Parsley is an extremely powerful herb, and it has been used for hundreds of years to reduce swelling and improve energy levels. Parsley is a natural diuretic, which means that it helps the body get rid of excess fluid. It also flushes out excess salt, a common cause of edema. Parsley also supports your kidneys, which are responsible for flushing urine and toxins out of your body. As long as you maintain a healthy water intake and get enough parsley in your diet, your body can flush out water and toxins more quickly and consistently. If water sits in your body for less time, it has less of a chance to build up in your feet. Another benefit of using parsley as a diuretic is its high potassium content. Chemical diuretics often flush potassium out of your body, leading to significant side effects. When you choose parsley instead, you maintain healthy potassium levels.
BREWING PARSLEY TEA Brewing your own parsley tea at home is an easy way to get this herb into your diet and minimize swelling. Just follow these easy steps to get started. Aim to drink up to two quarts of parsley tea every day.
• Boil a pot of water. • Chop fresh parsley leaves into small pieces. I pre-chop them and store them dry in an airtight container in the fridge so that I can use some, anytime. They can keep for up to a week. • Pour one cup of boiling water into a tea cup and add 1/4 cup of chopped parsley leaves. • Let the tea steep for five to seven minutes. • Strain out the parsley leaves and drink the tea. • Add a little ginger and honey if desired. It is best to drink your parsley tea warm for best effect. Swelling is an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous side effect. Treat it quickly and naturally with parsley tea
To See Ghosts: Carry lavender and inhale its scent.
To allay fears: Carry a mixture of nettle and yarrow.
To Detect Witches: Carry a sachet of Rue, maidenhair, agrimony, broom-straw, and ground ivy.
To Be Courageous: Wear a fresh borage flower, or carry mullein.
To Avoid Military Service: Wear the 4-leaved clover if you wish to avoid duty.
To Ensure Safety and Protection on A Journey: Comfrey worn or carried will safeguard you.
To Prevent Storms and Wreckage While At Sea: Put a clove of garlic in your purse or in your pocket. In the South Pacific or in Hawaii wear a garland of ti leaves.
To Guard against Rape: Wear the heather to avoid all acts of passion.
To Keep One from Dreaming: Hang a sprig of lemon verbena around the neck.
To Conceive: Wear the mistletoe, the cyclamen, or the bistort.
To Prevent Weariness while Walking: Put mugwort in the shoe.
To Keep Venomous Beasts and Wild Animals Afar: Wear avens or mullien.
To Keep Others from Deceiving You: Wear the pimpernel or snapdragon.
To Keep Disease Afar: Wear a sprig of rue around the neck.
To Enable A Soldier To Escape His Enemies: Wear the vervain and you shall accomplish this.
To Avoid Being Sent To The Gallows: Wear or carry a carnation.
To Ensure Victory: Wear woodruff to win.
To Ensure That Friendly Words Are Spoken To You: Wear the heliotrope.
To Enter the Underworld: Carry an apple, or the branch of an apple tree that bears buds, flowers, and fully ripened fruit.
To Regain Lost Manhood: Carry an acorn or mandrake root.
To Remain Youthful: Carry an acorn.
To Prevent Drunkenness: Wear a chaplet of saffron, crocus, parsley, or rue to prolong your enjoyment.
To See Fairies: Gather wild thyme and carry it with you, or put it on the eyelids (with your eyes closed) and sleep on a fairy hill.
To Be A Successful Fisherman: Carry a bit of the hawthorn.
To See A Unicorn: As this beast usually lives among the ash trees, carry a bit of the wood or leaves and you may see one. Or lie down among ashes and place one of its leaves on your chest and wait for one to make itself known.
Honeysuckles are shrubs or vines with opposite oval-shaped leaves and their signature sweet-smelling tubular flowers. The flowers contain sweet nectar, but the fruit is poisonous. There are more than 100 varieties of Lonicera, about a dozen of which are used medicinally
History and Folklore
The sturdy stems of honeysuckle have been used to make rope as far back as the Bronze Age, and in parts of Britain are still commonly made into bridles and harnesses for pack ponies. In Geoffrey Chaucer’s work, ‘wodebyne’ is a symbol of steadfastness in love, and Shakespeare wrote of it in Act IV, Scene i of A Midsummer’s Nights Dream:
Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms…
So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently entwist;
The name honeysuckle comes from the tradition of children biting off the ends of the flowers to enjoy the drops of nectar inside.
