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Episode 100: Spring Magic
715 Plays1 year ago
Welcome back Witches, to another spellbinding episode! This week, we're stepping into the realm of spring magic. In this mystical journey, we'll explore the vibrant energies of the season, uncovering the secrets of renewal and growth. Join us as we dance amidst the blossoms, communing with the spirits of nature and harnessing the revitalizing power of the vernal equinox. So get in losers, and let us embark on a captivating odyssey infused with the essence of rebirth and Spring Magic.
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 weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our links below.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
References:
- Emily Iris Degn (2021). Here’s How to Prepare for Spring the Witchy Way- Full of Magic, Healing and Rebirth. Peaceful Dumpling. https://www.peacefuldumpling.com/prepare-for-spring-magic
- Aurora Moon (2018). Ostara Magickal Correspondences. Plentiful Earth. https://plentifulearth.com/ostara-magickal-correspondences/
- Megan Shoop-Volz (n.d.). Reading the Tree Leaves. Spirituality Health. https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/reading-the-tree-leaves
- Otherworldly Oracle (n.d.). Ostara Blessings, SPRING Rituals and Vernal Divination. Otherworldly Oracle. https://otherworldlyoracle.com/ostara-blessings-spring-rituals/
- Goldwin, Ruby. Herbalism for Witches (3 book series). (2022).
- Rego, Elena. Correspondences for Ostara. (2018). The Holy Witch. https://theholywitch.com/correspondences-for-ostara/
- Cunningfolk, Alexis J. Witchcraft + Weeds: Healing + Magickal Practices for Spring. (2017). Worts and Cunning. https://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog/weeds-and-witchcraft-spring
- The Golden Poppy Herbal Apothecary. Materia Medica on Dandelion. https://goldenpoppyherbs.com/dandelion-materia-medica/
- Penguin. How to Celebrate the Spring Equinox like a Modern Witch. (2018). Penguin UK. https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/08/how-to-celebrate-spring-equinox-like-a-modern-witch
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
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. Soak it in, witches, as we explore the ways you can usher in the warmth and renewal of spring within your practice.
00:00:45
Speaker
just a quick disclaimer. This will be probably in every episode now because our neighbors have chickens and roosters. I don't know if you heard it. That's cute. No, I didn't hear it. I heard it earlier and I was like, Oh my God, I completely forgot about the chickens and roosters. They have like four or five roosters over there that like, they start at probably about 730 in the morning just doing their little talk. Oh my
00:01:10
Speaker
And they do it all day, randomly. And I'm like, buddy, the sun has risen. In case you didn't know, though, I'm just going to let you know real quick. Oh my God, I love it. I love chicken so much. I think they are the cutest things. I cannot wait to come outside and visit you, but also visit your chickens, your neighbor's chickens. Yeah, exactly. So they have
00:01:34
Speaker
they put in like a whole, I don't, you can't really see because the sun is actually kind of out today, which is rare. But like we have a whole hedge of just like, I can see that. Yeah. Okay. So that is like,
00:01:49
Speaker
in front of the fence that's between us and our neighbors. If I'm sitting outside or if we take the dogs outside, there's little cracks in between the hedges where you can see little trains just sprint by. My heart. My chickens are so cute.
00:02:07
Speaker
And if you're in our upstairs bathroom from the window, you can see the whole yard. And I don't know if they just bust it out of the fence or if all the neighbors just let the chickens run around, but they're just running around all through everyone's yard. Oh, that's so cute. Yeah. But they are a trigger for Nyx, so that's cool. Every time we take her out, she's like,
00:02:28
Speaker
pointing and trying to get through the bushes. They're going to let us put a fence in this yard because it's not fenced in and it goes out to the main road because we live on Main Street. So the lady that manages the property, we were like, hey, could we put an offense? Would you ask the owner? And she was like, just do it. You live here. If they don't like it, you can take it down when you leave.
00:02:54
Speaker
We were like, oh, well, you don't want to ask? She was like, you don't need to ask. You live here. Yeah. Oh, so we're going to, when the weather gets a little bit nicer, we're going to fence in this whole like grass area. Yeah. Like either run a fence kind of in front of the hedge.
00:03:13
Speaker
to keep Nyx from getting back there or just like reinforce the fence behind it somehow because that's the last thing I need is Nyx murdering my neighbor's chickens. Right? Like that would sound great. Like, yeah, no, thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Nixie poo. If you hear a little cockadoodle do's, that's why.
00:03:35
Speaker
You shouldn't hear animal other animal noises because I have locked myself in a room and they are all out in the house with Anthony. So because for once he's home. Wow. Imagine that. Yeah. And then also I think the kids are back inside, but our, we have neighbors that live like two houses down for me and their kids just recently started coming out to play and they scream like all the damn time. And I'm just like, I will go outside thinking somebody's hurt and know they just scream.
00:04:05
Speaker
I don't know why that's their go to. Um, I think they're all inside now cause it's getting, it's like six 30 here. So it's getting kind of dark. I saw a little bit of congestion too. So I'm like a little, not stuffy, but like, I don't know, nasally raspy. I can't really tell you sound, please sound normal to me, but I don't know. Maybe I just feel it. I don't know. I think it's like,
00:04:35
Speaker
With the headphones, it makes it seem worse. Yeah. I can see that. Yeah. But anyway. Anyway, you might- It's spring. It's spring. There's a chicken. If only it felt like spring. Well, it feels like spring here where I'm at, but it does not feel like spring in Germany.
