Garden Witchery

by Ellen Dugan

  At home, my sacred garden space is the entire side yard. The side yard is surrounded by a six-foot privacy fence and shielded at one end by large maple trees. This area incorporates the back patio, shade gardens, the rose arbor, and a small fountain. At the other end of the side yard is a full sun exposure area. This flower bed runs along the entire length of our house.

  In this sunny bed, I have roses and many of my magickal “sunny” herbs growing all crammed in together, cottage style, such as lamb’s ears, tall Russian sage, rue, several varieties of yarrow, coneflowers, phlox, feverfew, and balloon flowers. A pink clematis, growing up the corner section of the privacy fence, frames the garden gate and then peeks over the top of the fence.

  Even though we have gardens that surround the house, it is here in my “working space” that guests are always drawn to. With all of the magickal work that I and my family have done in the garden over the years, it definitely carries a mystical energy all of its own.

  I want to point out that your personal sacred space does not have to take up an entire section of your yard. I have magickal friends who use their front porches or apartment decks as their outdoor sacred space. They arrange hanging baskets, containers, and pots of magickal herbs and flowers about their porch or deck. Then they add accessories like a little table and a comfortable lawn chair.

  My friend Amy uses a cushioned wicker love seat and a matching small coffee table to set a candle and her other magickal supplies onto. Her little back deck is her personal sacred space. She loves it out there. Some nights after her two kids go to bed, she grabs a glass of wine, heads out to the deck, and sits there in solitary splendor, reading, relaxing, or performing her magick.

  Large or small, the size of your personal sacred garden space does not matter. You do not require an elaborate setup. Go with what you have. I may have a large sacred space in the side yard, but I usually choose a specific small spot for my spellcasting. When the roses bloom in May, I sit under the rose arbor. During the hot summer months, I work in the shade garden. On nights of the full moon, I stand in the middle of my “full sun exposure” flower beds and cast my spells. No one can see me out there. I am hidden behind the privacy fence, and this particular garden faces southeast and gives me an unrestricted view of the rising moon. Sometimes I simply sit in the grass in the middle of the garden and drag a small table over next to me, to set a candle or two on.

  Some garden witches might set up at the backyard picnic table and keep an eye on their little ones while they run around the yard. You could toss down a blanket and sit on the ground, next to a favorite blooming shrub. Or perform your magick quietly under a tree. Again, it is how it feels to you that is the important thing. Ideally, you want to be comfortably surrounded by nature. On the porch, deck, or in the backyard, garden witches adapt to their environment and go where the magick of nature leads them.

  Setting Up Your Sacred Space

  To set up your sacred space, mark your four cardinal directions or points. If you need to use a compass, then do so. Otherwise put your back to the rising sun one morning and hold your arms straight out to your sides. You will look like a human letter T. Here is how you mark out your cardinal points. Your back is meeting the east. Your left arm is the south. Your nose points the way to the west, and your right arm is facing the north. Get it? You could make yourself a set of permanent garden markers to help you remember where the directions are. Try using small decorative rocks or polished stones.

  You may mark each cardinal point with the stone or some other type of natural garden accent. Try painting four smooth stones to use as quarter markers. Paint one green for the element of earth and the direction north; yellow for the element of air and the east; red for fire and the south; and lastly, blue for the element of water and the direction west. Then place these markers in the appropriate spots to designate your sacred space.

  Don’t like the idea of using a rock as a marker? How about a separate container garden to mark each of the four quarters instead? Here’s an idea . . . all red flowers, like salvia or cockscomb, grown in a container for the southern quarter. This would represent the element of fire beautifully. The flame-shaped blossoms and the hot color would be complementary to this quarter’s energies.

  Other colors of plants and flowers that you could incorporate might be earthy green foliage and ferns for the north. Blues and purples for the watery west, and airy and soft yellow and white flowers for the east. What other kinds of flowers or herbs do you imagine you could use?

  As long as we are discussing the four quarters and the elements, let’s add a natural representation for each of the four elements as well. This will enhance your garden and your natural magick, as it will help you to link more closely into each of the four magickal elements.

  For earth, you could incorporate stones and crystals. To acknowledge the element of air, you could set out a few fallen feathers that you have collected. To announce and celebrate the breeze as it blows through your garden, hang up a set of wind chimes, or you could place a bird feeder in the eastern quarter. For the element of fire, try garden lanterns or candles, or perhaps some decorative garden lighting. Finally, the element of water could be represented by a small fountain or a water feature, such as a bird bath or even a small saucer filled with water for the birds to drink from. Encourage the birds, squirrels, and beneficial insects to live in your garden. Make it a happy and safe haven for them and for you.

  Now that you have your sacred space all set up (or at least planned out), we should supply you with some spells and charms for this occasion. This elemental trio of charms is to be used to designate your new sacred garden space and to bless your magickal garden and plants. Note: If you prefer, you may also use the “Faery Blessing” charm from chapter 7.

