#localizing magic

See the rest of the Localizing Magic series. I have a single dogwood tree in my backyard. It’s one of many random things that grow back there, including periwinkle, azalea and palmetto. Dogwoods are fairly common throughout the eastern United States, and are a symbol of my home state, North Carolina. While the tree isn’t large enough to be good for lumber, the wood is apparently very strong; excellent tools and wands can be made out of it.

Dogwood is associated with ancestor work, banishment, comfort, fertility, happiness, love and lust, protection, secrets and wishes. The presence of dogwood flowers, leaves, wood or bark at a meeting can keep a conversation secret, and the oil of dogwood flowers can keep any written document safe from prying eyes. Dogwood leaves or wood can be used in protective amulets or for banishing. Dogwood sap is said to have wish-granting properties, especially when gathered at midsummer.

American folklore has it that Jesus was crucified on a cross made of dogwood, but the tree is not native to Palestine, so this is certainly just a myth. Apparently in some places in the Ozarks, folks believe that carrying a piece of dogwood will prevent you from being bitten by rabid dogs.

American dogwood bark has historically been used as a substitute for quinine to prevent malaria. It’s also used, though infrequently, in Western herbal medicine to treat headaches, fatigue and diarrhea. As always, please consult a doctor and a trained herbalist before using dogwood bark as medicine. Do not attempt to administer herbs to yourself without professional supervision.

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See the rest of the Localizing Magic series. Bamboo is the tallest-growing grass in the world, and one of the fastest growing plants. Bamboo grows in a wide range of conditions, from temperate mountains to the tropics. Bamboo culms (stems) are incredibly flexible and strong, making them an excellent material for use in furniture and construction. Though raw bamboo plants contain a substance called taxiphyllin, which turns to cyanide when digested, pickled or fermented bamboo is a staple in many Asian cuisines. 

Bamboo roots are rhizomatic, making the plant difficult to eradicate. Since it’s also so fast-growing, many species of bamboo are considered invasive. Bamboo isn’t native to the Southeastern US, where I live, but it’s a common sight nevertheless, since people insist on planting it everywhere. I do yearly battle with a patch of bamboo in my side yard. 

Bamboo is a common ingredient in Chinese and Tibetan medicine as well as Ayurveda, and is used to treat a number of different conditions, including asthma, coughs, and gallbladder disorders. As far as I’m aware, there have been no comprehensive studies of bamboo in Western medicine to indicate how it works or what the proper dosage is. Bamboo should only be administered by properly qualified Eastern medicine practitioners.

Bamboo is used extensively in East Asian magical systems. While I’m not an expert in any of these traditions by any means, here are a few quick examples. In the Philippines, bamboo crosses are placed in the field to promote a good harvest. In China and Japan, bamboo sticks are used in divination. Taoist rituals incorporate bamboo in many different ways, including calling water spirits. In some areas of South Asia, however, bamboo is associated with death, evil spirits and ghosts!

In witchcraft, bamboo is associated with abundance, divination, friendship, longevity, luck, protection, resilience, strength and wishes. Scott Cunningham recommends drying bamboo culms and making a powder of the “wood”, then burning this powder to break hexes. Carve a sigil or a wish into a piece of bamboo and bury it to assist with manifestation. Alternatively, place an inscribed piece of bamboo into running water to the same end. Carrying bamboo or hanging it over a doorway wards off bad luck and bad energy.

See the rest of the Localizing Magic series. Kudzu is the archetypal invasive. Introduced from Asia to fight soil erosion, it took the American South by storm, growing over everything that doesn’t move. Kudzu vines can grow up to twelve inches in a day. It barely responds to the most powerful herbicides; some vines take over a decade to kill. (Apparently goats are the appropriate antidote to kudzu.) Kudzu may even contribute to climate change by destabilizing the carbon pool in soil, releasing it into the atmosphere. 