00:04:59
Speaker
No, it's like dreary and gray. We get little peaks of the sun every now and then. Kind of chilly, little misty. It's always like rain today. And instead of an actual rain, it's just a little mist. Just enough to be annoying. Yeah. But well, right now in Okinawa, I should say, but it is it was sunny today and like 65. So it definitely felt like spring. Yeah.
00:05:27
Speaker
When this episode comes out, it'll be more like spring probably. Yeah.
Celebrating 100 Episodes
00:05:33
Speaker
This episode will be coming out right around the beginning of spring and the spring equinox. And so with that in mind, we wanted to do
00:05:44
Speaker
a little bit, or we wanted to do an episode a little bit about seasonal magic, and it's our 100th episode, which is amazing. That is. I cannot believe we've done 100 episodes. I know, right? It's crazy. Just reminiscing back to our first couple of episodes where it was so awkward, and we couldn't even look at each other while we were talking because we were embarrassed. It's so funny. It's not like we were strangers. Right, yeah.
00:06:13
Speaker
But every time we would, like, laugh if we even looked at each other, or we would do weird things that would make the other person laugh. Yeah. Like, I don't remember when I, I know there was something I did that you always, like, cracked up, but with me, every time we'd start, you'd get really close to something. It would make me laugh, because you would feel like, get in with this, or whatever you would say. It was like, really, really, really close.
00:06:41
Speaker
Yeah. So like, you guys don't see the video portion of it, but Sam's face would literally be right up on the camera and I would end up having to mute myself because I would be laughing so hard or I would just be laughing and it would make her laugh. And then it would be this like 30 minute thing of us just like, we have to edit out so much from these episodes.
00:07:09
Speaker
I feel like too, yeah, because I remember when we first started doing this, we'd edit the episodes and stuff. I just, oh my God, it would be just miserable because sometimes it would be like two hours and the episode was only 30 minutes. Let me do that again. Let me do that again. Instead of like, do the entire paragraph, instead of starting over at like one sentence, the sentence that we fucked up on.
00:07:37
Speaker
We talked about in a more recent episode about how like, there would be like a jet flying over or my neighbor would be revving his car engine and we would just sit there
00:07:49
Speaker
I'm waiting for it to stop instead of like me muting or Sam muting and just being like, ugh, this just happened again. And then we'd have to like cut out 15 minutes of the middle and then we'd be like, well, I can't remember where I left off. So we would start the whole section over. Yes. And then our future selves, whoever, whichever one of us was editing it, editing it would be like, oh my God. Because it would be a two hour episode.
00:08:17
Speaker
for 30 or two hours of content for just a 30-minute episode. Yeah. Made for some fabulous bloopers, I will say. It did. It did. We still get good bloopers, and for our supercast people, we'll definitely have more of those coming out soon when I get settled and have time to do that. But we
00:08:38
Speaker
Our early episodes definitely were like half bloopers. Right? Yeah. It was very easy to come up with the blooper content because it was just 90% shit. Or like 5% of us just getting flustered for no reason. Yeah.
00:09:03
Speaker
But anyway, yeah, so I don't know. I'm curious to know too for our listeners, what is your favorite episode in the last 100 that we've done? Anything that stands out to you, let us know on our socials or email us or whatever. Let us know what your favorites are because I definitely have my favorite episodes. Do you have your favorite episodes? Yeah, I do.
00:09:28
Speaker
I will say too, for our Spotify listeners, I appreciate, and I haven't even told you about this, Sam. I do appreciate you guys interacting with the questions that Spotify has let us add to them now. We've gotten a couple of people who respond to them or about them. Thank you guys. We absolutely appreciate you for that. Oh my God. I'll have to go in there and look at them because that's awesome. I completely forgot about that.
00:09:54
Speaker
I know you had mentioned like that's a new thing that they were doing. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I need to go in there and look because I love that. Yeah. Anything like even just like, you know, those little upvotes and stuff just, just really help make us feel like, you know, we're actually doing something. He's getting what we're saying. Yeah. We're not just screaming into the void, like people actually think.
00:10:20
Speaker
But sometimes, you know, screaming into the void works too. It does. Yeah. So for some more springing, instead of screaming, look at that, springing into the void. We're going to spring into spring.
Seasonal Magic and Spring Practices
00:10:37
Speaker
So we're just going to talk about some seasonal magic.
00:10:39
Speaker
when it comes to spring. And I love this episode. I love researching for this episode. And I want to, like, I know this was a topic that you put on our podcast list for, you know, just episodes. I want to make sure that we do this for summer and fall and winter as well because this is so nice to like,
00:10:59
Speaker
um you know because we've talked about you know spring magic and and and different things you can do in different ways on the podcast but never just one actual episode where we have like new information as well and not just a lot of old information that was like regurgitating. A lot of what we have talked about in the past like past episodes
00:11:24
Speaker
are more focused on as we did the wheel of the year, and it was very specific to just that particular piece, not necessarily spring in general. So for me, this one was fun to look at the herbal portion of it and be like, hey, this is what's available, which I'm gonna be talking about later, like what's available, what plants to work with during this time. So I really enjoyed this one too.
