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Episode 131: Spooktober's Baneful Herbs
496 Plays1 month ago
Welcome back, Witches! In this Spooktober episode, we're exploring the fascinating lore and herbal magic of Hellebore and Wormwood—two baneful herbs with a long history of powerful uses and surprising benefits. So get in, loser—we're learning about these bewitching botanicals!
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at [email protected]. You can support our show through our links below.
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Music by Darren Curtis- My Dark Passenger
References:
- Michael, Coby. “Baneful Herbs.” Presented at It’s Only Natural, Artes & Craft, Hartford, MI, November 4, 2018. Coby Michael Collection. New Age Movements, Occultism, and Spiritualism Research Library. Archives and Special Collections. Valdosta State University. Valdosta, GA. https://hdl.handle.net/10428/5456
- Michael, Coby. The Poison Path Herbal. (2021) Park Street Press.
- Beyer, Rebecca. Wild Witchcraft. (2022) Simon Element.
- Nock, Judy Ann. The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Magical Herbs. (2019) Adams Media
- Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium)- A Herbal Monograph. My Herbal Apothecary. https://www.myherbalapothecary.com.au/herbal-monograph-wormwood/?srsltid=AfmBOopChSPrvk9RUMDEZ6iHsdYPcp7sXcZmhMZQRFUIdW8z-xxVds8y
- Tina Caro (2024). Hellebore: Folklore, Spiritual, & Magical Uses. Magickal Spot. https://magickalspot.com/hellebore/
- Masha Goepel (2024). All You Ever Wanted to Know about the Magical Hellebore Plant. Garden & Happy. https://gardenandhappy.com/hellebore/
- Alain Touwaide & Emanuela Appetiti (2024). Herbs in History: Hellebore. AHPA. https://www.ahpa.org/herbs_in_history_hellebore
- Mrs. M. Grieve (n.d.). Hellebore, Black. Botanical. Com. https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/helbla14.html
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft and Baneful Herbs
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in, witches, as we take a deeper look into some painful herbs.
Storm Preparations and Culinary Preferences
00:00:47
Speaker
So disclaimer, my neighbors are working in their yard and it's quiet for right now, but who knows? They were making a lot of noise earlier and I'm a little raspy today, so just deal with it. Okay, thanks.
00:01:03
Speaker
What if we don't want to deal with it? today Too bad. I went to a festival and I'm raspy. It is what it is. Yeah. The coffee has helped a little bit, but not a lot. So. Yeah. We'll just keep drinking it. It'll help. I know. We'll see. You're like, keep drinking it and start talking. ah Yeah. No. Well, for once too, I think.
00:01:28
Speaker
We, it's pretty quiet on our end. I don't know. We'll see. I guess Mo's not enforcing neighborhood laws and he's not. Yeah. I think, um, all of our neighbors are out and about today because we were supposed to have been hit by a typhoon this weekend and it last minute like veered north. And so it, yeah, some other islands, not ours. And so, you know what? It was great. Although I will say,
00:01:57
Speaker
people are fucking idiots because they went out and they, you know of course, do what they do and buy everything in the store thinking that it's the end of the world. and so yeah yeah But outside of that, everything's good.
00:02:11
Speaker
It always kills me like when there's like a snow storm or something like in Illinois, there'll be like a snow storm. And so everyone will go out and buy milk, eggs and bread. And I'm like, okay, the bread makes sense, right? That's shelf stable. But if your power goes out, what are you going to do with the milk and eggs? Yeah, put I guess put them out in the snow. I don't know. Right. I will say with this go round, it seems like people realize that because last year we got hit with a typhoon and we were without power.
00:02:39
Speaker
um Well, no, we were not without power. We still had our power but most people That lost power on the island. They were out without power for a week two weeks at a time Sometimes three yeah like it was really bad because it hit us and then came back around and hit us again. Like it was fucking insane yeah but Whenever that happened people were they went out and they did the same thing they bought all the milk and all the eggs and like all the bread and and um I'm just like, why would you do that? You're going to lose your power. And then some people lost like all of the food that they bought. So this time around, I feel like they kind of learned their lesson a little bit because the store was completely wiped of shelf-stable shit. Literally, yeah the canned meat aisle was completely it gone. There was none. And I'm just like, come on. like I buy sardines on a regular basis.
