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Episode 64: Magical Properties of Plants pt3- Houseplant Edition
613 Plays2 years ago
Welcome back Witches! We're heading back into the plant world this week and bringing you some magical houseplants! Plants play a HUGE part in witchcraft, but the focus is usually on herbs, so the focus this episode is going to be on those often forgotten plants that we use to brighten our spaces! So get in losers for part 3 of the Magical Properties of Plants, Houseplant Edition.
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
- Cho, Alethea (2021). Magical Houseplants Every Witch Should Know. https://medium.com/sweetwitch/magical-houseplants-every-witch-should-know-b936411d7319
- Dugan, Ellen (2009). Magickal Houseplants. Llewellyn. https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1957
- Adams Fairacre Farms (2023). Money Tree Meaning and Symbolism. https://adamsfarms.com/gardentips/money-tree-meaning-symbolism/#:~:text=People%20associate%20this%20plant%20with,have%20even%20more%20good%20luck.
- Gaumond, Andrew (2022). Jade Plant Meaning and Symbolism. Petal Republic. https://www.petalrepublic.com/jade-plant-meaning/
- https://hiddenshell.ru/en/celebnye-i-magicheskie-svoistva-fikusa-poleznye-svoistva-fikusa/
- https://gardenbenchtop.com/snake-plant-spiritual-meaning/
- Cho, Alethea. Magical Houseplants Every Witch Should Know. (2021). SweetWitch. https://medium.com/sweetwitch/magical-houseplants-every-witch-should-know-b936411d7319
- Dugan, Ellen. Magickal Houseplants. (2009). Llewellyn. https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1957
- Raven, Lena. Uncovering the Secrets of the Cactus. Good Choice Flowers. https://blog.goodchoiceflowers.com/powers-of-the-cactus/
- TikTok
- Witchyvibes
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft in the occult but feel lost in 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.
Magical Plant Series Introduction
00:00:16
Speaker
So get in witches for the third part of our magical plant series, Houseplant Edition.
Unique Japanese Soap Discussion
00:00:43
Speaker
Have you seen those Japanese soap that you like push your hand down and the soap comes up and it looks like a paw print on your hand?
00:00:50
Speaker
No. I'm going to send that to you in the next box. We have that in the girls. I went to their bathroom and I forget that we bought that. It kind of, the soap smells kind of like, I don't know, it kind of smells like an old lady a little bit. Not too bad. It's not like overpowering or anything. Yeah. The soap is so cute because you put your hand and you push down and the soap makes a little paw print on your hand and it's cute.
Humorous Family Podcast Idea
00:01:11
Speaker
Also, I'm going to need more of the soy sauce ramen because
00:01:15
Speaker
It's good, isn't it? Why is it so good? It is so good. Okay. Yes. Also, I have to tell you this, I was on the phone with my brother yesterday, day before, one of those days. And we were talking about, so he wants, he thinks that him and I should do a podcast. And we have like this inside joke about our other brother. So it's like we should create a podcast called He Was My Friend First, and then it'd be like a tell all podcast of all the bullshit from our childhood.
00:01:44
Speaker
That would be hilarious. Yeah, so we were talking about that. And then we got on like, we went on this whole like podcast tangent. And he slipped in my brother never gives me compliments, not because he doesn't want to, but because like, things like that are icky to us because of how we grew up. Like, so like still, like, we don't do that. Don't hug me. Don't we like very quickly when we get off the phone, it's like, Okay, let me buy.
00:02:08
Speaker
But he was like, yeah, the other day, I was like, oh, I wonder, I haven't listened to Tiffany's podcast. I wonder what it's like. And he put it on. He listened to a handful of episodes. He was like, your podcast is really good. You guys are really funny. And I was like, wait, did you just give me a compliment? And he was like, no, no, no, no, no. You don't understand. I mean, your friend was really good. She's really funny. Your friend, she sounds hot. You're a genius. Spoiler alert. I'm not. I'm just kidding.
00:02:47
Speaker
That's hilarious. No, no, no, no. If you guys do create that podcast, I want to listen because that sounds hilarious. It's going to be funny about if our family ever finds that I'm sure somebody will sue us. Fuck them. So what are we talking about today?
