Herbs of Wortcunning & Spiritual Herbalism
There are a lot of herbs. There are over 390,000 known species of plants- and a bunch more we don’t know. Some of them are balm, some of them are bane, and some of them are just… wild! The point is, in 100 lifetimes neither you or I will ever meet even a fraction of them. We have pick the plants we will spend our years getting to know, or sometimes be picked by those plants. The list won’t be very long, but it will run deep- and that’s what’s most important. One of the things I get asked the most by folks who are just embarking on a more intentional plant spirit path as they explore the ways of spiritual herbalism and wortcunning traditions is ‘which plant should I connect with’? Well, I have seven for you right here!
These seven won’t be accessible to everyone, won’t be a good fit for everyone, and won’t click for everyone. But they represent a spectrum of personalities, virtues, and expressions within which I think everyone can find at least one resonant ally.
Before we get to the list, let me share a couple of important points with you.
This list is by no means exhaustive. I actually spent two weeks thinking about the 7 herbs I wanted to share with you and whittled it up and down many times over. While I like this list, I could have easily made it a collection of 50.
As we talk about each herb, keep in mind that I am only sharing very specific information about that plant relevant to the topic at hand. We won’t be getting into the medicine or magic of the plants in-depth, rather we’ll be focusing on how each of these plant spirits can be an ally in helping us onto the plant spirit path.
As you go through the herbs, think about which ones make the most sense for you to work with based on:
which ones grow where you live
which plants are accessible, could be gardened, might be foraged, or can be found at a local herb shop
which of these plants might have a connection to your culture or spiritual tradition
which of these plants might have a personal connection to you
are any of these plants relevant to the way you practice
HOW I CHOSE THESE HERBS OF WORTCUNNING WISDOM
First, each of these herbs has taught me via lore or directly that they have some interest and influence in the realm of opening the ways between humans and plant spirits, clearing the path of plant spirit work, helping us examine ourselves and reflect on how we can go further down the path by going more deeply into our own truths, and what we need to work on to progress.
I chose the number seven because in the Nigon Wyrta Galdor, the Nine Herbs Charm of the 10th century Lacnunga manuscript, one of the verses notes seven realms. We don’t know what those realms are, but I like to think they represent the wholeness of the cosmos- every plane, reality, perspective, and world-within-world. So, by choosing seven herbs, I’m trying to symbolize a plant for every possibility.
Each of these herbs is based in one or many of the Old English herbals which inform my practice. While I am a traditionally-trained clinical herbalist, almost all the herbs and perspectives I employ in my clinical practice are rooted in these ancestral streams of green wisdom.
Whenever we do lists of herbs, I like to consider the ones that will likely be the most accessible, easiest to confidently identify, and approachable. You’ll see several herbs from the Mint Family (Lamiaceae) and a few others that are staples in most herb shops.
I also wanted to focus on herbs that would allow me to show you how we talk about herbs, how we think about them, and how we relate to them. All of these things can be dramatically different than what people are used to seeing. We approach plants as person, and it shows!
MUGWORT
Mucwyrt, Una
In the Nogon Wyrta Galdor, Mugwort is given the epithet of yldost wyrta- the oldest herb. Here, Mugwort as Una is extolled as the first among plants- the one who showed herbs how to be herbs. By connecting to this aspect of Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris) we connect to one plant spirit who knows all plant spirits. If there ever was the perfect herb to begin with, it’s this one! I do not suggest ingesting Mugowrt unless under the direction of a qualified herbalist. Rather, we can sit, gaze, talk, and journey with this plant in other ways. If the idea of plant spirit journeys is new to you, I invite you to join in our monthly guided plant spirit journeys. We begin at the first light of the New Moon and sit with one plant for a full lunar cycle- learning from them directly. You can find out more about these journeys via my Patreon community.
Mugwort is also celebrated in the lore as being a protector of travelers and a defense against weariness and fatigue. While the lore may be speaking to literal journeys from one place to another, I also find that Mugwort will help those of us on spiritual journeys- those wandering down the plant spirit path.
CHAMOMILE
Mægđe
One of the most cherished of all herbs, Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is a fundamental ally to know. This plant, while seeming beginner or basic, is actually one of the most responsive to the human experience and one that is quite invested in our well being. Chamomile is everywhere because they want to be.
