This was an absolutely beautiful passage to read

When I was a little girl my mother would "try" to buy me a pink dress, I refused and chose the green one. To this day I wear 3 different shades of  green just about every day, not on purpose, just because I LOVE the color. Anyone I have met, be it freind, foe, co-worker, or boss has always told me I am a very good listener. Any knowlege I learn I pass along, a member of the family or friend is sick I give them advice, and I seek all knowledge available. To me, the Green Witch really calls to me. I have never classified myself as anything except for "connected" and I give thanks to my grandmother who was of Arapaho decent.  I miss her sooooo much, but she is in my heart

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Green Magick

*Rolling Thunder once said that the "Great Spirit is the life that is in all things." People who practice green magick recognize this truth and find themselves captivated by the Divine pattern of power imprinted on every blade, leaf, and blossom.  This fascination engages the green witch's soul to the point where he or she rediscovers a deep abiding respect for the wonders of creation, and then lives accordingly. Most importantly, the green witch reflects natural awareness and appreciation by the way he or she undertakes all magickal methods.

• Where some people are forever seeking spiritual flash and fanfare, the green witch celebrates the wondrous, unadorned magick that's right under our noses all the time.

• In brief, a green witch is one who: 1) Recognizes that humans do not have dominion over the Earth. Rather, we are partners with the Earth. 2) Experiences the Earth as intimately as possible. 3) Protects natural resources as circumstances will allow. 4) Reunites himself or herself with Earth energies and Gaia's spirit. 5) Uses flowers and plants as components in spellcraft, or as a focus for other magickal methods. 6) Motivates greater Earth-awareness in others. 7) Lives beyond the normal boundaries we place on ourselves, seeing no absolute divisions in life's network. The distance between you and a flower is but a thought.

• The green witch knows that it is truly sacred ground on which we walk (even when it's hidden underneath the pavement). Earth is there, just waiting for green witches everywhere to reclaim the magick!

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1. If possible, grow the plant yourself. This will give you direct physical contact with it regularly before attempting spiritual contact.

2. If the plant is edible, add it to your diet regularly for an entire week before trying to make contact. This internalizes the plant's energy and creates an inner harmony with that plant's matrix, which will ultimately improve your results.

3. Sensually experience the plant--touch it, smell it, listen to the sound it makes in the wind or rain, and look at it from different angles (above, below, and from all sides). Again, it is suggested that you do this for an entire week before attempting to make contact.

4. Bring the plant into your life in as many ways as possible, like wearing its pattern in a tie or shirt, hanging a picture of it near your desk, burning incense in its aroma, and so forth.

5. When you feel ready, meditate with the plant nearby. Try to make sure you won't be disturbed for at least twenty minutes.

6. As you meditate, breathe deeply and wait until you feel "transported," maybe a little fuzzy around the edges of your being (some people describe this as tingling or hearing a far-off humming sound).

7. Now, visualize yourself in an environment in which that plant would naturally grow. See yourself sitting in the middle of a circle of these flowers or plants. Allow this visualization to become as real as possible, bringing to memory the smell of the plant, its texture, and everything else you learned about it in the previous steps.

8. Reach out spiritually toward the plant. Don't open our physical eyes, open your psychic ones. Be patient and wait, making mental notes of any imagery or feelings from this point forward.

• Plant spirits will generally communicate empathically or through your senses, so be alert.

• Once you have established a rapport with the plant, let it know the purpose of your visit quickly and respectfully.

• How the plant communicates with you will be very personal and based on the questions you have in mind.

• At some point the plant will withdraw, signaling that it is time for you to go back to a "normal" level of awareness.

• No experience will be the same, even with the same type of plant or flower. One lily conversation will not be the same as the next lily.

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• Waxing moon: Suited to magickal matters that require steady growth, even pacing, and positive development.

• Full moon: The mystical themes of this phase are maturity, fertility, productivity, manifestation, and creativity.

• Waning moon: Time your spells or pick your herbs during a waning moon to banish negativity or decrease unwanted energies.

• Blue moon: Blue moons are ideal for planning wish magick or anything that requires a metaphysical miracle.

