Magickal Uses: Use in loves spells and sachets.
Lady’s Slipper - (Cypripedium pubescens)
Magickal Uses: This herb guards against all types of hexes, curses, spells and evil eye.
Lamb’s Ear - (Stachys byzantina)
A plant with delightful purple blooms. The gray leaves are covered with a soft white wool which resembles the ears of a lamb in touch and appearance. Lamb’s ears were formerly used to bandage wounds. Makes a delightful petting plant.
Larch - (Larix europaea)
Magickal Uses: According to magickal tradition, larch wood is impenetrable by fire. Use it in sachets to prevent conflagrations. Wear or carry to prevent enchantment or evil.
Larkspur - (Delphinium spp.) Folk Names: (See also) Delphinium
Magickal Uses: Larkspur is used to keep ghosts away. The flowers will keep scorpions and other venomous creatures away also. If you gaze that the Midsummer bonfire through a bunch of larkspur, it will ensure your eyesight until the next Midsummer.
Lavender/Lavadin - (Lavendula officinale or L. vera) Folk Names: Elf Leaf, Nard, Nardus, Spike
Prostitutes use to wear lavendar water or the essential oil to attract men and advertise their profession. In the Renaissance period it was thought that along with rosemary, it should be worn to preserve a woman’s chastity. With their delightful fragrance and beautiful flowers, they are among the most popular plants for gardens. For centuries, the dried flowers have been used in soap, sachets, potpourris, and perfume. The fresh flowers are added to vinegars, or crystallized and added to ice creams and jams. It is used medicinally for anxiety, depression, indigestion, and extensively in aromatherapy. Lavendar differ in foliage, flowers, growth and scent. Lavadins are a hybrid of true lavendar (L. angustifolia) and spike lavendar (L. latifolia). Lavadins are grown commercially for the perfume industry in France and Italy. All lavendars and lavadins like a dry, sunny location, with very good drainage.
English/True (L. angustifolia) One of the most popular lavendars, long cherished for its sweet scent. Among the best for potpourris and soap. Compact, narrow gray foliage and flower stalks up to 24” tall.
Fernleaf (L. multifida) A distinctive lavendar with feathery, fern like foliage. Not quite as fragrant as some other varieties, but more than makes up for that in its unusual foliage and very big blooming season. Flower-heads produce trident like spikes of violet-blue flowers.
French (L. dentate) A large-growing lavendar with toothed leaves. The purple flowers appear almost all year long in warm climates.
Silver Sweet (L. lanata x L. dentate) A sliver-gray, serrated leafed lavendar that blooms almost all the time. Deep purple blooms that dry very nicely.
Dutch/Lavadin (L. x intermedia ‘Dutch’) Introduced in the horticultural trade in the 1700’s. Makes an excellent low hedge.
Grosso/Lavadin (L. x intermedia ‘Grosso’) One of the finest commercial lavadin. Grosso has a low, mounding habit. Gray, narrow foliage with large spikes of dark violet flowers.
Provence/Lavadin (L. x intermedia ‘Provence’) A low mounding plant with long gray leaves and dark violet flowers on 18” stalks. Contains high oil content. From the Provence region of France.
Herbal Uses: The oil is used for intestinal gas, migraine, and dizziness. Being antiseptic, lavendar is added to healing salves. A tea of the leaf allays nausea and vomiting. Use two teaspoons per cup of water and steep for twenty minutes. The dose is one-fourth cup four times a day. Steep lavendar blossoms in white wine (ad rose petals, if desired) for two weeks and strain to make a natural antidepressant beverage. Lavendar and rose petal vinegar is applied to the temples and brow to ease headache. Lavendar oil is added to footbaths, eases toothaches and sprains, and is used as a rub for hysteria and palsy.
Magickal Uses: Lavendar is strewn into bonfires at Midsummer as an offering to the Gods and Goddesses. Lavendar is a traditional ingredient in love spells and sachets. Clothes scented with lavendar attract love. Rub your stationary with it before writing your lover. It will protect against cruel treatment by your spouse when worn. It is placed in the ritual cup at Handfastings. Burn or smolder the flowers to induce sleep and rest and scatter in the home for peace, joy and healing. Lavendar is burned during childbirth and labor as an herb of peace and tranquility. The joyful scent is welcome at baby blessings. It is believed that its strength is so strong that if gazed upon when depressed, all you depression will disappear and a feeling of well-being will emerge. Use in healing mixtures and smell to promote a long life. Carry to be able to see ghosts. Add to the purification bath. Place lavendar under your pillow, while thinking of a wish, right before retiring for the night. If you dream something that is connected to your wish it will come true.
Leek - (Allium spp.)
Magickal Uses: Carry as a protective amulet. Biting a leek breaks hexes and drives away evil. It is said that if you eat a leek with another that you will fall in love with each other.
Lemon - (Citrus limon)
Magickal Uses: When you have obtained amulets, jewelry or other magickal objects ‘second hand’ wash then with a mixture of lemon juice and water top ensure that all negative vibrations are cleansed from it. Also add lemon juice to the full moon ritual bath for its cleansing properties. Use lemon leaves in lust teas and dried flowers and peel are added to sachets and mixtures to incite love. An appropriate gift for your loved one is to grow a lemon tree from the seed of a lemon that you have eaten. Serve lemon pie to your spouse to ensure faithfulness and a lemon slice placed under a guests chair brings lasting friendship. To make a ‘lemon and pin’ charm for good luck and blessings, pick a green lemon not larger than 1 ½’’ in diameter. Next, using colored pins (except black), stick them one at a time into the lemon until it is fairly covered. Attach a ribbon and hang in the home. Lemons may also be sued to make poppets.
Lemon Balm - (Melissa officinalis)
A very lemony-smelling plant with bright green heart shaped leaves and white flowers. The leaves give a lemon flavor to foods and make an excellent tea to sooth the nerves. Leaves are also used in potpourris and herb pillows. A very good bee plant, lemon balm has been cultivated for over 2000 years.
Lemon Grass - (Cymbopogon citratus)
A delightfully lemon scented and flavored grass whose leaf bases are essential in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. The long leaves make a very pleasant tea. The oil of lemon grass is used in perfumes. Grows in a clump forming habit.
Magickal Uses: Lemongrass is sometimes added to lust potions. The infusion helps to develop psychic powers. Planted in the garden or around the home it will repel snakes.
Lemon Verbena - (Lippia citriodora) Folk Names: Cedron, Yerba Louisa
Widely regarded as the best lemon smelling plant in the world—smells just like a lemon drop. Lemon verbena adds excellent flavor to foods. It had wide popularity in Europe after the Spanish brought it back from Chile, where it was introduced in 1794.
Herbal Uses: The leaves and flowering tops are used to lower fevers and to relieve gas and indigestion. Lemon verbena is calming, a sedative for the nerves. Steep two teaspoons per cup of water for twenty minutes and take on-fourth cup four times a day. Stimulating to the skin, it makes a good facial scrub for pimples and blemishes. To make the scrub, grind the dry herb or use the powder and mix in a little natural clay and ground oatmeal.
Magickal Uses: To prevent someone from dreaming, hang around their neck or have them drink some of the juice. It also worn to attract the opposite sex and used in love spells and potions. Use in the bath for purification. Add to mixtures to strengthen the effects and to incense for cleansing.
Lettuce - (Lactuca sativa) Folk Names: Garden Lettuce, Lattouce, Sleep Wort
Lactuca sativa is the variety known in Britain as Cos lettuce, in France as ‘romaine’. It is also widely eaten in modern Egypt. An oil can be extracted from the seeds. In the Assyrian Herbal the seeds were used with cumin as an eye poultice. Dioscorides says that the Egyptians called the plant embrosi. The latex of the older variety of L. sativa was used as a cough suppressant and mild sedative, and even as an anti-aphrodisiac. In ancient Egypt the plant had the opposite connotations. It was sacred to Min, god of fertility, because of its milky juice, reminiscent of semen. It was also related to the god Seth in an erotic context: he became pregnant after eating lettuces on which had been scattered the semen of his rival, the god Horus. The priests in the temple of Philae were not allowed to eat lettuce.
Magickal Uses: To cure insomnia rub the juice on the forehead or eat some of the leaves. It is grown in the garden for its protective quality, but it is also said that if too much is grown it will cause sterility. Eating lettuce is said to keep you from temptations (maybe why it is a part of dieting?) and seasickness. To know if the love between you and your lover will grow, plant the seeds on the shape of their name. If the seeds grow well, so will your love.
Licorice - (Glycyrrhiza glabra) Folk Names: Lacris (Welch), Licourice, Lycorys, Reglisse (Welsh), Sweet Root
The source of “true” licorice flavoring. Roots are boiled to extract the familiar black substance used in licorice candy. Also used in commercial laxatives, and a flavoring agent in beer, soft drinks and tobacco. The main ingredient is glycyrrhizin, which has cortisone-like effects, and is 50 times sweeter than sucrose. It is a herbaceous plant growing to 1.5m, with lilac flowers. The tap-root divides into subsidiary roots 1.25m in length and horizontal stolons, which can be up to 8m. It grows wild in Eastern Europe and is now cultivated in many countries. The root is demulcent, expectorant, laxative and antiflammatory. It is used to treat coughs and bronchitis, gastric ulcers and as an eye lotion. Boiled in water with fennel seeds it was used to aid vomiting. Pliny says that the boiled-down root was used for peccaries; pounded, it was used as a liniment to treat wounds; and in a powdered state it was chewed by those suffering from mouth ulcers. Theophrastus tells that licorice, which he calls ‘Scythian root’, was useful for treating asthma, dry cough and chest troubles; it was thought to be thirst-quenching when used as a masticatory, and with honey it was applied to wounds, all treatments anticipating the more recent use of the herb. The Assyrian Herbal includes it under the name šûŝu in treatments for the feet, swellings, excess of saliva and as a diuretic.
Chinese (G. uralensis) The most commonly used medicinal herb in China. Used in nearly all prescriptions to improve their flavor. Stimulates adrenocorticol hormones, reduces pain and inflammation, relaxes spasms, and is expectorant and controls coughing.
Herbal Uses: Licorice root has a special affinity for the lungs and the spleen. It is strengthening to the digestion and soothes duodenal ulcers. It is a good herb to improve energy. Coughs, colds, and asthma are soothed by it, as are sore throats and abdominal pains. As a plant, it seems to neutralize other plant poisons; for this reason, it is often added to formulas to arrest allergic reactions. Simmer one teaspoon of the root per cup of water for twenty minutes; take one-fourth cup four times a day.Caution: Persons with high blood pressure and edema should avoid it, as should women who experience a lot of water retention before the menses.
Magickal Uses: To bring passion to a sex union, chew on a piece of the root. It is also said to help to stop smoking. Carry to attract love or use in sachets for love and lust. Use in spells to ensure faithfulness. The sticks make useful wands.
Life-Everlasting - (Anaphalis spp: Gnaphalium uliginosum) Folk Names: Chafe Weed, Everlasting, Field Balsam, Indian Posy, Old Field Balsam, Sweet Scented Life Everlating, White Balsam
Magickal Uses: Life-Everlasting is used in longevity and youth restoring spells. Carry or keep in the home to prevent sickness. To ensure a long life relatively free of illness drink an infusion every morning, before eating or drinking and recite:
Chills and ills, pains and banes,
Do your fasting with life everlasting.
Lilac - (Syringa vulgaris) Folk Names: Common Lilac
Magickal Uses: In New England lilacs were originally planted for their ability to keep evil away. Placing fresh flowers in a haunted house will help cleanse it.
Lily - (Lilium spp.)
Magickal Uses: Lilies are planted in the garden to keep ghosts, evil and unwanted visitors away. To break a love spell that has been cast involving a specific individual, wear or carry fresh lilies. To gleam clues to solving a crime committed within the last year, bury an old piece of leather in a lily bed. Luck will come to whoever finds the first white lily of the season. White lily oil is a powerful agent in love and good fortune spells, use wisely.
Lily of the Valley - (Convallaria magalis) Poison Folk Names: Convallaria, Jacob’s Ladder, Ladder to Heaven, Lily Constancy, Male Lily, May Lily, Our Lady’s Tears
Magickal Uses: Sometimes used, with great care, to improve the memory and mind. Place the flowers in a room to cheer the heart and lift the spirits.
Lime - (Citrus aurantifolia or L. Limetta)
Magickal Uses: To be rid of all ills, hexes and curses, pierce a fresh lime with old iron nails, spikes, pins and needles and throw it into a deep hole. Carry the twigs from the lime tree for protection from evil. Wear a necklace to cure a sore throat. Add the peel to love potions and incenses. For a toothache, drive a nail into the trunk of a lime tree, remembering to thank the tree for this before doing it.
Lime Balm - (Melissa officinalis)
A relative of Lemon Balm, but with a distinctive scent of lime.
Linden - (Tila europaea) Folk Names: Lime, Lime Tree
As part of religious rites in Lithuania, women use to make sacrifices to linden trees which they viewed as a tree of immortality.
Magickal Uses: In Europe, linden is a protective tree. The tree is grown in the garden and the branches hung over the doors for this purpose. Carry the bark to prevent intoxication and use the leaves and flowers in love spells. Carve a charm from the wood and carry for good luck. A pillow made of equal parts of linden and lavendar makes an excellent pillow for the insomniac.
Linseed - See Flax
Liquidamber - ( ) Folk Names:
Magickal Uses:
Liverwort - (Anemone hepatica—American; Peltigera canina—English ) Folk Names: Edellebere, Heart Leaf, Herb Trinity, Liverleaf, Liverweed, Trefoil
Magickal Uses: To gain the love of your heart’s desire carry a sachet with you at all times.
Lobelia - (Lobelia inflata) Poison Folk Names: Asthma Weed, Bladderpod, Gagroot, Indian Tobacco, Pukeweed
Magickal Uses: Lobelia is used to attract love. To stop an oncoming storm, throw some powdered lobelia in its path.
Loosestrife - (Lythrum salicaria) Folk Names: Blooming Sally, Lythrum, Partyke, Purple Willow Herb, Rainbow Weed, Sage Willow, Salicaire
Magickal Uses: This herb disperses peaceful vibrations and keeps evil at bay when strewn around the home. Give some to a friend that you have had an argument with for a peaceful and happy resolution.
Lotus - (Nymphaea lotus)
In the East, the lotus is revered as a mystical symbol of life, spirituality, and the center of the universe. In ancient Egypt they were sacred and an offering fitting for the Gods. One record mentions that Ramesses III had given no fewer than 3,410 bouquets to the temple of Amun. Dioscorides tells that the root of the Egyptian lotus was eaten both raw and cooked (when cooked they have the consistency of egg yolks), and that the seeds were used in bread. Lotus plants thrive in murky waters. They float serenely on the stagnant surface and never a drop sticks to them.
Herbal Uses: The leaf of Nellumbo nucifera is used for fever, sweating, irritability, dysentery, diarrhea, and scanty urine. It is styptic and has been used to antidote alcohol and mushroom poisoning. It affects liver, heart, and spleen energies. The nodes of the root are used to stop bleeding and break down blood clots. All types of intestinal bleeding are affected. The plumule (bud) affects the heart, kidney, and spleen. It is used for agitation, insomnia, palpitations, dry mouth, dark urine, and chronic diarrhea. It strengthens the heart and kidneys. The leaf is steeped, and the bud, root, and seed are simmered using two teaspoons of herb per cup of water, for twenty minutes. The dose is one-fourth cup, four times a day.
Magickal Uses: Lotus is an all-purpose spiritual elixir. Any part of this plant is worn or carried for the blessings of the gods and good luck. It is said that to unlock a door, place its root under your tongue and say “Sign, Arddis”, and it will unlock. The seeds and pods are used as antidotes for love spells and smelling the scent will bestow protection. Burned as incense, it encourages the dead to seek their highest possible reincarnation. It reminds the living of their inner sanctity and divinity.
Lovage - (Levisticum officinale) Folk Names: Chinese Lovage, Cornish Lovage, Italian Lovage, Italian Parsley, Lavose, Love Herbs, Love Rod, Love Root, Loving Herbs, Lubestico, Sea Parsley
Lovage is the celery tasting herb. Celery-looking leaves are an excellent substitute for celery tops.
Magickal Uses: To make yourself more attractive to the opposite sex, place a sachet of lovage in your bath.
Love Seed - (Lomatium foeniculaceum)
An herb that is part of Pawnee Indian magick.
Magickal Uses: Carry the seeds to make new friends and attract love.
Lucky Hand - (Orchis spp.) Folk Names: Hand of Power, Hand Root, Helping Hand, Salap
This is the root of the orchid. One of the most famous New Orleans magickal botanicals.
Magickal Uses: Place several lucky hands in a jar filled with rose oil and let them soak. When needed remove one and carry in a sachet or conjure bag for good luck and success, to obtain and retain employment, and as protection from all evil. If your goal is love, carry near the heart; if travel, place in your shoe; if money, carry in the wallet or purse.