Angelica (Angelica archangelica) aka archangel, masterwort
Caution: Avoid during pregnancy. Large doses may affect the blood pressure {raising it}, heart action, and respiration. Some people may experience skin irritation and photosensitivity. Positive identification is essential, as it resembles poisonous herbs of the hemlock family.)
Deities: Venus, Archangel Michael
Properties: Angelica is a member of the carrot family. The thirty or so varieties of angelica may be biennial or perennial and prefer moist areas and riverbanks. It grows readily from seed, and the parent plant may be perpetuated for years if the stalk is cut before it can go to seed.
Though Angelica Archangelica may be found in Scotland, it is much more likely to be found farther north growing wild in Iceland or Lapland. It is the variety used most in medicinal applications. Archangelica has a round stem, grooved, hollow, and branched near the top with a blue tinge. It may grow from three to seven feet in height. The root is long and thick, spindle-shaped, and brown-red with a spicy, agreeable odor, and sharp, sweet but bitter taste. It has many smaller rootlets descending from it. Some specimens have been weighed at three pounds. The leaves emerge from dilated sheaths surrounding the stem. The lower ones are large and bi- or tri-pinnate, while the upper ones are smaller and pinnate. Greenish white flowers grow in large terminal, compound umbels with a honey-like odor from June to August. Each produces two yellow winged seeds, which are oblong and elliptic. The seeds are also sweetly scented.
Angelica sylvestris resembles European Water Hemlock so caution should be taken when attempting proper identification. The stem is purplish but gray with hairs, and the leaves are more sharply toothed than other angelicas. The flowers are pure white or purple tinged and smaller.
Angelica atropupurea, or Purple Angelica, grows in Canada and NE and N central US. It prefers rich, moist soil and partial shade. Purple Angelica can most often be found in wet bottom lands and swamps. It is a perennial with a thick, hollow dark purple stem smooth from four to nine feet high. The leaves grow from swollen basal sheaths. They are ternately compound with further divisions of 3-5 among the upper leaves. This angelica has large clusters of many white to greenish-white flowers on purplish stems from May to October.
Parts Used: root, leaves and stems, seed
Magical Properties: Exorcism, Protection, Healing, Visions. Use in all protection and exorcism incenses. Angelica protects in two ways: it creates a barrier against negative energy and fills you with good, radiant energy. Removes curses, hexes, or spells that have been cast against you. Enhances the aura. Gives a joyful outlook on life.
Grown, angelica protects the home from evil spells. It may be sprinkled at the four corners of a house or the perimeter of a home to ward off evil and harmful spells, and it may be scattered outside the home to keep evil spirits out. Carried it wards off infection, pestilence, venomous poison, and mad dogs. According to some Native American traditions, it may also be carried in the pocket for luck in gambling.
Angelica root (other parts have a less enduring scent) maybe used as incense for protection, exorcisms, healings, and visions. Add it to healing mixes, especially for the nerves. Angelica enhances the aura, maintains a joyful outlook on life, and can be used in self-blessings and purifications. Chew it to prolong your life and keep evil spells and spirits away. If you wish a loved one to return to you, burn the whole plant and toss to the ashes to the four winds while chanting:
North wind, please to obey,
West wind, show him/her the way,
South wind, and skies above,
To turn a spell back on its caster, rise on a Saturday before dawn and take some angelica root in each hand. Hold this tightly in your fist and say:
(Deity of choice), punish him/her who has done this evil and take him from us by the great justice, that the sorcerer/sorceress may be anathema and we may be safe.
Throw the root outside your door in the direction of your enemy or South if you do not know who it is. It may also be included in your bath to remove curses and hexes.
