Magickal Uses: For luck in your marriage, plant soon after your wedding.
Cactus – All varieties of cacti are used for protection. The spines are also used to inscribe words and symbols on roots and candles and then burned or buried.
Calamus – (Acorus Calamus) Poison Folk Names: Gladdon, Myrtle Flag, Myrtle Grass, Myrtle Sedge, Sweet Cane, Sweet Flag, Sweet Grass, Sweet Root, Sweet Rush, Sweet Sedge.
Magickal Uses: String the seeds like beads on a necklace to use for healing. The powdered root is used in incenses and sachets for healing. To keep hunger and poverty from your home, keep pieces of this root in the corners of your kitchen. Use to strengthen and bind.
Camellia – (Camellia japonica)
Magickal Uses: Use this plant to bring luxury and wealth. Place vases of fresh blossoms on the altar for money and prosperity magick.
Camphor – (Cinnamonum Camphora)
Herbal Uses: Caution: Do not use if you are pregnant or in a very weak and debilitated state. Only natural plant extracts should be used since chemical camphor is usually contaminated with industrial poisons. True camphor is virtually unavailable in the United States, so synthetics are usually substituted. Use both the crystallized extract and the leaf for conditions as asthma or bronchitis. May be useful for depression, exhaustion, stomach cramps and improving circulation. Steep two teaspoon to a cup of water for twenty minutes. Drink one-fourth cup four time daily. Or use one teaspoon crystallized extract in two cups water. Take as one teaspoon doses four times daily. If using the tincture take in doses of five to ten drops daily. Use in a salve externally to kill parasites and ringworm, scabies and itch. Use the salve as a smelling salt to open the lungs. Also burn to purify the air and open the lungs. The salve also helps with muscular and joint pain, arthritis, and bruises (do not use on open wounds).
Homeopathic Uses: Use Camphora for states of collapse when the body is ice cold. Use for cholera, the first stages of a cold, violent convulsions and insomnia. Remember, camphor antidotes homeopathic remedies.
Magickal Uses: Lessen sexual desire by sniffing or placing beside bed. Camphor or the bark prevents colds and flu when hung around the neck. Burn to dispel disease and purify the air.
Caper – (Capparis spinosa) This is a shrub with tough round leaves with white or pink single flowers with four petals and many stamens. The unopened buds are called capers. Dioscorides, Theophrastus, and Pliny knew the plant, with the later explicitly stating that it grew in Egypt. The Assyrian Herbal called caper baltu. It is believed the Bible calls it avionah.
Magickal Uses: To cure impotency eat capers and use in love and lust potions.
Caraway – (Carum carvi)
Herbal Uses: To promote digestion and relieve gas take the powdered seeds in one fourth to one teaspoon doses. The tea helps to relieve cramps and begin menstruation, and increase breast milk for nursing mothers. Steep three teaspoons of ground seeds in a half-cup water for twenty minutes. Drink one and a half cups per day total in one-fourth doses (or just chew the seeds). As a digestive aid take one to four drops of the essential oil. To help colicky babies soak one ounce of the ground seeds in one pint of cold water for about six hours. Give one to three teaspoons of the infusion. Another method is to boil three teaspoons of the seeds in a half a cup of milk for a few minutes, then steep for ten minutes longer. When the powdered seeds are moistened they make a poultice used for bruises and earaches.
Magickal Uses: Use as protection against all types of evil, spirits and negativity, especially Lilith. Use the seeds to make an object theft proof. Put in sachets, poppets and talismans to attract your mate and encourage fidelity. Bake bread, cakes or cookies with them to induce lust, so bake in your wedding cake. Instead of throwing rice at the wedding, throw caraway seeds (the birds love them, too). Use to protect a child from illness by placing a small bag in their bed.
Cardamom – (Elettario Cardamomum)
The tree is indigenous to India and Ceylon. According to Pliny the best cardamon perfume (the leaves have a spicy-cinnamon scent) was from Mendes. Theophrastus states that cardamon was imported to his country from Media (some say India). A few seeds are sometimes added to coffee in Arab countries and Scandinavia makes mulled wine with them.
Magickal Uses: The mulled wine of Scandinavia is considered to be a quick lust potion. For love bake them into an apple pie, add to sachets and incenses.
Carnation – (Dianthus carophyllus) Folk Names: Gillies, Gilliflower, Jove’s Flower, Nelka, Scaffold Flower, Sops-In-Wine.
