Heissa Walpurgis herb

Healthy beauty with witchcraft knowledge

Uschi Zezelitsch swears by herbal cosmetics. On Sunday, she invites you to a herbal walk with lots of tips.(Bild: Uschi Zezelitsch)

Woodruff as a bath additive and rhubarb in your hair? Herbal witch Uschi Zezelitsch knows why! 

April 30 is a festival for all witches. Walpurgisnacht or "Beltane" as the Celts called the fertility festival is celebrated - so of course you want to be a decent little witch. Uschi Zezelitsch reveals how to do this with the help of nature and also invites you to "Heissa Walpurgiskraut", a herbal hike in Forchtenstein.

"Who's coming on Sunday for a herb hike with a pinch of magic in the Rosalia-Kogelberg Nature Park?" she asks with a smile and is looking forward to seeing lots of curious people. The meeting point is at 2 pm at the cemetery parking lot on the main road in Forchtenstein. The program includes Walpurgis herbs with culinary and medicinal value, such as guelder rose, clove root and alder. "They all find their place in simple recipes in pantries, medicine chests and in green, home-made cosmetics," reveals Uschi Zezelitsch.

For example, a little woodruff makes a "bath in magic" possible and if you want to know how to dye your hair with rhubarb, the herb witch will reveal that too. 

Lighten or dye your hair?

Then rhubarb is the answer. Puree the rhubarb root or pulverize a dried root and mix with a little lemon juice, olive oil and water until you have a spreadable paste.

After washing your hair, apply this paste to your head, put on a plastic cap and wrap a towel over it. Leave on for a good half hour and wash out.

Stations with demonstration recipes are available, as well as tastings and recipes to take away. "At the end, I serve a May drink from the witches' cauldron and then everyone can fly home with their homemade herbal witches' broom," says Zezelitsch. To register, call 0664 73647417.