Coby Michael is an occult herbalist and magical practitioner specializing in the use of plants in ritual and ceremony. He is author of The Poison Path Herbal and runs The Poisoner's Apothecary, an online store and educational resource.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Planting the Seed 5

Chapter 1: Meeting Your Herbal Allies 7

Aligning Intention through Magic 7

Discovering that Not All Plants Are Herbs 9

Treating Herbs as Magical Allies 10

Discovering the Magic of Herbs 11

Looking at Herbal Traditions 13

African Traditional Herbalism 13

Ayurvedic medicine 14

Indigenous plant medicine practices 15

Traditional Chinese Medicine 16

Folk practices 17

Wortcunning 18

Rootwork 18

Green witchcraft 19

Western herbalism 20

The Foundations of Medicinal Herbalism in the West 21

Hippocrates 22

Pedanius Dioscorides 22

Avicenna 22

Hildegard von Bingen 23

Paracelsus 23

John Gerard 24

Nicholas Culpeper 24

Carl Linnaeus 25

Maud Grieve 25

Connecting with Plant Intelligence 26

Looking at Magical Plant Anatomy 27

Parts of a plant 27

The language of flowers 28

Flower petal numerology 29

Working with Herbal Energetics 30

Chapter 2: Working with Herbal Magic Formulas 33

Blending Herbal Tea 34

Infusing Herbs into Oil 36

Carrier oils 36

Cold-infusion method 37

Hot-infusion method 39

Making Your Own Herbal Tinctures 40

Weight-to-volume ratios 41

Lemon Balm Tincture 43

Making and Burning Incense 44

Incense ingredients 44

Incense Blend 45

Burning incense 46

Crafting Stick and Cone Incense 47

Assembling Herbal Charms 48

Charm bags 49

Spell Bottle for Keeping Away Unwanted Visitors 50

Incorporating Essential Oils and Aromatherapy 53

Essential oil blends 54

Autumnal Simmer Pot for Prosperity 56

Dressing and Fixing Candles 57

Taking Herbal Baths 59

Creating Flower Essences 60

Making Herbal Powders 63

Chapter 3: Understanding Herbal Correspondences 65

The Doctrine of Signatures 66

Practicing with Elemental Correspondences 67

Fire 67

Air 68

Water 69

Earth 70

Herbal Magic and Planetary Correspondences 71

Moon 71

Mercury 72

Venus 73

Mars 74

Jupiter 75

Saturn 76

Sun 77

Astrological Correspondences 78

Aries, the Ram 79

Leo, the Lion 80

Sagittarius, the Centaur 80

Gemini, the Twins 81

Libra, the Scales 82

Aquarius, the Water-bearer 83

Cancer, the Crab 83

Scorpio, the Scorpion 84

Pisces, the Fish 85

Taurus, the Bull 86

Virgo, the Maiden 87

Capricorn, the Sea-goat 88

Herbal Magic Correspondences 89

Part 2: Crafting Spells and Rituals 93

Chapter 4: Preparing Herbs for Magic 95

Sourcing Herbal Ingredients 95

Ethical and sustainable sourcing 96

Reputable sources 96

Bioregionalism 97

Your own herb garden 97

Practicing Magical Harvesting 97

Harvesting herbs ritually 98

Harvesting times: Days of the week 98

Factoring in lunar phases 99

Offerings to the plants 100

Harvesting your herbs 100

Drying and Preserving Harvested Herbs 100

Choosing a drying method 101

Monitoring daily 102

Freezing, curing, and storing 102

Awakening Herbs for Ritual Use 103

Infusing Herbs with Your Intention 104

Working with Roots 105

Preparing roots for magical use 107

Offerings to roots 108

Chapter 5: Protecting Yourself and Setting Boundaries 109

Enforcing Safe Spaces 110

Defining defensive operations 110

Launching offensive operations 112

Exploring Herbs of Protection 113

Herbs of the Sun 114

Herbs of Mars 116

Yarrow 117

Herbs of Saturn 118

Creating Formulas for Defense 119

Fiery Wall of Protection Powder 119

Hot Foot Powder 119

Protection Incense 119

Black Salt 120

Protection Oil 120

Casting Spells of Protection 121

Candle spell for protection 121

Home protection with herbal salt bowls 122

Home protection ritual 123

Charm bag for protection 124

Witch bottles 125

Chapter 6: Cleansing, Purifying, and Banishing with Herbs 127

Practicing Energetic Hygiene 127

Cleansing 128

Purification 129