00:11:52
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. So to start us off with a little bit of background, practicing seasonally just in general gives us a chance to welcome the changing seasons mindfully and allow space for gratitude so that acknowledgement of our privilege to live on an ever-changing beautiful planet
00:12:10
Speaker
those things like that. So when we think about seasonal magic as it relates to spring, we usually think of it occurring on or near March 21st, the date of the actual spring equinox. And so for the spring equinox or Ostara, it commemorates the sun's return and Earth's rebirth, as well as liberation, new beginnings, and fertility. This is stuff that we've discussed a little bit on the podcast, but I just wanted to make sure we addressed it a little bit as kind of an intro to this episode.
00:12:40
Speaker
Just in case, you know, we have new listeners who maybe have not listened to our Wheel of the Year episodes or listened to any episodes that we had related to OSTARA and or just spring in general.
00:12:52
Speaker
So this is the time where the goddess and god energies of the universe come together as one and birth the energy of creation. And you can use this time to set goals for personal growth or just use it as a time to appreciate the changing season and the beauty and the life that it brings to everything around you.
00:13:13
Speaker
Also, spring in general was important and highly celebrated in ancient times. The Greeks celebrated it as a time when Persephone would come back from the underworld. The Romans used spring as a time to worship Flora, the goddess of flowers. And this was also a time when people would start to gather fresh spring greens, trading out the root vegetables gathered throughout the winter, while also preparing the land for fresh spring crops that would carry them throughout the rest of the year.
00:13:42
Speaker
And so moving into more of how we can practice seasonally. So obviously, one of the biggest things and easiest things you could do is just fill your home with spring correspondences. And so some of the correspondences I have
00:14:00
Speaker
researched and listed out here, the animal correspondences, these would be anything that reminds you of spring. It doesn't have to just be anything listed on what I'm about to talk about, but it could be anything that reminds you of spring. So butterflies, chicks, dragons, lambs, mermaids, mermen, rabbits or hares, robins, pegasus, serpents, and unicorns, these are all traditionally linked with spring and the spring equinox.
00:14:29
Speaker
Signs of spring as well, just adding those around your house. So flowers, whether they be fresh in vases or dried, this is a great way to honor spring and the land you are currently living on. So whatever is seasonally available that's growing in your yard, the little flowers or little blossoms and stuff, bringing those in, drying them, and putting them around your home is a great way to decorate for spring.
00:14:55
Speaker
we're inviting that spring energy in. And decorating with the colors of spring as well, so using colors that remind you of spring. So greens, blues, pinks, oranges, pastel colors. And again, really lean into where you are living in the world. So like for me, for instance, in Okinawa right now,
00:15:16
Speaker
it feels like spring even though it's not quite spring yet but this is cherry blossom season and it's strawberry season and so that's something that um you know if you're if you live someplace like where i live and you're wanting to celebrate seasonally you might go out and maybe gather some cherry blossoms that have fallen off the trees or
00:15:35
Speaker
go pick some strawberries or something like that. Also, refresh your altar with the many correspondences of spring. This is a great time to just clear off your altar, cleanse your space, add some spring decor. This is a really easy way to celebrate seasonally. Some of the crystal correspondences that are linked with spring are amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, moonstone, and rose quartz.
00:16:04
Speaker
And then super easy way to invite the energy of spring and the spring equinox into your space is to just open your windows. This removes any stagnant energy and maybe incorporate this with an energetic cleansing.
00:16:21
Speaker
And another thing that you could do is to make it a habit each day after the spring equinox to open your windows for a time each day. So depending on where you live in the northern hemisphere, the date of the spring equinox might still be a bit chilly. But by allowing this mindful act of opening your windows and inviting in the outdoors,
00:16:41
Speaker
Just a little bit every day over time You will notice the warming of the air and it will allow you to absorb the energy of spring into your space each day And I when I read this tip online I thought this is amazing like just a little bit each day to just continue to energetically cleanse your home And just fill it with that spring air is beautiful. Yes
00:17:05
Speaker
Another thing that you could do is to ground yourself. We have an entire episode on grounding back in season one, but grounding itself, especially to invite in spring, is an excellent way to continue on this mindfulness path and connect with the changing of the season. And especially if you incorporate this
00:17:22
Speaker
throughout spring, noticing even just how warm the earth feels over time. Because obviously in places like Germany and England, it's going to be a lot colder whenever
00:17:35
Speaker
spring and wicked equinox actually happens as opposed to someone who lives more closer to the equator. And then also incorporating balance. As the equinox itself is all about balance, equal amount of daylight and nighttime specifically with
00:17:53
Speaker
on the spring equinox. Incorporating balance in your own life can be an excellent way to connect with the changing season. So this might be something that you need to sit and think with for a while. Maybe do some shadow work and really think about what areas in your life require more or less energy and what things you can remove from your life to balance out your energy in a way that
00:18:16
Speaker
allows you to live your most authentically and allows you to live more mindfully. Just sitting with that I think is really important and is a great way to celebrate spring. And so moving into more rituals or magic as opposed to just mindfully incorporating spring into your life. As far as fire or candle magic goes,
00:18:45
Speaker
you can incorporate different incense into your home during this time of the year to really invite in that spring energy. And so for instance, this would be African violet, jasmine, rose, sage, and strawberry incense. For oils, this would be ginger, lavender, lotus, and rose. And a little candle ritual
00:19:09
Speaker
If candle magic is more of your forte, this is something that I really connect with, you can create a spell to help you manifest what you want while, of course, harnessing the energy of spring. What you'll need for this spell is, I mean, obviously candles, preferably three. And what you want to do is select candles that correspond with the colors of spring. So this could be, again, the traditional colors that I listed earlier or colors that just remind you of spring.
