Magickal Herbs ~ What are they? How do you use them? Plus, a comprehensive list

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From The Witch’s Corner ~ Herbs for Divination & Spirit Contact

I decided at the last minute to shoot this video when I was going to prepare my oil burner with some herbs for divination and spirit contact.  I was planning on doing some divination later in the day, dealing with the topic of spirit communication, and my girls had been at me for a long time to sit down at the table with them and a Ouija board.  I wanted to burn some herbs in my oil burner (potpourrie style) to set the energy in the house on that wave length.
The Witch’s Corner
http://amythystraine.blogspot.com
Magickal Connections
http://wytchymystique.com
The Tarot Parlour
http://tarotreadingswithamythystraine.blogspot.com
Music ~
Avec Soin – Romance by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
 Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100860
 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

 
 

Find the Magick: Suave– Rosemary & Mint Shampoo

I have lots of hair, and I’ve tried lots of products– expensive and not– and I always come back to a tried and true shampoo and brand that’s always worked for me…Suave.  The line that they have now, the one we’re going to look at in this post, is relatively new– or at least it is in our area.  It’s in a sage green bottle, and it comes in a variety of herbal mixtures.  I love them all, but the one I’m using right now is “Rosemary & Mint”.

So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and look at some of the ingredients and the magickal energy:

Eucalyptus:
Element: Air; Planet: Moon; Energy: Feminine
Uses include great healing properties, kills germs, infections, eases lung congestion, heart stimulant. Attracts healing vibrations and protection. Use to purify and cleanse any space of unwanted energies. Also useful in dream and sleep pillows.

Spearmint:
Element: Water; Planet: Venus; Energy: Feminine
Healing, love and protection while sleeping. Burn for healing magick, especially for respiratory conditions. Carry for healing. Use in ritual baths for strength and vitality. Write a wish on paper and wrap it in spearmint leaves; place in a red cloth and sew with red thread, then keep in a safe and secret place — by the time the scent is gone, your wish should have come true.

Aloe:
Element: Water; Planet: Moon; Energy: Feminine
Protection and luck. Place on the grave of a loved one to promote peaceful energy. Thought to relieve loneliness and assist with success. Hang in the home to attract luck and protection for those who live there. Grow in the home to provide protection from household accidents. Burn on the night of a full moon to bring a new lover by the new moon.

Lemon Grass
Element: Air; Planet: Mercury; Energy: Masculine
Psychic cleansing and opening, used in lust potions.

Rosemary
Element: Fire; Planet: Sun; Energy: Masculine
Protection, love, lust, mental powers, exorcism, purification, healing, sleep, youth. Burn to purify and cleanse. Use in love and lust incenses and potions. Use for healing of all kinds. A tea of rosemary causes the mind to be alert. Circulatory, digestive and nerve stimulant. Heals headache, depression, and halitosis.

Lavender
Element: Air; Planet: Mercury; Energy: Masculine
Magickal uses include love, protection, healing, sleep, purification, and peace. Promotes healing from depression. Great in sleep pillows and bath spells. Believed to preserve chastity when mixed with rosemary. Burn the flowers to induce sleep and rest, then scatter the ashes around the home to bring peace and harmony. Use in love spells and sachets, especially those to attract men.

Image result for rosemary mint shampoo, suave

 

 

Herbs: Rosemary… “Dew of the Sea”

Rosemary

A Rosemary Summoning Spell:

Use rosemary and a pinch of Drawing Powder to summon someone to you that you have feelings for, or whose help you need. This could include someone you have romantic feelings for; someone you love in a platonic way; someone that you’re connected to through blood or circumstance; or someone whose help you need with an issue or personal problem. Think of this spell as a pied piper’s wiggling finger inferring, “Come hither.”

You will gather a handful of dried rosemary, a photo/signature/or name paper of the one you need to summon, and a lovely little fire– either outdoors in a nice fire pit, or a smaller adaptation in your cauldron.

When you get your fire burning properly, drop into it the photo/signature/or name paper; next, the rosemary, sprinkling it carefully so you don’t smother your flames. And finally, just a pinch of Drawing Powder.

