~A~
Common Names: Agrimony, Cocklebur, Sticklewort
Latin Name: Agrimonia Eupatoria
Parts Used: Dried shoots, flowers, and leaves
Cultivation: Average dry soil in sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Use in protection and banishment spells or sachets. A sprig placed beneath the head will bring restful sleep.
Medicinal Uses: Gargle with an infusion of agrimony to relieve sore throat. Use as a poultice on sores. An agrimony bath helps soothe aching muscles and joints. Agrimony ointment will help heal bruises. Agrimony is a digestive tonic, and is thought to help regulate liver and gall bladder function.
Common Names: Angelica, Archangel, Masterwort
Latin Name: Angelica Archangelica
Parts Used: The entire plant
Cultivation: Moist well-drained soil in part shade.
Arcane Uses: Use for protection from evil spirits and in exorcisms. Smoke the leaves for visions.
Caution: Water Hemlock looks and grows in the wild much like angelica, but is very poisonous! For this reason I would not recommend harvesting angelica wild!
Common Names: Anise
Latin Name: Pimpinella Anisum
Parts Used: Seeds and leaves
Cultivation: Anise likes light, dry, well-drained soil. It's an annual, growing in full sun.
Medicinal Uses: Anise tea is used as a digestive aid and makes a nice after-dinner drink!
~B~
Common Names: Basil
Latin Name: Ocimum Basilicum
Parts Used: Leaves
Cultivation: Basil is a tender annual. Plant in full sun in moist, well-drained soil.
Arcane Uses: Basil soothes tempers between lovers, and is used in love incenses and sachets. Carry some in your pocket to attract wealth, or put it in the cash register to attract customers.
Medicinal Uses: Basil is used as a digestive aid and has a slight sedative action. The extract of the seeds has an antibiotic effect.
Common Names: Bay, Sweet Bay, Bay Laurel
Latin Name: Laurus Nobilis
Parts Used: Leaves
Cultivation: The Bay Laurel is a tree. In the northern hemisphere it is best grown as a houseplant. Bay prefers moderately rich, well-drained soil, in full sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Bay Laurel is used in potions and incenses for clairvoyance and wisdom. It is also a protection and purification herb. You can use a sprig of bay laurel as a censer.
Medicinal uses: Rub bay oil on arthritic joints to relieve pain and swelling. It also has benefits in the treatment of bruises, sprains, and rashes. Bay oil is an astringent and a diuretic with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Common Names: Bee Balm
Latin Name: Monarda Didyma
Parts Used: Leaves
Cultivation: Monarda grows in full sun to part shade in average, moist, well-drained soil. It can be an annual, a biennial, or a perennial.
Medicinal Uses: Use an infusion of monarda leaves for coughs, sore throat, nausea, and menstrual cramps. The oil contains thymol which is antibacterial, antifungal, and vermifuge.
Common Names: Betony
Latin Name: Stachys Officinalis
Parts Used: Leaves and flowers
Cultivation: Betony grows in average, well-drained soil. It's a perennial and prefers full sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Betony is protective and purifying. Burn it on your Midsummer bonfire. Grow it in your garden to protect your home.
Medicinal Uses: Betony is an astringent with a slightly sedative effect. Use it as a gargle for sore throats, or drink it to treat nervous heaadaches and diarrhea.
Common Names: Bistort, Dragonwort, Sweet Dock
Latin Name: Polygonum Bistorta
Parts Used: Root and rhizome
Arcane Uses: Burn bistort with frankincense to improve psychic powers. Carry it with you if you wish to conceive; use in sachets and incenses for this purpose.
Medicinal Uses: Bistort is a powerful yet soothing astringent. Use it for childhood diarrhea or dysentery, or as an ointment for hemorrhoids. Gargle with an infusion of bistort for laryngitis.
Common Names: Bladderwrack, Kelp, Sea Spirit, Sea Wrack
Latin Name: Fucus Vesiculosus
Parts Used: Whole plant
Cultivation: Sea weed!
Arcane Uses: Offers protection to those at sea. Summons sea spirits and sea winds. Uses in sachets and spells to increase psychic powers.
Medicinal Uses: Helps regulate an underactive thyroid. Relieves the pain of rheumtism and rheumatic joints.
Common Names: Bloodroot, King Root
Latin Name: Sanguinaria Canadensis
Parts Used: Rhizome
Cultivation: Bloodroot is a perennial that grows from a rhizome. Plant it in rich, moist, humousy soil in full sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Carry or wear bloodroot to draw love. Plant it near the doors of your house to protect your home.
Medicinal Uses: Bloodroot acts as an expectorant while relaxing bronchial muscles, making it effective in the treatment of bronchitis, laryngitis, croup and asthma.
Common Names: Boneset, Agueweed, Teasel
Latin name: Eupatorium Perfoliatum
Parts Used: Leaves, flowers, and shoots
Cultivation: Boneset likes rich, moist soil in full sun.
Arcane Uses: Boneset is used to ward off evil spirits.
Medicinal Uses: Boneset offers good relief for symptoms associated with influenza--it relieves aches and pains and fever and clears upper respiratory tract congestion. It also eases constipation and offers symptomatic relief for muscular rheumatism.
Common Names: Borage, Bugloss
Latin Name: Borago Officinalis
Parts Used: Leaves
Cultivation: Borage is an annual that grows in rich, moist, light soil.
Arcane Uses: Carry borage blossoms to strengthen courage. Borage tea is said to help induce psychic powers.
Medicinal Uses: Borage helps treat depression. It relieves fevers, bronchitis, and diarrhea. It's an adrenal tonic, an anti-inflammatory, and stimulates milk flow in nursing mothers,
~C~
Common Names: Calendula
Latin Name: Calendula Officinalis
Parts Used: Flower petals
Cultivation: Calendula prefers full sun. It is a hardy annual, and reseeds readily, so plant it where you want lots of it!
