Herbal lore

If you mention the word witch, most people will connect this with herbs. Ancient family lore from ear to ear, word of mouth. Witches were herbalists in the Olden Days to heal and to cure. Coming together in their Circles to exchange herbal recipes. They must have been intelligent men and women, and very reliable! Otherwise you can t distinguish one herb from another! In the Medieval times the witches were not that popular with the coming patriarchal way of living. Because that brought about new doctors and surgeons who took over the jobs of healing and midwifery. After the “Burning Times” the herbs were found back in the Abbey gardens! Even nowadays we still use the witches herbal lore and it gets more popular!

When you start herbalism you cant just learn from books, like Wicca itself, its using and experience them. A word of advice: please be careful and if you are not sure seek advice of trained witches and herbalists! If you are really interested and have the space to do so, go on a course with herbalists!

To start plant seed and grow your own herbs, in the garden, windowsill. To pluck and dry them by preference with the tidings of the Moon. At waxing Moon the juices come to the top and is in the stem, leafs and flowers. Roots will be harvested by waning moon when the energies go to the root of the plant.

Bear in mind that you will always ask for permission to the herb and never make damage upon it or the land. It is very wise to use rhymes, and a knife especially for this purpose!

The Old tradition asks to put something back in return, like bread, milk or flowers. Dry your herbs upside down in your kitchen, in a dark place. But with enough air. Shake out the seeds and keep them in glass pots. Beware of which is which! Keep the dried herbs for seven months, and replace.

Here a few Herbs to start with: (English name, Latin name, Dutch name)

Vervain - Verbena officinalis - IJzerhard

Chamomile -Kamille

Parsley - Petroselinum Crispum - Peterselie

Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis - Rozemarijn

Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus globulus - Eucalypta

Lavender - Lavendula officinale - Lavendel

Calendula - Calendula officinalis - Goudsbloem

Mandrake - Mandragora officinarium - Alruin

Bryonia - Bryonia alba - Heggerank

Vervain - Verbena officinalis - IJzerhard

This is a beautiful plant blue red flowers and grows in the spring around 2 feet high. Belongs to the planet Venus. Use the flowers, leaves and stalks. Make tonic or tea from it.

For the early stages of colds, fevers, and stomach upsets. Even perfume is made out of it.

Its been said that witches wore it as a garter to the Sabbats, or in their shoes. Against tiredness of the celebrations and dancing! Scattered on harvest days it will bring good luck.

Chamomile - Kamille

Lovely plant with yellow flowers. Its not difficult to see that this one belongs to the Sun!

Widely used in herbal teas and mixed together with peppermint. Chamomille is most popular in the world and easy to get or grow your own. This plant is good for infants who are vomiting or have nightmares. Also for itchy skin rashes. How about a nighttime bath and you look good with flowers floating around you!

Most of us have put some flowers in boiled water, and inhaled above it, head under a cloth or tea towel to relieve our lungs or nose. Try as a compress for sore eyes, very relaxing!

Parsley - Petroselinum Crispum - Peterselie

Where would a witch be without the green leaves of parsley? An antiseptic and useful for bladder infections. A “womens herb”, stimulating the appetite, for PMT, bloating. Parsley also brings on delayed menstrual flow, relieve stress and cramps! Minerals like iron, calcium and vitamin A and C are all in here. Don’t take the seeds!

Best worked if you “steal” some from your colleague witch or mum!

Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis - Rozemarijn

Blue and purple flowers on a long stem. Also belongs to the Sun.

Drink a glass of rosemary wine before your dinner and the digestive system works well. It stimulates the circulation. The oil is used for massage and aching muscles. A big stimulant so don’t use it just before bedtime!

Particular for the head, headaches, growth of hair and preventing baldness! Washes off dandruff.

Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus globulus - Eucalypta

Especially for the Dutch readers. They know why, an old children's TV series that had a witch in it who was called Eucalypta! The press in Holland refers to witches as Eucalyptus. You understand I had to put this one in here!

Use the leaves and fruits. It has a lovely scent, above your head or in a pillow. In Medieval times people made a necklace around the throat for soreness.

