#hedgewitch

Every year I harvest and dry a bit of St. John's Wort for magick and the occassional tea. Since it's a natural anti-depressant, it makes a lovely calming tea. Works much better than chamomile, I think, and tastes way better. However, I can only use it very sparingly because it can interact with my heart medication (beta blocker). So I just fill a tiny jar to use throughout the year, and I mostly use it for magick. It's good for spells that bring clarity and reveal truth, spells for happiness, and for mental healing. It's a sunny, solar flower that blooms around the summer solstice, and was used for anxiety ("nerve" disorders) since way before its chemical antidepressant properties were discovered. The species name of St. John's Wort is 'perforatum,' because it has perforations; tiny little pinholes in the leaves that you can see when you hold it up to the sun. It let's the light in. Also, the yellow flowers will exude a red oil when crushed or dried, which makes it look like its bleeding. This is why it's named after St. John the Baptist, who supposedly had the stigmata. It is also why his feast day is in June. It's traditional to harvest them on June 24th, but here in the North mine aren't usually ready until a couple weeks after that. The main spell I use it for is a charm on my silver necklace to give me calm and clarity in public social situations. Helps with overstimulation. I cleanse and re-up the spell every couple full moons. Another regular use is the ritual "someone I care about is upset" tea that you make because there's nothing you can do in a situation except make tea and listen to them while they unburden themselves. St. John's Wort is an excellent plant friend to have, but like mint, it can really take over an area if you let it. Best to keep it contained to a pot or harvest it in the wild. It's considered invasive in most of the US because it crowds out native plants and it's toxic to grazing cattle. So harvesting a bunch that you see growing out in a field is actually helpful! #Witchcraft #HedgeWitch

The hyacinths are up! Their return marks Beltane in my region every year, so here is my annual appreciation post: The story goes that Hyacinth was a Spartan prince, and a lover of Apollo. He died tragically when struck by a discus, and the gods made a flower bloom where his blood fell on the soil. Hyacinthus had a large cult at Amyclae, which he shared with Apollo. Though, some scholars have noted that his name is pre-hellenic, and he may be an earlier cthonic god of the early spring vegetation that dies out before summer. It makes sense, then, that in his myth he is struck down while still in his beautiful youth. Io Hyacinthus, your blooms are sweet and fleeting! #Beltane #Hedgewitch