Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: oispeggy@********* (Peggy Brown)
Subject: flower essence, background information...
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 15:49:00 GMT
****************************************************************
The flower-essence reference I like best is _Flower Essences and
Vibrational Healing_ by Gurudas, channeled through Kevin Ryerson
(Brotherhood of Life, Albuquerque, New Mexico). According to this
book, St. John's wort helps you to move in dreaming, while comfrey
helps you to remember where you've been:
St. John's wort [flower essence] aids the individual having
astral projections and soul travel beyond the lower astral planes
to experience visionary states. Cluttered dreams and nightmares
are eased when the soul's forces properly separate from the
physical body during sleep....
St. John's wort relates to the soul's forces leaving, not
returning to the physicl body. (p. 185-6)
A healthy nervous system is very important in many forms of
meditation. It is then easier for a person to relax.... Comfrey
[flower essence] helps one release tensions stored in the nervous
system and the subconscious mind.... This essence also improves
the memory. Students cramming for exams or people trying to find
lost objects or to remember dreams upon awakening should consider
using this essence. (p. 109)
Flower essences often have very different uses than the tea made from
the same plant, so taking a capsule or tea of the leaves or flowers
of comfrey or St. John's wort wouldn't necessarily have the same
effect as taking the flower essence. I looked in several herbals,
but I haven't found any reference that says the herbal teas made from
these plants affect memory or dream recall.
The system of using flower essences for healing is very ancient, but
in this century it had fallen into disuse in Westen medicine until it
was partly revived and rediscovered by Dr. Edward Bach, a London
physician and homeopath. His approach was influenced by clairvoyant
Rudolf Steiner, who founded the Anthroposophical movement after
leaving (or getting kicked out of) the Theosophical Society. Bach
was also clairvoynat to a degree; he could receive mental impressions
of a flower's effect on people simply by tasting the flower or
holding it in his hand.
Flower essences work on the same principle of potentization used in
homeopathy. A substance is dissolved or suspended in water or
alcohol, then diluted many times to get the stuff the patient takes.
The final dilution has so little of the original substance that a
chemical analysis would show it as containing only water and alcohol.
The idea is that the dilute solution contains the subtle energy
pattern characteristic of the substance, without containing the
physical substance itself. This subtle energy pattern doesn't have
any direct effect on the physical body, but it does affects the
body's subtle energy field. Then the change in the body's energy
affects the physical level to bring about healing.
This process fascinates me, because nagualism is based on exactly
the same idea: that by removing the self, which is the densest, most
material expression of mind, some pattern of energy or life force
remains that could be said to survive death. IOW, self-importance is
like the physical substance, and the potentizing process is like
losing self-importance. Then the homeopathic remedy could be said to
exist in a kind of third attention.
But I digress.
Flower essences are similar to homeopathic remedies, except instead
of starting with a substance, the original solution (or "mother
essence") is made by capturing the energy pattern of the flower in
the water by floating the freshly picked flowers on the water in
the morning sunlight. The sunlight transfers the "vibration" of the
flowers to the water. You then remove the flowers and bottle the
mother essence in a mixture of 3 parts water to 1 part brandy.
Except for possibly a little dust or bits of flower that may have
fallen into the water, the mother essence contains no organic matter
at all. The mother essence is normally diluted several times to get
the final flower essence solution.
There is evidence from physical chemistry that water has the ability
to hold complex patterns of molecular polarization that are
self-sustaining, so the mechanism whereby homeopathic potentization
may work is not all that far-fetched. Also quantum physics shows
that information can be carried in fields without physical components
(like atoms) necessarily having to be present. But neither of these
facts are taught in medical school, which is why most doctors
consider homeopathy to be a second cousin to voodoo. Besides, they
are inexpensive to make and unpatented, so no drug company can make
money on them.
The danger of side-effects is less with flower essences than with
herbal or homeopathic treatment. However, as Gurudas cautions, the
healing process always involves a certain amount of adjustment:
[F]lower essences do not negatively affect people. What some call
negative influences are really healing crises. As ingrained
emotions are released, points of confrontation may be experienced.
This sometimes creates illusions that the essence negatively
affects the person. If some emotional problems are too difficult
to face, the essence only gradually influences the individual....
[F]lower essences work on levels of consciousness, so they are
self-adjusting and do not violate the individula's free will. If
there is an emotional blockage that should not be released at a
particular time, the flower essence will usually cancel itself in
that part of a person's consciousness.
However, there is not a 100% guarantee that extreme emotional
states will never be created as flower essences release emotional
blockages. When people do experience aggravation with these
essences, it is often because it is important to their
psychological rigidity and paranoia that the remedy not work.
People should have enough common sense to understand that if
extreme emotional reactions result from taking a flower essence,
that substance should probably be discontinued, at least for a
while. (p. 39)
I'll post full instructions for making flower essences next message...
===
Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: oispeggy@********* (Peggy Brown)
Subject: howto make flower essences, x-post from Castaneda list...
*********************************************************************
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING FLOWER ESSENCES
USING COMMON HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
*********************************************************************
Materials needed for EACH flower essence to be prepared:
* 1 clear, unadorned glass bowl, to hold about 12 oz. of water
* 1 16-oz. glass storage bottle (blue is preferred, but amber,
green, or clear glass is acceptable), with a new cork stopper and
a blank label
* 12 oz. of unpolluted local spring water (preferred) or distilled
water, in a glass bottle with cork stopper (I use a wine bottle)
* 4 oz. of pure brandy (I like Korbel)
* several wild or organically grown plants of the chosen species,
in full bloom with abundant flowers
* 1 4-oz. bottle (again, blue preferred, but amber, green, or clear
is acceptable) with blank label and glass dropper and bulb in cap,
to hold the "stock" tincture (diluted from mother essence)
* several 2-oz. bottles (blue preferred etc.) with blank label and
glass dropper and bulb in cap, for the "dosage" tinctures (diluted
from the stock tincture; one bottle for each person who takes the
essence)
The last two items are the hardest to find, but fortunately you
don't need them to prepare the mother essence, you only need them
when you dilute the essences for use.
Other items needed for making and storing flower essences:
* 1 glass funnel
* 2 finger-sized quartz crystals, unpolished
* 1 kitchen
* 1 pot (with lid) made of enamel, glass, copper, or stainless
steel, big enough to hold bowl & bottles, for sterilizing
* 1 cloudless morning, preferably in spring or summer
* 1 idyllic, fairy forest glen with towering oaks and dancing nature
sprites (preferred) or a spot in your backyard. It has to get
full sun starting in the early morning and lasting for at least
three hours. Also, privacy is nice because you'll be talking to
the plants, and, as dJ says, you must talk to them in a loud,
clear voice if you expect them to answer you.
* 1 linen cloth (I use a piece of raw 100% linen artist's canvas)
* sea salt
* 1 cupboard or closet shelf, away from plastics, petrochemicals,
camphor, caffeine, and toxic metals like lead or aluminum (that
is, not in the kitchen, bathroom, or garage--I use a hall closet
shelf), for storing mother and stock bottles
* a box in which you can place the mother bottles for carrying in
such a way that they will not touch each other (optional--needed
only if the place where the plants are growing is far from the
place where they will be stored)
* extra brandy for sipping on cloudless morning while waiting for
essences to be done (also optional)
In what follows, I assume that spring water is being used, to avoid
having to say "spring or distilled water" all the time.
I try to make more than one essence at a time whenever possible. The
only thing you have to be careful to do is to rinse your hands and
any equipment you're using (like the funnel or the bottle of spring
water) under running water when you're done working with one essence
and want to move on to the next. This is to avoid contaminating the
second essence with the vibrations of the first, which may cling to
your hands and equipment if you don't rinse them. Vibrational
cross-contamination is a continual worry of flower-essence makers,
but fortunately it is a danger only when working with the mother
tinctures and, to a lesser degree, the stock tinctures. The dosage
tinctures of several different plants can even be mixed in the same
bottle without contaminating each other.
