#Magic flowers la skin

Magical use for artemisia include luring love, cleansing, protection from accidents and evil spirits, and divination. Whatever the origins of its name, artemisia has long been associated with powerful women - and has a rich history of use in magic, ritual and medicine across its range. Many historians believe that the latin name for the plant refers to Artemis, the moon goddess in Greek mythology, although it’s possible that it also references ancient botanist and herbalist Artemisia II of Caria, who died in 350 BC. Plants in the artemisia family (which include wormwood and mugwort) are not only a beautiful in gardens, but are among the world’s most ancient magical herbs. Another fun fact about this notorious flower: it belongs to the same family as the far less sinister buttercup! If you do decide to use wolfsbane in your magic-making - or just to add some deep purple to your garden - be sure to wear gloves, as gardeners have died from handling the plant.

#Magic flowers la skin

In medieval Europe, some magical uses for the plant wrapping wolfsbane seeds in lizard’s skin and carrying them to become invisible (if you ever try this, please report back!), warding off werewolves and vampires, and shapeshifting into animals. Since ancient times, poison made from wolfsbane has been used to coat swords and arrows in battle, execute criminals, commit murder, and has made its way into many spells and rituals. According to Greek mythology, wolfsbane’s poisonous sap first dripped from the mouth of the hell-guarding three-headed dog Cerebus - perhaps our favorite origin myth for a plant! Native to mountainous regions in western and central Europe, most species of the plant contain the highly toxic aconitine. Monkshood or wolfsbane (so named because it was historically used to poison animal bait) has long been associated with the supernatural. However, the plant’s not all bad: its medicinal properties have proved useful for pain relief and fevers. In the English-speaking world, common names for datura include devil’s snare, thornapple, hell's bells, devil's trumpet, devil's weed, stinkweed, locoweed, Beelzebub’s twinkie, and devil's cucumber - nomenclature indicative of its trouble-making reputation. Plants in its family have been used to reduce unwilling imbibers into a zombie-like state Devil’s Breath or scopolamine, a drug made primarily from the seeds of flowers in the daturae tribe, has been called the world’s “Most Dangerous Drug” due to its ability to make victims extremely suggestible, and has been linked to countless crimes in Central and South America. While datura has been used safely by experienced medicine people, herbalists, and shamans around the world for hundreds of years, it has also been employed for more nefarious purposes. Like henbane, datura can have hallucinogenic effects when absorbed through the skin as a lotion, causing those who used it to embark on spiritual journeys or enter a trance in medieval Europe, evidence suggests that during the Spanish Inquisition, the use of the plant could lead to persecution for witchcraft. Datura stramonium, native to North and Central America and now widespread throughout the world, has been used for magical, ceremonial and medicinal purposes for centuries. It’s likely you’ve seen these pretty pinwheel-shaped flowers growing in your backyard late in the summer. In some parts of the U.S., henbane, which belongs to the nightshade family, is classified as a noxious weed, so be sure to keep children and pets away if you spot it growing on the roadside. However, it can be lethal in large doses, so we don’t recommend picking some for a little Halloween fun. When mixed with fat an applied as a salve, henbane is absorbed through the skin and is said to give one the dizzying sensation of flight: the reason it is the key ingredient in witch’s ointment. Native to Europe, henbane not only looks rather spooky with its green petals and black center, it has a long history as a poison, medicinal and ritualistic plant across that continent. Henbane, also known as “the witch’s drug,” is one of several plants in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family that contains alkaloids including hyoscine, hyoscyamine, and atropine, which can cause powerful hallucinations.

It’s no wonder plants that help you see and experience interesting and terrifying things have long been associated with magic.