Magical Properties of Houseplants
00:03:08
Speaker
Plants, your favorite topic. I promise I'm gonna keep it rained in today, guys. I have a baseball game to make it to. I can't go on tangents. Baby tangents. Plants play a part in witchcraft in so many ways, and while the more obvious ones include herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetable plants, houseplants also hold a magical space in a witch's heart.
00:03:35
Speaker
Throughout history, people have turned to plants not only as a food source or as medicine, but as a means of connecting with nature and the spiritual realm. Some ways that plants have been incorporated into witchcraft are through connecting with nature, smoke cleansing, ritual baths, spell sachets, offerings, utilizing their properties like protection, prosperity, health, love, et cetera, herbal medicines, and in cooking just to name a few.
00:04:02
Speaker
The number of ways to include plants in your craft is basically endless. So with that, what's your first plant?
The Money Tree's Significance
00:04:10
Speaker
My first plant is the money tree. And I'm just going to forewarn you now, you're probably going to cringe because I did not look up any pronunciations for any of the scientific names of any of these plants.
00:04:23
Speaker
Um, so I don't know how to say any, they're goofy anyways. I struggle. And I'm like studying them. So this one could be pronounced, uh, pachira aquatica or pachira aquatica, who knows, but the money tree.
00:04:43
Speaker
I'm sure I'm the best here, but everyone should know about the money tree. Come on. If you don't know anything about the money tree, it's also known as a bunch of other names too, all of which I've never heard before, by the way. These were all new to me.
00:04:58
Speaker
nuts? I don't understand. Malabar chestnut, French peanut. I don't know how to say this at all. Guyana chestnut, provision tree, Saba nut, Manguba, or Pumbo. Those are also other names for this little plant, and I don't know why. When I was reading about it, I was a little bit confused about this. It says that it's native to South and Central America,
00:05:24
Speaker
but it was first cultivated in Taiwan in the 1980s. So I guess this guy like went and got one and then brought it back to Taiwan to try to make money off of it by cultivating it. Like, I mean, I feel like this could be like think about Hawaii, right? Hawaii formed off of a bunch of like volcanoes that just come out of the island. So everything that grows on Hawaii was brought to Hawaii. Yeah. So I mean, you see that a lot of plants. It's
00:05:53
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, like the story basically goes like for this is that a man who was initially down on his luck discovered the money tree, took it home and started cultivating it to make more trees. And then he started selling the trees and made a fortune. And so that's kind of like the backstory of the money tree and why like it's linked to prosperity and stuff.
00:06:15
Speaker
So it's basically a mixture of multiple pichira or pichira aquatic trees braided together as they grow. And the braided trunk is said to trap fortune. In the wild, the money tree can grow up to 60 feet tall, which is nuts. But as a house plant, it's a lot smaller, but it can grow from around one to eight feet tall, which is still pretty big for an indoor plant. But they're so pretty, like I want an eight foot one.
00:06:47
Speaker
It's a great plant to purify air. It can help filter a bunch of toxic chemicals like benzene and xylene and formaldehyde. It has a lot of ties with feng shui, obviously. They say it's best to place a money tree in any part of your home that's related to work or money.
00:07:08
Speaker
near desk if you have a home office but if you have like a great work life balance and leave your work at work you can also keep it in the east part of your house or like in your kitchen.
00:07:19
Speaker
And like the real only like big no-no I guess for money trees is they say don't put it in your bedroom because you don't want to miss like business and pleasure like love and things like that. As far as like magical properties, I feel like this kind of ties in a lot with Feng Shui. And you'll see this with a lot of the plants that I cover, but so like just that the ties with Feng Shui.
00:07:41
Speaker
The magical properties are prosperity, balance, friendship, and power. What's big with the money tree is wealth manifestation. When you pass your money tree, something that you can do is imagine your wealth growing like the leaves of the tree.
00:07:58
Speaker
Whenever the tree gains a new leaf, this is a sign to find a new avenue for wealth. And I love that. I think that's so cool because it keeps you basically really connected to your plants that you have. You're not ignoring them and you're using it in your manifestation work, which is critical.
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah. And these plants are often given as a gift when starting a business and they say so usually like you'll see money trees with five leaves on each stem and each will represent like metal, wind, water, fire, and earth.
