Introducing Our New "Desert Queen" Collection

After the life changing experience of desert dwelling and studying plant medicine in Baja California Sur we are excited to announce the arrival of our latest desert sourced collection, "Desert Queen". 

The various therapeutic benefits of the carefully crafted ingredients include protecting, nourishing, repairing, and hydrating properties. So far the line includes:

"Baja Blooms": A Sun Spritzer/Tonic/Toner to quench thirsty, skin w/ Aloe Leaf, Lavender, White Sage, Dill, and Vit E

"Vision Quest": A concentrated Wild Rose and Clary Sage eye cream to repair and smooth fine lines w/ organic CO2 extracted Chia Seed Oil which is a natural form of CoQ10. CoQ10 is not only necessary for producing cellular energy, but also for defending cells from damage caused by harmful free radicals. 

"Earth Ship: A potent face oil w/ organic Prickly Pear Seed Oil and other fibroblast stimulating ingredients to encourage the production of elastin,  and smooth skin, like Vit E, Dill Seed oil, and Yarrow. 

"Arroyo Magic": A medicinal indigenous clay (barro) sourced from Baja that cleans impurities from the pores thanks to its antibacterial properties, as well as its incredible ability to bind to the debris in your skin and pull it out like a sponge. It can also contain minerals like silica (delays aging), alumina (absorbs impurities), iron and calcium (promote cell renewal). Therapeutic Juniper Berry essential oil in Jojoba is included in the kit which has cleansing, calming, and grounding properties.

"Dadme La Muerte Que me Falta"

This place. Oh this wild abandon of a place of the misfits, mermaids, and the medicine. Baja just wouldn’t let me go. From bones in the desert to the skeleton woman which is me in the bottom of the sea I found..“dadme la muerte que me falta”.

Mystic Mexican poet, Rosario Castellanos is quoted “dadme la muerte que me falta” which translates to “Give me the death I need”.

Remember my bat post..and how they signify “death”. I was already in that mode of letting go and surrendering of the old, the fear, the ego, but I had more rites of passage to go here.Three months living off grid outside of Todos Santos I had enjoyed the sun, plant life, and sea but also faced many challenges like water/ power struggles, Land Rover issues and worst of all the loss of my beloved husky soul mate.

I was done w/ the desert!  It’s funny how removed from death we are back in the states, unless maybe caring for a loved one who is sick. I was shocked when after seeing the vet when I was left w/ the corpse of my dead dog to bury. My local friend Felipe, said “We have to bury him when the Sun rises in the AM and I will help you.” I was in shock. Thanks to this friend. I could not have managed the task alone.  There was something special about laying his body to rest w/ my own blood, sweat, and tears. Then I collected desert plants, flowers and my favorite seashells to offer his spirit while it was passing through the cosmos. I spent many more nights here and my bedroom faced the desert space where he was buried. It was also tucked in by the sea. I cried. And cried and wished I could somehow meet him in another realm again. It was a bit of a coincidence that I was re-reading “Women Who Run With Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkerton-Estes.

I really resonated with the quote, "We all begin as a bundle of bones somewhere in the desert."

I was so done that I packed up my car to head back to Oregon not even sure if I had the gas or money to make it. I was also, scared to drive the Baja peninsula stretch of 1000 miles alone in an unreliable car. I justed wanted to get back to Oregon and started my journey on Jan. 31, 2017.

I blazed through the desert as I drove listening to good tunes. Tom Freund was a musician passing through Todos Santos and gave me his CD in trade for an essential oil book. I blasted his tracks “Queen of the Desert and “Copper Moon” as I embraced the beauty of the landscape one last time while crying over missing my wild, soft husky friend.

I knew better to drive at night but got a bit stuck in the mountains after dark while thinking I could make it from Loreto to Mulege. The moon was a silver crescent in the sky and Venus, Mars, and Jupiter were conjunct like the beauty mark’s of the Moon.

