Natural Magic - Doreen Valiente 1998

Magic of Herbs and Flowers

Herbs and flowers, trees and grasses, mosses, lichens, fungi—all are the wonderful gifts of Mother Earth, and part of her magic. Not only are they beautiful, but all other life on earth is dependent on them. Plants and trees absorb the carbon dioxide which is poisonous to us, and exhale the life-giving oxygen. All life is one; the balance of nature is a very real thing and nothing can be wantonly destroyed without damaging the whole.

Today, people are beginning at last to realize the dangers of allowing this wonderful earth of ours to be ruthlessly ravaged and polluted. The worldly wise, who sneered at people trying to preserve our trees and our countryside and called them ’sentimentalists’, are shown to be not so clever after all. Not only does nature need our care; we need the things of nature.

People today have a very high standard of living, compared with what our ancestors used to know. Yet according to the National Association for Mental Health, forty-five per cent of all hospital beds are occupied by people who are mentally ill. What an indictment of our materialistic society!

If people were less ’clever’ and more intuitive, if we lived more in harmony with nature, I believe that these terrible statistics could be reduced. True magic, the old wise-craft, is one way of bringing people more in harmony with nature. It teaches its followers not to despise the intellect, but to give it its proper place and no more. It tells us that we are not living truly human lives if we have a very clever brain but a barren heart.

Herbs, flowers and trees are the original sources of medicine for the body and their beauty and subtle influences have always been magical. Old cottage gardens were planted with flowers, not only for their appearance but for their occult properties. Some of these properties are hinted at in the popular names of herbs and flowers—names which in themselves are delightful.

For instance, lad’s-love and love-in-a-mist are both plants associated with love spells. The lovely little sea-pink called thrift is a talisman to aid money-saving—it was featured on some issues of the old twelve-sided threepenny piece. The houseleek, which grows on the roofs of old buildings, was called ’Jupiter’s Beard’ or ’Jupiter’s Eye’, and it was believed to protect the house from lightning, the weapon of Jupiter the sky-god.

Perhaps it was mere coincidence, but those of us who remember the war will recall how London’s bombed sites soon became covered with rose bay willow herb, a tall, waving plant with deep pink flowers, which together with a number of similar plants shares an old, significant name—loosestrife, meaning the ending of war. When the bombers had gone, Nature herself clothed the desolation, not only with one of our most beautiful wild flowers, but one that had a meaning for those who knew the magic of earth.

A plant does not need to be rare in order to be magical, Some of our commonest weeds have fascinating names—for instance, the heads of little yellow flowers called Gold of Pleasure (Carmelina sativa), a name instantly evocative of sunlit meadows. Names like bergamot, coriander and rosemary bring to mind the old apothecary’s shop, with its jars of pot-pourri and pomanders. Old herbals such as that of John Gerard, published in the seventeenth century, give an amazing variety of names for our native herbs, many of which contain clues to their magical properties.

I am not concerned here so much with the medicinal uses of herbs, as with their subtler, more occult secrets—what one could call green magic. This is sometimes also called floromancy; though strictly speaking the latter word means divination by flowers.

If you would like to bring a breath of the old apothecaries’ lore into your home, the pomanders mentioned above are quite easy to make. They consist of a dried orange stuck with cloves, which exhales a spicy fragrance and repels moths from your clothes.

Symbolic magical design showing, in the centre, a symbol of the powers of the Moon. Above is a heart, and below a rose, representing love and life, which are the meanings of the words “amor” and “vita”. The garland of twining leaves represents fertility. At the four corners are emblems of the four seasons. Starting at the lower left-hand corner and reading clockwise, they show Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Get a nice sound orange, with not too thick skin, and a quantity of whole cloves. Then stud the skin of the orange with the cloves until it is completely covered. Some people like to simmer the orange a little in hot water first, to soften it, before sticking in the cloves. Then when the orange has got as many cloves as it will take, so that the whole skin is covered, put it somewhere warm, but not hot, to dry. An airing cupboard, for instance, will answer the purpose very well; and the orange should take about a fortnight to dry. The dried orange can be decorated with coloured ribbon, which will also serve to hang it up, or enclosed in a piece of thin gauze or net and finished off with ribbon. Kept in a dry place, these pomanders will last a long time and retain their fragrance.

