Herbal Descriptions

The goal of this page is to give you an introduction to herbs that are easily found in grocery stores, while walking around outside, grown, or may already be in your kitchen.  It's for beginners to get to know the power of herbs using ones that you have probably heard of, used in cooking or eaten, along with a few of my favorites thrown in to add variety. It's important to understand that common, inexpensive or readily available herbs carry just as much power as exotic or expensive ones.

Burn 3 leaves before retiring to aid in remembering dreams, or place leaves under pillow to induce inspiration and prophetic dreams. Wear as an amulet to ward off negativity and evil. Burn and scatter on the floor in exorcism and purification rituals. The scent of basil can induce feelings of happiness when inhaled and is said to relieve headaches.
To promote psychic awareness in general, crumple a fresh leaf, crush a dried leaf or put a few drops of the essential oil on a cotton ball. Sit comfortably and relax your body and conscious mind. Inhale the fragrance. The same scent that the Delphic Oracle in Greece smelled. Visualize your conscious mind freeing its grip on your psychic mind. Allow the odor to permeate your being, calling forth psychic consciousness. When you've made the connection between the 2 halves of your mind, discover what you need to know. An alternative use of bay is to inhale the aroma when you feel psychically dirty or simply wish to bring some positive changes in your life. Visualize it's odor sweeping you clean. This is a powerful purification.
 
 

Dry large leaves to use as bookmarks in magickal books. Give to your cat to sniff & eat. Play with her/him to strengthen the psychic bond between you. Sniff the aroma to promote peace and happiness, especially after some trying experience. Add to love sachets and incenses along with some rose petals.

Cedar smoke has long been used for its purification and healing properties. It's also known to be effective in halting bad dreams. It is used in money drawing incenses or placed in the wallet or purse for the same effect. The scent of cedar burned or inhaled essential oil form brings about a calming feeling which promotes spirituality. It's ideal to use before rituals to deepen your connection to your Deity and also when the need for self control arises. While inhaling it's beautiful scent, visualize yourself calm, poised and in control of what ever aspect of your life requires it.

*Although most books I have come across suggest using only the wood or wood shavings, the leaves are also used as loose incense or in smudge sticks.

Wear cloves in a sachet to drive away hostile and/or negative forces, and to stop gossip. A necklace of cloves (made by stringing them on a red thread, using a needle) is often given to babies as a protective device. Hang in a place where the baby is not able to touch it.

When burned as an incense, cinnamon raises your spiritual vibrations, aids in healing, draws money, stimulates psychic powers and produces protective vibrations. It is a good scent to burn during meditation.  Although this is a very easy herb to attain in ground form, I find that cinnamon sticks, when broken up and ground with a mortar and pestle, produce a much more pungent scent. The oil can be used to anoint money drawing sachets, wallets,  candles, etc.
*Cinnamon oil is irritating and should never be used on the skin.

Planet: Mercury
Element: Air
Parts Used: Fresh or dried leaves, seeds
Powers: Purification, conscious mind, protection, love

Smell the sharp odor of dill (especially fresh) for a few seconds to sharpen the mind and clear your head. This is quite beneficial when done before tedious tasks like doing taxes or balancing checkbooks. Add to love and protection sachets. Tie up dried seed heads as protection. Add dried leaves to purification incense mixtures or bath sachets.

Magickal Lore: Lavender has long been used in love spells and sachets. Clothing rubbed with the fragrant flowers (or placed in drawers or closets with clothes) attracts love. A piece of paper on which you've rubbed lavender is excellent for writing love notes.  The scent of lavender particularly attracts men.

Because it is ruled by Mercury, the planet associated with the conscious mind, lavenders effectiveness in promoting love seems to lie in its ability to change the way we think about love. In other words, performing love drawing rituals with lavender stimulates the emotional centers and, thereby, reprograms our conscious minds. Smelling lavender with visualization causes us to send signals to others of our need.

These flowers are also burned or smoldered to induce sleep and rest, and are scattered about the home to maintain its peacefulness. The plant is so powerful that, if when depressed, one gazes upon the plant all sorrow will depart and a joyous feeling will settle upon the observer.

Lavender calms stormy or uncontrolled emotional states by bringing our feelings under conscious control. Too often when we're in such states states we kill off all thoughts save for those that prolong our misery. Lavender corrects this imbalance, tempering our emotions with a healthy shot of rationality. The fragrance is also used to generally strengthen the conscious mind.

Lavender is also used in healing mixtures, carried to see ghosts, and worn to protect against the evil eye. It is added to purification baths.

Despite lavenders love associations, in the Renaissance it was believed that it would preserve a woman's chastity if worn together with rosemary.

Carry the nut to strengthen your claravoyant powers. Keep a special charged nut with your divinatory supplies, rub it to strengthen your claravoyant powers prior to doing divinations. Add sparingly to divinatory incenses. Carry to ward off rheumatism.

Rosemary is an absolute *must* for your herbal cupboard. Along with it's obvious properties it can be used as a substitute for any herb you need and is commonly used as a substitute for frankincense. Add it to all types of purification bath sachets, love incenses, exorcism mixtures and protection incenses. Placing a fresh twig of rosemary under you pillow or in a dream pillow ensures good sleep and drives away nightmares.  Healing poppets should be stuffed with a good dose, or filled with it to take advantage of it's healing and curative vibrations. Drink rosemary tea before an exam to ensure that your mind is fully awake and functioning. Rosemary can be hung over doors and windows to ward off thieves.

Sage has long been burned as an incense to clear the conscious mind, rid one self of negative thoughts, and in rituals. It is best known for it's strong, pungent scent. Crumble dried sage between your fingers and burn while visualizing money coming to you. Add to healing or prosperity sachets and amulets. A wonderful all round herb to keep on hand to add to, or use as stand alone loose incense. Sage and Cedar mixed together is a common and lovely loose mixture to burn.