If one were to ask me about the most essential discipline of witchcraft, I wouldn’t have to think about it long. While you all know that I’m primarily familiar with divination practices, the answer I would always give to that question is: herbal magic. Plants and herbs have their place in almost all other disciplines – you need them for your potions, they can be vital components of spells, and let’s not forget about cleansing – and they are easily integrated into everyday life as well.
Herbal magic can present in many different ways. Having a cup of lavender tea before bed to calm down, hanging a bunch of rosemary above your door to keep negative energies out, or simply keeping your favourite magical plants around your workspace are all subtle ways to incorporate herbal magic into your life.
But let’s go a bit deeper, shall we? Let me introduce you to ten of my favourite herbs and magical plants, and how to use them in your practice or your everyday life.
Please note that I cannot list all of the uses for all of these plants as most of them are very versatile and their purpose depends on various factors. I am simply listing what I am personally most familiar with and sharing some ideas with you. Also remember that it is never a bad idea to do your own research, especially if you plan on ingesting any plant you are not familiar with.
1. LaVeNdeR
Lavender is certainly a classic, and it also happens to be one of my favourite plants. Not only due to its gorgeous colour, but I’d be lying if I said that didn’t have anything to do with it. Its calming properties make it the ideal choice for winding down after a long day, which I tend to do by brewing myself a nice cup of lavender tea.
USED FOR: relaxation, tranquillity, peace
HOW TO USE: drink as a tea or add to your bath for relaxation, use as essential oil* or in sachets
*As I do not wish to give irresponsible advice, here’s a quick warning about essential oils: do not apply them to your skin (especially undiluted) or ingest them. They are also not necessarily safe to use around children or pets. Always use responsibly!
VANESSA’S WITCHY TIP: Make lavender sugar to add a little touch of magic to all your teas!
It’s really simple to do – you add the desired amount of lavender flowers and your sugar to a jar, close it up and forget about it for a few months.
Sometimes, I like to whisper some intentions or affirmations into it before closing the jar, but other times I do that when stirring the sugar into my tea. It’s really up to you – do whichever feels right for you.
What you’ll need:
☆ sugar
☆ dried lavender flowers
☆ a jar with a lid
And that’s it! You just made some good ol’ lavender sugar. Now, you can infuse your tea with even more magic and that extra dose of relaxation whenever you need. Flavour-wise, it simply sweetens your tea and adds a subtle taste of lavender that is not overwhelming.
2. SaGe
Sage is a staple in most witches’ herb collections, and for good reason! Its purifying qualities make it an essential for most of us, especially if we tend to experiment with different kinds of magic. I use it to cleanse my space of negative energies and when I prepare for spells or rituals. As an added bonus, it tastes really nice in my opinion.
USED FOR: cleansing, purification, protection, wisdom
HOW TO USE: use as a smudge stick or scatter around your workspace for cleansing, drink as tea or add to your cooking
3. ROSeMaRY
Rosemary is a particularly versatile herb that I tend to use for both its magical and its culinary properties. Though, perhaps cooking and magic aren’t so different, are they?
USED FOR: protection, purification, nightmare prevention, focus and mental power
HOW TO USE: use in your cooking, burn as incense for purification and protection, add to your bath, use in dream pillows and sachets for protection and nightmare prevention, wear or carry with you for clear thinking and focus, hang on or above your door for protection
4. CHaMOMiLe
Yet another herb that is very useful for relaxation and stress relief. Unsurprisingly, I often use this in combination with lavender for the ultimate self-care and stress relief combo.
USED FOR: stress reduction, purification, protection, successful spells, prosperity
HOW TO USE: add to sachets and spells for success, drink as tea or add to baths for stress reduction, use as an infusion to sprinkle around your house for protection
VANESSA’S WITCHY TIP: A quick and easy self-care potion you can make even if you’ve worked all day!
I’m a big fan of tea potions, but some of them require a lot of steps and need to be done at very specific times – not this one! This is a super simple tea potion that I like to enjoy after a hard day of work.
What you’ll need:
☆ one teaspoon of dried chamomile
☆ half a teaspoon of dried lavender
☆ water
☆ tea cup or glass
☆ tea bags, strainer, or whatever you like to use
☆ optional: amethyst or calming crystal of your choice
☆ optional: sugar or honey
Instructions:
1. Start by boiling some water. If you chose to work with a crystal, place it at the bottom of your cup and leave it there for now.
2. Prepare your mixture of chamomile and lavender. Put in a tea bag, strainer, or straight into your cup if you don’t mind the petals in your tea.
3. If you’ve put a crystal in your cup, remove it before pouring the hot water in. Then prepare tea as usual. Steeping time is between 7 and 15 minutes, but you do not need to remove the flowers at all. Add sugar or honey at the end if you want it to be sweeter.
