Herb Magic for Beginners (6 page)

In the light of the moon, I work this old herbal spell,
By my will and desire, may it all turn out well.
A vision of my future love, reveal to me this night,
A dream conjured from rosemary, thyme,
and silver moonlight.

In the morning, write down any dreams you had. Return the herbs to nature, and keep your eyes open until the next full moon to see what, or who, turns up.

Vanilla

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) is one of the most popular flavorings in the world and can be found in almost everybody’s spice rack. This herb is also associated with the loving energies of the planet Venus and the element of water. The scent and taste of vanilla are thought to be aphrodisiacs. The vanilla bean is valued as a flavoring in puddings, sauces, cakes, candies, and liqueurs. Vanilla beans are grown in Madagascar, Mexico, Indonesia, and Tahiti. Vanilla originated in Mexico, where the Aztecs used it to enhance the flavor of their chocolate drinks. The Mexican Emperor Montezuma introduced vanilla to Cortez, who then brought it to Europe in the sixteenth century.

The long, yellow-green seed pods of this tropical orchid plant are gathered before the plant flowers. The pods are picked when they are unripe (green) and then cured slowly over a period of six months until they are brown. To obtain pure vanilla extract, the cured vanilla beans are steeped in alcohol. According to law, pure vanilla extract must be 35 percent alcohol by volume.

This herb is easiest to work with in its extract or essential oil form; however vanilla beans are not that expensive and are fun to use. Try a specialty cooking store or a spice shop to find the beans. A vanilla bean may be added to a love sachet or tucked in your pocket to boost your aura and increase your attraction to another. Carrying vanilla beans adds sort of a “Hey, I’m one irresistible and fascinating person!” vibe to your personality. According to herbal folklore, men find the scent of vanilla to be sexually arousing. Now you know why, in the old days, women would dab a little vanilla extract behind their ears.

Vanilla Bean Spell: A Pocket Charm

A pocket charm is just what it sounds like: a little talisman or herbal amulet that you can tuck in your pocket and take with you. This pocket charm will help draw loving vibrations and a fun relationship toward you. This could be a romance, or it might be a wonderful friendship. Don’t try to direct the energy of this charm too much—just enjoy the ride and see what happens!

Work this spell on a Venus day (Friday) and during a waxing moon. For this pocket charm you will need:

• 1 vanilla bean

• A 4-inch square of plain fabric

• A permanent marker (your choice of color), which you will use to draw the astrological symbol for Venus (
) and a heart on the fabric

• 12 inches of red or pink (whichever color you prefer) satin ribbon

Place the vanilla bean in the center of the fabric square. If the bean is long, you can gently fold it in half so it will stay within the fabric. Gather up each of the four corners of the fabric, one by one, repeating a line of the following charm at each corner:

By the earth, I consecrate this loving pocket charm.
By air, I cast out all negativity and harm.
By fire, I add the warmth and passion of love.
By water, I bless this charm that herb magic wove.

Now bind the pocket charm with the ribbon. Tie a bow and knot it securely closed. Close the charm with these lines:

For the good of all, bringing harm to none,
May this herbal spell bring affection and fun.

Romantic Plants You May Not Know Are Herbs

The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.

—John Boyle O’Reilly

Yes, this section is dedicated to plants you may not know are also classified as herbs. The following romantic plants are all considered herbs. Remember that to be classified as an herb, some part of the plant (the leaves, flowers, fruits, or roots) must be used for food, medicine, flavoring, or scent.

Rose

Roses (Rosa) are also associated with the planet Venus and the element of water. Just as you’d expect, this flower is sacred to some of our more popular love goddesses, such as Aphrodite, Venus, and Freya. These gorgeous flowers come in dozens of colors and forms, and the different colors of roses all have different magical meanings. Roses have been cultivated for thousands of years. The Apothecary’s rose, one of the oldest varieties of garden roses, was widely grown in medieval times for its medicinal properties. Once upon a time, roses were highly valued for their medicinal properties (the hips are high in vitamin C), and utilized for culinary purposes as well as for their fragrance.

Rose buds and petals are classic ingredients in love spells, plus the plants attract the faeries when grown in your garden. Magically, you can add rose petals to spells when you want to “speed things up.” Also, the fruits of the rose (the hips) may be strung together onto a thin red ribbon or string with a large, sharp needle. These herbal “beads” are then worn to attract love and companionship. Plus, those dried rose hips are great to add to healing and happiness spells and to put into charm bags that will help make the recipient feel loved and cared for.

The rose has the enchanting ability to teach you how to enjoy giving of yourself, your time and talents, to help others. This flower symbolizes the greatest characteristics of the Goddess: the capacity to love and nurture, and to see beauty in everything.

You can use the following list of rose colors and their magical meanings as a quick reference guide when designing your own herbal spells. You can work with a fresh rose in a vase of water, or you can gently strip the petals and add them to charm bags and sachets. Those fragrant petals are also lovely sprinkled across your altar, or you can use them to cast a physical circle on the ground. Remember, if you can’t grow roses at home, you can always pop into a floral shop and pick up a stem or two.

