There are over 300 varieties of honeysuckle worldwide; they thrive from Asia to America. Most of these plants are deciduous; however, a few such as the Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) do stay evergreen. The blossoms are sweetly scented and trumpet-shaped and come in myriad colors, depending on the variety of the honeysuckle. It also produces clusters or single red to black poisonous berries in the fall. Berry color and arrangement will vary widely according to the subspecies of the honeysuckle, but all of the berries are considered toxic.
Woodbine is also associated with the Ogham, which is a magickal alphabet and divinatory tool all in one. The lesson of the woodbine is to embrace the sweetness of life. According to flower folklore, the honeysuckle, or woodbine, promotes prosperity and good fortune. When the flowers are brought into the house, they bring money-drawing energies into your home. In the language of flowers, the honeysuckle/woodbine symbolizes a person who is generous with their affections and a devoted friend. Other florigraphy charts list the plant as suggesting the bonds of love and fraternal joy. In a more old-fashioned definition, the plant is said to mean “a plighted troth.”
As you would expect, honeysuckle attracts bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and the fae into your garden; most sweet and strongly scented old plants will. If, however, a honeysuckle vine or shrub is growing outside of your business or home, then the prosperous vibrations from the plant will bring wealth straight to your door.
Magickally, honeysuckle foliage and flowers are often incorporated into money spells and worked with a complementary green-colored candle. The astrological correspondence for this masculine herb is the planet Jupiter, and the elemental association is earth, both of which link neatly with prosperity magick.
A Song of the Seasons
I have found all things thus far, persons and inanimate matter, elements and seasons, strangely adapted to my resources.
henry david thoreau
Magickal herbalism and green witchery are enchantments suited to all four of the bewitching seasons. The trick here, my witchy friends, is to open your eyes and take a careful look around you at the natural resources that are available to you all year long. For those of you who have read my books before, you know that this is a common theme of mine; it is an important one. Green magick happens all year long, not just on soft summer evenings when you’ve been puttering in the garden.
Look within yourself, and then look carefully at the natural world around you. Magick is everywhere. It has always been up to you as to how to proceed and what to do with the opportunities that surround you.
[contents]
Chapter 9
Herbs of the Stars
Now the bright morning star, day’s harbinger,
Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her
The flow’ry May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.
john milton
Herb magick, as we have seen, is available to us all year long. The previous chapter looked into the herbs and plants of the the sabbats, while this chapter will take a closer look at the herbal magick that can be worked any day of the week.
Now, there are the basic correspondences of the specific planets, moon, sun, and the four natural elements, which I am sure you have noted as you have read along in this herbal so far. However, there are even more enchanting herbal associations to consider, such as the individual signs of the zodiac and the days of the week, and I was charmed to discover that even the archangels of the planets have their own sacred herbs and plants.
You will notice that the first catalog goes in order of the days of the week. I have done this to help simplify the information and to help you quickly pick out the botanicals that are harmonious to each day’s magickal theme. You will see a neat list of correspondences for each day, plus a quick catalog of herbs and plants that are linked with the day. This daily list is by no means all-inclusive; instead, it focuses on the botanicals featured within this book and plants or essential oils that you should be easily able to procure. This leaves it open for you to add whichever coordinating herb from the day’s list you would like to choose for that day’s spell.
At the end of each section, you’ll also find an herbal spell for the featured day of the week that works neatly with that day’s specific planetary energy. Feel free to personalize these herbal spells with your chosen botanicals that complement that particular day. Look over the day’s list and add a corresponding crystal or dress that day’s colored candle with a harmonious essential oil. Have fun, be creative, and make these herbal spells personal and uniquely your own.
Remember that herb magick is considered to be a major magick, meaning it takes a grasp of several different types of magick, such as astrological timing and color magick, to work it successfully. By experimenting and adding a few of the accompanying stones, oils, colors, and candles to your spellwork, this will increase the potency of your spell, giving you better and stronger results.
The Classic Seven
Planetary Associations
Out of the window,
I saw how the planets gathered
Like the leaves themselves
Turning in the wind.
wallace stevens
The Sun
Magickal Uses: success, wealth, the God, fame, riches, achieving personal goals
Sigil:
Associated Day of the Week: Sunday
Deities: Helios, Brigit
Colors: gold, yellow
Metal: gold
Stones: topaz, diamond
Essential Oils: bergamot, cinnamon, frankincense, orange, rosemary, saffron
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: agave, angelica, ash tree, bay, calendula, carnation, cedar, chamomile, cinnamon, cockscomb, French marigold, hazel tree, heliotrope, juniper, mistletoe, oak tree, orange, peony, poinsettia, reed, rosemary, rowan tree, rue, saffron crocus, St. John’s wort, sunflower, tickseed coreopsis, witch hazel
Herbal Spell for Sunday
By Sunday’s bright glow of magick and success,
May my herbal spells now quickly manifest.
Herbs of the golden sun, add your energy to mine,
Bring this positive change and happiness for all time.
