Articles — herbs

A sachet of leaves tucked under a pillow, a handful of berries strewn across a doorway: Herbal charms and remedies are one of the most familiar forms of magick. Herbal (“green”) witches keep elaborate pantries of herbal ingredients, each with a different power to enlighten or heal, bother or protect. (To be clear, we’re talking about the ritual use of herbs here, rather than the medicinal and psychoactive effects they can have on the human body.) But how, exactly, does herbal magick work? How does an unassuming pinch of bark or leaf become a partner in a magickal charm or...

Herbs, spices and incenses with the energy of Fire are a powerful addition to your magick. Fire helps to cleanse and consecrate, banish and protect. Fire is also the element of confidence and fast action--a crucial ingredient in a lot of spellwork. In writing about the elemental rulership of herbs, I've tried not just to make a list. I couldn't possibly list all the herbs on the planet, anyway.  Instead, I wanted to consider what traits cause a plant to belong to one category or another. (This article is the third in a four-part series: Also read about the herbal...

Magickal books often assign herbs and plants to one or more of the four classical elements. But have you ever wondered why herbs are attributed to one element or another? Water herbs revolve around healing, sensuality, and psychism. They tend to be useful for many types of workings. In case your herbal almanac is not close by, here are some common attributes of Watery plants.  Not all herbs of Water will have all of these traits, of course--but the more boxes you can check, the more likely the plant corresponds to Water.  (This article is the second in a four-part...

What types of plants are attributed to Air? Once you read this article, you won't need an almanac to find the Airy herbs in your garden or spice cabinet. Elemental correspondences are a factor in a lot of herbal magick. The assignment of plants and herbs to Earth, Air, Water, Fire (or a combination of these elements) can be traced back to medieval medicine. In pre-modern times, diseases were thought to be due to an imbalance in the four humours, ruled by the four elements. By ingesting or applying plants related to the proper element, herbal healers could attempt to...