The Healing Properties of Baneful Herbs | Coby Michael Ward

Baneful herbs, herbs that are toxic or potentially deadly have been and continue to be some of mankind’s most important medicines, while their applications have evolved, drugs like atropine, scopolamine and digoxin have botanical origins.  It is because of these plant’s chemical potency that they are so important.  These herbs also have very powerful spirits …

Foxglove: Digitalis and the Faery Realm | Coby Michael Ward

Foxglove, Sentinel of the Faery Realm The Queen of Elphame, the Faery Queen is an important figure in traditional witchcraft. With her consort the King of Elphame they rule over the People of Goda as they are known in the initiatory tradition based on the teachings of Robert Cochrane, the Clan of Tubal Cain. Foxglove or Digitalis purpurea, one …

Fairy Lore and the Plant Kingdom | Coby Michael Ward

  Plant lore and fairy lore are often intimately connected. The magical provenance of many plants is due to their folkloric association with the fairy realm. Fairies were thought to make their homes in certain plants and were believed to be responsible for tending to their growth. They have also been said to guide the …

Solanaceae in the Garden of Shadow | Coby Michael Ward

Solanaceae: The Witches of the Plant World There are no plants more specifically associated with Witchcraft and the Devil than those that belong to the family of Nightshade, the Solanaceae. In Latin, Solanaceae means “to soothe,” and they are valued for their pain-relieving and sedative properties. This category consists of the infamous plants of the medieval …

Plant Spirit Familiars | Coby Michael Ward

For millennia mankind has turned to the natural world for answers to the mysteries of life. The laws governing all things both seen and unseen can be understood through observation and interaction with nature. Our lives are inextricably linked to the natural world no matter how sterile and far removed our lives have become. We …

Saturn, Pluto and the Plague Times | Coby Michael Ward

Saturn- The Greater Malefic Saturn rules structure, restriction, hard work and life purpose.  While the planetary influence is usually viewed from a negative point of view; it is also about boundaries and regathering our personal resources.  Oftentimes life can leave our energy scattered and our boundaries broken.  We need a strong container to hold ourselves …

Connecting with the Familiar Spirit | Coby Michael Ward

Spirits of a Familiar Nature What is a familiar spirit? Modern Paganism often concerns itself with the gods and goddesses of ancient pantheons.  The deities of Ancient Greece and Rome, Egypt; Celtic deities and the divinities of the Norse and Germanic traditions, to name just a few.  Many practitioners of Modern Paganism and some Wiccan …

Saturnian Melancholy & Daemonic Inspiration | Coby Michael Ward

  Saturnian Melancholy Lethargic, uninspired, consumed by one's own thoughts; the melancholic mind is a labyrinth.  Its winding passageways conceal deeper and darker holes to fall into.  That jaded depressiveness characteristic of poets and artists who have deemed the priorities of the material world to be transparent, two dimensional and unimportant; what seems like a …

Illumination, Inspiration, and Imbolc | Coby Michael Ward

  For years I considered Imbolc, just another extra holy day to be observed.  It didn’t hold a lot of personal resonance with me, and this can feel true for many individuals when it comes to the pagan holy days or witches’ Sabbats.  Simply reading about the day’s history and traditional observances, learning the myth …

Spellcrafting with Baneful Herbs | Coby Michael Ward

  What are Baneful Herbs? First and foremost baneful herbs are known for their potential for poisoning.  They contain powerful chemicals known as alkaloids that have a powerful effect on human physiology.  When used properly they are some of our most powerful medicines, but in the wrong hands; as history has shown, they can be …