15 Life Spells from Practical Witches

Find some place comfortable and begin to relax yourself, however method you prefer. Clear your mind, and focus on the question you wish to ask. Light your candle. Focus on the flame, focus on your question. Images should start to appear, such as: if you question is about school, you will see an image of a book. Some images will personally mean something to you, and you will know the answer.

Herbs and their by-products have been used for thousands of years by humans and other animals for healing. Even lower life forms are familiar with the benefits gained through the ingestion or application of certain plants. Likewise with the magical aspects of herbs, only this use is limited to humans. For thousands of years humans have used herbs and herbal concoctions for with the intent of altering their world.

Herbs have many possible uses:

-Charms and Sachets
-Incense
-Bath
-Oils
-Teas

The correspondences listed here include each herb's botanical name, common name, ruling planet, dominant element, any associated deity, and its magical properties. This list is no way fully comprehensive. It is offered only as a basis for further research and as a CURIO for personal entertainment purposes ONLY.

The first two lists are ''quick and dirty'' references. The table is a more comprehensive list of the various herbs and their correspondences.

SUN: peony, sunflower, saffron, cinnamon, laurel

MOON: hyssop, rosemary, moonflower, moonwort, garlic

MARS: garlic, tobacco, wolfsbane

MERCURY: fennel/finoccchio, mint, parsley

JUPITER: basil, mint, henbane

VENUS: lavender, vervain, coriander, laurel

SATURN: rue, cummin, hemlock, mandrake

Angelica: Protects from evil.

Ash (wood): Invincibility.

Balm Melissa: All healing. It's reputed to repel illness.

Betony: Protection against evil spirits.

Borage (flowers): Gives courage.

Bracken: Fern seeds gathered at midsummer are golden and were user to make the wearer invisible and also bring gold.

Briar Rose: Protects from bites of dogs or snakes.

Clover (flowers and leaves): Brings good luck and assists with clairvoyance.

Daisy: Innocence and love.

Dill: Love.

Eglantine (sweet briar): Pleasure.

Elder (use only twigs, do not cut tree): Revered by the Ancients; Elder brings wisdom, joy and delight.

Elm: Childbirth (it is associated with Embla, the first woman in Norse mythology).

Fennel: A sacred herb held in great respect by the Ancients. Wards off evil spirits, bestows strength, courage, and prolongs life.

Harebell: The flower of witches, who used its juice as part of their flying ointment. It is associated with seeing fairies, goblins and earth spirits. It was also thought to bring bad luck.

Hawthorn: Marriage and fertility (not a very attractive smell).

Hay: Pregnancy and fertility.

Hazel (use wood): Sacred in Celtic mythology for fertility and immortality. Wards off rheumatism. This is one of the most popular woods for making sorcerer's wands and dowsing rods.

Heather: Luck.

Honeysuckle: Fidelity and affection. Those who wear it will dream of their own true love.

House Leek (chicks and hens): Keeps evil away and the wearer will never be struck by lightning.

Hyssop (hyacinth): Purifying, cleansing.

Jasmine: Attraction.

Lady's Mantle: For women's problems. Use the pearl of dew that gathers on the leaves at dawn. Causes change in your life, brings luck. Aids spirituality.

Lavender: relaxing and stress relieving.

Lilac: Luck, love.

Lily of the Valley: Counters spells, attracts fairies.

Marjoram: Peace, happiness, joy.

May flowers: The base of the old wild magick. May flowers bring both adventure and chaos into your life.

Mint: Sharpens the mind.

Mistletoe: Energy, fertility, immortality.

Mulberry: Headaches.

Mullein: Asthma, protection from evil.

Nettle: One of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo Saxons. Protection against demons and evil spells.

Oak : A sacred plant. Protection by the gods, strength, long life.

Onion: Protection against lung illnesses, colds, flu, and the plague, fends off evil spirits.

Orchids: Desire.

Peony wood: A powerful charm against evil.

Poppy: A charm to assist those bewitched into love.

Primrose: Used by the Ancients to see fairies.

Rose: Pure love.

Rosemary: Good memory, friendship, fidelity.