Before making any essences, clean the cupboard or shelf space where
they are to be stored, using distilled water and a linen or cotton
cloth. Leave the space empty for several days prior to use. Put some
quartz crystals in the area.
Steps preparatory to making flower essences (I usually do these the
night before my cloudless morning):
1. Sterilize the pot by boiling tap water in it for 10 minutes.
Discard the water.
2. Wash the bowl, the bottles, and the funnel.
3. Sterilize the bowl, the bottles, and the funnel by boiling them
in the pot with tap water for 10 minutes.
4. Label the 16-oz. mother bottles with the name of the flower
essence; for example:
ST. JOHN'S WORT
(Hypericum Perforatum)
FLOWER ESSENCE
MOTHER TINCTURE
5. Collect the spring water you'll need (12 oz. per essence).
The sterilizing in boiling water is not only to remove bacterial
contamination, but to remove any vibrations from whatever was in
the bottles or bowls previously, or from the manufacturing process,
in the case of new bottles.
I have a funnel and a couple of bowls I use only for making flower
essences, and a couple of bottles I use for carrying spring water.
You don't have to boil such equipment to sterilize it after the first
time; all you have to do is fill the sterilized pot with spring
water, put some crushed quartz crystals in a clean linen cloth, then
dip the bowl or whatever in the spring water with the bag of
crystals. Then dip the bag of crystals alone in the water. This
clears away any lingering old essences, and saves a lot of boiling.
Early in the morning of your cloudless day, take your stuff to a
place that's a little distant from the flowers. (You don't want the
equipment--especially the brandy, which you have to keep pure, from
one gathering to the next--to be permeated by any flower's essence,
for then it would contaminate other essences.)
Then follow these steps:
1. Pour 12 oz. of spring water into a bowl. Take the bowl and the
two quartz crystals and go to the plants. Talk to them. Explain
what you're doing, talk baby talk, or tell them how cute they
are--whatever. You are hoping to get a friendly, affirmative
response.
Here's what Gurudas says about communicating with the plants:
Thy communication in dialogue needs to be sensitive to the
fields of life and light about these essences, for herein is
the dimensional state upon which the devic forces exist. As
you work with plant forces, placing flowers on the water, be in
communication with these intelligences as though they were
present with thee, even though you may not see them with the
physical eye. Eventually you will evolve, with the ability of
the physical eyes, to see those energies or nature spirits.
This increases your communication with them as forms of
intelligence and acknowledges their existence....
Explain to the nature spirits exactly what you are doing, so
they will understand and help in the process of transferring
life force of the flower into the water. In picking flowers,
you are literally stepping into someone's territory. If you
want to walk across someone's private property, it is courteous
to first ask permission.... (p. 21)
2. Sit by the plants and attune yourself to them. Release any
attachment to the outcome of the whole endeavor. Wait until
you feel attuned to the plant and know that it has given you
permission to pick its flowers. If you don't get a good feeling
from the plant, as if it wants to help you, thank it courteously
and go find another plant, or go on to make the next essence.
3. If the plant gives its assent, place the bowl on the ground near
the plants. If you need to elevate the bowl (to catch the sun,
say), place it on wood or a natural stone, never metal or cement.
4. Remove flowers one at a time and place each immediately on the
surface of the water. Pick enough to cover the whole surface.
Do not touch the flower with your hands; instead, use either a
leaf of the plant or the pair of quartz crystals to pick each
flower. It is important to be very gentle, as any great shock
to the plant will cause its essence (energy field) to retreat
into the ground. If you drop a flower, leave it on the ground.
Also, do not let your hands touch the water. If several plants
are available, pick the healthiest looking flowers from them all,
rather than denuding one plant. Try not to take more than half
the flowers on any one plant; this is simple courtesy.
5. Note the time. Go rinse your hands and the crystals, then take
them back to the spot where you left your other equipment.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the other flower essences being prepared.
7. When all the flower gathering is done, pour 4 oz. of brandy into
each of the 16-oz. mother tincture bottles. Then go sip brandy
(or however you want to spend the time) until the first bowl
of flowers has been basking in the sun for three hours.
8. Take the funnel and the mother bottle to the bowl that's done,
then carefully remove the flowers from the water, using a leaf
from the plants so that your hands do not touch the water. Also
remove any insects or debris that may have fallen into the water.
The water should look sparkling and clean. Pour the water into
the bottle using the funnel. Set the bowl aside to be sterilized
(away from the other equipment and the brandy). Put the mother
bottle in the storage space or in the carrying box.
9. Go rinse your hands and the funnel, then return to the spot where
you left your equipment.
10. Repeat steps 8-9 for the other flower essences.
This may sound complicated, but it is really just a matter of being
conscious of where each flower's vibrations have gone so you don't
let one essence contaminate another. When you're done, rinse the
crystals and funnel and sterilize the bowls (using the
bag-of-crystals method). You can store the equipment in the space
with the mother bottles as long as everything has been sterilized.
To prepare a 4-oz. stock bottle, wait at least two days after making
the mother tincture. Then wash and sterilize the stock bottle, and
put 1 oz. of brandy in it. Fill the rest of the bottle with 3 oz.
of spring water. Fill the stock bottle dropper with mother tincture
from the mother bottle. Add 7 drops to the stock bottle. Empty the
remaining mother tincture in the mother bottle, replace the dropper
in the stock bottle, and cork the mother bottle. Wipe the mother
bottle with linen dipped in a solution of water and sea salt. Shake
the stock bottle about 15 times and store it in the cupboard or
shelf.
To prepare some 2-oz. dosage bottles: again, wait at least two days
after the stock tincture has been prepared. Wash, sterilize, and
label the dosage bottles, fill each with 1/2 oz. brandy and 1 1/2 oz.
spring water, then use the stock bottle dropper to add 7 drops of
stock tincture to each dosage bottle. Cap all bottles. Shake each
dosage bottle 15 times. The dosage bottles are ready for immediate
use. When you give someone a bottle, write the name of the person
on the bottle's label.
A flower essence that is being taken for a specific problem is
usually taken once a day by placing seven drops in a glass of water,
then drinking the water. For dream recall, it would make sense to
take the essence in the evening. If you don't want to drink the
water, you can simply put seven drops from the dosage bottle under
your tongue.
Never put the stock bottle dropper into an unsterilized bottle or
a bottle containing a different flower essence. Never share a single
dosage bottle between two people. Store the stock and mother bottles
so they don't touch each other; keep the mother bottles about 1 foot
apart. Wipe them once every three months with linen dipped in a
solution of water and sea salt to clean them of environmental
contamination.
There are many fine points to this work that I have omitted for
brevity's sake. For example, flowers that grow facing the east side,
rather than the west, of a shrub or tree tend to be slightly more
potent; flowers from the top of a tree tend to move emotions, while
those near the bottom stabilize them; and so on. In a pinch you can
bend most of the rules; you can get by with a plastic funnel, leave
the flowers out a little longer if there are some clouds in the sky,
etc. The main ones you can't bend are the requirements that you get
permission from the plant, that the essence must not stay out so long
that the flowers begin to wilt, and that petrochemicals or toxic
substances should not be kept near the storage area for any extended
period of time. Also, roses, lotus, papaya, and mango require 50%
brandy instead of 25%. If you want to know more, get the Gurudas
book.
The *intent* of the person making the essence is probably the most
important factor. You don't necvessarily have to gullibly believe
anything, but you need to at least have an open mind, and of course
not too much self-importance.
