One of the things I truly love about foraging for my own craft materials is the stunningly unique natural forming life you can find almost everywhere. Mushrooms are a particular interest of mine, and a species I find myself very much drawn to spiritually. Mushrooms have a long history with folklore and Magick, and are often said to have many magical and medicinal properties. They grow in all shapes, sizes and colours, and you can often find that some are conducive to magical practice.
I am in no way a mushroom expert, but I do believe they are much more than the eye beholds, and hold many positive energies perfect for kitchen witchery!
ɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪғʏɪɴɢ ᴍᴜsʜʀᴏᴏᴍs + ʜᴇᴀʟᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ sᴀғᴇᴛʏ ᴘʀᴀᴄᴛɪsᴇs
It is extremely important to remember that unless you are absolutely 100% positive about the type of mushroom you have found, you should NEVER ingest it. There are thousands of deadly mushrooms full of toxic us humans cannot stomach and they do look similar to edible ones. It is always worth taking your mushrooms to an expert in the field before consuming any!
Whilst on the topic of ingesting mushrooms, it’s also worth noting that there are numerous magical uses for mushrooms, and you can incorporate these symbolically instead of eating them!
ʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ғʟʏ ᴀɢᴀʀɪᴄ ᴍᴜsʜʀᴏᴏᴍ
This mushroom is possibly one of, if not the most, popular and well-known Mushrooms! Within illustration, it often appears surrounded by a gathering of magickal creature including the likes of gnomes or fairies! In Europe, this mushroom is associated with the season of Yule, and it contains two toxins supposed to stimulate fear! These types of mushrooms are also often referred to as toadstools. I felt this mushroom was worth mentioning as a beginner mushroom as they are often very easily identifiable and hold links to magick!
FUN FACT: There is a theory that Father Christmas’ signature red and white colours originated from this magical mushroom.
The sudden appearance of circular mushroom rings - often rapidly appearing overnight is some cases - is strongly associated with fairies. All around the world, this phenomenon is linked strongly to both witches and fairies. In France and Austria it’s said these mysterious rings are referred to as “Sorcerers Rings” or “Witches Rings”, whilst here in England, the folklore surrounding them tells us they appear when fairies have danced upon the ground.
In many traditions a common theme running throughout is that if you are to cross through a fairy ring or dig one up you will be struck with all sorts of bad luck; this folklore legend I do not believe, however! How can something given to us so magically be in anyway a negative thing? On a positive note, some traditions claim that they were good luck, and some legends even claim they lay hidden treasure buried underneath!
Fungi sprouting up in mystical circles to me gives off incredible spiritual energies of protection, health, growth and fertility! The rapidness of growth especially of circles reminds me so dearly of new life and this is how I interpret their special energies! How you interpret their energies is of course always personal in my opinion.
The medicinal and antibiotic remedies from fungi have been used widely for centuries! Across Europe, mushrooms have been used to treat infected wounds, boils, throat infections, used as contraceptives, and even used as part of a skincare routine!
Here are some fungi that are often used in the treatment of medicines: Phallus Impudicus, Ganoderma Lucidum, Daldinia Concentricia; all of which have also been used to treat things such as nosebleeds, arthritis and even several cancers for over 4000 years!
In summary, mushrooms truly are a spectacular species! They are forever interesting and always keep me on my toes, especially when hunting for them. Both deadly and helpful, mushrooms are a species of endless potential, deserving of delicate handling and responsible hunting! I learn a lot about mushrooms every day, and I am in the process of creating my own mushroom based kitchen witch potions which I will hopefully post soon! I hope I enticed some of you into becoming mushroom nerds just as I am.
~ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ, ʙʟᴇssᴇᴅ ʙᴇ ~
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