4. Stir your tea, manifest calm energy, and enjoy.
5. ROSeHiP
I may well be biased here because my grandmother always had rose hip bushes in her garden, but I do believe it’s a useful plant to have in one’s arsenal. Truth be told, as a child, I never liked the taste of these, and I’m still not a huge fan, so I rarely ingest them. Though I will not refuse a good rosehip and hibiscus tea every once in a while.
USED FOR: good luck, invoking good spirits, beauty
HOW TO USE: drink as a tea, use as an infusion, add to sachets
A quick word of warning if you decide to go out and collect some fresh rosehips yourself: remember that the hairs inside the fruit are very itchy and you should definitely avoid touching, let alone eating, those.
6. VeRVaiN
Even if you’re not familiar with magical plants, I’m assuming you’ve heard this name before – at least if you’ve watched a certain vampire show from the 2010s. While it won’t keep sexy vampires away, it does have some protective properties that I find rather useful. It also helps strengthen magic, which is another reason I usually have this at home.
USED FOR: protection, wealth, abundance, creativity, strenghtening magic
HOW TO USE: use in sachets and amulets for protection, burn and/or bury to attract wealth and abundance, carry or scatter around your workspace for strengthening the effects of your magic
7. MUGwORt
As I mentioned above, divination has been my primary focus when it comes to witchcraft, so I am naturally familiar with this plant. I would not usually count it among my favourites, but it would have felt wrong not to include it. I used to have some hanging on the wall by my workspace when I first started practicing a long time ago, and it has proven useful in dream work as well.
USED FOR: divination, prophetic dreams, cleaning and cleansing of divination tools
HOW TO USE: use in dream pillows or sachets for prophetic dreams, use as an infusion to clean your tools, place around your divination workspace
I would be remiss if I did not mention that mugwort, while it can be ingested, is not safe for everyone. Please, please always do your research when thinking about ingesting any plant. Mugwort may have abortive qualities, so do not take it while pregnant. Another warning within this warning: that does not mean it is an alternative to getting an abortion, as people online have claimed before.
8. NettLe
Though this plant has been the source of many an itchy leg in my childhood, I have come to appreciate it since growing up. It is certainly another effective plant to ward off darkness and negative energies, and I love me a good herb for protection.
USED FOR: protection, removal of negative effects
HOW TO USE: sprinkle around your home to ward off evil, carry to remove negative effects and counter spells or curses against you*
* Exercise caution when trying to counter other’s spells as they may be turned against them and that is not always desirable!
9. JASMiNe
As another plant associated with divination, I’m quite familiar with jasmine, and I tend to prefer it over mugwort when I partake in dream work. It is also a very versatile plant, although I cannot condone all of its uses. (See more about that at the end of this post.)
USED FOR: divination, dream work, prosperity, creativity
HOW TO USE: drink as tea, burn for prophetic dreams, carry to attract wealth and abundance, leave around your workspace for innovation and creativity
10. VaLeRiaN
Okay, I’ll be completely honest here – valerian and I have a very complicated relationship. While I can appreciate it for its qualities of alleviating emotional stress, we have often had our problems when I’ve tried it for general relaxation or sleep. That is not to say it cannot be helpful for you in that way. I know many witches who have had a much better experience in that regard.
USED FOR: stress relief, sleep, relaxation, alleviating heightened emotions, harmony
HOW TO USE: drink as tea for relaxation and stress relief, wear or carry with you, use in dream pillows
VANESSA’S WITCHY TIP: Let your cats in on the magic! Make your very own Valerian Pillow for them!
Did you know that some cats absolutely adore Valerian? Fair warning: It stinks horribly, but many cats really do love it. My family’s cats went even more wilder it than they did for catnip!
Apart from the fact that it’s enjoyable for them, it is also a safe way to include your cats in your practice.
Instructions:
1. Cut two rectangles of the same size out of your fabric. Sew them together ugly side out, but leave an opening on one side. Then, turn inside out.
2. Stuff your pillow with your stuffing of choice, add your valerian, then finish stuffing. During this step, I also like to do some simple protection incantations for my babies.
3. Close up the hole you left in step 1, and you’re done!
What you’ll need:
☆ one tablespoon of valerian
☆ some fabric
☆ needle & thread or sewing machine
☆ rice/cotton stuffing/…
I know the instructions for how to sew a pillow weren’t super detailed, but if you haven’t sewn a pillow before, here’s a pretty good YouTube tutorial you can follow.
Remember, though, that it is always good to be cautious with homemade pet toys and I would recommend that you don’t let your cats play with this unsupersvised.
A quick note about herbal magic in love spells:
If you know a thing or two about magical plants and spells, you may have noticed that, although some of these are traditionally used in love spells, I have not mentioned that. I will be further explaining my thoughts on love spells and why I do not endorse them in another post in the future, but for now: you will not find me recommending anything for love spells. If you absolutely must know, there is enough information about this out there already. I will not be the one to provide you with it.