Properly stored, mother tinctures can last indefinitely. If you only
use them to prepare stock bottles, and only use the stock bottles to
prepare dosage bottles, one 16 oz. mother bottle will supply you and
all your relations with plenty of flower essence for the next seven
generations. So it's worth taking care to do it right.
The first essence I made was Easter Lilly, which is a general
purifier of the female reproductive organs. I made it for a friend
who was concerned about the possibility of ovarian cancer (mainly
because she had been reading about it, not because she had any
medical tests that indicated she had it). She had a hard time
believing that the dosage tincture would do anything (even though
there's really no real substance in the mother tincture either), so I
gave her the mother tincture straight. This will usually cause the
essence to affect the physical body more directly, and is generally
to be avoided because it circumvents, to some degree, the body's
intelligence. But if she had taken the dosage tincture, her
disbelief that it could be effective would have worked against her.
After a few days of doing nothing different except taking a few
drops of the mother tincture each day, she got her period early, and
her body ejected some fibrous matter that she said looked like small
fibroid tumors. This result even impressed me! I hadn't expected
anything quite so dramatic on my first attempt.
===
Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: oispeggy@*********** (Peggy Brown)
Subject: more on making flower essences, xpost from Castaneda list
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 16:06:00 GMT
************************************************************
Peggy, you wrote,
>>So far my SJW plant has only produced 2 flowers, at different
intervals. The recipe calls for enough flowers to cover the surface
of the bowl. Also, it says not to deplete the plant of flowers. So
I didn't pick either flower. Maybe they'll goto seed and produce
more plants for next year. Would making the essence out of leaves
be worthwhile?<<
In a pinch, you can bend most of the rules. In this case, for
instance, you could use a small bowl and make less essence (only four
ounces, say). You could ask the plant if it's OK to take all of its
flowers. SJW is a perennial, so it may not mind as much as an
annual would. Explain your situation to the plant. Plants are
usually pretty understanding if you ask them nicely. However, it
sounds like you have only one flower to work with, which probably
wouldn't be enough.
No, the leaves won't work. Only the flower carries the flower
essence. The vibrational pattern of the energy you're trying to
capture is related to the geometric form of the flower. Also, I
forgot to mention, the plant must be growing in the ground, not in a
pot. And it shouldn't have been fertilized with chemical fertilizer
in, say, the past year. But if it looks and feels healthy, it's
probably OK.
I've found that the hardest part to making flower essences is
finding flowers in the best possible condition. It's easier if the
plant is a tree, vine, ground cover, or large shrub; then at least
you have plenty of flowers to choose from, and the only problem is
finding plants in a secluded spot where you can talk your head
off to them in a LOUD, CLEAR VOICE without attracting a crowd. It's
more of a challenge to find small individual plants like SJW or
comfrey, because even if you know someone who has an herb garden,
usually they have only one or two plants, or the flowers are very
small, or one batch of flowers wilts before the next comes into
bloom, etc. etc. etc. It's frustrating. And places that grow
fields of herbs commercially almost always use chemical fertilizers.
Fortunately, it's not too hard to grow a bunch of small herbs if you
have a little garden space and can plan ahead. You usually only
need to gather the essence once; after that you can put the extra
plants in pots and give them away to friends. Roses take a little
more work, but they're nice to have around anyway.
>>I plan to make the essence out of clover flowers. Those are in
season now and I have access to plenty of them. What do clover
flowers do? How about (miniature) rose flowers? Snapdragons?
Daylily? Dahlia? Nasturtium? Black-eye Susan? Daisy?<<
Here is a brief summary of the main uses of the ones I have
references for. The Gurudas book contains much more detail, but
even it can't list every flower in the world.
Red clover (Trifolium pratense): Treats mass hysteria or panic, such
as that following disasters like earthquakes, fires, floods, the
arrest of a national football hero for murder, the parking situation
during the World Cup, etc.
Green rose or Chinese wild rose (Rosa chinensis viridiflora):
Augments psychic abilities, especially the exchange of systems of
philosophy between East and West. Treats a variety of diseases that
result from the suppression of psychic abilities, including
allergies, asthma, colon spasms, epilepsy, Meniere's disease,
migraine headaches, mucous colitis, chldren's night terrors,
obsessional neuroses, and duodenal ulcers.
Koenigin von Daenmark (a double-alba rose hybrid introduced in 1826):
Revitalizes the immune system, which affects just about everything.
Macartney rose (Rosa macrantha): Balances the brain hemispheres and
increases telepathic abilities.
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus): Treats any problem with the vocal
chords, lips, jaw, and face, such as tetanus, Bell's palsy,
arthritis of the jaw joints, TMJ, laryngitis, sore throat,
inflamations of the esophagus, and speech disorders like stuttering.
Also treats the radiation miasm (a disorder of the energy body
produced by exposure to radioactivity in the environment).
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus): Revitalizes the nervous system.
Treats narrow-mindedness, compulsiveness, nervousness, or obsession
with an issue--a good one to give to your fart friends. Also
increases sensitivity to colors.
English daisy (Bellis perennis) or Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum
maximum): Facilitates finding an intuitive understanding of the
unity of various spiritual paths. Stabilizes people who are
constantly running from one spiritual growth group to another
without finding what they are seeking. Brings scattered information
into clear focus. Good for students in school.
As you can see, some essences, like Snapdragon, are highly specific in
their effects, while some, like Koenigin von Daenemark, are more
general. Some affect mainly the physical body, while others mainly
treat psychological conditions or the energy body.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Flower Essence
Fragrant Oils
Copyright Ceci Henningsson 1994. This article may be freely copied and
distributed, provided this copyright notice is included.
======================================================================
Witches often ask about how to make essential oils.
I don't know exactly how you produce essential oils from herbs. What I
do know is that it's a laborous process, and that most of the time you
will want to dilute the essential oils anyway, so that fragrant,
blended oils consisting of a carrier oil and a herb are often more
versatile. In addition to that they are quite easy to
manufacture. This is how I do it.
The Kitchen Magic School's Fragrant Oils
This is what you need
=====================
A carrier oil. The intended use decides which one. Edible oils are
sold in super-markets everywhere, and can often be used for other
purposes than just eating. In herbal cosmetic shops like the Body Shop
you can buy pure or blended oils for special purposes like bathing and
massage. You can experiment with different oils for different
purposes, but never ingest any oil that wasn't specifically made for
the purpose. It's important that you use new oil with the best before
date well ahead, as fragrant oils don't keep as well as essential
oils. Wheatgerm oil can be used as a preservative if you find that
your oils don't keep well.
The herb. For this purpose it doesn't matter if it's fresh, dried or
even frozen. Herbs are sold in many places. Occult shops often have
quite an assortment, but the super-market in your area may sell some
of these much cheaper. Super-markets often have herbs in either the
spice department (notably fennel and cardamon), the health food
department (notably rosehips and buckwheat) or even the hot drinks
department (notably chamomille and cocoa). Specialized health food
stores and natural cosmetics boutiques often have herbs too.
Growing your own herbs can be a very satisfying experience, and it
doesn't take a lot of skill to do with the most common ones. You can
buy plants at a nursery or raise your own from seeds. Seeds are
available in super-markets, garden centres and nurseries. There are
often quite adequate instructions on the seed envelope. If you are new
to growing things, start out with easy growers like mint, heartsease
and dill and grow them in pots.
Which herb to choose is a science in itself. If you want to use the
oil for magickal purposes, you will probably want to choose it
according to its correspondences. At the end of Starhawk's
_Spiral_Dance_ there is a substantial list of common correspondences,
and the classic Culpeper's Complete Herbal lists herbs and their uses
and correspondences. Of course if you follow a specific tradition you
will want to consult it, so you don't use inappropriate herbs. Many
eclectic witches like to make up their own correspondences following
their intuition. If you will use the oil on your skin, make sure that
it won't irritate or cause allergic reactions. You may want to consult
a book on aromatherapy if you are using fragrant oils for
healing. Some oils are considered aphrodisiacs, and can be quite fun
to use for massage.