Magickal Uses: Used in all-protective spells. During the Elizabethan period they were worn to prevent an untimely death by the scaffold. Send carnations to those who are ill to give strength and energy. Fresh red carnations should be used on the altar and add the dried blooms to sachets and incenses for healing magick.
Carob – (Jacaranda procera; Prosopis dulcis) Folk Names: Caaroba, Caroba, Carobinha, Chocolate.
The tree will grow in poor soil and warm climates. The pods contain protein, starch and sugar. In Egypt they made a sweet carob beer from the pods. The Egyptian word for carob seems to be d3rt.
Magickal Uses: Used to keep in good health and stave off evil by carrying it.
Carrot – (Dancus carota) Folk Names: Bird’s Nest, Philtron.
Magickal Uses: Used in fertility magick, the seeds when eaten will aid a woman in becoming pregnant and the man to cure impotency eats the carrot itself.
Cascara Sagrada – (Rhamnus purshiana) Folk Names: Sacred Bark.
Magickal Uses: To aid in winning a court case, before you go to court, sprinkle an infusion around your house. Use also in money spells (maybe a court settlement?) and as an amulet against evil (loosing the case?).
Cashew – (Anacardium occidentale)
Magickal Uses: Use in your prosperity and money spells.
Cassia – (Cinnamonium cassia) This tree is often confused with the cinnamon tree (Cinnamonium zeylanicum), which is very similar. The C. zeylanicum is smaller and the quills of bark are thinner and more fragile. The Cassia’s flavor is stronger and originated in China and Burma. The Bible mentions cassia along with cinnamon.
Castor – (Ricinus communis) Poison – contains ricin. Folk Names: Palma Christi, Palms Christi Root.
Indigenous to Africa, the Castor is a perennial plant with palmate leaves and may grow as tall as a tree. The seeds are in bur-like capsules and are oval and glossy black, red, white or mottled with a nice nutty taste. The leaves and seeds have been used for folk medicine since ancient times. However, just a few seeds have known to be fatal to adults, cattle and poultry. A well-known means of infanticide in parts of Africa has been to mix the seeds with food. The oil is poisonous to cockroaches. Plants are grown around homes in Egypt as a means of repelling mosquitoes.
Magickal Uses: Since they are said to absorb evil, use in magick for protection against the evil eye and all negativity.
Cat Tail - (Typha spp.)
Magickal Uses: Cat tail carried by a woman will increase her enjoyment of sex.
Catnip - (Nepeta cataria)
Herbal Uses: Catnip makes an excellent nighttime sedative tea, much like chamomile.
Cedar - (Cedrus libani or C. spp) Juniper is often used in place of cedar. When discussing ”cedar” Dioscorides says ”it is a preservative of dead, hence some have called it “the life of him that is dead.”’
Magickal Uses: Cedar is used for a purifying fumigation and to cure the tendency of having bad dreams. Some Native Americans use twigs of cedar, smoldering of made into incense, to heal head colds and on hot rocks in sweat lodges for purification. Hung in the home it protects against lightning. Placing a three-pronged cedar stick, prongs up, in the ground, will protect the home from evil. Use in prosperity incense and carry in the wallet or purse. Add to love sachets and place in incense to induce psychic powers.
Celandine – (Chelidonium majus) Folk Names: Celydoyne, Chelidoninum, Devil’s Milk, Garden Celandine, Greater Celandine, Kenning Wort, Swallow Herb, Swallow-Wort, Tetterwort.
Herbal Uses: Caution: Some people are sensitive to this plant and may experience skin irritation when picking or worn. The dried plant is less irritating. This herb is Powerful and should be taken only once to bring about its effects. Internally, the tincture or infusion of the leaf will stimulate and clean the liver. To make tea, simmer one-teaspoon herb or root in one cup boiled water for thirty minutes. It will boil down to one-half cup. Drink this tea cold, sipping it through the day. For tincture, the dose is ten to fifteen drops. This plant benefits jaundice, and complaints of the gallbladder, liver, and stomach. Externally, the salve has been used to clear eczema, scrofula, and herpes. The fresh juice is dabbed two or three times a day on warts, ringworm, and corns. Caution: Do not allow it to touch other parts of the skin..
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use Chelidonium majus for jaundice with pain under the right scapula. Icy coldness of fingertips and alternating diarrhea and constipation are indications, as is loose cough with right-sided chest pain.
Magickal Uses: Worn next to the skin (and replaces every three days), Celandine aids in escaping unwarranted imprisonment and entrapment of every type. Also worn to win the favor of the judge or jury in court. It cures depression by bringing good spirits and joy when worn. It is a protective herb.
