#plant allies

[lailoken]

Rejoicing a Treasure Conserved

As some of you may know, I am currently dealing with an especially difficult Faerie Physic case right now—possibly my most vexing to date—and it has taken a lot out of me. Between this work, and my paying work that I still have to keep up with to make a living, I have been burning the candle at both ends. In this time of stress and danger, I felt strongly compelled to turn to my chief Herbal Ally—the Ghost Pipe.

Despite the population of Ghost Pipes that I spent years stewarding in a devotional capacity being entirely depleted last year in what I believe was an unethical foraging harvest, I felt a strong call to revisit the site and look for any plants that may have managed to survive somehow.

After making my way to the forested site mentioned above, I began my search along all the places I previously saw colonies growing, but dishearteningly, I found nothing. Finally, I remembered the time a year ago that I felt called to spread seeds from the previous year's pods along areas that I intuitively felt would support Ghost Pipe cultivation. At the time, I didn't realize how fortuitous this act of sowing would be, as it was only a few months later that the area was ecologically divested. Remembering this, I went to a particular spot that I remember spreading an especially large amount of seed powder in, and I was literally choked up to discover, not only a young colony of Ghost Pipes just beginning to peak their heads above the soil, but a small snailshell (which have an especially powerful and longstanding role in my tradition as Fae Omens of the wild).

After lowering myself to the ground in worship and offering up prayers of gratitude and joy, I carefully concealed the area with bracken ferns and marked it with a subtle arrangement of sticks that I implanted in a nearby mound of earth. As a lovely bonus, I stumbled upon a small patch of Gnome Plants while marking the area for later notice—with these plants often showing up in my Craft as meaningful Fae Omens in their own right.

I will be returning often to check on and nurture this population of nacent Ghodt Pipes, as well as doing whatever I can to conceal and protect it.

[knightofhylia]

Small sunchoke harvest on my grandmas garden! Probably got like 4 lbs of sunchoke from 10 plants LOL.

Sunchokes taste like potatoes but creamier, we roasted ours in butter to add with our usual vegetable mix and they were so fucking good y'all. The plant grows so tall!!! The highlighted plant is over 10ft tall! It has like 1 or 2 yellow flower on the tops. Also native to the americas and related to sunflowers!!

Planning on making this a regular crop/flower. They can last until the ground freezes so I still have a bit of time for more harvesting.

[elminx]

I was reminded yesterday when I met Lemon in the wild (see also in the studio of a bookbinder) that lemon plants have thorns! I had known this information (Dora had a Meyer lemon plant for a very long time that I used extensively in my magic in the past) but I must have forgotten.

And now I want a lemon tree so much more.

Sidenote: I do not have space for trees. At all. Sidenote: I have been rooting two avocado pits and already don't know what I am going to do with those trees.

But in the scope of (indoor*) trees, citrus is a top priority magic-wise. I love to use lemon in my cleansing magic - I've used the rinds, I've used the juice - I've even used the sweet little flowers.

But thorns...

I love thorns. Top tier.

I have been trying to figure out how to bring living thorns inside my house already. Cactus aren't really my vibe (I love them but not the type of plant I prefer to keep in my space) so I have been considering other options. Lemon is a pretty good one.

(Sidenote: lemons need 10 hours of sunlight a day and are too big for my space - I am not going out to get one anytime soon. Just daydreaming out loud about a time when I will have space for really big plants)

*for me, I live in the North East

[thedawnwitch]

Plant ancestral ally unlocked: Viola Cornuta / Pansy

[that-cunning-witch]

Today is a day of mourning. For me, as a Hellenic Polytheist whose Patroness is Persephone and is recently working with both Demeter and Dionysus, today was supposed to be a wonderful day. Today marks the first day of the three-day festival of Thesmophoria, a festival celebrating the change of seasons and the beautiful Earth and its fertility and ability to nurture us. However, instead of celebrating with positivity and gratitude, I am instead feeling defeated. Instead of praying in thanks, I am mourning with the gods. I feel devastated.

For those mourning like me, know you are not alone. Many people in the witchcraft sphere and in general feel broken too. Just know that your ancestors, your gods, your plant allies, your angels, your spirits, and the whole universe are with you. They are here with you. They are mourning with you.

[soliloquyjewelry]

Light in the Darkness.

[wildkinwitch]

Abundant bindweed threading through the hedges in my back garden. Forgotten places holding homes for pollinators from far and wide, the convolvulus hawk moth, thorn-tailed and inhabiter of nicotiana. Waiting for spells, a witch's bindings from those who would bind, dried petals for amulets and long cords for tying. Witches meet your ally.

Read on https://wildkinwitchcraft.wordpress.com

[vacantwoodsenthusiast]

I've been thinking a lot about plant spirits that call to me and working with them. And lately The Elder Mother has been humming softly in my ears as I seek guidance for the rapid change in my life. I have a lot to meditate on and hope that this emerging allyship develops into something of interest!

[arawnbel]

The Overlooked Healing Ally

At the risk of sounding uncool, this is one of my favourite and greatest plant allies. I simply adore this plant and it is so accessible because it grows almost everywhere. Perhaps it is due to being a common plant that this herb is so often overlooked, or maybe it is because people spend so much time trying to kill it off as a weed. Either way, I invite everyone to reconsider their relationship…

[honoringthor]

💚Heal-all💚

Prunella vulgaris

Aka. common self-heal, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort, blue curls, kalyuth, xia ku cao, thimble flower, sicklewort, hook heal

General info. A member of the mint family, heal all is native to Eurasia, Africa, and North America. (These ones were found in Dunkirk and South Dayton, N) They grow in gardens, roadsides, woodland edges, and waste places.