• Moon in Aries: Use this sign for overcoming obstacles and developing personal skills.

• Moon in Taurus: A Taurus moon helps develop tenacity, and provides energy for abundance.

• Moon in Gemini: A Gemini moon encourages balance and positive transformation.

• Moon in Leo: Leo's moon guides us in finding our "voice," especially in the magickal arts.

• Moon in Virgo: The Virgo moon provides supportive energy for prosperity and success.

• Moon in Libra: Libra's moon emphasizes balance. It also helps in uncovering mysteries or secrets.

• Moon in Scorpio: Scorpio's moon is one of focus, especially on physical issues like the expression of passion.

• Moon in Sagittarius: The Sagittarius moon builds self-control and helps manifest goals.

• Moon in Capricorn: Capricorn's moon makes you aware of the true you, and provides spiritual sustenance.

• Moon in Aquarius: The Aquarian moon develops an awareness of the simple beauties and potentials, which makes it very suited to green witchery. It also increases your energy for adventures.

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• Spring: The themes for this season are fertility, hope, inspiration, growth, and renewal. In particular, consider using new grass, tree blossoms, or an early budding flower in your green magick to represent the season of rebirth.

• Summer: The themes for this season are prosperity, energy, health, abundance, socialization, and playfulness. In particular, consider using fresh sunflowers, daisies, and fire-associated herbs like rosemary in your summertime green magick.

• Fall: The themes for this season are in-gathering (manifestation), protection (especially health), frugality, and harvesting the fruits of your labors with thankfulness. In particular, consider using any traditional harvest plant in your magick (like apples or corn).

• Winter: The themes for this season are rest, home and family, tradition, and safeguarding your resources in both literal and figurative terms. In particular, consider using dried flowers and plant parts to honor the season, or perhaps berries to symbolize spring's forthcoming abundance.

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Remember to give something back to the Earth that has so generously provided for and sustained our magick. Exactly what constitutes this "something" is up to you. Here are some possibilities:

• Create and execute monthly spells and rituals that focus energy towards re-greening the Earth.

• Place a crystal or other natural token at the base of a plant when you harvest its petals, leaves, and roots.

• Prepare organic, magickally enhanced fertilizers for the soil where you live (even if you're not gardening this is a great gift for the planet). One good approach is to compost (this neatly recycles too). When you have enough organic matter charge the mixture with an incantation before adding it to the soil. The only caution here is to check local ordinances about the type of container you will need for composting legally.

• Sow a seed to replace any plants that you harvest fully (root and all). Note that you can do this even if you're buying the entire plant somewhere-just go to a field and scatter seeds to the wind, or plant some in the ground at a local park.

• Say a prayer for the plant or commune with its spirit before you harvest any part of it. This is one way of respectfully requesting permission from the nature spirits to harvest what you need.

• Recycle anything you can, so the extra flowers and plants need not be wasted. For example, if you've used flower oils in your candles, save the wax remnants, melt them together, and re-create new candles. The wax should have retained some of the original aroma, so less flower oil will be needed in a new batch. Another good hint for kitchen witches is to freeze vegetable ends and pieces to make soup stock rather than harvesting fresh vegetables. Then, when you're done with these, recycle them even further by using them as a great base for your magickal garden's compost.

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• Moon in Aries: plant only garlic and onions.

• Moon in Taurus: plant potatoes or leafy vegetables.

• Moon in Gemini: weed and cultivate. Do not plant or transplant.

• Moon in Cancer: graft, transplant, sow, or force budding. This is a very productive sign.

• Moon in Leo: focus on ridding your garden of unwanted insects or weeds.

• Moon in Virgo: fairly barren. Don't do any extensive gardening during this sign other than basic maintenance.

• Moon in Libra: sow flowers, root crops, vines, and lettuce.

• Moon in Scorpio: excellent for promoting plant growth, so fertilize now.

• Moon in Sagittarius: productive for onions.

• Moon in Capricorn: plant tubers and root crops only.

• Moon in Aquarius: cultivate and turn the soil.

• Moon in Pisces: excellent for flora requiring good root growth.

• First Quarter: plant leafy annuals with above-ground yields like broccoli, cauliflower, celery, spinach, and lettuce.