00:03:29
Speaker
not that many people buy fucking sardines. Why are there none on this aisle? Like, are you shitting me? Like, come on. Oh, no. So I wonder like who has all this tuna fish and sardines and spam and what are they going to do with it now?
00:03:45
Speaker
Yeah. What are you making with it? Um, I, it just makes me laugh. I'm like, what, what about a storm makes you want to make French toast? Like you buy all the ingredients to make French toast. Like why was that the food of storms? Yeah. I won't be eating that nasty ass shit, but um I will have to toast. Oh my God. It makes me want to vomit. I can't, I
Exploration of Baneful Herbs
00:04:08
Speaker
cannot eat it. Like can't eat it. It is so gross. you Like a weird thing with eggs though.
00:04:14
Speaker
I do have a weird thing with eggs. It is 100% the eggs. So yeah. I love French toast. It's so delicious. and I just can't. I can't do it. It's so nasty. But we're not talking about French toast and shelf-stable food. ah No, we're not.
00:04:38
Speaker
We're talking about poisonous shit today. ah I'm excited. I am too. We're talking about baneful herbs. Yes. I had a lot of fun doing this and I was really ambitious. So when we started talking about doing this episode, we never like discussed which herbs we were going to cover.
00:05:00
Speaker
So I had messaged Sam and I was like, I'm going to cover these two. And then like, I think like, I don't know, an hour later, I messaged you back and I think you were sleeping too. So just so listeners know I'm having this full conversation with Sam and she's like a asleep. So I'm like, these are the herbs that I'm doing. I updated our list, like all these messages. And then an hour later, I'm like, so anyways, I take it back. I'm only covering one because I have way too much information.
00:05:29
Speaker
And I wasn't gonna put you guys through like an hour of me talking about herbs. So you guys get one herb but from me today. i own one which friend me Okay, you covered one too. I was like, I don't know if Sam did multiple or not, but the herb I picked had a lot of information. So I didn't want to do too, too much because we'll definitely like revisit this one in the future. So with that said, I'm going to start us off. So just as like a informational like tidbit for anyone that is interested in baneful herbs or like what is known as the poison path in terms of herbalism.
00:06:11
Speaker
I'd highly, highly recommend reading The Poison Path Herbal by Kobe Michael. And there's also like a PDF of some presentation that he gave at some point, and it's linked in our show notes. But he fully details like the science and the chemistry behind Banffal Herbs, along with like a lot of folklore and like historical uses and just tons of information all around. I've read both his presentation and I have the The Poison Path Herbal book.
00:06:39
Speaker
that he wrote. You know, I read it just out of curiosity as an herbalist and I loved all the historical and scientific background that he includes. While I feel it goes without saying, and we say it all the time, like please, please, please, please do your own research. Should this be like a path that you choose to embark on, it's really important to know what you're working with when it comes to poisonous herbs and like what not to do and what to do with them. So like while not all baneful herbs are poisonous, you could potentially cause your yourself harm if you don't thoroughly research the plants and the herbs that you're working with. Because like with you know I said, like some of them are actually poisonous, so you don't want to make yourself sick or worse or you know harm kids, pets.
00:07:23
Speaker
whatever else you have in your house. it It's just very, very important to know what you're doing. Okay, so I'm going to kick us off with just a small amount of background on baneful herbs because there's some like really great information that I learned while doing this research, and I wanted to include it because it was just it was too interesting not to.
00:07:45
Speaker
So, baneful herbs are plants that have a dramatic effect on human physiology. They're often poisonous in nature, and they'll produce altered states, and they've historically been associated with witchcraft and the spirit world. Baneful herbs are heavily used in a practice that has been coined the poison path by Del Pendle, and it's described as the study of sacred herbs known as entheogens, along with their chemistry and ritual use in spiritual practice.
00:08:12
Speaker
So entheogens are plants that have been used by humans to connect with the spiritual realm and the divine, having profound effects on human physiology and perception. And when we're thinking about this, this would be like hallucinogens and psychedelics. And not to dive too, too deep into the background of baneful herbs here, but their uses can be traced back to the Roman Empire, where poisoners were a hot commodity. So during the height of Rome, there was a practice known as venificium. I'm going to be saying a lot of V words that I struggled with when I was reading through my notes the other day, so just, you know, bear with me.
