Yellowdock

Yellowdock

Yellowdock (not my picture)

Latin: Rumex crispus

Other Names: Amla vetasa (Sanskrit name), Chin-ch'iao-mai, Curled dock, Curly dock, Garden patience, Narrow Dock, Parell, Rumex, Sour dock

Magickal Attributes: Business, Fertility to conceive, Healing, Luck, Money, Prosperity

Medicinal & Other Uses: Anemia, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-spasmodic, Anti-tumor, Astringent, Blood purifier, Boils, Detoxifier, Diuretic, Hepatitis, Immune stimulant, Increases platelets, Itching, Jaundice, Liver, Lymphatic system enhancer, Spleen re-builder, Ulcers

Deities: N/A

Gender: M

Planet: Jupiter

Element: Air

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Harvest Time:

Autumn after the seeds turn brown

Garden Uses:

N/A

Plant Feed Recipe:

N/A

Culinary Uses:

Cook the leaves as a pot herb side dish. Seeds can be ground to make a flour, boiled to make coffee, or infused to make tea.

Other Uses:

Salves

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Parts & Their Uses

Astringent

Blood purifier

Detoxifier

Diuretic

Flowers:

N/A

Drying Flowers:

N/A

Leaves:

Apply crushed leaves to boils, itches & rashes.

Combine with Burdock & Dandelion to make a healing tea.

Roots:

Macerate root into a pulp and apply to cuts, wounds & swellings.

Whole Plant:

Dried, crushed and made into a tea, especially in combination with Burdock & Dandelion.

Tinctures:

Fill a jar with Yellowdock root and cover with grain alcohol. Keep stored in the dark for several weeks before using.

Oils:

To make a very strong preparation is to take a quantity of root to fill a crock pot and cover it with olive oil. Put this on the low heat and leave for 12 hours and then strain. Then put more root in the same oil again until you have used three batches of root. This causes the oil to be a very strong representative of yellow dock. It can be used in any type of itch. You can also add other astringents and soothing agents such as oak bark or comfrey root to this for various purposes, but yellow dock can be used alone. I usually add poke leaves with the root in order to help with eczema, etc. Enough beeswax is added to make the oil a salve consistency.

Infusions:

To make a Yellowdock syrup:

Take a pint of distilled water and boil down half pound of yellow dock root to about a cupful. Strain the liquid in a sieve and throw away the boiled root. Add half a cup dark honey, half a cup blackstrap molasses (thick, dark, heavy sweet syrup) and one teaspoon of pure maple syrup to the strained liquid. You may also add a pinch of vanilla. Blend everything by hand to a smooth, thick, sweet, sticky liquid or syrup. This syrup may be taken one teaspoon at a time to help bronchitis, asthma as well as stop a tickling or scratching in the throat or lungs.

Infusion Recipe:

Decoction: use 1 tsp. root in 1 cup boiling water, cover with a saucer, and let stand for 1/2 hour, strain and reheat. Sweeten with honey, if desired. Take hot, 1 to 2 cups a day.

Powder: for skin problems the dose is 12 grains.

Syrup: boil 1/2 lb. of crushed root in 1 pint of syrup; taken in tsp. doses 3-4 times a day.

Change of Project in Mid-Stride

Change of Project in Mid-Stride

Have you ever started a project and in the middle of it you get sidetracked into something else? Well, that just happened to me.

My poor rose beds need weeding big time and I've been putting it off. So today I decided to start. Well, 3 rose bushes in (there are 10) I hit a Yellowdock plant and when I tried to pull it out I found that the root was about an inch thick! Damn!

So I started digging trying to get to the bottom of it, thinking it would be a short sidetrack from the main project. Yeah, right. The more I dug the more determined I got to literally, "get to the bottom of it". Forty-five minutes later I have this:

This thing, root only, is 14" long! Not sure what I'll do with it. I really don't want to cut it up. So I'll let it dry and figure it out later. The root splits at the bottom, so it may make an interesting Root Dollbaby....hmmm, I guess we'll see. Might be interesting to combine this Yellowdock root with the Datura root I dried a last year:

These two look like they'd make a great pair! Lord Rumex & Lady Datura!

