Garden Witch's Herbal Read online

  About the Author

  Ellen Dugan, also known as the Garden Witch, is a psychic-clairvoyant who lives in Missouri with her husband and three children. A practicing Witch for over twenty-four years, Ellen also has many years of nursery and garden center experience, including landscape and garden design. She received her Master Gardener status through the University of Missouri and her local county extension office. Look for other articles by Ellen in Llewellyn’s annual Magical Almanac, Wicca Almanac, and Herbal Almanac. Visit her website at: www.ellendugan.com

  Llewellyn Publications

  Woodbury, Minnesota

  Copyright Information

  Garden Witch’s Herbal: Green Magick, Herbalism & Spirituality © 2009 by Ellen Dugan.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

  Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

  First e-book edition © 2012

  E-book ISBN: 9780738722191

  Book design and editing by Rebecca Zins

  Cover design by Ellen Dahl

  Cover image and interior illustrations © Jennifer L. Meyer

  Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

  Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

  Llewellyn Publications

  Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  2143 Wooddale Drive

  Woodbury, MN 55125

  www.llewellyn.com

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Acknowledgments

  For my friends—you know who you are. To my coven-mates, who cheered me on. Thanks for listening and for all your support. “Love ya—mean it!” A special thank-you goes to Mickie, Christy, and also to Jen, who gave up an entire Sunday afternoon to help me get the index together. We started out with soft drinks and switched to margaritas after an hour of listing items in alphabetical order—at least there were no quizzes this time, but we did have fun.

  With appreciation to Becky Zins, my editor. For acquisitions editor Elysia Gallo, who challenges me to improve and grow as a writer. Also a word of thanks to Nanette Stearns for her technical assistance and kindness, and to Lynne Menturweck for her superb art direction.

  Finally, to my husband, Ken, and to our three children, Kraig, Kyle, and Erin, with love.

  Contents

  List of Illustrations

  Introduction: New Lessons from the Oldest of Magick

  Chapter 1

  Conjuring a Garden with Heart

  Chapter 2

  Green Witchery in the City

  Chapter 3

  Magickal Plants of the Southwest

  Chapter 4

  Wildflowers and Witchery

  Chapter 5

  Magick in the Hedgerows

  Chapter 6

  Magick and Folklore of Trees

  Chapter 7

  Gothic Herbs and Forbidden Plants

  Chapter 8

  Herbs and Plants of the Sabbats

  Chapter 9

  Herbs of the Stars, 217

  Chapter 10

  Magickal Herbalism:

  The Green Craft of the Witch

  Glossary

  Bibliography

  Illustrations

  aconite

  alder

  alder buckthorn

  apple

  ash

  birch

  black hellebore

  black nightshade

  blackthorn

  bluebell

  butterfly weed

  common foxglove

  common gorse

  datura

  deadly nightshade

  desert four o’clock

  dog rose

  elder

  elderberry

  fly agaric

  gayfeather/liatris

  goldenrod

  hawthorn

  hazel

  hedge bindweed

  hemlock

  holly

  ivy

  jacob’s ladder

  lupin

  hawthorn

  moss rose

  mullein

  oak

  prairie anemone

  prairie rose

  prickly pear

  reed

  rosehips

  rowan

  rue

  sagebrush

  scarlet indian paintbrush

  shrubby cinquefoil

  skullcap

  spiderwort

  thistle

  tickseed coreopsis

  vine

  wild blackberry

  wild crab

  wild hyssop

  wild plum tree

  wild poppy

  wild yarrow

  willow

  wormwood

  yellow lady’s slipper

  yew

  yucca

  [contents]

  Introduction

  New Lessons from the

  Oldest of Magick

  But there are higher secrets of culture,

  which are not for the apprentices but for proficients.

  These are lessons only for the brave.

  ralph waldo emerson

  What is it about plants, trees, flowers, and the idea of green magick that continues to fascinate and bewitch us? Perhaps it is their timeless appeal or their captivating qualities. Magickal herbalism is a perennially popular magickal topic. Folks just can’t seem to get enough of

  that old green magick. Every spring when gardening season begins, Witches, Pagans, and common folk alike flock to the local greenhouses and garden centers, looking for the perfect additions to their magickal gardens. Perhaps they are searching for something new to try, or they are on the lookout for a prized variety of botanical that has eluded them for years. It is the thrill of the hunt and the spirit of the quest that inspires us all. I honestly believe that a deeper, more advanced study of green magick and magickal herbalism is a brilliant way to discover what new lessons the oldest magick can teach us.