00:08:51
Speaker
Beneficium was the practice and the crime of poisoning, and it was made illegal during Ancient Rome due to its prevalence. So there were cases of private poisoning occurring frequently here. And according to Daniel Schulke from the publishers' remarks in Beneficium, beneficium concerns the intersection of magic and poisoning, originating in remotest antiquity and reaching into present day.
00:09:21
Speaker
Beyond their function as agents of bodily harm, poisons have also served as a gateway for religious ecstasy, occult knowledge, and sincereal aberration, as well as the basis of cures.
00:09:36
Speaker
The word venom is derived from the name of the goddess Venus to indicate a poison or a love potion, which imagine mixing those up on accident. or eight And then there are the vinificae The Veneficus and the Veneficia. And those were titles that were for like people that were well versed in the art of poisoning. And if a person excelled in this art, they were like high demand during this time. And the term Veneficus was used interchangeably to mean poisoner and sorcerer.
00:10:13
Speaker
and there was a poisoner back in ancient Rome known as La Custa, and she was one of the most celebrated beneficia known for poisoning Claudius and Britannius, and the emperor Nero placed other benefici under her instruction.
00:10:30
Speaker
Laws were passed against the purchase and the sell of poisons for use of poisoning, and as always is the case as we've come to learn, accusations of poisoning were frequently brought against women. The first public instance of people being condemned for beneficium occurred in 350 BCE, e where the plague and pestilence were blamed on Roman women And testimony came from a slave girl, and it ended in there being 170 women condemned for poisoning, resulting in the plague, apparently. So they were like, everyone's getting sick, clearly women poisoned people. Right. It couldn't be that we're just fucking dirty. That part. and i know
00:11:15
Speaker
I read all of this and I was like, wow, we've seen this before. so um And then just what's important to remember when working with herbs, especially like painful ones, is that what can cure can also kill. So things are not always black or white, not always safe or unsafe, not always good or evil.
00:11:36
Speaker
There's a lot of crossover between the two and you have to be able to both recognize and understand the gray areas if you want to work with baneful
Deep Dive into Wormwood
00:11:45
Speaker
herbs. Remember that you can't have the light without the dark and it's something that Sam has mentioned numerous times on the podcast, like mostly pertaining to shadow work, but it holds like true here too. So that's just like ah a tiny background. If you want more history on this, there's so much out there. There was so much like,
00:12:03
Speaker
great information, but we're not talking about the the background of it. We're, we're talking about some herbs today. So I'm going to kick us off with wormwood. So when you're looking at it from an herbal standpoint, wormwood's botanical name is Artemisia absintheum and it's part of the Austria CA family. Its common name is wormwood. Um, and it's also known as grand wormwood, absinthe, absinthe wormwood, worm out and warm it.
00:12:30
Speaker
mugwort and wormwood are often used interchangeably but like please note that these are two very different plants. I was running into this a lot when I was doing the research and I was like mugwort and wormwood are not the same thing so like they're not the same plant and if you see it like used interchangeably like please understand which one you're working with because I don't know why they got like keep getting confused and used as the same. They are not the same plant. They're very, very different. Remember when working with herbs that the botanical or the scientific names are so, so, so important. So in terms of wormwood, there are hundreds of species of Artemisia and some of them are considered poisonous. So you need to be 100% sure that what you're working with from an herbal standpoint
00:13:18
Speaker
is Artemisia absintheum. It's native to temperate regions of Eurasia, North Africa, and it has been like widely centralized in Canada and the United States. The leaves have a spiral-like arrangement with a greenish-gray on top and white below. They're also covered in silvery white trichomes and they bear tiny oil producing glands. Wormwood stems are straight growing stems. They get up to 1.2 meters tall and rarely over 1.5 meters tall. The stems are grooved, branched, and silverish in color. Wormwood also blooms pale yellow tubular flowers that are in clusters.
00:14:01
Speaker
and it blooms from early summer to late autumn. The parts used are the aerial parts and they should be harvested while in flower in the late summer. Its energetics are bitter, pungent, drying, and cold. Its actions are that it's a bitter tonic, um it's anthelmintic, antiparasitic, carminative, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-neoplastic,
00:14:29
Speaker
It's a vermifuge, a eupectic bitter, a cholerotic, a diuretic, a naminagogue, and unirid stimulant. It's a nirvine. It's anti-carcinogenic. It's hepatoprotective. It's a neuroprotective, an antidepressant, an analgesic.
