Magical Herbs, Fruits, & Veggies: The B's

Need to know what herbs, fruits, & veggies you should be using in your magical workings and kitchen witchery? Here are all of the B's in a quick, easy to use list to help you find exactly what you need to use. (Check the bottom of the list for links to the other letters!)

Bakuli Pods - Difficult to find magic item also used in sachets and potpourri.

Balm of Gilead Tears - Love, manifestations, protection, healing, de-stressing, and assisting in healing from the loss of a loved one. Use in love sachets; carry for healing, protection, and mending a broken heart. Use to dress candles for any form of magickal healing. Burn to attract spirits.

Also Called: Poplar Buds, Balsam Poplar, Balm of Gilead, Mecca, Mecca Balsam, Balessan, Bechan

Balmony - Steadfastness, patience, and perseverance. Associated with the tortoise or turtle.

Also Called: Hummingbird Tree, Bitter Herb, Snake Head, Turtle Head, Turtle Bloom

Balsam

Bamboo - Hex breaking, wishes, luck and protection. Carve a wish into bamboo and bury it in a secluded area to make your wish come true. Carry a piece of bamboo for good luck.

Banana - Fertility, potency, and prosperity

Banyan - Happiness, Luck

Barberry - Cleansing, sorcery, atonement, freeing oneself from the power or control of another.

Also Called: Witches Sweets

Barley - Love, healing, and protection. Harvests. Scatter on the ground to keep evil at bay. Tie barley straw around a rock and throw into a river or lake while visualizing any pain you have to make the pain go away.

Basil - Love, exorcism, wealth, sympathy, and protection. Dispels confusion, fears & weakness. Drives off hostile spirits. Associated with Candlemas. Carry to move forward in a positive manner despite perilous danger. Strewn on floors to provide protection from evil. Sprinkle an infusion of basil outside of the building where you hope to be employed for luck in a job interview (be careful not to be seen!) or in your business to attract money and success. Wear or carry to aid in attracting money and prosperity.

Also Called: Common Basil, Sweet Basil, St. Josephwort, St. Joseph's Wort, Tulsi, Tulasi, Krishnamul, Kala Tulasi, Witches' Herb, Alabahaca, American Dittany

Bat's Head Root - Use in spellwork, rituals, gris gris bags, etc. to obtain wishes.

Bay Laurel - Purification, house and business blessing, and clearing confusion. Attracts romance. Keep potted plant to protect home from lightning. Place in a dream pillow for sound sleep and to induce prophetic dreams.

Also Called: Bay, Sweet Laurel, Sweet Bay, True Laurel, Lorbeer, Noble Laurel, Baie, Daphne

Bay Leaf - Protection, good fortune, success, purification, strength, healing and psychic powers. Write wishes on the leaves and then burn the leaves to make the wishes come true. Place under the pillow (or use in dream pillow) to induce prophetic dreams. Place in the corner of each room in the house to protect all that dwell there. Carry bay leaf to protect yourself against black magick.

Bayberry - Good fortune, luck, healing, and stress relief. Burn a white candle sprinkled with bayberry bark for good fortune and money.

Also Called: American Vegetable Tallow Tree, Myrtle, Wax Myrtle, Candleberry, Candleberry Myrtle, Tallow Shrub, American Vegetable Wax, Vegetable Tallow, Waxberry, Pepperidge Bush, Berbery

Bedstraw (Fragrant) - Love and lust

Bee Pollen - Friendship, attraction, love, strength, happiness, and overcoming depression.

Beech - Wishes, happiness and divination. Improves literary skills. Place a leaf of beech between covers of Book of Shadows to increase inspiration.

Beeswax - Traditionally used for making candles, decorative seals, natural polish, protective finish, and use as a base for herbal salves.

Beet - Love. Beet juice can be used as ink for love magick or as a substitute for blood in spells and rituals.

Belladonna - Healing & forgetting past loves. Provides protection when placed in a secret place in the home. Place on a ritual altar to honor the deities and add energy to rituals. Note: Deadly poison, do not ingest.