00:08:32
Speaker
And so the five leaves are lucky, right? So sometimes you'll see one with six leaves. This means that you'll have even more luck. And then even rarer is a tree with seven leaves on each stem. And that means you'll have the best luck ever. So I guess look out for that whenever you're going to buy a money tree. None of mine have ever had six or seven. They're always five. Always five?
Pothos: The Resilient Protector
00:08:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:57
Speaker
My first one is, I'm going to jack this one up. I think it's Epipremnum pinnatum. Botanical names are hard. So Epipremnum pinnatum, and this is most commonly known as Apothos or Devil's Ivy.
00:09:15
Speaker
The pothos is a very forgiving plant, making it perfect for beginners. Ideally, it needs a good sunny window and weekly waterings, but also this plant is super resilient and it can withstand no sunlight and if you forget to water it for a couple of weeks. If your pets rip off all the leaves, they'll just grow back.
00:09:35
Speaker
It's like literally the most resilient plant. So like if you've never owned a plant before or you're scared to like jump into the plant world by Apothos, it'll be your best friend. It's so easy. Obviously, like when given the ideal environment, they grow beautifully, they can grow so big and they climb. I love them. I have like so many of them throughout my house.
00:09:54
Speaker
But also, they're just a great practice or introduction plant for the plant newbies out there. It's one of my favorites. It has a ton of different varieties. I have like just in my house alone, I have two golden pothos, a satin pothos exotica, and a satin pothos silvery anne. And while they're all like in the same pothos family, they all have very different looking leaves and they're so pretty and so cute.
00:10:16
Speaker
Another plug for why this plant is literally perfect for anyone. This plant can be propagated from pretty much any part of the plant. So if your budget is tight, buy this plant. You can literally grow a ton of these guys from just one plant by snipping off a stem and sticking it in a vase of water until it roots.
00:10:33
Speaker
and then you just plant that in a new pot. And if you don't have money for a new pot, then just leave it in the vase because they can also survive hydroponically for years in just water alone. Again, that's not its ideal environment, but this plant always makes do with what it's given. So why I think every witch needs a pothos? Their magical properties are protection, resilience, and forgiveness.
00:10:56
Speaker
NASA's clean air study reflected that this plant can remove negative elements from the air within your home. And this was stated to be both negative energy and indoor pollutants to include formaldehyde, trichlorothine, xylene, and benzene. If you're wondering what those are, they're chemicals that are commonly found in your everyday cleaning products. So having a postcode is scientifically proven by NASA
00:11:22
Speaker
to take these out of your household air. It's a powerful negative energy ward. So if you spread these throughout your home, it can help keep unwanted spirits or entities away. And because one of their magical properties is forgiveness, they've also become known as a peace offering and a symbol of saying, I'm sorry. So giving one to someone as an apology is said to regrow relationships as the plant itself grows too.
00:11:47
Speaker
I love this so much. Cute. I love it. I we haven't.
Jade Plant: Wisdom and Abundance
00:11:52
Speaker
So, you know, obviously, I'm, I'm sure like this goes without saying like, when you move to a new country, you can't bring plants with you. So we had to get rid of like all of our plants. And we had a couple of I have been calling them pothos forever. They're pothos. I'm an idiot. But we had like, multiple pothos. And
00:12:11
Speaker
like plants. I don't even know what like subspecies or genus or whatever they were, but they were so beautiful. And I love it. I love that they would just climb and like, just like, we need to get one here. I was talking to Mike yesterday more about plants. And he's just like, we need a snake plant. And I'm like, yeah, I know. Like we used to have snake plants at our last house too. And of course we had to get rid of them. And I'm just like, and we need a pothos. But I said pothos because I couldn't remember how to say that.
