Mardi: Herbal-Wise

The weed commonly known in the Americas as boneset has a number of uses and is very popular in those two curiously North American magickal disciplines, hoodoo and Pow-Wow.

The plant, which is in the same family as dandelions, was originally introduced to Africans and Europeans by Native Americans. Various groups used the plant differently but for the most part the dried leaves and flowering ends were used to treat digestive problems as well as colds and fevers. For these ends, the plant was brewed in a tea.

Before I go further, though, it is important to mention that fresh boneset is toxic and will, at the very least, induce vomiting. In fact, Scott Cunningham lists boneset as "not recommended for internal use" and I would advise the same.

In hoodoo, boneset is used mostly for protective and healing rituals. The plant is added to mojo bags carried to prevent jinxing and illness as well as snake bites. Dried boneset leaves were once rubbed all over the body of someone who felt they had been tricked into ingesting poison or magickally attacked. The leaves were then taken outside and burned to carry away the negative energy. Bathing in water to which a tea of boneset has been added is thought to encourage healing after an illness.

Pow-Wows also used boneset for protection, carrying a bit of the plant as a pocket piece to that end. Silver RavenWolf advises that she hangs a sprig of boneset from her rear view mirror for long car trips to protect against accidents. She also notes that dried boneset and five-finger grass should be sprinkled around an orange candle charged with the intention of landing a job. Light the candle and let it burn out while concentrating on the job you desire. Try putting your resume or a copy of an application under the candle to personalize the spell. Any remaining wax, along with the herbs, should be buried in a houseplant or somewhere in your yard.

Also according to RavenWolf, mothers practicing Pow-Wow have been known to surreptitiously dip a sprig of boneset into the beverage of an unfit suitor to turn the person's ardor away from their child. One has to imagine that the ill-effects of the plant worked their not-really-magickal touch like a charm. It's hard to feel amorous when you're throwing up, after all. Bonne chance ~

Header: The Glass of Wine by Vermeer via Wikimedia

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

I talked a little bit about sailors' use of tobacco at sea today over at Triple P, so I thought I'd cross-pollinate and talk about the magickal uses of this uniquely American herb here as well.

Tobacco was cultivated and used in various ways in both North and South America long before Europeans showed up. Ritualized, made into medicines and used for relaxation and bonding, tobacco's utilization by various Native cultures has influenced Wicca, Druid, hoodoo and Pow-Wow. Variously associated with protection and healing as well as jinxing, tobacco has known a myriad of uses in different magickal systems.

The ritual drinking of tobacco juice to induce visions remains a staple of some shamanic traditions. The plant has been considered sacred by many Native American cultures, and continues to be treated as such in some areas to this day. Tobacco was smoked to encourage communion with spirits and the use of tobacco as an offering was common all over the Americas. People of importance were sometimes buried with pipes and tobacco.

Tobacco was also used as an incense and burned, much like sage, to smudge both living areas and people. The smoke was thought to do everything from driving away evil spirits to curing common maladies such as upper respiratory infections.

Nightmares could be carried away by offering tobacco to a running stream immediately upon waking, according to Scott Cunningham. He also notes that tobacco can be used as a substitute for harder to find herbs such as nightshade and for curios like sulphur. The plant is considered less harmful, but that is only in the immediate. Both smoking and chewing tobacco have been proven to cause cancer; don't make the mistake of starting a habit that could potentially kill you outright.

In hoodoo, tobacco is a favorite additive to jinxing and court case workings. Generally speaking, people use chewing tobacco for such things. A simple mojo to win a court case consists of equal parts salt, deer's tongue leaves and tobacco carried into court in one's the pocket. Tobacco is burned as incense along with black candles to bring harm to an enemy.

Tobacco is also believed to draw love and in particular past lovers. Burn an incense made of tobacco and myrrh near your phone or computer for 9 days; it is said that you will be contacted by a lost love on the 10th day. Bonne chance ~

Header: The Widow of a Chief Watching His Weapons by Joseph Wright of Derby c 1785 via Old Paint

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Today's is the 600th post here at HQ, an accomplishment I am personally quite proud of. So I thought, by way of celebration, I would write about the most popular herb in hoodoo and certainly a universally used magickal herb: five-finger grass.

Also known as cinquefoil, five-finger grass gets its name from its distinctive leaf pattern. The compound leaves form five segments, similar to fingers. Each is said to symbolize a seperate grace or blessing: love, money, power, luck and wisdom. This is true for all magickal disciplines that use the plant, which is not, by the way, a grass but a flowering herb.

