by Ellen Dugan
The Mysteries of Earth and Sky
I say the whole earth and all
the stars in the sky are for religion’s sake.
walt whitman
As we’ve discovered in this chapter, there are always new magickal lessons available to a seeker if they just look hard enough. Sometimes you have to get outside, hunker down, and make a thorough study of the plants and trees that surround you to gain access to those hidden lessons of nature. And occasionally, those of us who spend a lot of time in the world of plants and herbs need to remember to turn our gaze heavenwards and to silently contemplate the stars. For the stars are also a part of nature, and they have enchanting lessons for us as well. We all need a gentle reminder, now and then, that all of nature is indeed interconnected.
[contents]
Chapter 10
Magickal Herbalism:
The Green Craft of the Witch
Learn of the green world what can be thy place,
In scaled invention or true artistry …
ezra pound
The green craft of the Witch is a practical expression of spirituality. It centers on each individual magickal practitioner’s personal relationship—their own intuitive communication and interaction—with the natural world. After reading through all the previous chapters
in this book, I sincerely hope that you now feel inspired and are raring to go and interact with nature. As Witches, this interconnectedness is essential for us.
Only you can choose to participate and to be present in your own religion. To do this, you must stay connected to the earth. As the children of the Lord and Lady, it is our privilege and our duty to care for the earth and to tend it well. Consider that the next time you are debating whether or not you want to log off the Internet or get up to go outside.
As I first suggested to readers in Garden Witchery, take a walk around your neighborhood, get some exercise, and really look at the trees, flora, and fauna that live nearby. See how many varieties of plants you can identify. What types of trees are indigenous to your area? What types of flowers and shrubs thrive in your neighborhood? Pay attention to the symbols and signs that are all around you in nature. Acknowledging these messages will help to heal your heart, and it will bring forth the magickal healer within you. Lastly, be open to all the possibilities of the natural world and green magick; they are an incredible source of wisdom. Change is the purpose of all magick, no matter what the theme of the spellwork. Imagine how much transformation you will allow into your life when you rejoice in the ever-changing natural world and your magickal connection to all of it.
There are seven classic themes of magickal work: harmony, health, love, happiness, peace, abundance, and protection. Each of these classifications, or genres, of enchantment is complementary with herbal magick (as you’ve seen by the variety of herbal spells that were presented within this book). The next step in your green journey is to roll up your sleeves and to get your hands dirty. Experiment with herbal magick, learn your basic correspondences, and make up your mind to grow your own herbs in pots and containers or in the garden. If you truly want to be connected to the natural world, then you have to be willing to enter it. To be a green practitioner, you simply must go outside and connect with nature.
Consider this a “Mystery” of the Craft, if you like. You must spend time outside in the natural world. It’s not enough just to collect books on herbalism, you must practice the craft to become proficient. Where do you start? Well, you could plant a tree, start a community garden, grow a pot full of colorful and enchanting flowers, grow culinary herbs on a sunny deck or porch, or create a magickal garden of herbs, vegetables, and flowers in the yard. Just get out there! Try your hand at growing plants and tending to your garden. Yes, there is a lot of work preparing the soil, planting the herbs and flowers, watering, weeding, and pruning. However, it never fails to soothe the soul.
Each day spent in the garden will show you something new. Imagine all the insects, birds, and animals that live in the garden; they have enchantment as well. What do you suppose you would discover if you immersed yourself in the natural world? How much more potent do you imagine your magick would be if you used herbal ingredients that you have grown and tended to yourself? I can tell you from personal experience that those home-grown herbs and magickal flowers become extremely powerful tools in a Green Witch’s hands.
And if you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. After all, your energy, love, and personal power has seeped into the herb every time you touched the plant. When you care for them, water and feed them, a connection grows between you and the plant. The plants thrive in your care and also soak up sunshine and moon magick from each lunar phase. Eventually, as you go to harvest a few leaves and blossoms for your magick, the plant happily passes on all of that energy to you. As you are its caretaker, in a very real way you become a magickal partner with the plant. You have cared for the plant and tended it well, and now it happily tends to your spells and magick in return.