Also Called: Banewort, Deadly Nightshade, Sorcerer's Berry, Witch's Berry, Death's Herb, Devil's Cherries, Divale, Dwale, Dwaleberry, Dwayberry, Fair Lady, Great Morel, Naughty Man's Cherries

Benzoin - Purification, prosperity, soothing tension, dispelling anger, diminishing irritability, relieving stress & anxiety, and overcoming depression. Promotes generosity and concentration. Good to burn while using the Tarot or for success in intellectual matters. Smoulder for purification. An incense of benzoin, cinnamon and basil is said to attract customers to your place of business.

Also Called: Snowbells, Storax, Gum Benzoin, Siam Benzoin, Siamese Benzoin, Benzoin Gum, Ben, Benjamen

Bergamot - Money, prosperity, protection from evil and illness, improving memory, stopping interference, and promoting restful sleep. Carry in a sachet while gambling to draw luck and money. Very powerful for attracting success. Burn at any ritual to increase its power.

Also Called: Orange Mint

Betel Nut - Protection and banishing

Bilberry Bark - Used for protection.

Also Called: Whortleberry, Black Whortles, Whinberry, Huckleberry, Bleaberry, Blueberry, Airelle

Birch - Protection, exorcism and purification. A birch planted close to the home is said to protect against lightning, infertility, and the evil eye.

Also Called: White Birch, Canoe Birch, Paper Birch, Tree of Life, Lady of the Woods

Bistort - Fertility, divination, clairvoyance, psychic powers. Carry in a sachet for fertility and conception. Add to any herbal mixture to boost divination. Burn with frankincense during divination or to enhance psychic powers. Carry in a yellow flannel bag to attract wealth & good fortune. Sprinkle an infusion of bistort around the home to drive out poltergeists.

Also Called: Bistort Root, Dragonwort

Black Cohosh - Love, courage, protection and potency. Use in love sachets or in the bath to prevent impotence. Carry in pocket or amulet for courage and/or strength. Sprinkle around a room to drive away evil. Add an infusion of the herb to bath water to ensure a long and happy life. Burn as a love incense. Put in purple flannel bag for protection for accidents and sudden death and to keep others from doing you wrong.

Also Called: Black Snake Root, Bugbane, Squawroot, Bugwort, Rattleroot, Rattleweed, Rattlesnake Root, Richweed

Black Haw - Protection, gambling, luck, power and employment. Carry in the pocket while seeking employment, if you are having problems at work, or if you are asking for a raise.

Also Called: Devil's Shoestring, Stagbush, American Sloe

Black Pepper - Banishing negativity, exorcism, and protection from evil.

Black Walnut - Access to divine energy, bringing the blessing of the Gods, wishes. Used to completely sever ties with a person (husks).

Blackberry - Healing, protection and money. Sacred to Brighid. Leaves and berries said to attract wealth and healing.

Bladderwrack - Protection, sea spells, wind spells, money, psychic powers, and attracting customers. Wear in a charm for protection during travel, especially when traveling by water.

Also Called: Kelp, Seawrack, Kelpware, Black-tang, Cutweed, Sea Oak, Sea Spirit

Blessed

Thistle - Purification, protection against negativity and evil, hex breaking. Carry for strength and protection. Place a bowl of blessed thistle in a room to renew the vitality and strengthen the spirit of its occupants. Men who carry thistle become better lovers.

Also Called: Holy Thistle, Saint Benedict Thistle, Spotted Thistle, Cardin

Bloodroot - Love, protection, and purification. Steep in red wine for a full cycle of the moon to use as a "blood offering" for spells that call for this -- DO NOT DRINK THE WINE. Place in windows and doorways to keep curses and evil spirits out. A favorite root for use in voodoo to defeat hexes and spells aimed against you.