Cinquefoil grows wild in moderate and cool climates and was often the focus of old wives' remedies in pre-and early-modern Europe. A small bag of the leaves was hung over the cottage door to protect the inhabitants. The same would be hung over the bed or from the bedstead to protect the sleeper and ward against nightmares. Young girls were told to pick a cinquefoil leaf with seven "fingers", should they have the good fortune to find one, and bring it home. This was then placed under the pillow, particularly on auspicious nights for divination such as Hallowe'en or Christmas Eve. The cinquefoil leaf was said to bring dreams of one's future husband. I can find nothing about whether or not the same mechanism worked for boys wishing to dream of a future wife.

Scott Cunningham recommends making a tea of cinquefoil leaves. This is then used to wash the forehead and hands on nine consecutive mornings in an effort to undo malicious magick and curses.

In hoodoo, a bag of five-finger grass leaves is hung above a home's mantel but hidden from view. Hang the bag behind a picture, statue, stack of books, etc. Used with intention and replaced each new year, this trick is said to make it impossible for anyone - even the bank - to drive you from your home. A tea of five-finger grass leaves is added to floor wash to protect a home, clear away any crossed conditions (such as after a fight, an illness, or an unlucky event like the loss of a job) and bring better fortune into the home. The same sort of tea can also be added to baths for uncrossing, lifting jinxes and improving mental health.

A famous money drawing mojo is made from a five-finger grass leaf, a stick of cinnamon, and three mojo (fava) beans. Carry these in a green flannel bag and dress it frequently with whiskey or Money-drawing Oil.

According to Silver RavenWolf, five-finger grass is a "catch-all for Pow-Wow."  The five blessings noted above make the plant useful as they encompass "all that the Pow-Wow desires to receive and to give."  That's a tall order for one little herb. As in other disciplines, Pow-Wows also employ five-finger grass for hex breaking.

Bonne chance and thank you so much, one and all, for continuing along this journey with me.

Header: The Three Graces by Edward Augustus Bell via American Gallery

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

The herb known as Solomon's seal is, it probably goes without saying, named for the Biblical King Solomon. The seal part comes from an obscure talent that the Hebrew king happened to have: imprisoning demons. He kept his catches in a jar with an enchanted seal and thus the herb, in almost all magickal disciplines, has a reputation for guarding, protecting and banishing.

Scott Cunningham tells us that Solomon's seal root is dried, powder and sprinkled in the four corners of a home to guard it. Wiccans also use the powdered root in exorcism rituals and spells for protection. An infusion of the root is used to sprinkle things and people to banish troubles, often with fern fronds or fresh rue.

In hoodoo, Solomon's seal root chips are placed on window sills and along the tops of door frames to keep trouble from entering the home. I remember my aunt doing this when she didn't want her daughter's "no account" boyfriend coming around. It worked; my cousin is now married to a doctor. Catherine Yronwode advises adding fern fronds if there is a particular concern about break-ins.

A mojo to encourage others to respect you can be achieved by combining Solomon's seal root, High John the Conqueror root, three Devil's shoestrings and a chip of Dragon's Blood resin in a red flannel bag. Feed the mojo with Crown of Success or olive oil. This should be kept near the skin and is said to draw advantageous friendships to the person who carries it. The results can be enhanced by adding a curio such as a silver dime (best if it is from the year of your birth, or that of a successful person you know) or something that belonged to someone successful.

Solomon's seal is a favorite herb in Pow-Wow as well. The dried root is used in healing rituals, particularly sprinkled in the four corners of the sick person's room or to make a magick circle around them. As Silver Ravenwolf notes in her book American Folk Magick:

To country folk, a salt circle was considered suspicious in nature to outsiders, therefore Pow-Wows mixed angelica, Solomon's seal, and vervain to create an area of protection inside a room. It could be swept away easily without raising any undue attention.

And, as unfortunate as it may be, that is an excellent tip for those of us who to this day have to be a little clever and a lot surreptitious about our magick. Bonne chance to all and a Happy Birthday to Ms. Ravenwolf.

Header: Lamb Clouds by Adolf Bohm via Old Paint

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

For regular readers of my ramblings here at HQ, it will come as no surprise that I have been engrossed in research on healing herbs recently.  Dear friends have been helpful, particularly our yoga instructor brother-from-another-mother Joe, as well as holistic healing pyrates of the New World Seika and Captain Swallow.  Magickal ends are also worth seeking out, though.  Radiation therapy, meditation and grape seed oil can all use a little push, right?