Lavender - Lavendula officinale - Lavendel

Wonderful and belongs to Mercury. Who doesn’t know the lovely beautiful lavender buzzing with bees on a warm summers day? Make a bath mixture out of it, or put a bowl with the flowers somewhere in the house and dip your fingers in, passing by! After a ritual offer to the Goddess, otherwise grow in the garden, sit and have a herb tea and enjoy it!

Calendula - Calendula officinalis - Goudsbloem

Great bright and the planet the Sun.

The flowers are used for love and clairvoyance. To see put them under your pillow at night and wake up refreshed with lovely dreams and visions.

Mandrake - Mandragora officinarium - Alruin

You can write a whole book only about this one, and so people have done! A special little place for it here too. Mandrake came from Palestine to Egypt, this plant needs a warm climate. The Ancient Egyptians called this plant the phallus of the fields and wrote hymns for Ra the Sun God. They used it for lung sickness and swears, A magical drinking potion ,made you unconscious for several hours! The Greeks used it for women and anti-depressive. A narcotic and love potion.

To harvest this one, we all know a bit off it: casting of a circle and stand to the west, a dog has to pull it out while the rest cover their ears and sing erotic songs! Well…

Some generations have the man looking Mandrake in a box laid on a velvet cloth, and treat it as a person. Well treated brings good luck and prosperity. The Emperor of Habsburg had two and you can still see them in Vienna. A collector in Amsterdam has two of them as well!

Bryonia - Bryonia alba - Heggerank

Belongs to Mars. Looks like a Mandrake, and often mistaken for one! This is a climbing plant which needs a warmer climate too. This one is used for muscle-aches, but be careful it is poisonous! The root is for pain and aches.

Woad - Isatis tinctoria - Woad

The Woad plant is an easily cultivated source of blue dye. The plants seeds very fast and loves the sun. The ancient Picts who painted Celtic designs on themselves with a woad body paint for magical protection in battle. To make the woad powder that comes from the pretty plant with yellow flowers is a complicated process. And if you want to paint yourself with it remember that it is very difficult to get off again! Always try a tiny part of your skin to see if you have a allergic reaction to it. Maybe face paints will be the better option here. Nowadays it is used to dye jeans with it.

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Practical use and tips

To begin your herbal adventure its easiest to start to add the herbs to your bathwater!

Take unbleached cotton make it into a square, and a ribbon. One cup of oats, two tablespoons of your favourite herb, like lavender, mix them together, put them in the cloth. Ribbon around it and soak in the bath. Don't forget the herb tea and organic chocolate!

I make pomanders for Yule and Winter times. My mum loves it and they make lovely little fragment presents! Take an orange, or lemon and cover it up with cloves, or even fennel or cumin, a ribbon around it and smell!

How about a herb bag? As a Coven we give it for newlyweds at handfastings. Again a unbleached cloth and put inside some salt and choose from one teaspoon of lavender, peppermint, rosemary, orange blossom, or mix blend them together and figure out what colour ribbon that go with it!

Smudge-sticks, or pot-pourri, hand wash are all nice and easy and above all safe to begin with!

If you really don’t have the time at all, there are everywhere wonderful herbal shops to go to and buy your own! Visit a herbalist or Suriname herbalWitch, in Amsterdam are shops. In Glastonbury is the famous Starchild who works with the Moontydings.

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Flying Ointments

Yes, off course this has to be included only to make it more of a “witchy feeling” don’t you agree?

So many great and dangerous adventurous stories of flying witches and smouldering cauldrons. Those of us who have flown in our dreams and fantasies know where we come from!

Im not going to give you recipes for this as you can find out yourselves! A word of caution, do not mix any herbs, or dangerous ones up, combined into one, and think you’ve created a flying ointment! There are milder forms of recipes and totally legal in Witches shops to buy.

In the Olden Days the herbs were mixed up with fat, and rubbed in over the whole body, until it went all red. To keep warm the person sat or lay near the fire place. Hence the stories of flying thru the chimney on their broomsticks to the Sabbats.

Needless to mention that the witches didn’t really fly, but went on an astral journey, with the illusion of flight!

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