As the flames consume the ingredients of your spell, chant:

“Blessed rosemary, I call unto thee;
Summon (name) to come to me.”

cauldron 2

Courtesy of “Magickal Herbs” @ The Witch’s Corner:

Rosemary
Planet: Sun; Element: Fire: Energy: Masculine (projective)
Protection, love, lust, mental powers, exorcism, purification, healing, sleep, youth. Burn to purify and cleanse. Use in love and lust incenses and potions. Use for healing of all kinds. A tea of rosemary causes the mind to be alert. Circulatory, digestive and nerve stimulant. Heals headache, depression, and halitosis.

____________________

*Note:  check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any herbal supplement,
especially if you are currently prescribed other medications.

 

Plantain: Magickal or Mundane

The perfect carpet of suburban green lawn does not exist at our house; at least not yet, but that might change once my husband gets his hands on it.  We don’t have a conventional lawn right now at all, we have what’s been called “pasture”.  Within it grows numerous types of plants, many of them labeled ‘weeds’ by the more pristine lawn connoisseurs.  (A weed’s a flower too, once you get to know it– I saw this quote just yesterday somewhere, probably Facebook.)

One of the wild green things growing freely in our lawn is a plant called Plantain.  You can see it in the foreground of this photo.  It grows with wild abandonment in our yard, most often in cliquish little clumps here and there.  In the early stages you won’t see the long seed stems, just the wide green leaves close to the ground.

Every year I gather bunches of plantain, filling a large glass jar, squashing the leaves down, getting as much as I can into one container, on my knees, going from one island of plantain to another, front and back yard.  This is an extraordinarily versatile plant, both magickally and mundanely speaking– which I value greatly. I’m going to start with the conventional side of plantain, some of the practical uses it can be valued for, sort of like nature’s medicine cabinet…

For Insect Bites:

Cover fresh insect stings (from bees, wasps, or hornets) with wet crushed plantain leaves.  Replace the leaves as they dry out.  The idea is to press out the poison, to draw it out, as well as to relieve any discomfort at the same time.

For Inflammation:

Wrap bruised wet plantain leaves around the infected area, keeping them wet by covering them with a plastic bag or a wet cloth.  Be sure to keep the leaves wet.  It’s been said that plantain works on infected finger sores where conventional antibiotic ointments have failed.

An Herbal Ointment:  Plantain Liquefied Ointment

(An ointment is a soothing healing balm made with a base of oil, lard, grease, or petroleum, into which you’ve added herbs and plants for medicinal purposes.  It’s most simply made by heating your base and adding your other ingredients; then pouring the mixture into a container to cool and thicken, and this process can be helped along if you wish by adding bees wax, coco butter, or honey.  If you’ve a mind to, you can add a couple drops of benzoin, glycerin, or a preservative to the mix, but I’m a purist at heart, and either I’ll use a batch of ointment up in good time, or I’ll eventually toss it out and make a new one as needed.)

2 1/2 cups fresh plantain leaves
1 1/2 cups wheat germ oil
1/2 cup honey

Mix the what germ oil and the honey in a blender, adding fresh plantain leaves.  Blend well, then scrape this mixture into a container of your choice (I prefer small glass jars), and be sure you label it.  To help the mixture harden up to the right consistency, add 2 1/c tablespoons of hot bees wax.

Now the fun stuff, we’re going to leave the conventional world behind and look at all the wonderous magickal– wiccan, pagany, witchcrafty ways we can make use of Plantain.  This is a plant that I use a lot– I mean a lot— for a variety of magick and intentions.

First, I’m a fuss-budget, a worry wart– a mother– and I want my family to be safe whenever they are traveling in a vehicle, and I don’t care if it’s across town for a gallon of milk, or across the country to visit family.  There must be, absolutely must be, a small bag of plantain and calamus root in everyone’s vehicle.  It’s priceless, believed to protect travelers from harm, and as I’ve said before, I take a good deal of stock in it– my oldest daughter has totaled two cars on Omaha’s freeways, and she’s walked away without a scratch both times, her mojo bundle of herbal magick tucked beneath the driver’s seat.

Another protective use for plantain is to keep your property safe from theft:  in good old-fashioned mojo tradition, fill a blue flannel bag with plantain and place it in the four corners, or at the four compass points, around your property.