To my surprise, one of the most effective healing herbs across all manner of magickal disciplines turns out to be humble, garden variety rue.  Rue is a favorite in Mediterranean cooking, and rue tea has been prescribed to pregnant women for centuries by midwives hoping to even out those occasional mood swings.  The herb is also a bit of a jack-of-all-trades magickally speaking, bringing luck, love, courage, protection and healing.

Druids, Wiccans and Gnostics/Copts have used rue for centuries.  The Coptic word for rue is bashoush, which can be translated as lucky.  The Ancient Etruscans and Romans included rue in their food not only as a spice, but to protect their internal organs from disease caused by hexes or the Evil Eye.  To this day one of the most popular amulets in Italy is the Cimaruta.  Made exclusively from silver, the Cimaruta is worn around the neck to aid in healing, ward against future illness and the Evil Eye, and bring luck to the wearer.  This tradition is popular in the Strega practice of Wicca, and is thought to date back to the Etruscan culture.  You can find a lovely example of a Cimaruta here.

Druids and Wiccans also use bundles of rue as sprinklers to shake salt water around homes for cleansing rituals.  Rue is rubbed along clean floorboards to repel evil magick, according to Scott Cunningham, and hung over the doors to protect against same.  Cunningham also recommends placing fresh rue on the forehead while relaxing to cure tension headaches and taking in the scent of fresh rue to clear the mind and enhance mental acuity.  Love poppets are often stuffed with rue.

In hoodoo, rue tea is is sprinkled around the home for protection and added to baths to help healing and break jinxes.  Cleansing incense is made by mixing dried rue and hyssop with ground frankincense, camphor and sandalwood.  The mixture is burned on charcoal and used to smudge the home or people for purification.  A healing and protecting mojo should include rue, comfrey root, coriander and nine Devil's shoestings.  These should be placed in a red flannel bag and dressed regularly with a healing or protection oil or whiskey.  The bag should be carried close to the skin whenever possible.

Silver RavenWolf mentions the use of rue in Pow-Wow, which echoes the Wiccan use of the herb for clarity of thought.  She also notes the hex-breaking qualities of the herb and, perhaps curiously, advises that rue can be used to protect self and home from werewolves.  I'd call that an added bonus.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before by Charles C. Ward via American Gallery

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Cherries are a favorite in spring and summer all over the world.  They are a symbol of renewal in such diverse cultures as those of Japan and Washington, D.C.  And yeah; I’m gonna say Washington, D.C. has its own culture that is nothing at all like anything found in the real United States. 

Given their wide popularity, it is not surprising that cherries as fruits, as blossoms and as trees are used in magickal disciplines around the world.  The one focus of these magicks, almost without exception, is the finding and keeping of affection and love.

The working can be as simple as cherry cobbler or cherry pie, both of which are used by girls in the Pennsylvania Pow-Wow tradition to "sweeten" the temperament of a young man.

In Japan, old wives would advise their daughter to tie a lock of her hair to a budding cherry tree’s branch.  This would draw love to the girl, particularly if birds used the hair for their nests.  As a curious aside, gypsy lore warns people not to leave their hair out where birds can get to it as it is thought that, should the birds use your hair for nesting, you will be subject to migraines. 

Scott Cunningham tells us that cherry juice is an acceptable substitute for blood when the latter is called for in spell work.  He also advices that one can predict how long they will live by finding a tree full of ripe cherries and running around it at full tilt.  Then shake the tree very hard; the number of cherries that falls tells the years you’ve left to live.  This one sounds particularly specious, but it would be a fun way to harvest cherries for those yummy deserts.

In hoodoo, cherry bark is used for controlling work, particularly to keep a man from straying.  Love mojos are made with cherry bark, lavender and damiana.  If you are looking to attract a man, add catnip.  If your goal is a woman, add High John the Conqueror root.  Put these herbs in a red flannel bag and dress it frequently with Come to Me Oil or rose oil.  Carry it with you, close to your skin.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Veranda by Stephen Pan via American Gallery

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Purslane, which is basically a weed in mild to warm climates and – at least to me – has a very Medieval ring to its name, is used in hoodoo, Wicca and Pow-Wow.  We’ll call this dainty herb purslane for the purposes of this post because that sounds so much better than pigweed.

In Wicca, the flowers, stems and roots of purslane have broad uses.  The flowers are carried as pocket pieces to bring luck in love and keep evil away.  Dried purslane is sprinkled in the corners of homes and workplaces to keep things peaceful and running smoothly.  Old wives advised their daughters to lay  a sprig of purslane on a restless child’s pillow, as it was thought to ward off nightmares.  They also sent their sons into battle with a handful of purslane to guard them against harm.  I wonder, did Saint Jeanne’s mother press a sprig of purslane into her little girl’s hand before she went off to free Orleans?

