Magick Household Herbs

If you want to perform a spell but don't think you have any ingredients, think again! Chances are you have a collection of magick supplies in your house already.  Here is a list of common household herbs and plants and their magick uses.

Healing: Allspice, Apple, Barley, Bay, Blackberry, Caraway, Cucumber, Garlic, Geranium, Ginseng, Lime, Mint, Nutmeg, Olive, Potato, Rose, Rosemary, Spearmint, Sunflower, Violet, Walnut.

Protection: Anise, Basil, Birch, Blueberry, Buckeye, Chili pepper, Cinnamon, Clove, Clover, Corn, Cumin, Curry, Dill, Dogwood, Fennel, Fern, Flax, Garlic, Holly, House leek, Ivy, Leek, Lettuce, Lilac, Lime, Marigold, Mustard, Onion, Papaya, Parsley, Pepper, Plum, Poppy, Radish, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Rice, Rose, Rosemary, Sage, Snapdragon, Thistle, Tomato, Tulip, Turnip, Venus Flytrap, Willow.

Love: Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Lemon Balm, Basil, Beet, Brazil Nut, Caper, Caraway, Carrot, Catnip, Celery, Chamomile, Cherry, Chestnut, Chili Pepper, Clover, Columbine, Daffodil, Daisy, Endive, Fig, Gardenia, Geranium, Ginger, Hibiscus, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Grass, Lettuce, Licorice, Maple, Mint, Orange, Orchid, Pea, Peach, Pear, Peppermint, Plum, Pomegranate, Rose, Sesame, Spearmint, Strawberry, Tomato, Tulip, Vanilla, Violet. 

Prosperity(Work, Money, etc.): Alfalfa, Almond, Ash, Banana, Basil, Cashew, Cedar, Cinnamon, Clove, Dill, Fern, Ginger, Maple, Mint, Moss, Nutmeg, Oak, Oats, Onion, Orange, Pea, Pecan, Pine, Pineapple, Sesame, Tea, Tulip, Wheat. 

Fertility: Banana, Carrot, Cucumber, Daffodil, Fig, Grape, Mustard, Olive, Date, Mushroom (Button), Peach, Pine, Pomegranate, Rice, Wheat.  

Happiness:  Apple, Catnip, Lavender.

Purification: Anise, Bay, Cedar, Fennel, Lavender, Lemon, Parsley, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme.



 See also TLF post Common Herbs, Stones and Crystals.  

(Remember, herbs are NOT a substitute for medical help. Please see your doctor. Also, if you go collecting herbs and plants in the wild, make sure you DON'T consume any unless you are 100% sure of what it is!)

Making a Corn Husk Pouch

Here's a quick, fun craft for the upcoming harvest festivals. Making a Health and Prosperity Corn Husk Pouch.

What you will need:
1 corn husk, in good shape.
Some Eucalyptus oil
Some dried mint
Some dried patchouli
Some green aventurine

Lay out your corn husk and sprinkle the mint, patchouli and aventurine inside of it. Then add three drops of the eucalyptus oil. 

Roll up the sides of the corn husk so that the herb mix is sitting in the center.

Using either green twine or some hemp cord, tie both ends of the husk so that the mix is secured in the center. 

And there you go! You're all set with your corn husk pouch. At your next harvest celebration, either burn or bury it in your garden to ensure health and prosperity in the coming year.

Spell for Healing Others

Spell for Healing Others

By Laughing Fox

Gather a small green candle, a small stone, preferably clear quartz, aventurine, bloodstone, or fluorite, some sandalwood incense, and a picture of the unwell person.

On a heat proof surface, light candle and incense. Place the crystal on top of the photo. Envision a green glow around the person in the picture and the stone. While you do this say:

"Friend of mine who feels such pain;

Your strength and will help me sustain.

This tiny stone I empower so;

To help you quickly heal and grow.

By the flame and by the stone;

Let relieve be quickly known."

Send your healing energy into the stone and envision your friend being healed and feeling better. Keep this up until the candle and incense have burned down. Give the stone to your friend to carry with them.

A green candle can be substituted with another color you feel is more appropriate. Burning candles and incense should never be left unattended.

*Please note that this spell is not a substitute for medical care. If your friend has a serious illness, injury or diagnosis, please use this spell in conjunction with a physician's care. Be well.*

Spell for Healing Yourself

Healing Spell for Yourself

By Laughing Fox

(Warning: Doing Magick while ill can be tricky!)

Gather a small green candle and one of the following incense: Cedar, Eucalyptus, Cinnamon, Myrrh, Pine, Peppermint, Rose, Rosemary, or Sandalwood. (Note: If you are feeling nauseous, use a scent that does not exacerbate this condition!)

On a heat proof surface, light the candle and incense. Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and chant:

"By the Earth and of my will;

Let me now to feel no ill."

Repeat this over and over until the candle is burned out. Imagine the illness and pain leaving your body.

A green candle can be substituted for another color if you feel it is more appropriate. If the smell of incense nauseates you, leave it out of the ritual all together. Burning candles and incense should never be left unattended.