When I finally pulled into Mulege I was enchanted by the vintage charm of the town. There was a certain vibe of romance which I can’t describe besides a bit of magic. I circled around looking for a motel and a decent place for food. My vegetarianism is a challenge here. I was instantly lured by a small archway that seemed to be filled w/ botanicals and tropical plants, called Las Casitas. I parked the vehicle, and decided this was the place for the night. After writing a farewell post to Baja on social media which was also a heads up to my friends and people back north that I was making my way back I grabbed a bite of food in the lobby.

There are little steps that add up to be a certain turning point where our coarse completely changes. A compass gone wild, and the sails shift. I had wondered why I was going back to the freezing, cold and rain in Portland. I had wondered why I was so eager to reunite w/ my daughter who was so cruel on the phone every time I tried to speak w/ her. The prices of rent in Portland are insane. Then there is all the turmoil w/ Trump and an angry nation. I had been fed up for so long..I didn’t really know what the fuck I was doing at all besides besides eating a quesadilla, but I was about to find “La luz de la vida”.

This translates to “the light of life”. This is when a  beautiful man walked up to me and we chatted for a moment. He asked me to meet him in the AM to watch the sunrise..and he looked for a napkin to write his phone number. He said he liked to be old school and actually write it down. My phone didn’t work and What's app failed so even though I thought I might do something out of the ordinary I knew I should hit the road and catch the first light of day for my next day 2 of 5 of driving. Oh well. Maybe in another life.

The next morning even before my alarm went off I rushed up to get my little dog Hooj outside to pee. I was tired, half asleep, and unknowingly had started bleeding in the middle of the night. I was a bit of a hot mess.. To my surprise I opened my motel room door there was my new friend waiting for me to awake for our sunrise date.

Long story short I am now on day 11 of this place so our meeting went well. Losing my ATM card (a little nudge from the universe also came into play). The Sea of Cortez may as well be called the Sea of Love. It is full of life. Mermaids are not myth here. There are seashells that I have only dreamed about that fill the shore. The colors of the sky are those of the softest pastels. I am living on a houseboat w/ my new friend and the circle windows are my favorite feature of the boat. The morning light glows pink. There is a lighthouse in the distance. The locals are lost angels. We make fires each night and write songs together on the guitar. There is also the bio luminesce of the phytoplankton that light up the water at night glowing blue from a chemical reaction that is unlike anything I have seen and I may as well be a character in my most favorite film, “The Life Aquatic”. I needed this. Love is a gift. My light was out and it is now lit again.

Another story comes to mind from the book I mentioned before, Women Who Run with Wolves. It is the tale of “The Skeleton Women”, a creature so scary. This girl was pushed off a cliff by her father long ago and her bones laid at the bottom of the sea. Well a fisherman comes by one day thinking he caught the catch of the day and instead pulls the "skeleton woman" up in his net. He runs home to get far away from her but Skeleton Women is there at the fisherman’s door. Though he is scared he lets her in. He begins to untangle her. He begins to cry. The tears fall on her lips and as she drinks his salty tears which return her to to life again.

It feels good to be untangled. I am in love w/ this place and the subtle medicine here for those who are open to receiving it. I don’t know where I am going but I know I am not lost. Following the heart always pays off.

Dancer in the Dark

Yes, Dancer in the Dark is a great film starring one of my favorite women in the world, Bjork as she plays the endearing/heart wrenching role of a blind mother. This post is not about a film though, but a similar theme of facing fear, embracing the unknown, and submitting to that which we can not see, the darkness. It’s also about diving deep to do the work on ourselves, the “shadow” work. Lastly, I would like to explore the theme of bats, which are the true “dancers in the dark” but I will get to that.

