~Flower Magick~Around My Garden~

I like knowing the magickal aspects to the flowers in my garden. That way I know what I have on hand to be able to use for specific purposes. I do try to acquire certain plants for certain purposes, but sometimes, we have flowers, just to have pretty flowers in the yard. But every flower can have a magickal purpose. If you don't know or can't find a specific magickal quality to a plant you may have, use the color of the flowers for that specific purpose.

In the picture above is the Mallow plant. It took me some time to figure out what this little gem was. It came up, on its own in my yard, and I babied it to get it to grow abundantly because I just loved the flowers. I have them in pink, and white. They sort of reminded me of hollyhock flowers, but they do not grow as tall, and the leaves are much smaller.

Mallow: Magickal properties: Mallow is Feminine ruled by the Moon, and the element of water. Ruling over Love, protection and exorcism.

  If your love has left you, gather a bouquet of Mallow and place in a vase outside your door (or in a window). This will cause him or her to think of you, and after that they may return. Mallow is also carried to attract love.

To make an effective protective magical ointment, steep Mallow leaves and stems in vegetable shortening, then strain. This ointment rubbed onto the skin casts out demons as well as protects against the harmful effects
of black magic.

 

In this picture there is both Moon Flowers and Morning Glory's. Two of my favorite garden flowers. Morning Glory's are a great addition to the Witch's Garden as it adds extra protection and privacy. Many gardeners do not like morning glory's in their gardens and consider them to be a nusance weed. ( I actually had a lady stop and look at my garden one time, and this is what she told me. She does have a lovely garden in town, all nice and neat and not a weed to be found.) But as a Garden Witch, I do love some of the weeds in my garden ;-) Some of my most magickal plants, are considered to be nusance weeds, and the Morning Glory is one of those. The Wild Morning Glory, also known as Binderweed has the same properties as the garden variety Morning Glory. I have both of these in my garden. The Binderweed has a flower that starts out white, and turns to pink as it ages.

The Magickal properties of the Morning Glory and Binder weed are: Ruled by Saturn, and the element of Water. The magickal properties are Power, Protection, Love bindings, Banishings, Happiness and Peace.
Use the flowers of the Morning Glory in workings for happiness and peace. You can also use the vines and flowers to stuff a magickal banishing poppet. I have also taken the binder weed and used them in freezer spells for banishings. I prefer using actual binder weed to bind or banish, but have also used the Morning Glory to the same effectiveness. 

The Moonflower is a cousin to the Morning Glory and a favorite to the Witch's Garden, especially for the night blooming flowers, or Goddess inspired Gardens. Blooming white, for one night, their fragrance is one of a lemony scent. Ruled by the Moon, it is feminine. Great for protection, love, happiness and good for breaking spells that have been sent to harm you. Vining Moonflowers and Morning Glory's together is a great way to secure a privacy hedge to a secret sacred Garden Space.

Mallow, Morning Glory, and the Moonflower are all faery favorites, and they will delight when you grow them in the gardens for them.

I love the Dahlia growing in the gardens for their large colorful blooms. In the language of flowers the Dahlia represents Dignity, Forever, and good taste. It is also associated with the 14th wedding anniversary. It is a good one to use the petals in spells associated with your higher development and self worth. It is also one I like to use for its color correspondences. I grow them in purple and pink mostly. Although the Dahlia can come in a variety of colors.

The Rose is a garden favorite of just about any gardener, as well as the Fae. Roses come in many different types, colors, varieties and sizes. The Rose is a powerful flower that has many magickal uses, especially with matters of the Heart. All parts of the Rose can be used. The flowers, the petals, the leaves. It is feminine and associated with the elements of Fire & Water both. Its ruling powers are : Healing, Love, Love divination, Protection, Psychic Powers and Ultimate love.

There are many magickal uses for the Rose. To name a few : It is the ultimate in Love Wishes. It will aid in bringing true and lasting love and to help in mending spats between two lovers already in a relationship. Combine Rose Hips and Catnip into a Love Satchet and hang it by or near the bedroom to keep passion alive. Sleeping with the flower will protect your dreams. Bathing in the petals while thinking of a new love, will help bring them to you. To discover their romantic future,women used to take three green rose leaves and name each for one of their lovers.The one that stayed green the longest answered the question of "Which One?" Rose petals sprinkled around the house calm personal stress and household upheavals.