Herbal Magick
and Lunar Enchantments
Know the green good,
Under the prayer-wheeling moon in the rosy wood
Be shielded by chant and flower and gay may you
Lie in grace.
dylan thomas
Herbal magick works at its best when it is performed in harmony with the coordinating days of the week and the complementary lunar phases. As the days of the week were discussed in chapter 9, now would be a good time to go over lunar phases and their uses in herbal magick. I bet you were wondering when I was going to work my way around to combining lunar phases and herbal magick. No matter how many years you have been practicing, it never hurts to brush up on the basics. There are layers within the most elementary of topics. Combining moon magick with herbalism takes some practice, and the only way to become proficient at any craft is to get in there and practice until it becomes second nature to you.
First Quarter
(from the new moon to the waxing half-moon)
In herbal magick, the waxing moon is represented by a flower that is in bud. This phase is classically associated with the Maiden Goddess. Look to the western sky to see this moon set in the early evenings. This lunar phase is a magickal time of beginnings, growth, and creativity. As the moon grows fuller each night, this is the lunar phase that is used to pull positive changes toward you.
The waxing first quarter moon is the occasion to celebrate freedom, growth, the learning process, youth, health, and to acknowledge your inner potential. Now is the time to pull positive changes, new friendships, and job opportunities into your life, for as the moon grows larger, your magickal goals will manifest.
Second Quarter
(from the waxing half-moon to the full moon)
In herbal enchantments, this lunar phase may be symbolized as a flower bud that is halfway open. This phase is associated with the Goddess as a huntress, pathfinder, spell spinner, and creator. This week-long phase is ripe with potential. During this lunar phase, herbal spells will come to fruition swiftly, especially if they are straightforward and heartfelt. All of the magickal topics listed in the first quarter are complementary to this lunar period as well. This magickal lunar interlude is all about possibilities. Also, keep in mind that the closer you can cast your spells to the actual date of the full moon, the more power and oomph your enchantments and charms will have.
Full Moon
(the full moon phase lasts for three days:
the night before the full moon, the night of, and the night after)
In herbal magick, this phase is signified by a flower in full and glorious bloom. The full moon is associated with the Mother aspect of the Goddess. Here, the Goddess is the loving and fertile mother. She is wise, beautiful, generous, and compassionate.
The full moon is an all-purpose lunar phase, and the sky is the limit. Here are a few magickal topics that are
complementary to the full moon: spells to increase psychic powers, for health, wealth, abundance, protection of the home and job, fertility, pregnancy, family, home, marriage, and manifestation are best worked in this phase. Also, herbal spells and charms for passion, power, love, and life are complementary in this phase. The best magickal tip to remember is that the full moon is all about tapping into one of the biggest jolts of power that is available each month.
Third Quarter
(from the second night after the full moon to the waning half-moon)
In herbal magick, this may be symbolized as a blossom that is just starting to fade. Though that blossom is still lovely, now the energy of the plant turns inward. I associate this phase of the moon with the Goddess in her dark sorceress/bad-ass chick persona. When the moon begins to wane, it ushers in a powerful time of internal energy and an opportunity to quietly look within. This is also the best lunar phase to banish fears, to push away illness, and to smoothly dissolve relationships or friendships that you have outgrown.
Work magick in the third quarter to remove depression, disease, negativity, and any obstacles that you are facing. Now is also the time to carefully dissolve problems and to cast out troubles in the best way possible for all those concerned. Remember that as the moon wanes, so too will the situation or problem.
Fourth Quarter
(from the waning half-moon until the dark of the moon)
In herbal enchantments, this may be represented as a flower that has gone to seed. The flower appears to be declining, but in actuality it is setting seeds, ready to renew itself. As the moon becomes smaller in the evening sky, this time of the waning moon is associated with the Goddess as the wise and compassionate Crone. This is the lunar phase that is best employed to neutralize another person’s manipulative spells. It is also complementary for personal spellwork that releases old self-images and that works to drive out bad or unhealthy habits from your life. Cast your spells now to push away, to release, or to banish problems.
Magickally, now is the occasion to tackle serious issues such as extreme protection magick, bindings, banishings, and keeping away criminals, prowlers, or stalkers. Casting your spells in the final days of the moon’s cycle—when the moon is not visible at all—will increase the force behind your banishing and protective magick. This final phase of the moon is often linked to the darker aspects of the Crone Goddess, when she is a spiritual warrior.
