The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A–Z for the Entire Magical World

Trees

Among the most ancient forms of religion is devotion to sacred trees. In modern usage “tree worship” sounds flat and simplistic; language doesn’t do justice to the concept. Today trees are primarily understood as sources of lumber or as something to be moved out of the way so that the Earth below can be utilized for profit or practicality. In that context “tree worship” may sound primitive and silly.

In order to even begin to understand this concept, one must look at Earth with the wonder-struck eyes of magical perspective. First of all, lose the concept of “one way” directionals. If trees can be perceived as growing out of the ground, they may also be understood to penetrate the ground, as if they were moving downward, not up.

Now imagine: if Earth is a fertile female, what could those big, strong, hard trees possibly be? Genital imagery permeates ancient religion: trees often serve as huge, symbolic male generative organs.

Ritual processionals all over the world, from Japan throughout Asia and Europe, feature trees carried to represent generative energy. Sometimes they’re carved explicitly and very realistically into gigantic phalluses; sometimes tree trunks are left au naturel, no enhancement necessary. On-lookers may reach to touch the passing tree to gain a little of that energy for themselves: for reproductive fertility, for material prosperity, for sexual prowess, and for the magical prevention of erectile dysfunction. That tree serves a lot of people’s diverse magical needs. This phallic tree trunk may be pounded on doors to announce the arrival of the creative, generative spirit.

The most famous surviving phallic tree is the Maypole. A tall, hard, straight tree (often an elm) is ritually prepared, then set up within a dance ground—a magic circle. Young girls dance around it, wrapping it in silk ribbons. (Makes you wonder about that other lavishly ornamented tree, the Christmas Tree, doesn’t it?)

Not all trees were masculine. Smaller, curvaceous trees like the elder or rowan are usually perceived as feminine. Fruit-bearing trees, like figs, date palms or apples, are considered female as well, although nut trees are resolutely male. The Latin classification for walnuts describes them as “Jupiter’s balls” and we’re not talking about baseballs, golf balls or any other round object used in sports.

Some of the oldest religious rites took place in sacred groves. These groves were sacred ground and places of oracular wisdom. Various deities maintained sacred groves of trees that shared their essence. Zeus presided over the oak grove at Dodona. The oracle was interpreted by listening to the wind whispering through the trees. Eventually “whispering” would become the domain of witches.

There is an ancient, ancient, primordial tradition of holy trees. One especially sacred motif was the snake in a tree. The snake curling its body around a tree trunk was sometimes under-stood as the unification of the sexes. Some have suggested that the biblical story of the snake and the tree in the Garden of Eden may be interpreted to mean that the era of that kind of religion was ending. The story is not told without regret; it is accompanied by expulsion from Paradise and foretells enmity between the sexes and between species.

Even after expulsion from Eden, however, tree worship doesn’t end in the Bible. Lady Asherah of the Sea, pre-eminent mother goddess of the Western Semitic people, presided over sacred groves where women went to dance, sing and commune with nature. Trees were carved into the sacred poles named after Asherah and set up in high places as well as within the Jerusalem Temple.

For centuries, the Kings of Judea repeatedly installed, then removed and destroyed these pillars, only to have them installed once again. Although Asherah is frequently painted as a Canaanite goddess, one of the foreign deities the prophets accused the Children of Israel of whoring after, archeological evidence suggests otherwise. Lady Asherah was also an indigenous Hebrew goddess. Her image spent more time in the Jewish temple than outside; every time she was removed, someone eventually replaced her until the destruction of the First Temple. Obviously she was a controversial figure but there’s no way for us to truly understand the controversy because the only surviving writings derive from those opposed to Asherah and devotion to trees. No explanation survives from those who loved her, or at least none has yet been unearthed.

Descriptions of tree-centered spirituality around the world could fill a thousand pages. Norse cosmology describes the World Tree upon which the entire world and all its realms are centered. In Uppsala, Sweden, the city dedicated to Freyr the Elven King, Lord of Generative Fertility, there was an ancient sacred grove where every single individual tree was held sacred. The Druids held their rituals within sacred oak groves. A grove is a sacred perimeter of trees, the space within is demarcated as holy, ritual, magical space. However, much of Earth was once covered with trees.

The forest is the realm of trees and their spirits. It is a place of wild, free, bountiful energy. Cutting down forests may be understood as acts of spiritual warfare against spirits in general (a denial of their existence), against those spirits who preside over forests in particular, and against their devotees. Destruction of rain forests worldwide (as well as other forests) is now attributed to needs of business or “civilization” rather than official religion but may still be understood in the same manner.