Despite all that, kudzu is a useful plant with numerous culinary, medicinal, and magical applications. Kudzu leaves, flowers, shoots (vine tips) and roots are all edible; the vines and seeds are not. Kudzu root is a good substitute for arrowroot or cornstarch in any recipe that calls for a thickener. Since it’s such a noxious invasive, you can harvest it with abandon, knowing you are doing a good deed for the ecosystem.

The edible parts of kudzu have been used for centuries in Chinese medicine. Kudzu’s myriad applications include dampening the effects of alcohol hangovers, and treating high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, upper respiratory infections, rashes and skin irritations. It seems to have effects similar to estrogen, which is why it may help combat some menopause symptoms. It also seems to increase circulation to the heart and brain. Kudzu root tea may even decrease cravings for alcohol and assist with alcohol addiction withdrawal symptoms.  

Kudzu interacts with estrogen-containing drugs and may decrease the efficacy of hormonal birth control. In large quantities, kudzu may cause liver damage, and we have little data about what effect it has on pregnant women, unborn babies or breastmilk. Please consult a medical professional and a trained herbalist before trying to administer it to yourself or anyone else.

As it isn’t native to Europe, the Americas or Africa, kudzu is not a traditional ingredient in witchcraft. Nevertheless, I believe it to be a magical plant, and many other modern witches agree. Kudzu can correspond to determination, fertility, growth (especially wild, unchecked growth), perseverance, strength and survival. 

Be careful with this plant. Just like the vine itself, if left unchecked, kudzu may choke out and kill whatever it grows over.

See the rest of the Localizing Magic series. I live in Raleigh, NC, the “City of Oaks”, home of the “World’s Largest Acorn” (it’s a statue, don’t get too excited). Oaks really are very commonplace here. I’m lucky enough to have a young oak tree right in my backyard! 

Many of the plants I’ve written about in this series are fairly obscure--some not even used in most magical traditions--but you’d be hard pressed to find a European tradition that doesn’t consider the oak to be super fucking magical. I mean, look at it. 

Clearly magical.

Oaks do have some uses in traditional European herbal medicine, but please be cautious with oak products! Long-term use of oak bark teas or decoctions can cause kidney, liver, and stomach damage. Applying oak bark to the skin or adding it to baths for more than two to three weeks can exacerbate several chronic conditions and is considered unsafe.

That being said, boiled and reduced oak bark (in other words, a decoction) is used in European herbalism as a substitute for quinine and to treat diarrhea and dysentery. A similar recipe is also used to treat fever, cough and bronchitis. Oak bark has also been applied to the skin to treat pain and irritation. These treatments are considered safe when used for a few days, but do not use them if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have kidney problems. Acorns are edible, though raw acorns are generally considered unpalatable due to high levels of tannins. There are several different ways you can leach the tannins out of acorns to make them tastier; if you’re curious about that, you can read about it here. Acorns can be eaten as nuts or used to make a high-protein flour.

Oak is regarded as a powerful source of magic by countless traditions. The trees themselves are associated with Jupiter and Thor, among many other deities, and Midsummer, whereas acorns are associated with Samhain. Oaks are one of the sacred trees of Druidry; in fact, they may be held in the highest regard among all trees. Certain oaks are even considered sacred in Christian lore.

Acorns have many different magical associations, including creativity, divination, fertility, longevity, pain relief, prosperity, protection (especially from evil, lightning, and illness), and attracting a romantic partner. They are often carried to provide a constant magical boost, or placed in a window to protect the home. Acorns are easy to collect from public spaces without violating any sort of laws or codes, so they are an excellent free magical material for those of us who live near oak trees. Oak leaves, when worn on the neck or near the heart, protect from deception. Leaves can be placed in bathwater for spiritual cleansing. Catching a falling oak leaf is said to protect one from illness, and burning oak branches is said to draw out illnesses from the body. Oak wood has a protective quality; different kinds of oak wood are also said to have other magical attributes. Oaks are symbols of immortality, as they grow very slowly and can live for hundreds of years. The best time to harvest acorns, leaves, and branches from an oak tree is during the waning moon; during the day for leaves and acorns, and at night for wood. Oak wood is very powerful when used in wands and other magical implements. Consider collecting fallen branches for your personal use rather than harvesting directly from the tree. If you choose to cut a branch off an oak tree, leave an offering to the tree to show your gratitude. The traditional offering is wine.