Rose Colors and Magic

Burgundy
—Symbolizes a deeper, darker, more
tempestuous love

Celadon Green
—Symbolizes prosperity, fertility, and
good luck; celadon is a pale to very pale green, a
very chic color for roses these days

Coral
—Charm and affection

Hot Pink
—Announces passion, daring, and verve

Ivory
—Romance and a steadfast, mature love

Orange
—Vitality, passion, and energy

Pale Pink
—Pastel-pink roses symbolize romance and
a dreamy first love; use this color to invoke a warm,
fuzzy feeling

Purple
—Power, passion, and the enchantment of the
faeries

Red
—True love, lust, and romance

Red and White
—Creativity, unity, and solidarity

Yellow
—Joy and happiness, communication, and the
power of the sun

White—Peace, love, moon magic, new beginning

All-Purpose Herbalist’s Spell

Here is an all-purpose spell for your herb magic. It calls upon the historical knowledge of the wisewomen and the cunning men, the first true “wise ones.” This herb magic also taps into your own inner wisdom and power. The following spell will work nicely with rose color magic or for other positive spells that you will soon be conjuring up on your own. Happy casting!

May the wise ones of old hear me in this hour,
As I call on the herbalist’s inner power.
By color and scent, this herbal spell is begun,
As I will so mote it be, an let it harm none.

Wild Strawberry

The strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a plant native to North America and Britain. It was known to the ancient Britons, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons. This plant, like many others in this chapter, corresponds to the planet Venus and the element of water. The strawberry is sacred to the Norse goddess of love, Freya, and this fruit has many ties to sexuality and love. Traditionally, strawberries were used in medieval literature and art as a representation of desire and mortal love. On the opposite side of the leaf, the strawberry was also a symbol of perfection and virtue.

The fresh fruit of the strawberry was once crushed and used to lighten freckles, soothe sunburn, and help whiten stained teeth. As you would imagine, strawberries are eaten raw, added to desserts and to flavor liqueurs and cordials, and, of course, cooked into preserves, jams, and jellies. The strawberry’s leaves are used as a relaxing tea and as a wash for oily skin. The dried leaves are also added to potpourri for their texture and scent.

Strawberries are a food of love—think chocolate-covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day, or imagine feeding your love fresh strawberries dipped in cream. Also, the leaves of the wild strawberry may be worked into a sachet or herbal charm to help safeguard a pregnancy.

A Scented Strawberry Spell
to Remove Sour Vibes

For this subtle herbal spell, we are going to incorporate a touch of magical aromatherapy. This spell comes in handy for those times when you’ve had a spat with your love. We all have really silly arguments and bicker with each other from time to time. So, if you need to clear the air and get rid of any hard feelings still hanging around, this is just the ticket.

Take a look around and see if you can find a red, strawberry-scented votive candle and strawberry-scented incense. You will also need some fresh strawberries, so pop into the grocery store and purchase a small container. If you have access to wild strawberry foliage growing in your yard, you may add this to the spell.

Note: If you are allergic to strawberries, try using fresh raspberries or blackberries instead.

A Friday would be wonderful for this herb magic. Why? Well, it is the day associated with the goddess Freya. Strawberries are sacred to Freya, and this is the day of the week that takes its name from this Norse goddess of love—Freya’s Day. Work this spell during the waning moon, if possible. (See, not every spell in this chapter calls for a waxing moon.) We need to work in a waning moon this time because we want to send the sour feelings on their way and to decrease those hurt feelings. As the moon gets smaller in the sky, so will those hurt feelings diminish.

Set the votive candle in a candle cup, or set the incense in its holder. Arrange the fruit and the foliage (if you choose to use it) in a circle around the candle or incense. Be sure to keep the foliage well away from any open flame. Now light the candle/incense and wait a few moments until the scent begins to waft around the room. While you are waiting for the scent to be released, take a moment to see if you can come up with a few apologies or, conversely, a few ways to accept an apology graciously.

Freya, goddess of love, hear my plea,
Help end the tiff between my love and me.
By color and scent, this berry spell begins.
With love and affection this charm will spin.

Choose one berry and taste it. Feel the sweet and tart taste explode in your mouth. Remember that every relationship requires hard work, and does have its ups and downs. Life is not a romance novel, so don’t hang on to anger over trivial things. The world’s not going to end because you had a spat. Take a deep breath, and ground and center, releasing your anger and hurt feelings. Now, finish the berry and close the spell with these lines:

Freya, I do thank you for your time and care.
I close this spell by earth, water, flame, and air.

Sweet Violet

The perennial violet (Viola odorata) has pretty, heart-shaped leaves and thrives in shady places from winter to spring. The violet is, as many of the featured plants in this chapter, aligned with the planet Venus and the element of water. This little flower is sacred to Aphrodite/Venus, as are the majority of blue flowers. Occasionally, you may find white violets growing wild in the backyard or woods. If you do, leave them as they are. Treasure these charming flowers for the magical gifts they are. Legend states that they are faery plants, and to pick them is to anger the faery realm.

Violets were held in high regard in ancient times. The flower has an subtle scent and has become the symbol for constancy. Violet flowers can be washed gently, coated with sugar, and then frozen or simply patted dry and added to salads. Many old herbals list dozens of medicinal uses for the violet, but here I’d like to focus on the magical ones.

Wearing a chaplet or wreath of violets in your hair offers a strong magical protection and, according to herbal folklore, cures a headache. Also, wearing a chaplet of violets is a charm against being faery-led—in other words, having the faeries confuse you or becoming lost. Old herbal spells often call for mixing violets and lavender together in a potent herbal sachet to arouse love and desire. Hmmm . . . Sounds like a good way to spice things up with your partner! Let’s put a modern spin on this and see what we come up with.