This isn’t conjecture: when the missionaries Boniface and Willibrord came to convert the Frisians and Germans in the early eighth century they deliberately destroyed sacred trees. Cutting down groves was understood as a religious act; clearing wilderness makes way for “civilization” and easier administration of authority.

In Europe, forests, the realm of the trees, became refuges for outlaws, witches, pagan hold-outs, and all those who found themselves persecuted by the New Order. When forests became perceived as solely dark and dangerous, witches maintained the forest’s beneficial wisdom and secrets.

The sacredness inherent in a single tree is sometimes sufficient, however.

Witches were described as dancing around a tree at their sabbats.

A walnut tree in Benevento, Italy is legendary as a witches’ meeting place.

According to a Northern legend, when missionaries chopped down a huge holy oak, a small pine arose from its roots. This became the first Christmas tree.

Judaism was never able to suppress devotion to trees: Lady Asherah’s sacred tree survives in the Kabalah’s Tree of Life. Likewise the Christian Church was never able to suppress devotion to trees. Tree traditions survived in the Yule log, Maypoles, Easter egg trees and, most especially, in beautifully garlanded and bedecked Christmas Trees.

Witches became guardians and preservers of tree magic. Trees supply the materials for various magical tools, not least magic wands. The magic wand places the power of the tree directly into the practitioner’s hands, enabling her to focus it as desired. Different types of wood are believed most beneficial for different purposes and styles of magic.

See PLACES: Forest; TOOLS: Brooms, Wands.

Vervain

(Verbena spp.)

Vervain is associated with the positive power of magic, witchcraft, and women’s wisdom. Unlike other witchcraft plants whose temperaments are volatile and dangerous, vervain is friendly. No other plant is believed to have as much affection for people as does vervain. Vervain’s magical uses include providing love, luck, health, and protection, changing bad luck into the best luck and transforming enemies into friends. All one has to do is touch vervain—no elaborate brews are required—to begin to receive its gifts. Vervain, however, is not a “goody-two-shoes” plant; it is a powerful and vigilant protector that may be used to smash hexes and reverse malevolent charms.

Vervain is sacred to Isis; it is believed to have sprung from her tears. Isis was once dependent upon human mercy and learned to love people deeply. Vervain shares her essence and so reflects her feelings.

In Northern Europe, vervain was associated with smithcraft and ironworkers. (Many of the spirits presiding over metal-working are female.) Allegedly vervain was incorporated into the ancient formula for hardening steel. Because of these associations with iron, vervain is also believed to magically encourage the male member to remain as hard and firm as that metal. The Druids harvested vervain with an iron sickle.

Some believe that vervain’s name derives from two Celtic words: fer “to take away” and faen “stone” or “weight.” According to Druid tradition, vervain was gathered at night, during the Dark Moon. The Druids of Cornwall and Devon incorporated vervain into divinatory rituals, inhaling its fumes.

European colonists brought vervain seeds to the Western Hemisphere, where naturalized it now grows wild. At its peak, at Midsummer’s Eve, vervain can reach heights of about five feet. It is used in love potions and aphrodisiacs.

Willow

(Salix spp.)

Why does that willow weep? Why, indeed? Willows are identified with some of the most powerful goddesses of all including Artemis, Circe, Hecate, Hera, and Persephone. Although they are extremely beautiful trees, many planted purely for ornamental value, willows tend to possess somewhat of a doleful, ominous reputation. They have long been considered witch’s trees and witch’s tools.

Weeping willows are a specific type of willow (Salix babylonica). They were indigenous to China but spread westward and are now widely distributed. There are many species of willow; as a whole they are also extremely well distributed—miniature willows, only inches tall, survive in the Arctic Circle, while other species may be found in deserts and tropical areas.

Willows are graceful trees with lithe boughs and an affinity for water. Like alder, willows are often found near rivers, streams, swamps, and marshes. The willow is believed to love and crave moisture (hence the weeping willow’s affinity for tears) and so is under the dominion of the moon, the planetary body that rules water, women, and fertility.

Snakes are the creatures believed to most closely share the essence of the willow tree. The willow’s branches and leaves are believed to resemble the motion of a snake. In ancient Greece, willow branches placed under the beds of infertile women were believed to transmit fertility-generating snake power. (No doubt a more peaceful night’s sleep was to be had with willow branches beneath the bed rather than living, slithering snakes!)

Willows are also used to magically ward off snakes and prevent snakebite. Among willow’s other magical uses are for wish fulfillment and healing and love spells.