A practical consideration is the availability of a given herb. Herbs
may be unavailable for many different reasons. Maybe it isn't
traditionally used in your part of the world, it may be illegal for a
number of reasons, it could be surrounded with superstition or it can
simply be out of season.
A bottle. Fragrant oils are sensitive to light so try avoiding crystal
clear bottles. You will often want to use just a spoonful of the oil,
so a squirt cap is useful. Shampoo bottles can often be used, as they
are generally about the right size and have caps which are made so you
can easily take a small amount without having oil run down the outside
of the bottle. Plastic bottles will often be found to take on some of
the aroma of the contents, so you may want to throw them away after
one use, or always keep the same oil in the same bottle. Some occult
shops sell amber glass bottles, too. Of course it's neat to have all
your oils in identical bottles instead of having an array of brightly
coloured shampoo bottles, but they're a lot more expensive than saved
up shampoo bottles. Label all your bottles carefully with the name of
the herb, carrier oil and date of manufacture!
This is how to do it
====================
The basic principle is easy: put the herb in the oil, and wait.
If you are bothered by herb particles in the finished product, you can
use a tea egg or a small bag of muslin or nylon suspended by string in
the bottle, and remove them when you find the fragrance strong
enough. This requires a bottle with a wide opening. If you don't have
such a bottle, you can strain the oil in a wire-mesh tea sieve
instead. If you aren't bothered by herb particles, you can often leave
the herb in the oil until you've used it all up. This works
particularly well with antiseptic herbs like peppermint, but can in
other cases make the oil go stale.
The time it takes for an oil to become pleasantly fragrant depends on
the herb and the oil, what you consider pleasant and the conditions
you keep them under. You will have to experiment with concentration,
stirring, and time to find out which works best under your
circumstances. With some herbs crushing can speed up the process.
Seeds like fennel are among those. Many herbs vary quite a lot in
strength depending on a range of factors, so sometimes you will have
to adapt your recipes. The best thing is probably to develop your
intuition with regards to herbs. As a rule of thumb, two weeks to
three months should be adequate.
Suggested uses for fragrant oils
================================
Bathing: Many oils can change your mood when used in a bath. Try out
different ones, like thyme and heartsease. Caveat 1: Some
herbs are skin irritants, and you may be allergic to some
without knowing this. If your skin gets irritated during or
after a bath, immideately take a shower and wash yourself all
over with hypoallergenic soap. Then dry yourself and use a
hypoallergenic body lotion. This should take care of most skin
irritations. If it doesn't, seek a doctor. Carefully note
which herbs cause skin irritatations in you, and avoid
them. If you know that your skin is sensitive, avoid herbs
which are known to cause skin irritations or allergic
reactions in many people. Some of the more common ones are
mint, vanilla and of course all hot spices like pepper. Caveat
2: Never use psychoactive herbs in a bath, this includes sleep
inducing herbs. You can drown yourself quite easily that way.
Annointing: Fragrant oils are much milder than essential oils, and can
often be used directly for annointing on your skin. If you are
using fragrant oils for magickal purposes, you may want to
take into account the correspondences of the carrier oil,
too.
Vaporising: Vaporising means that you heat the oil so that it
gives off its fragrance. This is useful in its own right, but
can also serve as a substitute for incense when you or members
of your household object to incense for medical or other
reasons. Vaporisers can be bought in occult stores, shops for
herbal cosmetics, interior decoration boutiques or even in the
department store. The most common ones are a terracotta ring
that you suspend on a lightbulb, and more elaborate structures
with a ÓhouseÓ for a tea-candle and a shallow pan
suspended above it. The fragrant oil has to be quite strong
for this purpose.
Massage: Massage is a fine art and healing in many ways. You may want
to experiment with using edible oils for this purpose. Caveat
1: The oil used for massage enters the skin even more
forcefully than the one used in a bath. Make sure you
aren't allergic beforehand. Vigorously rub in a tad of oil
on a sensitive place like the inside of the arm just above
your wrist. If the skin is irritated after an hour, don't
use that oil on your skin again. Caveat 2: Massage is often a
part of lovemaking. If you use a condom for birth control,
don't use massage oils. The reason for this is that the oil
makes microscopic holes in the rubber, and renders it useless.
Cooking: Fragrant oils of spices like oregano or basil can be used in
cooking. You can use it as a marinade, or to brush on meat
before you grill it. How about making your own curry oil?
Caveat: Use only oils specificly made for ingestion for this
purpose.
Libations: We often use wine or water for libations, but we know that
for instance the Minoans on Crete offered their deities oils
aswell as wine and honey.
Further suggestions
===================
You can use this method with other mediums than oil; shampoo and
liquid soap for instance. Find fragrance free products, and make your
own herbal cosmetics. I like to use chamomille shampoo, so I blend 100
ml of fragrance free shampoo with 1 gramme of chamomille flowers from
a teabag. After one week the liquid starts to turn yellow and smell of
chamomille, and is ready for use. I use a hair conditioner (again
fragrance free) to make sure I rinse out all chamomille particles from
my hair. The same can be done with rosemary if you have dark hair, and
other herbs if you have problems with your hair or scalp. Lavender
produces a soothing soap, and pine needles an invigorating one. Again,
make sure you aren't allergic to herbs used on the skin or in the hair
in this way.
Incense
From: Rowan Fairgrove
About ten years ago I was very interested in botanical incenses and
spent alot of time studying and teaching the use of same. After a
hiatus I am getting back into this and would like some feedback on
what has been happening out there.
I will type herein parts of a booklet I published called "A Handbook
of Botantical Incenses" to give you some idea of where my thinking was
at that time. I had generated the schema as something useful to my
own work, it is not something widely used. I would love to hear other
schema such as astrological, deity correspondences, seasonal, etc. I
may append some of those sorts of categories to this if I have the
time.
My meaning come mostly from "traditional" sources but in my actual
teaching and working I place more emphasis on what an individual scent
does to the worker. In my beginning classes I simply passed around a
collection of incenses and had each member tell what it meant to them
and then we talked about the "traditional" meaning. If, for example,
the traditional meaning for cinnamon is concentration and you smell it
and think of grandma's pumpkin pie and all you can think about is
food, it is not going to be appropriate to burn to help you study!
A HANDBOOK OF BOTANICAL INCENSES
Introduction:
...Botanical and other incense are a tool which can be tailored to the
user's desire. At their simplest they may be used to stimulate the
sense of smell and bring enjoyment to those nearby, alternatively,
they can be a subtle compilation designed to create a specific ambiance
for a ritual or magical operation.
The following guide contains some botanical (and a few other
substances) and their uses when burned. The attributes have been
derived from a great many sources, both published and personal
communication, and like most magical properties they are most
effective when tailored to the individual or group using them. So sit
down and burn some and see if they work for you. Try combinations. I
have included some recipes which have worked for myself and others in
the hopes that you will find them useful. Happy Censing!
A Scheme of Things:
The botanicals which I will discuss fall into several broad
categories:
1) EVOCATIVE - used to get the attention of divinities or
to summon spirits
2) DIVINATORY - used to foretell the future or to see hidden
secrets
3) PURIFICATORY - used to purify the purpose of a rite or the
action of a given object
4) ENHANCING - used to intensify the purpose of a rite or the
action of a given object
5) PROTECTIVE - used to shield the user or area from harm
6) BANISHING - used to drive out unwanted influences or
spirits
7) HEALING - used to promote wholeness in mind, body or
spirit
8) SPELL CASTING - used to promote a purpose, e.g., love,
fertility, money, luck, fortune, concentration, etc.
