Magickal tips

• Use yarrow and dill to heighten wind and magic prophecy
• Send a love note attached to an iris bouquet, a symbol of communication
• When performing a water spell for cleansing or when purifying a space, use a magic broom made of ash for protection, birch for cleansing, or willow, which is blessed by the Goddess.
• Medieval lords often had their goblets lined with agate, which was believed to change color when poison was added; seek out such a prize for your chalice collection
• Follow Celtic tradition by using birch to ensure a peaceful sleep
• Concoct a recipe using basil to excite the senses and accelerate passions
• Steep cinnamon bark for a tea to relieve menstrual symptoms
• Use the flowery tops of red geraniums in healing and protection rites and pink for protecting your living quarters (do NOT ingest flowers)
• Burn the wood of the acacia to encourage enhancement of psychic talents
• If your faith has been shaken, dine on a dish containing mustard seed and hope will prevail
• Set crushed dried allspice afire as a symbolic gesture in luck and healing spells
• Share a ritual bath with a lover; anise is an herbal aroma appreciated by both men and woman; steep bath sachet of jasmine tea, anise seeds, rose petals, and mint leaves; licorice root can be used as a substitute
• Wear a ritually-charged peacock feather or some crest of the peacock when seeking to spread your tail feathers and attract attention from the opposite sex.
• Inspire romantic trysts with anise seeds as Middle Eastern newlyweds do
• For protection spells, incorporate fennel, cedar, or juniper into your magic for strength
• When desiring nighttime communication with angels, keep angelica, the herb of the angels, on your bed table
• Lemon balm is a thoughtful token for someone seeking comfort from a loss
• Bake fairy bread in May as Gaelic households were known to do; use fruits from the year's harvest
• Use Vervain as a sacred aphrodisiac in the Druid tradition; it is credited with the ability to secure affection (do not ingest if pregnant)
• Renaissance-era Spaniards referred to tomatoes as love apples due to their reputation for provoking concupiscence
• To reward the goddess in you, make a silky body powder by combining several drops of one or two of your favorite essential oils and one cup of a basic kitchen element: corn starch
• Secure good fortune by scattering fairy bread crumbs around newly planted seedlings for visiting fairies to nibble on
• To alleviate pollen allergies, compose a healing tisane of elderflower, elecampane, or thyme (do not use elecampane if pregnant)
• For courage in tough times, use edelweiss as an alter decoration in your spell work
• Offer a pomegranate to Persephone as part of a seasonal invocation to honor the consummate goddess of rebirth
• Cultivate thyme in your garden to invoke the blessings of fairies
• Almonds, the "womb of the world," have been used as fertility charms for centuries
• Use myrtle in your love spells for commitment; it represents constancy
• To secure the blessing of Venus, display her sacred fruit, the quince, on her altar
• Bless a wedding gift with a yarrow posy for conjugal happiness
• To make a summer salve to protect against sunburn or chapping, melt beeswax with apricot oil, add camphor and blend; pour into a witches bottle; for extra appeal add rose oil or lemon
• Medieval foods were often salty; cook with flavoring herbs when recreating historical menus for ceremonial meals
• In lieu of hazel or apple boughs, make a wand from peach twigs as the ancient Chinese wizards were known to do
• Bake a summer-scented cake reminiscent of Elizabethan times for a summer ritual; decorate it with lavender florets
• To make a gypsy protection amulet, fill a red sack with cinnamon, amber, cloves, and orris root
• In preparation for an evening of romantic bliss, feed ginger and honey to your beloved
• Bring out the satyr in your man; tickle his feet with dill leaves
• Dance for your lover wearing a wreath of laurel leaves, a symbol of virility in ancient Rome
• To enhance fecundity, fill your alter chalice with ritual wine and toast to the goddess of fertility
• To soothe an aching throat, brew bergamot tea; sip while performing a ritual for good health
• Hang aloe at your front door or in your kitchen to attract good fortune
• Use allspice when performing a ritual in a healing herbal bath
• To attract abundance, make an amulet using almond oil
• To celebrate the goddess in all her beauty, steep lemon verbena leaves in boiling water and strain for a hair conditioner to use after shampooing; alternative scents to choose from are geranium, pineapple-sage, or anise-hyssop
• When casting physical or emotional healing spells, toss marigold flower heads into your cauldron along with other essential ingredients; Tudor housewives used them in broths and soups for similar purposes