00:19:40
Speaker
And what you'll do with these candles is you will anoint them with any of the oils that I mentioned earlier. Or you can even just use olive oil because I mean, come on, sometimes we don't have some of these oils readily available to us.
00:19:52
Speaker
Then once you're done anointing the candles in oil, you're going to set them on your altar. Then what you want to do is figure out which candle of the three corresponds to you with the element of Earth. What you'll do is you'll light this candle and think about the ways that the Earth is coming back to life after winter and sit with what that means to you. Then something that you can think about, for example, is what seeds are you planning to
00:20:21
Speaker
plant or harvest the season? What long-term goals are you working toward? Things like that. The next candle you will light will be the candle that corresponds to you with the sun. This is an amplifier, much like how the sun helps warm the earth to speed up the growing season, providing the warmth needed for plants and animals to flourish. This can help you kind of figure out what you can do
00:20:49
Speaker
to help cultivate the life that you want and to accomplish the goal that you want to achieve. So when you're thinking about that earth candle that we just talked about and what you want,
00:21:00
Speaker
Think of the sun as what are you going to do to be able to get that? What can you do to accomplish that goal? And so while that candle is burning, think about those things. And then the third candle is the candle that corresponds for you to the relationship between nature and humanity and humanity and your higher spiritual beliefs. Whether that is a specific deity or an overarching belief in something greater than yourself, whatever that is,
00:21:26
Speaker
While lighting this candle, what you're going to do is meditate on the ways in which you can give back, what things you can do to honor the energy of the world, the energy that gives you what you want and need, the energy of spring, and how you can create that balance and offer something back. Since I mentioned that with spring, a big theme in general is balance. We want to make sure that while we are using this time of year to manifest the things that we want, we want to make sure that we're honoring
00:21:56
Speaker
the earth and we're honoring whatever deity we're working with and we're wanting to offer something back in return. So once you have these three candles lit and you've sat with this for a while, allow the candles to burn down and make sure you give thanks to the earth, the sun, and any deities that you work with. And that is the end of the spell. And so while it is kind of
00:22:21
Speaker
I mean, not so labor intensive, it does require a lot of thought and a lot of thinking and you can obviously adjust this in any way that works best for you. I think this is a great candle spell to really invite in that energy of spring and use spring as an amplifier, especially with that sun candle to allow for manifestation and allow for balance in your life.
00:22:43
Speaker
And so outside of firework and just candle magic, something else that is great to do during this time of year is divination.
Exploring Dendromancy and Nature Art
00:22:53
Speaker
The spring equinox is a perfect time to connect with your guides and your deities because of that balance concept that I discussed earlier with the equinox.
00:23:02
Speaker
This balance extends past the physical world and also incorporates the spiritual world as well. Ostara is also known to be the time of year where fairies are more active and when many say that the green man returns from hibernation.
00:23:18
Speaker
So there's something that can be done. I've seen this and read about this being done a lot during fall, but you can do this during spring as well. And it's a form of divination called dendromancy. And this is reading tree leaves and branches for insight into the future. And again, like I said, you could do this during fall. It's also often done during winter when leaves and branches fall from the trees.
00:23:45
Speaker
but you don't have to wait for fall and winter. This can absolutely be done in the spring with something called a tree walk. And so I was reading about this from Megan Shoup-Voles and she's from Spirituality Health and she has a whole article written about how you can do this, but essentially what you'll need to do is just find an area with plenty of trees. So this could be a forest, a park,
00:24:09
Speaker
a street, wherever, then you will set an intention and use the walk to relax and connect with nature. So you'll want to ask for a sign, anything from seeing a particular flower or berries, having an acorn drop, etc. Just, you know, whatever it is, you want to make sure that you ask for a specific sign.
00:24:29
Speaker
And just spend time walking and observing the trees as much as possible. Allow the sign to come to you if it's meant to be. And then journal about the results. And you can repeat this as many times as you want. And just make sure that whatever sign you're asking for is specific. It can't just be like, oh, I want to hear the wind rustle the leaves. That'll be my sign. Because that's something that's obviously going to happen if you're outside.
00:24:57
Speaker
wind is blowing. So another way that you can do this type of divination is to walk up to a tree and simply ask the tree a question and wait for an answer as you gaze up at the branches. And something that you can do as well is even close your eyes and just listen to the wind blowing the leaves
00:25:17
Speaker
and listen for the tree to actually whisper an answer. Now these are things that I haven't done before, but I'm very intrigued about it.