Part of old-time village life was the white witch, wise-woman, or herb-wife, with her garden full of fragrant and curious herbs. Probably dwelling in the garden too would be a toad, that village gossip whispered was her familiar. However, the toad’s real function in the garden was to keep down insect pests, because insects are the toad’s food—he is actually a harmless and intelligent creature and the gardener’s friend, in spite of all the sinister legends about him. The wise-woman’s garden would probably be far from tidy; but it would be a place of magic, full of scent and colour and mystery.

We too can grow a lucky and magical garden, if we know something of the old plant lore. For instance, we can encourage the sweet-scented things like lavender, rosemary, sage and thyme—the sweet smell of success is not a mere figure of speech; and we can cultivate the plants of the Sun—that is, those which are under the Sun’s astrological rulership. The Sun is the giver of life, strength and light. A happy person is said to have a sunny disposition, and this too is the influence brought by the herbs of the Sun in your garden.

Of these, perhaps the most obvious are sunflowers, the real old-fashioned ones as big as a dinner-plate. But if your garden is too small to accommodate these, there is a sovereign magical plant of splendid golden yellow, the hypericum or St John’s Wort. This was originally a wild flower, but garden varieties are now obtainable, and if you pick it on Midsummer Day it has magical properties for luck and love, and will drive away evil spirits, according to the old belief. The bright golden-yellow marigolds are flowers of the Sun, too. So is heliotrope, the old name for which is cherry-pie, because that is what it smells like when the hot sun shines on it. The bay-tree, too, is ruled by the Sun, and is another cheerful and healthy influence in your garden.

For money luck, plant the things ruled by Jupiter, the bringer of good fortune and prosperity. Lilac is one of these—and again we notice how sweet-smelling things are luck-bringers. Honeysuckle is another plant of money-luck. The blossoming almond-tree, also ruled by Jupiter, is a beneficent influence as well as being beautiful to look at.

The jolly plants called red-hot-pokers, ruled by Mars, are another pleasant thing to have in your garden. They represent the good side of Mars, life and virility. Most bright red flowers are ruled by Mars, and will give a strengthening influence when mingled with the golden yellow of the solar plants.

The blue morning glory is a lucky garden plant, bringing an influence of peace and happiness. Most bright blue flowers are ruled by Venus, and give aid in matters of love. Forget-me-not, for instance, shows its properties by its name and so does love-in-a-mist. The blue periwinkle has the old name of Sorcerer’s Violet, from the belief in its potency as a love charm.

However, the flower of Venus par excellence is the rose, in all its varieties, but particularly the pink and red rose, the very emblems of love. The more sweet-scented the rose, the better it is for this purpose; and it is a pity that modern ’progress’ has developed roses that are almost scentless, however showy they may be to look at—something rather typical of a good deal of ’progress’ itself. Nevertheless, the real old-fashioned roses can still be obtained and they are the ones with the most magical virtue.

Another plant much used in love charms is lemon verbena, which has leaves with a curious sharp perfume. The fragrant myrtle, too, has been sacred to Venus since the days of ancient Greece. The way in which herbs and flowers like this were used to attract love was as follows. They were picked by the light of the full moon, dried, and sewn up into a little sachet made of pale blue or emerald green silk. This was worn next to the skin, either hung round the neck or pinned inside the clothes. Either three, seven or nine of the herbs of Venus were used, and the more fragrant they were, the better.

If you want to have a corner of your garden which is especially magical, plant there the exquisite little flower called Solomon’s Seal, with its waxy white blossoms. Plant also the iris, or fleur-de-luce, the ’flower of light’, the symbol of inspiration; and, if you can get it, plant the true vervain (Verbena officinalis), and the rue or ’Herb of grace’. The last two plants are the favourites of Italian witches, the followers of La vecchia religione, the worship of the moon goddess Diana.

Indeed, you cannot possibly have a magical garden unless you have some plants there which honour the moon goddess, the mistress of magic. Most plants with pure white flowers are ruled by the Moon, especially those which give forth their perfume in the evening, like night-scented stock. There are moon-daisies, too, and white narcissi. White lilies are ruled by the Moon and the madonna lily was originally the flower of the moon goddess.