Use plantain magickally to cure illness:  it’s believed that by writing the name of the inflicted person three times on a small piece of paper, wrapping this paper in a plantain leaf, and laying the leaf on the heart of the patient, you can chase out the disease and restore good health. (I know I sound like I have a lot of faith in plantain’s magickal and mundane abilities, but for gawd’s sake, use some common sense– you can mix good old folk magick right along with a fabulous thing known as ‘modern medicine’.  I don’t want to hear of anyone stopping routine medical care by competent medical professionals and replacing it with folk remedies alone…really.)

If you’re the victim of someone with a big mouth and a little brain, you can stop one and/or the other with a mixture of crushed dried plantain leaves and slippery elm (Shut yo’ mouth…says it all).  I think I’d prefer to do a little candle magick with this combo– oil up a yellow candle with a good oil of your choice, roll it in the herbs, place it in a cauldron or other fire-proof container and burn away…and just for good measure, I’d place a slip of paper with the target’s name on it beneath the candle– and if you get your hands on a photo of them, which is so darn easy to do in this internet/Facebook world, you can really go to town. Knock yourself out.

Sex & Green Witchcraft: Getting Down & Dirty

Witchcraft is all about dealing with issues in life and creating change in those areas through the movement of energy resulting in manifestation in the physical world. Sex is one of those whopping big issues, or it can be if things are not all hunky dory in the bedroom. Whatever the issues might be, whether it’s not enough passion, an overload of sex drive, infidelity, or a desire to catch your prince charming, you can find what you need to cast spells for hot sex, no sex, or only-with-me sex in the world of herbs and green witchcraft.

Fidelity

“Forsaking all others” is not something our culture takes lightly. Even in the 21st century, ancient marriage vows and tradition are serious matters, and cheating is frowned upon. After all, don’t we all want to be special, to be ‘the one and only’? This is probably the most popular topic on which I receive emails asking for magickal help and advice. Following are some of my favorite herbs for dealing with issues of infidelity:

Chili Pepper…If you feel your mate is getting restless and may be plagued with a straying eye, obtain two dried chili peppers, cross them and tie them together. Add these chili peppers to a red flannel bag containing your man’s semen, a slip of paper on which you’ve written the length of his penis, and a photo of the two of you together. Place this charm near your bed, but make sure that it’s well hidden.  NOTE:  If it’s your little woman with the stray eye, let’s modify this spell for you:  substitute menstrual blood for semen (easy enough to get, a used tampon is perfect); and substitute a snip of her pubic hair in lieu of measurements.  This should be easy enough to get, as well as enjoyable for both of you.  Use your imagination.

Cumin…When cumin is given to your lover, either carried upon his person in some way, or fed to him, it will promote fidelity. I’d vote for feeding it to your target. It’s much easier to make a tasty meal and slip it into the food, than to have your beloved wonder what the hell all those little seeds are in the bottom of his pockets. J

Licorice…(We’re talking the herb here, not the candy, just to keep things straight.) Gnawing on the root will put you in the mood for a little lovin’ with a lot of passion; and to keep all this passion between you and your beloved, use licorice in spells for fidelity.

Magnolia…This is another one of those magickal herbs that are kept in the bedroom, near your bed, to insure fidelity. Hide it in the mattress, in a box beneath your bed, along with a hoard of other innocent items, or in your bedside bureau drawer. Quite frankly, if your lover is use to having flowers and herbs around the house, both live and dried, they really aren’t going to think anything about one more piece of flora.

Nutmeg…Nutmeg is the mother of fidelity herbs. You can feed it to your target, include it in original fidelity spells, add it to mojo bags, voodoo dollies, or trick your partner into carrying it somewhere on their person by sprinkling it in their shoes, hiding it in their pockets, sewing it into a hem, etc. Combine this herb with any other herb you use for fidelity or love spells. This is the jealous “you-are-mine-and-mine-alone” herb.

Rhubarb…Bake your sweetheart a delicious rhubarb pie, adding generous amounts of sugar, including at least three spoonfuls of powdered sugar (Drawing Powder). To make sure your target stays faithful, add a pinch of nutmeg and the ultimate in personal effects– a teaspoonful of red wine that you have taken in your mouth, swished around good, like a mouthwash, and spit into the pie filling. It‘s best to do this while you‘re cooking the pie filling over the fire in a hot pan, heating it– and heating your passions and intentions right along with it.

Scullcap…Ladies, it’s said that if you wear this herb somewhere on your person, you will protect your hubby from the charms of other women. I think I’d add to this magickal endeavor by creating a mojo bag for this purpose. Add skullcap and two whole nutmegs to this bag, along with a photo of you and your husband together and some intimate personal effects, like body fluids, that sort of thing.