 Hollyhocks are a must in my Garden. My grandmother always grew them, and my Garden just doesn't feel complete without them.The Magickal uses of hollyhock:  Dried pods bursting with seed is taken as a token of a filled purse. They are used as a symbol or a source to increase success in the material world, and to increase the flow of money, or to acquire new possessions. Faeries love hollyhocks and so dried flowers are mixed in the incense mixture that is burnt to attract the Fae. Hollyhocks are usually planted near Garden entrances to help protect the sacredness of the Garden. They also help in protecting the fruits of the garden from our feathered friends. Hummingbirds love hollyhocks as well. 

 Hibiscus, such an exotic Beauty. I love this flower! It has many magickal qualities. Such as an aphrodisiac, attracting love or lust, divination, clairvoyance, astral travel and an all around love magick plant. It is associated with the zodiac sign Scorpio, is feminine in gender and it's ruling planet is Venus while it's element is Water.

I cannot say that I grow this one in my Garden, but in my INDOOR Garden ;-) My growing zone will not let me grow these beauties outside. And while this tree bloomed beautifully the first summer, and I tried my best to pollinate it as the flowers dropped off it has not bloomed again since that first summer. This will be the 3rd summer I have had it. It is a braided tree trunk, and I am hoping it will sprout more flowers this year.

 This is what I call my 'Pink Poppy'. After it blooms, it pods up with thousands of tiny black seeds like a poppy does. But it gives off huge pink blooms, that almost remind me of a carnation. Maybe it is a form of wild carnation? I am not entirely sure, so I use the associations of poppy with it, as well as the pink in color. Poppy's are ruled by the Moon, no matter their color. Wild poppy's have a variety of definitions in the language of flowers. Orange symbolizes vanity, while red can stand for comfort. White poppies whispers for a restful sleep. Pink poppy's in my definition of them stand for friendship and comfort. Poppy seeds can also be used in spells for Healing.

This is my purple milk jug! I found it at a yardsale a few years ago, and just HAD to have it. Brought it home, spray painted it purple ( one of my favorite colors that cheer me up) and planted flowers in it. In this arrangement there are Moss Roses, purple Petunias and a Pink geranium.

Moss Rose is another one of those I just have to have in my garden every year, because my Grandmother always did. It is a favored sun loving flower of old garden variety roses. I just like it. I can not find much magickal information on it, other than using it akin to the rose, or the moss family, and it's colored associations. Moss Roses come in a wide variety of colors.

Petunias- Are a cheery flower that screams spring to me. A delight all summer long, and I have even managed to bring them indoors to hybernate for the winter, to come out of it in the spring before. They are used in spells for comfort, cheer and power.

Geraniums are another summer flower I can not do without. This one I associate with my Mother, along with Roses. My Mother had a gorgeous Rose Garden of many colors and varieties, but she also always had big tubs of Geraniums going too. I have a geranium that is about 6 years old now, that I keep inside year round. But I always have to get some geraniums for the outdoor gardens as well. I have started many other geraniums, off the one I keep inside. They are quite easy to propogate. Just cut off a stem, at a knob, and stick in water. It will root, and you can replant and have another geranium! Geraniums are good for courage, and can be color cordinated as well. Red for protection and lust, Pink for Love and Friendship, Coral for energy, and White for fertility.  
 

While these are by far not all of the flowers in my garden, they are a few, and a good place to start. Please check back often as the summer progress's as I will be adding more flowers to the magickal gardens and their correspondences. Blessed Be & Happy Gardening!
)0(  
  

 

Ode to the Sunflower

My Ode to the Sunflower. No one can look at a sunflower, and not think Happy Thoughts. At least, I don't think anyone can. I know I can't. I have been wanting to do a blog on all the different magickal attributes to the flowers in my garden. But going through my pictures, I have SO many pictures of sunflowers, that, they needed their OWN blog spot ;-) So here goes.

