Folk Names: Appleringie, Boy’s Love, Garde
Robe, Lad’s Love, Maid’s Ruin, Old Man. Gender: Masculine. Planet: Mercury. Element: Air.
Powers: Love, Lust, Protection.
Magical Uses: Southernwood is used in love spells, either carried or placed in the bedroom. Sometimes southernwood is placed
beneath the bed to rouse lust in its occupants. Burned as an incense southernwood
guards against trouble of all kinds, and the
smoke drives away snakes.
(from Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham)
Okay, so like most
people, I’ve got tons of herbs, fruit, veggies, etc. in my kitchen. Now,
turning your kitchen into a magickal one is as easy as learning the magickal
properties of what you have on hand.
So here’s a basic list of what you’re more than likely going to have in your
kitchen, and their immediate magickal uses. Enjoy!*
Apple – unless you’re allergic, you’re going to have an apple in
your kitchen at some point. plus, they’re easy to find (and cheap!) at the
market. they’re used for love, healing,
garden magic, and immortality. apples
are also used to promote friendship,
and is the fruit of the dead. as such,
it is burned at Samhain to honor the souls of the dead. it is associated with Water, the planet Venus, and several deities such as: Aphrodite, Athena, Hera, Apollo, and Iduna.
Basil – everyone has this. admit it. if you have ever tried to cook
anything, you’ve used this. and it’s a very versatile herb! according to Scott
Cunningham, it’s good for love,
exorcism, wealth, flying, and protection.
It’s used to soothe tempers between
lovers, or burned to make a marriage
more harmonious. It also dispels confusion and fears and is worn to attract
money or luck. it’s typically associated with Fire and the planet Mars.
Cinnamon – this is another one you’re probably going to have. according
to Cunningham, cinnamon is good for spirituality,
success, healing, power, psychic powers, lust, protection, and love. if you burn it as an incense, it
raises spiritual vibrations and stimulates psychic powers. It’s also used for prosperity and is a popular herb to use
in charms for that very reason. it’s associated with Fire and the Sun.
Coffee – yes. that’s right. coffee has magick. and not just the
magical ability to wake you up for work in the morning. while Cunningham doesn’t
mention coffee, a little bit of digging can tell you some of coffee’s magickal
properties. themagickalcat states that coffee “helps dispel nightmares and negative thoughts”, as well as “peace of mind and grounding”.
Marjoram – this is actually one of my favorites. marjoram,
according to S.C., is used for protection,
love, happiness, health, and money.
it’s particularly added to food to strengthen love, and is protective when
placed around the house. it can also help to dispel negativity and supposedly attracts a husband if you put a pinch in each corner of each room
of your dwelling every month. it’s associated with Air and the planet Mercury.
Olive – you probably have olives or olive oil in your kitchen, so
here’s a little bit about them: olives and their oil are good for healing, peace, fertility, potency,
protection, and lust. they can
also be used for fidelity, marriage, or money. it is associated with Fire,
the Sun, and a number of Greek
deities.
Oregano – if you’re Italian-American, you’re familiar with this
particular herb. but you won’t find this in many editions of Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs for
some reason. that said, it’s a pretty useful herb. it’s good for happiness, tranquility, luck, health,
protection, and to deepen love. it
can be worn to promote psychic dreams or
used for spells to bring joy. themagickalcat
says it’s also good for vitality and added energy. it’s associated with Air and the planet Venus.
Parsley – this herb is used for lust, protection, and purification.
it can also be used to draw prosperity and luck. it’s associated with Air, the planet Mercury, and the goddess Persephone.
Rosemary – uggh. what can I say about rosemary? it’s great. it’s
amazing. it can actually be used as a substitute for the majority of herbs (especially frankincense). S.C. says its powers
are for protection, love, lust, mental
powers, exorcism, purification, healing, sleep, and youth. it’s particularly good for cleansing and purification when
burned, and can even aid the memory when worn. themagickalcat suggests using an
infusion of rosemary to wash hands before any healing magick, or to use it in
bath magick for purification. it’s associated with Fire, the Sun, and Faeries.
Ginger – ginger is used for love,
money, success, and power.
according to S.C., eating ginger before a spell will help make them more
powerful. it also draws adventure and new experiences. the ginger root can be
used as a magickal token or poppet (or you can make a gingerbread person!). its
associations are Fire and the planet Mars.
Thyme – this is actually one of my mother’s favorite herbs to cook
with (and for good reason!). it’s used for health,
healing, sleep, psychic powers, love, purification, and courage. according to S.C., when placed
underneath your pillow, it promotes a restful sleep and chases away nightmares.
it can also attract loyalty, affection, and good opinions about the wearer. themagickalcat suggests adding a “thyme
infusion to the bath regularly to ensure a constant flow of money.” its associations
are Water and is ruled by the planet Venus.
Tomato – yep. a tomato can be used for magick, too. it’s good for protection and prosperity, and when eaten, has the power to inspire love. it can also be eaten to inspire creativity.
witchipedia adds that the tomato “can be used in place of apples in many
magical spells”, or “in place of other members of the nightshade family”. go tomato!
it’s associations are Water and the
planet Venus.
Vanilla – let’s face it; if you like to bake, you probably have
vanilla extract in your cupboard. like nearly every baking recipe calls for it.
magick-wise, it’s good for love, lust,
and mental powers. it can also
increase energy if carried. it’s associated with Water and the planet Venus.
*this list is based on one of those twirling spice racks i got as a housewarming gift, and just some other foodstuffs i have lying around my kitchen. this is by no means an exhaustive list of the things i like to keep my kitchen stocked with, but it’s a good place to start.
also, the majority of the information was found in Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, themagickalcat.com, and witchipedia.com
Chakra: Root, Sacral, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown
Summary:
Assists with developing psychic abilities. Boosts confidence & synchronicity. Powerful aid to meditation, as it works through your intuition to improve introspection. Aids creativity. Helps you to reach the Divine Feminine and specific spirit guides. A good stone for women.
For curses wasp nests add a potent sting. For regular spells and charms wasps nest represent protection and unity of thought.
This is cool if you find a nest that’s been abandoned, but for the love of god don’t go disturbing living nests. It’s seriously stupid. You’ll get stung relentlessly, and you’ll damage their little home
This is just one/some approach/es out of infinitely many, so feel free to take them as you please and use it as something to chew on while figuring out your own magical path!
All the power we need we already have. That’s right, you could theoretically cast any spell with just intent and energy work, and many magic users don’t use any tools or items at all. However, doing something really huge would either take a very specific method or a metric crap-ton of effort. Since most of us are human beings with limits and nobody ever truly masters magic, items, tools, and correspondences help us focus, filter, and direct our own energy so that the result is more concentrated and more powerful than if we did it on our own. Like differently-shaped strainers.
All items have their own power. Everything from that double-terminated quartz to that old Snickers wrapper can be good for something. Most items are good for more than one thing, even on a mundane practical level. Some items are better suited for certain tasks, though, which is where you get those quick-and-dirty lists of key words from. When we use items for their own power, we’re taking the aspect of them we find most useful, focusing, and amplifying it so that it works its own magic. If all your ingredients work for lots of things but all of them work for luck, that aspect will shine through strongest.
They work WITH your energy… putting a bunch of ingredients together without energy, effort, or meaning is like building a computer but never charging the battery. Or throwing together a salad but never eating it! Correspondences make our job go a lot more easily, quickly, and effectively, but they aren’t reliable simply on their own. (In my view, it’s because the energy is unfocused and there’s a lot of extra noise.) So find a rhythm and a balance between your energy and your tools/ingredients and find what works for you!
fair--y backup 