00:14:48
Speaker
It's an immunomodulatory and it has cytotoxic activity. And just in case anyone was curious, because I didn't know this and I had to look it up, the anthelmenetix are used to treat animals with worms or other parasites.
00:15:04
Speaker
Its constituents are that it's rich in essential oils, including absinthe, thujol, isovaleric acid, bitter sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, glycosides, and thujone. And the last one makes it potentially addictive. Its historical uses include anorexia, dyspepsia, conditions involving insufficient flow of gastric or pancreatic enzymes and bile, worm infestations,
00:15:32
Speaker
especially pertaining to roundworm and penworms, and digestion, especially in a lack of gastric fluids. It was also thought to help the body deal with fever and infections, and this is because of like its tonic action. It helps to benefit like many diverse conditions because it's like tonics tend to benefit the body in general. It's also been used in chicken nest boxes to keep insects like mites out. And it said that chickens that have access to wormwood will often self-medicate to prevent and or treat worms, which I thought was just like really cute. Oh my god, that is cute. I gotta go prevent my worms and they just go like, peck on some wormwood. So smart. I love it. So precious.
00:16:18
Speaker
Okay, in terms of contraindications or cautions, high doses of thujone may cause neurotoxicity, and there is a contraindication for pregnancy and lactation as well as hyperacidity.
00:16:34
Speaker
Wormwood generally comes with the warning that the recommended dose like cannot be exceeded, as well as one stating that for those sensitive to the daisy family to avoid the herb altogether. And that's like the astray CA that I was talking about when I gave like the botanical name and whatnot.
00:16:53
Speaker
So, long-term use for Artemisia absintheum. Essential oil may cause toxic and mental disorders in humans with clinical manifestations including compulsions, sleeplessness, and hallucinations. Wormwood is not recommended for use on dogs and cats and less in low doses for a very short time and under the supervision of a veterinarian as it can become toxic if not dosed properly.
00:17:19
Speaker
and uses include infusions, the powdered herb and pilliform, tincture, compress, washes, and the dosage here should not x exceed 0.7 to 3 milliliters of a tincture that's a 1 to 5, and then no more than 5-20 milliliters per week. ah like When we're talking about the Baneful Magic side of Wormwood, Wormwood is sacred to Artemis, Diana, Hecate, and other lunar deities as well as being noted to be favored by Lilith. There have been beliefs that it was also ingested as a sacrament during the full moon rituals to symbolically ingest these deities apparently. It is an herb of Saturn which is believed to affect connective tissue, the skeleton, and the teeth. They also help the body to like process minerals. Magically, herbs of Saturn can be used for shielding, protection, endurance, restriction, and self-control.
00:18:20
Speaker
spiritually and emotionally herbs of Saturn can help us make necessary changes in our lives, helping us like let go and move forward. They also help us transcend limitations and begin living our true purpose.
00:18:34
Speaker
So, herbs of Saturn's correspondences are that it's masculine. The zodiac and houses are Capricorn and the 10th house, with themes of prestige, honor, career, the legacy a person leaves behind, attainments necessary to reach like life's purpose, and then Aquarius and the 11th house. Themes are like belief structures, ideologies, group traditions, how our spirituality is grounded in the community and the world around us.
00:19:04
Speaker
Alchemical symbols would be negredo, or the first phase of work, or putrification. The image of wormwood is the wild green man. Its spirit is thought to be fiery and trickster-like, and many have said that they've seen the spirit appear as a little green man. Practitioners of baneful magic burn wormwood to call the spirits of the dead, as well as historically using it for purification in necromantic rituals, because it like cleanses a space without clearing away spirits apparently. In Norse traditions, Wormwood is sacred to Hel and her underworld guardian, Morgund. It can be used to petition the gatekeeper to enter Hel's halls. It's also been used to aid in rituals meant to release the wandering dead and send them to Helheim.
00:19:56
Speaker
Magical uses include psychic work protection and calling spirits as well as clearing energy fields. Wormwood is also an effective ingredient in spells of vengeance. It can be used to stop conflict by inhibiting the enemy as well as used in Return to Sender spells.
00:20:13
Speaker
to seal negativity with its source. Steeping wormwood in magical ink is believed to protect what is written through sympathetic magic. Historically, it was also added to ink to protect the pages that were written on from mice as it acted as a vermicide.
