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.