Wortcunning

On The Potwell Inn’s blog, wortcunning is brilliantly described as “the deep knowledge of plants needed to produce a leechdom, or medicinal formula.”

One of my favourite plant books of all time is Vickery’s Folk Flora by Roy Vickery; a full A-Z of British and Irish plants, their folklore and uses.

It combines material gathered since the early 1970s, and features a beautiful array of hand-sketches and colour photographs.

It gives the binomial name for each plant, plus full lists of regional variations. The really fun bit is the folklore associated with each plant; I’ve particularly enjoyed the information on Broad Beans which are grown abundantly in my region, and feature heavily in local lore.

Do you have a favourite herb/plant book? I’d love to hear!

Fabulous Folklore: The Broadbean

Cultivated in the Middle East for over 8000 years and grown in gardens since about 1200, the broad bean or fava bean (now we’re all thinking of THAT film) are grown abundantly in my part of the Midlands.

They are a species of vetch and have the most beautiful, delicate, sweet scent that carries on the wind. There is nothing like it, although the scent of the lilac comes close. It’s no surprise that their scent is considered an aphrodisiac, it is simply beautiful.

Whilst not particularly tasty (not to me, anyway!) they are high in L-dopa, which the body converts to dopamine.

They have a lot of folklore and superstition surrounding them. They often appeared in old wortcunning recipes and spells to cure warts. Usually this involved rubbing the inside of the broadbean pod on skin, and throwing it over a shoulder or burying it. Preferably by moonlight. The belief was that by the time the pod was rotted the wart would be gone.

It is believed that the beans in Jack & The Beanstalk were fava beans. Jack, a poor Cornish country boy, trades the family cow for some magic beans which, when planted, grow into an enormous beanstalk ladder that reaches into the sky. Jack climbs the ladder to find himself in front of a giant. I sometimes wonder if the feel-good dopamine is reflected in this story by the magical appearance of the beans and the beautiful ladder reaching up into the heavens.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Wolfsbane
NEXT - Winter Aconite Magick: Herbal Lore
NEXT - Sticky Willy Magick: An Abundance of Folk Names

American Beautyberry Magick: 8 Alluring Correspondences

I spotted this amazing plant in the World Peace Garden in Glastonbury, where the Chalice Well is situated. I couldn’t believe the colour of the berries, they’re so vibrant and striking!

It is an American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana; a deciduous shrub that bears bright purple fruit throughout the autumn and winter. It has a wide array of medicinal uses and some culinary uses, too.

It was used by indigenous Americans in various methods of application for fevers, rheumatism, malaria, dysentery, digestive issues and colic. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is used to slow down or stop bleeding internally, particularly in the stomach and lungs. These are just a few of its medicinal uses, and beautyberry is being studied for its efficacy in treating cancer and memory loss.

Beautyberry Magickal Correspondences

Alluring
Attraction
Banishing
Beauty

Enchantment
Glamour
Luring
Temptation

I found the following magickal correspondences for beautyberry online:

Element: Water
Zodiac Signs: Scorpio
Planet: Venus

Magic: An infusion can be used topically in glamours, beauty, and luring spells.

As beautyberry is used for repelling insects you could use it in magick to repel something or someone. It is helpful to the digestive system so you could also use this to help “stomach” something that is difficult to accept. It goes from being quite tasteless raw to full of flavour when cooked, so perhaps you could use it to enhance something.

Of course, magickal associations are those which you find when you form a relationship with a plant or herb; so there are no correct or incorrect answers here.

Blackthorn Magick: 11 Helpful Correspondences

The blackthorn is flowering. It usually blooms before the leaves appear around March or April time; making it easily distinguishable from the hawthorn, whose similar flowers appear after its leaves.

Blackthorn is a hermaphrodite, meaning both male and female reproductive parts are found in one flower - the term (according to my tree surgeon husband) is “monoecious.”

Blackthorn is known for its sloe berries and has traditionally been used for making walking sticks, riding sticks, shillelaghs (sail éille), tool handles, and burnt as firewood. Magickally, it has been used for wands, rods, staffs and stangs. Its thorns are often used in baneful and protective magick.

It is said that “an eldern stake and a blackthorn ether, will make a hedge to last for ever” and it is certainly true that blackthorn makes up a lot of hedgerows across the UK.

Another country saying about the blackthorn is “when the sloe tree is white as a sheet, sow your barley whether it be dry or wet.”

Magickal Correspondences for Blackthorn:
Dispelling negativity
Hope during devastation
Exorcisms
Purification
Warding
Protection
Inflicting strife
Release from Fae magick
The Crone
The Morrighan
The Cailleach

Other names for blackthorn are: wishing thorn, Faery tree, sloe, pear hawthorn. 

NEXT - Hellebore Magick: Herbal Lore
NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Yule - Midwinter
NEXT - Winter Magick: Using the Winter Season to Create Change

Simple Magick: The Wisdom of Land Wights

Today I wanted to talk about finding and identifying herbs and plants, and gaining other local wisdom, in relation to land wights.

Land wights are the unique spirits that reside in each herb, plant, rock, crystal, mineral, animal, and stone. Collectively, they form the genius loci; the living, breathing, spirit of a place.

I moved to this area a year and a half ago, and felt instantly connected from Day 1, despite growing up several hours away. A recent genealogical DNA test has revealed that despite no family living here, my ancestors originate from here. Now here’s where it gets interesting.