Many botanicals fall into several categories, for example: Wormword
(Artemesia) can be used
1) to evoke Artemis and call the dead
2) to promote divination
6) when consecrated to Mars in banishing
6) & 7) it was used to banish the Black Plague fleas
8) when consecrated to Mars, in works of anger.
Some Examples:
1) Evocative
Almond Lotus
Ash Mandrake
Basil Myrrh
Bay Olive
Blessed Thistle Patchouli
Damiana Rowan
Dittany of Crete Rue
Elm Thyme
Frankincense Verbena
Henbane Vervain, Blue
Life Everlasting Flowers Wormwood
Yarrow
2) Divinatory:
Ash Linseed
Bay Mugwort
Cinquefoil Rowan
Clove Thyme
Elm Wormwood
Frankincense Yarrow
3) Purificatory:
Angelica Mastic gum
Bayberry Myrrh
Burnet Olive
Cinnamon
4) Healing
Balm of Gilead Myrrh
Lavendar Rosemary
Life Everlasting Wormwood
4) Enhancing:
Anise seed Lotus
Angelica Mandrake
Celery seed Mastic gum
Cinnamon Mugwort
Cinquefoil Orris root
Cloves Peppermint
Damiana Sandalwood
Dragon's Blood Styrax
Frankincense Uva Ursi
Henbane
5) Protective:
Alfalfa Juniper wood
Basil Life Everlasting flowers
Blessed Thistle Mastic gum
Bay Mistletoe
Camphor Mugwort
Cinquefoil Orris root
Elder Rosemary
Five Finger Grass Rowan
Frankincense St. John's Wort
Garlic Vervain, Blue
6) Banishing:
Agrimony Lavendar
Ash Pine
Camphor Rowan
Dragon's Blood Vervain, Blue
Juniper wood Wormwood
8) Spell Casting:
Basil Patchouli
Bayberry Peppermint
Bezoin gum Rosemary
Camphor Rowan
Cinnamon Rue
Damiana Sandalwood
Dragon's Blood Tormantil
Frankincense Uva Ursi
Lavendar Vervain, Blue
Lemon peel St. John's Wort
Life Everlasting flowers Wormwood
Mandrake Yarrow
Mistletoe Ylang Ylang
Orris Root
GODDESS RECIPES:OILS, PERFUMES ETC
[From 'The Witches' Goddess by Janet & Stewart Farrar]
MOON PRIESTESS PERFUME:
1 Drop Queen of the Night Oil
3 drops rose oil
1 drop lemon verbena oil
4 fl. oz (120cc) white spirit
Blend the three oils in a bottle. Add the white spirit, and shake all
vigorously. A cologne can be made by adding another 1 FL. oz (30cc)
of white spirit and 3 fl. oz (90cc) of distilled water.
MOON PRIEST COLOGNE:
1 fl.oz (30cc) lemon verbena or Lime oil
2 fl.oz (60cc) coriander oil
1/2 fl.oz. (15cc) camphor or myrrh oil
1/4 fl.oz. (7cc) white spirit
3 3/4 fl.oz. (105cc) distilled water
Blend the oils in a bottle, add the spirit and water and shake all
vigorously. Increasing the myrrh oils gives a darker perfume; increasing
the camphor, a lighter and more spicy one. All perfumes 'behave'
differently on different skins, so it is worth experimenting to find
your own balance.
EARTH MOTHER PERFUME:
Musk oil
Patchouli oil
Rose Oil
Blend in equal parts, bottle and shake well.
ISIS PERFUME:
Rose oil
Blue Lotus Oil
Blend equal parts, bottle and shake well.
SUN GODDESS PERFUME:
Cinnamon Oil
Lemon Verbena Oil
Ylang-Ylang Oil
Blend equal parts, bottle and shake well.
OIL FOR THE DARK OF THE MOON:
2 fl.oz.(60cc) tincture of myrrh
1 fl.oz.(30cc) oil of cinnamon
1/4 fl.oz.(7cc) Queen of the Night Oil
1 fl.oz.(30cc) oil of rose
Blend, bottle and shake well.
OIL FOR THE RITES OF ISIS:
7 drops oil of rose
2 Drops oil of Camphor
2 drops tincture of myrrh
3 drops oil of blue hyacinth
Blens the oils of rose, camphor, and blue hyacinth during the
waxing moon. Bottle and keep till the Moon wanes. Add the Myrrh
KALI INCENSE:
This is an individual and personalized incense, for attunement
to your own Dark of the Moon.
1 oz (30gm) sandalwood chips
1 oz (30gm) Dried jasmine flowers or 6 drops jasmine oil
1/2 oz (15gm) dried rose petals
2 drops of your own menstrual blood
Blend and use for private meditation during the onset of your
menstruation.
MORRIGAN INCENSE:
1 oz (30gm) musk amberette
1/2 oz (15gm) dragon's blood (resin used in violin staining)
4 drops patchouli oil
4 drops civet oil
4 drops of blood from your own finger
Blend at the dark of the Mon, put in a jar and bury in the earth
for 6 weeks (a flower pot of peat in a cool cupboard will do).
ATHENE OIL & INCENSE:
The olive is sacred to Athene, so use pure olive oil as an
annointing oil in particular, rub between the palms of your hands
and annoint your feet, forehead and lips. For the Incense:
1 oz (30gm) cedarwood chips
1/2 oz (15gm) camphor
7 drops musk oil
Female sweat (as much as possible)
6 olives unstuffed and preferabbly black
Blend the first four ingredients well, at the full moon, and add
the olives. Put in a jar and leave for one month to mature. Then
remove the olives (Which will have imparted their essence to the
rest) and throw them away.
Stuffed olives, both black and green, are an obvious food for
a ritual of Athene, also stuffed vine leaves, a very Athenian dish.
If possible, of course, the wine should be Greek - especially
retsina, though that is an acquired taste.
PRE-RITUAL BATH SCENTS:
To cleanse and relax the body before a ritual, and to energize
the psychic centres. Fill small sachets of muslin cloth with equal
amounts of the following herbs:
Basil (for psychic energy)
Borage (to strengthen the inner self)
Lavendar (to banish mental and emotional stress)
Centaury (a traditional witch herb)
Rue (a traditional bathing herb)
Put a satchet into your bath five minutes before you get in, to
give the aromatics time to work.
DIANA OF THE MOON INCENSE:
It is recommended that it be made in the hour and the day of the
Moon - i.e. the first or eighth hour after sunrise, or the third or
tenth hour after sunset, on a Monday.
Thoroughly mix equal amounts of the following:
Gum mastic
Jasmine
Mandrake
Orris root
add a few drops of wintergreen oil and moisten with a little clear
mineral oil.
AINE of KNOCKAINE INCENSE:
1/2 oz (15gm) meadowsweet flowers and leaf (gathered when the
plant is in full bloom and dried)
1/2 oz (15gm) finely chopped pine needles
1/2 fl.oz. (15cc) lemon verbena oil
By the way, meadowsweet blossom also makes a delicious wine.
Herbal Wines
by Nicholas Morcinek
One of the many pleasures of a life in the country is the
abundance of free food and the makings of fine drink. Sitting here at
my desk, glass of Dandelion wine in hand, the golden glow of the
flickering firelight passing through the pale amber nectar drifts my
mind back to the Spring and the picking and preparation that led to
this magic moment. Anyone who has ever made their own wine or beer
will understand my feelings but nowadays of course, wine nearly always
refers to a Chateau produced store bought liquid, made from grapes
grown in some exotic far away land. However until very recently, many
other varieties of fruit and even flowers were used by enterprising
brewers. Dandelion, Red Clover, Rosemary and Rose flowers were all
used and all have their own distinctive nose, flavour and
effect. Herbs were used for their traditional medicinal values, the
wine-making process being me rely the method of preservation.