Pow-Wow and hoodoo treat purslane similarly, which is a fair hint that this use of the herb came to both disciplines through American Natives.  Dried purslane is combined with patchouli leaves and anise seeds.  This herbal mix is steeped in oil and then the oil is used to anoint the forehead before engaging in divination.  A little dried purslane sprinkled in the box or bag in which you keep your fortune telling cards is thought to enhance their effectiveness as well.

Hoodoos also burn dried purslane for protection against evil spirits.  The effects are said to be enhanced when purslane is combined with a premixed warding or blessing incense.

Ingesting purslane is not recommended, particularly for pregnant women; frequent dosing can cause or exacerbate kidney stones.  In other words, use this stuff externally.  Bonne chance ~

Header: St. Jeanne d’Arc statue in New Orleans via NOLAFemmes

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

One of the highest hurdles I have had to surmount in my life so far was infertility.  Unfortunately, we needed a lot of help to get to the goal of sharing our lives with a couple of young ‘ins.  Of course this made Mothers’ Day a torturous hell that I was required to grin and bare. 

Should you find yourself in a similar situation, I empathize.  There are lots of options in this day and age and the universe can help you find the right one.  While you’re at it, why not encourage the process with a little magick?  It couldn’t hurt, and it just might help.

The botanica is full of helpful herbs that are considered perfect for promoting fertility.  For women, one of the most highly recommended is seeds.  The like-makes-like nature of this type of magick makes perfect sense, especially when you consider that many prehistoric peoples believed that a woman could become pregnant by swallowing a small living thing, a flower stamen or a handful of seeds.

In Wicca, carrot seeds are particularly popular for this kind of work.  Scott Cunningham recommends them for fertility and also the vegetables themselves to boost male virility.  This gives the carrot a definite one/two punch in the quest for parenthood.

Figs are also said to be an aid to fertility.  They are an excellent fruit for partners to share, regardless of gender, to promote conception.  Wooden amulets carved from fig wood, particularly if they have a suggestive, phallic shape, have long been warn by women in and around the Mediterranean to encourage fertility.

Sunflower seeds are one of the most popular herbs for fertility, recommended in Wicca and Pow-Wow as well as by Druids and root workers.  Eat up, but try to stick to the low sodium kind if you can.

In hoodoo, the pine tree is considered an aid to conception.  Perfectly shaped and unopened pine cones are collected and carried home.  They are generally placed in a room where the family most often gathers, such as the kitchen, and empowered to draw fertility as well as good health.  When the cone begins to open, plant it in your yard or near your home while continuing to focus on your goal of parenthood. 

Root workers also recommend that women carry Queen’s root for fertility.  This is the root of the plant known as stillengia or yaw root and should not be confused with Queen Elizabeth root.  This plant was also a favorite with old wives, who recommended placing one or two of its gray-silver leaves under the mattress to promote conception.  Bonne chance ~

Header: The Bath by Charles W. Hawthorne via American Gallery

Jeudi: Root Work

Our world is full of stress.  Diagnosis of anxiety disorders is at an all time high, or so it would seem, and there’s a pill for everything.  Please don’t imagine that I’m being sarcastic when I say this.  I have a sometimes crippling social anxiety disorder that requires the occasional Xanax just to get my butt out the door and into an unfamiliar environment.

But you can’t take a pill every day – or I can’t anyway.  What about those times when you’re just nervous for no good reason, or anxious about something that really shouldn’t be so worrisome?  What about those times when your personal evolution isn’t in sync with that of the high tech, fast paced, noisy dang world around you?  Hey, wait; that’s just about every day for me…

Thankfully, old wives, Pow-Wows, gypsies and root doctors had little remedies to chase away the little worries long before moderns tagged them as “disorders.”  Here’s one I like very much; a tisane that is easy to collect ingredients for (no occult shop necessary), quick to make, functional to keep and it works. 

Simply take equal parts of dried marjoram, rosemary, sage and thyme.  Mix these well and store in an air-tight container away from light as you would with any herb.  When you feel the need for a moment to yourself to calm down and refocus, put the kettle on the boil or the cup in the microwave. 

Then put about a generous teaspoon per cup of your calming herb mixture in whatever you use for lose tea.  Personally, I’m just as happy to wrap the herbs in a piece of muslin tied with a string as I am to use a fancy tea ball.  Pour boiling water over the herbs and allow them to steep to desired strength.  I find that adding a little sprig of mint to the herb mixture makes it taste even better.

