Magickal Folk Names for Herbs
Having knowledge of herbs and plants (either magically or medicinally) during the Middle Ages, often was reason enough to accuse a woman of being a âwitch,â so there is no doubt some of the country folk at the time took these herbal folk names literal. Chances are, these names were used merely as descriptors to help remember them easier. Most plants were given names descriptive of their uses and others were given names for something they generally resembled. Spells written by witches in ancient times were often written with such descriptors, which personally i believe to be a form of secret coding.
Here is a small list of âwitchyâ herb names (most of these are already floating around the community) that you can use in your craft when you create your spells. This list could be a great addition to any Grimoire and i hope you find them as useful as i do.
Aaronâs Rod - Goldenrod or mullein stalk
Absinthe - Wormwood
Adderâs Fork - Adderâs Tongue Fern or Bistort
Adderâs Tongue - Dogâs Tooth Violet (or Adderâs Tongue Fern
Ague root - Unicorn root
Alison - Sweet Alyssum
Angel Food, Archangel - Angelica
Angelâs Trumpet - Datura
Assâs Ear - coltâs foot or comfrey
Assâs Foot, Bullâs Foot - coltâs foot
Auld Manâs Bells, Old manâs bells - wood hyacinth, Hyacinthoides hispanica
Bad Manâs/Devilâs Oatmeal/Porridge - hemlock
Bad Manâs/Devilâs Plaything - Yarrow
Bastard - false Dittany
Bat flower - tacca
Batâs Wing - Holly leaf
Batâs Wool - moss (which moss?)
Bearâs Foot - Ladyâs Mantle
Bearâs Grape Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Bear Paw - ramsons Allium ursinum or the root of male fern Dryopteris Felix-mas
Bear weed - Yerba Santa Eriodictyon californicum
Beard of a Monk - Chicory
Beggarâs Lice - Houndâs tongue
Beggarâs Buttons - Burdock
Birdâs Eye - Speedwell Veronica officinalis
Birdâs Foot - Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum (Also birdâs foot violet and birdâs foot trefoil)
Birdâs Nest - carrot, Indian pipe
Bishopâs Wort, Bishopâs Elder - Wood betony Stachys betonica
Bitter Grass - Ague Root Aletris Farinosa
Black Sampson - Echinacea
Blazing Star - liatris
Blind Eyes - Poppy
Blood from a head - Lupine *
Blood from a shoulder - Bearâs breech *
Blood of a Goose - Sap from a mulberry * Morus nigra
Blood of an Eye - Tamarisk gall * (probably the tannin extracted from)
Blood of Ares - purslane *
Blood of Hephaestus - wormwood *
Blood of Hestia - Chamomile *
Blood - sap of the elder or bloodwort
Bloody butcher - Valerian
Bloody Fingers - Foxglove
Blue Bottle - Bachelorâs buttons
Boyâs Love, Ladâs Love: Southernwood
Brain Thief - Mandrake
Bone of an Ibis - buckthorn * I am not sure if this is Rhamnus cathartica or sea buckthorn Hippophae spp If I can find a recipe containing this, I will know for sure by comparing its purpose to their very different qualities
Bread and Cheese - Hawthorn
Bride of the Meadow - meadowsweet
Bullâs Blood - beet or horehound
Burning bush - false dittany, also a modern name for species of Euonymus
Cowâs Horn - Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum
Bride of the Sun - calendula
Brown Dragon - wake robin
Buttons - tansy
Calfâs snout - Snapdragon
Candlemas Maiden - snowdrop
Candlewick - mullein, the flower stalk
Caponâs Tail - valerian
Carpenterâs Herb - bugleweed Lycopus europaeus
Carpenterâs Square - knotted figwort
Carpenterâs weed - Yarrow
Cat - catnip
