As some of you may remember, I did a series of blog posts a while back on 10 basic herbs that I was learning about in my lessons on Witch School, taught by my mentor Rev. Sherry Cooper.
I am now taking her second herb class, Basic Herbs 102 and, like the last group of blog posts, I will be going over the 3 herbs I learn in each lesson and giving you spells and formulae that I learn outside of the course. I will not be giving course information as it is a free lesson and any of you can easily log into Witch School and sign up for the Basic Herbs 101 and 102 classes yourself and any info I put on here will simply be redundant.
If you have not read my previous blog posts, please check out the lesson 10 post which has links to all of the previous ones. With that, let's begin!
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| A picture I made of Dandelion on Polyvore |
Medicinal Uses: Used as tinctures, extracts & capsules. Stimulates bile production and helps with digestive disorders.
Dandelion reduces swelling and inflammation.
It may help with gallstones.
Women’s health has benefited from the use of dandelion for menstrual problems.
Magickal Uses: Divination, wishes, calling spirits
Dandelions are some of the simplest magical tools, and many of us have been using them as such since we were children and are a great way to teach other children the basics of spells.
When the dandelion's go to seed, their heads become puff-balls of little parachuted seeds ready to take flight. Pick them, make a wish and blow and, much like birthday candles, if all of the seeds go in one puff of air, your wish will come true.
Another way to work with this is, supposedly, if you blow on a puffed head, the number of seeds you have left is how many years you have left in life.
To tell the time, blow on the dandelion head three times and the hour will be shown in the number of seeds left.
To send a message to a loved one, blow the seeds in his or her direction with the message in mind.
Dandelion's are herbs of Jupiter, the Sun, and Leo as well as the element of air and the tarot card Strength. Use this herb on the altar when you've need of any of these energies as it is sometimes easier to grab a dandelion from the front lawn than it is to collect another representative item.
According to Karen Harrison in her book The Herbal Alchemist's Handbook:
The root brewed in a tea brings psychic impressions and dreams.
Adding dandelion to an herbal amulet for abundance increases financial acumen and opportunity.
Medicinal Uses: acute rheumatoid arthritis, mumps, hepatitis, respiratory, high fever, throat infections, boils, nettle rash, food poisoning, urinary tract, antibiotic, diuretic.
Flowers aid in breast cancer
Magickal Uses: Money, psychic powers, protection
Crush flowers and rub on third eye to heighten your psychic powers
Grown near home symbolizes good luck.
I have used honeysuckle flower water (1 pint with 1 tsp of witch hazel for preservative) as a facial wash for beauty and to aid in Faery glamour magick.
According to Scott Cunningham in his Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs:
Ring green candles in honeysuckle to attract money, or place them in a vase in the house for the same purpose.
According to Harrison:
The use of honeysuckle in any herbal formula brings increase and energy.
Honeysuckle can be used to gently protect (great for children)
Pictured is a bottle of honeysuckle ink that is pink and gold. The creator, Gilded Quill, states of the ink:
"This colorful bottle of pink ink shimmers with gold swirls. It has been hand mixed with the sweet scent of Honeysuckle, a favorite of Hummingbirds! This ink would be good for use with metal or glass nibbed pens.
Honeysuckle is a beautifully sweet and floral scent. In aromatherapy it can help memory and recollection as well as generate emotions of happiness.
In color magic, pink is for happiness, fun and romance.
Gold is for illumination, wisdom, and wealth."
I think this ink would be perfect for good luck magic as well when used to write out your intended goal and carried with you through the day to help achieve it.
Medicinal Uses: In Chinese medicine it was used for heart disease, tuberculosis, dry coughs, and gastric problems. It’s used externally for broken noses and hemorrhoids.
Used to stop profuse menstruation and is also used as a laxative.
Said to be an aphrodisiac.
Magickal Uses: protection, exorcism
According to Harrison:
The name of the plant was given when the root was cut transversely and that the characters shown looked to be Hebrew letters. Legend has it that Solomon set his seal on the plant in testimony of its medicinal and magickal powers.
Solomon's seal helps to physically manifest the energy and dreams of the practitioner.
According to Cunnngham:
This root is placed in the four corners of the house to guard it...it is also used as an offeratory incense.
Pictured is Solomon's Seal root sold through Etsy at Occult Supplies.
"(ONE SOLOMON SEAL ROOT IN OIL IS ALSO INCLUDED)
Used for protection, exorcism and cleansing. Used to drive away evil/negative spirits.
To increase wisdom and make wise decisions; for success; for protection.
Solomon's Seal Root is named after King Solomon who was reported to have kept demons confined in a jar by means of a miraculous seal. Therefore it is looked upon as being a very powerful protector and is used to banish demons and ward off all known types of evil. It is good to sprinkle the root in front of the outer doors to your property and along window sills to protect family and home.
Solomon's Seal is also widely used for bringing success to all financial matters making it an excellent choice for business owners etc..
Perfect for adding to mojo bags / poppet dolls / making magickal oils / cleansing ritual tools, Love potions."
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
Poison
Medicinal Uses: enema for round & thread worms in children, topical crèmes for scabies, lice and fleas.
Magickal Uses: Health, Longevity.
According to Cunningham:
Since this plant was given to Ganymede to make him immortal, tansy is carried to lengthen the life-span.
According to Harrison:
Tansy's connection with the Goddess makes it a perfect herb to bless a young girl's first menses and to gift to a woman at her Croning.
Hi there, I noticed you had become a follower of my blog and thought I'd come and have a look at yours. I have to say I'm a little concerned about the information you are posting about common herbs and wonder if you have access to some of the basic medicinal herb books and websites which you may find helpful. If you want to really know about Solomon seal read Jim Macdonald's excellent paper which is freely available on his website. Susun Weed will tell you all you need to know about dandelion. Tansy is poisonous to flies and historically has been used to "bring on delayed periods" i.e. has abortifactant qualitities but not a strong as pennyroyal. Tansy cake is commonly made as part of spring blood purification and I've never heard of anyone dying from eating it. You only need a little because it's very strong.
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