In the Nine Herbs Charm, it is said that one will not lose their life if they’ve been eating Chamomile. I think this is a literal nod to the overall healing virtues of the plant on a physical level, but also a peek into the life-energy preserving nature of this plant. I consider Mægđe to be an exceptional ally for the Mægen, the vital force.
Chamomile is a known herb of strewing and stepping- blessing the path as we walk it and leading us to success. The bitterness of Chamomile will gently activate digestion which moves us from the sympathetic state into the parasympathetic; grounding, calming, and easing. We cannot do the more subtle spiritual workings of wortcunning while in a panic!
FENNEL
Finule
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) has one of my favorite verses in the Nine Herbs Charm because it is so evocative of who plants are and how they are connected to the elder gods:
Fille and Finule,a very mighty two,
these worts the wise lord shaped,
holy in the heavens, while he hung,
set and sent them to seven worlds -
poor and prosperous, as remedy for all.
This verse implies that the Wise Lord who is Wōden, shaped Fennel, and maybe all the other herbs, too. This shaping could be the literal giving of physical form to the herbs, or it could be a more soulful shaping where they receive their duties in the cosmos. Either way, Fennel has a clear connection to the gods here which makes this an exemplary herb for those embarking on a more spiritual style of herbal practice.
As Fennel moves across the seven worlds, they become a remedy of success for the poor and the prosperous alike. Herbs are radically egalitarian.
PLANTAIN
Wegbrade
The Nine Herbs Charm tells us that Plantain is trampled, rode over, stood on, and yelled across- none of these things causing the plant any harm. Plantain is an herb fiercely rooted in place; an ally of connecting to the land and to the many mysteries the land holds.
As I mention in the class below, an old name for this plant is Englishman’s Footprint because Plantago spp. is not native to the Americas, but came over as a nourishing herb with either the original colonizers or one of the waves of settlers who followed them in later years. In some wild way. This plant can be invasive, just like we human folk can.
Plantain (Plantago major, Plantago lanceolata) will teach us how to engage with the land we’re on, connect to the spirits of place, align to the nature cycles that surround us, and enter into kinship with the herbs that grow where we grow. This is the ultimate ally of a bioregional herbal practice!
ROSEMARY
Boþen
The penultimate herb of remembrance. Please don’t make the grave mistake (there’s a pun there!) of limiting Rosemary’s blessings to everyday memory and recall, although that’s noble medicine indeed. Rather, allow the deep mysteries of this remembrance to flood into your life- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) brings up the memories of our ancestors- especially our herbwise ancestors. The people in our line who knew herbs and worked with them in sacred kinship. They exist in your line, and Rosemary will reconnect you.
My favorite name for this plant, Rosmarinus, means dew of the sea. Rosemary taught me many years ago that the sea referenced here is the primordial ocean, the earthly womb, the one both humans and plants emerged from. So, Rosemary will help us to remember our deep, deep, deep ancestral connections to plants.
Yes, this herb shows up in the kitchen and gets tossed into some of our favorite culinary creations- Rosemary is an aromatic and tasty member of the Mint family. But don’t let their common presence distract you from the immense power this plant carries. My second ‘stuck somewhere without any herbs’ plant? This one.
SAGE
Saluie
He that would live for aye must eat Sage in May!
So goes an ancient charm that reminds us of Sage’s abilities to bring us the whole spectrum of healing. The name Salui comes from the Latin Salvia, all-healing, savior. Sage (Salvia officinalis) will find what ails us, on any level of being, and gently guide is toward the path of true healing. Sage is another member of the Lamiacea family- Mint!
The common name of Sage is also an indicator of how our herbwise ancestors experienced this plant- rich with wisdom, knowledgeable beyond compare.
We cannot freely walk down the plant spirit path of wortcunning when we are heavy with the buden of disharmony and disconnect. Sage will bring us back into ourselves, fully, so that we can walk the path from the core of our being where the actual plant spirit communication takes place.
THYME
Organe
One of our most cherished respiratory herbs, Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) deepens the breath, purifies respiratory tissues and the process of breathign itself, and blesses our breath as a ritual of sacred reciprocity. Right now, consciously or not, you are engaged in a ritual of reciprocity with the plants through your breathing. Your every inhalation ois a gift of life from the green realm, and your every exhalation is a return gift to them. What we inhale is what they exhale, and vice versa.
Thyme will allow the breath to become more than something that happens in the background- a sacred exchange of vital force between persons of radically different kinds.
Here is a complete class on the topic above, presented as part of my weekly communtiy class series… enjoy!
