Garden Witch's Herbal (33 page)

We knew we were in trouble the following morning when the sun came up, and we saw the damage for ourselves. You could not go out and look, you could only safely peer out the windows. It was too dangerous to poke around in the yard as ice-covered limbs were still falling. Later in the morning, we heard a rumble and looked out the living-room windows to see troops of National Guard soldiers walking down our street in their camouflage. They cleared out downed trees and ice-covered limbs as they worked their way down the street.

It was surreal to see soldiers and a Humvee rolling down our block. But Goddess bless them, the guardsmen went to every house and checked on people and handed out flyers for warming shelters and other emergency information. I won't even mention the CNN national news van or the local news. My mind basically snapped to survival mode once I saw the soldiers.

That afternoon, my husband climbed up on the ice-covered roof, much to my dismay, to cover the holes in the roof with waterproof tarps. He was up there with a battery-operated drill, a pocket full of large screws, a few two-by-fours, and ropes. We tied off the edges of the tarps to bricks and large branches on the ground to keep the tarp down so it would not flap in the wind. It's amazing what you can do when you have to. We cleaned up the tree debris in the yard ourselves to save money, and my husband had covered up the roof so well that the insurance company gave us a break on our deductible. Having our neighborhood declared a disaster area by the governor didn't hurt, either.

We had thought that the tornado damage was bad. By the time the ice melted and people began the cleanup, there were more branches down on the ground then left up in the trees. Besides the roof damage, our shed in the backyard was completely mashed, our privacy fence was damaged, and the patio furniture was in pieces. We ended up with so much damage to the house that the local paper interviewed us, and we ended up on the front page. It was a real adventure.

After making the repairs to the roof (they ripped half of the roof off to the rafters and rebuilt it) and cleaning up the damage to the yard each time, the landscape and layout of my garden took a striking turn. Gone were two of my largest trees, one lost to the tornado and yet another to that horrific winter ice storm. What was at one time a mysterious shade garden was now laid bare and exposed to bright sunshine.

On Imbolc day in 2007, three weeks after the ice storm, I walked out in the backyard to regard the area where the big old maple tree had been cut down the day before. Even though I knew it was going to make a huge difference in the yard's landscape, I was still shocked to realize just how dramatic of a change it was. All of those shady perennials, which were at the moment safely sleeping away the winter underground, were going to have to be dug up and moved come spring. My well-ordered and established beds were a wreck, and I knew I had massive amounts of work to do, both to heal the land and to reclaim our gardens.

But with all the change laid out before me and the realization of months of hard work ahead, a little seed of hope began to sprout in me. What better chance to dig a little deeper and to personally explore the wonders of the magick of herbalism and of the garden? That spring, we tore down the flattened shed and rebuilt a better one in a different location in the backyard. This gave us the opportunity to expand one of the patios, and it made the garden look much more open. I transplanted all my shady perennials, which took about a week's worth of hard work, and started over. We left the bed open where the maple tree had stood. We did amend the soil and plant a few annuals, but I watched it to see how much sunshine it would receive—it got a ton. So, since we had so much money tied up in landscaping and rebuilding the fence and the shed, I filled the space full of pots and containers and plotted the reestablishing of my enchanted garden for the following year.

Some of the magickal shady plants didn't survive. A few of my foxgloves didn't make it. My lady's mantle, columbine, ferns, and sweet woodruff were all transplanted into what I figured would be shade but turned out to be sun. Oops. Well, come August, they and my hostas had taken a beating. So I watered, tried to keep them alive, and watched the sun and shade patterns. I kept notes all summer and fall and then considered my options. In a moment of dark humor, I said to my husband as we realized we had yet again more transplanting to do, “A lot of good perennials died this summer … I wonder how many didn't have to.”

Garden Challenges and Starting Over

To make a great garden,
one must have a great idea or a great opportunity.

sir george sitwell

Now, as I sit in my office, it's late January, a year later. Imbolc is coming in a week, and in my mind (and on paper) I have been working out where all those shady perennials will be moved to for the second time. As for that spot where the maple used to be, it is going to be planted full of sun-loving magickal herbs and perennials: monarda, coneflowers, butterfly bush, tall phlox, roses, yarrow, and lavender. So not only will it be a reclaimed and lovely spot again, it will also pull in butterflies and birds, and hopefully the faeries will return. With all the hoopla of rebuilding, transplanting, and salvaging what we could in the garden, we didn't notice that tingle or tug that let us know they were there. But after a few group sabbat rituals were performed out in the garden area and patio this autumn, I knew we would get them to return. I learned quite a bit about the garden and green magick while we rebuilt the backyard. Now, if I go outside in the back, I can feel that sense of expectancy. Spring is on the way, and the garden is waiting to be rebuilt.

