Tag: Mint

An Autumn Banishing Spell

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  • Blue candle
  • Black candle
  • Lighter or matches
  • Knife
  • 1 apple, preferably one that was grown near you
  • 1 fresh mint leaf
  • 1 black ribbon or cord
  • Wooden skewer or toothpicks

On the evening of a waning Moon, face west with both of the candles in front of you. As you light the blue candle, say these words: 

I light the blue for the presence of helpful feminine energy.

Picture cleansing water flowing underground, away from you, through brooks and streams and rivers and into oceans adn seas. As the water flows it carries away debris and waste.

Light the black candle and say, 

I call upon the waning powers of the Moon, who rules these cleansing flowing waters, to banish the thing I shall not name.

As you say these words, visualize the thing you wish to banish as a dark blob with a feeling attached to it, but nameless and unformed.

Cut the apple in half horizontally so that its inner pentagram is revealed. Rub the lower half inside with the mint leaf while visualizing the dark blob. Put the two halves of the apple back together with teh mint leaf between them and fasten them together securely with the wooden sewer, then wrap it up with the black cord or ribbon. Blow out the black candle and cry out, 

So mote it be!

Gently extinguish the blue candle and give it thanks.

Bury the apple immediately, not on your property or anywhere you normally pass by. As the apple rots away underground, sho shall your problem diminish and disappear.

Fundraising Money Spell

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Make a money jar to support the fundraising efforts of any organizations you are supporting. In a jar with a lid, place a flyer or print out of their fundraiser information. If they don’t have one, you can make one up or just write the name of the organization and what they need (money, donated items, etc.) on a piece of paper. Place the jar on your altar or in a place where you will interact with it every day. Each morning drop something into the jar that represents money and abundance. This can be coins, monopoly money, semiprecious stones, rings, mint leaves, and even cutouts from magazines that represent what the organization needs. After you drop in the daily contribution, close the jar up and give it a shake. Visualize donations raining down on the organization, fulfilling their golas and meeting their needs. Keep filling the jar until the fundraiser is over.

When donating money through electronic means (PayPal, Venmo, etc.), you can add emojis to a note to give the donation a magickal boost. Add three money bag emohis to attach energies of growth and abundance to your donation so that even more donations will flowinto the organization’s coffers.

Stuffed Strawberries

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Strawberries are a quintessential June treat, representing love and fertility. Fresh mint nicely mimics the leafy green top of a strawberry, creating an edible garnish. 

Prep time:  30 minutes
Inactive:  30 minutes or more 
Servings: about 12
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 1 (8 oz) package full-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 handful fresh mint

Set out the cream cheese to soften at room temperature.

Rinse and pat dry the strawberries. Pull off the leaves and use a paring knife to remove the stems, opening the core of the strawberries.

Zest a lemon. Cut it in half and juice one half. Save the zest and juice in a small bowl.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 package softened full-fat cream cheese, 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Mix in the lemon zest and juice. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Put the cream cheese filling into a plastic baggie and snip off one corner. Squeeze the fillig into each strawberry.

Remove the mint leaves from the stems, discarding any damaged leaves. Poke a mint leaf into the top of each strawberry. Arrange the strawberries on a platter and chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before serving.

Mugwort, My Love

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Mugwort is a common and invasive weed wherever it grows, but the magical qualities of this homely plant cannot be overstated. Its botanical name is Artemisia vulgaris, a coupling of words that reminds us of the plant’s sacred connection to the Divine as well as hte everyday practical value it imparts. It’s sexier cousin – Artemisia absinthium – gives us hte “green fairy” drink, absinthe, and is used as a fumigant to rid a household of fleas and other itny, terrible vermin. As with most plants, mugwort is part of a vast and successful family that shares certain characteristics of leaf, stem, and growth pattern. The artemisias are in the famiy Asteraceae and have fragrant and beautiful leaves that are green on top and silvery gray-green underneath. With the Sun above and the Moon below, mugowrt is a pant that bridges the gap between night and day and rules theh gloaming and hte twilight. This is especially apt when we look at its history and its usefulness.

If an herb’s English name ends in -wort, it means the plant is used as a medicine or food. Wort comes from the Old English word wyrt, which means plant or herb, so that a practice called wortcunning is done by dint or knowing the properties and uses of local plants. Mugwort appears in the tenth-century “Nine Herbs Charm” mucgwyrt and in the wonderful old Leechbook of Bald. This pedigree belies its humble place in Appalachian folkways, but it is good to rememerb that our old buddy mugwort has a long-standing place in herbal healing.