• Second Quarter: plant rounded flowers and plants like cantaloupe, eggplant, peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

• Third Quarter: sow bulbs, root crops, beets, garlic, carrots, and anything else that has an underground yield. Also, fruit bushes seem to do well when planted during this phase.

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• Monday: a fruitful day especially for lunar-oriented plants.

• Tuesday: a high energy day that will boost the energies in flowers or plants that improve physical vitality or mental keenness.

• Wednesday: a creative day, good for spiritually-centered flowers and plants.

• Thursday: another high-energy day, suited to flora that augments devotion or tenacity.

• Friday: an emotionally warm day. Suited to plants that are used in love and fertility magick.

• Saturday: sow, harvest, or tend plants on this day that augment transformation, manifestation, and/or comprehension.

• Sunday: the perfect day to work with solar-oriented flowers and plants.

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• January: bless the soil in which you'll be sowing protective plants.

• February: charge the soil in which you'll be growing health related plants, or those that motivate positive energy.

• March: focus on plants and flowers associated with success and victory, or those under the dominion of Mars.

• April: work with lucky flowers and plants this month for a little serendipity.

• May: all plants do well during this month as energy is directed towards progress and growth.

• June: Fridays in June double the loving, warm energies on relationship flowers and plants.

• July: combine your Sunday efforts with this month to geometrically increase the energy for leadership and self-awareness.

• August: work with plants and flowers that accentuate peace and harmony.

• September: a perfect month for working closely with your magickal herbs and flowers.

• October: consider transforming any of your flowers and plants into something else during this month (like oils, incense, and potpourri). This is the month of useful changes!

• November: work with flora that's associated with psychic energies.

• December: work with plants that have magickal correspondences with wisdom, prudence, and spiritual awareness.

(Information taken from A Floral Grimoire by Patricia Telesco)

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A green witch will design her/his garden to what they hope to achieve and the available space they have to do it in. Also, look at your climate and altitude when planning your garden.

You can plant what herbs, flowers, and plants you will use the most, or plants that are specifically associated with the magickal arts. For example, gardenia could be sown for spiritual awareness; rosemary and lily improve willful focus, and so on.

You can also pattern your garden. There are many different symbols, styles, and patterns out there to choose from. An obvious pattern would be a pentagram. Other ideas are runes, hermetic emblems, a symbol honoring your personal god or goddess, even Egyptian hieroglyphs.

There are many different themes that you can use for planting your magickal garden. Here is a list of a few and their descriptions.

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Water Fairies: make sure to have a bird bath, fountain, or other water source in this garden. Flower and plant choices include: grapes, catnip, chamomile, spearmint, thyme, aster, birch, crocus, daffodil, daisy, foxglove, gardenia, heather, iris, lily, morning glory, mosses, pansy, and willow.

Earth Fairies: Rocks and rich soil help to make this garden. Flora choices include: alfalfa, mushroom, peas, sorrel, vervain, ferns, honeysuckle, ivy, magnolia, oleander, primrose, and tulips.

Air Fairies: Include a gathering of feathers or wind chimes in this garden. Choices for plants include: beans, mulberry, parsley, lemon grass, marjoram, mint, savory, sage, clover, dandelion, lavender, meadowsweet, pansy, and violet.

Fire Fairies: Try to include some kind of solar imagery in this garden, perhaps a pot that features a sun in splendor. Choices for greenery include: chives, squash, sloe, basil, dill, garlic, lovage, rosemary, cactus, carnation, hawthorn, juniper, marigold, poppy, snapdragon, sunflowers, and thistle.

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Meditation Garden: Pattern for this would be like a Mandela, or other peace symbol. You can create this one two different ways. One way would be to use plants and flowers that visually, spiritually, and aromatically motivate or deepen your meditative state. Examples of this kind of flora are: hyacinth, magnolia, lavender, and gardenia, or any others that are you personal favorites. The second way to create this garden would be to make a Zen rock garden. This type is usually made of sand and various sized stones with only a few plants mingling in as the energy flow dictates. These kind are low maintenance, but remember that you can make designs in the sand to resemble ripples, symbols, etc.