00:20:29
Speaker
It has strong ties to Samhain and it can be used in rites of evocation and divination when the veil is at its thinnest. It also has lunar affinity and it's suggested as a remedy for stings of quote-unquote Martian creatures like scorpions, lofts, and snakes, which I thought was hilarious that they referred to those as Martian creatures.
00:20:54
Speaker
because they are kind of weird looking, but still, I was like, alright. And then biblically, Wormwood was said to have sprouted from the ground in the wake of the serpent as it was like exiled from the Garden of Eden.
00:21:10
Speaker
And in the Book of Revelations, um I guess it's Book 8 verses 10 through 11, wormwood is the name of a star or possibly an angel that was said to be one of the harbingers of Armageddon. And like the verse basically just says that wormwood falls from the sky into the springs of water, turning them bitter and like killing a bunch of people who consume the bitter water.
00:21:34
Speaker
And then again, just in wrapping up warm wood, please, please, please, please remember to make sure you do copious amounts of research when working with baneful herbs like this. As many of them can be extremely toxic or poisonous, like work with them safely and make sure that you store them properly and away, especially if you have little ones or pets in the home because we don't want any accidents.
00:22:01
Speaker
Amen. I'm going to be giving the exact same disclaimer for the era that I'm going to talk about. So I am going to be covering Hellebore. And before I begin, I'm going to give basically the same disclaimer. Because we want you to be safe. Yeah. So we don't want you to die. And then we don't want you coming back being like, well, you wouldn't because you'd be dead. But your family members can be like, you know what? They got this idea from Tiffany and Sam. We're going to sue them. No, you're not. Because also disclaimers.
00:22:31
Speaker
Don't haunt us. Yeah, don't haunt us because I will banish your ass. So I'm going to be talking about hellebore and it is very toxic.
Unveiling the Mysteries of Hellebore
00:22:43
Speaker
If you're wanting to handle this herb or work with it, do your research and wear fucking gloves. And if you have children or pets, I'm just going to go out on a limb here and be like, no, just don't even just don't even think about it.
00:22:59
Speaker
or a locking away at the very least. But also just maybe don't. You know what I mean? Yeah. Kids get into everything. So I'm going to be discussing how this herb was used historically. And even though some uses indicate ingesting the herb or handling it directly, like with your fucking hands and putting it on your body, just don't do it. Don't do it. Okay?
00:23:19
Speaker
Just don't. And if you're going to, do it safely, please. Yes. For the love. So some background here. Hellebor's botanical name is Helleborus Orientalis. And it's also known as Linton Rose. And the translation of the name has been a point of contention for many historians.
00:23:37
Speaker
For instance, it can be translated to food injury, which I think should be the actual fucking translation, okay? Just period, that's it. Yeah, just period, that's it. Food injury. But also, it was translated as food for fawns, which no, I don't like that, and also as food for hell. Well, didn't it historically, wasn't there like the word fawn used to be used as like a demon, like for demons or something? I think I've read that somewhere. no Maybe. I don't remember reading that, but and it sounds like it could be true, so we're just going to go like that. Food for demons. Food for demons, yeah. Which is much better than food for cute baby deers. Exactly, yeah.
00:24:20
Speaker
Hellebore is a perennial plant in the Buttercup family, which makes it seem like it would be really sweet. It's not. No. ah but It's not at all. Hellebore is known for its winter and early spring blossoms and its toxic properties. It has been used historically in both herbalism and magical practices, and caution is always given due to its toxicity levels.
00:24:47
Speaker
The parts of the plant that's used are the rhizome and the root. The rhizome, which is collected in the autumn, usually and dried, and it's said that the root has a slight odor when cut, and when the plant is dried in and powdered, it can cause violent sneezing. Nightmare. Yeah, nightmare. It's said to also have a bittersweet and acrid taste.
00:25:12
Speaker
When talking about hellebore, it's important to distinguish between black hellebore and white hellebore as that is what is often seen ancient herbalists do, which is distinguishing between the two. White hellebore is often also known as false hellebore, and that I'm not even going to get into on this episode. We're just going to talk about black hellebore, which is I'm just going to cover black hellebore. So hellebore can be found native to Europe and in some places in North America as well. The flower itself consists of five petal-like sepals that surround a ring of cup-like nectararies, which are petals that have evolved to hold nectar. The sepals can stay on the plant for a while, like months at a time, which allows hellebores a long blooming time.
