#herb series

[nyxxhexx]

🫖 Mint in Witchcraft 🌱

Mint

Scientific Name:MenthaFolk Name:Garden MintPlanet:MercuryElement:AirDeities:Hades, HecateCorrespondences:Exorcism, Healing, Lust, Mental Cla

You've definitely got it in your spice cabinet, and you might have it in your garden - but how do you utilize mint in Witchcraft? Come learn an (abridged) history of mint in folklore, how to use it in spells - and even a few tips on growing it!

[divinemoonie]

Herb Series: Vanilla💛

Gods/Deities: Apollo and Aphrodite

Element: Water, Air

Planet: Venus

Magical Uses: Luck, healthy/happy homes, love, lust, Calmness, Peace of Mind/body, openness, general happiness, friendships, passion, Psychic abilities

Medical Uses: to treat Fever(bean), intestinal gas(bean), cramping(tea), nausea(tea)

Fun tip: burn Vanilla Incense to soothe anxiety

NOTE: PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH WHEN USING ESSENTIAL OILS OR ANYTHING THAT MAYBE DANGEROUS

[neap--tide]

Easy to overlook, but don't! This is narrow leaf plantain, which is completely unrelated to the banana-type plantain except in name. I've heard it called "fairy bandages" because if you get a cut whilst outside, you can bruise one of the narrow leaves and tie it around your wound and it will stop the bleeding. They are plentiful eats if you're looking for something to round out a meal. Much better cooked than raw since they're fairly fibrous, the mucilage ("slime") that causes them to staunch bleeding also works nicely to thicken a soup.

[neap--tide]

This is a sprig of Monarda fistulosa with a spittle bug cocoon in the notch between branches. The spittle bug is aptly named, since the cocoons really do look like frothy spit.

[neap--tide]

This is a common plant that is really good to know: Artemisia vulgaris, or mugwort. It can get well over 5' tall and tends to grow in huge dense patches. Its easy to recognize with its deep green leaves that flash white in the breeze (that last picture is a leaf bottom next to a leaf top), and it's flexible hairy stem. It's really common where I live, and it was only after ID'ing this guy that I realized it is what makes up the distinctive smell of late summer for me. Mugwort used to be, and in some places still is, a useful culinary herb. In Japan, mugwort is known as yomogi, and mochi is sometimes flavored with it. In Korea, mugwort is called ssuk, and it also can flavor rice dough or be used in soup. In western cooking, mugwort has been used instead of hops in beer, and also to season fish and game. It has a mild flavor, but has an interesting earthy/bitter/floral aroma that is the real draw. Mugwort is also burnt for aromatherapy and is said to make your dreams more vivid.

[neap--tide]

I'm always keeping an eye out for red flags above the grass. Whether it's dock, lady's thumb, or sheep sorrel, red seedheads usually signal something good. This guy, sheep sorrel, is one of my favorite foragables. Apparently the name is due to the fact that the leaves look something like upside down sheeps' heads. To me they look more like little swords. Either way, they taste much like garden sorrel -- crisp, tart, lemony, and really good either cooked or raw. By the time the flags are flying, sorrel is usually too "leggy" for me to bother picking. I make a note of the location, though, so I can come back for the bigger basal leaves when the next crop appears. They grow all spring and summer, so I wind up eating a lot of this guy.

[neap--tide]

Ok, here's a cool one! Greater celandine. Completely unrelated and not even really similar to lesser celandine. This is the east coast's closest thing to a wild poppy. Just like a poppy, it leaks an opaque latex when injured--though celandine's is bright yellow. It's supposed to be hallucinogenic. I don't know about that, but is does stain everything like you've been cooking with turmeric, and it has a hard to describe aroma and terrible bitter taste that lasts just as long.

[neap--tide]

Anyone who has played Animal Crossing knows these flowers. The game calls them Jacob's Ladder, but they are actually Lily of the Valley. It's real name is a misnomer in the first place, because 1) they are not lilies 2) they do not grow in valleys 3) they are named after a biblical flower, but these are native to only North America 4) the biblical flower is supposed to be a symbol of life and these guys are very poisonous. At least they're cute.