Herbs In My Practice

Herbs and other plants play a huge role in the modern pagan community. I classify herbs not by planet or element but by deity. There is a mythological and  historical basis for associating certain plants with certain deities. I simply picked it up and modernized it. Here are a few samples of my herb chart.


Oak-Zeus (historical)
Maple-Hera (historical)
Oats-Apollo
Roses-Aphrodite (historical)
Morning Glory-Dionysus/Persephone
Sage-Hades/Hermes
Onion-Artemis
Nutmeg-Apollo/Hades
Corn-Demeter
Holly-Zeus
Pepper-Ares
Hyacinth-Apollo (historical)


I agree with the Hoodoo idea that every creation is marked by its creator with a purpose. In the case of the natural world the Gods are the creators. To understand what a specific gemstone or plant is meant to do all you need are you senses and your intuition. Observe the plant in nature or on your dinner plate. Pepper burns like the temper of Ares so why not associate it with Him? Morning glory is both a hallucinogen and a vine so why not associate it with Dionysus?


The Cosmos is as complex as those who created it. By understanding the Gods and the natures of Their creations you can gain a better knowledge of the spiritual world. In an herb guide you will see several plants listed with the property of love. Aphrodite's blessing isn't nearly that simple though. Yes, rose and maple can bring you love but what kind of love? Maple is a much more mellow energy. It causes stable relationships to blossom or fire back up. Roses on the other hand are a bit more on the lustful side. Their thorns cause a much more potent, intoxicating romance. To distinguish between the two the ancients associated them with different deities. Hera got the maple with its hard wood and slow growth. Aphrodite got the rose and all of its fast paced romantic glory.


The practice of observing the natural world to learn its spiritual qualities is ancient. Sadly, the great amount of information we are exposed to on a daily basis has desensitized us to this art. You'd think that since paganism is supposed to be an earth based religion that more people would put the books down and use the earth as their teacher.