about the untamed alchemist & untamed alchemy

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome to the wee corner of the interweb where I share some of the magick, madness, musings, insights, recipes, and resources I stumble on and over as I re-member my way.

I’m Kristina, The Untamed Alchemist.

I’m a diarist, nature lover, creatrix, and storyteller with a passion for archetypes, alchemy, symbology, folklore, and liberation theology. I delight in the art & science of aromatics, herbs, oils, food, permaculture, and Mother Earth chemistry.

My writing and creations are informed by my education in women’s studies, religion, liberation theology, ritual, and divination, my training as an aromatherapist, herbalist, distiller, teacher, and facilitator, and my experience as a craftswoman, farmer, gardener, and witch living in North Idaho.

Growing both older and wiser, my perspective has come to include a more outspoken awareness of (and reaction to) my mis-education.

As a result, my most profound inner and outer work over the last five years has involved actively dismantling structures, beliefs, assumptions, behaviors, relationships, and systems in my life. And there’s always more to do.

You should know my perspective is often passionate and purpose-driven–and not evergreen. (I look back at early articles in these archives and CRINGE.)

Inevitably, things are always changing, improving, shifting, and growing–sometimes they are decaying, coming undone. This is the work. Messy and magical.

I could give myself an ulcer worrying about how I got here and what I would do differently (I did!), but my Tarot cards are Judgment reducing to The High Priestess so I am literally here to get over it.

My life path involves having the courage to be right here and do it differently right now.

The crux of my “life’s work,” what I call untamed alchemy, is rooted in continuous, courageous creative transformation, informed by the tension of liminal spaces, and anchored in a desire to create more than I consume. I am awed by how blessed and how blind I am. The joy and horror of this life have me in their grasp. If these pages reflect a struggle on my part, it’s because my struggle is real. Sometimes, my struggle is also unnecessary.

Always, the work is a wild ride.

I hope you find inspiration, comfort, courage, hope, humor, and refuge here. May you be ever delighted, supported, and encouraged on your journey.

Bless and Blessed Be.


Recent Posts

Indulging the Divine Feminine: Raspberry Ice Cream

Indulging the Divine Feminine: Raspberry Ice Cream

What better way to celebrate the Divine Feminine than with a sweet, wild celebration of fresh foraged raspberries in a creamy ice cream?

Pondering the Pollinator Effect

Pondering the Pollinator Effect

I’m proud to be an affiliate for brands and products with which I have had exceptionally positive experiences. If you click on an affiliate’s link, I may receive a commission for purchases made through the links at no additional cost to you. Ever heard of…

The Sweetest Sound: National Geographic on Flowers Responding to Pollinators’ Sounds

The Sweetest Sound: National Geographic on Flowers Responding to Pollinators’ Sounds

We opened our hive for the first time yesterday since welcoming honeybees to our farm. The collective remained completely calm and unperturbed by our presence and continued humming right along, hard at work building comb and tending brood as we shuffled the top bars to…

Rosewood: A Call for Support

Rosewood: A Call for Support

TL;DR Rosewood is a cherished essential oil under real threat from greedy traders and illegal poachers. Dr. Kelly Ablard is doing important, non-profit conservation work with indigenous people in Peru to help secure the future of Rosewood trees and the communities in their native habitat.…

“plum”

“plum”

In spring I placed posts and wrapped them in webbing though you looked dead I had vain hope that protected from nibbling lips you might die most quietly with at least some peace. A single leaf On a mangled branch last summer was gratitude enough…

Biscotti for Brighid

Biscotti for Brighid

I’m aware biscotti aren’t exactly a traditional food for Imbolc. Also, I get that biscotti aren’t likely to be found on a list of typical items celebrating Brighid. I don’t care. I’m over here in a wee emotional funk, feeling a bit messy, moving a…

Practical Magic for Imbolc

Practical Magic for Imbolc

While many people associate Groundhog Day with superstitious weather prediction (or a timeless movie with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell), witch-y types recognize it by other more evocative and symbolic names: Candlemas, the Feast of Brigid/Brighid, the Feast of Lights, Imbolc. Situated between the Winter…

Incense for the Longest Night

Incense for the Longest Night

Today’s recipe is the last for this winter series–it’s also the final item I’m making and sharing to use in my 2017 Yule ritual. This is incense for the longest night, essentially an aromatic altar offering for Yule. Stick incense using essential oils can easily…