All I have to do is wait until spring, and then I'm diving in. I will replant, nurture, create, and bless a brand-new magickal garden. While it won't be the mysteriously magickal and shady haven it once was, it will be bright, open, fragrant, and full of enchanting possibilities.

So yes, as a magickal herbalist, a Witch, and a Green Magician, you will face challenges, both in how and where you practice. However, it shows who you truly are when you can make it work despite what is going on around you—or when you can turn a garden misfortune into a gardening triumph.

Closing Thoughts

Nature has her own best mode of doing each thing,
and she has somewhere told it plainly, if we will keep our eyes and ears open. If not, she will not be slow in undeceiving us, when we prefer our own way to hers.

ralph waldo emerson

By exploring this particular path of magick and by listening to our own hearts, we gain a deep and meaningful sense of connection to nature and to the spirit world. This sense of reverence is but a tool and another magickal lesson to be learned. As we acknowledge the magickal forces and energies of nature while working with the green world, this puts us on a less-traveled route. However, it does offer the seeker a quiet sense of rightness and belonging. When we enter the wild places, looking for magick, we work hand-in-hand with nature.

So sit, pray, and practice your craft in your own sacred outdoor area, wherever it may be. Perhaps it will be in a sunny southwestern garden surrounded by succulents and bright herbs and wildflowers. Maybe that will be in your own backyard, surrounded by a witchy cottage-style garden of herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Perchance you are a clever urban Witch and have created a little oasis on the deck with hanging baskets and container gardens. Perhaps you go to the meadows, the woodlands, the mountains, or the beach to gain your sense of connection. No matter where you draw strength from the natural world, you must cultivate your relationship with nature and within your own magickal gardens.

Both green magick and herb magick are creative, physical activities. The longer you tend to and work in your enchanted gardens, the more you will notice that your use of the garden as a sacred space has indeed evolved, for the same divinity that is present in nature begins to transform you, too. Over the seasons and as you gain more experience, you will bloom into a more centered and spiritual magickal practitioner.

Individuals who honor the powers of nature, green magick, and the traditional ways of the wise woman and the cunning men gain a connection to the magickal world that is amazingly personal. Whether you are part of a large Pagan community or are all on your own, no matter if you work in a traditional coven, an open eclectic circle, or prefer to be a solitary, as a Green Practitioner (or Green Witch, if you prefer), you are truly never alone. Here, in the green world of the gardens, groves, wild places, hedgerows, forests, and woodlands, you are joined by the spirits of the wise ones throughout time.

The magick of the green world is waiting for you. Will you answer the call?

[contents]

Glossary

Strive to realize your kinship with all life on Earth by discovering more about the processes going on unnoticed in your garden.

maureen gilmer,
the gardener's way

Alkaloid:
A nitrogen-based compound contained in a plant, usually capable of having a powerful effect on bodily systems such as painkilling or poisoning.

Allergen:
A substance that causes an allergic reaction.

Amulet:
A type of herbal charm, ornament, or jewel that aids and protects its wearer.

Annual:
A plant that completes its life cycle in one growing season.

Autumn Equinox:
A Pagan/Wiccan sabbat also known as Mabon. This festival is celebrated on the autumnal equinox, which falls on or around September 21. This is called the Witches' Thanksgiving. It is the second of three harvest festivals and the forerunner of the “harvest home” celebrations.

Baneful herb:
A toxic herb. A poisonous herb or plant that causes death if ingested.

Beltane:
A greater sabbat celebrated by Wiccans and Pagans. Beltane begins at sundown on April 30. May Day, or Beltane Day, is May 1. This sabbat is considered the union of the God and Goddess. It is celebrated as a time of fertility, frivolity, and sexuality. Faerie magick is popular at Beltane, as it is also a time when the veil between our world and the world of faerie is thin, and anything can happen. Wreaths, baskets of flowers, and the Maypole are all part of the celebration.

Biennial:
A plant that grows vegetatively the first year and then is fruiting/blooming or dormant the second year. Foxglove, hollyhocks, and Queen Anne's lace are prime examples of this type of plant.

Bract:
A modified or specialized leaf. They are usually smaller in size than the foliage leaves, or a different color or texture from the plant's green foliage. Bracts may be brightly colored as compared to the foliage of the plant; good examples of a brightly colored bract are the Scarlet Indian paintbrush and the poinsettia.

Cassiel:
The archangel of Saturn. His sacred flower is the snowdrop, and his day of the week is Saturday. He governs good luck, temperance, and creativity.

Chaplet:
A crown of flowers, herbs, and greenery that is worn on the head.

Charm:
A rhyming series of words (a simple spell) used for specific magickal purposes.

Charm bag:
Similar to a sachet, a charm bag is a small cloth bag filled with aromatic herbs, charged crystals, and other magickal ingredients. Charm bags may be carried for any magickal purpose: health, safe travel, protection, to increase your confidence, and so on.

Craft, the:
The Witches' name for the old religion and practice of Witchcraft.

Cultivar:
A cultivar is a variant of a plant that has particular characteristics such as a leaf or flower variation. This new variant is developed and maintained under cultivation. The name of the cultivar is printed in Roman type, within single quotation marks, and is capitalized. An example would be this popular and hearty variety of lavender: Lavandula x angustifiolia ‘Munstead'. Munstead is the name of the cultivar.

Cunning Man:
An old term, traditionally meaning a male practitioner of magick and natural or holistic healing.

Deciduous:
A tree or shrub that loses its leaves annually in the autumn. The plants go dormant during the winter months and regrow their foliage the following spring.

Dioecious:
A plant that produces male and female flowers on different plants. There are male and female versions of these plants. Examples would be holly, bittersweet, and the yew tree.

Drupe:
A fleshy fruit with one or more seeds enclosed in a stony casing.

Dryad:
A tree spirit, usually associated with one tree.

Elementals:
Nature spirits, or energies, that coordinate with each element. Earth elementals are brownies and gnomes. Air elementals are faeries and sylphs. Fire elementals are dragons, drakes, and djinns. Finally, water elementals are undines and sirens.

Elements:
The four classic natural elements are earth, air, fire and water. These are the components of reality; without any one of these natural elements, human life would not be possible on our planet.

Enchant:
The classic definition is “to sing to.” To enchant something means that you load, or charge, an object with your personal power and positive intention.

Enchantment:
A spell, an act of magick. This word is often used interchangeably for the word
spell
.

Faerie:
A nature spirit, usually an earth or air elemental. May also be the spirit of a particular plant or flower.

Florigraphy:
The language of flowers.

Flower Fascination:
Fascination
is the art of directing another's consciousness or will toward you—to command or bewitch. Flower fascinations are elementary flower spells and floral charms used for various magickal purposes.

Garden Witch:
A practical, down-to-earth magickal practitioner. A Witch who is well versed in herbal knowledge and its uses and is a magickal gardener.

Genus:
A genus contains one species or several related species. The name appears in italic type and is designated by a capitalized Latin singular noun such as the genus for yarrow:
Achillea
.

Glochid:
A short hair, bristle, or spine having a barbed tip.

Green Magick:
A practical, nature-based system of the Craft that focuses on a reverence for the natural world, the individual's environment, and the plants and herbs that are indigenous to the practitioner's own area. Herbal and natural magick are essential to green magick.

Hawk Moth:
Any of numerous moths of the family
Sphingidae
, known for their very swift flight and ability to hover while sipping nectar from flowers. Also called sphingid, sphinx moth, and the hummingbird moth. Some hawk moths, like the hummingbird hawk moth, hover in midair while they feed on nectar from flowers. They are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds.

Herb:
A plant that is used for medicine, food, flavoring, or scent. Any part of the plant—the roots, stem, bark, leaves, seeds, or flowers—may be used for such purposes. An herb may be a tree, shrub, woody perennial, flower, annual, or fern.

Herbaceous Perennial:
A plant that is nonwoody and whose aboveground parts usually die back to the ground each winter. These plants survive by means of their vigorous root systems.

Herbalism:
The use of herbs in conjunction with magick to bring about positive change and transformation.

Hybrid:
A hybrid plant is created when two dissimilar plant species are crossed. Hybridized roses usually spring to mind, but mints, echinacea, lavender, columbine, and other herbs such as yarrow may be hybrids too. A hybrid is indicated by a multiplication sign, e.g.,
Achillea x lewisii
. The specific cultivar name of this variety of blooming yarrow plant is ‘King Edward'.

Imbolc:
A Pagan/Wiccan sabbat. A cross-quarter day and the halfway point of winter and spring. The light is returning, and spring is not far away. This sabbat is celebrated on February 2 and is also known as Brigid's day, Candlemas, and Oimelc.

