The art of herbal magic

Plants are all around us. We can’t run from them. They were the first medicine our ancestors tended for and still today a lot of our regular medicine comes from plants and even funghi. Plant medicine is always available, it’s in our blood after all.

When I talk about medicine, I’m not just mentioning a remedy to end a symptom, I’m talking about a whole chain of effects that will improve you - your health, your spirit, your mind. Plant medicine is not about just healing something, is having a friend to tend to, it’s a relationship you forge. Plants teach us our lessons, they give us what we need, they keep us in line with our spiritual growth in every way possible.

So when we look for plant allies, that’s what we’re looking for. Plants are spirits willing to help like any other benevolent spirit, so we must treat them as such. You’ll know a plant ally when you crave for a specific tea, when you see images in your head, when you smell their scent out of nowhere, when their name pop in your head - you just know. When approaching a plant ally it’s wise to get in touch with it, introduce yourself to them if they grow nearby (or you might grow it in your garden), get them for tea or baths, use them to season your food, and let them talk to you. Plants don’t say things out loud of course, but they whisper. They tell you things through your body, through sensations, maybe loose words. Let them change you.

Additionally, there’s an exercise found in a book called Herbal Magick by Annabel Margaret that works wonders for meeting with plant spirits. It consists in picking one or two herbs in the new moon, in this period you research about them, dig deep about their history, properties, medicinal properties, how they should be taken, etc. during the whole moon cycle, you then experiment with this herb, adapt your spell work according to the lunar cycle, and let them do the work. After that, in the waning moon, you reflect on the teachings of this plant, your personal experience, not forgetting that in other times the plant may work a little different, and you constantly moves with it.

Another addition that is very important is that plant medicine should never replace regular doctor visits and regular medicine, in fact, they work best in addition to your regular treatment if you’re ill. Not to mention that there’s a right way in working with any plant, some of them are poisonous and there’s a right dosage, they may have side effects if taken too much, and there’s also a window that determines their beneficial effects, so that’s why is important to research extensively about each plant before ingesting it.

I hope the plants may lead the way to you.