Countess Golivin by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun