Garden Witch's Herbal (9 page)

A Cinquefoil Charm Bag Recipe

Supplies

• Cinquefoil foliage and blossoms (fresh or dried)
  
• One silver- or grey-colored sachet bag, or a three by three-inch square of grey fabric and a coordinating twelve-inch ribbon (the silvery grey color will help neutralize discordant energy)
  

Directions:
Work this spell in a waning moon to help make the situation decrease or on a Saturday to tap into that day's banishing properties. To begin, gather together fresh cinquefoil foliage and blossoms. (You may use dried cinquefoil in a pinch.) Place the botanicals into a silver- or grey-colored sachet bag. You can easily find little organza bags in a rainbow of colors at an arts and crafts store; look in the bridal section. If you use the fabric square, then place the botanicals in the center and gather up each corner. Tie the fabric closed with the ribbon. Now hold the herb-filled bundle in your hands, and repeat the following charm:

Grey is the color of neutrality,

I banish any spells cast against me.

By the cinquefoil's hex-breaking power,

I am free from you, as of this hour.

This protective charm bag is conjured from the heart,

Worked with my love and trust in my Green Witch's art.

Keep the herbal charm bag with you, tucked in your pocket or purse, for one week. Afterwards, open up the charm bag and neatly dispose of the herbs. Add them to a compost pile or to your yard waste. Gently hand wash the sachet bag or fabric, allow it to air dry, and you may use it again if you wish.

Wild Hyssop (
Agastache cana
)

Also commonly called a hummingbird plant or a hummingbird mint. Wild hyssop is a bushy perennial that grows up to three feet in height. It bears dark pink to rosy purple tubular flowers in summer that are about one inch long. This plant is stunning and blooms from June through September. It can grow up to two to three feet in height and approximately eighteen inches in width. This beautiful plant is heartily recommended for mixed borders and herb gardens. The foliage is sweetly scented and is attractive to butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. It is also said to deter mosquitoes when the crushed foliage is rubbed on the skin.

Garden Witch Tip:
I would test how you or anyone else reacts to this plant on a small patch inside the elbow first. Then wait several hours, and see how your skin reacts. (This way, you can make sure you are not allergic to this foliage before you go crazy and rub it all over any exposed skin.)

Another beautiful variety of hyssop that also thrives in the Southwest is the purple hyssop (
Agastache pallidiflora
). This plant bears purple flower spikes that are two feet long. Many varieties of hyssop are very popular with gardeners as they typically bloom for long periods of time in the garden. Hyssop flowers are also popular for arrangements both as a freshly cut and as a dried flower.

In the language of flowers, the hyssop signifies cleansing. Magickally, hyssop is worked into purification rituals and protection charms. You can tuck the foliage and blossoms into charm bags or add them to a candle spell. The fragrance of hyssop blossoms is often used in aromatherapy to heighten your spirituality. Hyssop is considered to have masculine energies. Its planetary correspondence is Jupiter; the elemental association is fire.

Wild Plum Tree (
Prunus americana
)

This tree is the only plum native to the Southwest. In the wild, you will find it growing in mountain fields and along ditches and fences. In the garden, it is often grown as a shrub but can be grown as a tree. If grown in the garden and left unpruned, it will grow into a tall, bushy shrub, with thicket-forming, thornlike, spreading side branches and a broad crown. This tree thrives with neglect, so leave it be and allow it to grow naturally in the garden. At maturity, the wild plum may range from twelve to twenty feet in height.

The leaves of the wild plum are described as three to four inches in length and simple, with an oval shape with pointed tips. The wild plum tree blossoms in early spring. It bears white five-petaled flowers, and the leaves appear at the same time as the flowers. The fruit is classified as a drupe and is borne in mid to late summer. The fruit of the wild plum is edible, can vary in color from purple-red to golden, and measures about an inch across.

