How to Write and Work with Plant Spirit Charms
One of our most cherished coursed of ancestral plant lore comes from various charms, prayers, and recitations which can be found in a variety of books and collections including the Lacnunga, Bald’s Leechbook, Carmina Gadelica, Herbaium V, and Folkard’s Plant Lyrics. These collections have preserved, one way or another, poetic and pithy charms which provide us important keys to how the herbwise folk of old experienced the plants and worked with them in healing, magic, and ritual.
Perhaps the most famous of extant plant charms is the Nine Herbs Charm (Nigon Wyrta Galdor) of the Lacnunga. This 10th century collection gives us profound insight into how folks of that place and time saw plants, which plants they connected to, how they worked with those plants, and how they held the wisdom of the plants as teachers. For example, in the first verse, we find Mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris) invoked by two folk names: Mucwyrt and Una. From there, the plant is addressed not as a thing, a resource, or a means to an end as so commonly done in modern allopathic herbal and even witchcraft traditions, but rather as a conscious spirit whose response is sought through adoration, supplication, and request. In the charm, Mugwort is entreated to remember what they had done for others, namely the ancestors of the person reciting the charm, in request that the plant do the same thing now. We see then that the old folk for the charmer had an established relationship with this plant, and that same charmer was hoping to lean into the merit of the relationship in their own current moment. Next, Mugwort’s various medicinal/magical virtues are expounded in a way that is simultaneously flattering, documentary, and petitionary. This is why I love these old plant charms so much!
In a similar vein, Carmina Gadelica which is a Christianized collection of charms and prayers from Scotland by Alexander Carmichael preserve many plant-focused pieces that are so enlightening and inspiring! My personal favorite is the Eala-bhi, Eala-bhi, or St. John’s Wort! St. John’s Wort! In this charm, the reciter honors the plant by acknowledging ‘my envy whosoever has thee’- how much more flattering can you be? The charmer here states that they have envy for anyone who is in possession of this sacred plant. Next there is an honoring of the plant and how they should be harvested (cut with the right hand, gathered with the left as is so common in Celtic plant lore) and an extolling of their helpful virtues.
Besides the crucial plant lore that gets preserved in charms and all the great insight we get into how the herbwise folk of old perceived and connected with plant spirits- there’s yet another blessing that comes through in these bits of surviving poetry. We can work with these same charms as they are, here and now, for the things we work on in the modern world- and many of the charms are just beautifully appropriate for some of our most pressing concerns. No matter how we interpret the meaning of venom or air-illness or the horrors, we can work these charms to connect more profoundly to the plant spirits, open the ways between us, and let their virtues flow.
When the specifics of a charm don’t exactly speak to us because of the context, location, plant virtues, or healing needs, we can flex our own creative muscles and adapt them to meet our needs. Charms, like plant lore, are not set in stone. They have changed hundreds and even thousands of times as they’ve been handed from one generation to another- even to the extent that the Old Gods are often replaced with Jesus or various Christian saints! So, have no hesitation in maintaining the framework of these powerful charms while adjusting them to suit time and place as long as what is changed makes sense, is in alignment with the plant spirit, and is done in a way that the herbwise folk of old would respect.
This is a massive subject, but at its heart is a simple practice of calling out to the plants using a format that has been worked by folks for ages. This week I posted a free immersive workshop entitled Working with Plant Spirit Charms as Inspiration for Modern Wortcunning and I would love for you to dig in to this fascinating topic with me. By the end of this class you’ll have a solid foundation covering:
What plant spirit charms are
How they work
Where to find them, especially translated into modern English
How to adjust ancient charms to align to the specific plants you’re working with and the goals you have
What some of the traditional applications of plant spirit charms are
How o use them for healing, protection, cleansing, blessing, crafting herbal medicine and magical items, harvesting, sowing seeds, connecting with the Old Gods, meditation, journeywork, and so much more!
Watch the workshop below… I had such a great time with this one! Please make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you know when new classes and workshops post each week.
Workshop on ancient plant spirit charms and how they can be used in the modern day- with references to the Nine Herbs Charm of the Lacnunga and Carmina Gadelica.
