Banishing Herbs: 9 Herbs to Make Bad Juju Be Gone

Ah, banishing herbs.  There’s nothing like sending an icky vibe, a difficult person, or a bad habit on its way.  Used with intention, banishing herbs are meant to do just that. 

So, let’s take a look at some of the most common banishing herbs and some creative ways to use them in your magic.

What is banishing?

Banishing is the magical art of moving something along. 

Like other forms of magic, banishing acts on intangible influences rather than literal objects or people.  However, the overall effect may impact the relevant parties or things.   

For example, in theory, if you banish the intangible influence of temptation, it may indirectly result in less time spent with your friend who also eats too much chocolate when you get together.

In general, banishing is best done during the dark or waning moon.

Pine Needles

The fresh scent of pine is an ideal spell component for clearing negative energy from the home.  Boil a pot of water and place a handful of pine needles on your stove to clear your home of residual bad vibes or to calm moodiness in the home.

Sage

Sage is a great, all-purpose banishing herb.  However, it’s especially useful for banishing bad habits.  Carry a spell bag with dried sage and a piece of garnet when you’re trying to break a negative cycle in your life.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is an extremely versatile spice for protection.  It can be eaten, burned, or steeped in water.

The essential oil should be used with extreme caution because it irritating to the skin.  However, it makes a great addition to essential oil blends to be added to love spells.

Dragon’s Blood

Dragon’s blood may be used to both attract and repel love interests, depending on your intentions and the context of the spell.  To banish unwanted romantic interest, write the name of the person on a piece of paper.  Fold the paper into thirds with a piece of dragon’s blood inside and burn it in your fireplace, cauldron or in a bonfire.

Oak

Oak doesn’t suffer foolishness.  Leave oak leaves on the altar to banish confusion or difficulty thinking clearly when trying to make an important life decision. 

Garlic

You know those cheesy vampire flicks?   The ones with the undead vampires that shrink and wilt when the heroine shoves garlic in their faces? 

That campy storyline is descended from a long tradition of European folklore.

Use garlic in kitchen witch spells and serve it up at the dinner table to help banish bad vibes from domestic life.

Cedar

There’s a reason your grandmother put her wool in her cedar chest, and it’s not just to keep the insects away.  

All parts of the cedar tree—-leaves, roots, bark and stem—are excellent for dispelling negative energy. 

Especially the kind that creeps in when you’re not looking.

Mugwort

The sacred mugwort plant has many uses in modern magic.

In the context of banishing, it’s fantastic for banishing nightmares and nighttime anxiety.  Burn some in your bedroom during the dark moon.  Then, open all the windows to air out bad vibes.  

Rosemary

The pointy leaves of rosemary betray its reputation for thwarting psychic attack.

If you aren’t comfortable with more combative forms of magic, a banishing spell with rosemary is a nice alternative because it’s primarily defensive.  

Think of rosemary like a spike strip.  It’s nasty, but it’s not aggressive.  A person with bad intentions must willfully cross the line to be ensnared by it.