Garden Witch's Herbal (14 page)

Inside the apple is a natural star. Slice an apple crosswise to reveal the star-shaped arrangement of the seeds. The apple fruit is often used in magick and rituals as a natural pentagram. In the language of flowers, the fruit symbolizes healing, preference, and appeal. The apple is sacred to many magickal cultures, and the wood was preferred for magickal wands and staffs. Also, it is good luck to grow an apple tree in the garden, as it marks a sacred space and will attract nature spirits and land elementals. The astrological correspondence of the tree is Venus. It is associated with the element of water.

The ABC Charm

According to folklore, if you have a sick plant in the garden, take a “perfect” apple and charm it to restore vitality to the ailing plant. Then, after you have enchanted the apple, dig a hole next to the plant and bury the apple. Legend states that as the buried apple decomposes, the other plant will be restored to health. Try working this charm during a waning moon: as the moon grows smaller, the plant's illness will diminish. To perform this charm, hold the apple in your hands, and then repeat the verse:

A is for the apple, so rosy, round, and fair,

B is for blessing, as I speak it in the air.

C is for charm, may you restore vitality,

This spell is spun by the power of three times three.

Now bury the apple; gently pat and smooth out the ground. Mark the area by drawing a pentagram in the dirt on top of the apple. Pat the soil three times, and then close the spell with these lines:

This plant-healing apple spell is spun from the heart,

Worked for the good of all with a Green Witch's art.

blackthorn

Blackthorn or Sloe (
Prunus spinosa
)

From a botanical standpoint, the blackthorn is a large shrub or a small tree of the genus
Prunus
. It is a native plant to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. The common name, “blackthorn,” comes from the small tree's dark bark and skin and from the thorns, or spines, that it bears. The blackthorn is covered in white blossoms in early spring and is often the first tree to flower in the wild. The flowers will appear before the leaves, and the leaves are followed by the purple fruit. The blackthorn bears a dark purple fruit called the sloe.

This bitter, edible fruit is used in jellies, jams, and wines. Today, the sloe is frozen first before cooking or eating to make it more palatable. In the past, it would have been cooked into preserves, and folks would not have eaten it raw. The fruit of the blackthorn was also used to make sloe gin.

In medieval times, this was a prized “tree” for planting in hedgerows, as the thorns kept sheep and roaming cattle out of gardens. The blackthorn is still a popular plant today for hedging and for cover for game birds. Some forms are grown as ornamental specimens and of course for their flowers and bird-friendly fruits. The blackthorn blossom also draws butterflies and provides a good source of nectar for the birds in the spring.

In Irish myth, the Lunatishees—the blackthorn faeries—guard blackthorn bushes. This is a healing and a protective plant, and its astrological correspondence is Saturn.

The Blackthorn Reversal Candle Spell

If you believe that a spell was cast against you or that negative thoughtforms from an unknown person may be influencing you detrimentally, then this is the spell to help reverse the effects. This candle spell is creative and just a bit nasty. (Yes, feel free to twiddle your fingers
à
la Mr. Burns and purr, “Ah, excellent … ”) In this spell, you will be using the thorns of the blackthorn tree and inserting them into a white, unscented pillar candle.

This spell would be the most successful if cast in a waning moon phase on a Saturday. We are using the waning moon to diminish the effects of the other caster's negative spells, while Saturday is the day associated with Saturn and karma, and it's perfect for spell-busting. As you cast this spell, you will be calling upon the Crone Goddess and asking her to dispense her justice as she sees fit—not as you imagine it but as she deems necessary.

Take three thorns from the blackthorn tree and carefully insert the first of the three into the candle. As you insert the first thorn, speak the first line of the spell. Then intone the second line of the spell as you put in the second thorn. The third line is repeated as you insert the third thorn in the candle. Finally, light the candle and say the fourth line.

Here is the spell:

May this thorn prick your conscience and cause you to regret,

This thorn will teach you a lesson you'll never forget.

The third thorn now breaks all spells that were cast against me,

The Crone protects her children with the power of three.

Close the spell with these lines:

May this spell work out in the best possible way

With the wisdom of the Crone Goddess, come what may.

The three thorns and candle will create a reverse

Keeping me free from harm and any other curse.

Allow the candle to burn out in a safe place. When finished, dispose of any leftover wax and the thorns neatly and away from your property.

