protection magick – Melusina The Green Witch

Wild Garlic and Wild Garlic Soup Recipe

It’s that time of year when you’ll start seeing (and smelling!) wild garlic popping up in shady and damp woodlands, fields and hedgerows throughout Britain, Ireland and Europe.

If you don’t know what it looks like, it has tiny white flowers and bright green leaves, but it can be quite scarce.

It is commonplace in ancient woods, where it creates a carpet of star shaped white blossoms, instead of the blue flooring of bluebells.

MAGICKAL PROPERTIES

In Witchcraft, wild garlic can be used just like regular garlic and is primarily used for protection, banishing and warding.

It can offer protection from break-ins when kept around the house or utilised in wards. It can also ward against nightmares, if used in sleep charms, and is useful for banishing negativity and unwelcome spirits. By this token, you could probably also use wild garlic to get rid of unwanted mindsets, habits, emotions, etc. Finally, it can protect the user from gossip and psychic attacks, and it can be used in wards of almost any purpose.

Garlic has strong associations with Hecate and the ancient Greeks would place garlic at cross roads as an offering to her.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Wild garlic is useful in treating bronchitis, allergies and asthma, by helping to open the lungs and ease breathing. It is also a healthy antioxidant and has antimicrobial properties. Additionally, it can aid in preventing clots by thinning blood and therefore should be used in moderation, due to these properties.

It can also help to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels and it’s juice can be applied directly, or in a poultice, to burns.

Please take care, when picking wild garlic, to only remove the leaves. Don’t pull too hard, or you can pull the bulb straight out too, which has the potential to spoil next years crop and contribute to it’s scarcity. As with all foraging, take only what you need and treat the site with care, so you can enjoy it again next year!

Also, don’t pick anything from the side of the road, as there is too much pollution there from cars, or where people regularly walk their dogs, as no one wants pee or poop in their food!!

WILD GARLIC SOUP RECIPE

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 40 g butter (or veggie/vegan alternative);

• 1 medium onion (chopped);

• 3 medium potatoes (peeled and diced);

• 1.5 ltr vegetable stock;

• 300 g wild garlic leaves (washed and patted dry);

• 100 ml double cream (or veggie/vegan alternative); and

• Salt and pepper.

Method:

Melt the butter over a medium heat, add the onions and saute until soft.

Add the vegetable stock and potatoes to the pan and simmer gently until the potatoes are fully cooked.

Add the wild garlic to the pan and allow to wilt for a couple of minutes.

Use a jug or hand blender (please be careful, as it’ll be boiling hot!) to blend the soup until you have a smooth and silky consistency.

Stir through the cream, season to taste and serve.

Serve with crusty bread.

Recipe Source: “wild garlic soup – Lost in Food” https://lostinfood.co.uk/wild-garlic-soup-a-mini-mid-week-adventure/

Worm Moon and Home Protection Ritual

The third Full Moon of 2021 is due to arrive this weekend, just before March ends, with it being at it’s fullest on Monday 29th March.

This Full Moon is traditionally known as the Worm Moon (as this is the time of year the ground thaws and the worms can be seen appearing above the surface), although it can be known by different names in different parts of the world. You may also know this Moon as the Sugar Moon, the Paschal Moon or, if you had a Catholic upbringing (like me), the Lenten Moon, because it appears during Lent.

The astrological sign the Worm Moon will be in is Libra. This is the perfect time to undertake spells and rituals relating to heightening romantic desire, rationally discuss feelings, stay impartial and objective, make a promise (to yourself or others) and work to put harmonious energy in your home.

I will be undertaking a Home Protection Ritual, in conjunction with a good old fashioned Spring Clean, which uses the four elements of air, fire, water and earth.

If you wanted to do one too, here are the items you will need:

• Incense and holder – Any scent of incense you desire, but something suitable for protecting and cleansing your home, such as Cedar Sage (prosperity, protection, harmony) or Sweet Grass (home blessings, healing, positivity);
• Sea salt – for purification, cleansing and dispelling negativity;
• Full Moon Water – for deep energetic cleansing;
• Bowl – to make salt water mixture; and
• Fan (or a feather, or your hand, if you don’t have a fan).

My awesome mermaid fan my husband bought me at Disney World

METHOD

Light the incense, which represents the elements of air and fire.

Put the full moon water in bowl and add a pinch of the salt to represent water and earth elements.

Use the fan to gently disperse incense smoke around your home.

Sprinkle the salt water on walls, floors and ceiling.

Draw a pentacle in salt water over every door, window and any other opening to the outside.

I will say this blessing as I travel through our house.

Bless this house,
May peace dwell within.
Protect all that enter,
Whether friend or kin.
Bless every door, window, ceiling and wall, Bless each room, closet, attic, bless it all.
Bless this house with love and light,
Hold us safe here, day and night.
As above and so below,
So mote it be.

