The Magic of Flowers: A Guide to Their Metaphysical Uses & Properties - Tess Whitehurst 2013

Heather
The Flowers

Heather’s overall energetic dynamic is one of nostalgia: she guides us toward reaping wisdom, comfort, and healing from memories and past conditions. Gently and with compassion, she helps us to make positive changes as we use the past as a springboard for our present evolution.

Magical Uses

Connecting with Ancestors and Ancestral Wisdom

Heather can be a great addition to an ancestral altar, which is an altar created to honor a deceased loved one. Or you might spend time with her in quiet contemplation, bring her into your garden or home, or take her in essence form to facilitate a deeper connection with your heritage, your ancestors, and with the wisdom encoded in the past.

Along similar lines, author Scott Cunningham notes that heather “has also long been used to conjure ghosts.” However, please note that I recommend employing heather (or anything else!) for this purpose only if you are an expert in this area. Otherwise, you may find yourself with an unwanted guest (or several).

Healing Deep Issues

Because of heather’s affinity for the past, she can be an excellent ally for any time you’re delving deep to heal and release old issues. By connecting even more deeply with the issues, you become enabled to heal them even more deeply. For this purpose, try taking the essence or adding it to your bath water, incorporating the flower into a ritual or charm, or trying any of the previous suggestions.

Luck

Traditionally (particularly in Scotland), carrying white heather has been magically employed to enhance one’s luck.

Memory

Heather’s alignment with the past can also come in handy when your magical intention relates to strengthening your (or someone else’s) memory. Try taking the essence or incorporating heather into a ritual or charm.

Physical Healing

Some herbalists recommend heather for kidney and bladder conditions, as well as for cystitis and rheumatism. To employ heather for this purpose, consult an herbalist or other holistic health professional.

Protection

In The Meaning of Flowers, Gretchen Scoble and Ann Field note that while red heather promises passion, white heather offers “protection from rash, passionate acts.” Similarly, Scott Cunningham reveals that “heather is carried as a guard against rape and other violent crimes.” Indeed, simply carrying her can be highly protective. For safe travel (or for safely traversing any situation), you might try creating the following charm.

CHARM FOR SAFE TRAVELS

Gently and lovingly gather a single flowering tip of a white heather plant. Place this blossom in a small muslin drawstring bag, along with an iron pyrite (being sure to cleanse the crystal first in bright sunlight, running water, or white sage smoke) and a pinch of mugwort. Hold the bag in both hands and say:

I call on angels to protect me, I call on the Goddess to protect me.

The earth protects me, the sky protects me, the stars protect me,

the planets protect me. I am safe now and in all directions of time.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Blessed be. And so it is.

Safety-pin the charm to the inside of your clothes whenever an extra dose of protection is desired.

Transmutation

Heather is a master alchemist when it comes to transmuting violent, angry vibrations into soft, nurturing ones. She’s also an expert at transmuting the pain of the past into valuable wisdom for the present and future. This can be valuable anytime we have a lot of seemingly negative energy floating around, because she can help us not just get rid of it, but channel it toward increasing our blessings and overall well-being. For this purpose, try bringing potted heather or a bouquet of heather into your space or misting yourself or your space with the following mist potion.

TRANSMUTATION MIST POTION

Add nine drops heather essence to a mister of rose water, along with ten drops ylang ylang essential oil, five drops tangerine essential oil, and a small lepidolite crystal that has been cleansed and empowered in sunlight.

Magical Correspondences

Element: Earth

Gender: Female

Planet: Pluto