Dye Garden: If you're interested in making your homemade dyes for your magickal wardrobe, grow things like dock (black), marigold (yellow and orange), broom (green), wode (indigo/blue), saffron (yellow), madder (yellow-green), zinnia (greenish-grey), and safflower (red).

Aromatherapy Garden: This can be done two ways also. First you can create it as a sacred space where the energy of the aromatics lifts your spirits. If you do this, you want flowers and herbs geared towards your own personal needs. The second way would be to plant those herbs and flowers that you would use regularly in making your magickal oils, perfumes, incenses, and potpourris.

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Goddess/God Garden: For those that follow a specific deity, you can also dedicate your magickal garden to them. Place statues of them in the garden, preferably in the center. Around the statue or other form of resemblance of your deity, plant the herbs and flowers that are sacred to them. This is a good way to help you stay connected to your chosen deity as well as honor them.

 Moon Garden: A garden is a very different place under the enchantment of the moon. The moon is the mistress of magick, and the ancient rules of gardening fall mostly under her divine sway. The pale, ethereal scents and sounds of a moon garden give a quiet meditative bliss. These gardens unveil their beauty only at night. Flowers to include in a moon garden are: datura, nicotiana, jasmine, gardenia, camellias, white lilies, and pale poppies. These bloom at night and add pale lunar mystery throughout your garden.

Sun Garden: A garden of this nature would have plants that represent the Sun and its life giving power. Plants to include in this garden are: sunflowers, marigolds, chrysanthemums, and heliotrope (this one is poisonous and should not be ingested, but planted in the garden, it banishes evil spirits and gloom).

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Water Garden:  Water in a garden is the blood life—without it, you have a desert. Water spirits love to play in a garden that welcomes them. Water gardens bring emotional release, relaxation, meditative joy, deep psychic power, and loving healing. A spring or well is the most powerful water magick in a garden. Nymphs live in springs and wells form special gateways into the other world. If a small creek runs through your garden or if you are living near a pond, the watery powers that gently sweep physically and energetically through your garden are gentle and revitalizing. They take ill or dark energies into their watery embrace and replace them with calm and ease. If none of these watery energy sources are in your garden, then a small fountain, birdbath, or artificial fishpond is recommended. (Remember that certain fish, like koi (carp), are said to bring money.) This water source will be the “feeling heart” of your garden and should be kept up with clean vital water. Your water spot will be a great healing center for emotional and physical problems. Some plants to include in a water garden are: lemon balm, burdock, Solomon’s seal, cress, lotus, asters, water hyacinths, irises, willow trees, and birch trees.

 Fire Garden: Fire can also be honored in your garden theme.  This would represent the Sun (another garden theme already mentioned) that is the basic energy of all living things. You can sow plants that honor Fire and that protect oneself from unwanted fire energy. Energy and power are needed for growth. A representation of Fire can be a fire pit, a lamp, a simple outdoor lantern, or a stone lantern (these are used in Asian gardens to balance the elemental feng-shui—to provide a balance of fire energy with the graceful water spot). Some plants that ward off fire are: St. John’s Wort, snapdragons, mistletoe, and the larch tree. Other plants, trees, and herbs to sow in your Fire Garden are: alder, ash, rowan, pine, oak, hawthorn, carnations, anemones, marigolds, yucca, fireweed, sunflowers, basil, bay, rosemary, peppermint, mullein, garlic, goldenseal, dill, and fennel.

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Love Garden: Flowers are the most powerful love magick, just ask anyone who courts a lady or the lady that is adored. Who would not want to have a garden that drew love to them. Flowers to include in a Love Garden are: roses (of course!), periwinkle, honeysuckle, columbine, pansies, daffodils, violets, lavender, bachelor’s buttons (for men), peppermint, marjoram, Lovage, ginseng, yarrow, rosemary, catnip, and basil. Some trees you can include are: almond, birch, beech, hawthorn, linden, myrtle, maple, and juniper.

