#local magic

These posts were made many years ago based on my personal (UPG) correspondences and experiences with the plants. Some views have evolved since then!

I encourage you to sit with any plant you want to incorporate into your craft and truly connect with them instead of solely using a UPG correspondence list on tumblr! Consider these a starting point/inspiration! :)

Bleeding heart

Bracken Fern

Deer Fern

Lady Fern

Licorice Fern

Maidenhair Fern

Miner’s Lettuce

Nettle

Osoberry

Red Elderberry

Salal

Salmonberry

Sorrel

Sword Fern

I’m noticing the crows more recently. I think I’m looking up more to gauge how the slow green spread of spring takes the branches overhead; I’ve been feeding them, too, as it gets light enough to bring my dinner out for walks again. I’ve obviously been googling tips for getting crows to recognise you faster and about how their vocalisations work (spoiler: they vary massively and we don’t have a good sense for what even basic caw combos mean, only some clues about how they structure ideas), but I’m also enjoying watching them watch me, testing how close they’ll come, giving them soft little cues before I toss a handful of peanuts or cat food. the magpies are bolder but the crows seem cleverer – they feel like they’re collectively working me out.

I found a dead one in a bush yesterday – I noticed her because I thought the skull was an egg gleaming out of the brambles and wanted a closer look, only to find that what I’d thought was a nest was actually a tangle of leftover pinfeathers and sinewy bits and ribs. I’ve never gotten a go at the aesthetic natural burial vibe so I gathered some flowers for her and decided I’d check in a few weeks to see if the skull’s usable, which made me think about where animals sit in the green space where I’m developing my practice. we’ve all had a bit of a ~this bird is a sign moment and/or deity association, which I enjoy (I’ve pulled Death a bunch this week so it didn’t feel like, not on theme), but it made me consider how I was thinking about the crows I’m making friends with – certainly they’re part of the magical fabric of the space, but they feel like a collective to me of creatures with their own magical pull and influence, of a distinctive current rather than a messenger/representative/symbol of some deeper power. taking a moment with the dead crow felt more like them letting me into a more intimate part of their space than an individual encounter.

Hey! I can only really speak to Vermont-based witchcraft, as that’s where I’m based, but I’d start by researching your specific state and its history with witchcraft. Every region in New England has a history of magic (with a C and with a K), so I’d dive right into your local history first to discover its traditions (though you gotta be a little bit careful with the Witch Trials era, because a lot of that was simply hysteria over people being people, with a heaping of racism thrown in). New England has its own sets of ancient stone circles, for instance - check out “America’s Stonehenge”, an old set of solstice-attuned stone circles outside of Boston - as well as stone caves, monoliths, and other structures. Just remember not to be appropriative of any closed practices!

unsure if you mean in general or me working with my area specifically?If you mean in general I will just go with that!

Every region has it’s own unique energy and expression of nature. You should get in connection with that magic because our magical community has been dominated by western culture/magic which does not apply to everywhere in the world. Especially doing this bioregional animism (a fancy word for describing a belief that every climate/terrain and region has it’s own unique spirit, natural magic and group of spirits) project I’ve learned that the climate in the northeast of the US isn’t even the same as western (UK area) europe. The only places that share the same climate is way north west of washington state and that’s it. That’s a miniscule fragment of the US to have in common with an area we take so much of our magical practice from. It’s not surprising that so many witches feel disconnected with the nature that surrounds them in the US since most of us base our practice on what we think should be ‘traditional’ which just comes from England or Ireland. Every witch should get to know their land and work with the nature that surrounds them. It’s also possible to keep the culture of your heritage while doing this. Even if you are an immigrant, there have been many that had to move to other lands and adapt to the nature there while holding on to their roots. Examples of this would be like the Bracherei (Pennsylvania Dutch Magic) group that brought their germanic magic to Appalachia and fused the two together to get that country root folk magic culture. Another is the Hoodoo rootwork culture that have held on to African practices that survived slavery’s abuse and works with local roots, dirt and sticks of eastern America. Even if you come from another land you can still take your cultures practices and adapt it to the nature around you. Nature is magic so it’s always good to adapt to the climate wherever you are!

Also the more I am getting into herbalism and plant sciences the more I am realizing how powerful plant magic is, whether it be alchemy, herbal medicines, simple teas, tinctures or house plant familiars, nature has so much to offer and its having a constant conversation with us whether we are aware of it or not. Plants are everywhere and they always have a purpose which is powerful. To elaborate on that statement I am near a very metropolitan area (NYC) and the plants that grow here naturally are all ‘weeds’ like Stinging Nettle, Dandelion or Red Clover. What’s fascinating about these “weeds” is that they are all cleansing plants that can pull heavy metals and pollutants from the ground. (It’s funny it reminds me of the Miyazaki film, Nausicca which is about toxic mushrooms that are helping the earth heal but anyway..) It’s why you don’t want to touch or consume those weeds that grow in urban spaces (well one of the reasons since an animal could have peed on them), but its important to acknowledge that they are growing in spaces that they are filtering out the pollution. In the desert a lot of plants store water or like Aloe have substances that can help heal and protect against heat. In colder climates there are a lot of plants like firs or pines that obviously can resist the cold but their nettles have vitamin C and other things that helps the body with nutrients to survive the harsher winters. Also they have a lot of trees with rich resins that helps the tree with nutrients while hibernating but the syrup we get from maple’s sap has it’s own power too. 

Almost every region has plants that are banishing and cleansing, (various sage, lemongrass, st johns wort, papaya, jalepeno), plants that are calming (lavender, kava, passionflower, mint, aloe), plants that are energetic (ginger, cayenne, rhodiola rosea, ginseng, citrus fruit, sugar cane), or plants that can help you fly (datura, peyote, shrooms, heather flowers, mandrake). It’s important to be allies with these entities that can help you in your magic, not only to draw power from the energy around you but also cause our community just gets information from- once again, a very small section of the world which only has 1 climate and opinions on the things that just grow there. It’s sad how white sage is endangered because of ignorance when there are many other herbs/roots/plants you could use to cleanse your space. (Even just regular sage which is not endangered lol).

The south point is the base of the circle. In the northern hemisphere it is closest to the equator, but here in the southern hemisphere it’s closest to the South Pole. We think of it as the ground, in which things are planted and where seeds sprout and arise. It’s also a place of compost, death, dark – letting the old fall away and waiting. To see what will be born.