Propagation
Most varieties of honeysuckle grow well between zones 5 and 8. Many exotic honeysuckles are considered invasive noxious weeds, so check the DNR or Department of Conservation to see what species are native to your area and consider planting those instead.
Harvesting & Storage
Because invasive honeysuckles are such a problem in many areas, it is recommended that you take care when wild-crafting to leave the native honeysuckles alone and make free with the exotic ones.
Varieties
Japanese Honeysuckle L. japonica is a vine with white flowers, sometimes tinted purple that change to yellow as they mature and small black fruit. It is native to Japan and was once used in the US as an ornamental ground cover and may also have been imported for its medicinal qualities. It has since escaped cultivation and is now considered an exotic weed and its sale is prohibited in some areas in some areas particularly in the Midwest United States.
Bush Honeysuckle L. tatarica L. (Tartarian), L. morrowii Gray (Marrows), L. x bella (Belle), L. maackii (Amur) Are native to Asia and Western Europe and considered to be dangerous invasive species in much of the united states. They are very pretty plants and were once popular ornamental.
Grape Honeysuckle L. reticulata A woody vine native to the United States. It is found along forest boarders and woody slopes. It is considered endangered in Kentucky and Tennessee and should not be wild-crafted there but can be cultivated in a sunny spot in sandy or loamy soil with moderate moisture. Tubular yellow flowers, sometimes tinged orange or pink at the tips, appear in May and June followed by red berries.
Yellow Honeysuckle L. flava
Limber Honeysuckle L. dioica
European Honeysuckle L. periclymenum also known as Woodbine
Coral Honeysuckle L. sempervirens
Common Honeysuckle L. caprifolium aka Dutch honeysuckle, Italian honeysuckle, woodbine. This is the honeysuckle most of the old European herbalists are talking about when they recommend honeysuckle for healing.
Magical Attributes
Honeysuckle is associated by Culpeper with the planet Mercury and the sign Cancer. According to other sources it is associated with the planet Venus and the element of Earth. Honeysuckle flowers may be used in spells designed to determine the true worth of a person or thing. They may be burned in a censer or steep the flowers in wine, strain and drink.
Honeysuckle flowers may also be added to a Honey Jar.
The vines of the honeysuckle plant may symbolically twined together to bind two lovers to ensure fidelity and desire for each other.
Create a wreath of the flowering vines to encircle a money-drawing candle to increase its effectiveness. Or burn honeysuckle to support any money drawing spell.
Honeysuckle brought into a home will help ensure a good marriage for the people who live there.
Grow honeysuckle near your home to attract love, luck and wealth and to protect your garden from negative influences.
The scent of honeysuckle is said to clear the mind, stimulate psychic powers, sharpen intuition, encourage psychic dreams, sweeten any mood and stimulate generosity. A flower rubbed on the forehead is said to increase psychic abilities.
Healing Attributes
Common Honeysuckle L. periclymenum has traditionally been used for coughs, asthma and other respiratory complaints, as well as a diuretic and laxative, although its use is uncommon in modern herbalism due to the toxicity of the plant.
Japanese honeysuckle L. japonica is antibacterial and used to treat a number of infections and inflammations. An infusion of the stems may be used to clean minor abrasions to prevent infections or a poultice may be used to treat skin infections, inflammations and rashes such as those caused by contact dermatitis.
++Caution
Despite honeysuckles traditional medicinal uses and sweet reputation, some people have been known to develop contact dermatitis from handling the plant. Taken internally in large doses, the plant is emetic and toxic.