Lughnasadh:
A greater sabbat that is celebrated on August 1. The first of three harvest festivals, it is also known as Lammas. This is the celebration of fruits, grains, and veggies from the gardens and the fields.

Magick:
The combination of your own personal power used in harmony with natural objects such as herbs, crystals, and the elements. Once these are combined and your goal is focused upon, typically by the act of repeating the spell verse and the lighting of a candle or the creation of an herbal charm, the act of magick then creates a positive change.

Midsummer:
The summer solstice and a Pagan/Wiccan sabbat that occurs on or around June 21. This is the point of the year when the sun is at its highest in the sky, and it is the longest day and shortest night. It is interesting to note that flowering herbs and perennials that bloom after the summer solstice will bloom for shorter time spans. This sabbat is also known as Litha, and it is a prime time to bless the garden and to commune with the faeries.

Ostara:
The vernal equinox and a Pagan/Wiccan sabbat that falls on or around March 20. This is a spring celebration of the Norse goddess Eostre, whose symbols include spring flowers, the hare of fertility, and colored eggs. This is a festival that celebrates spring and the earth's fertility in all its possibilities. It is a time to rejoice in life and new beginnings.

Perennial:
A perennial plant is one that lives three or more years. Herbaceous perennials are plants that are nonwoody and whose aboveground parts usually die back to the ground each winter. They survive by means of their vigorous root system.

Raceme:
An unbranched flower cluster, usually pyramid-shaped, with stalked blossoms on a lengthened axis.

Sabbat:
A sabbat is one of eight Pagan festivals and holy days of the Witch's year.

Sachet:
A small cloth bag filled with aromatic herbs and spices.

Sachiel:
The archangel of Jupiter. His sacred flower is the violet, his day of the week is Thursday. He governs justice, law, wealth, and victory.

Samhain:
Also known as Halloween, the Witches' New Year. The day when the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. This greater sabbat is celebrated at sundown on October 31. A popular holiday for children and adults, this is the time of year to honor and to remember your loved ones who have passed and to celebrate the coming year.

Sepal:
A petal-like leaf. A ring of sepals surrounds and protects the flower bud, forming the calyx.

Simple:
A simple is a basic element—a charm or spell that features only one ingredient, such as an enchanted herb.

Simpling:
The art of simpling consists of working with one select magickal herb or flower. These spells and charms are quick and, well, simple.

Spell:
A spell is a series of rhyming words that announces the spellcaster's intention verbally. These spoken words are combined with specific actions such as lighting a candle, creating an amulet, or gathering an herb. This is then worked in harmony with the tides of nature, and combined with the spellcaster's personal energy, thus making the magickal act endowed with the power to create positive change.

Stamen:
The pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower, usually consisting of a filament and an anther.

Stomata:
This is a tiny opening, or pore, found mostly on the underside of a plant leaf and used for gas exchange.

Strewing Herb:
An herb or aromatic plant that was spread out on floors along with rushes during medieval times. This helped both to keep down insect infestation and perfume the room. The herbs were literally strewn on the floor and thus came to be known as “strewing herbs.”

Succulent:
A plant that is thick, cellular, and fleshy. Good examples are portulaca and sedums.

Tender Perennial:
A tender perennial is a plant that, while listed as a perennial, will not likely survive the winter season unless steps are taken to protect it from the cold. Many varieties of basil, rosemary, and lavender are tender perennials.

Transpiration:
This is the evaporation of water from the aerial parts of plants, especially leaves but also stems, flowers, and roots. Leaf transpiration occurs through stomata. As the stomata opens, it allows the diffusion of carbon dioxide gas from the air for photosynthesis.

Tussie-Mussie:
A small bouquet, also called a nosegay or posy.

Umbel:
An umbrella-shaped flower cluster.

Variegated:
Leaves with secondary markings.

Veil:
A mushroom membrane that encloses the young fruit-body. An example of this is the fly agaric mushroom.

Wicca:
The contemporary name for the religion of the Witch. Wicca takes its roots from the Anglo-Saxon word
wicce
, which may mean “wise.” It is also thought to mean “to shape or to bend.” Wicca is a Pagan religion based on the cycles of nature and the belief in karma, reincarnation, and the worship of both God and Goddess.

Wildflower:
A wildflower is a plant that has not undergone any change or improvement by humans and is usually still found growing natively somewhere in the region where it is being cultivated.