Localizing Magic is my series of posts dedicated to plants that grow wild or are otherwise readily available in the Southeastern United States. Each post gives a quick overview of the medicinal and magical uses for the plant in question. Please be sure to credit me if you use the text from any of these posts, as it is my own writing and research.

Bamboo

Crape Myrtle Dogwood

Hibiscus

Honeysuckle

Kudzu

Oak and Acorn

Periwinkle

Plantain

Sweetgum Seed Pods

Sweetgum Tree

Violet

Wild Strawberry

See the rest of the Localizing Magic series. Crape myrtles are all over the place where I live. They’re very popular as ornamental bushes, but they have well-documented medicinal uses too, and are most frequently used in Asian traditional medicine (as opposed to Western herbalism). 

Also known as banaba, crape myrtle leaves are used in Filipino herbal medicine for diabetes and weight loss. Clinical evidence shows that an infusion of the leaves may lower blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes, and may also lower blood pressure. The roots, bark and flowers are also used in other forms of Asian herbal medicine. The flowers can be used in a decoction to help alleviate the symptoms of a cold, and may also be crushed into a paste and applied to small wounds. Please do not attempt to administer crape myrtle to yourself or others without the guidance of a doctor and a trained herbalist! I am still trying to determine what magical properties the crape myrtle has. Despite its name, crape myrtle is more closely related to the pomegranate than it is to myrtle. You can see evidence of its relation to pomegranate when looking at its tiny berries, which are neither edible per se nor poisonous. I wonder if crape myrtle berries could be substituted for pomegranate in spells and rituals. 

See the rest of the Localizing Magic series.

Most of the plants I’ve written about so far grow wild in the Southeastern United States. I’m switching gears today to talk about a flower you might find at a garden center, the lovely hibiscus. The previous owners of my house planted a bunch of hibiscus bushes in my back yard and three scarlet rosemallows (a kind of hibiscus) in my front yard; they’re all currently in bloom. If you can’t harvest your own hibiscus flowers, hibiscus tea is inexpensive and easy to find. 

Hibiscus flowers have a sour flavor and are used in many different world cuisines, as well as Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. The leaves of many hibiscus plants are also edible. When harvesting hibiscus, please make sure a specific genus is edible before consuming it. Hibiscus flowers are generally safe, although they shouldn’t be consumed by pregnant or nursing women as they may cause uterine contractions. Hibiscus infusions (tea) have mild laxative, diuretic, antibacterial, vermifuge (worm-killing), anti-inflammatory and chemopreventative effects. Moreover, hibiscus has been shown in clinical studies to lower blood pressure with habitual use. 

See the rest of the Localizing Magic series. I have a love-hate relationship with wisteria. On the love side of things: it’s gorgeous, it smells amazing, it’s practically immortal and it’s easy to cultivate. On the hate side of things: there is a wisteria plant in my neighbor’s yard that is taking over my entire back yard and has tried several times to kill my hibiscus bushes. Wisteria is super invasive and its vines can easily kill the things they wrap around.  Wisteria blossoms are edible, but its seeds and stems are toxic. I cannot find any reliable information about the medicinal uses of wisteria. I know it is used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, but I can’t recommend using any part of the plant in a medicinal capacity. 

Despite its lovely scent, wisteria cannot be made into essential oil. Not all flowering plants can be used to make essential oils! If you see wisteria oil for sale, it is synthetic, or at best an herbal oil. My research into wisteria’s magical properties has yielded divergent results. Cunningham associates wisteria with only one thing: protection. I believe that the modern pagan community has looked at wisteria-related folklore in East Asia, as well as the plant’s physical characteristics, to try and determine what other properties it might have. I will list the properties I’ve seen from several sources, but please remember this is new research. Take it with a grain of salt.