Garden Witch's Herbal

by Ellen Dugan

  Magick happens during all of the seasons. Take a new look at these herbs of the sabbats, and let this information inspire you to create even more herbal spells of your own design.

  Samhain

  Halloween

  O hushed October morning mild,

  Begin the hours of this day slow.

  Make the day seem to us less brief.

  robert frost

  Rosemary (Rosemarinus officianalis)

  The herb rosemary symbolizes remembrance. I think this herb is highly appropriate at Samhain, as we remember our loved ones and the women and men who died for our religious freedom. If rosemary is burned during a ritual, it has a powerful cleansing effect. Sprigs of rosemary may be worn or braided into your hair to boost personal protection. It may also be used as a more affordable substitute for frankincense. This is a must-have herb for any sunny herb garden. The very fragrance of rosemary smells like Witchcraft to me.

  A tea made from rosemary is thought to boost your psychic powers and to open up the third eye. In the art of florigraphy (also known as the language of flowers), the rosemary says, “Your presence revives me!” It also symbolizes fidelity, devotion, and good luck in the new year.

  Magickal associations of rosemary include protection, love, sleep, boosting psychic power, exorcism, and healing. Rosemary is classified as a masculine herb. The astrological correspondence for rosemary is the sun, and the element is fire.

  Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor)

  This popular evergreen can be found in most garden centers across the country. This popular nursery plant can grow up to twelve inches in height, and it widely spreads out to form a dense mat of groundcover for shady areas in the garden. The folk names of this plant are many, but my favorite has to be the sorcerer’s violet. Periwinkle blooms twice a year: once heavily in the spring and then again lightly in the autumn. The flowers are purple and have five petals with a white star in the center—which is how the plant got its folk name, after all; the five-pointed magician’s star was right there for everyone to see.

  Please do not confuse the annual sun-loving flower vinca for the periwinkle. I get letters from gardening Witches about this question every year. The botanical name of this enchanting herb is Vinca minor, and it is often how this magickal plant is identified and sold. You will find it in the shady groundcover section at the nursery.

  Old plant lore claims that this herb should only be gathered on the night of the new crescent and the night before the full moon, for gathering an herb during the waxing moon would only increase its protective powers. This herb has ties to Samhain, as legend has it the periwinkle was commonly grown across graves in France, which means it was often gathered by magickal practitioners at the local cemeteries (and probably under the cover of darkness so folks would be able to gather the herb discreetly for their various magickal workings).

  Magickal associations include protection, love, prosperity, banishing, and bindings, and as you would imagine, the herb neatly wards off the evil eye. The periwinkle is considered to be a feminine plant. Its astrological influence is Venus, and the elemental correspondence is water.

  Pumpkin (Cucurbita)

  The vining annual plant is native to the Americas. It bears fruit in late autumn. The plant creates large, broad leaves and shoots out with trailing vines that blossom. Technically, the male flowers are in leaf axils, while the female, fruit-bearing flowers are born along the vine. At the base of the blossom, a tiny pumpkin will grow.

  The pumpkin is indeed considered to be an herb because parts of the plant (the fruit and the seeds) are edible. Pumpkins replaced the traditional turnip in Samhain festivities, as they are much easier to carve into lanterns for frightening away those roaming spirits. If created with intention, a carved jack-o’-lantern is indeed a powerful and protective tool.

  The magickal associations of the plant are protection, harvest, abundance, and lunar magick. The pumpkin is considered a feminine plant. Its astrological correspondence is the moon, and the elemental association is water.

  Recently, I was in Salem, Massachusetts, during late October for an author event. It was wild—think Mardi Gras with a witchy theme. To my amusement, I noticed people buying pumpkin seeds by the bagful in various magickal shops. When I asked one store’s proprietor, who happened to be Laurie Cabot, what was up with the pumpkin seeds, she responded that if a Witch carried pumpkin seeds in their pockets, they would be invisible.

  With a clever smile, she basically explained to me that when she carried the pumpkin seeds in her pocket, she could then go about her business and walk home to her apartment without being bothered or even noticed by others. The enchanted pumpkin seeds cast a glamour of sorts on the carrier, enabling them to blend in and not draw attention to themselves. Brilliant! When you think about it, this would come in damn handy during all the tourism and Witch-wannabe craziness that hits Salem in October. That information has been tickling my imagination ever since, so here is a pumpkin seed spell inspired by my trip to Salem.

  Salem Pumpkin Seed Glamour

  For best results, perform this glamour during a waning moon. As the moon becomes smaller, so too will your chances of being noticed. If you like, you can place the enchanted seeds inside of a sachet bag or tie them inside of a three-inch square of plain black fabric (a very appropriate color for Samhain), and then tie it up with a satin ribbon. I would recommend using a grey-colored ribbon, both to represent the glamour and that you are working to blend in and go unnoticed.

