#misseltoe

(Viscum album: European Mistletoe, do not take if you are hypersensitive to proteins or have a chronic progressive infection; Phoradendron leucarpum; P. flavescens: American Mistletoe, poisonous.)

Folk Names: All Heal, Birdlime, Devil's Fuge, Donnerbesen, European Mistletoe, Golden Bough, Holy Wood, Lignam sanctae crucis, Misseltoe, Thunderbesem, Witches Broom, Wood of the Cross. Gender: Masculine. Planet: Sun. Element: Air. Deities: Apollo, Freya, Frigga, Venus, Odin. Powers: Protection, Love, Hunting, Fertility, Health, Exorcism.

Ritual Uses: As is well known, the Druids revered the mistletoe, especially when found growing on an oak. It was (and still is) cut on Midsummer's Day, or else when the Moon is six days old. One stroke of a gold sickle was used to cut the herb, and it wasn't allowed to touch the ground.

Magical Uses: Long used for protection against lightning, disease, misfortune of every kind, fires, and so on, it is carried or placed in an appropriate spot for these uses. The leaves and berries are used. Mistletoe is placed in cradles to protect children from being stolen by fairies and replaced with changelings. A ring carved of mistletoe wood will ward off sicknesses when worn, and the plant will cure fresh wounds quickly when carried (do not apply to the wound). Mistletoe is also carried or worn for good luck in hunting, and women carry the herb to aid in conception. It has also been utilized in spells designed to capture that elusive state of immortality, and to open locks. Laid near the bedroom door, mistletoe gives restful sleep and beautiful dreams, as it does when placed beneath the pillow or hung at the headboard. Kiss your love beneath mistletoe and you'll stay in love. Burned, mistletoe banishes evil. Wear it around your neck to attain invisibility. Mistletoe is an all-purpose herb.