I made my very first soap in the spring of 2005 with my great friend, Faye Burtch, an accomplished herbalist in Pennsylvania, who taught me how to craft the purest soaps from plant-based ingredients with love and beauty. To face Faye’s tradition, I add my own experience working in various spiritual traditions to create soaps that are a reflection of my soul, values and my spirituality. Making soap is more than a craft. It is an ancient art which asks me, the maker, to slow down and enter a meditative state of consciousness where I combine elements in a balance to create a magical expression that holds a piece of myself. I feel like a modern alchemist when I stand over the warm pot of oil with my whisk in hand, mixing aromatic botanicals into a rich, creamy liquid that will be shaped and carved in my very own hands into its final form. Soap is cleansing and purifying. I believe that what soap does on a physical level penetrates our spiritual being as well. A slow shower with a lovingly made bar of soap can energize us as we embrace the beginning of a new day and wash away the stresses of a long day
and all the possibility it may hold.
This is why I only include the purest ingredients in my soaps – dried herbs and high quality essential oils, without chemicals, dyes, or synthetic fragrances – taking special care to prepare them. The result is soaps that cleanse away impurities in a way that allows the soul’s light to shine forth, rather than diminish it by adding toxins to your body, leaving your skin soft, nourished, and whole.
My soaps also embody the four elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth) traditionally called upon by indigenous cultures throughout the world and combined my studies in Polarity Therapy, bringing balance and harmony to all life.
The essential oils invoke the element of air
the sodium hydroxide (lye) the spark of fire
the water and organic oil infusions the element of water
the plants, grains, and resins the heart of the earth. Many thanks to my friends for their love, support, encouragement, and feedback. Special thanks to my teachers, past, present, and future.
Thanks to the plants for their teachings.
May we all walk in balance and beauty.
Eva
