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Okay, better late than never. At least I am getting it done before the end of the year. Honestly, I was waiting for my December box to arrive, but I forgot my credit card on file expired in December so the payment didn't go through. I got another subscription box as a gift so I have been holding off on ordering more House of Ritual boxes, although I really, really, really, like this one. But back to the topic at hand. I have a November box to review dang it!
November's box focused on astral travel and psychic awareness, something I find deeply fascinating. Each of the items is curated specifically for the ritual on the card, but of course the items can be used in any way you see fit. I look forward to using them in my travels tonight actually. I am going to hedge ride to seek guidance for my resolutions. How fitting, right? Anyway!
Upon opening the box I was greeted by an information card and a ritual card. The information card contains a brief overview of the month's theme as well as the purpose of the items in the box. There is no indication where these items came from, which is a shame as I like to know what businesses I am supporting. However, I suspect the items were created by the owner of the subscription box itself as many of them are labeled as coming from Wild Tamed Apothecary, the creators of the House of Rituals subscription box.
Underneath the cards and bubble wrap were a small collection of perfectly curated, high-quality items. The first item to draw my attention was a jar of herbs labeled The Travelers Loose Incense. This incense contains copal, mugwort, damiana, calendula, and jasmine oil. Mugwort is an excellent herb for astral travel, dream recall, and hedge riding. Due to its unique properties, it helps one achieve an altered state of consciousnesses. Copal helps deepen awareness during meditation while damiana and calendula increase psychic awareness and jasmine promotes calmness of the mind. It is obvious much thought was put into creating this blend of incense specifically for astral travel. Not to mention it smells delightful on its own so the herbs could be used in a nosegay instead of as an incense.
Next, I removed the black Moon bag and a blue candle. According to the information and ritual card, the bag is to be used to hold any items you are taking with you during your astral travel. In fact, many hedgewitches create a hedge riding bag to aid in their travels and protect them from unwanted energies and entities that wish them harm. This little bag is perfect for such an occasion, and I love that the creators included such an item. The blue candle is to be used to enhance the ritual as blue is associated with astral travel and psychic development. In the picture, the bag looks dingy. It is the packaging they use that is all over it. It is felt so it attracts all matter of debris. It is actually quite black.
Inside the Moon bag was a large piece of black kyanite. Wow, is this thing large! (That's what she said!) Normally the crystals I receive are rather small, but this thing is 3 inches long and incredibly gorgeous. Black kyanite, like all black crystals, is an excellent grounding crystal. After astral projection, meditation, pathwalking, or hedge riding, it is wise to ground yourself, especially after an "out-of-body experience," to ensure all of you comes back to Earth. Including this in the box was wise, as many witches tend to forget to ground after such travel. Also included in the box was amethyst, which helps remove blockages in your third eye chakra which can hinder astral travel. Furthermore, amethyst increases psychic awareness (It is purple after all).
Next, I removed some anointing oil and a bottle of herbs. The herb bottle contains mugwort and lavender, again mugwort being excellent for astral travel and lavender is great for dream magic. This small vial of herbs is designed to be dumped into the Moon bag or be sprinkled around the witch during the ritual. The anointing oil labeled Dream Walker contains almond oil, jasmine oil, cinnamon oil, calendula and jasmine flowers, a powerful combination for astral travel. As with the anointing oil in the last box, this can be placed directly on your skin. It is designed to open your mind to move freely into the Otherworld.
I am impressed once again! The items in this box were well thought out, high quality, and incredibly useful for a witch like myself. I will be renewing my subscription in the near future.
***
While I haven't reviewed three months of this box, I would still like to give you a complete break down of my overall thoughts on this box. Unfortunately, I did not review October because the company had a mishap with a packaging company, and I didn't feel it right to review a box that was incorrectly put together at no fault of the subscription box owner. Technically I only reviewed one month because the first is an introductory box, but I felt I have more than enough information on this company to give a detailed list of pros and cons.
Pros:
- The item quality is great. Every item is worth more than I paid. More so really because they are handcrafted by the subscription box creator.
- The information card is informative but slightly incomplete. It explains the monthly theme and which items are included in the box.
- The ritual card is helpful and easy to follow. I love that they include the ritual to use the items in the box itself. Many other companies require you go to their websites or look for an email. Not this one!
- The introductory box ensures the subscriber has all of the basics needed for future rituals.
- It is inexpensive! I paid $20 for my subscription, $57 for three months!
- There are different tiers. They offer a variety of subscription box options, all of them budget friendly.
- This box is available! There is no waiting list!
Cons:
- The information card is incomplete. Unfortunately, there is no mention of where the items came from, but I am 99.9% sure all the items are created by the subscription box as all the labels contain their name. However, it would be nice if this were mentioned somewhere in the box description or on the information card.
- There is a lot of packaging and it is not eco-friendly. The paper and cardboard box can be recycled, but the bubble wrap cannot.
- I experienced a slight mishap. My second box arrived weeks late and did not contain all the items promised. However, after doing some research, I discovered this was due to the company using someone new to pack and ship their boxes. They have since stopped using that company and box quality is back to normal!
OVERALL: 5 out of 5 stars
Interested in purchasing this box? Check out Tamed Wild to see more options and individual items up for sale.
For your pleasure, here are some pictures of my new kitten, Jane, after Jane Austen. She was spayed 2 weeks ago so that is why her belly is shaved. She did just fine. In fact, the first thing she did when she got home was attack her older brother. Enjoy the cuteness witches!
Jane and Oscar |
Helping mommy blog! |