  Hold up the seeds in your hands, and visualize them glowing with a bit of your own personal power. Now, see in your mind’s eye what it is you want these pumpkin seeds to do, which is to make your actions go unnoticed and to allow you to blend in to your environment. Now, repeat the following spell verse three times:

  The pumpkin is the fruit of the Lady Moon,

  Now enchant these seeds and grant this Witch a boon.

  My movements go unnoticed and I pass easily by,

  Be it bright sunshine or midnight’s mysterious sky.

  A trick from a clever Salem Witch, I’ll seem invisible to all.

  With a bit of glamour in my pocket and the magick of the fall,

  By all the magick of three times three,

  As I will it, then so must it be.

  When you have finished the spell, slip a few of the seeds into your charm bag and tie it closed, or simply tuck a few seeds into your pocket or purse. Now, just go about your witchy business, confident in your spellwork.

  Yule

  Winter Solstice

  I have forgotten much, but still remember

  The poinsettia’s red, blood-red in warm December.

  claude mckay

  Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

  A very popular tropical plant for the winter holidays, some folk names for the poinsettia include “most beautiful spurge” and “flower of the holy night.” The poinsettia has some very interesting Pagan lore. The poinsettia symbolized purity for the Aztecs and was known as Cuetlaxochitle. The plant was used both medicinally and to produce a reddish dye. Tradition has it that the Aztec king Montezuma enjoyed the poinsettia so much that he would bring the plants into his home. According to the Mayan folklore of South America, the poinsettia is considered to be a sort of divine life form.

  As you would expect, the poinsettia is a native plant of Mexico and Central America, where the plant may grow as tall as a tree. The flower part of the plant is the small, golden-colored buds in the center of the colored leaves. These golden buds are correctly called cyathia. The red “flower petals” of the plant are actually not the flowers at all—those are, in fact, colored bracts, or leaves.

  While the poinsettia, a member of the Euphorbia (spurge) family, is not edible, it is not as toxic as you may have heard. Spurges in general tend to be harshly laxative; while the poinsettia
may make you ill, it is typically not deadly—an upset stomach is more likely. The sap of the plant may cause contact dermatitis (skin irritation), and allergic reactions to the plant, such as sneezing, are not unusual. To avoid problems, I would simply keep this plant well out of reach of nibbling pets and small children.

  The poinsettia plant is a fairly new addition to winter holiday customs here in the United States. It was brought to the United States in the early 1800s by Joel Robert Poinsett, the first ambassador to Mexico. The story goes that while living in Mexico, he was so impressed by the showy plant that he brought cuttings back to his home in South Carolina, where it then thrived in his greenhouse, as poinsettias will not survive in temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The flowers did so well that Mr. Poinsett gave the tropical plants away as gifts to his friends.

  Today, hybridizers have gone crazy with the traditional red poinsettia, and now you can find these plants in shades of red, pink, white, and yellow. Also, speckled varieties in a mixture of colors are common. One of my favorite things to do on a gloomy day in early December is to visit a local greenhouse and see all the thousands of poinsettias in all their various colors all lined up on tables and waiting to be purchased.

  There are no “traditional” magickal associations of this tropical plant, so I’d say it’s about time to assign it some. Due to the plant’s tropical nature and ties to the Aztecs and Mayans, the astrological association of the sun would be very complementary. The element of fire also fits nicely, since this plant is originally a flame red color and demands warm temperatures.

  Mistletoe (Viscum album)

  Mistletoe is commonly found growing as a parasitic plant; however, it can be a semi-parasite (the correct botanical term for this is a hemi-parasite). As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree and actually sends out roots that penetrate into the tree and take up nutrients. However, mistletoe is also capable of growing all on its own; like other plants, it can manufacture its own food by photosynthesis.

  Folk names include the golden bough and the kissing bunch; the Druids called it all-heal. Mistletoe grows on deciduous trees such as apple, ash, hawthorn, birch, and occasionally on oak trees. The plant forms pendent bushes that are two to five feet in diameter. It has been found growing on almost any deciduous tree, preferring those with soft bark. Finding mistletoe growing on an oak is rare, which is why the Celts and Druids prized it so. Mistletoe is still used today for powerful protection magick and fertility magick, as the white berries were thought to resemble drops of semen.

  There are two types of mistletoe. The mistletoe that is commonly used as a winter holiday decoration is typically Phoradendron flavescens. This is a native species to North America and grows as a parasite on trees from New Jersey to Florida. The other type of mistletoe, Viscum album, is of European origin. The European mistletoe is a green shrub with small yellow flowers and white sticky berries that are considered the most poisonous. Both varieties of the plant are toxic and have twigs that fork around a central flower cluster, which produces white berries. Folk names for this plant include the golden bough, birdlime, Witches’ broom, and holy wood, while the Celts called it “a different twig.”

  According to Druidic customs, the plant was to be harvested at Midsummer with a golden sickle and was never allowed to touch the ground.