Also Called: Red Root, Red Indian Paint, Tetterwort, Blood Root, Indian Paint, Pauson, Red Paint Root, Red Puccoon, Sanguinariat

Blowball - Love and wishes. Carry in a red bag to grant wishes. Blow to the four directions when searching for love.Blue CohoshEmpowerment, purification, money drawing, love breaking, and driving away evil.Blue VioletLove, inspiration, good fortune, and protection from all evil. Carried for protection and to encourage fortune and changed luck. Mixed with lavender to attract lust and love. Worn to calm tempers and bring sleep.

Also Called: Sweet Scented Violet

Bluebell - Luck, truth and friendship. Incorporate into rituals of death & dying to comfort those left behind and ease their sorrow.

Also Called: Jacinth, Culverkeys, Auld Man's Bell, Ring o' Bells, Wood Bells

Blueberry - Protection. Though not recommended, blueberry is said to cause confusion & strife when tossed in the doorway or path of an enemy.

Boneset - Protection, exorcism and warding off evil spirits. Sprinkle an infusion of boneset around the home to rid it of evil and negativity. To curse an enemy, burn as an incense with a black candle inscribed with the name of the enemy (not recommended -- remember the law of threes!).

Also Called: Feverwort, Agueweed, Crosswort, Eupatorium, Indian Sage, Sweating Plant, Teasel, Thoroughwort, Vegetable Antimony

Borage - Courage and psychic powers. Float the flowers in a ritual bath to raise one's spirits. Carry or burn as an incense to increase courage and strength of character. Sprinkle an infusion of Borage around the house to ward off evil.

Also Called: Bee Bread, Starflower, Herb of Gladness, Bugloss, Burrage, Cool Tankard

Brazil Nut - Good luck in love affairs

Brewer's YeastUsed in facial mask potions.

Brimstone - Dispels or prevents a hex on you; destroys an enemy's power over you. Burn at midnight near your back door to ward off evil.

Also Called: Sulfur Powder

Broom Tops - Purification, wind spells, divination and protection. Sprinkle an infusion of broom tops around the home to clear away all evil.

Also Called: Irish Broom, Scotch Broom, Besom, Broom

Buchu - Divination, wind spells, psychic powers and prophetic dreams. Add buchu leaves to the bath to enable yourself to foretell the future.

Also Called: Bucco, Agathosma Betulina, Bookoo, Bucku, Buku and Bucco

Buckeye - Divination, good luck, and attracting money & wealth. Carried whole anointed with money oil and/or wrapped in a dollar bill for constant increase in money flow. A popular Hoodoo charm for gamblers. Carry in pocket for protection against arthritis.

Also Called: Horse Chestnut

Buckthorn - Sorceries, elf magick, and driving away enchantments. Used as a luck generator in legal matters and for winning in court. Place the branches of a Buckthorn near doors or windows to drive away evil and bad vibrations. To make a wish, stand in an open area facing east and concentrate on your wish; turn to your left until you are facing east again, continually sprinkling buckthorn bark powder (or an infusion made with buckthorn bark) as you turn.

Also Called: Arrowwood, Black Dogwood, Black Alder Dogwood, Black Alder Tree, Persian Berries

Buckwheat - Money, protection, and fasting. Use in charms and spells to obtain treasure, riches, and wealth.BurdockUsed for cleansing magick when feeling highly negative about oneself or others. Use in protection incenses and spells. Rinse with a decoction of burdock to remove negative feelings about yourself or others.

Also Called: Bardana, Burr Seed, Clotbur, Cocklebur, Hardock, Hareburr, Hurrburr, Turkey Burrseed, Fox's Clote, Happy Major, Lappa, Love Leaves, Personata, Beggar's Buttons

Burnet - Used for protection, consecration of ritual tools, and counter magick; also used to magickally treat depression and despondency.

Also Called: Italian Pimpernel, Salad Burnet, Greater Burnet

Butchers Broom - Wind spells, divination, protection, psychic powers.ButterburUsed for love divination and to raise one's spirits by increasing sense of hope and faith.

Also Called: Bog Rhubarb, Butterdock, Umbrella Plant, Lagwort, Sweet Coltsfoot