Now, here’s the part that is hard for a lot of us given busy lifestyles and schedules.  Find a quiet place where you can sit in relative silence – no television, computer, phone, radio, etc. – while you enjoy your calm in a cup at a leisurely pace.  Gulping this down over the sink won’t have the same relaxing effect that enjoying it while sitting down to pet your dog will.  It will help, but it won’t work.

But Pauline, you say, I’m in my office ten hours a day.  Where ever can I find a moment to relax away from distractions?  Two words: bathroom stall.  It sounds crazy but seriously.  When I was in upper management and had a corner office with a door I still went to the ladies’ room for this ritual.  Mostly because I knew it was the only place people would respect my privacy.  Even outside on the park bench they would find me, but in the bathroom they’d give me five glorious minutes of sweet, sweet peace.  To each their own, of course, but I’ve been around the block a time or two and sharing experience never hurts, or so it seems.

If you are having trouble sleeping for any reason, but especially due to anxiety, substitute chamomile (sorry, trip to the health food store probably required here) for the marjoram.  If your anxiety is getting in the way of daily life, it’s time to consult your doctor and collaborate on a plan.  You might ask him or her about St. John’s wort, which can be substituted in this recipe for the sage to increase its strength.

As with anything you eat, drink or apply, stop using this tisane if you have deleterious effects and consult your physician if you have conditions such as pregnancy, nursing, heart trouble etc. that might warrant special caution.  A votre santé ~

Header: Morning by Catherine Wiley via American Gallery

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

To continue the theme of fruit from yesterday, today’s herb-du-jour is raspberries.  They grow like weeds up here in my neck of the woods, a favorite of kids, birds and moose alike and one of my favorite fruits as well.  Although, thanks to their prickly brambles, they can truly be a pain to pick.  Old wives, Wiccans and root doctors have all favored the stalks and leaves of raspberry plants at various times and for various uses.  Here are a few that I know of.

Old wives, in Europe and North America, have been known to pin a raspberry leaf inside the clothing of a pregnant woman.  Changed frequently throughout the pregnancy, the raspberry leaf was thought to ease any pains afflicting the mother during both her pregnancy and birth and delivery.  The long branches, often known as brambles, were bundled up and hung on doors or in windows to turn away evil.  This was particularly popular when a death happened in the neighborhood; the thorns were thought to “stick” a wandering and potentially malevolent shade, thus keeping it from entering the home.

Scott Cunningham says that Wiccans use raspberries in foods charmed to induce love.  Raspberry tea can be used the same way.

In hoodoo, raspberry leaves are thought to draw general luck and to help spouses stay faithful.  Women are advised to make a tisane from a handful of raspberry leaves, allow it to cool and then strain the mixture while thinking of their husbands.  This should be bottled up and the woman should rinse her pubic area with the water at least once a week to keep her husband from straying.

From the Iroquois Native tribe, probably via Pow-Wow, hoodoo adopted a charm used by men to keep their women faithful when they were required to be away overnight or longer.  A raspberry bramble with a root on both ends needed to be located, and some of the root on each end collected with minimal damage to the plant.  If the bramble dies, the trick will not work.  These roots should then be boiled and the water added to the man’s bath.  A small amount of this bathwater should be slipped into the wife’s food or drink before the man leaves home to ensure her fidelity.  Bonne chance ~

Header: The Hireling Shepherd by William Holman Hunt

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Rowan trees, also known as European mountain ash, are indigenous to Northern Asia and Europe and now grow all over the northern areas of North America.  Because the trees – which are really bushes and not relation to the North American ash or to the birch – cannot thrive where temperatures do not dip below freezing in winter, they are not a fixture in hoodoo practice.  They are used in Pow-Wow, according to Silver RavenWolf, but their use is most notable in modern Celtic, Druid and Wiccan disciplines.

The rowan is particularly prolific in the British Isles, where the influences of not only ancient Druid but also Gardenarian practices are strong.  This makes rowan, along with trees such as oak and holly, particularly fond in these areas.  As an example, the so called Celtic Tree Calendar’s month of Rowan begins on January 21 and ends on February 17.  This calendar, though sometimes purported to follow an ancient Celtic method of time keeping, is in fact a latter day invention probably developed by Robert Graves.  For more on this, see Mary Jones’ excellent discussion here.

In modern magick, rowan wood is used to make dowsing rods and wands.  Scott Cunningham advises carrying a piece of rowan wood to increase psychic powers.  Rowan wood or leaves may also be burned on their own or added to incense to achieve the same result.

For the purposes of protection, rowans should be planted as close to a home as possible.  Rowan walking sticks are helpful for protecting those who must venture forth at night, while a rowan branch kept in a house will protect it from lightening strikes.  Rowan was also carried aboard ships to see them safely through dirty weather.  A rowan grave marker is said to ensure that the spirit of the deceased will not wander forth and trouble the living.

