Some plant lore from the region
- with many thanks to all friends, relatives, and acquaintances who have contributed!
Carrying some dried burning nettle (Urtica dioica) in a small bag will give you strength.
Fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare) can be included in the abitino (which in this region some places is called breo) if you are prone to get the evil eye.
Also in the abitino (a white one), you can put a bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) that is picked or bought a Friday for luck.
Wild rose (Rosa canina) can be used to keep witches and other bad influences away, especially among the livestock.
If you sit under or in the shade of a walnut tree (Juglans regia), the witches who gather there might grab you and whisk you off to Corsica.
Carry on you an adder’s-tongue (Ophioglossum vulgatum) that has been picked in May, and you will get to know other people’s secrets.
Yellow fleabane (Dittrichia- or Inula viscosa) is good for lighter exorcisms. You can use it to wash your children with when they are being unruly or “bad”, to remove the demons in them.
Bunches of winter savory (Satureja montana) - the whole plant, including the roots - can be dried and hung upside down in the bedroom to drive away spirits.
Before you go to sleep, rub your chest with a mixture of water and vinegar in which you have macerated rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) you will dream about your future spouse or partner in love.
Mash some fresh green melissa (Melissa officinalis) and mix it with sap from cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), keep it on you in a small glass bottle, and it will make you lovable and repel enemies.
…more to come…














