An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present - Doreen Valiente 2018

Herbs used by Witches

The folklore of flowers, plants and trees is a vast subject, which would need a book to itself to expound fully. The old word used for the knowledge of the secret properties of herbs is ’Wortcunning’; and this has always been a particular study of witches.

Herbal lore has two aspects. The first one treats of the actual medicinal properties of herbs; the second is concerned with their occult, hidden, magical properties. Witches used both sides of this knowledge in their craft.

We may note that the word ’pharmacy’ is derived from the Ancient Greek pharmakeia, and this word meant not only the compounding of medicinal drugs, but also the making of magical potions and philtres. The Greek goddess who was the patroness of witchcraft was Hecate, the triple moon goddess, and there are many classical allusions to her, and to Medea and Circe, the famous witches of Greek legend. (See HECATE.) The second Idyll of Theocritus, called the Pharmaceutria, deals not with innocent medicines, but, in the words of Montague Summers, “gives a vividly realistic and impassioned picture of Greek sorcery”. (The Geography of Witchcraft, Kegan Paul, London, 1927.)

The witch and her bubbling cauldron, therefore, demonstrably go back to pre-Christian times; though the contents of the cauldron might be either beneficent or baleful. Herbs were studied in Ancient Egypt also; and before Hecate was Isis, the Egyptian Lady of the Moon and Mistress of Magic. The famous Ebers Papyrus, which was found buried with a mummy in the Theban Necropolis, contains a great many herbal recipes; and the simples it prescribes include a number of herbal substances still used by herbalists and witches today. Among them are onions, pomegranates, poppies, gentian, squills, elderberries, mint, aloes, myrrh and colchicum.

Of the 400 simples (i.e. single herbs) used by the great Greek doctor, Hippocrates, half that number are still in use today. But the authorities from whom European witches and magicians derived most of their knowledge were the first-century Greek physician Dioscorides, who compiled the earliest herbal in existence, which continued to be used for 1,600 years; and the Natural History of Pliny, which is packed with curious lore, and from which Cornelius Agrippa in the sixteenth century borrowed much of the material on “Natural Magick” in his Occult Philosophy (Cologne, 1533; English translation published in London in 1651).

In such centres as Toledo in Spain, where European and Islamic culture mingled, medicine was studied as well as magic, alchemy and astrology; and so the knowledge of Eastern drugs such as hashish, derived from the hemp plant, was added to the learning handed down from the old classical writers. The knowledge of these things gradually spread, and filtered its way down to the village witch, mingled with traditions derived from Norse, Celtic and pre-Celtic sources.

The village witch of olden time was herbalist, spell-caster, interpreter of dreams, healer, midwife and psychologist, all rolled into one. In the days when present-day medical science, let alone the National Health Service, was unknown, she was practically the only resource of poor people in remote parts of the country. In fact, in those times when surgery was in its infancy, and blistering and bleeding were the order of the day among orthodox medical men, the village witch, with her simple herbal brews and her practical psychology, probably killed fewer people than the doctors.

Not all witches lived in obscurity, however. There was a famous lady called Trotula, of Salerno in Italy, who became known all over Europe for her remedies and recipes. Her name is the origin of the expression ’Dame Trot’ or ’Old Trot’, applied to a witch.

The time when magical and medicinal herbs were gathered was ruled by astrology (See ASTROLOGY,) and particularly by the phases of the moon. The waxing moon was the time for constructive magic: and the waning moon was for destructive magic and banishing; but herbs were generally supposed to attain their maximum virtue for good if gathered at the full moon. On the other hand, herbs used for dark purposes would be gathered in the dark of the moon; and Shakespeare’s witches in Macbeth used “root of hemlock digged i’ the dark”.

Herbs which have a narcotic or soporific effect have been specially associated with witchcraft, because of their use in compounding the Witches’ Salve. (See FLYING OINTMENTS.) Apart from these, a number of herbs have been given popular names which show their association with witches.

For instance, the great mullein (Verbascum thapsus), which grows in hedgerows with a tall downy spike of yellow flowers, was called Hagtaper. The Old English word haegtesse means ’witch’; so Hag-taper means ’the witch’s candle’. Foxgloves are sometimes called witches’ bells; and periwinkle (Vinca minor) is known as sorcerers’ violet.

This pretty blue flower is the Provinsa of Albertus Magnus, the reputed author of the magical book called Le Grand Albert (many editions; that printed in Paris in 1885 and edited by Marius Descrepe is considered probably most authentic). He calls it the most powerful flower for producing love. Another beautiful flower with the same reputation is the wild orchid, called satyrion. The plant received this name because its root resembles a pair of testicles; hence probably its magical repute. There are a number of wild orchids growing in Britain which have a root of this kind.

The romantically-named enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana) is another plant with an aura of magic, which grows in English woods. It is not actually one of the nightshades at all, but a pretty, delicate-looking spike of white or pinkish flowers. Other attractive-looking plants with a magical reputation are Solomon’s Seal, a cottage garden flower, and the little mauve-flowered vervain, which is often found growing among ancient ruins.

On the side of magical protection, there is the splendid golden-yellow. St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), which used to be called Fuga demonum, because it banished evil spirits. The rowan tree, or mountain ash, with its handsome red berries, performs the same good office, and dissolves evil spells. It was the great Gaelic charm against all bewitchment. An old Scottish greeting was, “Peace be here and rowan tree.”

The list of the magical properties attributed to flowers, trees and roots could be extended almost indefinitely. An important department of herbal lore was the making of ’suffumigations’ or magical incenses, which would attract spirits and cause them to appear. (See INCENSE, MAGICAL USES OF.)

Centuries of mystic lore have accumulated around the plant called the mandrake. However, the true mandrake does not grow wild in Britain; so the plant used by witches for similar purposes, that is, the making of magical figures in the shape of a little man or woman, are the roots of the black or white briony. (See MANDRAKE.)

Believing as they do in the magic of numbers, witches like to use either three, seven or nine herbs in compounding a charm or a spell. These numbers have from time immemorial been considered to have potent occult properties.

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) was called by the old-time herbalists Mater Herbarum, ’the Mother of Herbs’, because of its pre-eminent qualities. It was particularly associated with the goddess Diana, and the pictures in old herbals show her holding a spray of it. Its leaves are silver underneath, and it is generally regarded as ruled by the moon, though Culpeper ascribes it to Venus. An infusion of tea made of mugwort is believed to aid in the development of clairvoyance. The young leaves are used, sweetened with a little honey; but of course the herb has to be gathered at full moon to be most effective.

As a witches’ herb, mugwort often appears in magical recipes. For instance, the magic mirror was sometimes anointed with its juice, and the herb was mingled with the burning incense when the mirror was used. (See SCRYING.)