• Delight your love with a spicy herbal aftershave; combine rosemary, mint, grated nutmeg, grated cinnamon stick (not oil), half a grated lemon and patchouli leaves (not oil); strain, and add musk essential oil and rose water
• To heighten masculinity, carry a sachet of holly
• Design a chaplet of jasmine flowers when performing a spell to sustain a spiritual love
• For a twilight ritual bath, prepare a sacred sachet of rose petals, dried mint, and a pinch of crushed cloves
• Vervain was venerated by the Druids almost as much as mistletoe; when gathered under the Dog Star with appropriate rites, it would be used for ceremonial magic and healing
• The dye made from saffron flowers was regarded as hold; it created the gold/orange coloring for medieval monks' robes
• Sage, named after the wise woman, has been wielded since medieval times to treat insomnia, night sweats, and warts
• The silver fir is the quintessential evergreen of the Celtic Ogham; adorn your ritual alter with its cones
• All the rage in the late Middle Ages, pignoulat or almond cakes were reputed aphrodisiacs
• For protection against thunder carry a sachet filled with ritually-charged mugwort
• As a glamour prior to a social event, drink violet tea to enhance your appeal
• Because it was reportedly created by Aphrodite's fresh breath, the sweet scent of oregano is a lovers' aphrodisiac; prepare a romantic menu and serve a favorite dish with this tempting ingredient
• In a nod to Mercury, the guardian of travelers, prepare a safe passage charm for a loved one bound for distant shores; include mugwort to ensure a traveler's bliss
• Since white flowers are ruled by the energy of the Moon, conduct a gratitude rite in a bed of tuberoses by the light of the Moon
• If you are seeking strength, vigor and clear judgment, use ginseng, a traditional Chinese symbol of these qualities
• If ardor is waning, flavor your meal with the herb fenugreek
• Create a Fall Equinox adornment with dried wheat, lavender, and poppy seed moss
• Share an erotic ritual bath with your partner, strewing oregano in the hot bath water
• Add parsley to your potion for nocturnal flight
• Since oranges were served only to the nobility in medieval times, offer oranges to be shared by all in attendance at a ritual gathering
• As an offering to your familiar, cultivate cat grass on a well-lit windowsill; it helps control furballs
• Save dried lavender stems, bundle them up, and throw them on a fire for a medieval-style natural aromatic room scent
• When divining, burn laurel leaves on the Full Moon
• A favorite since the twelfth century, lavender water is a seductive perfume; splash it on
• If you visit the grave of a loved one, bring a wreath of marjoram as an offering for his or her happiness as the ancient Greeks did.
• To neutralize malice directed toward you make a protective amulet using a bulb of garlic, known for its ability to absorb negative energy; use the amulet for a week and then discard it
• On Halloween night, give each member of your family a large apple, or Allan apple, to be eaten according to ancient Welsh custom for good luck in the coming year
• Give ritually-cooked salted almonds to your beloved to stimulate longing
• Wear asphodel petals in your hair when seeking to attract a new lover
• Make a bay laurel dream pillow for safe, sound sleep
• During ritual divination work, drink chamomile tea to visualize your desires
• Fill a mojo bag with caraway seeds to help strengthen your memory
• Add passion to your love relationship-wear an amulet of cinnamon
• Use dragon's blood as a magical ink
• To make up after a quarrel before retiring for the night, strew pieces of the herb black cohosh around the bedchamber
• Welcome your significant other home after a separation with sage tea as the wives of ancient Greek soldiers did
• To eliminate obstacles to your goal, anoint a candle and burn a bay leaf in its flame
• Suspend an Elizabethan kissing ball of rosemary, ribbons, and leaves from your ceiling to encourage sweet kisses
• Make a spicy ginger pomander as a perfumed Yule wish tree decoration
• If you want to remain anonymous at a gathering, add roasted chicory to your coffee or use it as an ingredient in salad dressing; this root has been noted for its ability to render the user invisible
• Simmer sliced ginger root in a covered pot and use as a restorative flu remedy
• To repair hurt feelings, add crushed rose petals, a pot herb, and saffron to a bottle of port and chill; decant into a carafe to be share between the two of you
• Maidens of the dark ages would drink a potent brew to enhance their beauty-an infusion made from myrtle leaves
• To increase your memory, braid garlands of rosemary into your hair; this activity was routinely performed by ancient Greek scholars
• In keeping with Celtic tradition, adorn your Yule altar with three acorns to augment ritual work
• Use the magical herb of remembrance, rosemary, to commemorate the sweet memories of the past year

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