Digging this fucker up wore my ass out - I'm done for the day! Besides, lucky for me, it's started raining! LOL

***

Common Name: Yellowdock

Latin Name: Rumex crispus

Other Names: Curled Dock, Curly Dock, Dock, Garden Patience, Rumex, Sour Dock

Magickal Attributes: Business, Fertility to conceive, Healing, Luck, Money, Prosperity

Other Uses: Anemia, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-spasmodic, Anti-tumor, Astringent, Blood purifier, Boils, Detoxifier, Diuretic, Hepatitis, Immune stimulant, Increases platelets, Itching, Jaundice, Liver, Lymphatic system enhancer, Spleen re-builder, Ulcers
Gender: M
Planet: Jupiter
Element: Air
Deities: N/A

Common Name: Datura
Latin Name: Datura spp.
Other Names: Angel's Trumpet, Angel Tulip, Apple-of-Peru, Devil Weed, Devil's Apple, Devil’s Cucumber, Devil's Trumpet, Estramonio, Ghost Flower, Green Dragon, Gypsyweed, Hell’s Bells, Herb of the Devil, Inferno, Jamestown Weed, Loco Seeds, Locoweed, Mad Apple, Moonflower, Moon Weed, Pricklyburr, Sorcerer’s Herb, Stechapfel, Stinkweed, Stramoine, Thornapple, Thornapple Leaf, Tolguacha, Trumpet Lily, Witch’s Thimble, Yerba del Diablo, Zombie's Cucumber  
Magickal Attributes: Divination, Dreamwork, Flying ointment, Hexing, Hex-breaking, Protection, Sleep
Other Uses: POISON: Do NOT ingest, Ritual use ONLY! Hallucinogenic, Narcotic: Anodyne, Antispasmodic, Asthma, Earache, Heart disorders, Pupil dilation
Gender: F
Planet:Saturn
Element: Water
Deities: Venus

Source: A Witch's Book of Correspondences 2007 by Viktorija Briggs

How to Choose the Right Herb for Your Work

How to Choose the Right Herb for Your Work

Categorizing the Element, Gender, & Planet

I’d like to share the information I've learned over the years regarding the “Gender, Planet & Element” of the herbs and how these aspects affect what herbs should be used for each specific work. Some of them will vary from that found elsewhere (such as books and online). The reason being that, during my own personal research and experimentation I found the information to be incorrect, contradictory, different from one source to another, or just not there at all.

After a lot of research I found that the herbs are divided in these categories for specific reasons, such as the part of the plant used, the magickal intents it’s used for, or its medicinal uses. Each category has a set of standards that, when an herb is not in the right “category” in one of the placements of “Gender, Planet, & Element”, then it makes the information contradictory, if not incorrect. And as I never found any explanation for the incorrect usage, but plenty for how to apply correct categorization, I subsequently altered the incorrect information.

Each herb is categorized according to the combined attributes of: the Element (Earth, Air, Fire, or Water), its gender (Masculine or Feminine), the part of the herb used (Seed, Root, Leaf, or Flower), and the Planet (the Zodiac and the planets of the days of the week). Here are the four groupings from which a plant is categorized:

Element:	Gender:	Planets:	Part:
Air	Masculine	Aquarius, Gemini, Jupiter, Mercury	Flower
Fire	Masculine	Aries, Jupiter, Leo, Mars, Sun, Sagittarius	Seed
Earth	Feminine	Capricorn, Earth, Saturn, Taurus, Virgo	Root
Water	Feminine	Cancer, Moon, Pisces, Saturn, Scorpio, Venus	Leaf

***

Herb Usage in Magick Works

When we begin our Pagan’s/Witch’s Path we begin with simple actions such as lighting a candle and incense. Those are so easy. They’re so harmless. Everybody does it, so it doesn’t look like you’re doing something “weird”. Nobody has to know you’re actually doing a spell.