Attracting Love, i.e. Catching Prince Charming

Apple…Hold an apple in both hands, imbuing it with your magickal intentions: to bring to you the one you desire. Sleep with this apple for three nights. On the morning of the fourth day, hand this apple to your target, having them take it from your hands. Watch them eat it, making sure that they take at least three bites that are chewed and swallowed. Then ask if you can have a bite, taking it from their hands. Take a bite, chew and swallow, then hand this apple back to them…for the second time, they must take this apple from your hands.

Aster…Grow this plant in your garden with the intention that it shall draw to you your true love.

Beet…Use the juice from a beet as a magickal ink to write out your love spells. Beet juice can also be used as a substitute for blood, particularly in love spells. As with the apple, the story goes that if a man and woman both eat from a single beet, they will be joined together romantically.

Cardamom…Bake your target muffins, to which you’ve added cardamom. Serve them this delectable treat with a hot cup of apple/cinnamon tea, or hot chocolate.

Cinnamon…As with cardamom, the easiest way to use the magick of cinnamon to draw your true love to you is to feed it to them in something that you’ve baked yourself, something that you’ve put your time and energy into, something that you have mixed and blended and created with your own hands. To enhance this energy, serve them, along with the cinnamon, a drink of hot coco or chocolate milk.

Hibiscus…Use the blossoms of the hibiscus to create love sachets and incenses. You can also steep a strong tea for your target, and just before serving it, stick your finger into the tea cup, stirring three times deosil (clockwise).

MistletoeThis is an all purpose love spell herb. Kiss the one you love beneath a sprig of mistletoe and the love shall last forever, so the old saying goes. To draw your true love to you, sleep with a sprig of mistletoe on the night of a full moon. The next day hide this charm somewhere in your target’s personal space– on the grounds of their property (okay, that’s pretty good); somewhere inside their abode (this is even better). If you can get them to carry it– in their purse, in their pocket, etc., without revealing what it is or what it’s for, you will have hit the jackpot in magickal checkmate.

Strawberry…This delicious delectable morsel shrieks of passion and lust. Eat it with your chosen target. For the best effect, don’t bother baking it into anything or including it any recipes, just go straight for the kill. Eat the berries together. You can also add to the experience by rolling it in melted chocolate. (Chocolate also has properties that magically spice up love and lust– the coco bean– but I suggested this mostly because I love chocolate and the combo is delicious.)

Increasing Sex Drive

The following herbs can be used, magickally speaking, for increasing your libido, or that of your partner.

Celery…ingest both the stalk and the seeds for a burst of passionate energy.

Beans…to cure impotency, carry a mojo bag on your person consisting of dried beans; a personal effect belonging to your mate, the more intimate the better; and an object which will be a phallic symbol, but something that is not an outright image of a penis. It has to be subtle and only suggestive of what it actually represents. This could be a stone with the correct shape, a stick, a small piece of statuary, glass, or any number of things. Look around you, you’ll find something. And the more energy you put into finding this item, the more energy you are putting into this mojo bag.

Ginseng…Ginseng is all about lust and desire. You can carry the root on your person, or you can drink a cup of ginseng tea. Either way, it’s reputed to get your motor going. Carrying the root may have more of a gradual and ongoing effect; drinking the tea may unleash more energy than you were expecting in a sudden burst; and if this is the case, you should make sure your romantic rendezvous is all set and ready to go before you take that cup of tea.

Licorice…ingesting this herb is the best way to utilize it’s potency as a libido booster.

Olive…olives not only increase sexual potency in men, they also increase fertility– just something to keep in mind. Eat it and enjoy.

Patchouli…mix patchouli, chips of Queen Elizabeth root, catnip, and red rose petals together. Make a tea with this mixture and add it to your bath water. Light a red candle during this bath and enjoy a nice long soak. When you’re finished, you can add a bit of this water to a small bottle and carry it in your purse to enhance the lustful and passionate effects, drawing it out. Better yet, bathe with your partner.

Vanilla…eat it, preferably in ice cream, preferably with your partner. Better yet, feed it to each other, in bed.