00:26:02
Speaker
So, herbal uses, hellebore is rarely used in modern herbalism because of its toxicity. But in the past, it was used as a strong purgative or emetic, which means it could induce vomiting. And also, there's that word again, as an Anthelmintic. Yeah, i and I struggled with this one too. yeah It is awful. This is the worst word.
00:26:26
Speaker
to expel parasitic worms. So if you need a refresher on what anthalmenthic was, it's, you know, hopefully you never have to know. That part. Yeah, please. yeah Please don't get worms. I love that both of us are like, anyways, here's some worm expelling plants for you today.
00:26:47
Speaker
we didn't know great yeah ah So um as far as the energetics go with Heliobore, It's toxicity is the primary energetic signature. It's fucking toxic. And I'm going to say that many times. It is toxic. Don't fucking use it. I will get into this more in a bit. But historically, hellebore was used cautiously in small doses for medicinal purposes because it can cause severe poisoning if misused.
00:27:16
Speaker
Other energetic properties, it's associated with a heavy or cold nature. Hellebore has a heavy and cold signature matching its Saturnarian influence and it's often seen as grounding and somber. Another energetic is that it's purging. Traditionally, hellebore was used to purge both physically as a strong purgative and spiritually to cleanse and banish negative forces.
00:27:44
Speaker
Also, um it is restrictive in balancing. The plant's energetics are also contracting too, meaning it can draw energy inward, making it useful for introspective or reflective practices, including shadow work and grief.
00:28:00
Speaker
planetarily it is associated with Saturn and also Mars but I couldn't find anything about Mars online and why it was a lot. I don't know like why and this is it's in the the poison path herbal a lot of like herbs of saturn have ties to mars as well but it's just it's not like there's this huge like you know like herbs of saturn has this whole thing and you can go to herbs of mars and like they have their own thing but the ties between the two isn't necessarily a crossover it's just that it's like ties too Okay, so when when it comes to Saturn, though, it's linked to Saturn due to its connection with death, the underworld and binding energy. And then as far as elemental correspondences, it is connected with Earth and associated with the element of Earth alone for grounding, stability and heaviness. It's also corresponding with the element of water, but I couldn't find anything except for the elemental correspondences water. like yeah yeah you know There was really no extra information there. um I will say with it being ah an herb of Saturn, a lot of the correspondences that I talked about with wormwood are also going to fall in line here as well.
00:29:14
Speaker
for Hellebore and if you like again, this is what I was saying at the beginning the poison path herbal or even just Kobe's Presentation that is linked in our show notes has a ton of information on this. It's a really good place to start if The poison path is something that you're considering because he gives the science the chemistry Along with like the lore the magic and all of those things so into not to take over Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I'm just joking. Check out our show notes, definitely, if you're more interested in this. so yeah
00:29:50
Speaker
um One thing, though, about Hellebor is there's a ton of lore connected with Hellebor. And to just kind of go down the list here, one of the earliest and most famous uses for Hellebor comes from Greek mythology. There was an ancient physician in Sier named Malampus. They used Hellebor to cure the daughter of King Proteus of madness.
00:30:12
Speaker
So, Hellebore was administered as a purgative which expelled the madness of this king's daughter. So, it wasn't like the king was mad, it was his daughter. It supposedly expelled the madness and after this, Hellebore was used to treat mental disturbances and spiritual imbalances.
00:30:29
Speaker
It was also seen in Pliny the Elder's Records. Hellebor was referenced in Pliny's writings, and Pliny was a Roman naturalist. And I could be saying his name so fucking wrong, I don't know. um But he referenced Hellebor as a way to treat both mental illness and in uses for magical rites of purification.
00:30:49
Speaker
Hippocrates reference teleport as a powerful purgative which could be used to treat conditions ranging from paralysis to insanity, which is a pretty big fucking leap there like, okay, um so basically everything. If you're paralyzed or insane and everything in between.
00:31:07
Speaker
Yeah, and everything between. But really, if you're paralyzed and insane, it's really going to help you. and Then it's really perfect. So, Hellebor is also connected with the goddess Hecate who, as we know, is the goddess of witchcraft and the crossroads. And Hellebor is mainly connected to Hecate because the of the plant's toxic, purgative nature and ties with death and madness. um And it's also seen as an offering for Hecate as well.
