Planet: Mercury/Jupiter
Element: Air
Main magickal uses:
Contacting other planes, divination,
love, passion, preventing nightmares,
protection, psychic development, psychic
protection, purification
Other magickal uses:
Clairvoyance, cleansing, consecration,
fertility, gain, good luck, happiness,
money, weddings
Lore:
Paul Beyerl attributes anise to Mercury
and Apollo, and suggests that it be
partnered with amber stones for best
effect.
*Basil*
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
Consecration, divination (esp. about
love), exorcism, fertility, fidelity,
good luck, happiness, harmony, love,
money, passion, peace, prosperity,
protection, psychic development, psychic
protection, purification, strength,
success, tranquility
Other magickal uses:
Clairvoyance, commanding, courage,
dragons, grieving, hatred, honesty,
Imbolc, initiation, inspiration,
invokation, prevents theft, rituals for
the dead, spell-breaking
Lore:
Paul Beyerl says that basil is
attractive to dragons, salamanders, and
other fire-oriented creatures. It is
sacred to the Hindu god Vishnu and his
avatar, Krishna. Magickal herbals
occasionally refer to it as St. Joseph's
Wort.
*Bay*
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
Clairvoyance, consecration, divination,
dreams, exorcism, healing, love,
passion, protection, psychic protection,
purification, wisdom, wishes
Other magickal uses:
endings, good luck, harmony, Imbolc,
inspiration, justice, knowledge, magic,
memory, money, overcome opposition,
peace, psychic development, release,
spell-breaking, strength, success,
tranquility, transformation, Winter
rituals, Yule
Lore:
Bay leaves come from a tree also called
the laurel, and have a strong
tradition as a Greek sacred plant. When
the nymph Daphne wanted to avoid the
passions of Apollo, she turned into the
first laurel tree, which Apollo then
adopted as his sacred tree. Wreaths were
made from the leaves, which were
also chewed and burned by Apollo's
prophetic priestesses at Delphi. It is
not suggested, however, that you try
chewing bay leaves, as they are rather
volatile, and the amount you would get
from chewing might be too much for
those not trained in the use of
visionary herbs.
*Caraway*
Planet: Mercury
Element: Air
Main magickal uses:
Fidelity, love, memory, passion,
preventing theft, protection, retention,
sensuality
Other magickal uses:
consecration, fertility, gain, honesty,
keeping secrets, peace of mind,
weddings
*Celery seed*
Planet: Saturn/Mercury
Element: Earth
Main magickal uses:
Psychic development
Other magickal uses:
Beauty, divination, fertility, love,
passion
*Cinnamon*
Planet: Mercury/Sun/Mars/Uranus
Element: Air/Fire
Main magickal uses:
Clairvoyance, consecration, divination,
energy, good luck, love, money, passion,
peace, prosperity, protection, psychic
development, success
Other magickal uses:
communication, happiness, harmony,
healing, inspiration, knowledge,
meditation, purification, spirituality,
tranquility, wisdom
Lore:
Paul Beyerl suggests that cinnamon be
paired with tourmaline for best
effect. Cinnamon is important as a
purification incense in China. Do not
use externally on the body, as it
irritates the skin.
*Cloves*
Planet: Sun/Jupiter
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
clairvoyance, divination, exorcism,
keeps away negative forces, love,
memory, money, passion, peace of mind,
protection, psychic protection,
purification, stopping gossip
Other magickal uses:
cleansing, friendship, psychic
development, release, spell-breaking
Lore:
Cloves were originally grown in China,
and made their way to Europe in the
fourth centure CE (Common Era). They,
like cinnamon, are not grown in the
United States, but are imported.
*Coriander*(Cilantro)
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
love
Other magickal uses:
clairvoyance, divination, fertility,
gain, health, keeping secrets, passion,
peace, protection, retention,
weddings
*Dill*
Planet: Mercury
Element: Earth/Fire
Main magickal uses:
love, protection, psychic protection
Other magickal uses:
Blessings, confidence, determination,
dreams, fertility, gain, harmony,
keeping secrets, money, passion, peace,
prevents theft, retention, rest, sleep,
tranquility
Lore:
Some hold that Dill is such a
Mercurial herb that it should not be
used when Mercury is in retrograde. It
has a long tradition of use as a
protection against magic
*Fennel*
Planet: Mercury
Element: Air/Fire
Main magickal uses:
confidence, courage, fertility,
longevity, love, Midsummer, protection,
psychic protection, purification,
strength
Other magickal uses:
Commanding, consecration, divination,
energy, gain, meditation, Summer
rituals, virility
Lore:
Fennel was used by the Saxons and by
Jewish mystics as an asperger and
purifying herb. It also had a history of
use by the Greeks, Romans, and
Germans, and it followed colonists to
the New World. Aoumiel associates it
with the God.
*Garlic*
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
exorcism, magic, passion, protection,
spell-breaking, strength
Other magickal uses:
clairvoyance, commanding, confidence,
consecration, courage, divination,
healing, longevity, money, overcoming
opposition, prevents nightmares,
purification, stopping gossip, success,
weather (fair)
Lore:
Garlic is one of the few "herbs" whose
powers have survived into modern
superstition, where it gives protection
against vampires. (Silver RavenWolf
says that it is also helpful against
psychic vampires.) The Greeks attributed
it to Hecate, the primary goddess of
magic. It is also sacred to the Great
Mother, Cybele. Its use actually goes
back even further to the Sumerians.
Besides its strong psychic protection,
it also protects health when eaten
regularly. It was beloved in most
ancient societies that had it, to the
extent that the builders of the Pyramids
were paid partially in garlic, and
at one point went on strike to get more
(according to graffiti inside the
Pyramids, left by the workers).
*Ginger*
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
love, passion, psychic protection
Other magickal uses:
cursing, health, psychic development,
sensuality, success
*Lavender*
Planet: Mercury
Element: Air
Main magickal uses:
clairvoyance, cleansing, consecration,
happiness, healing, love, Midsummer,
money, passion, peace, peace of mind,
protection, psychic protection,
purification, tranquility
Other magickal uses:
blessings, chastity, divination, dreams,
energy, gentleness, good luck, grieving,
harmony, keeping secrets, magic (esp. to
increase the duration of a spell),
meditation, memory, psychic development,
retention, ritual, sleep, stability,
virility, weddings
Lore: Attributed by some to Hecate,
Saturn, and snake goddesses. Aoumiel
also calls it attractive to elves.
*Lovage*
Planet: Venus/Sun
Element: Earth/Water
Main magickal uses:
love
Other magickal uses:
beauty, cleansing, consecration, money,
passion, protection, psychic protection,
purification
Lore:
The main uses concern love and beauty,
hence, one assumes, the name
"Lovage."
*Mace*
Planet: Mercury
Element: Air
Main magickal uses:
Clairvoyance
Other magickal uses:
fertility, gain, good luck, love,
protection
*Marjoram*
Planet: Venus/Mercury
Element: Air
Main magickal uses:
grieving, happiness, love, money,
protection, psychic development, psychic
protection,tranquility, weddings
Other magickal uses:
Animals, cleansing, courage, dreams (of
love), harmony, peace, rituals for the
dead, success
Lore:
Attributed to Venus by the Romans, but
also sometimes to Aphrodite, Thor and
Jupiter. In case you're confused about
the use for both grieving and
happiness, it is meant to restore
happiness to the grief-stricken.
*Mustard seed*
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Main magickal uses:
fertility, health, love, passion,
protection
Other magickal uses:
commanding, cursing, exorcism, gain,
good luck, sensuality, spell-breaking,
strength, success, virility