Scott Cunningham also recommends the use of rowan berries, particularly in workings for healing, success, power and luck.  Please note, however, that all parts of a rowan bush are potential poisonous and should never be ingested.

In Scotland, Wales and Cornwall, old wives tied two rowan twigs tied together with red thread to form a powerful protective amulet.  Bonne chance ~

Header: A rowan tree on the British coast via Wikimedia Commons

Jeudi: Curios

Animal parts have long been used in various magickal disciplines as amulets and charms.  From individual teeth and bones to whole skulls, wings and claws, the animal in question was used virtually in its entirety for food, tools and to assist in shamanic working.

Badger teeth, usually carried individually, came into hoodoo through John George Hohman’s now famous book Pow Wows or the Long Lost Friend.  Hohman wrote in the book in the mid-19^th century and it has since been published in several additions by various publishers.  The work focuses on the folk magick of the German settlers of Pennsylvania, which was heavily influenced by Native American herbal and folk knowledge.  Hohman avers that a badger tooth is an all around good luck charm that should be carried whenever possible.

In American Folk Magick Silver RavenWolf touches on the use of animal charms in modern Pow-Wow but does not focus on specifics.

By the 1920s, hoodoo root workers were including a badger tooth in mojos for gambling luck, as well as those for general good fortune.  For gambling in particular, the tooth was often attached to a watch fob, necklace or keychain and worn in a pocket where it could be easily touched or rubbed for luck.  Dressing the tooth frequently, particularly with Van Van Oil, and saying the 23^rd Psalm while doing so was thought to increase its power.  Bonne chance ~

Header: The Gambler’s Wife via A1 Reproductions

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Skunks don’t live in Alaska but their smell certainly does.  Walk near a stagnant pond on a summer evening and you’ll swear someone just hit a whole herd of skunks with a vehicle.  Up here that disgusting smell doesn’t come from an animal, however, but from a plant.

Skunk cabbage – generously referred to in Pow-Wow as “meadow” cabbage – is in the same herbal family as the truly nauseating asafetida and it quite literally reeks like skunk spray.  It was used by Native Americans in the treatment of asthma and tuberculosis and it is still used by many different magickal disciplines.

In Wicca, a little bit of skunk cabbage is wrapped in fresh bay leaf.  If this is done on Sunday with proper intent Scott Cunningham tells us, and carried as a pocket piece, fortune will always favor the person who made it.

According to Silver RavenWolf, skunk cabbage is used in American Pow-Wow for “legal matters”, although she does not elaborate.  She also mentions mixing the plant with bay for prosperity.

Hoodoo, taking its usual like-makes-like path, employs skunk cabbage to jinx enemies.  A mixture of dried skunk cabbage leaves, licorice root, poppy seeds and calamus root is used as a throw for sprinkling on an enemy’s front porch and walk.  This will bring about illness and misfortune until the root worker removes the trick.  This is a nasty working that I personally have never tried and don’t recommend.  That like-makes-like can come back to bite you in the butt, I find.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Magpie on the Gallows by Pieter Brueghel the Elder c 1568

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Valerian, which is usually referred to in hoodoo as “vandal root”, is one of those plants whose awful scent has put it in high demand for protective magicks.  Historically, and now in modern herbal medicine, the dried root is brewed into a tisane to relax those who felt anxious and to help one sleep.  Some Native American tribes used a tea made with valerian as a cleanser; its astringent properties were also utilized to heal wounds.

In American Pow-Wow, valerian root is used for banishment, exorcism and protection.  Silver RavenWolf says that the plant was to be gathered with the left hand as Sirius was rising and that honey should be left as an offering to the valerian after harvesting.  This was then mixed with rosemary, fennel, sage, hyssop, lavender, basil, mint and holy water to keep away ghosts, evil intentions and ill-tempered elementals.

Old wives would pin a sprig of valerian to their marriageable daughters’ clothing, thus attracting men like meat attracts dogs.

It is probably from this traditional use that modern Wiccans derived the use of the dried plant in love sachets and incenses.  Scott Cunningham also mentions hanging the plant in the home to ward off lightening strikes and the evil eye. 

In hoodoo, valerian/vandal root is sometimes used as a substitute for graveyard dirt in jinxing tricks.  Vandal root is also burned with Uncrossing Incense to send back jinxes made against the root worker.  The dried plant is sprinkled on doorsteps to prevent unwanted visitors from approaching a home.