  Blessings for the Garden

  Announcing Sacred Space

  I call the Spirits of Nature, the Great Mother and Father.

  Assist me now, by the powers of earth, air, fire, and water.

  Merge your magick with mine, circle around this place,

  As we now announce the creation of a sacred garden space.

  Blessing of the Elements

  Come water, earth, fire, and wind,

  To me, your sacred powers lend.

  This garden of mine is now sacred space,

  By the elements four, I bless this place.

  A Garden Blessing

  Through the seasons of rain, sun, and snow,

  May these plants and herbs happily grow.

  Winter to spring and summer to fall,

  Lord and Lady, bless them one and all.

  The things that all sacred garden spaces have in common are they are outside, so magickal herbs and plants are close at hand. The sacred space has a working area—a place to sit and a small table or safe surface to work on. The four elements are somehow represented. And finally, the sacred space is consecrated, blessed, and relatively private.

  Even if it may be bare bones in your yard right now, don’t be discouraged. It’s okay, you have plenty of time and opportunity to build that garden. Instead, think of the possibilities! Come up with a plan. Decide what you can do yourself to improve your landscape and future magickal garden over the next few years. Start small, with an eye on expanding the garden’s boundaries outward later on.

  . . . with silver bells and cockle shells

  and pretty maids all in a row.

  Mother Goose

  How Does Your Magick Garden Grow?

  I want to make very clear to you that my gardens did not just poof! appear suddenly overnight. It took several years to accomplish what we have today. The gardens are always evolving and changing. Gardeners, both magickal and mundane, are forever learning and trying something new in the yard. My family and I transplant or thin out some perennials every spring and we move things around occasionally. I like to try new
plant varieties from time to time. Show me a gardener who doesn’t.

  Does everything I plant turn out splendidly? No, not always. I make mistakes too. Sometimes you pat yourself on the back, amazed at your own cleverness, and now and then you make a bad plant choice and then you ruthlessly pull things out.

  For example, I ripped out most of my side yard’s sunny bed two years ago this spring, as it had been overtaken by evening primrose. Evening primrose is a lovely perennial that makes lots of pink blooms and tolerates poor soils. It is, however, extremely aggressive and can overtake a bed in a few years. In my case they were starting to choke out some of my other magickal perennials.

  So, faced with an all-out perennial war, I checked the almanac and timed my transplanting down with a waning moon. We dug out all but my biggest perennials and set them in the shade. Then I had my oldest son go through the bed and around the big perennials with a rototiller. My neighbors thought I was crazy, ripping into the garden that way. But it needed it. We raked and pulled out all of the offending primrose. I then amended the soil with compost and humus. My husband, son, and I divided up the phlox, yarrow, and coneflowers and transplanted these and my other perennials back into the improved bed all in the same day. To finish, we watered them in well by hand. (I didn’t want a sprinkler to beat them all down.) Later that evening, I went outside and checked on the newly transplanted plants. A few needed more water. So I gave them all a drink again and blessed the garden so our plants would thrive.

  I was rewarded with a happy, healthy cottage garden that year. The following summer the coneflowers grew heartily and the purple garden phlox grew five feet tall. No kidding. I have pictures of my daughter standing next to the phlox. They are almost as tall as she is. During the months of June and July, as the phlox bloomed, the garden was fabulously scented. It was especially fragrant at night and it looked and felt like a faery tale out there. Amazing what a little hard work combined with magick can accomplish, isn’t it?

  I have caught hold of the earth,

  to use a gardener’s phrase,

  and neither friends nor my enemies

  will find it an easy matter

  to transplant me again.

  Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke

  Digging In

  Wow, we really have dug in good, haven’t we? Let’s see. . . we talked about turning back into the rhythms and tides of nature. We went over mystic plants and trees, and discovered that magickal herbs and plants are to be found everywhere and are easy for the average homeowner to grow. We used our time constructively while looking at astrological timing and gardening by the moon. We greeted the Goddess and reviewed deities that correspond to nature, the moon signs, and phases for gardening. We delved into antique flower folklore and talked about the joys and risks of working with nature spirits and the faeries. We covered ideas for garden witch crafts and creating a garden witch’s BOS. We even went over suggestions for natural family sabbat celebrations. Finally, we plotted and planned out ideas for creating and consecrating outdoor magickal gardens and sacred spaces.

  Well, what could possibly be left? Only the toughest part of your training: committing some basic herbal knowledge to memory. Transplanting your new herbal knowledge into your spellwork. And, finally, creating your own garden witch spells and rhymes.

  Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look,

  The fields his study, Nature was his book.

  Robert Bloomsfield

  Hitting the Books

  It’s time to hit the books. Visit the library and start reading up on the topics of perennials, general gardening, and herbs. It is very much worth your time. Watch the clearance tables at the larger bookstores. Occasionally you will find a great bargain on a gardening book or two. Talk to other gardeners, and see which books are their favorites. A few good reference books are vital for any research. A handful of the books that I would recommend for your herbal and magickal reference shelf are as follows:

  Herbs by Lesley Bremness (DK Books, 2000).

  Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham (Llewellyn, 1985).

  Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal and Gem Magic by Scott Cunningham (Llewellyn, 1992).

  Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise by Scott Cunningham (Llewellyn, 1982).

  The Women’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects by Barbra Walker (Castle Books, 1988).

  An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present by Doreen Valiente (Phoenix Publishing, 1973). This is an excellent all-around reference book.

  The Witches’ Way by Janet and Stewart Farrar (Phoenix Publishing, 1984). A definite, thoroughly British classic.

  Moon Magick by D. J. Conway (Llewellyn, 1995). If you are stumped for ideas or just want information and suggestions for specific deities, this is a fabulous book and one of my all-around favorites.

  Take a good look at these books. Now, have you ever noticed that most modern Pagan/ Wiccan authors have books by Scott Cunningham, Doreen Valiente, and the Farrars in their bibliographies? Think there might be a reason for that? If you have a modern magickal book that has really helped you or is one of your favorites, check that book’s bibliography. Then go track down those books. Dust off your library card and start researching. Think of it as a sort of quest, and it is. It’s a quest for knowledge.

  It is so easy to whimper and whine about a lack of advanced material, and so much harder to experiment and create your own. It will take time and effort and, besides, you need something to keep you busy on rainy days and during the long winter months anyway. (Don’t even tell me that you don’t know how.) Basic correspondence charts are everywhere. Refer to them until you get the rudiments of magick memorized.

  The resourceful garden witch is one that carefully researches various magickal traditions and pantheons and knows their basic magickal and herbal correspondences. That way they can quickly and easily design and cast spells of their own creation. The finest quarter calls, herbal spells, and flower charms are truly the ones that you invent yourself.

  To create a little flower is the labor of ages.

  William Blake

  Creating Your Own Style of Garden Witchery

  To rhyme or not to rhyme, that is the question. If you have trouble making your herbal charms and spells rhyme (and you don’t have a thirteen-year-old rhyming wizard living with you), go get yourself a rhyming dictionary. Keep your charms short, sweet, and uncomplicated. Don’t worry about trying to sound like Byron or Yeats. I like to think of the formula for creating spells that rhyme in a very elementary way—that old den mother adage of KISMIF, which stands for Keep It Simple, Make It Fun.

  At first, teaching myself to write herbal spells that rhymed made my stomach tie itself up into a knot. Who was I kidding? I’m not a poet. I made myself a nervous wreck trying to sound fluid and elegant. Then I realized I’m neither of those things. What I am is no-nonsense, slightly sarcastic, and funny. No matter how serious I try to be, the humor always sneaks back out. So I just made the charms and spells sound like me. That took the pressure off, and I began to enjoy the process. And, wonder of wonders, that turned the trick.

  Use your imagination. I’ve completely lost count of how many times I have suggested that to you. Look for inspiration everywhere, especially in nature. You may find yourself moved to create new quarter calls or spells in the most unusual places . . .

  While I was traipsing through the woods, vainly trying to keep up with my trout-fishing family this past summer, I was inspired to write a new set of quarter calls. At the time, I was finishing up the first draft of this book and realized that with all of my talk of herbal spells and charms, I had yet to include any circle castings. (How remiss of me.) I had the idea, rolling around in my head, to possibly write a circle casting that incorporated magickal flowers or herbs.

  Now, as you know, a complete quarter call generally inc
ludes a salute to each individual direction, a call to the coordinating element, and an invocation of that element’s specific qualities, such as west, water, love . . . following me so far?

  As I tagged along behind the family, admiring the wildflowers along the stream bank, I stopped to appreciate a gorgeous wild hydrangea in bloom. I then noticed a tough little cypress tree growing close by. He was next to a huge oak and then surrounded by lots of young oak trees, all growing in a circle. That got me to thinking . . . what about a circle call working with the magick of trees instead?

  As we hiked back to the cabin for lunch, I looked around at the various trees, growing wild in the park. After the meal, I sent the troops back out and I settled down alone with a note pad and wrote the following.

  This quarter call does indeed draw on trees and their magickal attributes. You will notice that there are coordinating times of day as well as directions and magickal correspondences. To perform this circle casting, start in the east. As you call each quarter, you will keep moving to each new direction to your right. Then move to the center to seal the circle.

  Circle of the Trees

  In the east, maple leaves rustle in the morning breeze,

  Element of air, I call for inspiration, join me now, please.

  In the south, the midday sun shines upon the mighty oak tree,

  I request the element of fire for strength and to illuminate me.

  In the west, the willow sways by the silver springs at twilight,

  Element of water, I call for love and the gift of second sight.

  In the north grows the cypress, tree of the midnight hour,

  Element of earth, grant me protection, wisdom, and power.