00:12:41
Speaker
Anyway, they're great plants. I love them. So moving on to my next plant that I want to talk about is the Jade plant, which the botanical name is Scrassula ovata, possibly. I'm not sure how else you could say that, but
00:12:56
Speaker
I'm probably butchering it. This plant is nicknamed the friendship tree. And with these plants as well, they can flower. And if you give a flowering jade plant to a friend, it really symbolizes how dedicated you are to that friendship. Because getting a jade plant to flower takes a lot of work, apparently. It has to be the perfect conditions and things. It's a little bit hard to get them to
00:13:22
Speaker
to flower. So that was really sweet. They originated in South Africa, but over time, this has become popular in a lot of Asian countries as a symbol of good luck and good health. These plants are succulents and they're amazing. They live for about 50 to 70 years. They absorb CO2 and they work as natural humidifiers. So I told Mike, we need that as well. I'm going to put them in the girls' bedrooms. Although they are considered mildly toxic to pets. So if you have dogs or cats,
00:13:52
Speaker
keep this plant out of reach of them, especially if they like to, you know, take a little snack on your plants. It's probably not a good idea. Brand does it all the time. Yeah, my friend as a cat, like she is always like, Oh, yeah, I really want my house to have like, lots of plants, but then her cat is like constantly eating her plants. And even the ones where it's like, there's like some plants out there that where they're like, Oh, it's like a natural like deterrent for plants.
00:14:18
Speaker
for animals because it's a little bit spicy and they don't like the flavor of it. She still eats all the ... She still eats it. I'm just like, oh man, I'm sorry. Yeah. I'm constantly like, stop it. Stop snacking. Yeah. And so she's so afraid that her cat's going to get poisoned and stuff. And she's like, well, I guess she'll learn. I don't know. I'm just kidding.
00:14:42
Speaker
But yeah, so just, you know, do your research again, like we've said, you know, multiple times on this podcast about things. But so for these little plants, the leaves are dark green and oval shaped, the edges of the leaves can sometimes develop a red blushing when exposed to sunlight. And that just sounds so beautiful. As they grow, they look like mini trees because their stems resemble tree trunks. And so that's I thought that was really cute, because they
00:15:07
Speaker
do. I've only seen them where I guess they're smaller and it's just like all of the leaves and then whenever I saw them it's growing. It really does look like a tree. These are very low maintenance plants and so this is a very easy beginner plant for anybody out there and they can adapt to a variety of different environments and types of life. However,
00:15:29
Speaker
do not overwater them because they are prone to root rot. But I think it goes for pretty much most succulents who you don't want to overwater them. So just be careful with that. As far as magical properties, they are known for wisdom, energy, and abundance. And this, again, is another tie with Feng Shui. So in Feng Shui, it dictates not to put
00:15:50
Speaker
this plant again in the bedroom because of its ties to prosperity and abundance and again you don't want to mix love and work however in witchcraft it's said to keep this plant in a place where you do a lot of thinking and dreaming and for many of us that's the bedroom so it just depends on
00:16:06
Speaker
what beliefs you have and what your practice is tied to. But also, just as a little side note, it's used a lot in the Chinese New Year to encourage good fortune and prosperity. Some people have been known to put investment documents underneath a jade plant to get a higher payoff, which I thought was pretty cool. This is another common gift to give people that are starting new businesses, and it's also given at housewarming and birthday parties.
00:16:35
Speaker
precious. Isn't it precious? I love it.
Hens and Chicks: Love and Fertility
00:16:38
Speaker
My next one is Sempervivum tectorum, and this is also known as hens and chicks, which I don't own, but now I really want one, but I'm never great with succulents. I don't know. Succulents and me are just not usually friends.
00:16:53
Speaker
Hens and chicks are a succulent that's also known as the house leek. They have been used in decoration as far back as ancient Rome. The plant itself is known as the hen, and then the new offshoots of the plant are referred to as the chicks. The little plant babies are the chicks, and that's so precious. That's so cute. This plant is known to be edible in small doses, and it can be used topically as an anti-inflammatory, which I thought was awesome.
00:17:20
Speaker
As far as succulents go, hens and chicks are considered relatively easy to grow. They need full sunlight, but they're pretty resilient, and they can grow just about anywhere to include cracks of sidewalks or in-between rocks. Why witches should keep hens and chicks around? Their magical properties are love, fertility, and health. They serve as symbols of family, fertility, protection, and health, and they exude comforting presence.
00:17:45
Speaker
And the family and fertility pieces come from the way that the plant produces its little offshoots, like the little chicks. Yeah. Which is so freaking cute. Keeping this plant in your home is said to protect you from Jupiter's lightning and from fire, and they can be grown both indoors and outdoors, so you can even plant them throughout your property for added protections. And it's also said that placing hens and chicks at your front door will increase sexual prowess when one returns home after a long day of work.