As I have just trail blazed off to start a new life in Baja California Sur, alone (solo human, but w/ my dog companions Tanka and Hooj.) I don’t really know how I ended up here besides doing what I do best which is following my heart.  After growing deep roots in Oregon for the last twenty years and raising a daughter it was a bold thing for me to break out of my comfort zone but there were so many things not working. I felt that no matter how much work I was doing on myself the transformation could not happen there. Life had become unsustainable w/ the cost of living on the rise and the migration of people that moved to Portland the town was busting at it’s seams. The city I once loved was a war zone, and I could no longer afford it. My body finally shut down after a third part time garden job left me w/ a back injury this past summer, and one that I could not seem to heal. This was a huge wakeup call considering I am an active, healthy person, who eats well, does yoga, believes in self-care and natural health so I must be invincible? Right?

So it was more of a big push than a decision of my own to find a new home. My daughter and I have never been apart so that part was hard, but she is exercising her independance tooth and nail to be on her own and thinks she does not need me right now.. She said straight up, “Mom, you really need to move to Mexico like you've always wanted to do.” I think it might have been me asking her to help me put on my underwear one day when my back went out that sent her over the edge, but you don’t have to ask me twice. I was also a bit attached to my stuff. I had let these things define me.  Still just material though right? These small tokens were worth the trade off for mountains, desert, desolate beaches, whale watching from bed, daily dips in the ocean and stargazing like never before. Like I said..I have the follow my “heart thing down”.

Now that I am here it’s even more beautiful, peaceful, and fulfilling than I had imagined. The days are filled with so much sparkling light, and natural wonders it seems there can’t be anymore more beauty to discover until the next day I wake up to find more awesomeness.  It’s desert-mountain-ocean scape all in one. The Pacific ocean is this deep, jewel toned sapphire color which I call “baja blue” and the water is very healing to experience 24/7. It’s the first thing I see when I wake up and then I go play in the waves. This is my daily bathing ritual which saves on water since this resource is limited here. The sand is specked w/ sparkling gold flakes that shimmer into the infinite wild . Even as I try to stay home and work there are no walls seperating me from the sea as the home is an “open” floor plan. As I write here and now there are whales jumping about and it’s that sunset time of day where the mobula rays do their flapping parade jumping up from the water into the air one leap at a time. I love the flippy flop noise they make and can hear them coming a mile away!  

Even when I can’t see the ocean there is the constant presence as I listen to her roar at night. It is the night time here where I am still not settled.  As heavenly as I have describe of the days where rocks me in her loving arms I have so many fears which come up for me at night because it is so dark. West towards the sea there is nothing between me and the next thing except for thousands upon thousands of miles of water and darkness. Then with the open desolate desert there is nothing really around me in the other directions (except for a few houses in the far distance.) Just more darkness. It is very intense.

I am reminded of a childhood vision I had of seeing “the Boogie Man outside” when I looked out of the window at night. I will never forget that figure. He stood by a tree in the yard. I was really afraid of the dark as child because of this, and had not really noticed until just weeks ago, after really experiencing darkness again that I still had this fear. A few years back I read Daniel Pinchbeck’s psychedelic encounter he describes in the book, “Return of the Quetzalcoatl” where he meets a spirit, Mr. Iboga, after taking an African hallucinogenic root which is now be used to treat severe addictions. Mr Iboga has appeared to many others who have also describe him in in the same aesthetic. This was MY “boogie man” to a tee! Mr. Iboga is known to be the “PRIMORDIAL WISDOM TEACHER OF HUMANITY!” I guess this spirit does great w/ Q & A so next time if I see him maybe I will say hello.