Heal-all is edible. They're used in soups, salads, and stews. The herb is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat dizziness, red eyes, dry cough, dermititis, and boils. It's used in herbal teas in southern China and in commercial beverages. In Kashmir it is boiled and used as a wash to relieve muscle pain. Heal-all was also used to cure diphtheria.

Symbolism. (Mostly Upg since they're not in my books)Healing, Apollo, eir, Asclepius, Jord, Gaia, deities associated with healing. earth, good health, strength, motivation,

What do you associate with Heal-all?

🌿sources🌿

Wikipedia prunella vulgaris

Self heal

[yourhearthboundfairygodkin]

A message from Spirit this Lughnasadh . . .

The Virgo card advises us not to make decisions based on our fears. This is a time to be aware of our criticism of ourselves and others. Green Fluorite promotes logical thinking about incoming energies. Keep what serves the highest good, release anything that does not. Zincite encourages us to pay attention to the physical body, especially after any kind of interaction or activity. Remember, the body stores energy.

Onyx brings strength when it is needed. Clear quartz neutralizes background radiation and electromagnetic smog. Aventurine balances the nervous system and fosters well-being. Jasmine invites blessings, peace, and harmony, and raises vibrations.

Deck credits: Spirit de la Lune, Crystallary by Maia Toll, Eternal Crystals by Jade-Sky

[lailoken]

Hello!

I am harvesting a bough from a tree on my family property, which has been tended by four generations of our hands. The branch will be be made into a magical instrument vital to my family's tradition of magic, and yet I find myself nervous to ask.

Do you have any tips for wooing a plant ally for such a task? How may I repay her for it?

What a beautiful and fortunate relationship to have with a tree! I think it's absolutely lovely that you carry on this tradition.

Frankly, I think it's likely that the spirit of this tree already loves you. You are part of a family who has tended it for generations, and it has seen you grow over the years. That carries a lot more weight than people may think. Beyond that, though, there are some simple things that can be done to help "woo" a plant ally, as you put it.

Firstly, I would make multiple, meaningful offerings to the tree. I'm not sure how that might look within the context of your familial tradition, but offerings of food, libation, and/or precious items are good staple propitiations. Offerings of your hair and blood may also help to bind and endear you to the tree, but that is probably better to only do if you intend to carry on propitiating the tree.

Secondly, it's a good idea to ask the tree, aloud, for its wood. Omens and signs that follow such entreaties are worth watching out for, should they be immediate, or show up later in dreams.

Thirdly, when you feel you are ready to harvest, do it with precision and care. Try your best to minimize harm to the plant in the process by using good tools and clean cuts, and don't take more than you need.

Finally, this is pretty specific to my tradition, but any time I harvest a length of wood, I completely cover the site of the wound with my own blood. I was told long ago in a dream that doing so helps to soothe the spirit of a tree, as well as helping it to heal in some way, and so I always carry out this final act. This tradition has served me well and has always felt intuitively right to me, so I've decided to share it here now.

Good luck going forward!

[wytchwyse]

i got to see the Lowes Robot in person which was cool, but what's even better is I got some seedling friends for my garden. :3

[elminx]

I can tell by the smell wafting in my open windows that the black locust tree in my garden bloomed today.

[aerislunam]

AQUILEGIA

I am compelled to call her “Queen of the Garden”

I knew there was Columbine in this wildflower seed mix, but this variety was quite the surprise.

She is called “Pink Petticoat” and the essence reminds me so much of Aphrodite.

🌸🌺🌸🌺🌸🌺🌸

Edit…

I just something about it being associated with Persephone.

Persephone “bothers” me, as well… 🥲 Welp. More reading to do…

To be continued… Having pasting issues on here again. 😒

[lexstellaris]

Daily Draw - 11/5/23 - Botanica Tarot (Kevin Jay Stanton)

10 of Coins - Eucalyptus // The Emperor - John the Conqueror Root

Different kind of daily draw at the moment. Hekate prodded me to ask the Botanica about which plant allies would be willing to work with me for my upcoming spellwork, and these are the cards that fell out of the deck. Normally I don't bother with cards jumping out, but I sensed this time that this was my answer.

Eucalyptus will be easy, I got them growing outside my house like crazy. The bonus of living in Australia lol. I may check on which tree would be willing to work with me because there are a few different species out there iirc.

There are two sweet peppermint/willow myrtle trees in the green corridor out the back of our house that I have always loved. I greet them often, and they gifted me a small branch of their leaves to use for making khernips. They're a Western Australian native tree and my favourite tree tbh. I'm still learning to work with plant spirits, but I've had a few fleeting connections with these trees enough to consider these two trees allies.

For John the Conquerer root, I am ... not certain I have any in my herb stock. I might do, but I suspect I will have to buy some. It's not a root I've used much of, if at all, but one whose name I'm familiar with.

For the Eucalyptus, I'm going to try to find a WA native species and use that. That feels like the right vibe. And I'll throw in a sweet peppermint leaf as my personal herb as well.

The tarot meanings of the cards seem to bode well for my work, so I'll keep that in mind as I prepare my rites and my spellwork. Now to go see if I need to buy some John the Conquerer root.