It is used traditionally to regulate irregular menstrual cycles, for stomach issues like colic, and for both constipation and diarrhea. Mugwort is a mild abortifacient, and that may be a reason for a cautious approach. In traditional Asian medicine, it is acalled moxa and is burned to heat acupuncture needles as well as burned in a healing process called moxibustion.

Our particular artemisia is called mugwort because it was used n making beer in Europe, before the introduction of hops as a bittering agent. It is still used in warning, light-alcohol ales that are easy to brew and delicious to drink. One recipe is sweetened with sorghum molasses and delivers a gently bubbly drink. We can assume that the earlier use of mugwort as bitters in a vat of good ale was quite satisfactory.

Gathering Mugwort

As with any unfamiliar plant, wear gloves when harvesting mugwort. It ararely causes an allergic reaction but certainly can, and it is better to be careful until you know how the plant’s juices will affect you. Most herbs should be harvested in the early morning before the morning sun has had a chance to dry the plant out. The parts of the plant that are used are the leaves and stems, and they may be used either fresh or dried, depending on the application.

Mugwort is easy to identify when foraging and grows well in a soil that retains some moisture but drains well. It flourishes in sun and partial shade, though it can sometimes be found in shady spots too. It is a weed. It isnt fussy. The leaves look like the leaves of its cousin chrysanthemum, and most people have an idea of what that looks like because of their use in autumn seasonal decorations – pumpkins, grounds, and golden mums inhabit the porch steps of many a suburban home and are readily available for purchase at the grocery and hardware store.

All the artemisias are easy to grow, if that is your preference. They are perennials and tend to be invasive, so growing a specimen plant in a large container may be your best bet. If you find yourself harvesting and using it for all the things it’s good for, you might end up keeping a patch that happily regrows.

As a culture, we are growing more intentional about the palnts we use for sacred smoke inr itual and ohter uses. Cultural appropriation is a legitimate concern, and ifnidng plant materials other htan white sage (which is also overharvested in the wild) is a pleasant study. It gives us a lovely excuse to explore the plants that are native to us. Many dried plants can be used as sacred smoke, but, as always, check with a palnt guide or herbalist to make sure the plant is safe to burn.

A bundle of dried mugwort – perhaps with the addition of lavender, rosemary, or mint – makes a natural nd culturally appropriate smudge stick. Tie it up with some cotton, wool, or hemp string, not too thick.

Dreams and Sleep

Mugwort is one of three sovereign plants in my perosnal practice. The other two are rue (Ruta graveolens) and vervain (Verbena hastata). They rank so highly because we continue to experiment with them and find new uses.

Mugwort has been long prized as a dream tonic. Whether ingested as a warm evening tea, burned as an incense, or used fresh, this herb is often recommended to people who are suffering from either a dearth of dreams or oppressive or frightening ones. If you’re having trouble remembering your dreams and desire to do so, mugwort can bring your dreams up so they stick in your memory upon waking. When used with an end-of-day routine that includes a set bedtime, a dark and quiet resting place, and an early returement of electronic devices, mugwort is an aid to relaxation, deep sleep, and vivid dreams.

On the other hand (and especially given the challenging times we are living in now), some people are plagued with far too vivid dreams, with nightmares and night terrors. Disturbed and erratic sleep patterns contribute not only to fatigue during daylight hours but, if prolonged, can impact our general good health and well-being. Chldren can be particularly susceptible to scary ro confusing images that return in their deep sleep. A simple sun catcher in the sahpe of a beloved character or animal placed in the child’s window can shield the sleeper form the scarier elements, and creating a regular tucking-in ritual will also help. Listen to the child’s concerns and especially note ht story of the dreams and the characters. dreams may hold clues to things your child is facing but is unable to articulate. And the same is true for you.

In both of these scenarios, our friend mugwort can also come to the rescue. Create a strong tisane by brewing up a cup of fresh or dried mugwort. Another suggestion is to cut branches of fresh mugwort and place them under hte pillow but inside the pillowcase. The pungent scent is released all night long as you move about in your sleep. Replace the branches every night until your dreams have regulated themselves and are restful and informative.

As you might imagine, this plant is also useful for lucid dreaming and for trance work. Used as a sacred smoke or incense or drunk as a tisane, it is a light aid in trance. As with any plant material, follow all precautions about allergies, use during pregnancy or lactation, and drug interactions before using mugwort.

