Rootwork and Herb Magick: The Ties That Bind Every Culture and Continent

Expansive Roots of Spiritual Herbalism and Root Work

Root workers, those who practice "granny magic,' kitchen witches, Braucherei (Pennsylvania Dutch) all have one thing in common. They all rely on Earth's bounty for miraculous healing, spiritual protection, and social advancement. From the sun-kissed herbs of the Mediterranean to the sacred plants in the Amazon rainforest, diverse traditions have employed powerful herbs and roots to influence their health and well-being, and to work with unseen worldly forces.

Rootwork and herb conjure draw wisdom from countless cultures and lineages, including African, Native American, European and Mexican cultures and traditions.

European Practices: From the Druids of ancient Britain to the European medieval apothecaries, Europe has boasted a rich history of plant-based Magickal practices. They worked with leaves and stems, trunks and branches, roots and herbs. Europeans have use plant medicine for healing, divination, and ritual purposes just like cultures living in the continents to the south. EXAMPLES of Historical European Herb and Root Work:

• Fennel, more than just a flavoring agent for food, Europeans employed Fennel as a magickal ward. It was planted around the home to scare away evil as readily as it works to repel insects!
• Dill was employed by Europeans to provide protection from witchcraft.
• Mullein (Verbascum thapsus): Used by witches as "hag tapers" because the stalks could be dipped in melted fat and lighted as a torch! Used as bandages by the military too!
• Cleopatra (a Macedonian Greek) used lavender as one of her many secret weapons for seducing first Julius Ceasar and then Mark Antony. 
• History is rife with tales of European midwives and healers who used herbs for their rituals, treatments, and holism; especially when attending to women in childbirth.
• Here's a beautiful article published by the Smithsonian about Appalacian witches (Scottish, Irish, and English settlers) and their herbal folk magic
• Interested in Hillfolk Hoodoo? Read MORE about prayer, charms, and spells that came from Scotland and Ireland!

Indigenous Practices: The Native American tribes in North America have a deep-rooted connection to the land and its plants. Their extensive knowledge of healing and smoking herbs and their use in spiritual rituals continues to inform contemporary herbalism and ethnobotany.

EXAMPLE: "To expel intestinal worms, the Muscogee (Creek) tribe drank a strong tea made from the root bark (of a Gooseberry shrub)."

Global Connections: From the Shamanic practices of Siberia to the Ayurvedic traditions of India, various cultures around the world have developed unique but interconnected ways of working with plants for spiritual and practical purposes. Recognizing that these connections foster a deeper understanding of the universality of our human connection to nature.|

YET ANOTHER POPULAR EXAMPLE OF EUROPEAN MAGICKAL TREE WORKINGS: Search "Beech Tree" (Fagus Grandiflora) and articles of Europeans using the branches, herbs, and bark for magickal workings.

• A Druid's blog about the Beech Tree
• More Magickal works with the Beech Tree
• The Queen Faerie is associated with the Beech Tree