Herbs – Wiccans aren't Wicked

Basil

Basil is a pretty popular herb in witchcraft as it can be used for many different workings. It is very popular in Greece for numerous reasons. Obviously it is delicious but they also keep it in their home for protection. When basil is put in your house it is thought to bless everyone in it and it keeps unwanted spirits away as well. Basil very well be the most powerful at doing this compared to all other herbs. It is common for Christian churches to use basil to “make” their holy water. Water infused with basil is thought to be able to keep demons away and bless anything anointed with it.

Basil is also very handy when it comes to spell work. You can use it for protection spells, money spells, love spells, and beauty spells. If you are doing a spell to further your career in some aspect basil is great to use too. If you’re worried about someone being possessed you can use basil to do an exorcism as well.

Basil is commonly given to a newlywed couple to help foster love and luck in every aspect of their lives. If you rub your hands on a live plant of basil and then smell them it is said to help your memory. And drinking basil tea is supposed to give you prophetic dreams. Lastly, you can write on dried basil leaves and burn them to banish things from your life.

Thanks for checking out today’s post! How do you use basil in your practice? Let me know down below along with any other thoughts or questions you may have. Make sure you follow me here and on twitter so you get notifications when I post here and upload videos to youtube. Also, make sure you check out my instagram! It’s new and I’d love for you to see it. Until next time, Blessed be!

The Wiccan’s Back to School Shopping List and Other Helpful Tips

It’s that time of the year again where everyone is back to school. Whether you’re in junior high, highschool, or post secondary this list will help you do your best this year. The things in this list are things that will be helpful on their own but some could also be used together to make spells/rituals for school too. Without further ado lets get into it.

Crystal and Herb Shopping list

clear quartz
- Gives you mental clarity, focus, and helps retain information.
- Bring the same clear quartz that you use to study with to your tests for a little extra help!
Tigers eye
- Great for studying and research.
- It keeps you focused and helps filter out mental distractions.
- It can help you make sense of the information you’re processing.
Turquoise
- It keeps your mind and thoughts clear.
- Also great as it helps with stress and worry.
- It is great to have with you while doing a test.
Fluorite
- A great support for all types of research.
- Any colour of fluorite can be used; pick what you are most drawn to.
Earl Grey Tea
- Helps stimulate the mind, and helps give you confidence.
- The caffeine can also help you stay awake on hard mornings or late study nights.
Grapefruit Peal/essential oil
- Helps activate your mind as well.
- When in essential oil form it is also known to promote joy and happiness.
- If you have a few classes that you aren’t enjoying this might be great to have handy for those periods.
St. John’s wort
- This herb is used as an antidepressant. (do not ingest if already on antidepressants)
- It can bring light to troublesome problems.
- Can be great to use when you have an educator that you don’t mesh well with but you need to confront/work with.
Lavender
- This is great for calming and relaxing you when school becomes too much.
- It can also help you get to sleep for those living in dorms or on those nights when your mind won’t shut up about all the school work you need to do.
Lemon Balm
- This is great for healing your mind and bringing success.
- This can be great to use after a hard day at school or before tackling a difficult assignment.

Tips

If you believe that consecrating your magickal tools makes them more powerful then why not do the same with your school tools. Consecrate your pens, pencils, ruler, calculator, scribblers, etc to make them more powerful!

If you live in dorms and have a roommate then having a permanent altar may not to realistic for you. So having a temporary altar may be more up your speed. You can keep all your altar tools in a shoe box and no one would be the wiser.

If you worship deities then you can also pray to get the support you need with school. I would find the deity in your pantheon that deals with the more logical aspects of life and pray to them. Some examples of deities you may want to pray to are Athena, Lugh, Seshat, Saraswati, Odin, etc.

I also recommend that you meditate. Meditating when you’re overwhelmed, having a hard time focusing, or right before a big test can be super helpful. It clears your mind of all the useless crap and lets you tune in to what is really important.

I’d love to do more school related posts/videos if anyone has anything they’d like to request (spells, how to be a closeted wiccan in secondary and post secondary school, etc). However that is all for today. I hope this helps you a bit this school year. Make sure you follow me here and on instagram so you get notifications when I post and when I upload videos to youtube. Until next time, Blessed Be!

Lavender

Lavender has numerous associations; some of which are listed below.

Planet: Mercury

Element: Air

Astrological sign: Virgo

Macgick: Sleep, long life, peace, wishes, protection, love, purification, visions, attracting men, clarity of thought.

There are various uses for lavender in a magickal sense. For example, lavender can be used as an herb to infuse water that is being used to purify objects and spaces. Dried lavender sticks can be burned for smudging and as incense. It is used in spells for sharpening the mind, to encourage and strengthen pure love, and to encourage fertility. You can also use lavender in diffusers or in a bath to help with stress or depression. It can be used as well in spells or by stuffing it in a pillow to aid in sleep and sooth headaches. Lavender is an herb often used by people who do necromancy. It is a good herb to use to get in touch with spirits, to send them messages, and it is said carrying lavender, on your person, can improve your ability to see them.