00:25:27
Speaker
Some people also gather up fallen tree leaves and branches and bark and flowers from the tree and what they'll do and you know they do this on their tree walk and so they'll gather up all these fallen bits and they will drop them on a flat surface and study the pattern that it makes and so I'm assuming like with that as well like before they drop it they're
00:25:48
Speaker
meditating on a specific question or a specific situation that is going on in their life and they're wanting a specific answer and then by dropping the leaves, branches, bark, flowers, whatever bits you picked up from your tree walk, dropping it on the flat surface and then studying the pattern for an answer is also another way that you can practice this specific form of divination called intramancy.
00:26:16
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. And it makes me think of, I know you know about the Plant Pals program that I did. I don't know, what was this like a year or two ago? We did it with seniors that were kind of disconnected from community because of COVID and everyone having to stay home. And so we created this program where they would come in and there was like music therapy, which our music therapist was a little over the top. I had to say it was because it was wild. Yes.
00:26:46
Speaker
We also did some gardening stuff with them where we would go out into the garden and collect like flowers and leaves that they really enjoyed or like they felt connected to and then we would come in and together they would build this like art mandala basically out of all of the stuff they collected like pine cones and twigs and leaves and flowers and at the end of it they had built this like project together that would hang in the senior community center
00:27:15
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. I know it's obviously completely different. It's not divination and it's not witchy, but this made me think of that. And that, I feel like, is something you could incorporate too. Absolutely. You collect all of these things along your walk. You use it to see if you can get a pattern out of it, get your answer. And then instead of just being like, okay, well, toss these things out, you could create art with it as well.
00:27:39
Speaker
Yeah, that is beautiful. I love that suggestion. I thought it was super cute when we did it. With them, we would create like, I wish I would have taken pictures. I never took pictures of any of it. But it was like really, really cute, because they were all collecting like different things that like drew to them. And then together, they would bring it all together inside and just create an art project out of it. So I absolutely loved it. That is really cool.
00:28:04
Speaker
So now shifting to my particular area of interest that I'm going to try to not go on tangents about, and I tried to rein my notes in.
Spring Herbalism and Health Benefits
00:28:15
Speaker
But we're going to talk about spring herbalism, which I absolutely love this.
00:28:20
Speaker
So something to remember, while all herbalists aren't necessarily witches, many of us are. And I read this line in a book recently that just kind of really put this into perspective for me. And this is from book one in a three-part series by Ruby Goldwyn called Herbalism for Witches. But she opens her introduction to this book with this statement.
00:28:41
Speaker
Witches have been condemned through the ages, put on trial, and often executed. This is why most witches have chosen to go by other names, such as shaman, midwife, healer, or even herbalist. The names may have differed throughout the time and place, but what most witches have essentially always practiced is healing. And I loved this line in particular when I was doing some research because if we think about, like,
00:29:05
Speaker
spring herbalism in general and spring magic, a lot of it is focused on healing and cleansing out stagnation from winter. So like just thinking about that in general, like how most of the time what we are practicing is healing ourselves, healing our space, healing those around us.
00:29:26
Speaker
That's also kind of what spring herbalism and magic is all about. So I loved that line. When we're looking at a focus from an herbal perspective, the system of the body that we should be focused on during the spring is going to be our lungs and our lymphs or our lymphatic system. And we should be practicing things like deep breathing to clear our lungs out,
00:29:48
Speaker
movement during this time to kind of like get that stagnation that's built up during more like sedentary cold winter months. So this theory comes from the practice of traditional Western herbalism. If I say TWH because that's just kind of how it is in my brain from like my studies, that's what I'm talking about. TWH is traditional Western herbalism.
00:30:10
Speaker
And this focus is placed within our four elements, so water, fire, air, and earth, and how they intersect with what's known as the humoral theory. And the humoral theory is taking the energies of plants and the body, and these energies are either hot and warming, cold or cooling, wet and dry.
00:30:30
Speaker
And so some of these practices will even include their intersection with the zodiac, and that's just a whole different topic that we don't have time for today. But again, my little herbal nerdy heart is so happy about this topic, and I can go on. But just as a side note, if you start looking into this, there are some that also intersect the zodiac with the humoral theory with the traditional Western herbalisms.
00:31:01
Speaker
For this, you want to think about how the earth around us starts to revive and move from winter stillness into the awakening of spring with new plants, all the animals emerging, the spring babies that we start to see in nature. The same needs to occur within our own bodies, which is why this is a focus in terms of... Wait.
00:31:23
Speaker
Yeah, which is why this is a focus in terms of herbalism and herbal medicine. So while I'm not going to go into depth on this yet, there are also weedy plant allies in the early spring that tend to be mineral and vitamin rich that are clearing to our blood and our respiratory system.
00:31:41
Speaker
and toning to our lymph nodes. And that's because mother nature gives us what we need. So like spring comes around, you know, we've been like sedentary all winter. It's been cold. We, you know, might be more stagnant, not do a whole lot because it's cold outside and gross outside and we don't want to. So during the spring, these plants come up and these plants help us like get our system back in order.