00:18:16
Speaker
Wow. Insert, what is that guy with the funky nose that's always in Wes Anderson movies? He's blonde and he's always like, wow. You know what I'm talking about? Owen Wilson. That's all I can say. Insert Owen Wilson's wow.
Fig Types and Their Magic
00:18:37
Speaker
My next plant that I want to talk about is the fig. And there are so many different types of figs. I'm not talking about the one that
00:18:45
Speaker
has the fruit, which I think we should discuss in more detail later. There's so much about figs online and there's so many ties to like magic with this little fruit. And I didn't know about any of that until I was researching for this episode. And it took a lot of digging because
00:19:04
Speaker
like whenever you type in like fig plant or anything related to it, it pulls up stuff about the fruit. And I'm like, no, but like not the fruit. I'm talking about the house plant, like a fiddly fig or a rubber plant or something. But there is magic tied to like the fiddly fig, the rubber plants, those things. And this, that is what I'm going to focus on because this is something that you see a lot in houses to have a rubber plant.
00:19:30
Speaker
I'm on the market for fiddly fig. I have a miniature fiddly fig because the fig guys can be pretty expensive. They can be here. They're not that bad. I just, we haven't bought one yet. But yeah, they are so pretty though. So figs are most commonly known as ficus trees and there are over 750 species of fig trees.
00:19:56
Speaker
which I did not know, and that's crazy. So also Ficus, Benjamina, and the rubber plant varieties of the fig tree can produce the same rubber that latex gloves are made out of. I did not know that. Yeah, no clue. Like even tied together that the rubber tree, like the plant ones, and it can make like rubber, I don't know, crazy. That is weird.
00:20:22
Speaker
Yeah, so as far as magical properties, the fig is thought to guard against hunger and poverty and encourages fertility and safe travel. It corresponds with the planet Jupiter. It can also fight against negative energy in your home. So things like emotions such as like overly criticism,
00:20:40
Speaker
anger, envy, any of those things. It can be used in tinctures, medicines, ointments, and compresses. And this can be made out of the ficus leaves and the juices, but there is like some cautionary things online about using the juices and stuff of a fig tree or just like, you know, of a ficus tree because
00:21:02
Speaker
Apparently, it can mess up or make you have an upset stomach because of the lining of your stomach, the membrane of it. It can be irritated by the juices. It says, obviously, if you're going to use this in your practice and you're going to eat it or
00:21:22
Speaker
create some sort of juice or tincture or whatever to do your research and talk to a doctor first. But in the past, it has been used to treat gynecological problems and certain diseases and disorders like arthritis, osteoporosis, and sciatica. And it can also be used to help with cavities, inflammation, lung disease, hemorrhoids, intestinal disorders. There's so many different
00:21:49
Speaker
uses for this plant. I didn't know about any of them. So there's also a ton of mythological ties to the fig tree and the fig plants and everything. So it is sacred to Isis, Juno, and Dionysus.
00:22:05
Speaker
There's a lot of lore and history and superstitions tied to these plants. Ancient Slavs believed that a home with a ficus meant there was little of mutual understanding and harmony in the home. It was basically a home fraught with tension and that's not good, but also Thai and Chinese lore ties the ficus to perseverance, well-being, and a craving for life. Again, it just depends on
00:22:34
Speaker
kind of how you believe what your culture ties to the meaning of this tree. I think they're beautiful and I love them, so we have them in our home. They're beautiful. They are beautiful. So how to care for these plants? They need filtered light and are happiest when they are in a comfortable growing place and just kind of left there.
00:22:56
Speaker
they're very particular however and while they need to be turned to ensure that they are getting the correct amount of filtered light if you move them too abruptly it can cause their leaves to drop off so you just have to be really careful when you move them and just treat them like little babies but these are also
00:23:16
Speaker
great for purifying the air from toxic chemicals like benzene and phenol.
Peace Lily's Dramatic Peace
00:23:22
Speaker
Next, I have spathophyllum, which is also known as a peace lily. And just a little fun fact on the name, spath is Greek for spade and phylum is Greek for leaves. And if you've ever seen a peace lily, their leaves are giant green spades.
00:23:37
Speaker
That is so cute. Yes, this plant is amazing for purifying the air in your home and they can also be a little bit on the dramatic side too because they will literally collapse if they're thirsty. I have one his name is Phil and he's the most dramatic thing in my house and that's saying a lot.
