| Herb Qualities |
| Anise, the Amorous: The seeds, to strengthen passions Basil, The Courageous: Against faintness of heart Borage, the Inspiring: Against aches in the limbs Caraway, the Sweet: The seeds, for mental vigor Catnip, the Subtle: Against fever and chills Mint, the Comforting: Against afflictions of the stomach Nasturtium, the Pungent: Against the headache Parsley, the Stout: Against pallor and frailty Red clover, the Succulent: The flowers, for good temper Rosemary, the Fair: To soothe the nerves Sage, the Powerful: Against melancholy and distress of the mind White Pine, the Healthful: Against colds and catarrh Wild Ginger, the Profound: The root against lasitude The yellow Avens, called also Geum, has modest flower which yet produces pertinacious hooked seeds. Take then it's manner as a pattern, and bind twenty- two of these seeds in a small bag of gauze, to call forth strength of purpose from even the most malleable of natures. The leaves of the Bayberry will produce a vigorous tea, of healthful flavor and inspiriting vapor, good to be taken by those who require renewal in the midst of misfortune. The silver frosted berries may be boiled a while in rainwater and the freed wax then skimmed off the surface. This wax mixed with a pure oil will make a balm of value for soothing the skin, and hence the mind. Bedstraw, it's stalks starred along their length by radiating leaves, should be laid beneath the pillow, secretly, to strengthen a failing marriage. The Binweed, unwrapped from some other plant to which it clings, may be thrice knotted and thus kept to assure the fidelity of a lover. If it should break at all in the knotting, it must be cast away and another strand of weed gathered. Yet if three three strands should thus break, it shall be a sign that this lover is weak and unworthy of your attentions. The Black Mustard, a plant of great vigor, may be dried and worn in a bag about the neck for safety from illness and misadventure. It shall also be of value when held in the hand during an eclipse of the Sun, insuring that no evil influence may enter into one upon whom the Moon's shadow falls. Burrs of the Burdock, packed in a wooden box, nust inspire honstly in one to whom they are given. The Buttercup, it's blossoms filled to overflowing with the Sun's benisons, shall confer a harmony as of milk and honey upon the household where a bunch is hung over the doorway, and the falling petals allowed to remain for a week on the threshold. Use the golden sap of the Celandine as a powerful ink, especially for charmed inscriptions upon parchment or fine leather. The lowly Chickweed, flowering like small stars tangled in the meadow grasses, may yeild a tea of noble nourishment; also let it be wound into a garland and hung about the neck to attract the favors of the Heavens. Cut ten strong stalks of blue-flowered Chicory with a sharp knife and bind them about from top to bottom with a cord. This wand should then be given to one who is ill that they may be strengthened in blood, flesh,and bone. All Cinquefoils assist the works of magic. Sprigs thick-leaved should be held in the hand for some moments before the inception of any spiritual task, and likewise after such an undertaking is completed. The Daisy is named Flower of the White Sun, and all endeavors of high virtue may be better accomplished by its influence. Where this plant blooms you shall walk about it thrice and name it as it it named here. Take away a single flower, from which the petals should then be plucked and pressed in a white paper. Thereafter, swallow one petal each day, again naming the name, until all shall be consumed and your own pure fire thereby strengthened. Collect some white sap from stalks of the Dandelion, and mix it with a little cow's milk as a bitter potion-this to be performed and taken when you would chasen greed and pride, lest these faults lead you from the ways of truth. The Fringed Loosestrife shall yeild inner peace to one who gathers it from the road side and wears it on the breast for seven days. Goatsbeard, combining powers of the Sun and Moon, as its head is first gold-rayed and then silverglobed, should be plucked in both guises and the stems' juices pressed upon your palms. Thus shall the right hand and the left hand serve you well. Ground Ivy, called also Gill-over-the-Ground, may be brewed into a bitter tea and sipped, to overcome weakness and timidity. Strewn about the floors of the house, these leaves will premote serenity and benign dreams. The Heal-All, also called Self Heal, is in all its parts most feverent as a favorable charm. Dried, tied up in a bag of purple silk and hung on a cord about the neck, it will soothe the stomach, clear the consciousness, enliven the eye, and guard the hand from hesitation. Treat this good herb with esteem and it will not fail. The Jewelweed, also called Touch-Me-Not, and also Orange Balsam, provides a most excellent lotion for afflictions of the skin, particularily ivy poisoning. Crush the whole plant and press its juices upon the malady, then bind on a good number of the leaves, bruised, as a poultice. This should be left in place from dawn to dawn. Beware the powerful Jimsonweed, an ancient poison. Shun its touch, yet wearing a glove uproot it and carry it to the rat's tunnel. Forthwith thrust it in, and drive it deep below ith an iron rod or stake. This should then be repeated with further stalks until the space is filled, which will thus be of great efficacy in driving away the theiving vermin. The elegant Lady' Thumb, as it grows perfect and chaste in the worst of waste places, shall be plucked and kept for a charm against all foulness and corruption. Lady's Sorrel, called also Sourgrass, may well be eaten as it grows, for health and a clear intelligence, or else be brewed into a broth, with a little salt added, to the same end. The May Apple, Also called False Mandrake, may be used for the same purposes as the true and deadly Mandrake or Mandragora. While it's fruit is benign, it serves also magically, whereby it should be dried and peirced with spines of the hawthorn as an object of spite. The root is a source of poison, and may be employed in a dire charm which I will later describe. |
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