Hope you guys enjoyed this addition to our book of shadows. What do you use lavender for? Let me know in the comments along with any other thoughts or comments you have. Make sure to follow me here and on twitter so you get notifications when I post and when I upload videos to youtube. And until next time, Blessed Be!

Thyme

Thyme is an herb that is associated with the water element and the planet venus. The gods/goddesses it is connected to are Freya, Ares, and Aphrodite.

When it is used in spells it is used to increase strength and courage. If you’re working on something that seems unachievable you can use thyme in a spell to keep a positive attitude. If you find your home has a lot of melancholy, hopelessness, or only mellow negative energies you can wash your floors with thyme infused water or burn the thyme to smudge your home. If you find yourself having restless sleeps or nightmares you can put thyme under your pillow. You can wear or burn thyme to bring good health, increase psychic abilities and to make a woman more alluring. You can also take a ritual bath infused with thyme to cleanse any of your sorrows or regrets. Make sure to grow thyme in your garden for good wealth. It is said as thyme grows in your garden so does your wealth. Also, if you enjoy gambling then you want to make sure you have some thyme on you as it is thought to improve luck.

If you enjoy working with faeries you should keep thyme around and grow it in your garden as faeries really like this herb. If you would like to communicate with faeries I recommend you incorporate thyme into a spell.

Thank you for reading today’s post. Make sure you follow me here and on twitter to get notifications when I make posts and upload videos to youtube. Until next time, Blessed Be.

Cilantro/Coriander

Cilantro and coriander come from the same plant and depending on where you are from are used interchangeably so for the sake of this post I will treat them as the same thing.

Cilantro has many magickal uses, the main one being love. Some of the other uses of it is for clairvoyance, divination, fertility, gain, health, healing, keeping secrets, passion, peace, protection, retention, and weddings.

Cilantro is associated with the planet mars, masculine energy, and the element of fire.

When used in spells it is great for love sachets and spells (remember though love spells have to be worded in a way that manipulates no ones personal will). You can add the powder of the seeds to wine to make a potion of lust (red wine would likely be best for this), you can hang in the home for protection, and you can use it crushed in drinks (like the wine) or in incense if you want to burn it). If you celebrate the great rite this is great to add to an elixir for your celebration. You can also through this instead of rice at a handfasting or add it to the handfasting cake.

If you like to use herbs to help with illness cilantro/coriander is best used for these ailments: digestive complications such as dyspepsia, stomachache, loss of appetite, and flatulence. I personally would brew a tea with cilantro/coriander in it to help relieve these issues.

Thanks for reading! Leave any thoughts or questions in the comments. Also, make sure to follow me here and on twitter to get notifications when I post. Until next time, Merry Meet and Blessed Be.

Rosemary

Rosemary is considered to be male and is ruled by the element of fire, leo, and the sun. It is an herb sacred to Aphrodite. You can put rosemary under your pillow to help remember dreams and to keep away nightmares.

It is commonly used in spells for fidelity, memory, and getting rid of jealousy. It is great to use in a spell for school to help you remember what you are learning. It is also good for spells to retain your youth. You can burn it to help with meditation or dreamwork to remember past lives.

In ritual it is great a ritual bath and making sacred water. When bathing in rosemary it will aid your memory and make you more memorable to others. It is also great for a handfasting. It can be worn to symbolize love and loyalty or be given as gifts for the same purpose. If the bride and groom plant rosemary on their day of their handfasting they watch the plant as it grows to divine the family’s fortune.

If you’re single and have a few people you’re dating, plant a rosemary plant for each person and the one that grows the fastest and strongest is the one for you. If you don’t have any choices make a poppet of yourself and stuff it with rosemary to attract your soulmate to you. You can do the same to attract healing energy.

Thanks for reading! Merry Meet and Blessed Be.

Oregano

Health benefits (herb and oil):

The diluted oil can be used to speed recovery of illnesses, (you can dilute the oil with coconut oil) or use the herb in a scrub to help with skin infections to boost healing, diluted oil can be taken orally to help with allergies, oil mixed with olive oil can be put on sore muscles and joints, dried oregano can be mixed with other herbs to create a facial steam to help with congestion and coughing. Warning: Oregano oil is not considered safe while pregnant. The herb is though.

Magickal Properties:

It is ruled by Venus and the element air. It is associated with Aphrodite. It is used in spells to bring happiness, tranquility, luck, health, protection, and letting go of a loved one. Can be used to deepen existing love. It can also be used to increase psychic dreams when used at night. It can be used to bring joy whether it is bringing joy in a handfasting or to help a deceased loved one find happiness in their next life.