Herbs & Oils

This article provides a practitioner-oriented guide to the preparation and application of decoctions within contemporary witchcraft traditions, distinguishing this extraction method from herbal infusions and outlining the technical procedures for each. The text examines the use of specific botanicals—including mugwort, chamomile, and vervain—and their associated correspondences in ritual contexts such as healing, protection, divination, and spiritual practice.

This article examines cyclamen (*Cyclamen* spp.), a Mediterranean perennial, exploring its botanical characteristics, historical folklore across Greek, Persian, and Victorian cultures, and traditional associations with love, protection, and life cycles. The reader will learn about the plant’s propagation requirements, its historical medicinal applications as documented by Dioscorides, and its attributed magickal properties related to love-drawing and protective practices.

This article examines corn (*Zea mays* ssp. *mays*) from historical, agricultural, and metaphysical perspectives, tracing its domestication from teosinte in Mexico over 5,000 years ago to its contemporary cultivation and symbolic significance. The text explores corn’s role in Native American and European folk traditions, where it is associated with fertility, abundance, rebirth, and spiritual vitality, as well as its practical applications in companion planting, harvesting, and preservation.

This article examines burdock (*Arctium lappa*) through the lenses of ethnobotanical folklore, traditional healing applications, and magical practice. The text provides an overview of the plant’s etymology, cultural symbolism—including associations with protection, purification, and tenacity—as well as practical guidance on propagation and harvesting methods.

This article examines the folkloric, healing, and magical associations of Acacia (*Acacia spp*) across diverse cultural and spiritual traditions, including Ancient Egyptian mythology, Aboriginal practices, African magical traditions, and modern Western occultism.

This article examines absinthe, a wormwood-based distilled beverage, exploring its historical development from an 18th-century medicinal elixir to its controversial status during the 19th-century prohibition era, alongside its associations with artistic and spiritual communities.