Banishing 129

Exploring Herbs of Energetic Hygiene 130

Angelica root 130

Asafoetida 131

Eucalyptus 132

Hyssop 133

Juniper 133

Lemongrass 134

Mugwort 135

Rosemary 136

Rue 136

Sage 137

Valerian root 138

Wormwood 139

Creating Herbal Formulas for Energetic Hygiene 140

Cleansing Incense 140

Removal Bath Blend 140

Banishing Incense 141

Flying Devil Oil 141

Uncrossing Oil 141

Florida Water 142

Casting Cleansing Spells 143

Performing a Banishment Ritual 145

Chapter 7: Attracting Abundance and Prosperity 149

Cultivating an Abundance and Prosperity Mindset 149

Exploring Herbs of Abundance and Prosperity 151

Allspice 151

Basil 152

Bay leaf 153

Chamomile 154

Cinnamon 155

Cinquefoil 155

Mint 156

Oakmoss 157

Patchouli 157

Thyme 158

Vetiver 159

Creating Herbal Formulas for Prosperity and Abundance 159

Prosperity Oil 160

Money-Drawing Powder 160

Success Incense 161

Good Luck Oil 161

Blockbuster Ritual Bath 161

Fancy Business Oil 162

Customer-Attraction Incense 162

Casting Spells for Prosperity and Abundance 163

Money bowl 163

Prosperity Spell Candle 164

A charm for good fortune 165

Chapter 8: Supporting the Healing of Body and Spirit 167

Approaching Spiritual Healing Practices 167

Exploring Herbs of Healing and Support 168

All-heal 169

Blessed thistle 169

Lady's mantle 170

Lavender 171

Life everlasting 171

Purple coneflower 172

Plantain 173

Poplar 174

Skullcap 174

St John's wort 175

Vervain 176

Yarrow 177

Creating Herbal Formulas for Wellness 178

Healing Oil 178

Healing Incense 179

Renewing Floor Wash 179

Golden Healing Salve 180

Purify and Revitalize Bath Blend 182

Casting Spells of Healing and Wellness 182

Smoke Bundle for Healing 183

Healing Energy Ritual 184

A charm for health 185

Chapter 9: Cultivating Love and Sensuality 187

Understanding the Ethics of "Love" Magic 187

Exploring Herbs of Love and Sensuality 189

Herbs for All Matters of the Heart 190

Cardamom 190

Cinnamon 191

Damiana 191

Ginger 192

Lemon balm 192

Orchid 193

Patchouli 193

Rose 194

Creating Formulas for Attraction 195

Bend Over Oil 195

Come to Me Oil 196

Love-Drawing Oil 196

Venetian Bath Salt 197

Love-Drawing Incense 197

Love Spell Candle Dressing 198

Casting Spells for Self-Love and Romance 199

Ritual bath for heart healing 199

Spell for attracting a romantic partner 200

Honey jar to bring the sweetness of love 201

Chapter 10: Creating Your Own Herbal Magic 203

Defining Your Own Ritual 203

Setting Your Intention 204

Timing Your Magic 205

Selecting Your Herbs 207

Listening to Your Intuition 208

Choosing the Right Formula 209

Gathering Ritual Objects 210

Animal bones 210

Wood 211

Stones and crystals 211

Ritual tools 212

Writing Petitions and Incantations 212

Petitions 212

Incantations 213

Part 3: Partnering with Nature 215

Chapter 11: Growing a Magical Herb Garden 217

Choosing Which Herbs to Grow 217

Planting with the Moon 218

New moon 219

Waxing moon 219

Full moon 219

Waning moon 220

Dark moon 220

Working with the Seasons 220

Spring 221

Summer 221

Fall 221

Winter 221

Indoor/City Gardening 222

Chapter 12: Protecting the Environment 223

Believing Everything Has a Spirit: Animism 223

Earth as a Living System: Spiritual Ecology 225

Avoiding Cultural Appropriation 226

Using Sustainable Practices 227

Part 4: the Part of Tens 229

Chapter 13: Ten Herbs to Enhance Your Magic 231

Basil 231

Bay Laurel 232

Cinquefoil 234

Dandelion 235

Juniper 236

Lavender 238

Mint 239

Mugwort 241

Rosemary 242

Yarrow 243

Chapter 14: Ten Tips for Building Your Magical Apothecary 247

Choosing Your Shelving 247

Dedicating Your Magical Herb Cabinet 248

Storing in Bottles, Jars, and Vials 248

Drying Your Herbs 249

Storing Your Herbs 249

Labeling Your Containers 250

Checking Your Herbs 250

Mitigating Mold and Insects 251

Using the Cabinet as an Altar 251

Working with the Magical Apothecary 251

Index 253