Dandelion for the digestion and liver
Cowslip to help with sleep
Clover flowers as a tonic and mild euphoriant
These herb wines are very simply made, with minimal amounts of time
and equipment and once tried and successfully imbibed, they can become
an integral part of your routine and life style. After all, what
better way is there to take your medicine than in a glass of fragrant
ambrosia? Hoping that I've caught your interest, (excuse me while I
pour myself an other glass!), perhaps you'd like to give flower wines
a try.
Here to help you on your way is my own tried, and very well tested,
recipe.
Ingredients:
Two quarts of Red Clover or Dandelion flower-heads. (Or any other
type of edible/medicinal flower. Good ones to try are Calendula, Rose,
Violet, Elderflowers, etc; Use your own judgement, the recipe is good
for almost any combination of flowers and herbs).
One Kilo of sugar & 3 lemons.
Four ounces un-coated raisins or sultanas.
One packet Champagne type wine yeast.
You will also need some equipment, most of which can be found in the
kitchen, viz: One, two or three gallon container, (stainless steel,
earthenware, glass or un-chipped enamel).
A one gallon glass flagon, Fermentation lock, campden table and syphon
tube.
(These can be obtained quite inexpensively from any home-brewing
store).
Now for the...Method:
Pick the flowers on a sunny morning after the dew has dried. They
are best picked after several days of full sun but Mother Nature is
not always so obliging. Choose only the best flowers and discard all
green parts at the base of the flowers. (They will make the wine
bitter). Collect two full quarts of flowers for each gallon you wish
to make. (This is a good job to give to the kids on a sunny Sunday
afternoon. You won't see them for at least an hour.) It is very
important that you collect only from areas that have not been sprayed
with garden or agricultural pest sprays. Avoid all roadside flowers as
they contain high levels of pollutants.
It is important before starting in the kitchen to ensure that all
the implements and containers used are scrupulously clean. Make up a
sterilizing solution using the campden tablets, (follow the
instructions on the pack) and then thoroughly rinse and clean
everything you intend to use. This is the most important operation in
home wine making, get it right and your wines turnout perfectly every
time, screw-up and your friends will find all sorts of reasons for why
they can't pop over to watch the game, join the barbecue, etc; etc;
Anyway, we are digressing. Back to the wine.
Clean the flowers of insects and dirt and place them into the
largest container. Add the juice from the three lemons and the washed
raisins or sultanas, and immediately pour over them six pints of
boiling water. Stir it all up with a sterilized spoon, cover the
container with a sterilized lid and leave to stand for twenty four
hours.
Next day, lift up the lid and take a peek at the dead flowers and
other bits, floating in the water. Hmmm...Give it all a good stir and
then strain out the liquid into a clean sterilized container. Rinse
out your original container with some sulphite solution and then
immediately pour the strained liquid back in. Add the sugar and two
pints of boiling water, stirring well so as to dissolve the sugar, and
then add the yeast, which has been prepared beforehand as instructed
on the package. Stir it again, cover and put it away in a warm spot
where the temperature stays around 70-80 degrees. Now forget all about
it for one month.
The month has passed and you rush like the wind to take a look at
your wine. Urgghh!! It smells weird and looks weirder, but don't
worry, every thing should work out fine. This is where the syphon,
flagon and fermentation lock come into the picture. First sterilize
all your equipment with a sulphite solution and rinse thoroughly. Then
syphon the contents of your brewing bin into the flagon. This will
give you your first taste, but don't despair it gets much better! Set
up the fermentation lock as per the manufacturer's instructions, pop
it on top of the flagon and now take it back to that warm out of the
way place where you hid it before.
Now comes the hardest part of the whole show. You have to forget
all about this big bottle of fermenting nectar for at least six
months. Don't be tempted to peek inside, smell or God forbid! taste
your new concoction. Don't even think about it! That day is still in
the far future.
Six months have passed. November arrives and the nights are
getting longer. Remember the wine?? It's now ready to be
bottled. You'll need about six or seven bottles for each gallon. Use
only those bottles that are designed to hold pressure, i.e. Champagne
or sparkling wine bottles, even those thick heavy old-fashioned cola
bottles. Use a sulphite solution to sterilize the bottles, corks and
caps, and using a sterilized syphon tube, carefully syphon the clear
liquid from the flagon into the bottles without disturbing the
sediment in the flagon. Tastes pretty good now eh!
To make your wine just a little sparkling add no more than a half
teaspoon of sugar to each bottle. Seal the bottles well and let them
stand in a warm place for three days. Then place them in the coolest
part of the house and wait six more weeks. It will then be just about
ready to drink. Of course like many wines it will taste better if left
longer, ( about a year is best).
But of course we're all only human and so must inevitably try out
the fruits of our labour. Invite around your true friends, break out
the best glasses and then carefully open your first delicately cooled
bottle, without disturbing the sediment on the bottom. Pour carefully
into each glass, filling them all in one delicate movement, again so
as not to disturb the sediment. Sit back, raise your glass in a toast
and sip this delightful ambrosia. Revel in the complements and
congratulations of your friends, for they are truly deserved. And
think of the coming Spring and the fifteen gallons that you plan to
brew.
Good luck!!!
Friday, June 27, 2008
What Kind of Witch Are You?
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What Kind of Modern Tradition Witch Are You? created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Hedgewitch A Witch who combines many elements of Traditional Witchcraft and Nature Witchcraft, as well as Shamanism and healing, with a more rural tone to their practise.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Herbal Superstitions A to Z
generating hopes of defeating the forces of evil, and of influencing
one’s own fate.” —Iona Opie and Moira Tatem, A Dictionary
of Superstitions.
It was once believed that an acorn placed on a windowsill
guarded a house against fires and damage caused by lightning
strikes. This superstition can be traced back to the old Norse
legend that the great god Thor once sheltered from a thunderstorm
under a mighty oak tree.
Adder’s Tongue
The British once believed that adder’s tongue gathered
during the waning of the moon possessed the power to cure
adder bites and, according to David Pickering’s Dictionary of
Superstitions, countered “other evils associated with snakes.”
Agrimony
According to a rhyme found in a medieval medical manuscript,
“If it [agrimony] be leyd under a man’s head, he shall sleep as if he were dead. He shall never drede nor waken, till
from under his head it be taken.”
Almond
According to the ancient Roman author Pliny, the eating
of five nuts from an almond tree before drinking wine will
work to prevent drunkenness!
If success in your business ventures is what you desire, one
way to attain this (in addition to hard work) is to climb to the
top of an almond tree, so sayeth an old legend from Asia.
Angelica
Associated with Saint Michael the Archangel, angelica was
once thought to dispel lustful thoughts and protect against
sorcery, the Black Death, attacks by rabid and venomous beasts,
and a wide variety of illnesses.
Apple Tree
If the sun shines on Christmas morning and rain falls on
Saint Swithin’s Day (July 15th), these are both a good omen
that the apple orchards will yield a bountiful crop the following
season. To ensure that an apple tree bears fruit for many
years, an old custom from Germany is for the first fruit of the
season to be consumed by a woman who has bore many children.
There exist a number of death omens related to apple trees.
For instance, if there should be a single apple left on a tree
after the rest of the crop has been picked at harvesting time
and it does not fall to the ground before the arrival of the
following spring, the family upon whose land the apple tree
stands will lose one of its loved ones to the Angel of Death.
Interestingly, it is an old Pagan custom in some parts of the world to deliberately leave one apple on the tree at harvesting
time as an offering to the spirits. Beware of apple trees that
blossom out of season (particularly in the fall), for they are
said to presage a death in the family.