Decreasing Sex Drive

Remember the old saying, “You can never have too much of a good thing”? Well, actually, yes, you can. Here’s a few herbs and a few things you can do to tone it down, or shut it off.

Black Cohash…add a cup of tea that’s been made with this herb to your bathwater. It’s said that by bathing in this water you will kill any passion that your mate may have for you.

Camphor…This is another one of those herbs that are to be used in a mojo bag for this purpose and hidden somewhere very near the bed. You could add to this bag personal effects belonging to both you and your partner– nail clippings, hair, or more personal items– and a separate photo of both you and your partner. It’s also said that the scent of camphor will dampen the libido. In that case, I’d prepare a lovely little bowl full of camphor for the bedside table, and I’d refresh this when the scent disappears, or on a waning moon.

Lettuce…to squelch the libido of another individual, write their name on a slip of paper and place it beneath a single large lettuce leaf. Place this leaf where it will receive full sunlight and cover it with an inverted clear glass bowl. As it withers and rots in the sun, so shall their sexual potency wither and rot away.

Vervain…according to an old tradition, by drinking a tea of vervain, you will shut down all sexual desire for seven years. (You might want to think on this one, whether you plan on using it on yourself, or another individual.)

Witch Hazel…this will cool passion. This is the perfect herb to use in a mojo bag if you just need to cool things off for a while and give yourself time to think clearly about entering a relationship. Add to the bag a stone of black onyx, black hollyhock petals, black pansies, and a piece of black licorice (the candy, not the herb) that you’ve had in your mouth. Once your mind has cleared…think, think, think.

Hints & Helpful Magickal Tips:

If you’re a male and you think that someone’s been magickally tampering with your sexuality- your desires, your sex drive, and your free will, you can uncross the condition by steeping a whole burdock root in olive oil and anointing your genitals with this oil to restore your personal power and desires.

To break a hex or jinx placed upon your sexual nature boil calamus root in a a quart of whiskey; boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain out the roots, add another pint or two of whiskey to the mixture, and take a teaspoonful once a day to restore your sexual nature to normal. (*note: don’t confuse calamus root with blue flag)

Use the power of dill to manifest successful love spells by steeping the seeds in water for three days and adding it to your bathwater, or your target’s bathwater. To break a love spell, prepare a tea of dill leaf and ginger root. Strain the herbs, and anoint your entire body with this tea. Allow it to dry. This is to be done for nine days, creating a new batch of tea each day.

Increase the speed and intensity of love spells with ginger. Add dried ginger to love potions, powders, and oils. It can be burned with other spell ingredients, or added to foods imbued with magickal intentions.

Add white mustard seed to mojo bags created to attract love, along with red rose petals, a pinch of catnip, and personal effects: preferably an item from your target (hair, fingernail clippings, a button from their clothing, a business card, a name paper, personal body fluids, etc.)

Sampson snake root (Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower) is a versatile herb for love magicks: men who have lost their virility through jinxes or hexing can reinstate their prowess and sexual functionality by making a tea with this herb, or soaking this herb in whiskey for a week and taking a teaspoonful twice a day. This also restores good health that has been stolen through magickal means. A bath of Sampson snake root and Wahoo root bark will also restore male virility. A mojo bag to increase a man’s appeal to women will include Sampson snake root, high john the conqueror root, and bo’ hog root, all of which are dressed with commanding oil.

Queen Elizabeth root is considered the ultimate in love herbs. This herb works it’s magic on men, and it’s used for good luck in all types of love situations, including affairs. To attract a man’s love make a mojo bag containing Queen Elizabeth root, rose buds, lavender, lodestone, spikenard, and any personal effects you are lucky enough to get your hands on, all dressed with commanding oil. If you want your true love to propose marriage to you, add a powdered form of this herb to your bathwater just before meeting with your target. To enhance your feminine power and charms soak a whole root in water for nine days, strain this and add it to your bathwater. There is a powerful magickal concoction that is reputed to give you complete control over a man. This magickal potion includes scrapings of dry skin from your feet, or your toe nail clippings, which you will add to a bottle of water, along with a whole root and your own urine. Let this all soak for nine days before using it. You should use this liquid sparingly, adding it to your target’s food and drink, and by doing so he will develop a very docile nature and remain under your control. (I think I can actually hear a collective ‘ewwww’ from my readers J)

Have fun, and enjoy your magick…as well as the manifestations that result.