As far as this actual realm goes there are the animal creatures I am getting use to here in my desert oasis. My guy friend, Stephen was here with me the first couple of weeks and even then I was scared to be outside at night in fear of getting stung by a scorpion, or attacked by wild coyotes. I pretended to collect driftwood for my next macrame project but I was really looking for the best ass kicking stick I could find. He made lots of fun of my wild imagination. He is in Mexico City now, and I just watched a video of him eating a scorpion!  One night we scooted our chairs out from the covered patio to enjoy the night. The sky was lit up w/ the New Moon in hiding, there was nothing but stars. Some stargazing was worth facing my scorpion fear until the giant desert bats came flying by right in front of our faces. Bats were not even on my radar, but I was on theirs! Since all of the walls are actually glass sliders that open up my home to the great outdoors I was concerned about the bats flying into the house, but Stephen confirmed we were safe from the bats. I don’t want to quote him on this but he might have even said they would not come in. The little, scared girl in me was appeased and I put that fear to rest.

Oh the darkness! It gets such a bad name. Like “light” must mean good, and “dark” must mean bad. Well fast forward a couple days and my bat fear came to fruition. Stephen informed me that big bat did fly right inside,but he was so couth to get it out before I even knew. If I had not grilled him (repeatedly) as to why he got up and starting sweeping in the middle of the night I may not have never known. He never technically saw the bat leave either so I brace myself now every time I open the closet. I also close up everything as soon as the Sun sets to prevent this from happening again. One of my dear friends was even just recently treated w/ a multitude of vaccines because she sat on a bat by accident in Oregon so call me crazy but people can get bit by bats.  

Even with these precautions another bat JUST got trapped inside as I had left the slider barely cracked for my husky. Stephen is gone now, so I am truey facing my fears alone.

THIS IS A SIGN. WHAT IS THE TOTEM MEANING OF THE BAT? WHY DOES THIS THEME KEEP SHOWING UP?

WHAT HEALING DOES MY SPIRIT NEED?

WHAT DOES THE MEDICINE OF THE BAT OFFER?

Ina Wilcoot writes a beautiful piece here about the bat as a symbol of rebirth and facing our fears. The message is exactly what I needed to help connect what I have been both working on in myself and some missing pieces of the puzzle . http://www.shamanicjourney.com/bat-power-animal-symbol-of-rebirth

“Bat’s wisdom includes shamanic death and rebirth, initiation, viewing past lives, pollination of new ideas, transition, understanding grief, the use of vibrational sound, camouflage, invisibility, ability to observe unseen, secrets. Shaman initiates go through a ritual death, sometimes with the aid of teacher plants and/or fasting. Here they confront their fears and are reborn without their old identities. Bats help us to release fear and patterns which no longer fits within our pattern of growth.

Bat flying into your life signifies that transformation of the ego self is about to occur, the end of a way of life and the start of another. This transition can be very frightening for many, even just to think about. But you will not grow spiritually until you let go these old parts of you that are NOT NEEDED. Facing the darkness before you will help you find the light in rebirth. The bat gives you the wisdom required to make the appropriate changes for the birthing of your new identity.

Bats have needle like teeth and can sometimes be rabies carriers, an infectious disease of the blood. It can cause a person to go mad. Fears that are permitted to spread, unchecked will in the end saturate our system, and can create a kind of madness within our lives. Bats reflect the need to face up to our fears.”

So it’s not all fun and games in paradise as I have so much work to keep doing on myself. There is the easy stuff, like letting go of patterns that are no longer serving me by completely uprooting my life, and then there is the hard stuff like the “death of ego” as described above and the “rebirth”. I feel like there are many parts of me that have yet to be born! Before I had even left Oregon I had started to research what is known as “shadow work” which tends to fit into this “what lies in the darkness” theme that has come up for me now.  We have all of these parts of us that we have hidden and buried deep into our subconscious in fear of not being loved. We can have total gems, or parts of ourselves waiting to be discovered and shine. This resonated so much w/ me but I had a hard time finding out how to do this work.

The moon is getting close to full so there is more light out there in my desert realms at night and I am working on facing my fears of the dark. I remember that the whale friends are still out there holding up that love grid. I even had to walk through the darkness quite a ways last night to retrieve Tanka who usually sticks close to home. I could see him just laying there lifeless quite a ways out. I thought for a minute he had been struck by a rattlesnake as he was laying by a snake hole (fuck you fear), but no he was basking in the moon beams as if under a lunar spell. It will be our first full moon here so I shall see how wolfy he gets in the next couple of days.