Several different planets are connected magickally with this herb by different sources. For instance, some, including Culpeper (and those who follow him, such as Cunningham), consider this a Jupiter herb, and it is often a substitute for the very Jovian frankincense in terms of purification. Also, its leaves contain tin, the planetary metal for Jupiter. Christopher Penczak includes it in his list of Moon herbs, perhaps because of the light bluish “bloom” this magick herb has when dried; this bloom occurs on many Moon plants. However, I will go with those in magickal practice who see this as an Earth Elemental herb, because of its smell, and because this makes more sense with its Wiccan association with Samhain and with the Crone. Elemental Earth herbs resonate with the body, caves, chasms, silence, graves, fields, and the Hermit’s Path. This feels real Crone and Samhain to me.
This Earth herb in particular is good for slaying the ego. Emotionally, sage helps build strength and courage, and as an Earth herb, is an important aid in grounding oneself. Sage is great for cleansing an area of all that is negative or left over. It is perfectly okay to smudge with this sage instead of white sage. In fact, if you are working in some path that derives from West European magick, it makes more sense to smudge with this sage. Some also recommend sage for protection from negative magick. It can also be helpful in burying or hiding aspects about oneself, as in making a glamour, in the reverse – digging up aspects, and so exploring the psyche or finding lost objects. According to Ficino, a certain bird is generated from the putrefaction of sage and which draws its life from the life of the world. This sounds not so much like as myth as an alchemical metaphor. You make a decent sage incense by grinding it 2:1 with white sandalwood.
Main magical uses: cleansing, healing, longevity, money, passion, prosperity, psychic development, psychic protection, purification, wisdom Other magickal uses: business, clairvoyance, consecration, divination, domestic harmony, energy, happiness, inspiration, keeping secrets, knowledge, love, Mabon, meditation, peace, retention, Samhain, tranquility, weddings, Yule Lore: The kind of sage found in the kitchen was brought to the New World by colonists, and was especially popular among Germans. It should not be confused with sagebrush.
Sage has long been burned to purify and cleanse a space. The ancients burned dried sprigs of sage in temples and during religious rituals. The Greeks and Romans wrote that the smoke imparted wisdom and mental acuity. In the tenth century, Arab physicians said that sage brought about immortality, or at the very least, a long and healthy life. In England, seventeenth-century servants of the royal family scattered a blend of sage and lavender on the floors at court to help disguise the aroma of day to day life.
In magic, carry sage leaves in your wallet or purse to promote financial gain. Burn leaves to increase wisdom or gain guidance from your spirit guide (be warned – burning sage does smell similar to marijuana, so keep that in mind if you think the neighbors might be inquisitive). Make a wish and write it on a sage leaf, and then hide it beneath your pillow – if you dream about your wish over the next three nights, your wish will come true.
In addition to its medicinal and magical uses, sage makes a great addition to your kitchen pantry. Use it to season fish or chicken dishes, or toss fresh leaves into a green salad.
The name Salvia derives from the Latin ‘salveo’, which means ‘to heal’. Indeed this herb is highly regarded for its healing qualities. An ancient proverb states, “Why should a man die who has sage in his garden?”. The ancient Greeks used it to treat consumption, ulcers and snake bites.
The Ancient Romans considered sage to be a sacred herb and followed an elaborate ceremony when harvesting it. A sage gatherer would use a special knife (not made of iron as it reacts with the sage), have to have clean clothes and clean feet and a sacrifice of food would have to be made before he could begin. The Romans would use it for toothpaste; they also believed it to be good for the brain, senses and memory.
Sage is a hardy perennial of the mint family. Purplish flower spikes appear in the summer. Many species become shrubby and woody. Some are variegated, providing additional interest in the garden. Sage has a wonderful scent and a long history of uses.
History and Folklore
The name Salvia derives from the Latin word Salveo, “to heal” or “to save” (more like, to salve, as in, apply a salve).
It has long been used in healing. An old proverb says “why should a man die who has sage in his garden?”. It was used in the Middle Ages to treat fevers, liver disease and epilepsy. In England, the tea drunk as a healthful tonic. It was also believed to strengthen the memory. An old English custom states that eating Sage every day in May will grant immortality. It was also said that a woman who ate sage cooked in wine would never be able to conceive and its fresh leaves were said to cure warts.