____________________

The books below were used as a reference for this essay; however, the information above was taken from my own Book of Shadows, which includes my personal magickal practices and correspondences. This means that I may not have always agreed with some of the correspondences I found in these books and have incorporated my own correspondences for the information above. This does not mean that the correspondences found in these books are inaccurate, just that I’ve discovered different energies through my own practice.

“Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs” by Scott Cunningham
“Hoodoo Herb and Root Magick” by Catherine Yronwode
Green Magic: The Sacred Connection to Nature” by Ann Moura
“The Green Wiccan Herbal” by Silja

Cat Magick: Herbs & Spells

Catnip is commonly used in sleeping potions. The easiest and most pleasant way I can think of to use catnip for this purpose is to make a delicious pot of tea. Catnip is one of the herbs that I grow in my own gardens, so all I have to do when I want to brew a pot of catnip tea is to step outside and snatch a handful of the fresh herb. I usually use both the flowers and the leaves. How much you use is going to depend upon how strong you like your tea and the size of your pot. You can sweeten it with honey or sugar. Since catnip is a member of the mint family, I’m guessing that if you like mint in your tea, you’ll like catnip, though to me it is more pungent.

Catnip has an absolutely intoxicating effect on cats, and it was actually hard getting the catnip started in my garden because my cats wouldn’t leave it alone. I’d plant a nice lush bunch of catnip and the next morning I’d go out to find nothing but bare stems and a garden full of chewed leaves. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve looked out the kitchen windows to watch one of our cats, or a stray cat, rolling around our garden in drunken bliss.

I harvest our catnip not only for use as a tea, but as a treat for my cats and for magickal uses. To make a magickal talisman for your cat, one that he will absolutely love, you can sew two small pieces of flannel together, and just before you sew it shut add a nice bunch of fresh catnip leaves. Consecrate this talisman for your kitty to pass on the magick of good health mojo and protection.

Catnip is sacred to all pagan gods/goddesses who manifest as a cat or feline creature, including: Sekhmet, Bast, Mau, Tefnut, Mafdet, and Freya.

Correspondences for Catnip:

Energy: Feminine (Receptive)
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Magick: cat magick, love, beauty, well-being

It’s believed that a gift of catnip from you to your cat will create a magickal and psychic bond between the two of you. Since I’ve experienced this myself, I have to say that it truly works in beautiful ways. If you make a catnip talisman for your kitty, keep this in mind. Remember that concentrating on your intentions when crafting magickal items imbues that piece with the magick. Catnip is also used in love spells, often as an ingredient in mojo bags or candle magick. Just as the cat finds this herb intoxicating and irresistible, so will the one you target in love magick, using catnip to draw them to you. Hang a bunch of dried catnip over the threshold of your home to draw good spirits and good luck, as well as to draw the blessings of cat goddesses. Catnip is also used in beauty spells, either as a tincture you can use to bathe your face, or with candle magic. It’s believed that this herb will mesmerize those targeted in such spells to see you as youthful and beautiful. This type of enchantment is considered a glamour.

Valerian is also used in sleeping potions and dream pillows, just as catnip is used. It’s said that the scent of valerian is irresistible to cats and if they find it in your garden, they will dig it up. What’s not often said is that valerian stinks. It has an extremely strong aroma that I personally don’t find especially pleasant, and although you can use this herb in relaxation and sleepy-time teas, I don’t know how on earth you could mask the taste. Commercial teas, prepared with valerian, seem to do a pretty good job of this; and I have used them many times, usually in the evenings, to unwind and relax.

Correspondences for Valerian:

Energy: Feminine (Receptive)
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Magick: love, purification, protection

It is the root of valerian that is used in a powdered form and added to protective mojo bags or dream pillows– though I don’t think I could fall asleep with the scent of this herb right under my nose. The calming effect of valerian is not limited to sleepy-time teas but also includes the energies surrounding a space. If there has been quarreling in your home, hanging this herb around your house is said to calm the atmosphere, to settle things down. Valerian is one of the herbs that can be used as a substitute for Graveyard Dirt.