Rue: Luck and protection against the evil eye, freedom.

Saffron: Aphrodisiac.

Sage: Longevity, prosperity (do not cut this plant with metal).

Snowdrop: Used to quicken the passing of sorrow.

Sow Thistle: Increases strength and stamina, repels witches, invisibility from enemies.

St Johns Wort: Considered the most potent of herbs for driving away evil spirits and spells.

Strawberry: Sensuality.

Sweet pea: Good fortune.

Thyme: Relives giddiness and nightmares.

Violet: Love, humility, honesty, virtue.

Walnut: Robs an evil spirit of mobility, repels insects. It is the tree of Jupiter and brings the Gods' blessings.

Wheat: Gaia's blessings, as it contains the spirit of the earth and harvest. Used for growth and fertility.

Willow: To ease sorrow and the loss of a love.

Yew: A sacred tree. Protection against evil. Do not cut the tree, gather only from the ground.

The Witches Garden

One does not follow the witches path long before feeling the need to garden. As witchcraft is an Earth religion, we feel a spiritual rush when sinking our hands into the soil or watching a plant grow to maturity. These are the energies we celebrate in our rituals, the handiwork of our Mother Gaia.

Many of us find ourselves in urban situations. I live in an apartment in a mid-sized city. I don't have the land for a beautiful fenced garden. Maybe someday. But for now, I garden in containers. I find I can grow enough herbs for my magical needs if I choose my plants wisely. What started as two pots on the front step has now grown into 15 or 16 large containers. Even though I'm a city person, I can still plant and harvest by the Moon signs, work ritual over my seeds and plants, harvest them magically, and dry them for future magical and medicinal use.

I hope these pages will grow into a magical gardening journal. It will be for me a gardening notebook, a recipe book, and a place to share my magical garden. I've put these pages together in conjunction with a Witches Garden class I'm teaching at Dracona Pagan Web. We should have much to share as the class progresses.

Planning Your Magical Garden

First and foremost, you must evaluate your magical needs. Use a lot of mugwort for divination? Constantly smudging the house with sage? These herbs would certainly have a place in your garden. Check out my Magical Uses of Herbs pages and find plants to meet your needs that are well suited to your area. Don't know which plants grow well in your area? Take a look at this planting zone chart for the US. Research this carefully. I live on the cusp of two zones. An Internet search revealed that I live in Zone 6b. As you research your herbs, check to see which zones they grow best in. If you are container gardening, you have a little more leeway here. You have the ability to drag your plants indoors if the weather does not accommodate them. That can be a hassle, though, and I stand by the idea of growing plants native to your area as much as possible. This puts us in tune with the cycles and seasons of the land -- the land where we live. Of course, I don't see many patchouli plants in the wild here, and I grow it on a regular basis, so you will find yourself growing exotic plants at times.

My Garden Pages

When winter is still raging outside, I cozy up to the computer to start my gardening research. One way to keep my notes straight is to create pages for each plant, listing magical, edible, and medicinal uses, as well as cultivation and propagation information. Does this plant grow best from seed or should I buy a plant? What sort of soil does it need? What are the sun and water requirements? I figure all that out before I buy the first seed. Of course, this is a process I continue throughout the growing season as I add new plants. Like me, though, I think you will find it fun to get lost in garden dreams while the freezing rain is pelting outside. How Do I Put the Magick in my Garden?

Once you've chosen your plants, how is your magic garden different from grandma's mundane garden? Number one, you've chosen your herbs to match your magical intent. When grown, they will be blessed and charged in a magic circle to assist in your spellwork and ritual. But we can bless and charge our seeds and plants during the growing process as well, infusing them with magical energy.

Start with a seed blessing ritual, preferably at Ostara, but it can be performed whenever you begin to work with the seed (some need to be in a growing medium well before Ostara). In all gardening matters, work with the cosmic energies of the Moon. Find a Moon sign and phase guide and follow it. Here's a quick rule of thumb, although it might vary from plant to plant:

Always plant during the new or waxing Moon phase, preferably in the fruitful Moon signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. There are some exceptions: Plant garlic during a new or waxing moon in the sign of Scorpio or Taurus. Root crops should be planted during a waxing or full moon in Taurus. Plant vines and flowers in Libra during a new or waxing moon. Sage needs to be planted in Pisces, Scorpio, or Cancer during a full moon. Valerian: Gemini or Virgo during the new or waxing moon.