It is said that where sage grows well in the garden, the wife rules and that sage will flourish or not depending on the success of the business of the household.
During the Middle Ages, sage was used to mask the taste of rancid meat. Perhaps its antibacterial action also protected people from dying of rancid meat…
The Romans regarded sage quite highly and much sacrifice and ceremony was associated with its harvest. They believed it stimulated the brain and memory and used it to clean their teeth.
The Dutch in the 17th century traded Sage for tea with the Chinese.
Propagation
This lovely perennial enjoys sun and well-drained soil. Keep fertilizer to a minimum. Most varieties are winter hardy. Sow seeds up to two weeks before the last danger of frost. Plants grown from cuttings do better than those grown from seed.
Russian sage ads an airy cloud of purple to the garden.
Common sage (garden sage, culinary sage) gets woody and bushy and is really neat-looking. Give it its own corner of the garden because it will take over.
White sage grows only in warm, arid regions. It requires low humidity and a great deal of sun and will not survive a winter frost so it must be grown indoors in northern regions, though it is not fond of pots. This herb has been over-collected in the wild, so if you use it and you can grow it; do.
Harvesting & Storage
Harvest sage lightly for the first year to allow the plant to get established. Then large bunches can be harvested and hung to dry. The flavor is better if you freeze sage rather than dry it, though it does retain its flavor well when dried. Store dried in a sealed glass container in a cool, dark area.
Prune garden sage after it flowers and then don’t harvest anymore until spring so the plant has a month or two to recover and survive the frost.
Magical Attributes
Sage is masculine in nature and associated the the element of air and the planet Jupiter.
Sage is sacred to the Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter. It is also a symbol of the Virgin Mary.
White sage Salvia apiana is sacred in many Shamanic and Native American belief systems and is used in smudging, and other, ceremonies to purify the body. Smudge sticks made of white sage are often found in New Age shops and kits are heavily marketed to modern magical practitioners. Unfortunately, white sage is difficult to grow in captivity and is largely wild-crafted, which threatens native populations and since it’s really not part of European-based traditions, we really don’t need it. Our European spiritual ancestors burned a lot of different herbs in their practices, but white sage was not among them. If you feel the need to use sage, garden sage is a suitable substitute1. Indeed, most Salvia species can be burned by the non-indigenous witch and we can leave white sage to those to whom it is truly sacred. If you must have it, try to grow it yourself.
Sage is used in magical workings for immortality, longevity, wisdom, protection and the granting of wishes.
Sage is also believed to help alleviate sorrow of the death of a loved one.
To make a wish, write your wish on a sage leaf and sleep with it under your pillow for three days and then bury it.
Add sage to mojo bags to promote wisdom and to overcome grief.
Burn sage at funeral and remembrance ceremonies to help relieve the grief of the mourners.
Household Use
Sage makes a nice rinse for dark hair.
Sage’s attractive leaves hold their shape and fragrance well when dried and are an attractive addition to dried arrangements and potpourri.
Store dried sage in the same place as you store your potatoes to help them keep longer.
Healing Attributes
Sage tea has antiseptic qualities and makes a good gargle for sore throats.
Sage may boost insulin action, and therefore, a daily cup of tea may be helpful for those with diabetes. Use one or two teaspoons of dried sage leaves to one cup of boiling water.
Culinary Use
Only Salvia officianalis is suitable for culinary use
Sage aids in the digestion of fatty foods and is therefore good for seasoning meats, especially pork. It’s also famously useful for stuffing poultry. It is also awesome in various bean and pork dishes, like split pea soup and vegetarian bean dishes.
Sage blossoms are good in salads or floated on top of soups.
Pineapple sage is good in fruit drinks, salads and with ham.
Common sage blends well with the flavors of balsamic vinegar, basil, bay-laurel, black pepper, cream cheese, garlic, lavender, lemon, mushrooms, onions, oregano, rosemary, thyme and red wine.