Celery – (Apium graveolens) Celery is a biennial plant with bulbous, fleshy root and strong smelling leaves. It grows wild in Africa, Europe and the Americas. It is a tonic, an appetizer and carminative. The juice is diuretic. It once was used as a slimming herb. In ancient Egyptian texts, celery, along with an unidentified plant and beer, was used to cure a disease cast by a demon. The Egyptians used celery as an herb for treating conditions ranging from poor teeth to gynecological purposes to stomach problems to eyewash.
Magickal Uses: Chewing the seeds aids concentration. Use in spell pillows to induce sleep. When burned with Orrisroot it increases psychic powers. When eaten, the stalks, as well as the seeds, induce lust.
Centaury – (Centaurium spp.) Folk Names: Christ’s Ladder, Feverwort.
Magickal Uses: To burn or fumigate with this plant will drive snakes off.
Chamomile – (Anthemis nobilis) Folk Name: Roman Chamomile, Camomyle, Chamaimelon, Ground Apple, Heermannchen(German), Manzanilla (Spanish), Mayhem, Whig Plant.
Herbal Uses: This herb has an affinity with the solar plexus area of the human body. The tea of the flower benefit colic, upset stomachs, and fevers. Use two tablespoons per cup, steep for twenty minutes, and take a quarter cup four times a day. Women with menstrual cramps can try adding a few thin slices of fresh ginger root to the tea. It is an antibacterial. Sores, wounds, itches, and rashes respond to external applications. Use the tea as a wash or add the herb to salves and poultices. The oil is rubbed into swollen joints. It clams the nerves and brings on sleep. Use in baths and gargles. Add the tea to a vaporizer to help asthmatic children. The classic tea for cranky, teething babies, it is given in the bottle or through a mother’s breast milk.
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use Chamomilla (German chamomile – white and yellow daisy-like flowers found from spring to late summer. Flowers are best used fresh, as they lose volatile oils when dried.) for earaches, and other childhood conditions, especially when the child is whiny, irritable, snappish, thirsty, hot or restless.
Magical Uses: Yellow chamomile brings the power of the sun to love potions, money spells, and rites of purification. Gamblers sometimes use a hand wash of the infusion to insure winnings. It is used in incenses for sleep and meditation. Added to the bath water, it attracts love. Sprinkle it around the house to remove curses and spells.
Chaste Tree – (Vitex agnus-castus) Folk Names: Monk’s Pepper. Common names come from the long use of the plant to subdue the libido in monks. Affects hormonal balance in both men and women. Recent studies show it is a valuable plant (the seeds) in regulating female hormones upon discontinuation of oral contraceptives. A fast growing, showy deciduous shrub with masses of lilac flowers and aromatic palmate leaves. It has been tentatively identified with ѕ‘Зm of Egyptian texts. It occurs in prescriptions for bandages. With ground barley, red ochre and an unidentified ingredient it was thought to ease swelling. Ground and mixed with water, it was used to strengthen teeth. With other ingredients it was prescribed for constipation. In the Assyrian Herbal it has been identified as šunű. A diuretic and emmenagogue, it was prescribed for a number of ailments.
Cherry – (Prunus avium) Folk Names: Sweet Cherry.
Magickal Uses: The cherry has traditionally been used to attract love. A simple Japanese spell for finding love it to tie a single strand of your hair to a blossoming cherry tree. A more complex spell (but it may be simplified): collect as many cherry stones as years you are old. Drill a hole through no more than one stone each night, beginning on the New Moon. Do not drill any holes during the waning Moon. (The most holes that may be drilled in one month is fourteen, just wait for the next New Moon.) Thread them on a red or pink thread and tie around the left knee each night for fourteen nights. Sleep with it on and then remove it in the morning. This will bring you your intended spouse. To find out how many more years are left in your life, run around a cherry tree and then shake it hard. The number of cherries that fall represent the number of years left. Cherry juice is also used as a substitute for blood in old recipes.
Chervil – (Myrrhis odorata) The umbelliferous chervil is native to the Middle East. In France it is a much-favored culinary herb, and in Scandinavia a soup is made from it. It has a subtle flavor of anise. In medicine it is taken internally to cleanse the blood, or it is applied as a soothing poultice and as a skin lotion.
