Grape (Wild) Hyacinths

The first century Greek physician Discorides wrote, 
"of this wort it is said that it was produced out of dragon's blood, on top of mountains, in thick forests."

The Grape, or Wild, Hyacinth is in bloom right now and will hopefully continue through the end of May to early June if we are lucky. These little flowers are not true Hyacinths, which have six-petaled star-shaped flowers. Grape Hyacinths have little bluebell or 'grape-like' flowers. They can be planted but spread quickly, and are often found in the wild in large numbers in open fields or in forests.

The flowers have a slight, starch-like scent, which are not especially enjoyable and while beautiful to look at, are not grown for their scent. 

This little plant was named after Hyacinthus. Hyacinthus was a charming and handsome Spartan youth, loved by both Apollo and Zephyrus. Hyacinthus preferred the Sun-God to the God of the West, who sought to be revenged. One day, when Apollo was playing quoits (a game kind of like our game of horseshoes) with the youth, a quoit that he threw was blown by Zephyrus out of its proper course and it struck and killed Hyacinthus. Apollo, stricken with grief, raised from his blood a purple flower on which the letters 'ai, ai,' were traced, so that the cry of woe might for evermore have existence on the earth. 

Magickal uses for Grape Hyacinths include grieving and loss spells, rituals and as incense to help ease the pain of loss. Some varieties can be made into tea, though other species are so bitter that they have earned the name Bulbus vomitorium. 

Poplar Buds & Balm of Gilead

Right now is the time to gather Poplar buds. Cottonwoods, or Poplars, are usually found easily along rivers and near water, but you might have one in your yard or near your home. Waiting even another couple of weeks may prove too late, as the best time for harvesting the buds is before the temperatures turn warm enough for the buds to open. 

I like to gather fallen branches after wind storms. They are abundant on the ground near the tree. 

Poplar buds are sweet and very pleasant smelling. It is described as having balsamic undertones and heavy vanilla honey top notes. 

I take the branches home and remove the buds. They come off very easily. I like to process the buds over something I can scrub easily with steel wool. The buds contain a sticky resin that can be challenging to clean off your fingers or surfaces. Here I use a smooth & shiny-topped TV tray I picked up for $1 at a yard sale. It's perfect for a job like this, and makes clean up easy. You can always lay down old newspapers, too.

It's hard to see in this picture above but that arrow is pointing to the red resin that has leaked out and hardened on the outside of the bud. There's more of that good stuff inside, waiting to be extracted. 

I'll use the resin from these buds to make an oil called Balm of Gilead. It has numerous medicinal uses. We use it topically but it can be processed to be taken internally as well. Do not take internally unless working with a qualified practitioner. 

At home we use it for superficial wounds, injuries and sunburn. The sticky resin of poplar buds contain salicin, which your body (liver) converts to aspirin. It is traditionally used as a remedy for muscle soreness and headaches, and has anti-septic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, analgesic (pain killing), expectorant and anti-inflammatory properties. Do your own research to learn more about poplar bud medicine. 

I'm left with a pile of knotty looking sticks after removing all the buds. I'll compost these later or use them in some other craft project.

After I'm done, there are red specks everywhere on my tray. I carefully scoop them up and add them to the bowl with the buds. I don't like wasting even a speck of this red gold. 

After all that, the buds go into a big jar and I cover it with oil plus a couple inches. Mine is a mixture of olive and coconut oil. This picture (above) is after about a week in the oil. The buds expand and open and so the extra oil is needed to keep them covered. 

The first two days the filled jar sits in my crock-pot in a waterbath on low. I stir it every few hours and press on the buds with my stirrer to get them to release all that good stuff into the oil. Be sure the jar sits higher than the water so none gets inside the jar, which will ruin the batch. 

Leave the lid off, because gas inside the jar will accumulate and needs to escape. I cover mine with cheesecloth and a jar ring or rubber band to keep dust and whatnot out of the jar and still let it breathe. 

After a couple days on low heat in the crock-pot waterbath I strain the oil into a cheesecloth covered handled sieve that fits perfectly inside the jar opening. Then I put it right back into the jar and re-cover the buds, and add more oil if needed. It no longer needs any heat. I can now use the cheesecloth and sieve as a 'lid' that is much easier to take off. The soaked-in oil holds the cheesecloth down nicely and keeps it in place. 

I use a wooden skewer as my stir-stick. If you use a spoon or other utensil, it should be long enough to get in the bottom of your jar without getting your fingers and hands sticky. Whatever you use, it WILL accumulate resin like nobody's business. This is a new clean one but after a couple days of stirring it will become red  with resin again. 

