A Week Of Ordinary Magic

Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash

Monday

Today is for Mother Moon. We’ve Jasmine, Lemonbalm, Mugwort, Willow, Evening Primrose, Dittany, Iris, Mallow, Sandalwood and Poppy seeds. She’s all the things that bloom and scent in the night. She’s woman, fertile, clairvoyant, diviner, witch. She’s Mother, Maiden and Crone. She’s Luna, Artemis, Selene, Diane, Hecate. She is dreams, huntress, harvest, agricultural cycle, menstrual cycle, tides, hounds, white light, light blue, 9, Cancer and Yesod.

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Tuesday

He’s red Mars, Aries. He’s strength, passion, war, victory, battle. He’s assertiveness, confidence, raw courage, protection and boundaries. But he’s also beautiful organic agriculture and gardening. He’s a warrior yes but a gardener too. I love that don’t you? Herbally, plant-wise, he’s Tobacco leaf, Wormwood, Nettle, Hawthorn, Dragonsblood, Galangal Root, Ginger, Hops, Cumin and Damiana. He is Ram, Woodpecker, Wolf and Dragon. He is execution, action and might. He guards us  and yet sometimes can herald plagues. Approach the scorpion with respect for he is bloodstone, iron, garnet, jasper, tourmaline and fire. He is Geburah. If you can bear his prickly gorse and thistle he will be your knight in arms.

Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash

Wednesday

Slippery, marvellously mercurial, liminal and liquid. Changeable Hermes comes. Shapeshifter Loki, changing form over time, often with speed. He is Communications, swiftness of foot, internet, social media, chat apps and bots (for he is the Messenger). He is God of PR, Hospitality, Travel, Hotels and Internet. He is also merchant, banker but thief and gambler too. He is the Casino, House and Player. He is also the Writer-Magician. He is his own prestige. A go-between of worlds, above and below. He is Janus the two-faced God looking forward and back like a Gemini twin. He is Papa Legba, he is the Orisha Elegba. He is throat chakra, he is non-binary. He pushes out ideas like press releases of code and cryptocurrency. He is blockchain and AI too. He is agate and he is 8. He is orange and Silicon Valley. He is mica in iPhones he is our lungs and our brains. Herbally, he is Fennel, Parsley, Lemon Verbana, Lavender, Mint, Cloves, Mace, Cinquefoil (Five Fingered Grass) and Frankincense. He’s Mercury. He is medicine and medical Cadaceus. He is Air, Magic, Speed. He is Reynard the fox, Brer Rabbit, High John the Conqueror, Bugs Bunny. He is Trickster. He is cunning man and cunning woman. He is serpent and Joker. He is Thoth and Trismegistus. He is Promethean man. He is Chaos. And he is my favourite. But one to dance with cautiously.

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Thursday

Jupiter and Thor. Thunder and Lightning. King. Lawmaker, elite, God of Gods, a God’s god, the Boss. He is dark blue and purple. He is Authority and a benefactor. He is Patronage. He is wise statesman, Jove and Zeus. He is elder, the grey rider on a horse. He is the Wheel of Fortune, royal and eagle. He is Chesed. He is religion and parliament. He is ownership and wealth and rule. Herbally, he’s Borage, Violet, Oak, Basil, Star Anise, Honeysuckle, Dock, Betony and Horse Chestnut. He is 4. My magic began with Jupiter…

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Friday

Venus-Aphrodite, she is Isis and Istar and Innana. She is swallow and dove. She is Mary. She is musk and ambergris and red roses. She is pink quartz. She is Beauty and Truth. She is Love. She is sweet and figgy and plummy. She is pomegranates, apples, apricots and fruity dates. She is delectable and unctuous. She is fragrant, perfume. For plants – she is Hibiscus, Willow, Lilac, Heather, Geranium, Iris, Magnolia and Balm of Gilead. She is also Cardamom, Elderflower, Feverfew, Mint, Raspeberry Leaf, Rosehip, Thyme, Vervain and Valerian. She is the Empress tarot. She is Queen Juno and Hera. She can be a pink candle but should be a green one. She is goddess, growth and fertility. She is grass and trees. She is Virgo. She is sparrow and pigeon. She is family.

Photo by Sarah Izidorio on Unsplash

Saturday

His is a day of setting boundaries and one of time. A black candle, or silver. He is protection and guardianship. He grounds, earths and centres. His planet Saturn takes 30 long years to cycle around the sun. He is the old man with his crutch. He can be oppressively stifling, his sigil black. He is the Father of Time and of Nature. He oversees the decay as it rots into soil alongside stagnant water. But from this compost can grow new life, eventually. Death must first precede it. His is a deep woody green scent of forest and over-ripeness. He can be tomb-like, grave-like. His scythe and sickle watch over fin de siecles and end of centuries, end of empires too. He is collapse. He is end. He can usher in madness and the crisis. He can be catalyst for mental health attacks. But above all and beyond all that he is also a god of planting and crops. His Sepiroth holds us to our roots, underground. Like a root vegetable growing in the dark underground. His underworld is full of life and can nourish us, all it takes is time. His sign is Aquarius so I feel at home here. He can be slow and creeping and contemplative. He is bear, crow, toad, owl, bat, mole, cat. He is Night. He is 3. He is grief and grieving for time past before time anew can be born. Herbally, he is Comfrey, Oak Moss, Patchouli, Vertivert. His stone is Iodestone and black tourmaline. He is Plato’s Cave and our innermost depth psychology. He is dark plants too such as Belladonna, Hemlockm Ivy, Opium and Wolfsbane. But he’s also Yew, Heather and Beech. His is age. He is eternal. His is corona-times, a COVID-age – before a new Spring.

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Sunday

A sunny bright happy yellow. Full of glow, success, health and radiating protection. The Sun and son is Crown and Sceptre. A King like Jupiter, but King of Malkuth, King of the Earth below. His power is Fire his number 6. He is full of golds and rays of light. He is harmony. He is Lion. He is Ra and Osiris. He is Dionysus good cheer and merriment. She is Sekhmet too and she is full of health and aliveness. We need the sun’s light and heat. We need her floral love. She is Frankincense, Sandalwood, Saffron, Bay, Benzoin, Amber, Angelica, Orange Peel and Citrus fruits, Cinnamon, Juniper, Calendula, Olive leaf, Rosemary and St. John’s Wort. She is warm calming Chamomile too. She is hawk and rising phoenix. He is the flame and the light. This is happiness.

Photo by Marko Blazevic on Unsplash

My learnings here for calendar days and candles and herb corrspondences were from Rebecca Beattie and her wonderful Treadwells lecture. I have loved my journey of Magic Folkhealing. 

I've thrived via my upskilling on things Herbs, Oils, Recipes for Health & Healing via gardening magic. I continue my path along old traditions of natural remedies and formulas to make life better. This study has made my own spiritual, emotional and mental health states well and good during this tough time.

Nature’s pharmacy has so much to offer the initiate, it’s a prescription and spell for immunity. The roots and rites are workable and practical to learn and apply. The botanical notes enthralling. Understanding magical folkhealing with herbs has introduced me also to their associated planets, elements, different belief systems (Hoodoo Rootwork, Wicca, Native American, Jewish magic etc), various deities, zodiac signs, basic powers, medicinal uses and an array of other curiosities. I feel part of a new community. One of conjure doctors, self care specialists drawing spiritual baths and folk healer magicians working roots, resins, leaves, herbs, minerals and plants – alongside planets and Gods.