Parting the Veil

This glorious plant – with the Sun above it and hte Moon below – has another secret to share with us, and its efficacy with dreamwork gave herbalists and magic practitioners the hint ot wander down another of artemisia’s pathways. Many of us consider that there is an energetic veil or wall between teh worlds of matter and spirit. Mugwort may be useful to easing open a gateway and is being by some death midwives and doulas to ease the passage into death and the worlds beyond for those waiting at that liminal edge. For those caregivers who are sitting by teh bedside of a beloved elder, the same mugwort water that helps a child to a peaceful sleep can be used as a cooling compress on the forehead of the dying. A cotton ball can apply this gentle soother to wrists, inner elbows, or ankles. Our companion mugwort finds a place in this powerful rite of passage. As with dreamwork, fresh branches may be placed inside the pillowcase or tucked into a green bouquet on the bedside table.

Artemisia – sacred to Artemis in the West – has been used folklorically in many places and cultures throughout history. It is no surprise that it fits to neatly into the healing pharmacopoeia of Appalachia. For sleep and dreams or disturgbed digestive tracts, this humble, strudy, and magical plant should have a prominent place on your herb shelf, in your garden, and in your practice.

Magick in the Air: Homemade Incense by Monica Crosson

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If you are using smoke to honor hte spirits of the land that surround you, doesn’t it make sense to make incense form ingredients founds or grown in your own region? Gathering resins or plant materials from your local wild areas or from your own backyard garden allows you to make a deeper onnection with your region and relieves some pressure form popoular resinous trees and plant materials whose demand is leading to overharvesting.

Resins from conifers such as pine, fir, cedar, spruce, and hemlock are just as wonderul as the more exotic resins that we are more familiar with. And though they carry subtle differences in scent and energy, they are no less powerful. For example, resins front the trees in the pine family are a great substitute for the resins of non-native trees such as Protium copal (copal tree) of Central America and the Boswellia sacra (frankincense tree) whose sustainability is under threat because of its popularity. Common garden herbs such as garden sage, rosemary, and lavender, whcihc an be grown in your backyard or in pots, along with teh bark, berries and leafy material from many of your local deciduous trees and shrubs make a magickally potent addition to your incense blends.

Coniferous Trees that Best Produce Resin

Cedar. Use in incense blends for calm, spirituality, healing, and denoting sacred space.

Fir. Use in magick for ancestral work, healing, blessings and past-life regression.

Hemlock. Coniferous hemlock can be used in magick for transformation and illumination. It blends well with lavender and is used for meditative blends.

Juniper. Teh resin, berries, bark, and wood have a calming and relaxing effect and have been used to sharpen mental clarity, for protection, and to raise spiritual energy.

Larch. Use in mixes for connecting with the otherworld, for confidence, and for protection.

Pine. Can be used as substitute for copal or frankincense in blends and is used for healing, cleansing, strength and grounding.

Redwood. Use to connect with the otherworld, abundance, healing, and protection.

Spruce. Use in magick for constancy, versatility, and determination.

What Is Resin?

Resin is a main component in most incense blends. … Resin is produced in special resin cells in plants to protect them from insects or pathogens and is made in response to an injury to the plant. Resins can be produced through the bark of a tree, the flowers of an herb, or the buds of a shrub and can occur as part of other compounds, such as latex.

Some folks use the terms sap and resin interchangeably, and though both are secreted by plants, sap is a thin, sweet liquid that carries nutrients to the living parts of the tree. Resin, on the other hands, is a sticky secretion that is located in the outer cells of the tree and is produced as a seal that prevents infection when a tree is injured. Gathering your own resin is actually easier than you might realize, and you are benefited with the knowledge that your material was gathered ethically and with love.

Harvesting Resin

You will need:

  • Designated dull knife or small metal paint scraper
  • Jars, baggies or wax paper to hold the resin
  • Gloves (optional)

You know that thick, sticky substance you see dripping down the trunk of a tree typically where damage has been done? That is resin. You can easily harvest it by using a dull knife to gently remove the resin from the bark. But remember to keep way from the injured part of the tree and harvest only the drips or what has collected on the ground. The resin acts as a bandage to help keep infection at bay, and you don’t want to further injure hte tree by opening the wound. If you keep resin in a plastic bag, it will remain sticky. to dry it, place on a cookie sheet in the sun or a warm dry place and wait . . . but be patient: it can take months for resin to dry out completely.