Now after the Sun sets I try to focus on the amazing night sky. I have been enraptured each night as Venus rises. Mesmerizing! She beams so bright that the ocean lights up in her glow. She is like a mini Moon but w/ Venus beams instead of Moonbeams. As this planet of love and creativity just entered into the unconventional and independent sign of Aquarius for the next few weeks am star struck. Venus in this sign is a reminder to : let us be friends and lovers. Let's experience love at first sight. Let's embrace freedom,expression and get experimental in creation.

So in conclusion, besides doing shadow work, art projects, dancing under the moon, and starting a "dark" themed perfume label to face my fears, and embrace the dark unknown, I have noticed my other senses such as hearing has become more refined. There is actually an orchestra of sound that fills the night between the waves crashing and the desert creatures chirping. It's nice.  I also keep making connections here and met a wonderful neighbor who owns much of this property and has been in the area since the 1960's. He is nothing but good vibes and he has really helped me to feel safe and secure. He built a giant industrial swing on his property which is a thrill of a ride. When I asked him how he dreamt the design up, he responded that he was put here to experience as much fun and joy in life and help others do the same. His family, son,daughter and grandson) have just arrived to make a home here too so I am feeling like I have an adopted family here now that are just a hop, skip, and jump through the field of cacti if I am ever in need. 

El Espíritu del Cactus

As I drove down the Hwy 1 of Baja California (Mexico) and through the “Valle de los Cirios”  I finally submitted and let go to allow my gracious friend to take control of the Land Rover reigns as I set back in passenger mode. Finally I got to really sink into the landscape and take in the visuals. In awe of the dense fields of cardon cacti I was captured by the spirit of the desert. These vertical rods became so heavy at one point that it was all my eye could see for an eternity besides the smoky spirit mist that lay thick, lingering between the mystical plants.

“I was lost in a moment of rapture as the desert called me to wander through “her” abyss to meet the unknown.”

2000 miles of driving south from my Oregon home to my new Mexico home in Todos Santos, I am currently surrounded still by the beauty of the cacti and here are some amazing botanical facts:

The Cardon,  Giant Mexican Cactus, or Elephant Cactus all refer to the Pachycereus pringlei. 

This means that these plants are ancient, and no wonder they demanded my attention. Most of these wondrous cati had 3,4,5 or more arms! The plants can grow up to 60 feet tall. The skin is thick, waxy, light green, and serrated into ridges. The  flowers are large, white, and fragrant. TThe flowers are pollinated by bats, birds, and insects that feed on the nectar.   The fruit of the Saguaro is cylindrical, scaly, and about 2-3 inches long.  The color matures from green to red and splits open during the summer when ripe.  The flesh of the fruit is bright, luscious red and contains many black seeds. It has been used medicinally through the ages by many native tribes for:

• High levels of vitamin C
• Boost the immune system
• Protect Gum Health
• Improve eyesight
• Rich in B12 to strengthen the nervous system
• Support rheumatic disorder

It is also known to be psychotropic but alkaline based versus mescaline based like the peyote. The flowers have been collected (not an easy task considering the height of the plant) to be infused as a flower essence. Cactus flower essence helps individuals to know and trust their inner wisdom and authority. It restores the will to live, to heal and to be the best that one can be. It assists in accessing the perfect inner father who encourages us on in life.

Desert Flower

I love so many things about the desert. The sky is incredible if you have ever caught a brazen sunset or admired the beauty of gazing at the sparkling celestial night. There is so much healing to be had from the empowering Sun, which I love upon my face to the mystic exotic landscape of plants including cacti, succulents, or a rare, budding, desert flower. The desert regions are rich with indigenous culture which through art and ceremony connect the past to the present.