But then you begin to feel like you need “more”. Something’s missing but you’re not totally sure what. You think of the what your books and online articles say: herbs, oils, and stones. Ok, oils are easy, they can be bought in little bottles already labeled as to what they’re for. You have no idea what’s in them, but who cares at this point, its just all too confusing. But then you get to the herbs. Oh, shit. WTF! Now what?

I mean, there are literally millions of plants, herbs, and trees that each have their own attributes that can be applied in your magickal works. So, now you have to research all those herbs. Some websites list a few, some sites list hundreds. Books are great for learning even more about these herbs & plants. My own personal library has more than a dozen various books on herbs, their uses, growing & harvesting them, etc.

But, what about those spells that call for all these “odd” herbs you don’t have? You’ll have to either buy them or grow them, provided you live in the right climate. There has to be an easier way to acquire an herb pantry with enough variation in herbs that have a good cross-over of attributes that you won’t have to buy or grow too many.

Aside from deciding which herbs have enough cross-over attributes you will have to also take into consideration who or what they’re being used for, meaning the gender of the person or energy of the intent.

For example: a woman who needs personal power to overcome a co-dependency situation would need very powerful herbs of strength & protection. You might consider herbs that are feminine in gender because she’s a woman, but to overcome a very masculine problem you would need masculine energies to fight them with. A simple amulet to carry around for this situation would be an acorn, which is a favorite of the old Scottish Witches for strength & protection. There are many herbs that are excellent for burning in ritual, dressing a candle, adding to a ritual meal. But you must make sure that the herbs chosen have all of the attributes that fit the situation, not just “strength & protection”. In our example we will look for “power, protection, strength”.

The attributes known for each herb must be taken not individually, but almost as a whole. For the above mentioned example here are a few comparisons:

Agrimony: Banishing, Binding, Counter-magick, Exorcising, Healing, Hex breaking, Protection, Reverse spells, Sleep

Alder: Adventurism, Banishing & controlling Elementals, Bravery, Charisma, Charm, Face that which you’ve been avoiding, Creation magick, Divination, Elemental magick, Faery magick,  Guidance, Fertility, Journeys, Leadership, Love, Prophecy, Protection, Resurrection, Sacred to Druids, Self-confidence, Spiritual growth, Supervision skills, Visions, Weather magick, Wind magick

Camphor: Chastity, Control, Divination, Dreams, Health, House blessing, Personal influence, Past-life memories, Persuasiveness, Psychic awareness, Purification, Sexual desire repression

Carnation: Emotional healing, Healing, Luck, Masculine energy, Power, Protection, Strength, Vitality

Cayenne: Cleansing, Divorce spells, Fire magick, Healing, Hexing, Love, Passion, Protection, Purification, Repels negative energy, Separation spells, Strength, Un-hexing

Chrysanthemum: Protection, Strength

Cinnamon: Abundance,  Aphrodisiac, Attraction, Creativity, Courage, Energy, Fertility, Financial matters, Fortune, Healing, Love, Luck, Lust, Passion, Power, Protection, Prosperity, Psychic powers, Speed, Spirituality, Strength, Success

Dragon’s Blood: Aggression, Banishing, Courage, Defensive magick, Dragon magick, Empowerment, Energy, Exorcism, Fertility, Fire Elemental invocation, Empowerment, Fire magick, Hex breaking, Love, Lust, Physical strength, Political magick, Potency, Power, Power amplifier, Protection, Purification, Rapid results, Sex magick, Strength , Warding evil

Fennel: Clear vision, Flattery, Healing, Power, Protection, Purification, Sex magick, Strength, Vitality

Hawthorn: Anti-lightning, Attract Faeries, Banish negative spirits, Celibacy, Charm making, Chastity, Cleansing, Clear away old habits, Concealing magick, Creativity, Faery magick, Fertility, Fishing magick, Ghost repelling, Happiness, Health, Inner journeys, Insight, Intuition, Love, Masculine sexuality, Marriage, Patience, Prosperity, Protection, Psychic protection, Purification, Purity, Self-confidence, Sexuality, Wands, Weather magick, Wishes

There are many, many more, but these will do for this demonstration. Now, look at each of those herbs mentioned. What “feel” do you “see” in this grouping of herbs? Never mind their attributes, I‘m referring to the herbs themselves. They’re all “spicy”! They have a “bite” to them. They emote a strong essence.

