Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches
While we may not all be able to go for a woodsy hike to connect with our local land spirits and find wild herbs, there is always some sort of ecosystem around us. Making that connection and identifying useful plants can be done just about anywhere.
First, identify your region and find a field guide to the local flora. You’ll want something small enough to carry that has color photographs and detailed descriptions. Peterson’s Field Guides makes very good ones for the U.S. Publishers and availability will vary according to location.
Next, take a stroll! Visit your local community park or green space, or just check out the roadside weeds growing nearest your home. There’s always something. If you don’t feel comfortable lingering in one place long enough to analyze the plants on-site, take some pictures on your phone. That way, you can identify and read about them later.
Take notes about the plants you find. What are their magical uses? Is there any folklore connected to them? Were they ever used in medicine? Where where they growing? What sort of feeling did the plant give you (if any)? How do they fit into the local biome? Is it a native species, an introduced one, or an invasive one?
If you happen to find something that might be useful in your craft, you can go back and collect a small sample, provided the plant is not endangered or likely to harm you and is growing in a public space. (State and national parks do not count as public spaces. They’re great for pictures and study, but please refrain from collecting plants there.) When in doubt, leave it be.
I wouldn’t advise using roadside plants for anything you plan to ingest, but they’re still great for spells, offerings, and the burning bowl. A good rinse-and-hang-dry is highly recommended to make sure your specimens are as clean as they can be.
Make sure you label your specimen bundles and any jars you use for storage to make later identification easier. You can press leaves and flowers and tape them into your witchbook, or include illustrations or photos with your notes.
All of this will help you learn about and connect with the land around you, even if you live in an urban or highly developed area. The energy is always around us. We just might need to be still a while and look a little harder to find it.
For more ideas and step-by-step instructions, check out this post - Wild Weed Harvests.
There are also plant identification apps like PlantNet, Plantifier, LeafSnap, iNaturalist, and SmartPlant that you can install on your phone.
If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop.
For more tips and exercise for growing your practice, check out the masterlist here. 😊
discoholicmusic
prguitarman
yousharknotpass
gracieabrams
pixelskylines
areudirty