Additional Notes
Most sage grows like crazy but the most commonly used sage in spiritual practice, white sage, grows only in the American Southwest and is being over-collected in the wild. In my experience, garden sage works just as well and grows quite easily just about anywhere.
Mature Basil leaves can be used for this technique. The resulting decoction is said to attract clients and prevent theft.
YOU WILL NEED:
Glass jar or metal container
Handful of basil leaves
One pint of boiling water
METHOD:
✤ Shred the basil leaves into the container.
✤ Pour the boiling water over the leaves.
✤ Allow to steep for four days.
✤ Strain out the leaves and reserve the remaining liquid.
✤ Sprinkle the liquid over the thresholds and windowsills of the business premises and anywhere else the public is likely to go.
You may also choose to work according to feng shui principles and place the plants in the prosperity area. The nurturing of the seeds obviously has significant symbolism in the growing of the business, so it is good to have plants in various stages of development. As you can see, this spell uses information gained from several cultures, showing how universal herbal magic can truly be.
Many Hindu families keep a tulsi or Holy Basil plant in a specially-built structure, which has images of deities installed on all four sides, with an alcove for a small earthenware oil lamp. Here basil is used very simply to enhance business matters. Just how widely it is used throughout the world is shown by the use of the second technique, which is said to ensure that you will always be prosperous. This latter technique owes a great deal to voodoo and the technique of floor washing.
YOU WILL NEED :
Basil seeds and plant Pots containing compost
Small oil lamp
METHOD:
✤ Place the pot and plants where they can be safely left.
✤ Carefully nurture the seeds to maturity.
✤ Whenever practical, light the oil lamp and keep it burning. This action honours the goddess Tulsi who fell in love with Krishna and calls upon her beneficence.
This spell will give your new romance a kick-start. As the plant grows, so will the love and affection between you and the one you desire.
Items needed: One small basil plant, earth, one rose quartz crystal, and a red flower pot.
Write your name and the name of the one you desire on the front of the pot. Just before the moon turns full, put the rose quartz in the bottom of the pot, fill the pot with earth, and plant the basil in it. As you do this, chant the following:
”By earth and stone and Mother Earth
To love and passion now give birth”.
Repeat the chant each time you water the plant. As the plant grows and thrives, so will your lover’s affection for you.
Use this spell to protect your property or a loved one you may feel is in danger. Items needed. One black candle, one small stone from a cemetery, black cloth pouch filled with a pinch of each of the following herbs and plants:
– Vervain
– Wormwood
– Thyme
– Oak bark
– Spanish moss
On the night of the dark moon go into the woods, and find a place where four paths cross (crossroads). Stand in the middle of the cross point of the path, visualize what it is you want to protect, and then chant the following nine times:
”Power of herb, power of wood,
Power of stone, power of good,
Power of earth, power of tree,
From all this evil now be free”.
When you have finished with the chant, dig a small hole and place the pouch in it, and cover with earth. Place the black candle on top of the spot where you buried the pouch. Light the candle and repeat the chant nine more times. Extinguish the candle. Leave the pouch where it is for three days. At the end of that time return and retrieve the pouch. Carry the pouch for protection or give it to someone in need.
Herbs provide us with an abundance of medicinal, as well as magickal substances. Most herbs are easily grown and cared for, because in reality they are weeds. Herbs will grow in the shade, in between rocks, thrive in sandy soil, and can go for long periods of time without water. Once planted, herbs return year after year and serve as a useful as well as decorative ground cover. Along with their physical and medicinal qualities, herbs are filled with natural energy and power. Through ritual, Witches will focus and direct this energy toward a desired goal. Once magickally charged, the herb will then actively attract or repel incoming vibrations as designated. Because of their life force and energy, plants make wonderful psychic conductors, as well as powerful talismans.
Rosemary (love, lust, healing, protection) Burn rosemary and Lavender for protection and healing. Place a sprig of rosemary under your loved one’s pillow so he or she will dream of you. Anoint green candles with rosemary oil to attract love and lust.
Orange (divination, love, luck, prosperity) Mix dried orange peel, rose petals, and lavender buds to make a love drawing sachet. Anoint forehead with orange oil before doing divination. Mix orange and allspice oil together and wear for good luck.