00:23:56
Speaker
When we were on vacation, Alexis called me about something and I was like, oh my gosh, I need you to check on Phil. I forgot to tell you about him. And she was like, what? And I was like, go to this part of the house and tell me if any of the plants look like they're dying. And she like took a picture and she was like, this one? And he's like, all like.
00:24:13
Speaker
I was like, can you give him a little bit of water? He's very dramatic. He literally faints when he's thirsty. I love him so much. These need to be in medium light, but they can manage in areas with low light. This plant is toxic if eaten, so keep it away from pets and children.
00:24:30
Speaker
and why every witch should have a peace lily. So their magical properties are purity, honor, fertility and motherhood, healing and protection. The peace lily is believed to have strong protective and cleansing vibrations. These plants are often seen at funerals as they're used to honor the dead and this is actually where I got Phil from. He was one of like a gajillion plants that were sent for my dad's funeral. Peace lilies are believed to help balance people's energy
00:24:57
Speaker
and they are associated with calm, healing, and expanding the consciousness. And to piggyback on that last point, this plant is also said to appease the temper of spirits and prevent them from causing mischief and harm, which just means that Phil needs to step up his game because mischief is always afoot in my house, which
00:25:15
Speaker
all the things that go missing. Don't be like show back up later. Phil is not doing his job. And then working with this plant is said to encourage a loving, comforting and harmonious vibration within the home. I love that. I love peacefulies. And I think part of my love for them is their dramatics. Like they're just like, you watered me three days ago and you're only supposed to water me once a week. But
00:25:42
Speaker
I'm thirsty, so I'm gonna faint now. That's really cute. I love that you named him Phil as well.
00:25:51
Speaker
And it's after my grandpa. Oh, cute.
Snake Plant: Protection and Positivity
00:25:57
Speaker
So the last plant that I'm going to talk about is the snake plant, which is also known as Sansevieria. This is one of the easiest house plants to take care of. This is something I didn't know about this until I was researching it. It's technically a succulent.
00:26:14
Speaker
I did not know that. And it thrives naturally in many tropical parts of Africa. The cool thing about this plant is it stores water in its leaves and its rhizomes. And so basically they're like a drought resistant, which kind of, you know, is the reason why it is like one of the easiest plants to take care of. So if you're starting out, you don't know what kind of plant to get, get a snake plant because you're like, get a snake plant and Apothos. Like that's all
00:26:42
Speaker
you need starting out with because you're not going to kill them unless you try really, really hard. I love snake plants and we're trying to find one here. We had them in England and I love them so much and we haven't seen one here, but they have to have them. I read that they're like one of the best plants to keep in your bedroom and that they don't need a whole lot of light so they can be in rooms that
00:27:06
Speaker
like don't have windows or? Yes. Yeah. They are, they're so nice and they're easy to propagate too. Like they're just a great plant. Yeah. They also remove, again, like a lot of the other plants that we talked about remove toxins from the air, like benzene formaldehyde, some other ones that I can't pronounce. So just, you know, it removes toxins from the cleaning products in the air. And as far as magical properties, many of its magical properties
00:27:35
Speaker
again depend on what culture you're from because in some cultures like for instance in feng shui they have kind of a negative connotation to them so actually it's like a negative and a positive it's weird so in feng shui sharp objects should be avoided in your home and the points of at the end of the snake plant leaves represent arrows which attract negative energy or unwanted energy but and other variations of this into feng shui it can also protect against unwanted energy
00:28:05
Speaker
from entering your home if you place this plant near a front door. It also can be used in protection and it encourages positivity and witchcraft. And this is something I don't really like, obviously, because I'm not Asian. I don't really believe a lot of feng shui because that's not my culture.
00:28:28
Speaker
love the aspects like tied to witchcraft with protection and positivity and whatnot. And I guess it's been proven to distract you from stress. I guess it reduces psychological and spiritual stress and can help you connect spiritually
00:28:45
Speaker
That's really cool. Isn't that? And I'm just like, that is interesting. So, um, and I read this on an article that wasn't even like, like a witchy type article. So I thought that was interesting, but yeah, that's a good plan. They're really cool.
Cacti: Tolerance and History
00:29:01
Speaker
My last one is cactaceae, which is also known as a cactus.
