Since the very origin of Witchcraft, witches were revered as those who held a secret knowledge of the plant kingdom. Our ancestors in the Craft started cultivating gardens that held the plants and herbs needed for their magical workings. As Christianity spread throughout the world, however, prosecution forced them to hide their "incriminating" herbs, and so the "witch's garden" came into being. Although the years of prosecution came to an end, the tradition holds fast.
In this post we will discuss the integral role a garden plays in the working of a witch and some basic things to consider when starting a garden.
THE GARDEN AND THE WITCH
As Yvonne [2] points out, one does not follow the witch's path for long before having the need to garden. Since witchcraft is deeply rooted in Nature, we as practitioners feel a "spiritual rush" whenever we can contribute to the energy of the Earth. In the following sections we will discuss methods of siting one's garden, and interacting with one's garden.
SITING THE GARDEN
Roth [1] explains that it is important to consult the spirits when siting one's garden. This can take the form of walking through one's potential garden during different times of the day and sensing the energy flow. As with all other practices in magic, the energies must resonate in harmony for the optimal garden. The physical placement of the garden must also resonate with the needs of the specific plants that will be grown there [2] - the siting of one's garden therefore requires the balancing of those two forces. For most herbs, a garden with an abundance of sun is preferable. This being said, a great deal of powerful magical herbs prefer a shady garden [1] , which helped during the years of persecution.
All in all, a proper analysis of one's needs is required to find the best possible site for your garden [2] . Once the herbs are identified, the siting becomes a great deal easier.
INTERACTION
It is important to interact with one's garden in order to establish, and maintain, a bond with one's plants. Roth describes a method of doing this: planting the herbs in rows, separated by old cardboard boxes or newspapers covered with mulch [1] . He motivates this method as being biodegradable, and it offers one a place to walk and from which to work and learn from his plants [1] .
On the topic of interaction: many practitioners believe in offering the land a sacrifice during the harvest moon. This sacrifice traditionally takes the form of tobacco buried in the soil. This depends on the beliefs of the practitioner, but Roth points out that whenever one gardens, one automatically gives back to the land [1] .
PLANTING BY THE MOON
The effects of the Moon magical practices are regularly felt by all practitioners, it therefore comes as no surprise that the Moon effects gardening profoundly.
A brief guideline for planting in harmony with the cycles of the Moon follows:
During the first quarter (New Moon to the Half), plant annuals or crops that will be harvested for their tops and have seeds on the outside. The second quarter (Half to Full), signals the planting of annuals that have seeds inside their fruit [1,3] .
During the Third Quarter (From Full to Half), plant roots and bulbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs.
In contrast, the Fourth Quarter (from Half to New), must be reserved for the doing of other garden chores besides planting, especially pruning [1] .
Avoid gardening on the full or new moon. Celebrate instead.
CONCLUSION
This post attempted to offer a very brief introduction into the world of gardening for the magic practitioner. For a more detailed description, as well as marvelously informative description of a huge range of magical herbs and planting instructions, see the Alchemy Works website.
REFERENCES
[1] Witch's Garden. Roth H.A.
http://www.alchemy-works.com/witchs_garden.html.
20 November 2011.
[2] The Witches Garden. Yvonne.
http://earthwitchery.com/witches-garden.html.
10 December 2011.
[3] Planting by the Moon. S.a. Online. http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/moonplanting.htm.
10 December 2011
I should probably have introduced my discussion better, and have handled it in less of an article sense. You live, you learn.
I found this article, "Herbal Codes - Or, you don't need to kill a black cat", on Roth's website relating to the different codes practitioners of the Craft employed to keep their spells and potion recipes secret. I enjoyed his phrasing, and were given permission to reproduce the info, so I'm posting the text verbatim from the site (http://www.alchemy-works.com/herbal_codes.html). I hope you also find this interesting.