In the Middle Ages rue was used as a talisman against witches and their familiars (usually cats). Perhaps the association was made in the minds of people because cats are drawn to rue much the way they are drawn to catnip, and because they are drawn to it, they dig it up and wreak havoc with the plant. I would imagine it’s the pungent aroma of rue that has something to do with this behavior, just like catnip and valerian. Because cats did this, perhaps people got the mistaken impression that cats hated rue, so they thought they could keep them at bay with the herb. Supposedly rue is used to keep cats out of your garden, away from the birdfeeders, or wherever else you don’t want them, though I suspect the opposite effect. Rue is an evergreen pernnial shrub.

Correspondences for Rue:

Energy: Masculine (Projective)
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Magick: health/healing, exorcism, love

Rue leaves are placed on the forehead to relieve headaches, or worn to facilitate healing. Rue is used in mojo bags poppets, and candle magick for healing, for matters of love, and to improve mental abilities. Rue is used to break hexes and curses by using it in a cleansing bath; hanging it around your home; placing it in sachets, poppets, or mojo bags; and using it in floor washes. It’s worn to protect one against poison, monsters, and the evil eye. A sprig of fresh rue is often used to dip into salt water and asperge a space.

Cats are considered to be the animal that is the ally of gamblers and games of chance, they are believed to bring good luck and success in these endeavors. Following is a cat spell that may do just that:

Lucky Cat Spell

Candles in the shape of cats are often burned for good luck, especially luck that has to do with games of chance. This magick is especially geared towards gamblers.

1. Inscribe a cat candle with your name, lucky numbers, numbers needed for a successful outcome, or a specific amount of money.

2. Dress it with Black Cat Oil, or another gambler’s lucky oil.

3. Burn the candle.

Lucky Cat Candle Spell

Burning Lucky Cat Candles makes your wishes come true. Color coordinate the candles to suit the nature of the wish: use green for money, health, and healing; red for love, romance, and marriage; and black to resolve problems, or to break hexes and curses.

1. Carve and dress the candle, maybe using herbs and an oil that correspond with your intentions.

2. Write your wishes on a piece of paper, being very careful to be explicit in exactly what you want.

3. Ignite the corner of this paper, and use this flame to light the candle.

4. Murmur wishes, incantations, and intentions until the paper has burned to ash.

Spirit Petition: Freya Cat Spell

There is an old Norse tradition of paying tribute to the goddess Freya by feeding milk to cats.

1. Consecrate a crystal bowl to the goddess Freya; fill it with whole milk or sweet cream, and sit it out on your front steps or back porch for stray cats.

2. Magickal intentions are important. Consecrating and preparing the bowl and setting it out for the cats is a ritual. As you perform this ritual, consciously invoke the goddess Freya and speak your petitions to her.

3. Watch the cats, pay attention to stray cats. Pay attention to cats who may appear as an image, statuary, art, or through some other medium. This may be Freya’s way of giving you an answer to your wishes or request.

The Cottage Witch/Kitchen Wytch/Hedge Wytch

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The cottage witch/kitchen wytch/hedge wytch– she’s one and the same, and for me, this is the epitome of what I have always viewed witches as being ever since I was a child. It is that unobtrusive and eccentric woman who grows herbs in her gardens and about her house, who has developed a unique and unusual relationship with the wild things that visit her yard and inhabit her grounds. It is the woman who has the ancient knowledge and wisdom to incorporate the magickal use of herbs into her everyday life—in the food she prepares, in the water and solutions that she uses to clean her home, in the incense she burns to smudge her living quarters.

It’s not the flashy publicity oriented media image of a witch that people seek out…it is the quiet Wise Woman in the unusual house down the road; the woman people whisper about curiously amongst themselves, the woman cocooned in ancient mysteries and magickal ways.

This is the Kitchen Witch– resplendent in her simple life-style that centers around hearth and home; the Cottage Wytch…immeshed in centuries of tradition and mystery; the Hedge Wytch…creating natural magick in the wild woods using the magick of the green, the magick of the stones, the magick of the Goddess.

*Note:  I’ll be adding more thoughts and insights to this subject, as they come to me and as I have the time.  I love this aspect of the witch, and it’s this image that is most familiar and most attractive to me.  I have to shake my head and wonder when I hear people referring to witches in negative and ugly terms.  I think…Apparently they have never met a hedge wytch!  The green witch is well-rooted in all three aspects of the world encompassed by these witches, and although some people may point out slight differences in a practice here or there amongst the kitchen/cottage/hedge witch, these simple and natural witches are much more connected and united than they are distinctive to each other.