Herbal Uses: The juice of the flowering herb is taken internally for skin conditions such as eczema and scrofula. The fresh or dry herb is taken as tea for gout, abscesses, or edema; to bring on menstruation; for anemia; and to lower blood pressure. The root can be eaten, used in decoction, or tinctured. The dose is ten to twenty drops, four times a day. Use the roots externally as an antiseptic wound wash or internally for coughs, gas, and upset stomach. Use in salves for ulcers, wounds, and gout. The plant can be used safely over a long period of time and is quite harmless. Caution: Chervil resembles hemlock (Conium maculatum), which is a deadly poison and must be identified with care.
Magickal Uses: Chervil is added to the ritual chalice or burned in incense to aid in communication with the spirit of the departed. An herb of immortality, it helps us to commune with our eternal nature, which transcends the body, space, and time.
Chestnut – (Castanea spp.)
Magickal Uses: Used in love spells. May also be added to your beloved’s food.
Chickpea – (Cicer arietinum L.) Chickpeas are a favorite dish in Egypt, soaked, crushed and mixed with sesame paste and spices. In India they are ground to make gram flour for bread and batters. They were also part of the ancient diet. Tutankhamun was given a basketful to sustain him in the afterlife. The Copts believed them to be stimulating for milk production.
Chickweed – (Stellaria media) Folk Names: Adder’s Mouth, Indian Chickweed, Passerina, Satin Flower, Star Chickweed, Starweed, Starwort, Stellaire (French), Stitchwort, Tongue Grass, Winterweed.
Herbal Uses: Fresh or dried chickweed is used in poultices and salves and can be eaten as a vegetable. A strong chickweed tea will ease constipation; take cupful doses every few hours until relief is obtained. The oil is helpful for stopping the itch of eczema. Chop the plant and grind it, just barely cover it with a good quality olive oil, and let it sit for a few days. Strain and use. For “moist” eczema, use a strong wash of the tea.
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopathics use it in low potencies for conditions of low metabolism, rheumatism, psoriasis, enlarged painful liver, and constipation or alternating constipation and diarrhea. All symptoms are worse in the mornings and are aggravated by warmth and tobacco.
Magickal Uses: Carry or use in spells designed to attract love or to maintain or improve a relationship.
Chicory – (Cichorium intybus) Folk Names: Succory, Wild Cherry, Wild Succory. Chickory is a deep-rooted perennial growing to 1.5m. The hairy stem has virtually leafless ridged branches; the lower leaves are oblong, partly clasping and bristly beneath. It has large blue flowers, which close at noon. It grows wild in Europe, but varieties are cultivated commercially, the lower leaves as a salad herb (endive), and the rot as a coffee substitute. Among other things it contains insulin, vitamins B, C, K and P. The leaf and root are diuretic and laxative. The leaves produce a blue dye.
Herbal Uses: The young and tender spring roots are boiled and eaten with butter, or dried, ground, and roasted to make a coffee-like brew. The leaves are eaten in salads—use very young plants, or blanch them by keeping the growing plans covered with a basket. The blanched herb is used like spinach or kale. Chicory can be grown during the winter in a cellar and the tender shoots eaten. A decoction of chicory root helps jaundice, enlarged liver, gout, and rheumatism. Use one teaspoon per cup of water and simmer for five minutes. Strain and take up to a cup and a half per day in small doses. Steep two teaspoons per cup for twenty minutes. Take one-quarter cup, four times a day. The infused herb is used for skin eruptions associated with gout. The leaves make a poultice to soothe the eyes and inflammations in general. Chicory is similar to dandelion in its medicinal uses. Caution: Overdose can cause venous congestion in the digestive tract and increased blood flow to the head. Loss of visual power in the retina can also result.
Magickal Uses: Chicory is an herb of the sun, used to transcend any obstacle that life may bring. It helps person cultivate frugality and wins the favors of important people. At one time it was thought that chicory made its possessor invisible, and to open locks on boxes or doors if held against the lock. To do this it had to be gathered with a gold knife in perfect silence at noon or midnight on Midsummer.
Chili Pepper – (Capsicum spp.) Folk Names: Red Pepper
Magickal Uses: Red Pepper powder is used in powders to enflame the beloved and to ensure that your love will be “spicy”. To keep your mate from infidelity, cross two large chili peppers and tie them together with a red or pink ribbon. Place them under your pillow. Scatter red pepper around your house to break any curses or spells placed on you.
China Berry – (Melia azederach) Poison
Magickal Uses: Carry the seeds as good luck charms to bring a change into your life.