The lore of moon magic, especially in connection with growing things, is almost endless; but its basis is quite simple. The waxing moon is the time of growth and invoking for the things you want. The full moon is the time of integration and perfection, the high tide of psychic matters. The waning moon is the time of decrease and of banishing the things you want to get rid of. The dark of the moon is the time when dark forces are abroad, and not a good period to venture into the psychic realms.

If you wish to have good fortune in the coming month, then on the day of the new moon put some pure white flowers in a vase of silver, crystal or cut glass and stand them in a window where the moonlight can shine on them. They will not only be good to look at, but will attract the beneficent influence of the moon; and if you have grown the flowers youself they will be all the better, because your own loving care and effort has been put into them.

Perhaps, however, you do not have a garden of your own, but can only find room for a few indoor plants, or a window-box. Nevertheless, you can still select some plants with fortunate influences. Geraniums are a fortunate plant for a window-box. The bright red ones have an aura of strength and vitality; they will cheer you up when you are feeling low. The pink ones, especially the rose geranium, which has rose-scented leaves, are lucky for love; while the white ones encourage human fertility and the arrival of babies.

It is possible nowadays to get actual miniature roses to grow as indoor plants, and they have the same rulership by Venus as full-size roses. So if you can get some of these lovely little plants to grow for you, they will bring the beneficent influence of Venus with them, to aid in matters of love, friendship and affection. Another indoor plant of Venus is the delicate maidenhair fern.

Do you want to get things moving and bring an influence of activity and travel to your home? Then the plant for you is the popular indoor grower called Impatiens, which is ruled by Mercury. Its colloquial name is Busy Lizzie, which hints at the sort of influence it has, as these old names so often do; and it is a pretty little plant in itself.

Talking of old names for plants, an amusing one is that of the prolific little green creeper, with many tiny leaves, that old cottages often grew in pots on their window-sills outdoors, or just beside the door of the house. It is called Mind-your-own-business—and that is exactly the influence it was supposed to have. It turned aside the inquisitiveness of nosy, gossiping people; and fortunately, this pleasant little evergreen plant is still obtainable.

An evergreen which is not fortunate to grow indoors is ivy, in spite of its popularity for decoration. It is a parasitic plant, and its influence when grown indoors in pots is not a lucky one. “A rare old plant is the ivy green” when clothing some crumbling ruin with its glossy green leaves, or entwined with holly to make a Yuletide garland; but apart from the latter, outdoors is the best place for it.

A better evergreen plant for indoors is the good old-fashioned aspidistra. Being remarkably long-lived, it is ruled by the beneficent side of Saturn; that is, it has Saturn’s good qualities of tranquillity and endurance. This rulership is typified by the fact that the aspidistra has come to be the very epitome of Victorian respectability and homely comfort. Well, there is a good deal to be said for homely comfort; and the aspidistra’s influence is to calm and dispel fears, especially those which oppress us by night and bring bad dreams. When properly looked after, its dark green leaves should have a sheen on them which makes it a handsome plant.

Another pot plant to ward off bad dreams is the cyclamen. People grew it in their houses in olden times because they believed it kept away evil spirits.

A lucky indoor collection of plants would be one for each day of the week, according to their planetary rulerships. The Sun rules Sunday, the Moon, Monday; Mars, Tuesday; Mercury, Wednesday; Jupiter, Thursday; Venus, Friday and Saturn, Saturday. So you could have a bright orange flower for Sunday, a white one for Monday, a red one for Tuesday, a yellow one, or a Busy Lizzie, for Wednesday, a purple one for Thursday, a light blue one or a miniature rose for Friday and an evergreen for Saturday.

If you want to bring good vibrations to your home, get two vases of bright golden-yellow or orange-coloured flowers, full of the cheerful influence of the Sun. Place them on opposite sides of the living room, and arrange a mirror behind each vase, so that the mirrors reflect the vases and each other. This will give an invisible ray of solar influence across your room, which will serve to dispel evil and encourage good, so long as the flowers remain fresh and alive. (Never keep cut flowers that have started to wilt and decay, as their influence then is not a beneficial one). You can also perform this piece of flower magic with any other flowers whose planetary influence you wish to invoke.