Catâs foot - white balsam, black cohosh, ground ivy
Catâs herb - valerian
Chameleon star - bromeliad
Cheeses - marsh mallow
Chocolate flower - wild geranium (I donât buy it)
Christâs eye - wild clary Salvia verbenaca
Christâs ladder - centaury
Christâs spear - adderâs tongue fern Ophioglossum vulgatum
Church steeple - Agrimony
Clear eye - clary sage
Cleavers - bedstraw
Click - goosegrass
Clot - great mullien
Cocklebur - Agrimony
Cockâs comb - amaranth
Coltâs Tail - fleabane
Craneâs bill - wild geranium
Crowâs foot - wild geranium, or wood anemone bulbous buttercup (verified)
Crowdy kit - figwort
Cuckooâs bread - common plantago
Cucumber tree - magnolia
Cuddyâs lungs - great mullein
Crown for a king - wormwood
Dagger flower - blue flag
Daphne - bay laurel
Dead manâs bells foxglove
Death angel - fly agaric Amanita Muscaria
Death cap - fly agaric Amanita Muscaria
Death flower - Yarrow
Deathâs Herb - Belladonna
Delight of the Eye - rowan
Devil Plant - basil
Devilâs Apple - Mayapple or Mandrake
Devilâs beard - houseleek
Devilâs bit - false unicorn root
Devilâs cherries Belladonna berries
Devilâs plaything - yarrow
Devilâs dung - asafoetida
Devilâs ear - wakerobin
Devilâs eye - henbane or periwinkle
Devilâs flower - bachelorâs buttons
Devilâs fuge - mistletoe
Devilâs guts - dodder
Devilâs herb - belladonna
Devilâs milk - celandine
Devilâs nettle - yarrow
Devilâs Shoestring: Various varieties of vibernum, esp Black Haw, cramp bark, hobblebush
Dew of the Sea - Rosemary
Dog Berry - wild rose hips
Dogâs mouth - snap dragon
Dogâs tongue - houndâs tongue
Doveâs foot - wild geranium
Dragon - tarragon
Dragon Flower - blue flag (really, wild iris? not an arum or a Antirrhinum?)
Dragon wort - bistort
Dragonâs blood - calamus
Eagle - ramsons Allium ursinum
Earth apple - potato
Earth smoke- fumitory
Elfâs wort - Elecampane
Enchanterâs plant - vervain
Englishmanâs fruit/ White manâs foot - common plantain
Everlasting friendship - goosegrass
Eye root - goldenseal
Fairy smoke - Indian pipe
Fairy fingers - foxglove
Fat from a Head - spurge *
Felon herb - Mugwort
Five fingers - cinquefoil
Foxâs Clote - burdock
Frogâs foot - bulbous buttercup
From the belly - Earth-apple. * potato?? Did the writers know about potatoes? When was pgm written?
From the foot - houseleek *
From the loins - chamomile *
Goatâs foot - morning glory
Goatâs Horn - Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum
Godâs hair - hartâs tongue fern
Goldenâs star - avens
Goslingâs wing - goosegrass
Graveyard dust - mullein (and sometimes itâs just graveyard dust)
Hagâs taper - mullien stalk
Hagthorn - hawthorn
Hair of Venus - Maidenhair fern
Hairs of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Seed *
Hareâs beard - mullein
Hawkâs Heart, Old Woman - Wormwood Artemisia absinthium crown or seed head *
Hindâs tongue - hartâs tongue fern
Holy herb - yerba santa
Holy rope - hemp agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum
Horse tongue - hartâs tongue fern
Hundred eyes - periwinkle
Jacobâs Staff - Great Mullein
Joy of the Mountain - Marjoram
Jupiterâs Staff - Great Mullein
Kingâs Crown: Black Haw vibernum
Knightâs Milfoil - Yarrow
Kronosâ Blood - sap of Cedar *
Ladyâs glove - foxglove
Lambâs ears - betony but more likely lambâs ear Stachys byzantina
Lionâs Hair - The extra little roots that stick out of the turnip bulb or the base leaves Brassica rapa *
Lionâs tooth - dandelion