The Moon
Magickal Uses: women’s mysteries, illusions, dreams, psychic abilities, fertility, the Goddess
Sigil:
Associated Day of the Week: Monday
Deities: Selene, Artemis, Diana, Thoth
Colors: white, silver, palest blue
Metal: silver
Stones: moonstone, pearl
Essential Oils: jasmine, lemon, sandalwood, stephanotis (Madagascar jasmine)
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: aloe, desert four o’clock, eucalyptus, gardenia, grape, grapevine, honesty, jasmine, lemon, mallow, moonflower, nicotiana, poppy, portulaca, pumpkin, sandalwood, willow tree, wintergreen
Herbal Spell for Monday
May Monday’s mysterious energy hearken unto me,
My herbal spells will bring the Lady’s power and prophecy.
Herbs of the silver moon, add your energy to mine,
Bring this positive change and happiness for all time.
The Planet Mars
Magickal Uses: passion, aggression, warrior attitude, bravery
Sigil:
Associated Day of the Week: Tuesday
Deities: Mares, Ares, Lilith
Colors: scarlet, red, black, orange
Metal: iron
Stones: bloodstone, garnet, ruby
Essential Oils: black pepper, ginger, pine
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: allspice, basil, chili, cactus, coriander, garlic, ginger, gorse, hawthorn tree, holly, lupin, mustard, nettle, onion, pepper, pine tree, prairie anemone, prickly pear, snapdragon,
sweet woodruff, thistle, wormwood, yucca
Herbal Spell for Tuesday
Tuesdays bring drive for passion and success,
May my herbal spells now quickly manifest.
Herbs of the warrior, add your energy to mine,
Bring a positive change and add courage with this rhyme.
The Planet Mercury
Magickal Uses: communication, speed, creativity, writing, intelligence, cunning
Sigil:
Associated Day of the Week: Wednesday
Deities: Mercury, Hermes, Iris, Odin, Athena
Colors: purple, orange
Metal: quicksilver
Stones: opal, agate, aventurine
Essential Oils: bergamot, mint, lavender, lemon verbena, lily of the valley,
sweet pea
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: almond, aspen tree, bergamot, clover, dill, fennel, fern, fly agaric, horehound, Jacob’s ladder, lavender, lily of the valley, mace, mandrake, marjoram, mint, parsley, pomegranate, red clover, white clover
Herbal Spell for Wednesday
By Wednesday’s speedy energy, I work this herbal charm,
Increase my communication skills and bring no one harm.
Herbs of the fleet-footed God, add your energy to mine,
Bless me with creativity and cunning for all time.
The Planet Jupiter
Magickal Uses: prosperity, abundance, leadership, good health, healing
Sigil:
Day of the Week: Thursday
Deities: Thor, Juno, Jupiter, Zeus
Colors: royal blue, green, purple
Metal: tin
Stones: sapphire, amethyst, turquoise
Essential Oils: clove, honeysuckle, meadowsweet, nutmeg, sage
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: anise, borage, butterfly weed, chestnut, cinquefoil, clove, dandelion, honeysuckle (woodbine), hyssop, linden tree, maple tree, meadowsweet, nutmeg, oak tree, sarsaparilla, sage
Herbal Spell for Thursday
By Thursday’s energies of prosperity and health,
In the best possible way, may this spell bring me wealth.
Herbs of Jupiter, add your abundant energies to mine,
Bring to me a positive change that will last come rain or shine.
The Planet Venus
Magickal Uses: love, romance, sexuality, fertility, friendship, beauty magick
Sigil:
Day of the Week: Friday
Deities: Venus, Aphrodite, Eros, Freya, Frigga
Colors: aqua, pink
Metal: copper
Stones: rose quartz, coral, emerald
Essential Oils: apple, chamomile, freesia, gardenia, geranium, lilac, rose, thyme, vanilla
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: alder tree, American oxeye daisy, apple tree, aster, birch tree, blackberry, catnip, cherry, columbine, common garden crocus, dog rose, elderberry, elder tree, English daisy, feverfew, foxglove, geranium, goldenrod, hollyhock, Indian paintbrush, iris, lady’s mantle, liatris/gayfeather, lilac, magnolia, mugwort, orchid, pea, periwinkle, plum tree, prairie rose, primrose, raspberry, rose, sage brush, spiderwort, strawberry, tansy, thyme, valerian, vanilla, vervain, violet, wild crab, vanilla, yarrow
Herbal Spell for Friday
By Friday’s power of love and sexuality,
May my herbal spells bring joy to my loved ones and me.
Herbs of Venus, add your romantic powers to my charm,
Bring beauty and pleasure without causing anyone harm.
The Planet Saturn
Sigil:
Associated Day of the Week: Saturday
Deities: Saturn, Hecate
Colors: black, deep purple
Metal: lead
Stones: obsidian, Apache tear, hematite, jet
Essential Oils: cypress, myrrh, patchouli
Herbs, Trees, and Plants: alder buckthorn, Atropa belladonna, black hellebore, black/garden nightshade, blackthorn tree, comfrey, cypress tree, deadly nightshade, elm tree, hedge bindweed, hellebore, hemlock, ivy, lobelia, mimosa, morning glory, mullein, pansy, poplar tree, quince, skullcap, snowdrop, Solomon’s seal, yellow lady’s slipper, yew tree
Herbal Spell for Saturday
By Saturday’s energy, I banish my troubles away,
This herbal spell will bring security for many a day.