00:32:05
Speaker
And then one last thing to think about here is that herbalists will also look at the energetics of a person before giving herbal tonics, tinctures, teas, etc. So if you're like new to herbalism, and this is something that you're learning,
00:32:19
Speaker
you want to look at the energetics that I was talking about earlier. So in terms of many people's energies coming out of winter, they're often going to lean towards cold and damp. So to help counteract this, you're going to need to lean on herbs that are
00:32:35
Speaker
dry and warming. So again, this is like another topic for a different episode because it's a whole thing that we would encompass. But like, again, if this is something that you're interested in, if you're, you know, just starting out in herbalism, definitely look into the herbal energetics or the energetic qualities of plants to understand like the subtle ways that the plants can
00:33:00
Speaker
impact the human body, the mind, the spirit. So if you're trying to correct an issue or a symptom, it helps just to know like what energetics that you're trying to correct so you know what energetics are needed to counteract. Hopefully that makes sense. So for
00:33:17
Speaker
Plant, herbal, and tree correspondences, kind of like what we were saying earlier, some stuff is going to be specific to Ostara because it falls during this time. But there are other ones that you can include throughout the whole spring. So specific to Ostara would be calendine, sinkfoil, jasmine, rose, tansy,
00:33:37
Speaker
viola, acorns, crocus, daffodil, dogwood, honeysuckle, iris, lily, birch, ash, and alder. And then others to consider just for spring in general are going to be all parts of a dandelion, cleavers, white clovers, and clover clusters, wild violets, St. John's wort, stinging nettle, calendula, organ grapefruit, plantain, yellow wood sorrel,
00:34:06
Speaker
wild mustard flowers, hawthorn, and chickweed. But when you're working with chickweed, just be careful. If you work with the roots at all in any way, they do contain toxins. So try not to handle them with your hands. Don't ingest them. Don't put them in your teas and tinctures. But the plant leaves and stems and flowers are all completely safe and are actually very delightful in a salad.
00:34:32
Speaker
So many of these plants and herbs and flowers have actions, energetics, and properties that help with the elements that come with spring. So again, think like respiratory movement, pushing out the stagnation, helping alleviate sinus congestion and allergies, helping soothe skin irritation from bug bites, rashes, sunburns, and so much more. So when we look at practicing seasonally with plants,
00:34:57
Speaker
This can be as easy as you want it to be or as in-depth as you want it to be. So doing something as simple as planting flowers, herbs, or any plants in your garden, you could touch and talk to your plants and your trees. You can press flowers for crafting or ritual use. Sky's the limit here.
00:35:21
Speaker
again, as easy or as hard as you want it to be. Just remember not to overcomplicate things. Don't overwhelm yourself, especially if you're new to the craft. We've said this before. A lot of times when you're new to the craft, you come in so excited and gung-ho, and you're like, I'm going to do all the things. And then it quickly dies out because you're overwhelmed. And so just keep it easy. This could also be if you're just getting back into practicing. Maybe you took a break.
00:35:48
Speaker
haven't felt like doing it lately, just don't make it too over complicated because that's where you get overwhelmed and then you don't want to do it. You can also do something as simple as making an herbal wash to use in either your spring cleaning practices, spring rituals, or to cleanse your magical tools.
00:36:05
Speaker
Choose an herb that you connect with that's also tied to spring and then steep it in water that you're going to use. And then the longer you steep it, the more the herbs going to infuse into that water. Once you've got it steeped, you can use it in your floor wash as a room spray to draw sigils or protective symbols on your doors and your windows, et cetera, like
00:36:26
Speaker
Again, this is one of those things, sky's the limit, use it however you want to. I also came across this article that used white clover flowers and clover clusters for this. So they would use, I don't know why these numbers specifically, because in my mind, I just like however much I measure with my heart. But they used nine clover flowers and three leaf clusters. And they steeped that in hot water overnight.
00:36:54
Speaker
They also suggest doing this on the night of the spring equinox for just kind of like that extra oomph into the infusion. Then the next day they strained it and they suggest using this as a window cleaning solution. So again, I'm not sure why like nine clover flowers because that's not a lot if you're talking about making an entire fusion of water. So if you add more, I would say add more. Personally, I probably would.
00:37:22
Speaker
but nine clover flowers, three leaf clovers basically. And then some things to do in your garden in particular. It's said that placing quartz crystal in your garden soil can charge the soil for a healthier garden, which I never done, but I think I might this year and see how that goes. You can use solar water specifically to help nourish your plants,
00:37:48
Speaker
So like you could use moonwater as well, but solar water with it being spring could just be more appropriate. You can create an altar space in or near your garden where you leave offerings to any deities that you might work with that are also tied to spring, to plants or to gardening overall. And you can mark your garden tools and your pots and garden beds with runes, tarot symbols or other symbols that align with your intentions or that are connected to spring in particular.