  I define green magick as a practical, nature-based system of the Craft that focuses on a reverence for the natural world, the individual’s environment, and the plants and herbs that are indigenous to the practitioner’s own area. Herbal and natural magick are essential to green magick.

  No matter how long you have practiced your craft, be it months, years, or decades, there is a real need to deepen the connection to the earth—to dig further, to expand your magickal skil
ls, and to learn more. With this in mind, Garden Witch’s Herbal came to be. In this, my tenth book, I thought it was time to return to where my journey as an author began, for here is where my heart truly lies. Let’s take a return trip to the Witch’s garden to revisit herbal enchantments and green magick and search further into the mysterious, magickal world of plants.

  By further exploring this green path of magick and by listening to our own hearts, we gain a deep and meaningful sense of connection to nature and have the opportunity to advance and expand our level of spirituality. This sense of reverence is but a tool and another enchanting lesson to be learned.

  Green Magick and Spirituality

  Nature is the symbol of spirit.

  ralph waldo emerson

  Green spirituality holds that all of life is a magickal experience. A green practitioner is well known for their connection with their living and working environment, by their ethics, and by their affinity to the powers of the natural world. This is an intensely personal path of magick, as it takes into consideration the actual physical climate and location of where you live along with your relationship with the energy that is available within your own individual environment.

  Witchcraft traditionally uses the energies that are naturally within the elements of earth, air, fire, and water and combines them together with the practitioner’s personal power to create positive change and to accomplish a magickal goal. In green magick and green spirituality, the Witch becomes a link between the energies and magick of the natural world and the world of humanity. A Witch carries information back and forth between these two worlds, becoming a sort of bridge. This connection allows love and knowledge to flow back and forth between the magickal world and the mundane, bringing hope, peace, healing, and positive energy to each world.

  This is, in fact, an ancient magickal practice. According to folklore, Witches were referred to as “hedge jumpers.” This term highlights their knowledge of the green world and their ability to “jump the hedge,” or boundaries, between the two worlds. Hedge Witches, as they are more commonly called, were thought to be able to travel back and forth between the physical world and the spirit world at will. However, it wasn’t that they were leaping back and forth between the different planes so much as they stood and practiced their craft with one foot firmly planted in each world, creating that spiritual bridge. They then became walkers between the worlds, and today this description is still a common one to illustrate the path of the Green Witch.

  However, balance between these worlds cannot be reestablished by separating yourself far out in a little enchanted cabin in the woods. We have to balance our magickal selves with the natural world in one hand, along with the reality of urban life in the other. Green Witchcraft is a sacred relationship with the world on all its many planes of existence.

  A Green Witch is not defined by what he or she does for a living or by whatever label society or the Pagan community sticks on them. They are not just one, they are all; they are at one with everything; they simply flow between. They may identify themselves as a Garden Witch, Cottage Witch, Kitchen Witch, Celtic Witch, a self-taught Eclectic, or even a Traditional Witch—meaning a person that has taken formal training in a specific tradition, such as Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Feri, Dianic, or Cabot. The mantle of green magick slips easily over all these practices. Green magick is not so much of a tradition as it is a magickal way of life.

  Today’s green practitioners are clever and adaptable. They are very likely to live in the city or be tucked into the suburbs, but their physical location does not define them. These green folks choose to work with the magickal energies of nature as they find it, no matter what their lifestyle, magickal title, profession, location, or climate.

  The Green Path:

  No Matter Where You Live

  Her green mind made the world around her green.

  wallace stevens

  The green path of magick is a paradox: while it is a time-honored variety of Witchcraft, it is also an eclectic one—meaning while the oldest of techniques and time-honored Craft practices are used, there is still plenty of room for personalization and adaptation for the environment where the Witch happens to live. This is a path that closely follows the cycles of natural life, the Wheel of the Year, herbalism, the groves, and the garden. Whatever part of the world the Witch calls home is the fundamental key to their own individual magickal practice.

  Let’s say you happen to live in the upper East Coast or Midwest of the United States; then you would incorporate the climate variations, flora, fauna, and four classic seasons that you are familiar with. If you made your home in the Deep South, the West Coast, or the Southwestern states, however, then you would obviously incorporate into your practices the flowers, trees, cycles of the seasons, and native plants and wildlife that are indigenous to your area.