“If you sing of beauty though alone in the heart of the desert you will have an audience”

— Kahil Gibran

Agave

The most common desert plant agave, is used to to make tequila. Agave is a family of succulents distantly related to the lily family, but not related to any cactus. Also called a maguey. The plants grow in the southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America. Agave is poisonous when raw, but has a sweet, mild flavour when baked or made into a syrup. The juice of the blue agave, cultivated primarily in the state of Jalisco, is used to make tequila; other agave species are used to make mezcal, bacanora, sotol, and pulque. There are more than 300 agave species. An agave plant takes eight to 12 years to mature. The plant has a bulbous body called a pina. The thick, spiny blue-green leaves extend six-eight feet at all angles like spears. Mexican law (see normas) state a product must contains at least 51% blue agave sugars to be called tequila. Because of the shape of the agave leaves are similar to the outstretched fingers of a human hand, prehispanic Mexican Indians called the plant "metal" or "metal" which means "hand."

Essential oils

Some other plants from arid regions to note which I daily use in the form of essential oils for self care include:

• Juniper Berry - Acts as a cleansing and detox agent. May benefit problematic skin. Supports healthy kidney function. Helps relieve tension and stress.

• Lavender - Eases muscle tension. Helps skin recover quickly. Used for its calming qualities.

• Melaleuca - Renowned for it's rejuvenating effect on the skin. Promotes healthy immune function. Protects against environmental threats.

• Rosemary - Supports healthy digestion. soothes muscles aches and pains. Helps reduce nervous tension and fatigue.

• Cypress - Assists with clear breathing. Soothes tension. Supports localized blood flow. Beneficial for oily skin.

If you would like to learn more about the therapeutic benefits of essential oils please private message me or request info here...http://elegantsavage.us10.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=9f46478e61d16e521c349dd18&id=aaec29a2b0

DIY Recipe

My own collection of succulents 

Earthships

are 100% sustainable homes that are both cheap to build because they are made out of recycled materials. They can provide free food! Each Earthship is outfitted with a greenhouse that grow crops year-round, no matter the climate. This means you can feed yourself with only the plants growing inside of your house. The entire roof of the Earthship funnels rain water to a cistern, which then pumps it to sinks and showers when required. “Grey water” is used to water the plants. What is super cool about an Earthship is their ability to sustain comfortable temperatures year round. Check out more details here: http://www.highexistence.com/10-reasons-why-earthships-are-fing-awesome/

Indigenous Culture:

The desert regions throughout the world are rich with indigenous culture and tribes that are still alive and well today. Thanks to these people traditions of ceremony, storytelling, medicine, agriculture,  and the arts have been practiced, passed down, and preserved through the ages. There are many lessons rooted in history and ancient wisdom here to be honored and considered sacred. The Zuni tribe in the New Mexico region of the US have lived in the American Southwest for thousands of years. Their cultural and religious traditions are rooted, in large part, in the people's deep and close ties to the mountains, forests, and deserts of this ancient Zuni homeland. Primarily being farmers, the Zuni raise maize and wheat and engage in Jewelry making. It has become an important additional source of income for the people.

One way the Zuni people express these cultural traditions is through their art. Check out this ceremonial dance:

Sungazing

Sungazing is an ancient practice also known as sun eating. It is a strict regimen of gradually allowing sunlight into your eyes at specific periods of the day. The goal when implementing the practice is to look into the sun at periods of the lowest ultraviolet-index which occur at sunrise and sunset each day. In essence, sun gazing provides beneficial stimulation to the body. The process itself negates the body’s innate need for food and retrains it to run on the energy of the sun. As such, the process helps increase energy, clarity of thinking, and overall health. NASA research suggested that the process could make an individual maintain a level of health that was far better in comparison to other individuals of the same age.

The process has also been shown as an effective treatment for specific conditions. Melanoma, non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, and a number of other cancers benefit from the treatment. Likewise, the increased vitamin D gained from the process is a known healing agent.