In the language of flowers, the plum tree symbolizes independence, valor, happiness, matrimony, and perseverance. Magickally, the plum tree brings joy and cheer to anyone who grows the tree on their property. It will attract bees and butterflies. The plum is considered a feminine plant. It is ruled by the planet Venus and has the elemental correspondence of water.

Wild Yarrow (
Achellia millefoil
)

Also called milfoil, this herb is a hardy perennial that bears large, flat clusters of small white or pink flowers at the top of erect downy stems. The plant blossoms heavily at the beginning of summer and then off and on throughout the fall. Yarrow dries well and can be worked into various magickal arts and crafts. Yarrow has aromatic, ferny, green foliage that can grow to above twelve inches in height. The larger leaves of the yarrow plant make pretty fillers in floral arrangements. However, the fresh foliage may cause skin irritation in some individuals.

According to herbal lore, this plant was named after Achilles and is associated with healing, as Achilles used this herb to help heal his soldiers who were wounded in battle, giving it another folk name of “wound wort.” The straight, dried stems of yarrow were also once used for divination by I Ching masters and also the Druids.

Personally, I often consider the yarrow flower to be the herbal equivalent of the white spell candle; it is truly an all-purpose magickal herb. This herb is also rumored to keep a married couple happily together for seven years. In the language of flowers, yarrow announces that it is a cure for all sorrows and heartaches.

A classic Witch's herb, there are many varieties of yarrow, both as wildflowers and garden perennials. There are many types and cultivars of yarrow available at the garden center or nursery today. Yarrow can range in colors from yellow, white, pink, and red to purple. The magickal associations of this feminine plant will be the same no matter if it is the wild variety or a cultivar that you selected from the nursery. Yarrow is ruled by the planet Venus, and its elemental association is water.

Here is an all-purpose herbal blessing that you can use as you gather your botanicals for magickal use. Oh, and yes: this gathering charm will work for you beautifully no matter where you live.

All-Purpose Herb Gathering Charm

I gather this herb for a magick spell,

Bringing harm to none, may it turn out well.

By the powers of earth and air, fire and water,

I conjure up love, safety, money, health, and laughter.

By all the power of three times three,

As I will it, then so must it be.

Yucca (
Yucca filamentosa
)

Also known as needle palm. There are forty to fifty species of yucca worldwide, and they can be classified as perennials, shrubs, or trees. The yucca plant is part of the agave family. The needle palm variety of yucca may reach heights of thirteen feet and has stiff, narrow, and swordlike evergreen leaves that fan out from the base. The greenish white, tuliplike flowers are borne on long, narrow spikes that may reach up to four feet in height. The flowers of the yucca slowly open in the evenings. On an interesting side note, the flower of the yucca is the state flower of New Mexico.

Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental specimens in gardens. Many yuccas also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems, and roots. Yucca fiber was once used to make rope, and the leaves can be woven into baskets. All the yuccas contain saponin, a natural hair cleanser that is used today in cosmetics and soap.

Magickal uses for this masculine plant include protection, purification, and setting boundaries. Twisting the fibers of the yucca plant into a solar cross and then displaying it on the wall of the home was thought to protect those who dwelled within. I would suggest adding fresh yucca flowers into red charm bags to help rid a person of negative energy. They will also work nicely to protect against emotionally toxic work or living environments.

You may also plant four yucca plants at the corners of your house, as was suggested in the prickly pear section. (See the “Protecting Your Property with Cactus” spell on
page 57
.) I would simply adjust the words of the spell accordingly. The planetary ruler for the yucca is Mars, and the elemental association is fire.

Walking on the Wild Side

Nature knows no difference between weeds and flowers.

mason cooley

I hope that you found the botanical information in this chapter to be interesting. Most of all, I hope that it sparked ideas for you and inspired you to work with the plants that are indigenous to your neck of the woods. I can only imagine how incredibly smug Witches who can garden year-round feel while some of us are sitting cooped up inside and scowling at the barren landscapes, leafless trees, and snow and ice of the winter months. So if you live in a more temperate zone, lucky you.