Galangal (money, lust, protection, psychic power) Powdered galangal is sprinkled on the ground to bring good luck and money. Pieces of galangal are carried to attract money. Galangal is burned as an incense to increase psychic powers. The powder is sprinkled under the bed to promote lustful feelings.
Basil – Basil is a wonderful, robust herb, which is attributed to a variety of magical uses such as consecration, divination, exorcism, fertility, fidelity, luck, happiness, harmony and love. Basil is bound to the planet Mars and the element Fire.
Anise – Attributed to protection, youth and purification, Anise is tied to the planet Jupiter and the element of Air. Anise aids in sleeplessness and helps to ward off bad dreams. To strengthen psychic and spiritual development, drink a cup of Anise tea once per day. To create a purifying bath, add bay leaves in a sachet with Star Anise. Burning dried anise seeds aids in protection and meditation rituals
Magically powerful plants masquerade as common kitchen herbs. Make a strong infusion by pouring boiling water over fennel, dill and chervil, then adding it to your bath water.
Vervain, sometimes called verbena and lemon verbena, are often and easily confused. The two can complement one another: lemon verbena provides purification while vervain offers magical protection. Make a strong infusion by pouring boiling water over the combined botanicals. Add the water to your bath, together with a splash of vinegar and slices of lemon.
Lavender has been used throughout the ages as a medium in oil burners and candles and for many temple rites and rituals. Dried lavender stems burn like incense sticks. They can be used in spells and rituals where the focus is to attract wealth and success, love or protection. The dried flowers can be used in the same way. It is commonly employed in Love Spells and rituals due to its attractive scent. If used as a tea to invoke passion, it should be remembered that Lavender has strong relaxant and sedative properties as well – and that may affect expectations. Lavender can be used in sleep divination spells. Place Lavender under a pillow and think on your desired foretelling and should a dream be related to your quest, then so it will be. Lavender is associated with planet Mercury and the element of Air. Medicinal Uses: According to folk wisdom, Lavender has numerous uses. It has and is still used as a diuretic, sedative, anticonvulsant and anti-spasmodic, anti-depressant, tonic and stimulant, anti-rheumatic, nervine, antiseptic, anti-toxic, parasticide and insecticide, to name but a few. Essential Oil of Lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It has been employed to disinfect floors and walls. Infusions of Lavender soothe and heal insect bites and bunches can repel insects. If applied directly, lavender oil can sooth headaches. In a pillow, both Lavender seeds and flowers, can aid sleep and relaxation. An infusion, or Lavender Tea, can sooth and relax at bedtime. Lavender Oil or extracts can heal acne, skin burns and other inflammatory conditions.
Planet: Sun. Also Mercury, Mars, and Uranus Element: Fire Magical Properties
Cinnamon has a few metaphysical properties. When burned it can stimulate clairvoyance, raise spiritual vibrations, and help focus during divination. It can also be used to aid meditation and astral projection.
It has fairly potent cleansing properties. It can be burned to purify a space, or rubbed on ritual tools to cleanse them.
Cinnamon has been a known spice for a long time. The Romans believed the fragrance to be sacred and burned it at funerals.
It’s sometimes used in protection spells.
Love charms get a kick when cinnamon is added.
Also used for: prosperity, success, healing, lust, passion, power, dreams, strength, courage, personal empowerment, luck, peace, communication, happiness, inspiration and wisdom. Medicinal Properties
Be cautious with your usage. When used externally or in undiluted essential oil, it can irritate the skin.
Cinnamon adds useful antibacterial properties to cold and flu remedies.
The essential oil is a good remedy for athletes foot but remember to dilute it with a carrier oil.
It’s effective for yeast infections, thrush, and gingivitis.
When used in cooking, cinnamon aids digestion. It prevents bloating and flatulence and can treat heartburn and nausea.
The cinnamon powder sold in grocery stores is too old to have any medicinal value. Grinding it into powder yourself is the best way to ensure fresh cinnamon.