Sources:
The Little Book of Moon Magic – Sarah Bartlett

Gorgeous Gorse

Gorse bushes, or Furze, are often seen around Ostara and is another of Mother Nature’s bright and beautiful announcements that Spring is here.

It is a perennial evergreen shrub belonging to the pea family, which forms multi-branched, stunted shrubs, usually no taller than six feet high, but it is still considered to be a tree.

The flowers are deep yellow in colour and have a beautifully aromatic coconut scent and, although the main flowering period is from March to August, flowers can be found on the furze throughout the year.

It’s wickedly sharp thorns and its dense habit make it an excellent hedging plant, which can also be used as a barrier to protect young tree seedlings in coppices from grazing.

Due to it’s thorny nature, it is often viewed as having protective powers. In Wales, gorse bushes are even said to guard against Witches and can protect the home against The Fae, who cannot pass through the hedge.

The bark and flowers of the gorse can be used to produce a yellow dye. In Ireland, the flowers were also used to flavour and add colour to whiskey and they’ve been known to be used to make beer in Denmark. The flowers can also be used to make wine and tea.

Medicinal properties

There was a Bach Flower Remedy (Edward Bach was an English homeopath in the 1930s) called “Greenman Essence of Gorse”, which was said to help to ease frustration, restlessness and anxiety, and also helped to promote emotional security and feelings of joy.

Gorse flowers are high in proteins and can be eaten raw in salads or made into tea, cordial or syrup. They can also add extra flavour and colour to beer, wine or spirits and even ice cream!

The buds can also be pickled in vinegar and eaten like capers.

**CAUTION: Do not ingest to excess, as the plant contains slightly toxic alkaloids, which can have a cumulative impact.**

There are surprisingly few medicinal uses for gorse, although its flowers have historically been used in the treatment of jaundice, scarlet fever, diarrhoea and kidney stones.

Magickal properties

Gorse is known as the ‘herb of love’ and is associated with love, romance and weddings. It is also known to protect against evil, negativity and dark magick.

It can help to restore faith, hope and optimism and enable you to gather your strength. It also attracts gold, so it is very useful in money, wealth and abundance spells.

Gorse Spell

Carve the word “Gorse” into a gold or yellow candle, then face east and light the candle. Then meditate on the light, whilst asking for for protection, money, love or whatever it has to offer that you desire.

Lucky Clover

With it being the 17th March in a few days, and therefore St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d write a little about clover, as it’s synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day and the luck of the Irish.

I know people usually refer to them as shamrocks, but they’re the same thing. A clover must have three leaves to be considered a shamrock. If the clover has more or less, then it is not a shamrock. Hence, all shamrocks are clovers, but not all clovers are shamrocks!!

There are a wide variety of different types of clover, all of which can be used in your magickal workings.

Clover has always been seen as a lucky plant, which is likely due to the religious connotations associated with the trifoliate (three) leaves, which symbolise the Holy Trinity. Due to this, they were often worn for protection and to deflect evil and spells.

On the other hand, four leaved clovers are often associated with the cross and were believed to bring the finder fortune. In some cultures, four-leaf clovers were worn to help a man avoid military service. They have also been used to enhance physic powers and to detect the presence of spirits. Placing a four leaved clover in your shoe is also supposed to increase your chances of meeting a rich new lover.

Two and five-leaved clovers are much less common than four-leaf clovers, but are still thought to possess potent magick.

Finding a two-leaf clover means you shall soon find a lover, whilst a five-leaf clover will bring riches, especially if worn.

In general, clover is believed to repel snakes, literally and figuratively, from your property if grown there.

It also brings general protection, whether worn or placed around the home, and aids in getting over heartbreak.

Furthermore, clover is one of the flowers of the Fae and can aid in your ability to see and work with them, whether sitting and meditating, or riding the hedge with clover attached to you. Clover blossoms can also be placed on your altar to attract the Fae, should you want to…..

White and red clover have some slightly different magickal properties too. White clover helps to break hexes, whilst red clover removes negative spirits, can be used in lust potions and brings prosperity.

Medicinal Uses

Red Clover is commonly used to treat children with skin problems, especially eczema and psoriasis. For adults, it is commonly used as an expectorant to treat coughs and bronchitis. However, it should be noted that red clover contains a hormone-like chemical called isoflavones which have caused reproductive failure and liver disease in cheetahs and sterility in livestock when consumed in large quantities. Furthermore, red clover is a blood thinner. So do not use red clover regularly and avoid if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

RED CLOVER POULTICE

To make a poultice, combine dried red clover flowers with hot water in muslin and place on the affected area for 10-15 minutes. Red clover can also be used externally as a salve.

Sources:
https://coven.thethriftywitch.com/pages/magickal-uses-of-herbs
https://tesswhitehurst.com/the-magical-properties-of-clover/ Neal’s Yard Complete Wellness

The Magick of Tulips

I went to the supermarket this evening to pick up a few bits and bobs and they had these beautiful tulips on sale for 10p! I thought I could give them a good home and they can be used for my Ostara Altar display too.