Christ Thorn – (Zizphus spina-Christi Other Names: Zizyphus Zizyphus is a shrub or tree with glabrous branches. The wild variety has spikes below the yellowish-green tough leaves. It has clustered yellowish flowers and berries that look like wild cherries. In the Middle East it is a popular fruit and is also used in folk medicine.
Chrysanthemum – (Chrysanthemum spp.) Folk Name: Mum
Magickal Uses: Grown in the garden they protect it from evil spirits and wearing the flowers will protect against the wrath of the Gods. It is said that drinking an infusion of chrysanthemum cures drunkenness.
Cinchona – (Cinchona ledgeriana or C. succirubra)
Magickal Uses: A piece of bark, when carried, brings luck as well as protection from evil and bodily harm.
Cinnamon – (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) Folk Names: Sweet Wood. The evergreen cinnamon tree is native to Ceylon, whereas cassia originated in China and Burma. It is a stimulant, digestive and antiseptic. A tea made of cinnamon, water, and sugar is widely drunk in the Middle East in cold weather. Another winter drink is made from milk, powdered resin, chopped pistachios and cinnamon. In Europe it is a favorite addition to puddings and cakes, in Mediterranean countries also for dishes including tomatoes, and it is an ingredient in curry spice. The ‘buds’ (immature fruit) are used for scenting potpourri and for commercially produced sweets and beverages.
Ritual Uses: The ancient Hebrews used cinnamon oil as part of a holy anointing oil. The Egyptians also used the oil during the mummification process. The Romans wove the leaves into wreaths, which were used to decorate the temples.
Magickal Uses: When burnt as an incense, cinnamon raises high spiritual vibrations, aids in healing, draws money, stimulates psychic powers and produces protective vibrations. Use it in sachets and infusions for the same purposes.
Cinquefoil – (Potentilla canadensis or P. reptans) Folk Names: Crampweed, Five Finger Blossom, Five Finger Grass, Five Fingers, Goosegrass, Goose Tansy, Moor Grass, Pentaphyllon, Silver Cinquefoil, Silverweed, Sunkfield, Synkefoyle
Herbal Uses: The powdered root and leaf are used to stop internal hemorrhaging. The powder makes an astringent for mouth sores and relieves diarrhea. Taken with honey, it relieves sore throats, coughs, and fever. Take one-quarter to one-half teaspoon at a time, or twenty to forty drops of the tincture. The leaves may be steeped using two teaspoons per cup for twenty minutes, or one ounce of the root may be simmered in one and a half cups of water for twenty minutes. The dose is a quarter cup four times a day.
Magickal Uses: The points of the leaves represent love, money, health, power and wisdom and when carried grants these. Hang at the door or place on the bed for protection. Bathe the forehead and hands nine times with an infusion, to wash away hexes and curses. Prick a hole in an egg, drain it, and fill it with cinquefoil. Tape the egg shut, and your home and property are protected. To dream of your future lover or mate place a seven-pointed leaflet under your pillow. A bag of cinquefoil hung from your bed will bring a restful night of sleep. It is offend carried during court cases as it brings eloquence when asking favors of officials and usually ensures that they will be granted. Add to the purification bath sachet or bathe in the infusion every seven days to ward off evil.
Citron – (Citrus medica)
Magickal Uses: Use in healing spells and incenses. When eaten it will increase psychic powers.
Cloth-of-Gold – (Crocus angustifolia)
Magickal Uses: This plant, when worn, conveys the ability to understand the language of birds and animals. Gather it barefooted, with washed feet, and in white garments. Offer a sacrifice of bread and wine while tenderly plucking it.
Clove – (Syzygium aromaticum or Caryophyllus aromaticus)
Magickal Uses: When worn or carried they attract the opposite sex and comfort the bereaved. As an incense the attract riches, drive away hostile and negative forces, produce spiritual vibrations, and purify the area, and to stop others from gossiping about you.
Clover – (Trifolium spp.) Folk Names: Honey, Honeystalks, Shamrocks, Three-Leaved Grass, Trefoil, Trifoil
Herbal Uses: For most uses, the best clover is the red (T. pratense), a nutritive plant whose flowers can be eaten in salad, sandwiches, and teas. Red clover is known as a blood and lymph cleanser. Clover tea calms coughs and promotes expectoration. It is also used for fevers, arthritis, lung inflammation, and gout. Steep two teaspoons of the flowers per cup of water for twenty minutes. The dose is a quarter cup, four times a day. Gather the blossoms while they are fresh and newly opened, and dry them in the shade or tincture them.