00:31:33
Speaker
Also, it is connected with the Oracle of Delphi. Hellebor is believed to have been used by the priests at the Oracle of Delphi in small doses and may have been ingested by the priestesses to induce visions and put them into trance-like states. And it was also seen historically used at the purging at the siege of Kira.
00:31:54
Speaker
And this was 585 BC. So in 585, there was a Greek general, Solon, and he used hellebore to poison the water supply of the fucking city during a siege. And it's like, bro, the fuck. Like, what are the kids are saying that's like negative aura points or something like the fuck. You're losing all of the all of the aura. Hellebore may have been also the cause for Alexander the Great's death. And it said that while being treated for an illness, Alexander the Great could have intentionally or accidentally ingested hellebore at a toxic level, which ended up killing him, which is a terrible way to go. um yeah And hellebore was also connected to the underworld because it blooms in winter, which is a time of death and dormancy on earth. And because of that,
00:32:52
Speaker
and it's linked to the underworld, it is connected with Persephone as it you know symbolizes death and rebirth and all that. Additionally, Hellebore has been linked with, of course, witchcraft and protection. And during the Middle Ages, Hellebore was associated with witchcraft curses and magical rites. And it was used to curse enemies and in banishing magic. And it was also said to make one invisible if they scattered Hellebore in the air. And I don't know if maybe like people were like in
00:33:25
Speaker
poisoning themselves in that way and they just appeared invisible or if they were insane. I mean, I don't know. Like, did it- Also, are you just, like, tossing it around you? Like, I'm invisible. I'm invisible, though. Who knows, really? During the 16th and 17th centuries, hellebore was used to treat melancholia.
00:33:47
Speaker
or black bile which was said to stem from an imbalance of the four humans during this time doctors believe that hello or could be used to balance the excess of black bile which was thought to be the cause of depression and mental illness and during the play outbreak in medieval europe especially.
00:34:06
Speaker
Hellebore was believed to help ward off the plague. People would hang Hellebore up in their homes and burn it as incense to purify the air and get rid of the disease. And I bet these people fucking died too, like the fuck. I don't even understand.
00:34:22
Speaker
and There's some Christian lore also with this one as well. I love it. There's Christian lore with yours and with mine. There is a tale of a young girl who had no gift to give to Jesus when he was born. so She wept outside of the Nativity and her tears caused Hellebore to bloom for the first time in the snow. and It was then also known as the Christmas rose.
00:34:47
Speaker
What a terrible gift though, because it's poison. I know, she's like, here's my tears, but I grew this poison for you, Jesus. Eight pounds, six ounce, baby Jesus. Yeah, this is for you specifically. What? Don't eat it don't need it. Don't even touch it.
00:35:05
Speaker
How about that? I know you're a baby and you'll likely grab it and put it in your mouth, but don't. But don't. Because you will die. And then we can't hang you on a cross. Exactly. And kill you again. Like, I don't know.
00:35:19
Speaker
so baneful uses and magical uses for hellebore. Before I get into this, I do want to reference though, if you are interested in like symbolically using hellebore, you can just substitute roses for this. like You don't have to use hellebore. You can substitute rose. Just but say it's hellebore. Just do that. right so Whatever I say hellebore the next few times, just put rose there because we don't want you to die.
00:35:50
Speaker
So hellebore is often associated with rituals of protection and banishment, binding or any spells involving restriction or limiting. And so moon water, specifically, for instance, if it was infused with hellebore can be used to wash away vices, addictions, mental blocks, etc.
00:36:08
Speaker
But it's important to know, do not consume hellebore or put it on your skin. Wear gloves. Just like symbolically wash it on you or use roses like the fuck.
00:36:21
Speaker
and um Hellebor is also known to be a symbol of transformation and renewal, and it's believed that Hellebor can aid in spiritual growth and enlightenment, and that Hellebor can be used in rituals and ceremonies with the focus on overcoming obstacles, releasing negative energy, and for inner transformative means. And for enlightenment specifically, some references instruct the user to either look at Hellebor or place it on your forehead while meditating on the issue at hand.
00:36:52
Speaker
um But again, like be very careful. We will not say that you cannot work the poison path or work with painful herbs, but we do want to be very, very clear that this is not a safe path.