Tulips usually flower in April and May, but high demand for them for Mother’s Day in mid-March has them forced grown in the Netherlands, in huge fields as far as the eye can see.

Due to the wide variety of colors and shapes, tulips are thought to be one of the first flowers cultivated solely for their beauty.

Many people think tulips originated in The Netherlands, but in actual fact, tulips were first discovered in Turkey around a thousand years ago. There is little history of the tulip in Europe until the early 1500’s, when the Turkish introduced them to European traders and explorers. From then on, tulips spread across Europe, particularly in Holland, where they were prized and later became the National symbol, were associated with good luck and fortune, as well as love, and often cost more than gems and gold.

As far back as 2200 to 1600 B.C. tulip designs can be seen on pottery and have also been found on fabric from the Byzantine century.

Tulips are most commonly referred to as the symbol of perfect love and the Turkish people used them in love potions, or placed them on altars during love spells. They can also be used to increase desire and build relationships, both new and old.

Furthermore, tulips are also used in colour or flower language. Red is a declaration of love, yellow hopeless love, and black meant a heart burning with love.

Apart from their association with love, tulips also project other positive energies such as prosperity and protection.

They were often worn to safeguard against poverty and bad luck and are also sometimes associated with dream work, fame and protection. They can also be used in magick regarding gratitude, simplicity, happiness, beauty, and prosperity.

There are very little medicinal uses for tulips, likely due to their cost throughout much of history. However, a poultice made of tulip flowers can treat and soothe rashes, stings, scratches and minor burns. Tulip oil can also be used as a house freshener or added to baths and massage oils to uplift vibrations.

TULIP POULTICE

• To create a poultice of tulip flowers, you’ll need to warm 2-4 flowers in hot water.

• Place a towel into hot water and put the petals inside the towel.

• Lightly crush the petals and apply them to the affected area.

• Hold in place for 10 minutes using the warm towel.

Petals can also be combined with castor oil, especially for treating burns and insect bites.

Protection Bottles and Sachet

I recently refreshed the protection on our home and made a protection sachet for my husband to take to work as, after being off work for ten months (due to the Covid Pandemic), he’s recently gone back to works as a train driver.

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I made a spell bottle to tie onto the inside handle of each of the three external doors to our home, so I found some which were really thick walled, so if they somehow slipped off, they wouldn’t smash as easily on the floor. For the sachet for my husband, I used a red Chinese silk bag, which has a drawstring tie closure.

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Inside each of the three bottles and the sachet we put the following:

• Black Salt – Black salt is a powerful protective charm that absorbs negative energies and curses into itself and will rid you or your home of their harmful influence.

• Cascarilla – This is made from crushed eggshells, and can be used for protection, due to it’s natural property of protecting a chick embryo as it develops. The protective quality is therefore embodied within the shells when they are used for protective magick. The protective nature of cascarilla also stems from its banishing qualities, as negative energy can’t exist in the presence of cascarilla and it is said that harmful spirits find it repulsive. Therefore, the cascarilla acts as a barrier against harmful spirits and negative or destructive energies.

• Dried Basil – Basil brings happiness, love and peace to a home and can be used to protect the home and family. Haitians also use Basil to keep away thieves. In addition to this, and for the sachet for my husband, it can also be used to bring luck in physical journeys.

• Heather – Keeping heather around the house will attract friendly spirits and bring peace to the household. For the sachet, carrying heather with you will attract positive energies, general good luck and protect against assaults or attacks, making it useful for traveling sachets.

• Cinnamon – Cinnamon can purify any negative energy within a home, protect your home and family from harmful energy and bad intentions of any outsiders.

• Bay leaves – Bay leaves can be used to protect against negative energies and misfortune.

• Obsidian – Obsidian is a protective stone that can be used to guard against all forms of negativity and in spells to remove negativity from an area.

• Red Jasper – Many of the magickal attributes of Red Jasper focus on its protective energies and ability to keep its user safe. It can also be used to combat the Evil Eye and makes an excellent talisman.

• Amethyst – Amethyst is a powerful protective stone, which can guard against psychic attack, by transmuting the negative or harmful energies into loving energy. It can also protect from all types of harm, including electromagnetic stress and ill wishes from others.

• Dragons Blood Incense – Dragons blood incense was used to cleanse the inside of the bottles and contents, as it is good for cleansing a space of negative entities, or influences, and to increase the potency of spells for protection.

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The final thing I did was securely tie up the sachet, so that none of the contents could escape, and drip black candle wax (black for protection and repelling negativity) over the rubber stoppers in the bottles, to seal everything inside.

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As it’s the last night of the first full moon this year, I have put the bottles and sachet in the garden to charge in the moonlight, making their power and effectiveness as strong as possible, before I securely tie the bottles onto the door handles with ribbon and put the sachet into my husband’s work bag.

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