Now, compare those above with these in relation to the situation we are working on (personal empowerment to overcome co-dependency):

Cedar: Abundance, Baby blessing, Courage, Fertility, Fortune, Healing, Health, Money, Love, Luck, Power, Prosperity, Protection, Psychic power, Purification, Strength, Wealth, Wiccaning

Ginger: Abundance, Courage, Fertility, Fortune, Love, Luck, Money, Power, Prosperity, Sex magick, Sexuality, Strength, Success

Ginseng: Beauty, Healing, Health, Love, Lust, Protection, Purification, Wishes

Kelp: Healing, Protection, Strength, Travel, Water magick

Mandrake: Binding, Fertility, Health, Love, Magick, Money, Power, Protection, Psychic powers, Sexuality

Mistletoe: Abundance, Business, Creativity, Exorcism, Faery magick, Fertility, Fortune, Handfasting, Healing, Health, Hunting, Love, Luck, Peace, Prosperity, Protection, Purity, Repels negative energy, Sexuality, Strength, Success

That’s enough for here. Ok, what do you “see” & “feel” here? They’re “warm”, but not “spicy”. While the wanted “power, protection, strength” may be given attributes, there are many others that do not “fit” the situation we’re dealing with. These have an abundance of money, travel, and sexuality in them. These would be fine as a secondary ritual to acquire the money needed to travel away from a sexually explosive relationship……can you see what I’m doing? I’m reading the herbs like a descriptive sentence.

I know this sounds like a lot to do, but the way I started out studying which herbs to work together with in particular rituals, is to look them up, write them down (or copy & paste on the computer - much easier), and then compare them by reading them into my descriptive sentence. Sometimes I feel compelled to add one that I wasn’t planning on. If my intuition is telling me to add it, then I do. Later, when I double check it, I am always amazed at what its attributes are because they inevitably add a dimension to the herbal energies that I wasn’t even thinking about, but were the perfect “cherry on top”!

Herbs can be intimidating at first. Too many books & websites only list the herbs by their attributes, but don’t take into consideration their gender, planet, or element. This will make a difference, especially in certain situations.

Another method when considering which herbs for a situation is to make a list of the herbs you want that have the correct correspondences, then divide them according to Gender, Planet, and Element. Here’s an example for the purpose of “Blockages Removed”:

Herbs of Choice:

Cayenne       

Chamomile

Dragon’s Blood

Hyssop

Lemon

Pepper

Sage

Yarrow

Masculine Herbs:

Cayenne

Chamomile

Dragon’s Blood

Hyssop

Pepper

Sage

Feminine Herbs:

Lemon

Yarrow

Planet of Each Herb:

Sun: Chamomile

Moon: Lemon

Mars: Cayenne, Dragon’s Blood, Pepper

Jupiter: Hyssop, Sage

Venus: Yarrow

Saturn: Yarrow

Element of Each Herb:

Earth: Yarrow

Air: Sage

Fire: Cayenne, Chamomile, Dragon’s Blood, Hyssop, Pepper

Water: Lemon, Yarrow

Now, look at each in each correspondence and see which ones have the same aspects of Gender, Planet, and Element.

Masculine/Mars/Fire:

Cayenne, Dragon’s Blood, Pepper

Masculine/Jupiter (2)/Sun (1)/Fire (2)/Air (1):

Chamomile, Hyssop, Sage

Chamomile’s planet is the Sun, its addition here being obvious, as it is a great big ball of fire in the sky.

Sage’s Element is Air, but it is included with Chamomile & Hyssop because it has two of the same aspects plus Air which fuels Fire. Without Air Fire is non-existent.

