The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2017

Experience the Environmental Energy Around You
Attune Yourself to Nature
Discovering the Green Witch

Although the green witch uses herbs for their medicinal qualities, the magical qualities of the natural world are also very much her friends. If you look at the uses traditionally associated with various herbs throughout the ages, the medicinal benefits often parallel the magical uses. This is because, in addition to a certain chemical makeup that determines its effect when applied to the physical body, an herb also possesses a unique energy that affects the emotions and spirit of a person.

EXERCISE: SENSING ENERGY

Perform this exercise with a plant with which you are familiar, then try it with something you’ve never seen or handled before. Trust your observations. For this exercise, you’ll need the plant, plus your green witch journal and a pen or pencil.

1. Take the plant in your hand. If it is a dried or harvested herb, hold a pinch in your palm or hold your hand over it, palm down. If it is a living plant that you have correctly identified as safe to touch, gently touch it with your fingers. If you cannot identify it, hold your hand above or to the side of the plant with your palm toward it.

2. Close your eyes and imagine your palm glowing. Focus on the sensation of your palm. It may tingle or grow warm or cool. That means you’re focusing on the energy your palm is creating naturally.

3. Visualize the plant glowing.

4. Visualize the glow of energy collected in your palm gently stretching out to touch the glowing energy of the plant. As the two energies meet, ask yourself what you sense. Do you feel a specific emotion? Do ideas drift into your head? Thoughts or vague hunches? Pay attention. This is a method for collecting observations about the plant by sensing its energy with your own energy.

5. When you feel you have observed enough, send the plant a feeling of gratitude for its cooperation, then visualize your energy disengaging from that of the plant and drawing back into your palm.

6. Open your eyes and shake your hand firmly, as if you’re shaking water off of it. This will help you get rid of any excess energy hanging on.

7. Write your observations in your green witch journal. What was the experience like? What sort of observations did you make while sensing the energy of the plant? Did the plant feel energetic, calming, nurturing? Write down everything that comes to you and don’t worry about whether it makes sense or not.

Your observations of the energy of the plant are valid because they’re yours. Everyone interacts differently with the energy of a plant. If lavender energizes you, then that is one of lavender’s energy benefits in your practice, even though many books will tell you that lavender generally projects feelings of peace and tranquility. Acquiring firsthand knowledge is important for a green witch, as it shapes and refines your practice, personalizing it in a way that makes it truly unique.