Happy Midwinter! This box will probably get to you after the actual Solstice, but I’m hoping the items inside will shed a little light on the longest nights of your year. Some of them may even be good for blessing your new home – congratulations again!!!

For seven months now I’ve been trying to launch a more or less pagan subscription box. My goal is to send a curated collection of gift items 8 times a year – for the Quarter Days (Equinoxes and Solstices) and the peaks of the Fire Festivals (the midpoints in between the Quarter Days). Each box will contain a seasonal mix of ceremonial supplies, delectable little treats, and indulgent (though also occasionally practical) self-care items.

I’m still on the mend from my big injury two Octobers ago, so instead of launching a business straight away, I wanted to test my subscription box idea for a whole year to see if I can really do it. If you enjoy the curation of gifts in this box, I would love to send you more free gift boxes over the course of the coming solar cycle – and if you want to share feedback with me, even better! Let me know if you’d be interested in being one of my test recipients 🙂

Gift guide below!

Four Friends candle by Flamingo Estate

The tale of the Four Harmonious Animals is a popular Buddhist folk myth. It describes four animals who work in cooperation to eat fruits from a tree. The elephant carries the monkey on his back, the monkey holds up the hare, and the hare has the bird perched on his head. The moral of the story is that when everyone works together, even the smallest, weakest, and least tree-mobile creatures can access the best fruit.

This framing of the myth asks a question: why are the bird and the monkey stacking up on top of the elephant with the hare? They could be sitting happily in the tree snacking on the best fruits all alone, leaving the hare to snack only on fallen fruits. I choose to believe it’s because their social ethics consider the whole of society over their indiviual selves.

Mythology aside, I just wanted to give you a candle from Flamingo Estate, a company that’s doing really great awareness-raising work in the environmental sphere. They drive me nuts half the time with their LA-intoxicated obsession with celebrity… but I can’t help but agree with 100% of their business philosophy, and I love the way they put their money where their mouth is. Their sourcing team does a really great job of finding small businesses in the regenerative agriculture world to support, and that’s similar to the work I’d like to be doing on a smaller scale with this box.

This candle is made with a blend of copal, amber, cedarwood, and myrrh essential oils. All four of those botanical substances have longstanding traditional uses in cleansing, protection, and energetic invocation. This blend creates a lovely woodsy fragrance to set the tone of your home during the winter season. It’s a small candle, but Flamingo Estate is generous with their essential oils, so burn it in a more open space for a better experience – and don’t lean over the flame to smell the candle, you’ll get a faceful of oil. Ask me how I know.

Rose quartz mini facial roller by Mei Apothecary

As a person with muscle tension everywhere in my body, I think everyone on Earth could benefit from the occasional facial massage. Either you already know how much tension you hold in your face or your mind is about to be blown.

I love this tiny tool for its precision – it’s great for targeting the little muscles around the eyes, nostrils, lips, and ears. Just trust me and try it. I like doing it absent mindedly while reading or doom scrolling.

You know how all the stories say you can use anything as a wand? See if you can extend your sensory awareness into the tool. Use the tool’s awareness to locate where your tension needs work. Don’t think too much about how to do it, just give it a go.

Friendship bracelet kit by Mercury Provisions, featuring Sero by Gist Yarns

It’s good for your brain to do stuff with your hands. Did you ever make friendship bracelets as a kid? I didn’t, but over the summer I got into it and it healed something inside me. I had forgotten that textile crafts are one of the most intrinsically human pastimes ever – one of the first things humans ever did for fun *in all of history.* Playing with yarn is something we’re *supposed* to do.

Anyway, if you ever feel inspired to do something craftsy in your downtime, friendship bracelets are a super easy way to get your hands busy. There are a ton of tutorials out there and I will trust you to find one with a design you like, made in a learning style that suits you. I tried to find a universal one to link but it doesn’t exist.

I wanted to outfit you with the best possible thread because I feel strongly that as adults we deserve good quality grown up materials for our arts and crafts. I tried to pick out an expressive selection of colors for you to play with. There’s enough for you to waste some of it in a trial and error process, and then still be able to start over with the same design when you figure it out.

The yarn I’ve given you is made of raw silk from China, processed by a mill right here in NC. I feel good about supporting Chinese silk farmers during the trade war. I love the saturation of color it’s able to achieve. The red almost glows in the dark.

