Herbs Of Italian Witchcraft

Though there are many different herbs employed in the religious, and magical, aspects of La Vecchia, there are a few which hold special importance. These are the herbs called: Rue, Fennel, Pennyroyal, and Rosemary. There is an old Italian Witch Charm, called the Cimaruta (meaning a sprig of rue) which was once worn as a sign of membership in the Witch Cult. There is a picture of one in Doreen Valiente's book (AN ABC OF WITCHCRAFT & PRESENT). Rue is so deeply connected to Witchlore, that it appears in many different aspects of the Tradition. It is a healing plant, and a magical plant. Rue bears yellow flowers in the shape of a pentagram, against a lush green foliage. It is a symbol of the God in the mythos/mysteries and appears in several of the Treguenda. Fennel is a plant associated with protection. It's long stalks (up to six or seven feet) were used as ritual staffs, at such rites as mid-summer, to "fight off" evil and protect the Crops from spirits of destruction. In ritual drama, witches would battle evil spirits in a war to ensure a bountiful crop. Pennyroyal has been used as an herb of initiation, even in the early public Roman Tradition. It is one of the ingredients in the oil of Initiation, used in the Aridian Tradition. Rosemary was used in the early Marriage Rites, and also in the Rites for the Dead. It was associated with Love and with Death. It is also used in an oil employed in Pastlife Recall, as rosemary is also called the Herb of Memory. Please note that I am using the word "was" to denote it's connection with the Past, and not to imply that those associations are no longer practiced, because they are indeed.

Pennyroyal and sage are among your best choices for "purification of the spirit", although in some Systems one might suggest Hyssop or Angelica. There are several ways to employ pennyroyal and sage, for purification. Usually the setting is smoked with a small bundle of sage, or you may simply drop some dried sage upon a hot charcoal block. The pennyroyal can be used either as a tea, or some leaves can be placed in a bowl of hot water, or added to a bath. It is also useful when drank with wine. Herbs of the mint family are great herbs of purification, for the spirit.

Physical purification of the body, is best done with Comfrey and Sassafras (avoid long term use of these herbs as a tea, as they can be hard on the liver and other organs, if used often). There are many other good herbs which serve as tonics and cleansers, and you may want to consult a good herbal book. I like A MODERN HERBAL by Mrs. M. Grieve and MASTERING HERBALISM by Paul Huson.

If you want to try the pennyroyal and sage, then use them together, that is, at the same setting. Use the sage as a smoke of purification (just a few dry leaves at a time). The pennyroyal can be added to your bath, as you sit in the hot water, and relax. In this case, you would use fresh leaves, cut up into halves (six leaves for solar associations, nine leaves for lunar). Or you may simply wish to add an extract of pennyroyal to some wine, in a ceremonial setting (in which case you would add three drops). The System which you follow would, of course, provide the manner in which you would proceed with the cleansing, in a "religious" sense.

Herbs in Magic and Ritual

Today there are many books which will tell you that if you put a sprig of this in your shoe, or a bag of that under your pillow, then such & such will happen. This is what many popular authors will tell you is an herbal spell, but it is actually folk magic/superstition (and much of it is nonsense). Herbs work in magic and ritual for a variety of reasons, based upon Occult concepts or physical properties.

Ancient witches started with the seed and worked with the plant as it grew. The plant was established and raised as a type of "familiar spirit". In the Italian Tradition, there is a teaching that all things have within them a "numen". A numen is a consciousness, or power, dwelling within an object. You might say that it is the divine spark of the Creators within their Creations. Some Systems refer to this as "Mana". Numen can be amplified within an object through magic, and the numen spirit can be "contacted", and enlisted in the art of spell casting, etc. This is why ancient Grimoires were very specific concerning the planting and harvesting of herbs, and other plants.

Once dealt with properly, the power of the numen can be carried along in the various parts of the plant. This empowers the herb. The ancients also taught that plants were under the power of certain planets, and set up a table of correspondences. In the art of magic, it is clear that there are energy imprints left within the electromagnetic make-up of all living organisms, caused by emanations from the Moon, and the planets of our solar system. Some plants such as the Sunflower and the Moonflower, were given their associations to their respect planetary bodies due to the fact that they physically change position, as they "follow" the Sunlight/Moonlight with a turning of their flowers. Other plants were associated with Venus due to their heart shaped leaves; Mars due to their chemical natures (peppers, tobacco, etc.), and so on.

Herbs are also employed for their natural drug properties, in magic and ritual. Some cause magical states of consciousness either through ingestion or inhalation, and this can aid in the casting or spells, or in other works of magic.

Various herbs were associated with a certain Goddess, God, or Spirit. These herbs were then offered up as incense to "attract" them to the work at hand. The ancients taught that prayers or requests were carried upon the smoke of the incense. So what better way to be "heard" by the gods, than to send your words upward upon the scent of their favorite plant!

Plants also became associated with the gods, or with mythic heroes/heroines, through their appearance in the Myths. In most cases the plant somehow resembled the nature of the Character in the Myth, and later came to represent that character in ritual settings. This is typical of various grains, evergreens, and so forth. All having something of the nature of the Goddess, God, or Spirit concerned.

There is a book out called CELEBRATING ITALY by Carol Field which is actually a cookbook, but contains a lot of info on Seasonal Festival meals, and religious associations of various foods. It's a great book.

Certain grains appear in various meals, and do have connections with old Witch Lore. One of the blessings of the meal at a Treguenda, addresses this:

"Blessings upon this meal, which is as our own body. For without this, we ourselves would perish from this world. Blessings upon the grain, who as seed went into the earth where deep secrets hide. And there did dance with the elements, and spring forth as flowered plant, concealing secrets strange. When you were in the ear of grain, spirits of the field came to cast their light upon you, and aid you in your growth...thus through you I shall be touched by that same Race, and the mysteries hidden within you, I shall obtain, even unto the last of these grains..." by Raven Grimassi