  The practice of kissing under the mistletoe comes from old Pagan fertility rites or some say from the legend of Balder. Balder was the best loved of all the Norse gods and the son of the Mother Goddess Frigga. She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure no harm could ever possibly befall him. So she went through the world, gathering promises from everything that sprang from the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—that they would never harm her son, but she overlooked the mistletoe. Enter into this story Loki, the trickster god, who discovered her oversight. He made an arrow from the mistletoe and then took the arrow to Balder’s brother Hoder, who was blind. Guiding Hoder’s aim, Loki directed the arrow at Balder’s heart, and he fell dead.

  In the account of the story with a happy ending, Balder is restored to life, and Frigga’s tears became the mistletoe’s white berries. The goddess was so grateful that her son was restored that she reversed the reputation of the offending plant, making it a symbol of love and promising to bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.

  In the language of flowers, mistletoe conveys the flowing message, “I give you as many kisses as there are stars in the sky.” This magickal plant is considered masculine. Its magickal associations are protection, love, fertility, hex breaking, and the removal of entities and evil spirits. Its astrological correspondence is the sun, and the elemental association is air.

  Pine (Pinus spp.)

  The noble pine tree is a gorgeous evergreen tree classified as a coniferous tree. There are over one hundred varieties of the pine. Pines grow all over the globe, in many shapes and sizes. Some varieties of this tree may reach heights up to 135 feet. A few varieties you may be familiar with are the slash pine (Pinus elliottii), the Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), and the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), which is the national tree of Scotland.

  The fruit of the pine tree, the cone, is a fertility symbol and is often used to tip magickal wands. The pine was the sacred tree of the goddess Astarte and also of the gods Pan, Dionysus, and Sylvanus, who often accompanied each other (all three were gods of the woods, forests, and fields). Pine boughs, trees for decorating, and other items made from the pine, such as wreaths, are a classic plant to add to your Yuletide festivities and decorations.

  Bringing fresh greens in the house at midwinter was thought to ensure health and good luck for the entire year. Rumor has it that it also gave the winter faeries a place to hide, as they came inside with the greenery, giving the faeries a holiday of sorts as they enjoyed the warmth, activity, and mood of the home during the Yuletide festivities.

  In the language of flowers, the pine tree symbolizes friendship, loyalty, endurance, and long life. The astrological correspondence for the pine tree is Mars, and the elemental association is air. The tree is considered to be masculine, and the magickal uses for pine are many, including protection, prosperity, and healing. Also, it is said that burning pine needles will return any manipulative spells straight back to the sender.

  Return to Sender: Pine Needle Spell

  This spell can be cast at any time, day of the week, or moon phase. What matters most is your intention. If your intention is to end the manipulation of another by magick, then put on your game face, take a deep breath, and get down to business.

  This spell requires an old cauldron or fireproof dish, matches, and a small handful of dry pine needles. You will also need a small container full of water when the spell is finished. It is best to work this spell outside and with safety in mind. Set the cauldron in a clear, safe area—on top of a table or in the middle of a concrete, brick, or stone patio. Make absolutely sure that the cauldron or burning dish is resting on a fireproof area.

  Next, arrange the needles inside of the cauldron and strike the match, setting the needles to light. In this case, we want the smell of sulfur to sting the air. Visualize that the smell of sulfur will follow the troublemaker around for a time. Sound nasty? Well, breaking a spell that was cast on you is not for the faint of heart. Self-defense is your duty; this is a serious spell and not one to be done casually.

  As the pine needles start to burn, repeat the spell for as long as there is a flame. If you have to relight the needles to burn them all away, then do so.

  These fragrant pine needles, so green and so lush,

  Return all spells cast on me back in a rush.

  As the pine burns, all ties to me fade away,

  Now I am uncrossed, free and clear, come what may.

  As the smoke billows up, return the spell back to sender,

  May this teach them a lesson they
will always remember!

  After the needles are completely burned away, keep an eye on them for at least fifteen minutes. While you are doing so, contemplate why the person who cast on you would have been foolish enough to do so. What have you learned from this? After the fifteen minutes has passed, take the water and pour it on top of the ashes. Then say the following to close up the spell:

  By fire this spell was cast,

  By water it is finished.

  As I will it, so must it be.

  Remember to be smart and safe and use your common sense. Never leave the small fire unattended, and keep extra water nearby in case of an emergency.

  Imbolc

  Candlemas

  Why, what’s the matter,

  That you have such a February face,

  So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?

  shakespeare, much ado about nothing

  Common Crocus (Crocus)

  Do not confuse the early spring-blooming garden variety crocus with saffron crocus. The everyday variety (Crocus) comes in over eighty species, and the predominant colors of the blossoms are white, purple, and yellow. Found in rock gardens and flower beds, these cheerful and hardy blooming bulbs come in all sorts of combinations and colors, even stripes, and yes, they have been known to bloom cheerfully away in the snow and ice.

  In the language of flowers, the common crocus symbolizes that you shall remain young at heart, no matter what your age. The magickal associations are freshness, love, and romance. The astrological association for the feminine common garden crocus is the planet Venus, and the elemental correspondence is water.