"Many grimoires and books of magic use animals and their parts as codes for herbs and other materials. Here are a number of them, some from the Greek Magical Papyri (see PGM XII:401-44), a work composed between 200BC and 500AD. Others come from Galen and Dioscorides, who are other ancient sources. Galen (120-200 AD) was a physician at the temple of Asclepias, which makes him a pretty darn authoritative pagan about herbs and herbal codes. Dioscorides (40-90AD) was a physician in ancient Greece and in Rome at the time of Nero. He wrote De Materia Medica, the first pharmacopeia (a sort of cookbook of medicine) in Western civilization. Thus, it is clear that since antiquity, animal parts named in magical formulae have NOT referred primarily to actual animal parts but to parts of plants. It is precisely these ancient sources that medieval and Renaissance grimoires referred to when they used herbal codes in formulae for magical materials. There is nothing "New Age" about it. On the contrary, it is very traditional to use codes as a "fence" to prevent the majority from accessing knowledge. An herbal code is exactly that sort of fence.
A
Adder's Tongue: Dogstooth Violet; Plantain
Ass's Foot: Coltsfoot
B
Bat's Wing : Holly Leaf
Bat's Wool : Moss
Bear's Foot: Lady's Mantle
Bird's Eye: Germander, Speedwell
Blood: Elder sap or another tree sap
Blood from a Head: Lupine
Blood from a Shoulder: Bear's Breeches
Blood of a Goose: Mulberry tree's sap
Blood of a Hamadryas Baboon: Blood of a spotted gecko
Blood of a Snake: Hematite
Blood of an Eye: Tamarisk Gall
Blood of Ares: Purslane
Blood of Hephaistos: Wormwood
Blood of Hestia: Chamomile
Bloody Fingers: Foxglove
Blue Jay: Bay laurel
Bone of an Ibis: Buckthorn
Brains: Cherry tree gum [this phrase usually designates any fruit tree gum]
Bull's Blood or Seed of Horus: Horehound
Bull's Foot: Coltsfoot
Bull's Semen: Eggs of the blister beetle
C
Calf's Snout: Snapdragon
Capon's Tail: Valerian.
Cat: Catnip
Cat's Foot: Canada Snake Root and/or Ground Ivy
Clot: Great Mullein
Corpse Candles: Mullein
Cuddy's Lungs: Great Mullein
Crocodile Dung: Ethiopian Earth
Crow Foot: Cranesbill, wild geranium, buttercup
E
Eagle: Wild Garlic of Fenugreek
Ear of an Ass: Comfrey
Ears of a Goat: St. John's Wort
Englishman's Foot: Common Plantain
Eye of Christ: Germander, speedwell
Eye of the Day: Common daisy
Eye of the Star: Horehound
Eyes: Inner part of a blossom; Aster, Daisy, Eyebright
F
Fat from a Head: Spurge
Fingers: Cinquefoil
Five Fingers: Cinquefoil
Foot: Leaf
Frog: Cinquefoil
Frog's Foot: Bulbous buttercup
From the Belly: Earth-apple
From the Foot: Houseleek
From the Loins: Chamomile
G
Goat's Foot: Ash Weed
God's Hair: Hart's Tongue Fern
Gosling Wing: Goosegrass
Graveyard Dust: Mullein
Great Ox-eye: Ox-eye daisy
Guts: The roots and stalk of a plant
H
Hair: Dried stringy herbs; ripe male fern
Hair of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Seed
Hair of Venus: Maidenhair fern
Hare's Beard: Great mullein
Hawk: Hawkweed
Hawk's Heart: Wormwood seed or wormwood crown
Head: Flower of a plant
Heart: Walnut; bud, seed, or nut
Hind's Tongue: Hart's Tongue Fern
Horse Hoof: Coltsfoot
Horse Tongue: Hart's Tongue Fern
J
Jacob's Staff: Great Mullein
Jupiter's Staff: Great Mullein
K
King's Crown: Black Haw
Kronos' Blood: Cedar
L
Lamb: Lettuce
Lamb's Ears: Betony
Leg: Leaf
Lion's Hair: Tongue of a Turnip [i.e., the leaves of the taproot]
Lion's Tooth: Dandelion aka Priest's Crown
Lion Semen: Human Semen
W
Weasel: Rue
Weasel Snout: Yellow Dead Nettles/Yellow Archangel
White Man's Foot: Common Plantain
Wing: Leaf
Wolf Claw: Club Moss
Wolf Foot: Bugle Weed
Wolf's Milk: Euphorbia
Woodpecker: Peony
Worms: Thin Roots"