Probably because of its calming effect when ingested, valerian/vandal root is also used to stop fighting between spouses.  A vandal root should be wrapped round with a picture of you and your spouse.  Carry this for three days and then remove the vandal root and drop it in running water to “carry the anger away”.  Replace the root with a love herb such as a rose, lovage root or – for women in particular – rosemary and keep the pictures and herb with you from then on.  Your marital strife should subside.  Bonne chance ~

Header: The Miracle of the Jealous Husband by Titian c 1511

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Slippery elm, also known as red or Indian elm, is a species of tree native to most of North America.  Its use in all modern magickal and medicinal practice probably originated with Native American tribes of both the north and south.  The tree, which has a reddish bark and a gooey, sappy interior, has been used for years in preparations to ease upper respiratory congestion.  The bark of the tree is generally the preferred magickal catalyst.

In Pow-wow, slippery elm bark is mixed with gag root and carried to stop gossip.

Wiccans burn the bark as an incense to stop gossip and malicious tales being told about the residents of the home being treated.  Scott Cunningham notes that charms carved from the bark can be worn by children, particularly around the neck, so that they develop a “silver tongue” as they grow to adulthood.

In hoodoo, the dried bark is sprinkled in the corners of a home or workplace to rid the area of evil and put down harmful gossip that may be affecting those who live and/or work on the premises.  A mojo against slander can be made using dried rue, slippery elm bark and a turbo or “cat’s eye” shell.  Carry this with you to keep the jealous tongues of enemies and false friends from wagging.  A third trick for the same issues is to put a pinch of slippery elm bark in each of your shoes.  Bonne chance ~

Header: British poster from World War II via Mid-Century

Mercredi: Herbal-Wise

Nettle is a common weed in cooler climates all over the world.  Known to Native shaman, old wives and root workers alike, nettle’s most common use is to break and turn away jinxes.  But there is so much more to the ancient history of this herb.

In hoodoo nettle is used specifically to dispel evil.  A tea of nettle and rue is added to baths along with a handful of black salt to lift curses and crossed conditions.  At least some of the bathwater should be thrown out the front door of the home to seal the cure.

Both natives in North America and old wives in Europe recommended nettle tea for pregnant women to strengthen the fetus and ease labor.  After the baby’s birth, nettle tea continued to be prescribed to encourage milk production.  Dried nettle was also sprinkled on the feed given to dairy cows for the same purpose.

According to Scott Cunningham, nettle should be carried in a sachet or stuffed into a poppet to remove a curse and send it back.  Wiccans sprinkle dried nettle around the home to ward off evil.  It can also be thrown into a fire to prevent harm coming to home or person and it is held in the right hand to ward off ghosts, particularly while walking alone at night near haunted ground.  Putting a bowl full of nettle clippings under the bed of a sick person is thought to aid healing.

Pow-Wow also uses nettle, and for similar purposes.  Silver RavenWolf says that a combination of nettle and yarrow makes a powerful amulet against fear.  Scott Cunningham agrees, saying the two will also dispel negativity.  Pow-Wows also use dried nettle to enhance lust, and sprinkle it over the bedclothes of the sick to encourage recovery.

A very old German “spell”, which probably originated in one form or another prior to the widespread success of Christianity in the Middle Ages, saw farmers using nettle to remove maggot infestations from their cows’ hooves.  In Highroad to the Stake: A Tale of Witchcraft, Michael Kunze says the nettle should be picked before sunrise and held between both hands.  The farmer should then recite:

Nettle, nettle, hear forsooth,

Our cow’s got maggots in her hoof,

If you don’t drive the maggots out,

I’ll twist your collar round about!

The nettle stem was then twisted until it broke off and both pieces were tossed over the farmer’s head.  If all steps of this process were repeated three days in a row, the cow would be cured.

Finally, nettle has been used for centuries as a bandage in cases of bleeding.  The leaves should be bruised slightly to allow the juice to flow and then applied to the bloody wound before bandaging to help with clotting.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Cows in a Pasture by Marie Dieterle Van Marcke de Lummen

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

As deciduous trees in the far north go, the birch tree reigns supreme.  While aspens are much touted (and imminently fashionable) at ski resorts in less elevated longitudes, we here in truly cold climates prefer our birch.

It probably goes without saying that birch is not much considered in hoodoo.  Having grown up in tropical and subtropical climates, the discipline probably had no knowledge of birch originally.  Wicca and Druidism both make use of birch, however.  Surprisingly to me, I can find no mention of its use in American Pow-wow practice.

In high northern areas of Europe and Asia, birch was used for numerous pursuits, both mundane and magickal.  The abundant leaves, which are usually resistant to local bugs and infections, were raked up as they fell in the fall and used as insulation in animal and human bedding. 

