Fabulous Folklore: Lesser Celandine

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria) 

Considered a weed - but still a beautiful plant nonetheless - Lesser Celandine is a small, low-growing, perennial herb from the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Its cheerful star-shaped flowers appear in early spring covering the woodland floor.

A British native, it can be found in woods, hedgerows, on the banks of streams, and in gardens; and is an early and excellent source of pollen and nectar for emerging bumblebees.

Also known as brighteye, spring messenger, figwort, smallwort, cheesecups, and butter and cheese, it’s most popular folk name is probably pilewort due to its traditional use in Medieval Britain in the treatment of piles.

I call it The Shopkeeper because it closes its petals at 5pm, and re-opens at 9am, even in fine weather; and it was once held that it could be used to predict the weather as they close their petals before raindrops.

If picked on the morning of St Peter’s Day (29th June) it is said that you are given protection from imprisonment - but given that it disappears around late April take from that what you will! It is also associated with psychic ability, the Sun, Artemis, and Scorpio.

I have seen its magickal correspondences referred to as war, destruction, action, rage, and power, but I personally associate it with cheeriness, spring, routine, boundaries, timekeeping, and getting a job done.

Lesser celandine is mentioned in C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When Aslan returns and the woodland turns from winter to spring, the ground is covered with yellow celandine flowers.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Cleavers

Simple Magick: 9 Uses for Graveyard Dirt

Living on a cemetery it makes sense to talk about Graveyard Dirt.

Amongst other things, it is used for:

Samhain rituals

Protection spells

Communicating with spirits

Altar item during mourning

Banishing

Habit-breaking spells

Curses

Ancestor connection and veneration

Summoning spirits

Although it is used across many traditions, it is fair to say that using Graveyard Dirt can be a contentious issue, and some people find it disrespectful to take land from those who are trying to rest, simply to increase power, or for other spell casting motives. However, it does not need to be taken from specific graves.

The dirt I have gathered is the dirt removed from grave digging - not all of it goes back, and is left in a pile; but it still holds the energy of this land, which for hundreds of years has been used for funerary purposes. Alternatively, you can gather dirt from somewhere else on the cemetery, or from a grave that is occupied by someone you know.

Firstly, this feels much more acceptable than taking dirt from the grave of someone you don’t know (depending on your viewpoint), and secondly, the character of the person who is buried there may be crucial in your workings, or may have wanted to have been a part of your workings in some way. I suspect my Nan - had she been buried - might have taken interest in some of my spells!

Of course, it is thoughtful and fair to leave a gift for the dead in exchange for what you have taken; flowers, stones, a libation, small coins, or some other small offering, are all appropriate.

Do you use Graveyard Dirt in your practice? What do you think about it?

NEXT - Simple Magick: Magickal Attitudes & Personal Protection
NEXT - Simple Magick: Meet The Ancestors
NEXT - Ancestral Marriage Support

Fabulous Folklore: The Land and People

This month @witch.with.me are hosting a challenge based on #regionalwitchcraft and they get started this week with the prompt “Land and People”, two things that are deeply interwoven here.

I’m a “Raddleman” which means I’m an inhabitant of the smallest county in England - Rutland - which is nestled between Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

Our agricultural landscape boasts hills and valleys, sacred wells, a Sheela na gig, a labyrinth, a Norman castle, a Bede house, and lots of churches built on old, sacred ground. We are a beautiful county, steeped in the rich history, folklore and traditions of the surrounding area, much of which has made its way into our magick.

Aside from smiths and farriers, we are the only people that may display a horseshoe pointing downwards to bring us luck, for fear that the Devil will make its home in the hollow when displayed the other way round. Apparently we need to keep an eye on the Devil as he’s always hard at work putting temptation in the way of the people! We nail horseshoes with nine nails over the stable door, and keep one in the fire at all times. A horse-shoe nailed on a door renders the evil power of a witch that may enter of non-effect, and many local houses display them.

Our local produce, broad beans, also feature a lot in our folklore, especially remedies - “take the pod of a broad bean, rub it on a wart, and then bury it or throw it over the shoulder without looking back”, and you can spot someone from Leicestershire as the beans will (apparently!) rattle in their belly.

If you drop a knife, a male visitor will come to the house. If you drop a spoon, a female visitor will come. If one person begins to pour out the tea, and another takes charge of the tea-pot to finish, there will be a birth in the family within twelve months.

We have loads of legends, many of them ghost stories. The spectral lady of Braunston, Swift Nick, Nicodemus, the Black Annis, the Witch of Edmondthorpe Hall, a magic hedge that bows when you walk past it, and a bogeyman. All yet to be shared with you. 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Knockers of Cornwall

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: King Arthur £23 Note 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Doniert Stone - The King's Cross