Another option (what I do) is to harvest already dried resin from the tree. The pieces can be removed very easily from the trune and around the base of the tree with little mess.

Remember, resin is very stick and does not clean up easily. Alcohol works for cleaning your tools, and olive oil, shortening andhand cleaners such as Goop work on your skin.

After your collected resin has dried, the easiest way to utilize it to simply burn small chunks of it on a charcoal black in whatever amount you may require. Remember to test a small amount first to see how much smoke you get. You might be surprpised at how little you will need.

Other Plant Material

Once you have collected and dried your resin, you may want to add dried plant material or essential oil to create a unique incense blend that is suited to your magickal needs.

Correspondences for Common Woody and Fragrant Material

Alder. Use in mixes for journeying, for self-love, and to ease fear.

Angelica. Use in mixes for protection and clearing negativity.

Ash. Burn the bark of ash in blends for prosperity, protection, and good health.

Aspen. Use for protection, antitheft, and eloquence.

Basil. Use in belnds for improving memeory, to cleanse and purify, and to induce calm.

Bay. Use to promote healing, sharpen your psychic abilities, for protection, and for purification.

Birch. Use in magick for new beginnings, protection, resilience, and inspiration.

Chamomile. Use for peace, healing, divination, and dreamwork.

Dill. Sporting beautiful fragrant fronds, dill is used in blends for love, money and protection.

Elecampane. Use to work with elves, for purification, and for divination.

Elderberry. The perfect addition to working magick with the fae, for protection, or to break curses.

Eucalyptus. You can’ tbeat this tree’s cleansing abilities. Great for protection and to zap negative influences from your surroundings.

Fennel. Use fennel in blends for courage, strength, and transformation.

Fern. Use in faery magick, for luck, for health, and for protection.

Ginseng. Use for love, lust, prosperity, and protection.

Hawthorn. Use in magick for protection, faery magick, and happiness.

Lavender. The smoke of lavender creates a calming, peaceful atmosphere that can be used in mixes for loving vibes, to induce sleep, for meditation, for purification, and for healing.

Lemon Peel. Use dried peel in mixes for summertime rituals, cleansing, happiness, and friendship. Great added to a ritual bath.

Maple. Use in magick for prosperity and love.

Mint. Can be used in mixes to aid in meditation, sleep, and psychic awareness. Use for love, for peaceful vibes, and to stimulate mental clarity.

Mullein. Use for protection, strength, and astral travel.

Mugwort. Use to cleanse a space of negative energies, for dreamwork, and in divination.

Orange Peel. Dried citrus can add an uplifting scent to your incense blends and can be used in blends for mental clarity, luck, for joy, or to raise energy.

Poplar. Use the sticky, sweet resinous buds in magick for success, money, endurance, hope, and rebirth.

Rose. The lovely dried petals of the rose can be used in incense blends for love and healing and to promote a peaceful vibe.

Rosemary. Can be used in mixes for peace of mind, for luck, to stimulate mental clarity, for protection, for healing, and to designate spiritual space.

Sage. Use in mixes for cleansing, promoting spirituality, increased memory, and healing.

St. John’s Wort. Use for happiness, positivity, and protection.

Thyme. Lends well to blends for health, healing, strength, and purification.

Yarrow. Use in mixes for psychic awareness before divination and for clarity.

Other Hair Magick

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Hair magick can be performed without removing a single piece form your head. There are lots of ways to add some enchantment to your hair care routine, to attract the energies you desire, and to repel those you don’t.

Essential Oils: You can add a few drops of essential oil to your shampoo or conditioner. Remember to only add a small amount so that it doesn’t compromise the product. Try mint for prosperity, rosemary for protection, or chamomile for peace.

Braids: If you have long hair, you can use knot magick to attract your desires. While braiding your hair, visualize what you would like to bring into your life. When you tie the elastic in place, state, “It is done.” Repeat this every time you braid your hait until the thing you seek comes to you.

Cleansing: Every New Moon, pull the hair out of your hairbrush and safely burn it while letting go of everything you no longer need. This will clear out all the stagnant energy from the last Moon cycle, clearing th way for growth and new beginnings.

Crystals: Quartz crystal amplifies your personal power and boosts spiritual awareness. Place a quartz crystal in your bottle of shampoo or other hair product. The energy from the quartz crystal will linger every time you wash your hair. You can do this with other crystals as well according to what you want to attract. Just make sure the crytals you choose won’t be ruined by being immersed in liquid.