Perhaps because willows were associated with such powerful lunar goddesses, the trees came to be associated with witches in ancient Greece. “Willow” has long been a popular magical or craft name among witches—as exemplified by “Dark Witch Willow,” the character on the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Willows are associated with fertility and birth, but also with death. In Celtic areas, willows were planted in graveyards because it was believed that they encouraged the dead to rest peacefully and to refrain from roaming.

Thin, flexible young willow branches are a traditional binding to hold handmade witches’ brooms together.

Magic wands crafted from willow are believed especially beneficial for divination.

Wolf ’s Claw or Club Moss

(Lycopodium clavatum)

Common club moss has an amazing number of evocative folk names. In English it’s known as devil’s claw, wolf’s claw, snake moss, witch’s dust, witch’s dance, or Earth Sulfur. In German, it’s called Hexenkraut, “witch’s herb.” Long considered a sacred plant according to the Roman Pliny, its harvest first required a sacrifice of bread and mead. Wolf’s claw was then gathered with the left hand, while adorned in white robes standing barefoot beneath a New Moon.

Although the plant has various other magical uses, the dust from its spores made wolf’s claw an important shamanic tool. This yellow spore dust is known as witches’ flour, druids’ flour, elven flour and perhaps most accurately as lightning powder. It’s oily and if tossed onto flames explodes with a burst similar to thunder and lightning. Today it’s perceived as only a special effect; magical illusionists remain enamored with it, but once upon a time it was considered magical and used to great effect by shamans. (The spore powder also has medicinal use.)

Wolfsbane

(Aconite napellus, Aconite vulparia)

Also known as aconite, blue rocket, friar’s cap, monkshood and Venus’ chariot, wolfsbane is among the deadliest of plants and very closely identified with witchcraft. It is indigenous to Eastern Europe, but was eventually grown in ancient Greece, from whence it spread to Italy and is now found as far afield as the British Isles.

Its active alkaloid is aconitum, a very potent poison. One fifth of a grain of aconitum is sufficient to produce a fatal dose. Controversy exists about whether it produces a psychotropic effect. It’s impossible to determine for sure because at present, with existing knowledge, wolfsbane is basically impossible to use. Whether it was ever genuinely used or whether those formulas calling for it are just full of bravado is equally impossible to tell. Many spells suggest brewing it, although just because a spell is “traditional” doesn’t mean anyone actually ever cast it (or at least not successfully!).

Wolfsbane is so poisonous that even handling the plant causes skin irritation and is potentially dangerous.

Wolfsbane is so poisonous that having ritually bathed the plant, it’s no longer safe to even put your hands in the water, let alone ingest it.

That said, few plants are as identified with witchcraft as wolfsbane.

Its natural habitat is mountains, however it can be cultivated and it will wander. It blooms in the summer. Wolfsbane is a very beautiful plant with lush flowers and is thus a favorite of traditional poison gardens. It was used to represent the dangerously alluring witch, the femme fatale, whose beauty masked her innately poisonous nature.

Every part of the plant is deadly, most especially the root. The name wolfsbane derives from attempts at wolf eradication. Gaulish Celts and Chinese used it as arrow poison, and the ancients concurred that aconite was the deadliest of their known poisons.

Wolfsbane is sacred to Hecate. Its origin is sometimes attributed to Cerberus, the threeheaded guard dog of Hades, who may or may not be Hecate the dog goddess in disguise. Wolfsbane allegedly sprang up where Cerberus’ drool touched Earth.

Calendar of Revelry and Sacred Days

Witches certainly require privacy to cast spells and for certain rituals, however witches around the world are also renowned (or notorious) for their partygoing and party-giving skills. Witches have a reputation as a restless bunch: they like to get out of the house frequently (or at least so says the stereotype), especially at night and especially when the night holds promise of high spirits and magical company.

Although perhaps any time is the right time for celebration, enchantments, and revelry certain times of the year are particularly associated with witches and witchcraft.

The witch’s calendar of revelry and sacred days includes celebrations of Earth and her powers, ancient Pagan festivals, and modern derivations of these festivals from Neo-Pagan as well as Christian sources.

Upon closer examination one will notice that although there are many localized names for these holidays, reflecting different cultures, languages, and spiritual orientations, most of them correspond in time to seasonal changes such as the solstices, equinoxes or periods immediately following or preceding them.