00:38:18
Speaker
And then I came across this plant meditation. So the article itself was done by Penguin, like Penguin Publishing, but their article was discussing a book by Gabriela Hurstik called Craft,
00:38:36
Speaker
how to be a modern witch. So the plant meditation itself is from there, but if you're looking in our show notes for it, it's going to be under Penguin because it was their article that I pulled it from and I haven't read this full book. So, but basically what you need to do is you'll need to get a potted plant, choose something that you like really feel connected to and something that you can keep indoors. And to do the plant meditation,
00:39:04
Speaker
you'll need to first cleanse your space with your choice of cleansing. They suggest using Palo Santo, Sage, or Cedar. Ground and center yourself, which if you need a refresher on that or you've never done it, we did an entire episode. This is going to be episode five, and maybe even a little bit of episode six for more details on that.
00:39:28
Speaker
And then if you cast circles, you would do this now. If this does not fit within your practice, you just skip it to the next step. Hold your plant and think about how this plant connects with you and how it connects you to the environment around you or to the universe overall. Once you're feeling connected, if your plant needs to be repotted, you would use this time to do that now. So if you're not repotting your plant, again, you just skip this step, go to the next one.
00:39:54
Speaker
Take a seat, place your plant in front of you, and imagine the energy of this plant sitting at your heart. Imagine its roots extending down through your legs into the earth and its vines and leaves growing out through your arms and through the top of your head. And like while all of this is happening, you imagine it connecting you back to earth.
00:40:14
Speaker
So connect with your plant's energy and what that energy feels like. Meditate on what your plant reminds you of. Make sure you write down any of your thoughts and feelings or visions in a journal or your grimoire. And if you cast a circle at this point, you're going to close your circle and then ground your energy and remember to connect with the energy like whenever
Connecting with Plants and Meditation
00:40:36
Speaker
you're tending to your plant in the future.
00:40:39
Speaker
You can talk to your plant regularly, even asking it for guidance. And doing so builds that relationship with the spirit of your plant. And I thought that was really cute. So that's a little plant meditation you could do.
00:40:52
Speaker
That is really cute. I thought it was super cute. I was like, aw, precious. I talk to my plants all the time. And it was just something that I picked up from my grandparents. They always talk to the plants. And we always talk to the garden. And we tickled the tomato plants and talked to them for better tomatoes and stuff like that. So it was always just something that I've always done. And I didn't realize that it wasn't normal to talk to your plants for the general public. So all my plants get names. They get talked to. Save.
00:41:21
Speaker
And then specifically for seasonal herbalism practices, herbalism can and should be practiced year-round, but I'm just going to point out a couple of weeds, quote-unquote weeds. We call them weeds, but they're literal plant allies that should be used for all kinds of things.
00:41:42
Speaker
and some herbs that fall into the spring category that can be found basically in abundance during spring. A lot of people will have these like just randomly growing in their yard. So if you do, don't spray Roundup on them.
00:41:56
Speaker
don't put poison on them, take them and use them because you should be. So some healing weeds, these are just going to be a couple of my favorite because there's a ridiculous amount for spring. But dandelions, you guys know I've talked about dandelions multiple times on this podcast, and their botanical name is Taraxacum officinalis.
00:42:19
Speaker
and they are literally my favorite weed. So this plant grows abundantly just about everywhere and sadly like this plant is basically just dismissed by the general public and even like poisoned to keep it out of their yard. But dandelions are an amazing mild stimulant for your liver.
00:42:37
Speaker
Um, if you've had too much to drink the day before, you can do like dandelion tea to help clear toxins out of your body. It's like the perfect little weed for any of that type of stuff. Like, even if you're just like, you're just getting over a cold, anything dandelion tea will help clear some of that toxins out of your body.
00:42:56
Speaker
It works great for constipation. It's loaded with vitamins and nutrients. It can help clear clogged pores, helps with skin irritation, and it's just an overall fantastic detoxifier for your skin and internally. The entire plant is edible, meaning from flower to roots.
00:43:13
Speaker
The roots can be roasted and used in place of coffee. The flowers can be used to make wine. And the flowers and greens are used in culinary kitchens across the world. This is literally just scratching the surface of this guy, but I could seriously talk about this cute little weed all day. It's my absolute favorite.
00:43:34
Speaker
Next is cleavers and this is gallium aparin. If you're in a zone that this plant grows in, it's like ridiculously abundant. I had this in my backyard in Illinois. It takes over very quickly if you don't harvest it fast enough.
00:43:50
Speaker
Um, it like basically took over an entire corner of my backyard one spring. So it's really sticky. So almost Velcro like that's kind of how you can really tell if that is like, if the weed that you have is cleavers and it can have like an irritating or stinging effect to some people. But this is a great plant to work with to move stuck energy and fluids, um, from constipation to kidney and gallstones and even like old blood cleavers help move out any congestion.
00:44:20
Speaker
And they work best when they're juiced, but they can be added to tea. And then the last weed that I'm going to go over is plantain, which is Plantago Major. And this plant is perfect for minor first aid for stings and rashes, but it can also be used internally for digestive issues like IBS, excess gas, and even stomach ulcers. It helps clear the respiratory system too, making it a great ally if you have like lingering cough or any sinus congestion.
00:44:49
Speaker
And it grows abundantly in a ton of areas. So it's often like readily available. This is one of the few plants like if you're like say out hiking or
00:45:00
Speaker
you know, just out doing something outdoors and you get like a cut or a sting or anything, you could literally take the leaves and chew them up into a little poultice and slap them on the injured area until you can get somewhere to like clean it and care for it. It is very like soothing to the skin, so.