 What I love most about the Sunflowers in my yard, are that they are of the *Midnight Variety* so I get many different colors. My abhorrence to the color yellow helped me pick out this particular variety. And I am pleased every year at the different colors that come up. I have my favorites, of course. But even the yellow ones, make me smile :)

The Reds are one of my favorite. In Magickal correspondece the Sunflower is Masculine in the element of Fire with the Sun as it's planetary alignment. It welcomes and invites the blessings of the Sun into your gardens, or home. The seeds are eaten by women to promote fertility.

Sunflowers are also great Bee attractions! If you look closely here, you will see the busy bee at work. They also bring the feathery friends in, which, you will see in a later blog post, as I love getting out in the garden and capturing my feathery friends at work too.

Sunflowers can also help boost spells for workings such as gaining affluence, confidence, or grandeur. It can also help you to stand out in a crowd. According to flower folklore, sleeping with a sunflower beneath your pillow will tell you the truth in any matter. In florigraphy, the sunflower symbolizes haughtiness and ostentation. Other definitions declare that this solar flower says you have lofty but pure goals. Magickally the sunflower is used to symbolize fame, riches and royalty. Growing the tall flowers in your sunny gardens is thought to bring success and good fortune to the gardener of the home. { from Ellen Dugans book Garden Witch's Herbal }

When we moved into the house we live in now, about 7 years ago. There was NO YARD to speak of. In fact there wasn't one blade of grass in the yard at all. The previous owners, had 3 huge black labs that lived in the chain linked fence yard { and it isn't a big yard by any means } so it was barren, rocks, sand, dog poop, that was it. We moved in during February, in March we started raking all the rocks and dog poop up and started tilling in sheep and cow poop. { Hey, some poop is good, some is bad :-/ } On St. Patricks Day that year we planted 3 trees in the yard and started sewing grass seed. I also planted this ONE packet of Midnight Variety Sunflowers, and they have not stopped coming back yet! It is amazing, how they spread...haha! Anyone who has planted these will know. So now every year, I transplant some to different area's of the yard, as well as give them away freely to any neighbor who will take them. I have even had my husband mowing around the certain ones that pop up surprisingly in the yard.

Last year I had so many sunflowers come up in the herb garden that I am thinking I will have to try thinning them out of there this season. While sunflowers ARE considered in the herb variety, they have a tendency to want to take over EVERYTHING. By the end of the season last year, I could barely see the other herbs in my herb garden that WERE flourishing.    

While the flowers on my sunflowers do not get as big as say the Dinner Plate variety; the stalks on these still get to be 10 feet tall sometimes. During the Monsoon season which hits about July, I sometimes go out and tie them up so the winds don't break them down. Once they are secure, they really go to town getting big and stretching up to the sun as high as they can.

These are some of my favorite colored ones.

Last Summer I had two of my favorite colored ones growing just outside the fence. Before I could get out and get a picture of them the next day, I found this. Someone else had thought they were beautiful and came along and cut and stole them! lol While my first initial reaction was DANG IT! I then stopped and thought...awww...I certainly hope they are enjoying them as much as I do. Because, as a Garden Witch, I know, that some flowers, were meant to be stolen. 

  

Magickal Herb Gardening Rambles

Catnip is always a Witchy favorite, and a must of in any witch's garden. This is my catnip from last year, that I kept indoors all winter.  Of course it is our feline friends favorite herbal plant as well. And we have a lot of stray and feral cats in our neighborhood, so keeping catnip in my herb garden has proven to be difficult. They REALLY like catnip.

There is a saying about catnip:
If you set it the cats will eat it
If you sow it, the cats don't know it.

This could be true. But where I live, it is hard to get a lot of herbs growing by sowing seeds, so I have had to use small live plants a lot of times, to get them to take off. When I had catnip growing in my garden, the neighborhood cats flocked to my herb garden and chew my flourishing catnip down to mere nubs. lol They loveddd me, no doubt ;-) 

Catnip has many magickal properties to it. It is a great herb to use in love satchets, and when given to your familiar cat, it is said to create a strong psychic bond between you and your familiar.