Paint or draw magical runes on your flower pots, on markers, or in the soil. The rune Berkana is particularly well suited for planting. Put crystals and stones in the soil to energize plants. Moss agate is the gardener's stone. Charged and placed in the soil, it will assure the abundant growth of your garden. Other agates and quartz crystals work fine as well.

Magically charge the water used to nourish your plants. This can be as simple as saying an incantation over the watering can or setting water out under the full moon to charge. Sprinkle a few fertility herbs or a moss agate in the water while charging. Again, draw fertility runes on your watering can and charge it with abundance.

Bless your plants with a mini-ritual every full moon during the growing season.

Boil together all ingredients in a non-metallic pot. While boiling, scrape off the rising "scum" with a wooden spoon. When no more rises add the following:

Pinch Salt
Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Strain and cool. Drink in place of alcoholic mead or wine during the Simple Feast.

Place cut nails into a jar and add water. Let them steep for a week or 2 until the nails have started to rust and add more water. Open jar occasionally so that fresh air will help the rusting process. Use when the water has a rusty tinge in it.

Candle Omens & Superstitions

Bad Luck
1) A drip of wax down the side of a candle at a seance presages bad luck or death to the person nearest to that side.
2) It's considered unlucky to fall asleep with a candle burning.
3) It's considered unlucky to gaze into a mirror by candle light especially on Hallows Eve.

Death
1) If a candle suddenly goes out by itself, it is an omen of a death in the family.
2) If a candle flame turns blue it is an omen of death in the offing.
3) If a candle flame gutters and causes grease to form in a winding sheet, it is a death omen for whoever is sitting nearest to it.

Dreams
1) To dream of a black candle is an omen of death or illness.
2) To dream of a white candle is an omen of true love.
3) A red candle that appears in a dream means passion and sexual desire.
4) To dream of 5 candles is an omen of love and marriage.
5) To dream of a candle in a holder is an omen of happy and prosperous future.

Ghosts and Evil
1) A blue light from a candle is a sign that good spirits are nearby.
2) A tall straight flame on a candle during a seance is a sign that a spirit is present.
3) Always light a candle at moments of birth, marriage and death to ensure that evil spirits are at bay.

Good Luck
1) A bayberry candle burned all the way down will bring good luck to the home and gold to the pocket.
2) Light a new white candle in a new house to bring good luck and happiness to the home.
3) Kill a moth flitting about a candle to bring good luck and keep away bad spirits and negativity.

Miscellaneous
1) A candle with a tall straight flame means the arrival of a stranger.
2) Churches only used beeswax candles because it was believed that bees came from paradise.
3) A medieval belief was that a lighted candle placed between the horns of a goat could make the devil appear.

1) Place the four tiger's eye crystals in a square formation (East, West, North and South), leaving room for the silver coins to go between them.

2)Place 4 silver coins between each tiger's eye, creating a square. While you are doing this, picture yourself in that new job, or what you would do with that money.

3) Write on the piece of paper the job you want, or the amount you need and what you need it for, fold it up, and place it in the center of the square.

4) Now trace the square of tiger's eyes, starting in the East. As you trace it, see yourself working the job you want, or doing what you want to do with the money you have.

5) Say at each stone (in the proper Quarter):

"Eastern beings see my request,
Bring to me what You think is best.

Northern beings hear my cry,
Bring this opportunity by.

Western beings know what I need,
And let me be the one to succeed.

Southern beings let good fortune come,
So I may have the proper sum."

6) Leave this small "altar" up, and perform the chant once a day until you receive what you require.

Take any stone. Hold it in your projective hand for several minutes while visualizing your need.

Flood the stone with your need and with your emotional involvement with your need. Send power out from your body to the stone. Use your visualization to see it streaming into the rock.

Then throw the stone into running water. It is done.