Garden Witch Tip:
Should you be unable to locate a blackthorn tree, you could substitute the thorns from another hedgerow tree or plant such as the hawthorn for this reversal spell. If possible, though, work with the blackthorn.

Wild Blackberry or Bramble
(
Rubus fruticosus
)

The term
bramble
refers to thorny plants of the genus
Rubus
of the rose family (
Rosaceae
). Brambles include blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, and other similar plants. Technically, bramble fruit is the fruit of any plant of the genus
Rubus
. In the UK, the term
bramble
typically refers to the blackberry bush only, while in Scotland and the north of England, it refers to both the blackberry bush and its fruit.

Bramble bushes have a distinctive growth form. They send up long, arching canes that do not flower or set fruit until the second year of growth. Many types of brambles bear edible fruit; there are actually hundreds of microspecies. Most species of brambles have recurved thorns that will dig into clothing and, unfortunately, flesh when a person tries to pull away from them. Brambles usually have trifoliate leaves, which means that the leaves are divided, or grouped, into three leaflets. The blackberry produces a juicy purple-black fruit that is loaded with fiber and vitamin C. The fruits of the blackberry are popular for preserves as well as pies.

The thorny varieties of this plant are sometimes grown for game cover in hedgerows and occasionally for protection. Most species of the blackberry are important for conserving the local native wildlife habitat. The flowers of the blackberry also are useful, as they attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees.

Blackberries were typically not grown as a garden plant because they were so plentiful in the wild. Today there are varieties that are very suitable for a home garden—just be sure to keep them under control, as they will spread and are considered to be aggressive. The blackberry had connections with many different gods, including the Celtic goddess Brigid. Their astrological influence is Venus, and the elemental association is water. Magickally, blackberry fruits, flowers, and leaves are used for healing, money, and protection spells. This is considered a favored faerie plant that helped keep humans out of faerie forts and rafts (where they were never supposed to be).

A Healing Charm with Blackberry

According to old folk magick, the blackberry leaves were a remedy for minor burns but were thought to be their most powerful when accompanied with a healing charm that was repeated three times. Here is a witchy version of the healing charm; hold your hands directly over the burn, and repeat the charm:

Three ladies came from the east,

One brought fire, two brought frost.

Out, fire, and in, frost,

In the name of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

Please use your Witch's common sense and have serious burns treated by a medical professional. Use the healing charm in conjunction with good medical care.

Elder or Elderberry (
Sambucus canadensis
)

The elder is technically classified as a shrub, and it is part of the honeysuckle family. This shrub produces thicket-forming root runners with many stems and may grow up to ten feet in height. The flowers bloom May through July and are formed in umbrella-shaped clusters that are described as being delicately scented. The tree produces edible fruit that is often made into jellies or wine. Birds and animals also enjoy the elderberry. The elderberry habitat includes fencerows, ditches, and waste places.

The elder is sacred to many Mother and Crone Goddesses. It was considered to be the ultimate insult to the Goddess to burn the wood of an elder tree. Elder wood was never to be cut from a living tree, nor was it to be burned as firewood, which goes along with the old folk rhyme, “Elder is the Lady's tree; burn it not, or cursed you'll be.”

The elder flowers and wood were used in many types of magick, including protection, removing curses, prosperity, and healing; tucking the berries beneath your pillow is thought to help promote a good night's sleep, not to mention giving you a purple pillowcase come morning. Another elder charm included bringing bare (fallen) branches indoors and then hanging them up over doorways to ward your home. According to the language of flowers, the elderberry brings gentleness, sympathy, and passion. The elder's planetary influence is Venus, and the elemental association is water.

Elderberry Protective Charm

Gather a bunch of fresh purple elderberries and adorn them with a red satin ribbon. Then hang the little bouquet up in the front window of your home and allow it to dry. This will add another layer of protection to the other shielding and warding spells you already have in place. You may work this spell on a Saturday (Saturn's day) to tap into the closing energies of the week and the banishing influences of the day. Or you could also work on a Friday, a Venus day, to promote love and peace around your home.

As you place the bouquet, repeat this protection charm:

With a red satin ribbon, I hang these berries,

No evil shall enter, no bad luck will tarry.

Elder is the Lady's tree of power,

Protect my home well in every hour.

Close the spell with these lines:

This protective berry spell is spun from the heart,

Worked for the good of all with a Green Witch's art.