Winter cookie selection by Mercury Provisions

Twice-baked shortbread: Made with only three ingredients. Small batch, half-salted cultured butter, unbleached organic cane sugar, and Red Tail Grains’ “miller’s choice” blend of the discard mixed grains that come off the mill between different batches of flour. Rustic, toothsome, and buttery.

Cocoa Crinkle: A brown sugar based cocoa cookie made with Bensdorp 22/24, the Gods’ own cocoa powder, and rolled in two types of sugar for a nice outer crust. I had crinkle cookies made with this specific cocoa powder as a 12 year old child when I was on holiday in the Philippines, and I imprinted on them. Spent the next 18 years searching for the flavor… and I found it.

Brown butter sugar cookies: A simple soft cookie with extravagant details. My standard golden sugar mixed with browned salted Kerrygold butter, an almost offensively large amount of Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste, and a touch of malt powder to underscore the sweetness. Humble and beige, just like all the best cookies are.

Hazelnut semolina cantucci: A twice-baked Italian low-sugar cookie made with Flamingo Estate’s famous extra virgin olive oil, organic hazelnuts, a touch of Nielsen-Massey vanilla, maple sugar for the rich flavor, and Red Tail Grains’ soft semolina. I wanted to get a deep golden color on the hazelnuts so I baked them until very dry and crisp.

Pistachio rose cantucci: Similar to the hazelnut version, but lighter and more floral. I used a touch of almond flour, yellow cornmeal, Turkish pistachios, and Flamingo Estate’s member exclusive rose petal infused wildflower honey. These are baked softer – let me know whether you prefer them or the crunchy ones more.

Bensdorp 22/24 Hot Cocoa by Mercury Provisions

Bensdorp 22/24 is unquestionably *the* world’s best cocoa powder. It’s processed in Belgium using the Dutch method, which adds alkali to balance the acidity of the raw cacao. The result is a high-fat, low-fiber cocoa powder that is packed with both flavor and nutrition.

I’m not a food scientist, but one thing I know is that the flavor in food mostly comes from the fat. So it’s important that the processing Bensdorp uses for their cocoa powder retains a lot of fat. That’s what makes it so flavorful compared to lesser cocoas.

I think this works best on the stovetop if you have the time. If you want to make an American style hot cocoa, use about a tablespoon of mix and 12 oz of milk or dairy substitute per person. For a Spanish style, use a heaping tablespoon and 4-6 oz of milk per person, and dunk cookies in it. For a Filipino style, follow the American style proportions, but also grate in some dark chocolate. For a Swiss Alpine vibe, follow the American style proportions, grate in some milk chocolate, and top with unsweetened whipped cream.

The cocoa powder does tend to stick to itself and lump up upon contact with liquid. Really take your time smushing out all the lumps you can find.

Ingredients: Organic unbleached cane sugar, Bensdorp 22/24 cocoa powder, Maldon salt.

Sugar is way heavier than cocoa powder by weight, so I have to list it first – but in truth this is not a very sweet cocoa mix.

Druk’s Delight by Flamingo Estate x Mountain Hazelnuts

This winter Flamingo Estate put out a box of assorted small items made in collaboration with some really cool Bhutanese companies, and I bought an extra box to distribute amongst friends because I wanted to pay money towards supporting their collaborators.

I’ll use the words from their brochure: “The ancient kingdom of Bhutan is known as ruk Yul – the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Here, the Druk (Dragon) is revered as a guardian of the mountains, protecting and watching over the land from which these exceptional hazelnuts are born.

Mountain Hazelnuts is a social enterprise working together with Bhutan’s Royal Government to plant millions of hazelnut trees. This achieves a ton of sustainability goals: it provides long-term stable income to people who don’t want to relocate for work, helps to stabilize the slopes of the high mountains, and improves the health of the soil.

The high mountain hazelnuts are roasted, stone ground, and mixed with organic Cacao, vanilla, pink salt, and Wild Himalayan Timur peppercorns.

Cordyceps and Black Turmeric Honey by Flamingo Estate

Because I could fit it into the box, this is perhaps an even more special thing from Bhutan. This honey comes from the Rigsum Gonpo, a sacred trio of mountains that are believed to symbolize compassion, wisdom, and power.