If you are feeling low and depressed, perhaps after an illness, for instance, a vase full of thistles in your room will give you an influence of restored strength and vitality. Thistles have always been esteemed for their health-giving properties, and were much used medicinally in olden times, especially the large variety called milk thistle, which was known as Carduus benedictus, ’blessed thistle’. Some big, handsome varieties of thistle make good garden plants, too, and their presence was anciently supposed to ward off thieves.

The silvery dried seed pods of honesty (Lunaria biennis) are fortunate to have as a decoration in your home. They bring money luck; their Latin name shows that they are ruled by the Moon, and they remind one of the Moon’s metal, silver. ’Honest effort well rewarded’ is the meaning of this plant.

The magical virtues of herbs and flowers is a subject one could write about almost indefinitely; but we must find room here to talk about trees. Did you know, for instance, that the elder is a witches’ tree, and that it is asking for trouble to cut down or prune one without seeking leave of the tree spirit that dwells invisibly within? Or that the oak tree, the ash and the thorn are called ’the fairy triad’, because where they are found growing together you stand a good chance of seeing the fairies—if you have the second sight, that is?

Trees are things that have a personality of their own; they can be friendly or otherwise. The elm is traditionally an unfriendly tree to mankind, beautiful though the traceries of its branches are against a winter sky. Out in the broad meadows is the place for it, rather than too near your home. But the apple tree, with its pink blossom and kindly fruit, is one of the friendliest trees there are.

If you know anyone who is pruning or cutting down an old apple tree, ask for some of its wood to make a luck-bringing fire for your home. Soak the logs of apple-wood in sea-water or brine for twenty-eight days—a lunar month. Then dry them out thoroughly and burn them on your fire. They will not only delight you with their many-coloured flames and the sweet smell they make while burning. Within a month, says the old story, some good luck will come to your door.

Other fortunate trees to have near your home are the graceful silver birch, the maple tree which is a harbinger of prosperity and the grand old guardian oak. The holly tree is a good neighbour, too, and brings money luck; but the plane tree growing near one’s house is supposed to do just the reverse and is sometimes known as the tree of poverty.

Those strange trees called monkey-puzzles are not regarded as fortunate; they are believed to be bringers of discord. Presumably, they get their name because it would puzzle a monkey how to climb such a spiky thing; and their spikiness, by reason of the old doctrine of signatures or like producing like, made old-time wise-women look on them with disfavour.

The ash is a beneficent tree and often mentioned in old spells and legends. For instance, one old book of spells tells of invoking the aid of the ash tree to charm warts. Cross each wart with a pin three times, and after each crossing repeat, “Ash tree, ashen tree, pray buy this wart of me.” Then stick the pin in the tree and, by and by, the wart will disappear and grow on the tree instead. But you must do this secretly and not tell anyone about it, or the spell will not work. The best time to do this is in the waning of the moon—and use new pins, a different one for each wart. Today, doctors and psychologists accept that warts can be charmed, though they do not know just how the old magic works. But why worry, so long as it does?

The Woodland Path

An even ash-leaf—that is, one with an even number of leaflets on it—is as lucky a thing as a four-leafed clover, according to ancient lore. It was particularly valued as a love-charm and if you put it under your pillow you would dream of your true love. One old rhyme, that country maidens said when they found an even ash-leaf, ran as follows:

This even ash I double in three,

The first man I meet my true love shall be;

If he be married let him pass by,

But if he be single, let him draw nigh.

Of course, the essence of the charm was for the one who worked it to hide the ash-leaf in her bosom at some time and place where the next man she met was likely to be the one she wanted.

Trees as large as the ash, however, are seldom found in people’s gardens today; but a smaller tree, and one replete with good magic since the days of the Druids, is the rowan or mountain ash. Its bright red berries are a splendid sight in the autumn and no evil spirits can abide it, nor black magic flourish in its presence. Birds love its fruit, and this should not be grudged to them; because to have plenty of wild birds frequenting your garden is a sign of a good atmosphere in that place. Places of ill omen are those where no birds sing.

The magical lore and legend of trees, like that of herbs, is almost endless. Only a glimpse has been given here into the realms of green magic; but enough, I hope, to awaken deeper interest in enjoying and caring for the wondrous bounties of Earth, the Great Mother.