Feminine/Moon/Saturn/Earth (1)/Water (2):

Lemon, Yarrow

These are both Feminine plants. While Yarrow has aspects of both Water & Earth, it is the aspects of Water that would be included when using these two together.

Analyze these 3 recipes. Which one would be the strongest and most powerful, and thus the best for a hard & fast blockage removal? Which one would work best for a long term, subtle blockage removal?

Hard & fast: 1st choice: Cayenne, Dragon’s Blood, Pepper; 2nd choice: Chamomile, Hyssop, Sage

Slow & subtle: Lemon, Yarrow

Each will work for blockage removal, which to use is dependent upon what effect you need or want.

Get to know these Gender, Planet, Element formulas, it will make a huge difference in your herbal knowledge and working. (Nobody taught me this, I had to figure it out for myself. I hope it will be of as much use to all of you as it has been for me).

Making Oils Doesn't Have to Be Expensive

Making Oils Doesn't Have to Be Expensive

When I set myself purposefully upon this spiritual Path I read everything I could find, there was no internet, so research was through libraries & bookstores. Learning the correspondences of stones wasn't so difficult as there are books all over about those and Melody's book set was easily obtained at the bookstore. And it's about the only 2 books you'd ever need!

But when it came to oils and making them....good luck! Although expensive, it was just easiest to buy them. So I picked carefully and got ones that were "general" in use, such as "Come To Me", "Money", and "Witch's". By using one in conjunction with another I could pretty much cover the spectrum of any work to be done.

Over the years though I bored with these. While they worked great, I wanted something more personal and more specific. And by this time the internet was the go-to place for everything. The problem I ran into though was that most recipes called for Essential Oils - and those are, or can be, quite expensive. It was cheaper to just stick with my "general" oils. Nothing I read explained how it would've been done historically in the sense of the average lay-person and their extremely limited budget and the availability of "foreign" oils. THAT was the information I was looking for.

The Hoodoo/Rootworkers that began to show up online were the closest I'd come to up to that time. But still, they use the EO's and other "foreign" materials & ingredients. Once I adapted my herb craft practice to my oil craft I realized that all that was missing was the oil! I already had the herbs, I just needed to put them in a carrier oil, let them stand for a few weeks and voila! I'd have my oils, for any and all spell work purposes.

Many people suggest Virgin Olive Oil, but I found it to be too thick, too heavily scented (and not a pleasing scent to me), and relatively expensive. I prefer the lighter oils: Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, and Soy. These are also crops that are grown in this area, thus historically, would've been easily available to use for crafting oils for spell works.

It was in front of me all the time!

So I now have quite a shelf full of oils made with my own recipes - and many more are written down and ready to be made. All I need are the bottles to put them in. Which is another point I'd like to make. I don't buy my bottles, unless I find some interesting ones at a flea market. Most of mine are re-purposed from jelly jars. It's taken many, many years, but I harvest or wildcraft my own herbs & plant materials, and I finally make all of my own oils, and all at a very inexpensive cost!

Here is my shelf of oils:

Here are a couple of close-ups of the bottles:

Banishing, Protection, Money, Love

 

Love, Mandrake, Dragon's Blood, Blockages Removed (Strong & Fast) (small bottle), 

St. Joseph's (small bottle in front)

Fiery Wall of Protection, Juniper, Cedar, Blockages Removed (Slow & Steady)

Cedar, Blockages Removed (Slow & Steady), Blockages Removed (Strong & Steady), Dragon's Blood, Control Over Others, 

Blockages Removed (Strong & Fast) (small bottle in front)

I'd like to find more of the corked bottles. There were only 5 of them so I bought all of them. The small bottles are syrup bottles from Cracker Barrel. The liquor bottle I found out in my woods buried in the mud by the creek. and the square bottle I got at a yard sale. I have a few other bottles that don't have lids or corks for them - yet - so they have to wait to be used. LOL I love bottles, so making my oils just gives me another excuse to find & collect them!