Little dragon - tarragon
Love in idleness - pansy
Love Lies Bleeding - amaranth (Not so ancient, a modern ornamental variant)
Love Leaves - burdock
Love man - goosegrass
Love Parsley - lovage
Love root - orris root
Maidenâs Ruin - Southernwood
Manâs Bile - Turnip Juice *
Manâs Health - Ginseng
Master of the Woods - Woodruff
May Lily - Lily of the Valley
May Rose - Black Haw viburnum
May - Black Haw viburnum
Maypops - Passion Flower
Mistress of the Night - Tuberose
Mutton Chops - Goosegrass
Old Manâs Flannel - Great Mullein
Old Manâs Pepper - Yarrow
Old-Maidâs-Nightcap - Wild Geranium
Password - primrose
Peterâs Staff - Great Mullein
Poor Manâs Treacle - Garlic
Priestâs Crown - Dandelion leaves
Queen of the Meadow Root - Gravelroot
Queen of the Meadow - Meadowsweet
Queen of the Night - Vanilla Cactus
Rats and Mice - Houndâs tongue
Ramâs horn - valerian
Ring a Bells - bluebell
Robin run in the grass - goosegrass
Scaldhead - blackberry
Seed of Horus - horehound
See bright - Clary sage
Semen of Ammon - Houseleek *
Semen of Ares - Clover *
Semen of Helios - White Hellebore *
Semen of Hephaistos - Fleabane *
Semen of Herakles - arugula *
Semen of Hermes - Dill *
Seven Yearâs Love Yarrow
Shameface - Wild Geranium
Shepherdâs Heart - Shepherdâs Purse
Silver Bells - Black Haw viburnum
Snake Root - black cohosh
Soapwort - Comfrey or Daisy or maybe Soapwort
Sorcererâs Violet - Periwinkle
Sparrowâs Tongue - Knotweed
St. Johnâs Herb - Hemp Agrimony
St. Johnâs Plant - Mugwort
Star Flower - Borage
Star of the Earth - Avens
Starweed - Chickweed
Sweethearts - Goosegrass
Swineâs Snout - Dandelion leaves
Tail of a Pig - Leopardâs bane *
Tannerâs bark - toadflax
Tartar root - ginseng
Tears of a Hamadryas Baboon - Dill Juice *
Thousand weed - yarrow
Thunder plant - houseleek
Titanâs Blood - Wild Lettuce Lactuca virosa *
Torches - mullein flower stalk
Unicornâs horn - unicorn root or false unicorn root
Urine - dandelion or maybe urine
Wax dolls - fumitory
Weasel - rue
Weasel snout - yellow archangel
Winter wood - wild cinnamon Canella alba
White - ox eye daisy
Witchâs Asprin - white willow bark (this is ancient?)
Witchâs brier - wild brier rose hips
Wolf claw - club moss
Wolfâs foot - bugleweed
Wolfâs milk - euphorbia
Woodpecker - herbLpeony
Worm fern- male fern Dryopteris Felix-mas
Yerba Santa Maria - epazote
Blood - Sap or juice
Eye - The disc of a composite flower, or a seed
Foot - Leaf
Guts - Roots, stalks, tangly bits
Hair - Very stringy roots (sometimes silk or tangly stems)
Head - Flower head or seed head
Tail - Stem
Tongue - Petal, sometimes stigma
Toes - leaf or bud
Paw - sometimes bud, usually leaf
Privates - Seed pod
Worm - stringy roots
Wool - Moss
A Snakeâs Ball of Thread - soapstone *
Blood of a Snake - hematite *
Crocodile Dung - Soil from Ethiopia *
A Physicianâs bone - sandstone *
A Snakeâs Head - A leech *
Blood of a Hyrax - A rock badger, * small weasel-like/rodent-like (but actually neither) creature native to Africa and the Middle East
Blood of a Hamadryas Baboon - Blood of a spotted gecko *
Bullâs semen - the egg of a blister beetle *
Lion Semen - Human semen *
Kronosâ Spice - Pig Milk *
* From Ecloga ex Papyris Magicis: Liber I, V, xxvi
More Sources for verification -
Galen - De succedaneis, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia, v 19
Paulus Aegineta, Corpus Medicorum Graecorum IX/2 vII
Dioscorides De Materia Medica