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use red clover for conditions characterized by increased flow of saliva, seborrhea with dry scaly crusts, stiff neck, whooping cough, hay fever, and chills. White clover (Trifolium repens) is considered a prophylactic against mumps, the symptoms of which include pain and hardness of the submaxillary glands and profuse, watery saliva—all acute when the patient is lying down.
Magickal Uses:You shall soon find a lover or your lover will soon return.
Two-Leaved:
Three-Leaved: The Trefoil is worn as an amulet for protection.
Four-Leaved: Brings peace of mind, protects against madness, strengthens psychic powers, enables the detection of spirits, and leads you to gold, money or treasure. Place in your shoe before going out it will increase your chances of meeting a rich new love. Mutual love will result if two people eat a four-leaf clover together. Seven grains of wheat placed on one will enable you to see fairies. Five-Leaved: Wear for the purpose of attracting money.
White Clover: (Triolium repens): Scatter around your home or use in work to break hexes.
Red Clover: (Trifolium pratense): For aide in financial arrangements add to your bath water. The infusion is sprinkled to remove negative spirits. Use in lust potions.
Blossoms: Tincture in vinegar for three days. The vinegar is then sprinkled around the house to discourage unwanted entities. Carry some flowers in your purse or pocket as a protective charm and to attract a new love.
In General: Grow clover to keep snakes away. Place in the left shoe and then forget about it and it will keep evil away. Worn over the right breast it brings success. For easing a disappointment in love, wear it near your heat wrapped in blue silk.
Club Moss – (Lycopodium clavatum) Folk Names: Foxtail, Lycopod, Selago, Vegetable Sulfur, Wolf Claw
Magickal Uses: The properway to gather this herb is to take a purification bath in a running stream, offer bread and wine to the plant, then uproot it with the little finger or a silver blade. It will then be powerful and bring protection, power and blessings from the Gods.
Coconut – (Cocos nucifera)
Magickal Uses: Halved, drained of its milk, filled with protective herbs and then sealed shut and buried will protect your property. A whole coconut hung in the home will also protect it. Coconut is also used in chastity spells.
Cohosh, Black – (Cimicifuga racemosa) Folk Names: Black Snake Root, Bugbane, Rattle Root, Squaw Root
Magickal Uses: Carried it strengthens courage. Used in love sachets or add as an infusion to the bath to help impotency. When the infusion is sprinkled around the house it drives away evil presences.
Colocynth – (Citrullus colocynthus)
Colocynth appears to be native to Egypt, where it grows in the desert. It is a perennial creeping herb with long trailing branches. The fleshy fruits, the size of an orange or smaller, are uniform or mottled with dark green, turning yellow when ripe. They are extremely bitter. The dried and powdered pulp is a powerful hydragogue cathartic, and is toxic in large doses.
Coltsfoot – (Tussilago Farfara) Folk Names: Ass’s Foot, British Tobacco, Bull’s Foot, Butterbur, Coughwort, Pas d’ ane (French), Sponnc (Gaelic). The yellow flowers resemble the sun, and it is among the first plants to emerge in the spring, often when there is still snow. The leaves appear after the flowers have bloomed.
Herbal Uses: It may be smoked to relieve coughs and shortness of breath. The tea is useful for all lung, sinus, and throat conditions and for diarrhea. Steep two teaspoons of leaf per cup of water for twenty minutes. It is applied as a poultice to stings, swellings, burns, ulcers, and phlebitis.
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use coltsfoot as an intercurrent remedy in pneumonia.
Magickal Uses: Sponnc is sacred to Brighid. Coltsfoot, an herb of Venus, is added to love sachets and used in spells for peace and tranquility. When the leaves are smoked they can cause visions.
Columbine – (Aquilegia canadensis) Folk Names: Lion’s Herb
Magickal Uses: When carried or rubbed it induces courage and daring. Pulverize the seeds and rub onto the hands and body as a perfume to attract love. This may be done by both sexes.
Comfrey – (symphytum officinale) Folk Names: Assear, Black Wort, Boneset, Bruisewort, Consolida, Consound, Gum Plant, Healing Herb, Knitbone, Slippery Root, Wallwort, Yalluc
One of the most important medical herbs. Used for centuries to heal broken bones and sprains because it contains allantoin, a hormone-like substance that stimulates cell division. Poultices of leaves are usually used. Known to the Romans as Conferva ("join together"), from which the common name Comfrey is derived. Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) is the perferred comfrey due to its higher protein and allantoin content, making it more effective. Warning: Due to low level concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the leaves and roots of confrey, it should not be taken internally.