Unicorns, according to Pagan folklore, often dwell beneath
apple (and ash) trees. Every so often, one or more of these
magnificent magickal creatures can be observed eating or wandering
about in an apple orchard, especially in the wee morning
hours when the countryside is shrouded in a ghostly mist.
Other apple superstitions are as follows: Eating an apple a
day is said to “keep the doctor away.” Wassailing apple trees
on Twelfth Night keeps all manners of evil spirits at bay. Cutting
down an apple orchard is said by some to bring bad luck,
and many Pagan folks in Norway once believed that by eating
apples they could attain “immortality through wisdom.” According
to an issue of Notes and Queries from the year 1862, “a
good apple year is a great year for twins.”
Rubbing an apple before eating it is an old method to
ensure that the fruit will be free of any evil spirits or demonic
entities. Some superstitious folks still believe that if you eat an
apple without first rubbing or washing it, you invite the devil
to dine with you.
Blackberry
In England, it was once believed that bad luck would befall
anyone who dared to pick the fruit of the blackberry plant
after the 11th day of October (the old
date of the Christian’s Feast of Michaelmas).
Legend has it that on this day many
eons ago the devil fell into a thorny blackberry
thicket and laid a curse upon the
plant.
Broom
The broom has long been regarded as a plant of ill omen,
and unluckiest during the month of May. To sweep the house
with blossomed broom in May (or even to bring it into the
house) is said to “sweep the head of the house away.” In England,
it was once believed that the whipping of a young boy
with a branch of green broom would result in the stunting of
his growth.
Daffodil
If the very first daffodil you lay your eyes upon in the
spring or summer hangs its head towards you, this is said to
be an omen of bad luck for the remainder of the year. This
herbal superstition, which is centuries old, continues to live
on in many parts of Great Britain.
Garlic
The legendary power of garlic to keep bloodthirsty vampires
and all evil spirits at bay is known throughout much of
the world. However, some say that only garlic gathered in the
month of May can be truly effective for this purpose.
According to an old legend popular among Christians,
the first garlic sprang up in the spot where the Devil’s left foot
stepped when he left the Garden of Eden. In the spot where
his right foot stepped, sprang the first onion.
Garlic is said to be able to absorb the diseases of both man
and beast, as well as to trap and destroy negative vibrations and
evil influences within cursed or haunted dwellings. (Interestingly,
onions are accredited with having the same powers.)
Hawthorn
Also known as hagthorn (due to its long association with
Witches), the hawthorn is a very magickal tree that is said to
be sacred to the Pagan deities Cardea, Flora, and Hymen. In
England it was once believed that the hawthorn was one of the
three trees most sacred to the fairy-folk (the others being the
oak and the ash).
It is customary for many modern Witches to decorate their
Beltane altars and May poles with hawthorn. In ancient times,
many a superstitious soul believed that hawthorns were actually
Witches in disguise. Many Witches were thought to have
been able to transform themselves into trees at will by means
of magickal spells, or (according to Christians) through the
aid of the devil. Others were said to have danced so wildly
around the hawthorns in their frenzied rites that they permanently
became as one with the tree.
Take care not to sit beneath the boughs of a hawthorn tree
on Halloween (the time of year when the invisible veil between
the human and supernatural realms is thinnest), otherwise,
you may fall under a fairy enchantment. Cutting down a
hawthorn tree is said to greatly anger the fairies, and therefore
brings the worst of luck to the one who fells it.
There exist contradicting legends concerning the bringing
of hawthorn blossoms into the house. One holds that the
blossoms are beneficial, offering the household protection
against evil, sorcery, and lightning. Another claims that they
are extremely unlucky and may even bring about a death in
the family.
Hellebore
Since medieval times, it has been believed that bad luck
awaits those who pick the black hellebore. White hellebore flowers, on the other hand, were once believed to cure madness,
promote intelligence, and protect against epileptic seizures,
leprosy, miscarriages, and attacks by rabid animals.
Long ago, many farmers blessed their cattle with hellebore
to protect them against sorcery, and it was for this purpose that
the plant was dug up with certain mystical rites. In The Complete
Book of Herbs by Kay N. Sanecki, it is said that “a circle was
described with the point of a sword around the plant, and then
prayers were offered while the black roots were lifted.”
Some farmers still believe that a good harvest is portended
whenever a hellebore plant bears four tufts. However, it is believed
to be an extremely bad sign should it bear only two.
This portends a crop failure in the near future.
Holly
Known by many names, including “bat’s
wings” and “Christ’s thorn,” the holly is a plant
strongly connected to the Yuletide season and
highly valued by Witches for its magickal and
divinatory powers. It was once believed to safeguard
a house and its inhabitants against lightning
strikes, evil entities, hauntings, and black magick when
planted near the dwelling.
Carrying a wand or walking stick made of holly wood will
prevent you from falling victim to all hexes and bewitchments,
according to occult folklore.
To avoid bad luck, be sure never to bring holly into your
house prior to Christmas Eve. However, not having holly in
your house at all on Christmas Day is said to conjure the worst
of luck for all members of the family.
It is supposed to be very unlucky to step on a holly berry,
cut down a holly tree, sweep a chimney with holly, or burn discarded holly boughs, which some folks believe invites the
Angel of Death to claim a member of the family.
The so-called “male” variety of holly (with prickly leaves)
brings good luck to all persons of the male gender; while the
“female” variety (with smooth leaves) brings good luck to all of
the fairer sex.
An old Christian legend holds that the cross on which
Jesus Christ was crucified was made of holly wood, and it was
the blood of Christ that gave the holly berry its deep red color.
It is said that lightning will never strike a holly tree nor
anyone who stands under the branches of one during a storm.
It was a widespread belief in the Middle Ages that the
holly possessed miraculous curative powers. Pricking or thrashing
the feet with holly and then walking barefoot in the snow
was once thought to cure chilblains (an inflammatory swelling
caused by cold and poor circulation). Another old method
for treating chilblains was to rub the ashes of burnt holly berries
upon the afflicted areas. To prevent a fever, scratch your
legs with a holly branch; and to ease a whooping cough, drink
a bit of fresh milk out of a cup or bowl made of holly wood.
Houseleek
In many parts of Great Britain it is still believed that houseleeks
growing on the outside walls and/or roof of a house bring
phenomenal good luck to all inhabitants of the dwelling. However,
should you purposely or accidentally cut down a houseleek,
you will suffer a streak of bad luck, especially where your
house is concerned.
Houseleeks are also said to protect a house against lightning
strikes, fire, and tempests. For this reason, it is traditional
for many folks upon moving into a new home to plant
them as close to the house as possible before doing anything else. It is also very common for many Welsh families who dwell
within thatch-roofed cottages to plant houseleeks upon their
rooftops for good luck.
Hydrangea
According to old English folklore, the hydrangea is an
unlucky plant for young ladies who wish to find a husband.
Persons who allow the plant to grow near their houses (especially
close to the front door) are said to curse their daughters
with a lonely life of spinsterhood.
Ivy
Some people believe that bringing an ivy plant into the
house also brings in bad luck. Picking a leaf from an ivy plant
growing on the wall of a church will cause you to fall ill. Even
worse, should the ivy growing on the wall of a house suddenly
wither and die for no apparent reason, this is said to indicate that
a death will occur in that household within a very short time.
Leaves
If the wind should blow leaves of any type into your house,
this is said to be a very lucky omen. Catching a falling autumn
leaf before it reaches the ground also brings good luck, and
some people claim that for every leaf you catch you will have a
day filled with good luck. Another superstition holds that if
you secretly make a wish as you catch a falling leaf on Halloween,
it will surely come true for you. And yet another leaf-catching
superstition promises 12 consecutive months
of good luck and happiness for those who catch
12 falling leaves in the month of October.