Healing Garden: Plants are, of course, the origin of almost all healing medicines. The garden in ancient times (and even today) functioned as Mother Nature’s pharmacy as well as her pantry. Millions of healing plants exist and still more are being found each day. Yet healing has always been an art that has focused on more than just the physical; the energies of the garden also promote healing of the spirit, the heart, and the mind as well as the body. Of course, simply sitting or lying in the garden will help heal you. Prepare a light herbal tea, inhale the perfume from a healing flower or herb, and let Mother Nature fill you with her healing touch. Here are some herbs and plants to include in a Healing Garden: St. John’s Wort, lemon balm, burdock, fennel, garlic, mullein, horehound, peppermint, red carnations, honeysuckle, white carnations, red geraniums, gardenias, rowan tree, ash tree, birch tree, and oak tree.

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Hi everyone! This is the time of year when we think about evergreens in a ritual context, but I'd like to talk about greens in general -- green growing things, the Plant People -- and how they can play a powerful role in your spellwork.

People have used plants of all sorts -- herbs, shrubs, trees, fruits, vegetables, even seaweed -- magickally for millennia. For instance, if an herb cured a disease, ancient cultures ascribed magickal healing powers to it.

Now, modern-day "scientific types" may sneer at the idea of a plant's magickal powers influencing its ability to heal, but you and I know that all living things have magick in them. As an herbalist, I work with plants in a mundane context every day, but I also use them frequently in crafting spells. I'd like to share with you some ways in which you can "green up" your spell working, no matter what your path or tradition.

OK, so you've decided that you want to include the Plant People in your next spell, but how do you decide which particular plant to use? It may sound like a long process, but it's really simply a method of pinpointing the right "green partner" to use, getting to know it, and using its magickal properties to your aid.

I like to begin by looking at the purpose of my spell -- am I doing magick for health . . . prosperity . . . protection . . . fertility? Is there a plant that springs to mind when you think about your purpose? Many plants that are used for mundane purposes can be used for similar magickal purposes . . . garlic for health, for instance, or elder for protection (the scent of its crushed leaves repels insects and animals).

If I don't get a sudden inspiration about which plant to choose for my spell, I have two tactics I use to make the choice. First, I go through a reference book or two -- magickal books are great (Scott Cunningham's magickal herbal is very popular with a lot of folks) but even ordinary herbals (especially the older ones like Mrs. Grieves' Herbal) include magickal and folk uses.

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The essence of this step is simply to connect with your inner/higher self in order to get the information you need directly from the Green World, rather than from a book. If the weather is agreeable, I like to go outside to do this part, so I can be right in the middle of the Green People.

I use spirit guides to assist me in journeying, but you can simply get into a meditative state however you prefer. I like to create sacred/safe space while I do this kind of work, even if I'm doing it informally (not in a "proper" ritual setting).

The point of your meditation or journey is to discover what plant, or plant spirit, can best help you in the spell you intend to work -- so phrase your questions that way.

You may already have a couple ideas of plants that might work for you, if you've done some reading first, but don't limit yourself just to what you've seen in a book. You can either ask the question ("What plant or plant spirit can best aid my purpose of _____ in working my spell?") or you can call out for the plant or plant spirit to appear to you.

If you ask for the plant or plant spirit to appear to you, then you have the opportunity to ask questions about details. Some questions I like to ask include: What form of the plant should I use in my spell? Can I use a picture, if the plant itself is not available? What method should I use with the plant -- burn it as incense, use it in a talisman, bind it to a candle, or something else?

Once you have gotten this far, you'll at least know what plant to use in your spell, and you may also know how you need to use it. The next thing I do is something I call Meeting the Green.

You'll need to get some of the plant you've decided on -- fresh or dried, whole or part, depending on what your meditation told you and what is available. This may be as simple as picking up pine needles out of your yard or swiping a few cloves of garlic from the kitchen. Or you may need to go as far as a plant nursery, health food store or ethnic grocery. If you can't find your plant in any form, a picture of it will suffice in a pinch.

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Now, prepare your sacred/safe space and sit down with the sample of your green partner. This may sound odd, but you're going to talk with the plant. OK, not exactly talk -- but you're going to get in touch with the plant's energy and its magickal properties so you'll know how best to use it in your spell. Of course, you can always consult a magickal herbal reference book for ways to use various plants in your spells, but this is a more intuitive method for personalizing and individualizing your spell. I believe that making a spell truly yours makes it very powerful, even if you start with one that's already written in a book.