It is also said to be a great substitute to use in place of other herbs from the mint family, and can also be used medically infused in tea. It has been said to help calm colicky babies, and also to help purify a babies blood.

    
Sage! I love sage of any kind. I love the smell, the energy, and just everything about it. This particular type of sage is Russian sage, and blooms with purple flowers on top. Makes a great ornamental plant. The leaves and even flowers can be harvested to be used in magickal workings the way other sage can. But I still use the wild desert sage for making sage bundles. This one just isn't as bundle friendly as the others. But I still like it, and think it is a must have in the witch's garden. I do want to get some other sage variety's established in my magickal herb garden eventually. But, I am space limited for the time being. I have this small plot, packed full in the summer.

 Here is the Russian sage in full bloom. It blooms fairly early in the spring/summer for this area. One of the reasons, I love this type.

 Bee Balm or Bergamot.  The Bee's love it, the hummingbirds love it. And the Butterfly's love it.  A faery favorite. I just marvel at this plant, as it grows in all it's glory. It's a beautiful addition to the witchy gardens.

 The Magickal uses for Bee Balm:

 Bee Balm is used in purifying and relaxation spells.

To relax or to get rid of hexes, run hot bathwater over the herb before bathing.

To attract wealth keep Bee Balm leaves in a wallet, purse or pocket book. Also rub the leaves on hands before an interview or important meeting.

Affinities with Air and with Mercury.

Medicinally Bee Balm is a good antiseptic, and can be used for insect bites. Also to help ease menstrual cramps if infused into a tea.

 When using any herb for medical purposes, especially when ingested, care should be taken or advice sought if uncertain as to dosage and usage.

Always consult your doctor before giving a herbal preparation to an infant or child.

 
 Echinacea or cone flower is widely known for it's immune boosting properties to help with the common cold. It is also used in spells to help strengthen the spell or ritual. The flowers of the Echinacea plant are also a faery favorite, as well as a bee and butterfly attractant. 

 Lambs Ear or Betony is a new addition to my herb garden last year. This year I am hoping to be able to harvest it. It is associated with the element of Fire, and is good for protection.

 Horehound is another herb, that I just added last year, and looking forward to watching it grow this spring. In magick, it is bound to the Earth and to Mercury.  It's name is a derivative of Horus, the Egyptian God of sky and light.  It can be burned, used in sachets, or drunk as a tea for it's magical effects.   

Horehound can be used in a sachet carried on the person, and is believed to protect against spells or sorcery.

As a tea, Horehound is felt by some to increase mental clarity and strength.  Try some on Monday morning. 

Burned as an incense, Horehound is believed to honor Horus, the God of sky and light, and to increase protection from evil forces.

 This is a sad picture of the Comfrey I planted last summer. Another newly added herb to the garden. I am hoping it too flourishes this spring. Comfrey has many medicinal purposes. Also known as Black Wort, Bruisewort, Slippery root, to name a few. It has been known to promote the healing of bruises, sprains and broken bones. Magickally  worn or carried Comfrey ensures your safety during travels. Tuck some into your suitcase when traveling, to help your items to not get lost. The root is also used in money spells. Associated with the element of water, this is a feminine plant.

 Yarrow also known as the Witch's Herb. It can come in many different colors, Yellow is one of the the most common, or white. I like the red best because it helps attract the hummingbirds, and butterflys. That, and yellow and I, have problems with each other, on different levels. I do not have a favorite color, but I really do not care for the color yellow that much. I use to absolutely abhor it, but, I've gotten better over the years, and we can tolerate each other a bit better. But I do avoid it if possible.
Magickally Yarrow has many qualities. Protection from evil being an important one. It can be used in smudge sticks, or worn in amulets. It can be used in dream pillows and all magicks pertaining to the heart. It can also be used as an incense in matters of divining. It can be hung in doorways to prevent evil from entering, and as a protection from curses and hexes.

 
 Wormwood is another great addition to the Witch's garden and another great plant to make smudge sticks out of. It is often burnt to summon spirits. It can also be burned to help aid in opening psychic centers.  When these centers are open and receptive communication with those that have 'passed over' is much easier. It is also a great insect repellent and mice hate it.