Since moving here, I am being imparted with wisdom. Whilst I am fascinated by foraging and herbalism, I am by no means an expert. Weirdly, when I am travelling through the countryside I am being magnetically pulled to certain plants, which I am intuitively identifying. When I get home and research I find out I‘m correct! This has happened twice in the last week alone. I am also getting ‘the feels’ that a particular herb or plant is nearby, and sure enough it is. Last week we came across a small body of water which I was ‘told’, by some inner knowing, was a Canal. My husband who grew up here insisted it wasn’t, but my research revealed that this stretch of water was the last part of a Canal that was built in 1802, and has since been filled in except for the part we had found.

I feel like the land, and the spirits that reside within the land, are revealing themselves to me, furthering my education. It is a truly magical feeling.

Is this wisdom coming from the land wights? I know I am totally honoured if that’s the case, but it does feel that way.

Have you ever felt instantly connected to a place? Did it reveal its secrets to you? Have you experienced what I am?

NEXT - Simple Magick: Cleansing The Home Using The Element of Air 

Natural Remedies: Meadowsweet Foot Soak

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), also known as Meadwort, hars been used for its medicinal purposes since the Bronze Age.

Today, its job was to soothe my tired, aching feet, and lend some comfort to my frazzled nerves ahead of a busy week.

I’m going to share a bit more about Meadowsweet over the coming days, including a photograph of this wonder herb, but today I want to share with you my recipe for a foot bath.

Fresh Meadowsweet Foot Soak:

Take ten heads of Meadowsweet and place in a large pan. 

Cover with 1.5L of water.

Bring to a boil, then leave to steep for 15 minutes.

Strain into a basin. Add some cool water if needed.

Soak your feet, and relax!

Whilst this recipe is simple, it is super-refreshing, and my feet always feel like new afterwards. They are soothed, softened, and moisturised. The fragrance and time out has made me ready, mentally, for the week ahead.

Do exercise some caution as the Meadowsweet stains some materials yellow. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Stinging Nettle & Rosemary Hair Rinse
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Meadowsweet
NEXT - Simple Magick: The Wisdom of Land Wights

Review: Traditional Jams & Preserves by Eve Parker

At this time of year ~ when I am waking up and coming out of hibernation! ~ I start to think about the gifts of Mother Nature throughout the year, which ones I will use, and what I will do with them.

Elderflowers, Elderberries, Blackberries, Ramsons, Rosehips, Nettles, Apples, Chestnuts, Cherries - so many lovely things!

I love this simple book; it is full of tasty recipes for Jams, Conserves, Chutneys and Butters.

Apple & Elderflower Jam

Ingredients:
1kg Cooking Apples
500g Elderflower heads
400ml water
500g preserving sugar

Method:
Rinse the Elderflowers, shake dry. Pull the flowers from the stalks and tie in a square of muslin.
Placed the peeled, cored, diced apples into the pan with the Elderflower bag.
Add water, bring to a simmer. Cool for 20 minutes, or until the Apple is pulped.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes, making sure the jam is bubbling on the surface, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking to the pan.

Test for set. When ready pour into sterilised jars, add wax disc, and screw lids on tightly. Leave to cool.

NEXT - Review: The House Witchy by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Natural Remedies: Lavender Salve

To create Lavender Salve you must first create some Lavender Oil:

Fill a jar halfway with dried Lavender. Cover with carrier oil, cap, leave in cool, dark place (shaking occasionally) for 4-6 weeks. Strain.

To make the salve you will need:

LAVENDER SALVE

Ingredients: 
100g/3.5oz Lavender Oil.
15g/0.5oz Beeswax - or half as much Candelilla Wax for a Vegan alternative.
A heatproof tin or jar.
Small tins or jars.
Lavender Essential Oil (optional).

Method:
Put the wax into the jar/can.
Put the jar/can into a saucepan containing an inch or two of water.
Place on a medium heat until wax has melted.
Mix in the Lavender Oil.
Add in a few drops of Lavender Essential Oil (optional).
Pour into small tins or jars and leave for a few hours to harden.

The salve will last approximately 9 months to a year. Use to soothe bug bites/stings, on temples for headache relief, on wrists and neck for perfume, and to reduce sunburn healing time. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: 10 Ways To Use Dried Lavender
NEXT - Natural Remedies: Lavender Oil
NEXT - Lupin Magick: 12 Correspondences for Growth

Rowan Magick: The Witch's Tree

The Rowan has long been praised in folklore for its magical properties. A necklace from the berries is said to protect the wearer from harm. Whilst it’s often referred to as a Mountain Ash it’s not actually an Ash at all, and is a member of the Rose family instead.

Typically, September is the month to gather and use Rowan berries ~ I know, I know, I’m a tad late this year ~ and consequently my berries are a bit fat!

The Rowan’s wood and berries are used in a lot of folk-magic, and this beautiful tree is believed to have come from the Faerie realm.
Its berries are used for wine and potions to increase second sight, for healing, and for staying strong whilst fasting. The blossom end of the berry has a natural pentagram, adding to its protective properties.

Today I made a Protective Rowanberry Necklace, choosing to thread some brown wooden beads in between each berry to make it my own.
You can also make protective charms from Rowan twigs and red thread to hang in your car, office or over the doors in your house.

“Rowan twigs and strings of red,
Deflect all gossip, harm and dread”