Loaded Nutmeg - Money Amulet

Loaded Nutmeg - Money Amulet
Materials
Nutmeg
Money Herbs
Green Candle
Drill

Instructions
1) Carefully drill a hole in one end of the nutmeg.

2) Stuff the hole with the herbs.

3) Light the candle and carefully pour the melted wax over the hole to seal in the herbs.

Place on your altar to consecrate.

Either leave on your altar or keep with you in a Mojo Bag.

Oooo, Lookie What I Got!

Oooo, Lookie What I Got!

I went wildcrafting for Mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum) a couple of days ago and was thrilled to find some great pieces. So I decided yesterday to go back down to the woods for more. I dug up quite a few great pieces, all of them between 6" & 8" long. 

When I washed them all off I found these two:

A perfect Male & Female pair! (LOL She even has boobs!)

I haven't decided if I will sell these or not. Probably not - until I find more. I'll be going back down into the woods to get more this coming week. There's only about 6 - 8 more weeks before the plants disappear and I'll have to wait until next year (if we're even still here).

In the mean time I excited with my find. I posted the others on Etsy for $10 + $5 shipping. Mine are whole pieces not chips or broken bits, unlike every place I've found online. Hopefully I'll sell a few! :D

Money/Property Mojo Ritual

Money/Property Mojo Ritual

This Mojo is for money, but in the context of our property. I’m torn between moving and staying. Hubby wants to move. I do because I hate the humidity and I am highly prone to migraines – I’m a human barometer and my head tells me what’s coming. I lived in FL for 27 yrs and averaged 10-12 migraines per month. We moved to TX and I had 3 in 3 yrs! We wish we’d never left, so are trying to sell our place to get back there. 

But I love this place, it has everything I've ever wanted and everything I'll ever need, and room to find that which I don't yet know what I want (or need!) If we’re supposed to move, then a buyer will present themselves and hubby will find us a new place….I’m just afraid it won’t have everything I have & want like here: hills, pastures, gorgeous view, woods, creek, all the herbs & plants I could ever need for mixtures, oils & rituals.

Thus my dilemma, and I know it affected my St. Joseph’s Sell work. We immediately got potential buyers but then nothing happened. Hubby has said we’d stay if we had the money to set up his shop again so he’d have something to pass his time with. (Being retired can make you a bit l-a-z-y!! LOL)

So this Money Mojo is for the money we need to do whatever it is we are SUPPOSED to do and to be where we are SUPPOSED to be. And I will accept whatever that choice is. This place here is heaven on earth for me. I have everything I want & need in every aspect of my life – except the bother of the humidity which can get unbearable at times. If I could figure out how to fix that problem I know I’d never leave here. Trusting and letting go are NOT  my strong suits! 

Part 1:

Obstacles Removed ritual to clear the way for the Money Mojo ritual; tea lite anointed with Blockages Removed Oil & Dragon’s Blood Oil. Money Pod, Wishbone, foreign coins, old key, quartz crystals and an Appalachian Witch’s Ball (made from horsehair) for protection were all placed around the altar. Surrounded everything with my Obstacles Removed herb blend (Basil, Clove, Clover, Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense, Pine, Yarrow).

Gathered the materials and made the bag; Red cloth, hemp string

Placed the bag on the altar, on top of the Money Mirror Box, during the Blockages Removed rite.

After the tea lite went out I began the Money Mojo ritual with a dressed & anointed candle.

Money Herb blend:

Basil, Chicory, Cinnamon, Cumin, Dill, Dock, Egg shell, Oats, Oregano, Pine, Star Anise, Sunflower, Wheat

Money Oil

Part 2:

Gathered herbs, stone, personal & animal concerns, knotted cord, etc. and placed with the Money Mirror Box on the altar:

Money Herb blend

Loaded Acorn

Malachite stone – money

Personal concerns – hair, nail clippings

Quartz crystal – general

Sweet Gum Witch’s Money Ball - money

Appalachian Witch’s Ball (made from horse hair) – protection

Chick feet (from a chick that died shortly after getting it) - protection

Money Knot Cord w/ 9 knots

Part 3:

Placed all items in the bag & anointed & breathed life on and spoke to the Mojo telling it what I want from it.