Be Creative:
Thinking Outside of the Window Box
Bloom where you are planted.
familiar saying
A good way to look at herbal magick is to picture it as a magickal toolbox. Inside of this box, you have your herbs and botanicals and your creativity. So now it is up to you to select the appropriate herb and combine that with your personal power and creativity and then bring forth a positive magickal change.
The best way to begin this process is to know your basics. Using a good basic (non-magickal) herb reference guide will be most beneficial. I prefer herb books with color photographs of the entire plant—root, stem, leaf, fruit, and flower. Also, start a gardener’s journal and keep notes on your herbs and your magickal gardens. You can plan out future container gardens or plot out a new garden bed in this notebook. Gather little snippets of herb information from gardening magazines and paste them in. Make it colorful, creative, and uniquely yours, because this is a tool that you will refer to often as you practice your magickal herbalism.
When it comes to physical tools such as a gathering knife or basket, select yours carefully and with intention. You will need a gathering basket, a sickle or garden shears, a mortar and pestle, glass jars for herb storage, labels, and an herb-drying rack. Some Witches do prefer to bundle their herbs together, hang them upside down, and allow them to air-dry. There is just something quintessentially witchy about the image of bundles of aromatic herbs drying from the ceiling!
Garden Witch Tip: To avoid the mess that hanging herbs can make and to protect the flowers from dust and the fading effects of sunlight, try this clever tip. Once the herbs are bundled together, take a simple brown paper lunch bag and cover the herbs with it, leaving the open end at the stem section of the bundle. Now fasten it loosely closed. This way, the herbs are protected from sunlight, air gets in, and if anything drops off the bundle during the drying process, it stays neatly within the bag. You may hang the bag-covered bundle in an out-of-the-way part of the house that has some air circulation such as the garage or basement. I don’t recommend drying bundled herbs in the closet—there is no air moving around, and this may promote mold. For more information on tools of the herb magick trade, please refer to my book Herb Magic for Beginners.
Herbal Spell and
Green Magick Worksheet
(use this as a template to help you with your spells)
O who can tell
The hidden power of herbs and might of magic spell?
edmund spenser, the faerie queene
When you compose your own herbal spells and green magick, you may find it helpful to use a spell worksheet, which I will personally admit to using all the time. This way, you are plotting out the course of your magick and getting organized beforehand, because nothing blows the mood faster than having to stop working on your spell to go and gather a few missing components or supplies.
Spell Worksheet
Goal: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Moon Phase: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Day of the Week: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Astrological/ Magickal Symbols Used: _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Candle Color (if you add candle magick): ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Herbs Used: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Magickal Significance of the Herbs: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Crystals or Stones Used and Their Associations: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charm or Verse: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Results: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Finding Your Path
in the Green World
I walk unseen
On the dry smooth-shaven green,
To behold the wandering moon
Riding near her highest noon …
john milton
At this point in your studies, you may be wondering what is next, and honestly, that is completely up to you. This herbal was designed to take a deeper look at botanicals, herbs, and green magick. Looking back at the topics covered, we have accomplished that, but now comes the tough part. You have to put down the book and dive into the gardens and the green world. Come on, you can do it. Get off the Internet for a while, and play outside! Remember when you were a child and your mother rousted you out of the house and told you to go outside and play? Well, that’s a good thing. As Witches, we should be happiest when we are out and about in the natural world.
I don’t expect you to step out your front door and be greeted by the babbling of a brook and the soft murmur of the forest; I expect you to work with what you have. For example, I live and practice my craft in the suburbs of the Midwestern United States. My family and I live in a mid-century ranch-style house, and there is a busy neighborhood street at the end of my front yard. However, to soften that, there are perennials, shrubs, flowers, and trees all over our front, back, and side yards. We put up a privacy fence, landscaped our little hearts out, and lavishly planted perennials and blooming shrubs.
This helped to create our own little magickal oasis right smack in the middle of the city. I assure you, not only does this green magick work, it works very well. Has it always been easy? No. We have dealt with our tragedies and triumphs, too. Sometimes nature is a bitch, and you learn to deal with whatever dramas she dishes out—for the only thing constant in nature is change, and sometimes you have to adapt to that change and discover along the way what new spiritual lessons there are to learn.