Arcane Uses: Calendula is used for protection and to induce prophetic dreams.
Medicinal Uses: Use tinctures of calendula flower to treat amenorrhea, cramps, toothache, fever, flu, and stomachaches. Apply calendula ointment to sores, cuts, bruises, burns, and rashes. Taken internally it helps treat gastric and duodenal ulcers; and helps relieve gall bladder problems and indigestion.
Common Names: Caraway
Latin Name: Carum Carvi
Parts Used: Whole plant
Cultivation: Caraway is a biennial. It prefers light, dry soil, in full sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Use caraway to protect against evil spirits. Place in sachets and carry to attract a mate. Bake into breads or cakes to induce lust. A bag of caraway seeds placed in a child's bed protects against disease.
Medicinal Uses: Use an infusion of the seeds to treat dyspepsia and colic, especially in children. Caraway is said to stimulate the milk flow in nursing mothers.
Common Names: Catnip
Latin Name: Nepeta Cataria
Parts Used: Leaves and flowering tops
Cultivation: Catnip is a perennial which does not grow easily from seed, but from cuttings. It grows wild around my house! Catnip likes dry, sandy, well-drained soil, in sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Use with rose petals in love sachets. Catnip enhances beauty and happiness. Grow it near your home to attract good spirits and great luck.
Medicinal Uses: Catnip tea is used to treat everything from colds to cancer. Common uses are: as a digestive tonic, and mild sleeping aid. Catnip eases upset stomachs. It is good for treating children's diarrhea.
Common Names: Cayenne
Latin Name: Capsicum Annuum
Parts Used: Fruit
Cultivation: Cayenne grows best in moist, fertile loam, with a pH of 6.8, in full sun. It is a perennial but is only hardy to zone 10, so it is treated as a n annual in the North.
Arcane uses: Scatter around the house to break hexes. Use in love sachets.
Medicinal Uses: Contains capsaicin which acts as a restorative digestive tonic. Apply externally as a poultice for painful joints.
Common Names: Chamomile, Camomile
Latin Names: Anthemis Nobile (Rhoemyn Chamomile); Matricaria Recutita (Jhyrmein Chamomile
Parts Used: Flowers and leaves
Cultivation: Both chamomiles like sandy, well-drained soil, in full sun. Rhoemyn Chamomile is a perennial, low-growing, and semievergreen plant which makes a good groundcover; Jhyrmein Chamomile is taller and a reseeding annual.
Arcane Uses: Chamomile attracts money. Use it in sleep and meditation incenses. Take a chamomile bath to attract love. Sprinkle the herb aropund your property to remove curses and hexes.
Medicinal Uses: The volatile oils are an antispasmodic which can be used for treating indigestion and menstrual cramps. It is also an anti-inflammatory and anti-infective useful for treating skin disorders. And who hasn't had a cup of chamomile tea to help her sleep at night!
Common Names: Chervil
Latin Name: Anthriscus Cerefolium
Parts Used: Leaves
Cultivation: Chervil prefers moist, humous-y soil, in part shade. It is a hardy annual.
Medicinal Uses: Chervil is a diuretic, stimulant, and expectorant. It is used in the treatment of eczema, high blood pressure, gout, and kidney stones.
Common Names: Chives
Latin Name: Allium Schoenoprasum
Parts Used: Long tubular leaves
Cultivation: Chives like a moderately rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 6. They are sun-loving perennials.
Medicinal Uses: The sulfur oils found in alliums can help lower high blood pressure, but only in large quantities.
Common Names: Clover
Latin Name: Trifolium pratense spp.
Parts Used: Flower heads
Cultivation: Grows wild!
Arcane uses: White clover is used against hexes; red can aid with finances. A 4-leaf clover protects against madness, strengthens psychic powers, and is thought to lead to gold or treasures. A 5-leaf clover is a very powerful charm for attracting money.
Medicinal Uses: Clover can be used safely to treat skin disorders in children. It is also an expectorant and anti-spasmodic which can be used to treat whooping cough and bronchitis.
Common Names: Coltsfoot
Latin Name: Tussilago farfara
Parts Used: Leaves and flowers
Cultivation: Coltsfoot does well in moist, averagel soil in full sun.
Arcane Uses: Add to love sachets and use in spells for peace and tranquility. Smoke the leaves to aid in obtaining visions.
Medicinal Uses: Coltsfoot is a soothing expectorant with anti-spasmodic action, which can be used in the treatment of chronic or acute bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, and chronic emphysema. It is a mild diuretic. Bruise the leaves and use as a poultice on boils, ulcers, and abscesses.
Common Names: Comfrey, Boneset, Slippery Root
Latin Name: Symphytium Officinale
Parts Used: Leaves, roots, and rhizomes
Cultivation: Comfrey prefers rich, moist soil in full sun to partial shade.
Arcane Uses: Carry comfrey for protection during travel. Use the root in money spells.
Medicinal Uses:Use poultices on bruises and sores to aid healing. Comfrey has tissue regenerative and anti-bacterial properties. Use it to treat burns, bed sores, insect bites, eczema, and sprains.
Common Names: Coriander
Latin Name: Coriandrum Sativum
Parts Used: Leaves and seeds
Cultivation: Coriander prefers moderately rich, well-drained soil. It is a tender annual and grows in full sun to part shade.
Arcane Uses: Use coriander in love potions and spells. Add coriander seeds to wine or mead to make a love potion. Use the seeds for healing, especially of headaches.
Medicinal Uses:Drink an infusion of coriander seeds to settle an upset stomach. make poultices from crushed seeds to relieve the pain of rheumatism. Coriander stimulates the appetite and relieves childrens' diarrhea.