Mandrake
It was once believed that mandrake plants were inhabited
by dark-skinned supernatural beings known as mandragoras
(“man-dragons”), which were mischievous by nature and often
called upon to aid sorcerers and sorceresses in the practice
of their craft.
A legend dating back to medieval times claims that when
a mandrake plant is pulled from the ground, it emits an earpiercing
scream and begins to sweat droplets of blood. Legend
also has it that any person whose ears were unfortunate enough
to hear the plant’s shriek would either be driven to madness or
suffer an agonizing death. How this legend came to be is somewhat
of a mystery, but it was nevertheless well known throughout
Europe and even prompted many practitioners of sorcery
to use dogs to uproot their mandrakes as a safety precaution.
One interesting theory concerning the origin of the shrieking
mandrake legend can be found in Richard Lucas’ The Magic
of Herbs in Daily Living:
“Tests conducted by Sir Janghadish showed that a plant
pulled up by the roots suffers tremendous shock, comparable
to that of a person beaten into insensibility. This immediately
calls to mind the legend of the screaming mandrake. Perhaps
the myth originated when some person here and there with
mediumistic ability tore a mandrake from the ground and psychically
sensed the plant’s torment and anguish. Such an experience
would have excited profound emotions of horror in
the mind of the psychic, especially if the person was a timid
soul or one whose psychic faculties had just emerged for the
first time. It is not difficult to understand that in some instances
the shock could have caused insanity or heart failure.”
Mistletoe
In order to be effective in magickal spells, mistletoe must
be cut with a single stroke of a gold sickle on the Summer
Solstice, the Winter Solstice, or the sixth day after the new
moon. Take care not to let the plant touch the earth, lest it be
rendered magickally impotent.
This old Pagan custom originated with the priestly caste
of the Celts, who believed that mistletoe found growing on
oak trees possessed the power to heal as well as to promote
fertility and protect against all manner of evil.
The Druids believed that it was necessary to appease the
gods by sacrificing a pair of white bulls during their mistletoecutting
ritual.
Also known in earlier times as all heal, devil’s fuge, golden
bough, and Witches’ broom, the mistletoe is said to be sacred
to the Pagan deities Apollo, Freya, Frigga, Odin, and Venus.
According to old Pagan herb lore, mistletoe works well to
ward off lightning strikes and storms when hung from the
chimney or over the doors and windows of a dwelling.
Fairies are also said to be repelled by the sight and smell of
mistletoe, a belief that unquestionably gave birth to the old
custom of placing a sprig of the plant inside a child’s cradle.
With the protective power of the mistletoe working for them,
parents who once feared that their children might be stolen by
fairies and replaced with changelings could rest easier at night.
In England it was once believed that if a young woman
failed to be kissed beneath a sprig of yuletide mistletoe before
her wedding day, she would be forever unable to bear children.
Likewise, unable to father children would be the fate of
any man who never kissed beneath the yuletide mistletoe while
in his bachelorhood.
Many people continue to cling to the old belief that cutting
down any mistletoe-bearing tree is a most unlucky thing
to do. Some individuals who have done so are said to have met
with a violent death as a result. But whether such strange and
deadly occurrences are actually the effects of an ancient Druid
curse at work or merely odd coincidences, we may never know
for sure.
power against witchcraft, and the illusion of Sathan [Satan], and
for that purpose, use to hang a piece thereof at their children’s neckes.”
—J. Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum, 1640.
Molukka Bean
The Molukka bean (or nut) is a variety of nut native to the
Molukka Islands, and popular as an amulet in the Western
Isles of Scotland (where they often wash ashore). When worn
about the neck, a white Molukka bean is said to turn black to
indicate the presence of a sorcerer or a person possessing the
evil eye. Some people believe that Molukka beans guard against
death in childbirth and drowning.
Moonwort
In the Middle Ages, it was popularly believed among the
peasantry of Europe that the fern known as moonwort possessed
the power to open or break locks, loosen iron nails, and
unshoe horses that tread upon it. An even more curious superstition
surrounding the moonwort holds that woodpeckers can
acquire the strength to pierce iron if they rub their beaks upon
a leaf of this plant. How this bizarre belief entered into the
annals of herblore is a mystery.
Mugwort
Sacred to the Pagan goddesses Artemis and Diana, the
mugwort is a significant magickal herb and one with many
connections to occult folklore.
According to an ancient tradition, a mugwort plant must
be picked on the eve of a Summer Solstice in order for its
magickal properties to be properly activated. Christians in the
Middle Ages seldom pulled a mugwort from the soil of the
earth without first making the sign of the cross to ward off any
evil spirits that might have taken up residence within the plant.
A small “coal” (said to be actually “old acid roots”) found
in the ground beneath the roots of a mugwort plant is reputed
to be one of the most powerful of all natural amulets. However,
occult tradition holds that unless the mugwort plant is
uprooted at noon or midnight on St. John’s Eve, the “coal”
found beneath it shall be without amuletic value.
For those lucky enough to unearth such a treasure, a
mugwort’s “coal” will offer protection against all “venomous
beasts,” ward off evil and sorcery, heal all ills (including madness
and the plague), inspire feelings of lust in the frigid, bring
fertility to those cursed with barrenness, and induce prophetic
dreams (especially pertaining to future marriage partners) when
placed under a pillow at bedtime.
And eat muggons [mugwort] in May,
So many fine maidens
Would go not to the clay.”
—An old Scottish rhyme.
Peas
It is a good luck sign to find a peapod containing nine
peas, and an even luckier one to come across one containing a
single pea. If you make a wish while throwing a pod of nine
peas over your right shoulder, the chances are
good that your wish will come true (but only if
you do not repeat it to anyone). It was once
believed that a wart could be cured by rubbing
it with a pod of nine peas while reciting a
special incantation.
Seeds
It was once believed that to accidentally leave any earth
unsown in a field brought upon a death in the family before
the end of the year, or, depending on the local legend, before
the crop is reaped. An old Scottish farming superstition holds
that if the weather prevents the sowing of seed after a farmer
has taken it out to the field, this is a grim omen.
Shrew-Ash
Centuries ago, it was common in rural England for a live
shrew-mouse to be imprisoned within the split trunk of an
ash tree and left there to suffocate or starve to death, thus
giving the tree incredible magickal powers. Such a tree was
known as a “shrew-ash” and its branches and leaves were believed
to possess the miraculous powers to heal both man and
beast of a wide variety of ailments, including shrew bites.
Willow
In some parts of England it is still believed that willow
wood should never be burned on Bonfire Night. To do so invites bad luck. Driving a horse with a stick of willow brings on a
stomach ache, while swatting a child or animal with one stunts
their growth.
Willow trees have long been valued for their natural ability
to protect against sorcery and the evil eye, and some individuals
believe that touching them ensures good luck. However,
never reveal a secret beneath a willow, otherwise your secrets
will be repeated by the wind.
Wood Betony
According to Penelope Ody in The Complete Medicinal
Herbal, wood betony was the most important herb among the
Anglo-Saxons, who found at least 29 medicinal uses for it. She
also suggests that wood betony was “possibly the most popular
amulet herb, used well into the Middle Ages to ward off
evil or ill humors.” A ninth century Saxon work called Herbarium
Apuleii says that wood betony “is good whether for a
man’s soul or his body; it shields him against visions and
dreams.” Other popular herbs in Saxon times were mugwort,
plantain, vervain, and yarrow, which were used in numerous
internal remedies, but most commonly employed as an amulet.
From: Herbal Magick A Witch’s Guide to Herbal Folklore and Enchantments