Simple Money Spells

Celtic Knot Magic doesn't have to be complicated. Here are some very simple rituals that might help you increase the overall prosperity in your life. Some are old, some are new, but one thing is certain they are all very superstitious.

• Herbs are very well known for the money-drawing properties. Small pots of rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley are money drawing plants that are thought to bring prosperity to your home
   
• A horseshoe nailed above the inside your front door is thought to keep prosperity in and keep poverty out. The idea is that the horseshoe is like a cup that embraces your good fortune.
   
• A bowl of change by the front door is thought to keep money in your pocket. Old or foreign coins are thought to bring money to the home.
   
• Placing a sprig of the herb Cinquefoil under your pillow is thought to improve your cash flow.
   
• The saying is "A Bayberry Candle burned to the socket, brings prosperity to the home and money in the pocket." Buy a pre-scented bayberry candle or anoint a green or pink candle with bayberry oil and light it.
   
• Sprinkling a little cinnamon in your wallet is thought to hasten the speedy return of any money that may leave your hands.
   
• A bed of shamrocks planted at the front door is thought to increase money flow and bring good fortune.
   
• Wrap a bill with a large denomination around a piece of mandrake root with an elastic band and place it in your cash register to double your sales.
   
• An acorn that is hollowed out, filled with cinnamon, rosemary, thyme and gold flakes and then sealed with green wax is thought to bring opportunities and financial fortune your way.

• For the necessities of life, light a red candle to the Archangel Chamuel and ask that you always have the tools of your trade, food on your table, a roof over your head and money in the bank.
   
• Make lemonade out of your lemons. Juice lemons; add water and sugar to taste. Stir the lemonade in the pitcher three times in a counterclockwise circle, saying " Gone, gone ...bad luck begone." Then stir in a clockwise direction saying " Mine, mine ...all good things are mine." Drink.
   
• Stick a clove of garlic with nine pins and hang it near the front door to protect you from poverty.
   
• Fill a small bowl with equal parts of sugar, salt and rice. Mix thoroughly and place an open safety pin in its center. Keep the bowl out in the open to eliminate poverty.
   
• Rub a green candle with a tiny bit of honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon and dab of orange juice or orange oil. Light and ask for quick cash or money in a hurry.
   
• To enhance business, find three foreign coins and wrap them in a gold colored cloth. Place it in the drawer of your cash register.
   
• On a new moon, make a slit in a yam and wedge a penny inside it. Put it outside for fourteen days (until the full moon) and then bury it on the Full moon.
   
• Draw the Ace, Ten and Seven of diamonds from an ordinary deck of playing cards. Anoint them with a commercial prosperity oil (or cinnamon or bayberry oil) and carry the three cards in your pocket to draw prosperity to you.
   
• Whenever you find a coin on the floor, step on it and say, "Money on the floor, money at the door." Then pick it up and put it in your pocket.

By: Sam Stevens

Midnight Garden, Black Garden, Mourning Garden

Midnight Garden, Black Garden, Mourning Garden

What ever name you want to call it - I WANT ONE! Our home is white metal siding & red metal roofing, so for the most part, I've kept everything red & white with black accents on posts, rails & supports. It looks very impressive to say the least. But I have wanted a Midnight Garden since the first time I read about them in the late '90's. And in my opinion, a Midnight Garden would be very striking with our red & white color scheme!

 Black Star Calla Lily

Of course there are no true black plants, instead being deep, dark hues of blue-black, red-black, purple-black, and even a dark chocolatey-brown. I'll provide a list of plants at the end of the post. 

Aoneum arboreum - Zwartkop

With all of those dark plants there needs to be some contrast or you're Black Garden will look like a Black Hole in your yard. The colors that would be best suited for contrast would depend on your personal taste, but do consider that green can get quite dark, so the greens you'd choose should be much lighter, chartreuse being the most striking. Other colors to add here and there could be hot pinks, golden yellows, bright oranges & reds, and of course a crisp, clean white.