The special honey has been infused with hand-harvested cordyceps from remote alpine pastures as high as 5,000 meters in altitude. Cordyceps harvesting is strictly regulated by the Bhutanese government to prevent environmental damage.

The honey is finished with a hint of Black Turmeric.

I don’t know much about medicinal superfoods, but I do know that adding this honey to my herbal tea helps me feel more normal when I’m struggling. It also tastes amazing, and I love what it symbolizes. It’s good to start the new solar cycle with a little bit of sweetness!

Charm 01 Embodiment essential oil blend by Mercury Provisions

This one doesn’t have a label – it’s the small amber bottle marked with a red dot of paint.

I’ll say it up front: don’t use this product on your skin! It’s a fragrance only. It is not for skin care. If you get it on your hands, wash them with soap right away because this will hurt if it gets in your eyes.

All that said, this essential oil blend is designed to center your awareness in your body and help you detach and ground from ruminating thoughts. If you focus on the fragrance for minute or two, you will start to feel your energy moving downward from your head into your body. It’s not magic, it’s just herbs.

The ingredients in this essential oil blend are parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and ginger (SPICY TO TOUCH). They’re all soup aromatics! Is that a coincidence? Nope – it’s history.

Before the days of doctors and medicine, herbs were incorporated into everyday food for health reasons. These particular herbs became soup staples because they were used so often for strengthening and warding against illness, especially in cold weather. Of all herbs, why these ones? Because they are traditionally believed to have properties of strengthening and empowering the body.

Fragrance cuts right through to the lizard brain. Smelling the soup herbs’ essential oils works a little differently than eating the same herbs, but the effect is the same. The energy that is circulating in your mind centers will be pulled back down into your body as you breathe in the fragrance. That ends rumination spirals and hands back your agency.

Heart diffuser and wool coaster by Mercury Provisions

A lot of people are sensitive to the fragrances of essential oils and have a strong aversion to active diffusers, the kind that puff essential oils into the air. I prefer passive diffusers, which simply hold a drop or two of oil for you to smell only when you get close enough. Active diffusers disperse fragrance that lasts for days, while passive diffusers tend to quiet down after a few hours.

I thought these heart shaped lava rocks were little cuties. The pocket made of wool felt also functions as a coaster to absorb any extra oil that falls through the pores of the lava rock. When you’re done using the essential oil you can put the lava rock back into the pocket so Jinx doesn’t steal it.

Make sure you don’t douse the lava rock with too many drops at a time – you don’t want the essential oil to drip out of it, because if it soaks through the wool coaster, it can eat the finishing off your furniture. 2-3 drops of oil is plenty. If you need more intensity, stick the whole bottle right under your nose.

Charm 02 Nerve Tonic herbal tisane by Mercury Provisions

This herbal blend is designed to function as emotional regulation support. Its active ingredient is Skullcap, a natural anxiolytic. As an herbal tonic, it’s also packed with a ton of diverse nutrients to give you a generic boost like a multivitamin.

Skullcap doesn’t do much to calm down your *thought* systems, but it *does* calm down the body’s fight or flight response. Feeling better in the body can do a lot for the regulation of thoughts and emotions too. I’ve found it super helpful for the regulation disruptions that come with my ADHD.

Tonics work better if you make them a daily habit, in the same way that meditation starts helping you detach from unwanted thought spirals only after 3 months of daily practice. I think this specific tonic is great for periods of burnout and seasonal depression, and that’s why I chose it for the Winter box. I know you’re particularly going through an exhausting and stressful period – please let me know if you find these herbs helpful, because I can send you a bigger bag! I make this blend by the pound because I drink it every day, totally happy to supply you as well.

All that said, these herbs *can* be taken as needed when you’re in distress, and they’ll still work. *You may not notice the effects* if you’re not already used to how it feels, because they’re subtle. But the herbs will still work!

Tea infuser by unknown maker

I’m sure you already have something like this, but there was no way I could send out an intro subscription box without including an infuser for the herbs and teas I’ll be sending out over the months.

I chose this one because it’s roomy enough for you to be generous with your dosing, it has small enough perforations that nearly all the herbal matter will be contained, and it looks easy to clean. It’s roomy enough that later on when I send you whole tea leaves there will be space for them to bloom. The lid also doubles as a coaster!