The Magickal History of Plants
“Plants are our food, oxygen, and medicine. Some even say they are one of the most pleasurable experiences on earth! From the flowers to the trees and the seas filled with coral dreams; the earth’s natural flora has inspired and enhanced humans for as long as time can tell. That’s why the power of plants is the key to unlocking our enjoyment of life.”
― Natasha Potter
My practice is a blending of traditional British Witchcraft and Obeah, a mixture that represents my heritage. My mum is white British and my father is Jamaican. This has had a massive impact on my craft, but actually there is a lot of crossover in regards to the practical aspect and perhaps the largest crossover is the use of plants and herbs in workings and in healing and poisoning.
I think that the witch has always been associated with the use of plants and herbs in their craft, whether that's to charm, to heal or to poison and the same can be said of the obeah man or woman. In fact, you could even say that the witch and obeah practitioner were feared in part because of their knowledge of which plants could kill or make seriously ill. It is probably fair to say that they were held in a kind of fearful awe that perhaps is still present today. It’s often funny the same folks who will scorn or call them snake oil salesmen are the same folk who would tell you to stay away and not meddle! In Jamaica, obeah is still illegal and if you were to ask many a jamaican about Obeah they would either say it’s a scam or tell you to steer clear because you shouldn’t mess about with it! And the same is true of witchcraft. And yet, there are many who would seek out the obeah man or woman when the more mainstream and accepted avenues have been exploited.
For me that’s a major aspect to witchcraft and indeed obeah, the serving of people when they have nowhere or no one else to turn to and it’s here where the lines between healing plants and harmful plants become blurred.
If we look at witchcraft as practised by cunning men and women, then we can see that herbs were used as medicines and charms and that they weren’t always ingested. Sometimes it might be they were carried upon the person in a sachet or bag and more often than not, words and prayers were included. It seems odd to us today that this might be so but if we look at rootwork practises today and some African derived practises, oftentimes prayers and psalms are used alongside plant matter and magickal objects.
Perhaps the most important factor was the ritual harvesting of herbs and plants. For example Apuleius’s Herbarium of 1418 gives a ritual for the harvesting of periwinkle and it is the spirit of the plant that is prayed to. I suppose today in terms of witchcraft, the difference between a witch and say a herbalist is perhaps the ritual cutting and processing of herb matter.
Obeah found it’s way to the Caribbean by way of the slave trade and was a prominent feature of many an uprising and revolt. I’ve spoken before about Nanny of the Maroons, noted obeah woman who won the freedom of her people but another famous revolt was Tacky’s revolt in 1760. It was after this that obeah was outlawed in Jamaica and here's another link between the two practises. The same authorities that outlawed witchcraft in Britain were the same who were in control of Jamaica and thus applied the same or similar witchcraft laws.
Part of the fear of obeah from the slave masters perspective aside from rebellion, was the fear of being poisoned and this would have been achieved by the obeah man or woman's knowledge of plant and herb lore and usage. What is certain though is that the witch, the obeah woman, would indeed use plants and herbs to heal and to harm.
Another link between witchcraft and plants is that of the little known root diggers and wild herb men. They would travel the country or perhaps an area of the country and procure plants and herbs, selling them to cunning men and women who lived in areas where those plants didn’t grow. They had a vast knowledge of plants and their uses and would know how to identify them and where to find them. The guild of medicinal root diggers, also known as the Wild Herb Men existed until 1962.
Culpepper, although not a cunning man, used his extensive knowledge of plants and medicines to help the poorest in society. Something of a rebel, Culpeper opposed the focus on money that was beginning to take precedence in medicine. During the English civil war, the College of Physicians were unable to police the ban on publishing self help medical texts and so Culpeper took advantage and published a series of pamphlets. His English Physician, now known as Culpeper's Complete Herbal, bridged the divide between plants as medicine and their spiritual qualities, noting the astrological correspondences for each plant as well as their medicinal qualities and how to prepare and use them. He deliberately sold this cheaply so as to make it accessible to the poor.
Herbs and plants in Modern Usage
Today I think we still use plants in much the same way as witches in history, but I think we are less knowledgeable and that we are starting to rediscover the many and varied uses of plants.
Today we look at the qualities of plants so for instance we might wish to utilise a plant that is associated with abundance to add to a prosperity spell or working and so on but in terms of practical applications, the healing and harmful properties of plants on our bodies is something that is just being rediscovered.
In terms of workings and spells, charms and so on, we might look to the sympathetic qualities of plants. Let’s take thorny plants for instance. Thorns protect a plant from predators and pests and so we might then use thorns in our protective works, to ward off danger and harm.
As well as the common or accepted associations, I feel it’s important to use your own as well. I’m not advocating totally forgoing the classical associations as I think they were developed for a reason and have stood the test of time, but I do feel if we work with plants and get to know their spirit or aura, letting this inform our workings can only be beneficial.
An important aspect of both witchcraft and obeah is that of spirit work. Now whenever we talk of spirits all too often our minds jump to spirits of the dead but spirit work also covers plants. I think it can be more difficult to work with plant spirits initially, far easier to work with spirits of the dead, after all, they were once alive like us, were once real living people. Plants are almost alien! But once you begin on the journey of plant work you will really get an idea of just how fulfilling it can be.
My advice for anyone wishing to incorporate working with plant spirits is to start by growing and taking care of plants as well as spending time outside in nature where they grow naturally. Don’t be afraid to start small, often times it is the only way, even the mightiest river starts as a trickle! And midsummer is the perfect way to start your journey!
EMMA KATHRYN
Emma Kathryn, practises traditional British witchcraft, Vodou and Obeah, a mixture representing her heritage. She lives in the sticks with her family where she reads tarot, practises witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
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