Keep your jar out of direct light in an out of the way space and stir once everyday. How long you let it infuse is up to you. After the two days in the warm bath you can call it good, or continue on for weeks or months. The longer it goes the more good stuff gets into the oil. I like to go for six months or longer. I have a batch on hand from prior years so I don't need this right away, and I can let it go for a while. It's OK to infuse this for a year, so since the best time to collect the buds is in the Winter, you can make this and let it infuse most of the rest of the year then turn them into gifts for the holidays come December, as well as renew your own supply. I would advise a minimum of six weeks, but many people do it for shorter and it's all fine. 

Once you are done infusing, whether it's a few weeks or a few months, strain your buds and oil through a few layers of cheesecloth. There will be some dirt sediment and you want all of that stuff to stay out of your finished oil. Once you are done straining, you can discard the buds, add a little Vit E as a preservative (maybe a teaspoon or two for a large jar like mine) and keep the oil in a dark bottle with a good lid. You can also use the oil to make salves, lotions and other products that fit your needs. You can even cut it with more oil if you want to use if for sore muscles or massage, for example.  

The finished oil will keep for 1-2 years. 

Magickal Uses

The finished oil of the poplar buds is what we call Balm of Gilead (BoG). Not to be confused with another plant by that name, the Cottonwood or Poplar tree has it’s own set of magickal properties.

BoG is a highly protective and powerful oil. It’s both energizing and grounding at the same time. Because of it’s sweet perfume, it’s often used in matters of love.

Use it for consecrating and anointing tools, candles and people, especially when working healing magick.

The buds alone can be burned as an incense to attract spirits and for divination. The rustling leaves of the tree are regarded by many Native American tribes as a spirit conductor, carrying messages from the spirit world if you just listen. In fact, the Balsam Poplar or Cottonwood tree is one of the most sacred trees in Native American plant lore. Sacred objects, like Hopi Kachinas, were made from this tree.

This oil is excellent in workings of reconciliation, knowledge, protection, strength, wisdom, love, fertility and healing. Because of its connection to the spirit world, BoG is used in many flying ointment recipes.

Edible Weeds: Mallow

Mallow grows like crazy in my garden. Instead of fighting it, I decided to make it a food source. Because I garden organically, and we don't spray our lawn, there was no worry about chemical contamination. My in-laws, who are expert gardeners, got quite the chuckle when my husband informed them I had been 'harvesting' our mallow and drying it. They were humoring me and I'm sure they thought I was nuts. 

Mallow is packed with nutrition. The whole plant is edible, leaving no waste. The leaves, flowers, 'fruits/seeds', and roots can each be processed differently for a variety of medicinal and nutritional uses. Mallow is happy to grow in the poorest of soil, and makes an excellent survival food in times of famine. But why wait for a famine when we can enjoy the benefits of Mallow now?  

I harvest the younger mallow plants just like any other green leafy vegetable. The younger ones are tastier and milder, but the older ones are still edible. Eat them raw or cook them like spinach. I like to dry the leaves in a dehydrator, mildly crush them and store them in a big mason jar. Then they can be made into teas, go into smoothies, breads, salads, pasta, or anything else I want to sprinkle in extra nutrition for. Mallow can have a mild diuretic and laxative effect, so go easy until you find the right balance. 

Magickal uses for Mallow are plentiful. This is a plant ruled by Venus. It attracts love when carried, the flowers are used in Beltane rituals, ritual baths and workings that encourage fertility and lust. Mallow can be dried and burned as an incense, made into an anointing oil for candle magick or applied to the skin. 

Mallow has many medicinal qualities. 

Do your own research to decide if using Mallow in this way is right for you.

I urge you to open yourself to the wonders of Mallow, and add them to your list of weeds to protect and partner with come Springtime! 

Wildcrafting

It's February and I'm out with my local industrious witches wildcrafting at a nearby park. We happen to have a newspaper crew following us for a local story, but we mostly pretend they aren't there and go about our business. They braved the rock climbing, swamps and deep mud with us to get their pictures and stories. Our wildcrating excursion was actually Saturday past, and the story ran yesterday, and it was lovely. 

Most of snow and ice have receded, and the days have warmed enough to remind us Spring is around the corner. The park is rich with plant diversity, as diverse as it gets in this desert-esque climate anyway. We got lucky. It was calling for rain all morning. We meet up at 11am hoping for the best, determined to stick it out regardless. Our luck holds. It's overcast, but it doesn't rain. 

One of the first treasures we encounter are a plethora of wild rose bushes, full of beautifully bright red rose hips. Some of us gather a few and thank the plants for their gifts.