Birch twigs were particularly popular bound together as brooms for keeping homes clean.  The autumn ritual of gathering dead twigs, stripping and binding them to broom handles and trying them out on front stoops may have been one of the origins for the notion that witches flew to esbats on brooms.  While Scott Cunningham points out that Wiccans continue to be fond of birch brooms, there is scant documentation of their use by witches prior to the European witch craze.

Birch twigs were used since ancient times to exorcise people afflicted by spirits.  A moderate to severe beating with a birch switch was considered a sure cure for possession by Celtic Druids.  A birch switch was also a tool for punishing children and it is hard not to make a comparison.  Were parents hoping to “beat the devil” out of a naughty child aside from simply teaching them a lesson?

Birch trees are thought to bring good luck when planted in one’s yard in Russia, Alaska and northern Canada.  In Russia, red ribbons are tied around the trunks of birch trees to ward off the evil eye.  An added bonus is that birch trees are thought to attract lightening, keeping it away from home and barn.  Bon chance ~

Header: 16^th century engraving of witches on brooms by Gillot de Givry

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Marigolds, though generally not thought of as an herb, are treated as such in many magickal disciplines.  They are used for protection, to increase psychic power and prophetic dreams, to bring favorable outcomes in legal matters and, particularly in hoodoo, for gambling luck.  This last application is probably a result of the like-makes-like process as the round, golden flowers resemble gold coins.

Marigolds are harvested for protection in Wicca and Pow-Wow.  The flowers are strung together on thread as garlands and hung over the front door of a home to ward off evil and ill intent.  According to Scott Cunningham, prophetic dreams are encouraged by scattering marigold petals under your bed.  He also recommends adding the petals to your bath water to make yourself more respected and admired by the people you meet.

Silver Ravenwolf recommends using marigolds to detect a cheating spouse.  Put a marigold flower in church before your husband or wife enters.  If they are being unfaithful to you, they will not be able to find their way out of the house of worship once the service or mass is over.  If something has been stolen from you, she also advises putting marigold and sunflower petals in a conjure bag and sleeping with it under your pillow.  Your dreams will reveal the identity of the thief.

A similar working in hoodoo is to fill a green mojo bag with gold and yellow marigold flowers.  Put this under your pillow and you will dream of winning lottery numbers and racing animals’ names.

To be at their most powerful, marigold flowers should be harvested on a warm day in the month of August and at noon.

Finally, and perhaps most curiously of all, an old Druid teaching said that if a girl walked over marigold petals barefoot before her first menstruation she would be able to attract unicorns and understand birdsong.  I can’t vouch for that one, but it is poetic nonetheless.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Young Woman with a Unicorn by Raphael

Mardi: Herbal-Wise

The humble plantain, that plant with the big leaves and dark-brown-husked, banana-like fruit, is quite popular in a number of magickal disciplines.  Some of which, perhaps, are simply less well known than others.

It probably goes without saying that plantain is used in Santeria and Voudon.  Both Cuban and Haitian cuisines use the fruit, so making use of all parts of the plant in magickal and spiritual workings is no at all surprising.  Plantains are also utilized in Wicca, American hoodoo and another less well known American magickal system called Pow-Wow. 

All three disciplines agree that plantain can be used to ward off snakes; carrying plantain root as a pocket piece is the most common recommendation.  Some root workers place dried plantain leaves in a blue flannel bag in their car to prevent it being stolen.  Plantain leaves used as decoration in the home are also said to deter thieves.

Wiccans use the leaves to ease headaches.  Scott Cunningham recommends tying them to the afflicted person’s head with red yarn.  He also mentions placing them beneath the feet to relieve weariness.

Similar uses for plantain can be found in the Pennsylvania Dutch faith healing system known as Pow-Wow.  In her comprehensive 1995 book on the subject, American Folk Magick, Silver RavenWolf notes that the leaves can be used to “… rid oneself of headaches or weariness…”  She also recommends placing a poultice of crushed plantain on the skin for ten minutes to alleviate the pain and swelling of bee stings.

Since, as hoodoo expert Catherine Yronwode notes at her Lucky Mojo Curio Co. website, Pow-Wow practice has greatly influenced hoodoo, it is not surprising to see similar uses for this and many other herbs in both disciplines.  If you would like to know more about Pow-Wow, I cannot recommend Ms. RavenWolf’s book enough.  It is available directly from Llewellyn Publications and at Amazon.  Bonne chance ~

Header:  A postcard from Pennsylvania Dutch country; Berks County Pennsylvania