So you're in sacred space, holding a bit of fresh or dried plant matter, and it's time to talk with your Green Partner about this spell the two of you are going to do together. In every earth-oriented tradition, plants have spirits of some sort -- they go by different names, but the idea is that plants, as living things, have spirit just as much as animals do.

Hold your green partner in your hand and close your eyes. Open yourself to any information the plant spirit has to offer you, and don't judge what you see, hear or feel. Depending on the way your brain works, you may see images, hear words, or simply understand information as it comes to you.

You may find that Meeting the Green gives you all you need to go ahead and perform your spell, possibly right there in your sacred space without any further "accessorizing." Or you may prefer to finish up and open your sacred space, and then perform your spell with all your favorite tools and accessories later on.

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IMHO, spells should be like TV mystery shows -- nothing is decorative, every little thing has meaning and purpose. This all sounds like a lot of work, I know, and it would be easier to just take a cookie-cutter spell out of a book (yep, even my book). But remember that every bit of energy that you put into a spell, whether it's in research and preparation or in enacting the spell itself, goes toward your purpose. So if you feel the pull of the Plant People to bring their magick into your spellworking, you have many ritual and intuitive tools at your disposal.

Follow in the footsteps of many, many cultures and traditions throughout the history of humankind. And give thanks that we have these Green Partners to aid us in our spellwork.

Speech given at the 4th Pagan Internet Conference, December 28, 2001
Reprinted with permission from Rev. Laura Perry, MSNH
Natural Health Consultant
Author of Ancient Spellcraft

A professional naturopath and herbalist, Rev Perry is a 3rd degree Wiccan priestess as well as a Celtic shaman and Area Coordinator for the Goddess 2000 Project, through which she is also known as Arachne Gentleheart.

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Laura Perry comments

On the problem of substitutions of magickal herbs and herbs threatened by over-harvesting: "That is a big problem, especially since a lot of herbs aren't easily grown commercially. I haven't found one single source that answers that problem, but I do have a sort of method of my own.

"I look at the genus name of the herb I'm thinking of using, that might be endangered . . . For instance, wild yam is Dioscorea villosa (that's Genus and species). There is a native American Dioscorea that is plentiful and fairly easy to find, and seems to have similar magickal properties to wild yam. It's called air potato. As for wildcrafting, personally, I avoid it, since so many herbs are now endangered due to over-picking. I will pick what's on my own property, as long as I don't pick more than 1/3 of a stand in a season.

On the best source of herbs: "IMHO, home grown is best because you're putting your energy into the plant from the ground up, literally. But home grown isn't feasible for everyone, and I tend to be ruthlessly pragmatic in my spirituality. If you can't grow it, buy it. Just make sure your source is ethical . . . not overharvesting threatened species, or anything like that.

On following Celtic traditions and practices: "Do what the Celts did . . . use what grows where you live. Remember, the Celts lived everywhere from the British Isles to the Ukraine. Their 'indigenous fauna' varied widely, depending on their location. I find that a good source of magickal uses for local plants is the stock of Native American lore. A lot of plants 'translate' to Eurpoean-based ritual context based on their use.

On ethics and personal practices: "I have used the Bach Rescue Remedy [Dr Bach's Flower Remedies] for healing rituals with great success. It works as well ritually as it does in a mundane context . . . If you could ever call healing mundane. I have also used a few of the individual Bach Flower Remedies for rituals to heal emotional scarring, and to help bring people closer together. I use the remedies to anoint people as they enter sacred space . . . and then I include them in the ritual beverage, as well as focusing on their energies on the altar.

"To me, it all comes down to the ethics of my personal "Three R's" . . . Respect, Responsibility and Return. Have respect for the living things you're using (plants). Herb gardens are loads of fun! Beware, though . . . cats love herbs, and will eat stuff besides just catnip "

Visit Laura Perry's website
http://www.au-nature1.net

http://www.echoedvoices.org/Jan2002/JanLauraPerry.html

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