 
 

Garden Witchery

One of my favorite Author's first books is on sale on kindle today for $1.99 this is a greaaatt deal, for anyone interested!!! 

Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Witchery-Magick-Ground-ebook/dp/B001T4ZA5G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1362390806&sr=1-5 

I highly recommend this book, or any others by @Ellen Dugan! She is an awesome Garden Witch! I love her books!

~Spring Fever~

To say Spring Fever has hit my household this weekend, is putting it lightly. The husband went golfing yesterday {GOLFING! My husband, is NOT a golfer! hahaha!} But he just had to get out and about. And son, he too, was out and about all day.

During one of his *check-in's* my son and his friend came in, all excited, because they had seen a HUGE RABBIT...a HUGE RABBIT with black ears and a LONG tail...bigger than our dogs! { Which, okay doesn't take much, since we have a chiweiner, and a chihuhua} but still, it must've been a big one!

I said, well it was probably a Jack Rabbit. "NO," My son said, all serious..."it didn't have any horns." 

If you are not familiar with the mythological Jack-a-lope, it is a much sought after rabbit with horns, out here. But apparently the one my son seen yesterday did not have horns. { tongue-in-cheek }

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope 

So, I said, well maybe it was the Easter Bunny? " Nope, it didn't have a basket either" .....Well I said, he could have just been hopping around, scoping the place out. You just never know ;-)  

It was, the highlight of the day.

Today is another beautiful day. The husband and son are out metal detecting today for *treasures*. I hope they don't scare off the Easter bunny or jack-a-lopes.

*I* on the other hand, am doing the mundane things that mother's do on sundays. Like getting the laundry finished, and making sure everyone has clothes to wear for Monday morning, all the while, dreaming of the next few weeks, when I can get outdoors and start digging in the dirt again.

   This is my Ostara altar from last year. 16 days till spring! I. Can. not. wait! What a long winter it has seemed to be, with January and February being the two longest months of it!

 I can't wait for the yarrow to start blooming!!

Or the wormwood! I made some spectacular smudge sticks out of my wormwood last year. I just love this stuff.

I plan to add many more herbs to my herb garden this year hopefully. These are just a couple of what are already there. Last year, I added three new ones, lambs ear, horehound, and comfrey. I hope they made it through the winter. Maybe I will do a blog post on just the herb garden alone, if I can find all my pictures.

Happy Spring....almost! 

 

Wildcrafting

I do a lot of wild crafting out here. There are many resources around, if you look in the right places. One of my favorite things to Wild Craft is the desert sage. It makes wonderful sage sticks. Over the years, I have found that the best time to gather the wild sage that grows rampant and plentiful around here is during the Full Moon In May. June works too, but if you wait too long, the sage gets to big, or too old, and isn't as *soft* as it is in the beginning of the season. I like to go out and search for the softest tops I can find. Then come home, and spend the evening during the moon tying all the bundle's together. Then hang them up to dry. There is nothing like smelling the drying sage, or seeing it hang around the house while drying, to get you in that *witchy* mood!
I try to gather enough to last me the year. I am usually cutting it close, like this year, because I also like to share, if anyone is in need of some smudging sticks. I have found that even my non-witchy friends and family, like to use sage, to raise the vibrations in their homes once in awhile. Everyone likes a pick me up!
Out here, I have even known people who like to use sage brush, as their christmas trees! While we have never tried that, it is a true western christmas for those that do.

About.com has an article explaining Wildcrafting for those who are interested in learning more about how to do it. Here is the link

http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/herbalism/p/Wildcrafting.htm

The Native American's have the corner stone on smudging. Since we live right off one of the largest Reservations in the U.S, it is widely accepted here. They use the sage burning technique's along with sweetgrass and other herbs, in their Sundance ceremonies, along with many others.

http://www.sagesmudge.com/2010/10/how-to-perform-a-native-american-smudging-ceremony-a-traditional-ritual-for-spiritual-cleansing/

There are many other wildcrafting idea's, herbs and plants to be wildcrafted. Pine needles, juniper berries, wildberries of a variety of kinds, as well as many other plants and herbs. But sage is my favorite. And an annual outing, that I look forward to, every year.