John Gerard, 1633
Magickal Uses: Wear or carry for protection and safety during travel. Place some in your suitcase to prevent it from being lost. Use also in money spells.
Convolvulus – ( )
Copal – (Bursera odorata)
Magickal Uses: A piece of copal may represent the heart in poppets. It is a favorite in Mexico for incenses for love and purification.
Coriander – (Coriandrum sativum) Folk Names: Chinese Parsley, Cilantro, Cilentro, Culantro.
This umbelliferous herb is cultivated throughout the world. Apart from the use of the fresh leaves and dried seeds in cooking, it has a variety of uses in modern herbal medicine. It is a stimulant, carminative and digestive and is used for coughs and in bandages for rheumatism. In medieval times it was an ingredient in love potions.
Herbal Uses: The seeds are strengthening to the urinary system. The leaf and seeds are infused to treat bladder infections. The tea helps with stomach problems such as gas and indigestion. Steep two teaspoons of the dried seed per cup of boiled water for twenty minutes, and take up to one cup a day. The powdered seed and the oil are used to flavor other herbal preparations and to ease griping in laxative formulas. Use one-fourth to one-half teaspoon at a time. It is a common ingredient of Indian curries.
Magickal Uses: Use in love sachets and spells. Place the seeds in a poppet and use to find one’s mate. Powdered seed added to warm wine make an effective lust potion, or bake into cakes or bread. Put some in your wedding cake, or use it to throw at the bride and groom. Wear the seeds for healing, especially for headaches. To cause an unborn child to be ingenious, have the expectant mother eat the seeds.
Corn – (Zea Mays) Folk Names: Giver of Life, Maize, Sacred Mother, Seed of Seeds. The Corn Mother, is a deity of plenty and fertility, worshipped throughout the East and North America. The ancient Meso-American people to make rain used pollen from corn. The mountain people of the United States burned red corncobs to ease and speed a difficult birth.
Herbal Uses: Corn bread is more nutritious than wheat bread, and beans and corn together make a complete protein. Organic corn silk can be eaten fresh from the ears. It will tone the bladder; add it freely to salads. In winter it is available dried from herbalists, though the fresh silk has the best bladder-toning properties. Steep one teaspoon of the dried silk per cup of water for five minutes; take one tablespoon every two hours.
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use corn silk for cystitis and kidney conditions, and corn smut for hemorrhage and lack of tone in the uterus.
Magickal Uses: Corn on the altar represents the power of the Corn Mother, she who blesses and nourishes all of her earthly children. Place an ear in a baby’s cradle to protect it from negative forces. Cornstalks hung over a mirror brings good luck to the household. A necklace of red corn kernels prevents nosebleeds. It is said that if you reach into a bin of corn, pulling out any ear and count the grains, allowing twelve grains for each year, and it will tell you your age.
Cornflower – (Centaurea depressa)
It is an annual herb with gray leaves and bright-blue flowers. The juice has been used to make blue ink. In ancient Egypt the flowers were often included in mummy garlands and frequently represented as growing in the gardens. A decoction of the flowers has a mildly astringent effect and is an excellent eye tonic. It has been used for menstrual disorders.
Costmary – (Tanacetum balsamita) Folk Names: Alecost, Bible Leaf
Pretty silver-green, oblong mint scented leaves, with clusters of daisy-like flowers borne on long stalks in late summer. It has a delightful history, once used to flavor ale, hence the common name Alecost. Leaves were used by the Puritans as scented bookmarks in their Bibles; they would take a whiff of the leaves to revive them during long sermons, hence the common name Bible Leaf. Smells just like 'doublemint gum'.
Cotton – (Gossypium barbadense)
Magickal Uses: For good luck place cotton in the sugar bowl. Another method, which is to bring the luck before the end of the day, is to through some over the right shoulder at dawn. Place cotton on a tooth to stop toothache pain. Plant or scatter in the yard to keep ghosts away. Place cottons balls soaked in vinegar on the windowsill to keep evil out of your home. To bring back a lost love, wear a sachet made with a cotton ball with some pepper in it. Next to wool, cotton is the best fabric for making sachets or any magickal cloth. Burning cotton causes rain.
Cowslip – (Primula veris) Folk Names: Arthritica, Artetyke, Buckles, Cuy, Drelip, Fairy Cup, Frauenschlussel (German), Herb Peter, Key Flower, Key of Heaven, Lady’s Key, Lippe, Our Lady’s Keys, Paigle, Paralysio, Password, Peggle, Plumrocks, Primrose.