00:45:19
Speaker
Next, I'm going to talk about a couple of medicinal herbs for spring because we tend to spend more time outdoors. We tend to face more bug bites, sunburns, rashes, cuts, scrapes, bruises, and allergies. And there's a ton of herbal tricks and remedies that can help with these. So the first one is St. John's Wort, and this is Hypericum perforatum.
00:45:44
Speaker
And this herb is more commonly known for its uses as an antidepressant. And it's often referred to as nature's Prozac, which just cracks me up. It helps with anxiety, nervous tension, and irritability when taken internally. But did you know that this particular plant is also commonly used as a wound healer and as a sedative? You can use St. John's Wort topically for addressing sunburns, bruises, deep wounds, nerve damage, and even sprains.
00:46:15
Speaker
Um, next is stinging nettle and this one could go here and it can also go in the weed.
00:46:20
Speaker
portion because it is one of those kind of those plants that just pop up in spring and take over an entire yard if you don't get them under control quickly. But seeing nettle, which is known as erdica dioica, I absolutely love nettle. I use it in a daily infusion both for Anthony and I. This plant has been used for centuries to help treat allergy symptoms related to hay fever in spring in terms of allergies to pollen, dander, hay, and dust.
00:46:48
Speaker
Nettle offers relief without the nasty side effects of over the counter medication, especially when paired with using local honey daily. It has been used for those suffering allergy symptoms like runny noses, itchiness, watery eyes, sneezing, and more. And it can be used in a tea or infusion or even made into a tincture. One of the things that I really love about the Nettle is that it's also like really, really high in vitamins and minerals. And those are very important to be in taking
00:47:18
Speaker
or to be taking when we're moving from that stagnant time of winter into that more active time of spring. And then the last one I'm going to talk about
00:47:32
Speaker
is another favorite of ours that we've talked about a couple of times on the podcast, but calendula. So this is going to be calendula officianalis. And this precious little flower works wonders in so many different ways. It's like a top ingredient for me in a lot of my teas and topical cells. It's extremely effective for skin related issues like cuts, sunburns, scrapes, bruises, minor open wounds,
00:47:59
Speaker
bug and snake bites, ear infections, diaper rash, pain guy, acne, eczema, and inflammation. Calendula has high levels of flavonoids which act as antioxidants for the body. It's antiseptic, antispasmodic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-infective, and immune boosting even. So these particular six, there's obviously more but
00:48:26
Speaker
I'm not going to I'm not going to steal the show with plants, plants, plants. But these are like some great plant allies that you can work with, whether it's, you know, creating teas, creating salves or balms or tinctures, and then even like using them on your altar, using them in like ritual work, maybe even decorating candles with them that you're using for any of your candle magic, having them around you when you're meditating.
00:48:56
Speaker
they're great allies for spring magic. But that's all I got. I mean, I can put it on if you want me to. I was like, cut it down to three each. No, I think that's really awesome. Learned a lot. Also, before we go, make sure you wear gloves when you're harvesting stinging nettle.
00:49:19
Speaker
Oh, wow. Because it stinks. Do you research? Yeah, and if you don't want to harvest it yourself, which is completely understandable because this plant does cause some irritation when it's not dried, just make sure you're getting it from somewhere that sources ethically. Some places that I could recommend would be like Mountain Rose Herbs, Star West Botanicals, Rosemary's Garden, or if you want to go the small business route, which I absolutely love,
00:49:46
Speaker
There's a little shop in St. Louis called Forest and Meadow and you can order from them online and they ship it all throughout the states and if you're military, they have added APO shipping. That's who I order from. Yes, yes. I love them. Amanda, who owns the place, is a gem. She has so much knowledge.
00:50:08
Speaker
probably annoy her with all of my questions. Especially when I was out there and I was dealing with stuff with the health department, I would be like, Hey, is this correct? And she'd be like, Oh my God, no, tell them this. He really helped me like,
00:50:24
Speaker
get everything in alignment with the health department with my own herbalism stuff. So I try to plug them whenever I can. They are great. They are a small business. They do have a brick and mortar shop if you're in the St. Louis area and they have an abundance of
00:50:45
Speaker
like plants that you can order from them. And sometimes they do classes too, and I'm really sad. They do witchy classes, and I wasn't ever able to go to one when we were there. It always conflicted with something else, and now we're not there anymore. So we have a cute little garden out back where they do little witchy classes.
00:51:08
Speaker
That's really cute. Yeah, 10 out of 10 recommend them. Even if you're not in the local area, try supporting them like ordering online. But those would be my suggestions. Yeah. And happy spring, guys. Yes, happy spring. Hopefully everybody is getting into better weather, more sunshine, less rain, and seeing all the flowers and precious little plant and animal babies coming out.
Conclusion and Next Episode Preview
00:51:46
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft.
00:52:09
Speaker
There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and appear in exclusives, like getting episodes early, shout outs on the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, our promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GiddinWitches, or email us at we'redoingwitchcuff.gmail.com. Join us next week as we explore the fiery, dynamic energies of Aries season. Until then, Blessed Be Witches.