00:29:07
Speaker
I think that all of us probably know at least what one type of cactus looks like, but just in case, these guys are a member of the succulent plant family, meaning that they store water in their bodies or in their leaves. They're usually plump, they come in various sizes, and they're covered in prickly spines.
00:29:25
Speaker
They're also a flowering plant with somewhere around 2,000 different species variations. So there's a ton of different types of cactuses out there with all kinds of different flowers. I love the cactus plant. They need highlight intensities and they don't fare well under artificial grow lights. They need direct sunlight to thrive.
00:29:47
Speaker
They also need warmth and don't do well anywhere cool or where they'll be exposed to a cold draft, like near an air conditioning vent or a fan. To thrive, keep them in direct sunlight where it's both hot and dry. And why every witch should keep a cactus around. Their magical properties are tolerance, clairvoyance, and protection. So with the tolerance piece, I read that this comes from the fact that fire and water
00:30:15
Speaker
of the elements obviously kind of like cancel each other out, right? Cactuses hold both within side of them. It's like a symbol for like why they are so tolerant. Like it's two elements coming together that should cancel each other out but are tolerating each other to survive. I love that. That is so fucking cool. Mm hmm.
00:30:36
Speaker
Cactuses are known for being sponges for negativity, but they tend to conserve it for long periods of time. So while they absorb the negative from us and from our spaces, they in turn become negative and can attract more negative energy if not given the care that they need.
00:30:55
Speaker
On the other hand, it's also believed that when there's like high levels of anger or hatred being thrown out around them, the cactus will also then push its own negativity out of itself to rid itself of negativity. But this also like
00:31:10
Speaker
cultivates and makes that situation worse because they're just adding to it. They're like, oh, get it out of me. And then it makes the situation worse. Early settlers of the Crimean Peninsula made a tincture with prickly pericactus that effectively functioned as a male potency drug. Dang. Apparently, they were like, we need more people. And so they made this tincture and they were giving it to men who then were pumping out all these babies.
00:31:39
Speaker
I thought it was hilarious. It was like, how did they find out that it was good for malpotency? Right? They were just trying everything, I guess. I don't know. This reminds me of a phallus. Probably, honestly. Let's take a tincture out of it.
00:31:55
Speaker
It was also used in the East as a pain and fever remedy to calm the nerves, detoxify the body, invigorate the spleen, and even reduce tumors, making it to be known as a miracle drug. It was also historically used to treat asthma, dysentery, and stomach pains, and cactus were also burned, and the ash was used to help treat pig and snake bites effectively. In Chinese medicine, the cactus is used to stimulate blood circulation,
00:32:24
Speaker
and qi energy. Feng Shui discourages having cacti in the home because their needles are believed to disrupt energy flow. Astrologers have noted that the cactus is the perfect plant for Scorpios due to its loyalty and contradictions. They also know that Capricorns live in harmony with cacti.
00:32:46
Speaker
and that this plant helps a capricorn to concentrate energy and stave off diseases. And lastly, they believe that Aries can also benefit from the protective powers of a cactus. Aww. Cute.
00:33:01
Speaker
They are a protective plant and they're believed to keep burglars out of your home. And the protection properties of the cactus go back to early settlers, probably farther back than that, but that was as early as I could find. They would plant cacti all around their spaces to protect from wild dogs, who I guess it's been proven that all dogs hate cactus. Like I read this in this article and I was like, that's an interesting
00:33:26
Speaker
fact to just throw in there. Yeah, that is interesting. And they used it also as a barrier to prevent thieves from coming in and stealing their things. Ah.
00:33:37
Speaker
that cute cactuses are just so underrated. But definitely cactuses are I love cactus but I grew up in the desert and I love the desert landscapes like I know it's not for everybody. It's a bunch of like dirt and dead looking plants but I love it. I think it's so cute. Yeah, I love cactuses as well. We usually always have them in our house at least just like little ones. We haven't gotten to me yet.
00:34:05
Speaker
I have one right there, like right above my head right there. Oh, so that is another plant episode from us covering.
Conclusion and Social Media
00:34:17
Speaker
Yeah. I love it.
00:34:29
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. There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and obtain exclusives like getting episodes early,
00:34:56
Speaker
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