The modern perception is that people superimpose holidays and festivals on these time periods. The magical perception would suggest that ancient people were responding to Earth’s moods. The nature of the festivals (some are solemn, others wildly ecstatic) reflects Earth’s natural and consistent state at that time of year. Thus the many variations on specific themes may not all derive from one source; instead they may have emerged independently, in response to a natural phenomenon that, although obvious to our ancestors, may be imperceptible to many of us today.

These celebrations may be categorized thus:

Festivals honoring and acknowledging solstices and equinoxes: Midsummer’s, Mabon, Yule, and Ostara

Anarchist festivals when rules are defiantly broken: May Eve, Midsummer’s Eve, November Eve, and Yule

Nights that witches congregate and celebrate: Halloween, May Eve, Midsummer’s Eve, and Easter. (Easter? Yes, read on.)

The periods when the veil between realms is thin and dead souls return to visit the living: Halloween, Yule, and Lupercalia.

Times devoted to ritual purification and cleansing rites: Yule, Lupercalia, and the February Feasts.

Celebrations of the Harvest and the Corn Mother: Mabon, Lughnasa, and the February Feasts.

Different names are used for identical days representing different traditions, languages, cultures, and spiritual orientations.

The Anthestheria

See also February Feasts, Candlemas, Imbolc, and Lupercalia.

The Anthestheria, “the festival of flowers,” heralds the arrival of Dionysus, Lord of New Life and Wine, literally. It hails the birth of the deity plus the annual ritual opening of new casks of wine. The festival was devoted to birth, death, purification, and fertility.

Only one of several annual festivals honoring Dionysus in Greece, the Anthestheria was held for three days in the month of Anthesterion (February/March). According to some analyses of the festival (much is enshrouded in myth), the festival also corresponds with Dionysus’ birth. If there is such a thing as a “triple goddess” then Dionysus is the corresponding “triple god”; during this festival he is honored as infant, husband, and dying god.

Opening the new casks of wine isn’t as simple and forthright as it sounds. The wine casks were half-buried in Earth during the fermentation period, so their removal is like a birth, specifically like a Caesarian section and even more specifically like Dionysus’ own birth. Dionysus’ mother died before he was born; the unborn child was surgically removed from her womb and then sewed up within his father Zeus’ thigh, where he was allowed to mature in peace until the time was ripe. Ritually unearthing the casks and opening them is a metaphoric re-enactment of Dionysus’ birth. His devotees share in the deity’s essence by consuming him; drinking the wine accomplishes this purpose.

Initially the festival was apparently celebrated by women and children, but there are many gaps in the historical narrative. Many aspects of devotion to Dionysus fall under the category of “mystery traditions” and hence secrecy was always a component. In addition, the more femaleoriented aspects of his devotion ultimately became disreputable and illegal. Information regarding them was suppressed.

The first two days of the festival were devoted to honoring the deity and the new wine. The festival’s days (and nights!) were punctuated by secret celebrations for mature women, rituals of initiation for children, and general revelry and celebration for all. Everyone was invited to the party, including men, ancestral spirits, dead souls, and various spiritual entities.

There are two levels to this festival, however. It was a public festival, with some aspects were celebrated by all, but it was simultaneously also a mystery celebration. Dionysus’ most devoted servants, the maenads and others, celebrated secret rites in his honor, apparently including the Great Rite, the sacred marriage between deity and devotee. (See DICTIONARY: Great Rite.)

The festival’s three nights were reserved for women’s mysteries. The maenads celebrated privately in the mountains and forests. Little information survives, however mature women were understood to play the role of brides of Dionysus at this time. (In some legends, Dionysus’ marriage to Ariadne coincides with this festival; other legends suggest that the wedding was held on May Eve.) Among the festival’s goals was the stimulation of personal and agricultural fertility.

Rituals and celebrations evolve over time. Attitudes toward ghosts changed. What seems to have originally been a day devoted to honoring dead ancestors (see Dias de los Muertos; Festivals of the Dead) eventually became a time of fear. Household doorposts were smeared with pitch in an effort to keep ghosts out. Many shrines and temples were kept tightly sealed on this day, allegedly to prevent ghosts from entering and lingering longer than their allotted time on Earth. (Another explanation suggests that this day belongs only to Dionysus and Hermes; therefore other spirits are prevented from leaving their shrines and joining the rituals.)

The festival concludes when women carry pots of cooked grains and vegetables to the marshes to bid farewell to the dead with the ritual incantation “Begone Ghosts! The Anthestheria is over!”

If rituals are conducted correctly, the end result is the removal and purification of malevolent ghosts, low-level spirits, and spiritual debris. Modern versions and adaptations of the Anthestheria are celebrated by some Neo-Pagans.