Herbal Uses: The flowers are used in salves for sunburn and dry skin. The leaves are used in wound poultices. Two teaspoons of the dried flowers taken as a tea prevent migraine, insomnia, and nightmares. Steep two teaspoons of the flowers in one cup of water for twenty minutes. Take one-fourth cup four times a day. Make a fresh batch every day. The dried root is simmered for its expectorant properties. Simmer two teaspoons of root in one cup of water for twenty minutes. Take one-fourth cup four times a day. Primrose/Cowslip benefits bronchitis and whooping cough. It is a blood cleanser and useful for gouty or rheumatic conditions. The herb or root may be tinctured and the dose is five to twenty drops four times a day.Caution: Some people are allergic to primroses.
Homeopathic Uses: Homeopaths use Primula veris for neuralgia, migraine, vertigo, rheumatic pain, and gout. A strange “leading” symptom is that the urine smells of violets.
Magickal Uses: Hidden beneath the front porch it will discourage visitors. Carried or worn it will preserve or restore youth. Holding a bunch in your hand is said to help find treasure. The aroma is used in healing.
Cress – (Lepidum sativum)
A tall herb with white flowers and a pod 5cm long. It grows wild, and is cultivated for use as a stimulant and diuretic, and in poultices.
Crocus – (Crocus vermus)
Magickal Uses: Grow the plant to attract love. In ancient Egypt, crocus and alum was burned in a censer to discover a thief.
Cubeb – (Piper Cubeba)
Magickal Uses: Use the berries in love sachets and spells.
Cuckooflower – (Orchis morior or O. spp.)
Magickal Uses: Fresh tubers are used in love spells. They are also worn to promote conception. When used for this, a large tuber is used for a male and a small tuber for female.
Cucumber – (Cucumis sativus) Folk Names: Cowcucumber The fruit is eaten to hinder lust while the seeds are eaten to promote fertility. To relieve headache pain place the peel on the forehead.
Cumin – (Cumimum Cyminum) Folk Names: Cumino, Cumino Aigro. This is an annual umbelliferous herb. The seeds are stimulant and carminative and are widly used for flavoring (particularly curries) and in the perfume industry. In Germany and Italy, bread is baked with it to prevent the wood spirits from stealing it. Cumin seed possesses the ”gift of retention” (it will prevent the theft of any object which it is held in).
Magickal Uses: For protection, burn with frankincense and scatter on the floor, sometimes with salt, to drive evil out. Brides wear it to keep negativity away from the wedding. When carried it gives peace of mind. Use in love spells and when given to a lover it promotes fidelity. Steep in wine for a lust potion. Remember, if you plan to grow it yourself, you must curse while planting the seed to ensure a good crop.
Curry – (Murraya Koenigii)
Magickal Uses: Burn at nightfall to keep evil influences away. This is a specific plant, not the common mixture of spices found at the grocer for cooking.
Cyclamen – (Cyclamen spp.) Folk Names: Groundbread, Pain-de-Porceau (French: Sow Bread), Sow Bread, Swine Bread
Magickal Uses: When grown in the bedroom it protects the sleeper. It is claimed that where grown harmful spells have no effect. It is also used to promote conception and raise passion. The blossoms are used to relieve the heart of grief.
Cypress – (Cupressus sempervirens) Folk Names: Tree of Death. The Minoans spread a cult form Crete to Cyprus that worshipped the cypress as a divine symbol. It was used to make coffins in ancient Egypt.
Magickal Uses: Use at times of crisis, especially at the death of a friend or family member. When worn to funerals it eases the mind and alleviates grief. Throw a sprig into the grave to bestow luck and love in the hereafter. The tree and boughs are protective in the home. As a symbol of eternity and immortality, it is worn to lengthen life. To make a healing wand, slowly cut, over a three-month period, a branch. This is known as a “healing stock” and should be used only in healing rituals. Make passes over the individual, touch the afflicted area and then plunge the tip into a fire to cleanse it. The root and cones are also healing, as is the greenery when dried and used as incense. The wand may also be used in invocations to the Gods.
Cypress Grass - (Cypress esculentus)
Cypress grass is distinguished by its pale spikelets and fibrous root system and ovoid tubers. It grows in moist soils or on sandy sea-shores. In Egypt it is cultivated for its edible tubers (‘tiger nuts’), which are first dried, then soaked in water. The taste is similar to hazelnuts. In certain parts of Spain a drink made from the tubers is extremely popular. Called horchata di chufa it is reminiscent of a milk shake.