Santa Lucia Anointing Perfume

Santa Lucia Anointing Perfume

The longest, darkest night approaches in the northern hemisphere–many of us seek warmth, comfort, light, and clarity to carry as we navigate the night. Crafted to celebrate Santa Lucia, this simple anointing perfume carries deep symbolism and bright energy. While the feast day and festivities…

Winter Winds Lip Balm

Winter Winds Lip Balm

With snow accumulating and winds whipping, it’s time to add some protective lip balm to our maker’s list–we’ll need enough for stuffing stockings and some for our own pockets, zippers, and mittens. WAIT. Zippers and mittens? Yep, zippers and mittens. That’s because we make our…

Holiday Vodka Infused with Douglas Fir Spring Tips Tea

Holiday Vodka Infused with Douglas Fir Spring Tips Tea

Most years, I slide toward my winter self in an increasingly cozy cloak of introspection, meditation, and meanderings. As the world in me slows and simmers, the house begins to sparkle with Yule and Solstice decorations. Bright seasonal blessings sit on my mantle, emerge from…

Mooning Over the New Moon – December 2017

Mooning Over the New Moon – December 2017

If you follow me on social media, you already know that this witch worships most meaningfully at the New Moon. Each New Moon brings new opportunities to go deep and invites fresh intentions for deliberate engagement with my life. I’m always excited about a New…

Yummy Vegan Elderberry Gummies

Yummy Vegan Elderberry Gummies

In the “easy-steps-yielding-fun” category, elderberry gummies stand out. They’re a simple, easy way to get your daily dose of elderberry goodness. This recipe is simple and straightforward–especially if you have some yummy homemade elderberry syrup already made! (What? No elderberry syrup made? Start with my…

Siberian Fir Melt & Pour Soaps

Siberian Fir Melt & Pour Soaps

  Guests always comment on the quality and aroma of our hand soaps. Both the foaming hand soaps we have at our kitchen sink or the guest soaps we have in the guest bath garner all kinds of comments. People unanimously love well-crafted aromatic soaps.…

Cardamom and Sweet Orange Beeswax Candles

Cardamom and Sweet Orange Beeswax Candles

I’m on a bit of a tear with cardamom and sweet orange essential oils. For one thing, cardamom and sweet orange essential oils smell incredible together. For another thing, I accidentally have too much of each. What to do? Indulge some aromatic beeswax candles! Honestly,…

Yule Gløgg (aka Danish Mulled Wine)

Yule Gløgg (aka Danish Mulled Wine)

I miss my mom, y’all. Christmas is 100% my mom’s jam. You can’t arrive at her house in December without being offered some of the frikadeller (Danish meatballs), aebleskiver (Danish doughnuts), or glögg (Danish mulled wine) she always has on hand for her ongoing holiday…


go deep

Mooning Over the New Moon – December 2017

Mooning Over the New Moon – December 2017

If you follow me on social media, you already know that this witch worships most meaningfully at the New Moon. Each New Moon brings new opportunities to go deep and invites fresh intentions for deliberate engagement with my life. I’m always excited about a New…

mooning over love

mooning over love

Ah, lurve. Few things are more fun to elevate and celebrate with oils, herbs, and food than sweet, sweet love. Whereas many of the best parts of love are arguably intangible, love is still very much informed by our senses — especially in the physical expression…

mooning over chamomile

mooning over chamomile

More often than not, when we think of Chamomile, we think of the herbal Chamomile tea used to encourage sleep. But Chamomile bears many additional therapeutic properties–and lends itself to more varied applications. Aromatherapy offers us two unique Chamomile essential oils: German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and…

mooning over siberian fir

mooning over siberian fir

Siberian Fir (Abies siberica) is a particularly powerful essential oil from the evergreen family. While it bears the hallmark “pine-y” scent of its family, that is not the aroma that anchors it. Instead, it offers a unique woodiness and richness in its aroma. It is among…

mooning over sage

mooning over sage

Ah, Sage. The incomparable Salvia. What Thanksgiving table would be complete without the inimitable savory flavor of this sacred herb in stuffing? Of all of the perennials in our herb garden, Sage is by far the lowest maintenance. He returns each year, bountifully, and extends…


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