 Gardenia

 Big Top Gold Huechera

If you're unsure how to mix & match colors, use a color wheel. First pick your hue of "black" in your plant and then find the colors on the wheel that could coordinate with it. This is done by choosing specific themes, such as an analogous theme; colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, or complimentary theme; colors that are opposite of each other on the color wheel. There are many online color wheels, but the best way to do this is to buy one at a paint or craft store. The best kind for this purpose have (at least) 3 wheels; one has all the colors on it, the others have cut-out windows that allow you to view the other colors so you can find the color combination you like.

 China Town Celosia

Many black plants that are shaded or under greenhouse lighting will turn green. To keep your plants "black", or as dark as possible, they will need sun, light, the right pH, and feed. Some can be in light shade while others need full sun. You'll have to familiarize yourself with the needs of your specific garden plants to know where to plant and what you'll need.

 Purple Shamrock

There are a few gardening books that touch on black plant gardening, but these two are the best:

Black Magic and Purple Passion by Karen Platt

Black Plants: 75 Striking Choices for the Garden by Paul Bonine

Here is a list of some "black" plants you may want to consider for your own Midnight Garden. Be sure to research the right plants for your agricultural zone.

 Black Beauty Huechera

Black Plant List

 

Ornamental Plants

Aeonium – ‘Zwartkop’

Celosia – ‘China Town’

Oxalis – Oxalis regnelli atropurpurea, Oxalis triangularis, ‘Charmed Wine’

Calla Lillies – ‘Blackjack’, ‘Hot Chocolate’, ‘Black Forest’, ‘Black Pearl’, ‘Midnight Eclipse’, ‘Edge of Night’

Canna – ‘Australia’, ‘Tropicanna Black’

Coleus – ‘Inky Fingers’, ‘Black Dragon’, ‘Chocolate Mint’, ‘Dark Chocolate’

Cosmos – ‘Chocolate’

Cranesbill – ‘Cheryll’s Shadow’

Bachelor’s Button – 'Black Magic',  'Black Boy'

Elephant’s Ear – ‘Black Magic’

Huechera – ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Chocolate Veil’, ‘Obsidian’, ‘Plum Pudding’, ‘Blackout’, 'Velvet Night’

Bugleweed – ‘Black Scallop’, ‘Mahogany’

Geranium – ‘Dark Lord’, ‘Espresso’, ‘Midnight Reiter’, ‘Samobor’

Iris – ‘Black Knight’, ‘Black Swan’, ‘Old Black Magic’, ‘Ruby Chimes’, ‘Before the Storm’, ‘Superstition’

Dahlia – ‘Happy Single’ series, ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, ‘Fascination’

Scabiosa – ‘Ace of Spades’, ‘Chile Black’

Sunflower – ‘Moulin Rouge’

Sweet Peas – ‘Black Knight’, ‘Wiltshire Ripple’

Sweet Potato Vine – ‘Blackie’, ‘Sidekick Black Heart’, ‘Sweet Caroline’

Violas – ‘Black Magic’, ‘Bowles Black’, ‘Molly Sanderson’

Edible Plants

Basil – ‘Dark Opal', ‘Purple Ruffles’, ‘Red Rubin’, ‘Osmin Purple’

Cabbage – ‘January King’

Eggplant – ‘Black Beauty,’

Kale – ‘Black Tuscany’, ‘Cavolo Nero’

Lettuce – ‘Lollo Rossa', ‘Merlot’, ‘Really Red Deer Tongue’, ‘Majesty’, ‘Marshall’, ‘Blackhawk’

Radish – ‘Black Spanish' 

Tomatoes – ‘Black’, ‘Black Cherry’, ‘Black Plum’

Black Magic Bachelor's Buttons

There are many more species of "black" plants, so search the internet, buy the books, and go design & plant your own Midnight Garden!