Much of our three hour wildcrafting adventure is spent attempting to identify the plant life. By now I've been at this hobby for several years. One of our Witchy crew works with plants and weeds for a living, and between our small contingent, we mostly have a handle on things. At least we like to believe we do.

Recently I feel the wildcrafting bug is growing. I am ready to move beyond amateur and pursue the ranks of enthusiasts and experts. I know it will be more years still before I can confidently claim an expertise. For now I bumble about, correctly identifying a scant half of the plants I encounter. I have fun all the same.

Some specimens are just photographed. I didn't collect any from this one. Not all plants get wildcrafted. I might leave a plant because I don't know what it is; I do know what it is and I have plenty already; don't need it; or it's otherwise unsuitable. Sometimes it's an endangered or sensitive plant that needs to be left alone, or it's there solely to be admired, and not removed. 

I encourage those who venture into wildcrafting to take photos so you can identify the plants later and do your research. Make a note of where you found them in a pocket journal so you can return at a later time to harvest if desired. Note the date for future reference. It will come in handy the following year when you want to remember when and where to find that plant again. 

I believe the picture above is of cedar or juniper berries, which I have oodles of. I harvested these little guys elsewhere in the early to late Fall last year, when they were fairly abundant. 

Juniper berries are traditionally used in making Gin. I dry them and grind them for incense making. I use the berries, needles and small branches. Juniper is excellent at protecting against theft, unwanted spirits, evil forces and malicious people. A great smudging plant for house blessings, purification and cleansing. It can be used to break hexes, in exorcisms, aid in psychic workings and attract healthy energies. 

Juniper can be burned as an incense, made into a 'tea' for your ritual bath, or made into a sachet. This is only a small list. Do your research to learn more ways that Juniper can aid in Witchy endeavors.

There are medicinal uses for Juniper, often in the form of oils, teas & ointments. I have never ingested this plant and can not give a recommendation on that front. Better to do your own research and consult a licensed herbalist before trying any new plant topically or internally.

Some beautiful orange lichen. 

A bit of swamp. Living in this sagebrush filled land, the swampy bits are a welcome reprieve from the flat fields and usually dusty vegetation.

Above are the wintered fruits of the Russian Olive tree. The fruits are sweet and edible, though I would only do so after properly identifying them with an expert. In other parts of the world where these trees are native, such as Persia or Iran, the fruits are used in religious traditions, and are often dried & powdered and used in healing potions for joint pain and arthritis. 

A witchy friends holds some purslane she collected. 

I have my eyes on the prize in this Poplar tree. These are just out of reach. I use the large buds to make Balm of Gilead. Wildcrafting today came after a series of high wind storms, leaving many fallen branches to easily collect from the ground. Below, the harvested buds.

Multicolored moss being ultra-productive on a rock. 

A small cave for me to ponder over. 

Bright green ground cover that I am not confident enough to identify. I think it's maaaybe chickweed. Maybe. Probably not. 

Enjoying the view of the columnar basalt rock structures in the canyon where the park sits.

Velvety Mullein is one of the easiest plants to identify. Also called Cowboy Toilet Paper, it has too many beneficial uses to list here. This specimen was harvested from high above the trails among the tall rocks thanks to an adventurous and daring Witchy wildcrafting partner. Read up on all the medicinal uses Mullein has, and try it for yourself. 

Magickally, Mullein is a powerful aid in Dark or Left Hand undertakings, as well as otherwold Witchy adventures. The stalks (from their flowering parts) make great DIY candle wicks, or burn all by themselves. Some traditions burn Mullein to ward off evil spirits. Mullein is a crossroads herb that acts as a key AND a door. I use it in Rootwork and conjure and when dried and powdered, it can be substituted for graveyard dirt. I've used the bright yellow flowers to dye fabric and paper with happy success. I like this herb for seeing and interacting with spirits, necromancy, astral, prophetic and lucid dream work.   

A magickal grove of Russian Olive trees seems haunting on this dismal Winter day. It's glorious.

One would think February would not yield many things for the wildcrafter. But they would be wrong! There are wild and native plants everywhere if we just look. When I wildcraft regularly, even once a month, I start to get a feel for when plants are in season and when they are dormant. I can begin to anticipate harvest times and plan for ingredients accordingly. It's a special experience to witness the changes of local ecosystems through the turning of the Wheel. 

It's still Winter a few weeks more. It's never too late or too early to start wildcrating. Start with just one plant, and build from there. Wildcrafting doesn't have to take you far from home, either. You probably have something growing wild in your own backyard or driveway!