00:37:10
Speaker
If you don't know what you're doing. Yes. This is not a, Hey, I'm super interested in magic and working with herbs. And I know nothing about either. And oh, hey, bainful herb sounds cool. No. Sure. They sound cool, but they're scary. Yeah. but You need to, you need to work with them more.
00:37:30
Speaker
Um, so Hellebore is also thought to be effective in helping to dispel malevolent forces and creating sacred boundaries, warding off evil spirits and curses. And it was also used in ancient rituals and especially exorcism rituals to drive away negative spirits or influences, which I have a lot of questions about because I mean, same like, did it kill every, like, at well and also with exorcism being tied to insanity and like.
00:38:00
Speaker
you know, the very fine line between mental illness and spiritual possession. Like, there's a lot of questions there. And I, you know, I just I have a lot of questions. But also going back to invisibility, Alivore root when dried, supposedly can be ground into a powder and sprinkled around a person or an item to be made invisible as part of a larger invisibility spell.
00:38:22
Speaker
Interesting. I don't know if this is like something where maybe practitioners use it in a symbolic way. You know what I mean? Yeah. like Instead of, like I believe that this item is going to become invisible, it's maybe like ah symbolically, like if you were trying to remove a vice, for instance, from your life, and you're putting that pack of cigarettes,
00:38:43
Speaker
ah as part of your ritual down and sprinkling it with the hellebore to make it invisible to you and to banish it in real life maybe is what I'm assuming it's being used as, but yeah again, I
Safety and Further Reading on Toxic Herbs
00:38:56
Speaker
don't know. I feel like that tracks too with like what you were saying with the and like infusing moon water with it and using it as a wash. like Maybe that's like how they're doing it. you know I don't know. As opposed to actually washing yourself in it because don't do that. Yeah, washing the vice in it. you know yeah I don't know. That's that's an interesting thought. Yeah. um I think it's more so that than it actually like bathing in it or actually scraping it on your skin. So again, as Tiffany mentioned, as I mentioned, like to close out this episode, because that's all I have on Hellebore, please do your fucking research.
00:39:34
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Like if this is something you're interested in, if you're interested in painful herbs, painful magic, the poison path, like any of that, do a lot of research before you start practicing anything because a lot of these plants, like we said, or these herbs are very, very toxic. They can cause you harm.
00:39:56
Speaker
if you have little ones or pets in the house that get into things, they could cause them harm. Um, and that's not what we want to see happen. I think it's really important to still like research these topics and talk about them on the podcast because you know, maybe this is something that you're looking into, but you don't really know where to start or like maybe you don't know the danger surrounding them. So it's really, it's just really important to make sure you're doing your research on this topic before practicing any anything in painful magic or painful herbs. And also too, it's not like us saying like, oh, you know maybe don't work with that, especially if you're new or like, yeah um do your own research isn't a slight to anyone who is working with them and knows their shit and has been doing this for a long time.
00:40:48
Speaker
Like the, do your research and maybe don't touch this fucking shit is 100% for people who, you know, are interested in baneful magic, but don't know where to start. And they haven't done the research yet because like you were saying, there's a way to work with them safely. There's a way to incorporate baneful herbs into your magical practices, but starting out as a novice and immediately jumping into something like this,
00:41:16
Speaker
is not safe. Yeah, and if like this is, again, something that you're interested in, there are some people out there that have done a lot of research like Dale Pendleton or Kobe Michael. Dale Pendleton has a couple of – or not Pendleton, I'm sorry, Dale Pendle. He's got a couple of books out where he's done a lot of thorough research. Kobe Michael has TikTok, he has Instagram, he's you know released the Poison Path herbal, which is really great even if you're not interested in working with it. like He includes so much information, so much history, lore, like magical practices, along with science and chemistry, which you know Sam and I love a good well-researched topic. so
00:42:00
Speaker
Like, I would highly, highly recommend starting there, starting with, you know, the poison path herbal, maybe go look at the presentation, the PDF that ah is in our notes that he gave, um and then look up Dale Pendle and maybe get a book or two of his and really just kind of dive in from the the written aspect of it first, like really kind of get ah an understanding of it before you purchase any herbs. Yes. 1000%. Yes. But that's it.
00:42:52
Speaker
review on wherever you listen to your