*Please note that this spell is not a substitute for medical care. If you have a serious illness, injury or diagnosis, please use this spell in conjunction with a physician's care. Be well.*

Magick on a Budget

Getting started as a Pagan and/or Witch doesn't have to drain your bank account. If you are short on funds, there are simple ways to get what you need with out spending a ton of cash.

1. Don't buy what you already have.
If you can't afford a fancy ritual knife, check your kitchen for an extra knife. You can always paint or decorate the handle anyway you want.
Don't buy glass jars or bottles for  herbs and such when you can just save used jam, olive, pickle etc etc jars.  Just clean them out and you have a free container!
Don't buy "fancy" herbs when the ones in your spice rack will work just fine. In a protection spell, cinnamon will work just as well as dragon's blood. If you really want some of the more exotic herbs out there, try growing your own.


2. Trade
If you know any other Pagans or Witches in your area, you can always try to make a trade. Ask around and see if anyone is willing to trade for something you need. You can make all sorts of trades. Like a tarot reading for a crystal. A pendulum for a necklace. The possibilities are endless with the right people. If you have a big enough Pagan/Witch community, you might even be able to arrange a swap meet.

3. Dollar stores
Don't give me that look! Dollar and discount stores can be a wealth of supplies. Candles, glass wear, bowls, twine for spells, even altar decorations. Many even have food stuffs so you can get herbs, salt, teas, and if you're in the need, even wine.
 If you're patient, check out your local craft and decor stores after holidays. Most of their seasonal things will be marked way down and often have nice candle holders and other things on sale. 
You can also try thrift shops and used cloth shops for tools and ritual clothes. 

4. The great outdoors
Go outside and look for stuff people! Rocks, leaves, sea shells, branches, wild herbs, berries and fungus. Even shed feathers, reptile skin, and fur can be found. If you're really lucky you might even find bones of deceased animals.  Please make sure you can  positively identify wild herbs, berries and fungi before consuming  them. If you aren't 100% sure what it is, don't eat it!!!  Also make sure you thank Mother Earth for the gifts. 

5. Make it yourself
If you are able, make your own stuff! Many local craft stores have free or inexpensive classes on making a variety of things like jewelry, candles, etc. In keeping with number 2, you can always trade skills as well. Maybe you can't sew but know a witch who can. If you make candles, perhaps you could trade some hand made spell candles for a hand made alter cloth. Many libraries have DIY books that will teach you how to make things as well. 

6. Shop online
If you can't find what you need in any other fashion, try shopping online. Bulk sites, overstock sites and auction sites usually have a wide selection of supplies at discount rates. 

7.Remember; You don't "need" anything!
If you can't afford an athame, use your fingers. Can't afford besome, use some twigs. Fancy tools and supplies don't make the witch. The witch does. 


So there you go! The craft of a budget. You can still be a crafty witch and not go broke. Enjoy!

Goddess of the Week: Nyx

Nyx is the Greek goddess of the night or the personification of night. She was born of Chaos and her children are Hypnos (sleep), Aether (brightness) Hemera (day), Moros (doom), Ker (fate), Oneironi (dreams), Momus (blame), Oizys (woe), Thanatos (death), the Hesperides (Evening, Sunset), the Moirai (fates), the Keres, Nemisis, Apate (Deceit), Philotes (friendship), Geras (old age), and Eris (strife). Her consort was Erebus (darkness).

Offerings to Nyx would include, jet, onyx, copal, jasmine, and silver.

Goddess of the Week Marzanna

Marzanna is the Slavic goddess of winter and death. Also called Mara, Marzena, Morana, and Morena. The tradition of Marzanna, which still survives in many places in Eastern Europe today, included making a doll or poppet out of corn husk or straw and setting it on fire or drowning it on the Vernal Equinox.

In some traditions she is said to be the twin sister of Jarilo, the god of spring and fertility. They would participate in the divine marriage of birth, death and rebirth. Their wedding came on the Summer solstice and brought a temporary peace between Perun and Volos. But since Jarilo is tied to vegetation, after the harvest he passes into death. The story explains that Jarilo is unfaithful to Marzanna, so she kills him in retribution. Without her husband Marzanna becomes an old hag and dies by the end of the year. After the start of the new year they are both reborn and the wheel starts again.

Offerings to Marzanna might include jet, quartz, bones, onyx, corn and wheat.

Spell to Deal With A Liar

If someone has been telling lies about you or a loved one, first obtain a photo of the liar. With black ink, draw "stitches" over the liar's mouth or with black thread sew stitches into the photo over the mouth. Either way you are sewing the mouth shut. As you do, say the following:

"Thy mouth that has been used for bane,
no longer shall you spread pain.
When it is lies that thou would speak,
the effort of it shall leave thee weak.
A pain shall rise in thy heart and breast,
and naught but truth shall give it rest.
Only truth shall set thee free,
as are my words, so it will be!"

Charge the photo with intent. Picture the person in pain if they lie. 
   Bury the photo when you are finished.  It is done.