Herbs of Saturn, add your strong energy to mine,
I am protected, safe, and secure for all time.
With Saturday and Saturn, we close up the traditional seven and the classic daily magickal correspondences. If you really want to get a feel for the daily planetary energies and how each one differs from the other, I have a witchy homework assignment for you. Pick a day to start, then gather your herbal supplies and work the featured daily herbal spell. For the next week, I want you to work each day’s specific herbal spell. (There is one for every day of the week, so you can start any time you wish.)
Take the time to tune in and to get a feel for each day’s specific planetary energy and magickal theme; you’ll be glad that you did. Besides that, once you have worked your way through an entire week, think of all the positive changes you’ll have brewing, not to mention all of the hands-on experience you’ll be gaining. For with experience, we gain knowledge, and in time, knowledge becomes wisdom.
Magickal Associations of
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
We all come from our own little planets.
That’s why we’re all different. That’s what makes life interesting.
robert e. sherwood
To the ancients, the known planets at the time were the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Interestingly, ancient people believed that the planets all revolved around the earth. In the simplest of terms, the seven “planets,” or luminaries, and their movements all represented the will of the gods and their direct power over human affairs.
As I researched further into which plants, herbs, flowers, and trees were associated with the different planets, I found myself hip-deep in astrology, which I admit is a topic that I do not fully comprehend—it’s too damn much like math! (Yes, I’ve tried taking classes. I have even had friends send me simple astrology books.) But I doggedly persevered.
However, while I was bravely investigating the planetary herbs, I found myself pulled off my comfortable herbal path by some new, fascinating planetary information that I honestly can say I did not know about our solar system. Hmmm … I firmly believe that nothing happens without a reason, so I used this as an opportunity to expand my horizons a bit—to boldly go where no Garden Witch has gone before (well, at least not this particular gardening Witch)!
Now, as practical Witches, it is safe to assume that most of us work with the daily energies of the seven days of the week and their classic planetary associations most of the time. They are familiar to us, and some Witches can rattle off the daily basic correspondence charts in the blink of an eye. I wonder how many of you did your week-long herbal assignment? If you did, then you are one of those folks who knows their daily correspondences cold. Congratulations!
But what about the other three planets in our solar system? Seems to me they deserve a little attention and herbal magick, too. The last three of our planets—Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—do not have as much historical information in regards to herbal correspondences. Why? The simple answer is that these last three planets were not discovered until more modern times. Therefore, there is not as much folklore and legend built up around them and their use in contemporary magick.
I honestly found this information about these last three planets to be fascinating and valuable from a practical magick sta
ndpoint, because don’t we all enjoy learning something new, no matter how long we have been practicing our craft?
The Planet Uranus
Uranus was discovered in 1781 and was named after the Greek god of the sky. This brilliant blue planet is the third largest planet in our solar system and is seventh from the sun. Uranus is classified as a “gas planet” and has a tilted axis. There are eleven known rings around Uranus, very faint, and the brightest is known as the epsilon ring. Astronomers have recently discovered that the planet Uranus has a bright blue outer ring—only the second found in the solar system. (The other planet that sports a bright blue outer ring is Saturn.) Like the blue ring of Saturn, this newly discovered ring probably owes its existence to an accompanying small moon; in Uranus’s case, this moon is named Mab. To date, Uranus has at least twenty-seven known moons. The two largest moons of Uranus are named Titania and Oberon, and they were discovered in 1787.
The magickal correspondences for Uranus are as follows:
Magickal Uses: change, unexpected situations, originality, genius, invention
Sigil:
Complementary Day of the Week: Wednesday (as Mercury resonates with Uranus)
Deity Association: Uranus, the Greek god of the sky
Color: bright blue
Metal: titanium
Stone: quartz crystal
Essential Oils: clove, ambergris
Herbs and Plants Ruled by Uranus Include: Clove, mistletoe, foxglove, rosemary, and valerian. To add a bit more of Uranus’s blue magick into your life, you could work flower fascinations easily with this planetary influence by adding true blue flowers from your garden; for example, the blue blossoms of the ‘Nikko Blue’ hydrangea. Try the old-fashioned love in a mist (Nigella damascena); this dainty annual has fabulous blue, feathery blossoms. The gorgeous and stately delphinium comes in many shades of blue, from deep to pastel. The unusual Himalayan poppy is a true blue. Oh, and don’t forget the annual blue lobelia and the friendly faced pansies in pale sky blue. In addition, we have the grape hyacinth, campanula, and the bluebell. Also, you may want to consider working with garden perennials that have bluish-colored foliage, such as hostas and ornamental grasses. Here are a few varieties of bewitchingly blue hostas to try: ‘Elegans’, ‘Blue Moon’, ‘Love Pat’, and ‘Halcyon’. For ornamental grasses, consider ‘Blue Fescue’ and ‘Blue Lymegrass’.