The submitted question covered in this blog/pictures:
"What is 'green' witchcraft?"
There are different realms of magick in terms of areas of witchcraft.
Basically a green witch studies the magickal and medicinal properties of plants. Many plants and herbal remedies can be used within spellwork and ritual.
Here are examples of some of the useful local plants (in my area) that I work with regularly:
Dandelions:
Dandelions are connected with healing and psychic power. The leaves are eatable and if harvested before the plant starts flowering the leaves can make an excellent healthy addition to salads. Once flowering the leaves taste bitter. If already flowering, the blooms can be harvested and made into an infused syrup. I like to harvest the roots of this plant and cut up and dry to make a dandelion root tea that I drink before divination. If you roast the roots in the oven on a low temperature until it slightly changes colour the tea will be more of a rich nutty coffee experience.
Plantain:
Plantain is associated with healing, strength, protection and can empower spellwork. This is an excellent plant to have growing close by of you have any kind of skin irritation, such as bug bites, sun burns, thistle stabbings, etc. Literally rub a leaf against your skin for releif. Can be made into an infusion that can be poured over skin irritations. I like to infuse a grape seed oil and make a beeswax based salve with this plant which can be applied to the skin to also help with acne, escema, scoriosis, rash, etc. Can also relieve cold symptoms if made into a tea. However, be advised that it's not safe to invest if you are pregnant or live with any type of blood disorder or have a history of blood clotting.
Colts foot:
Coltsfoot has been used in love, tranquility and money spells and can be burned during divination rites. It can also be added to divinatory and healing incense. The leaves can be dried and burned to relieve a cough or help with breathing issues such as weeziness, asthma, congestion, smokers cough, etc. Over ingestion can lead to some problems with the liver. And so, i would not recommend inhaling the smoke directly. Wafting it in my presence is usually enough to open the air pathways when inhaling normally to assist with breathing more smoothly. The flowers of this plant which bloom in the summer (were it gets its name because they look like pony-hooves when dried) can be added lightly to a dry tea mix when dealing with a cold, the flu or covid. I often use during spring rituals because it is one of the first flowers to appear in the season and the long stems can be woven into wreaths.
Bindweed:
Considered a bane to most avid gardeners - not to me! As the name suggests, this long narrow growing vine can be harvested to be used for binding spells and rituals. Quite often these invasive plants grow spiraling up the stems of other plants choking them out. I like i use for cord cutting spells, to hold stick poppets in shape, or used in knot magick, and also be used in handfasting ceremonies. Little trumpet shaped white flowers appear along the vines which look similar to moon flowers, only smaller. It should be mentioned that the seeds are very poisonous just like morning glory flowers and long ago the seed oils were riskly used to induce hallucinations.
Woody Nightshade:
Unlike the familiarly named deadly nightshade which is more powerful extremely poisonous, this particular plant is woody nightshade, also known as bittersweet nightshade. Although the leaves and stem are still slightly poisonous. This vine can be used in protection against malicious spells from other witches. Can also be used to protect the home. The red berries that come to fruit from the little yellow and purple flowers in the summer time are the most poisonous part of the plant. Long ago, it was somewhat popular to harvested the berries and the juices were used to poison red wine because the colour nor the taste could be easily detected. Along with this, this plant can also assist with more baneful magick such as jinks, curses or hexes.
Mullen:
An infusion can be made with the leaves to treat frostbite or sunburn. An oil based infusion made with the flowers can be made to produce a strong antibacterial solution which can help reduce migraines by adding about 10 drops into a cup of water or when applied within, can fight against infections of the ear. Mullen leaves can be dried and smoked to relieve chronic cough or asthma. Works very well as a tea if you are suffering from a cold as long as you strain the brew through a cloth so not too get the tiny hairs in your tea. The little hairs from the leaves can cause irritation of the mouth and throat. This plant grows in two year stages. The first year it grows as a short plant with leaves and the second year it grows back to produce a tall stem with a cob of flowers. I like to smoothly harvest the flowers as they appear and make into an antibacterial oil. Long ago the stem and cob at the top of this plant was dipped in wax, lit a flame and used as a torch for light in the dark of night.
...There are so many more plants to choose from that I could talk about. However, the ones mentioned above are all from my gardens and property (pictures were taken late spring/early summer of 2022).
Thank you for reading my blog! If I can clarify on anything here or if you have questions, please feel free to ask. Otherwise please submit any comments and questions at www.askagreywitch.com or feel free to send email to greywitchbryan@gmail.com
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