  For instance, a Witch living in the Deep South may never have the opportunity to work with snow or ice magick; however, they have access to plant life and flowers growing outside their back door in January that someone living farther north could only dream about.

  Honestly, this is as simple as going with what you’ve got, for skilled Witches easily adapt to their surroundings. They improvise when necessary and study their own environment so they know which earthy, natural supplies are available to them. Finally, they overcome any obstacles in their lives by using a clever combination of knowledge, personal power, love, and sheer force of will.

  To effectively use this green magick, you must know that it springs from two sources: the heart and the mind. You have to feel it in your heart, and you have to know that if you believe change is not only possible, but factual, then so shall it be. A Witch using green magick will work to create and to preserve balance within themselves, to find harmony with their own mundane and magickal communities, and to celebrate their connection with the natural world. Sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Never fear, it can be done, and it can be done beautifully. In the chapters that follow, you will discover many new bewitching ideas and techniques that can show you how.

  No matter where you live, what your experience level, or what variety of magickal tradition you observe, you will find something here that will complement your own magickal practice—which in turn will enable you to create a deeper connection to your earth religion.

  It takes a brave soul to travel the green and natural path of the Witch. To study and practice a religion that is often misunderstood or scoffed at takes courage. This daring and determination will serve you well as you expand and advance your studies of green magick, herbalism, and spirituality. Because it is a personal expression of your magickal skills, much of this type of magickal work is performed solo.

  By standing on your own, you will gain some quality one-on-one time with the natural world. This gives you the opportunity to discover your own unique connection to nature and all the herbs and botanicals in the plant kingdom. Your success depends on your willingness to get in there and experiment. Plan on tracking your spells and carefully watching and recording the outcome of your magick. For those who possess the predisposition for green magick, the rewards can be great, and the magickal results are most impressive.

  Plants are intricately intertwined into all magick and earth religions. For those who know how to open their hearts and listen, they offer us supplies, inspiration, and lessons. So come and join me for a time as we explore the enchanted groves and dig deeper into the magickal gardens of the green world. Let’s discover together the wonder and magick that the natural world can offer us.

  [contents]

  Chapter 1

  Conjuring a Garden

  with Heart

  He who would have beautiful roses in his garden

  must first have beautiful roses in his heart.

  samuel reynolds hole

  Over the past few years, as I have toured around the country meeting many magicka
l folks, I have had Pagans and Witches walk up to me with their garden-dirt-stained, well-used, dog-eared copy of Garden Witchery and tell me with a smile that they want more—more herb magick information, more advanced techniques, more green magick, and more magickal gardening tips.

  I have been promising you all that I was indeed working on it; for those of you who have been waiting, here you go. Let’s dig in, shall we?

  As a magickal gardener who has delved deeply into the mystical world of plants, I know firsthand that there is a real connection to divinity to be gained here and an earthy sense of empowerment that comes from working with the soil, growing and tending to your own plants, and getting your hands dirty. This is the ultimate in grounding and centering.

  When we garden, we create an intimate relationship with the five fundamental elements of the natural world. These five elements are recognized by many magickal traditions and cultures, even though the final element may vary. Wiccan traditions identify these magickal elements as earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. To the Chinese, the five elements are wood, fire, metal, earth, and water. To be rooted firmly in nature’s magick, all of the elements must be honored within the magickal garden.

  If you step outside for a moment, you will become intimately linked with these elements immediately, so let’s do that right now. Close your eyes for a moment, and search your heart. What does it tell you? Now look around you; what do you sense? Step out of your shoes and onto the grass somewhere. Feel the grass tickling your feet? Be thankful for the support and the grounding energy that the element of earth is lending you.

  Open your eyes, and look around. Notice any birds flying about? Do you feel the breeze as it rushes past? If so, then greet the element of air as it brings forth inspiration and change. The sun shining down on you can symbolize fire, as can landscape lighting that illuminates the garden path. The feminine, fertile element of water can be represented in many guises: a natural body of water, such as a nearby creek or pond; a garden fountain; a birdbath for our feathered friends to splash about in; the rain that falls or dewdrops dangling on the leaves of the plants—all are representations of this element. Becoming more viscerally aware of these magickal elements and the very foundations of nature makes us all part of something greater and more magickally meaningful.