Harness the Power of Green Witchcraft and Plant Magic

As the days grow longer and everything begins to bloom again, we welcome the arrival of spring—a season of renewal, growth, and boundless botanical magic. Earth Day is our annual reminder to pay attention to the natural world, deepen our connection with nature, and explore the wonders of plant magic.

Whether you have an abundant garden, a windowsill of potted herbs, or simply an appreciation for greenery in the heart of the city, the energy of plants is always within reach. Green witchcraft and plant magic aren’t just for those in rural areas—they can be woven into daily life, no matter where you live. From healing rituals and sustainable foraging to sacred recipes and card spreads, harnessing the power of plants is a beautiful way to honor both the earth and yourself. Join us as we explore a selection of RP Mystic offerings that have simple yet powerful ways to work with nature’s gifts.

Connect to Your Higher Self

Explore the transformative properties of the flora and fauna found on Mother Earth with Grace Duong’s Mystic Mondays: The Healing Herbology Deck: A Deck and Guidebook of Plant Power.

A three-card spread can help you access the healing qualities of the cards on a deeper level. Grace writes, “These magical plant allies can evoke your own nature, drawing from your energetic ecosystem and giving renewed life to your inner workings.”

The cards of these spreads can be interpreted as:

• Think / Feel / Do
• Desires / Challenges / Overcoming
• Mind / Body / Spirit
• Past / Present / Future
• Or whatever interpretations resonate best with you

Here we’ll draw a three-card sample reading based around the prompt “How can I best connect to my higher self?”

As you read the information for each card, reflect on what resonates with you and how you can best connect to your higher self.

Card 1

Rhubarb
Element: Earth
Sustainability, Boundaries, Protection
Affirmation: I sustain my energy by establishing healthy boundaries, focusing on what fuels my soul.

Tangy and tart, rhubarb is known for its versatility, particularly in Asia (especially China), where it is used for medicinal purposes, such as supporting digestion. Although the stalks are edible, rhubarb leaves are poisonous and contain high levels of oxalic acid. As a powerful digestive aid, rhubarb helps to assimilate the energies of your life so you ingest nutrients that fuel you rather than drain you. If you are having trouble staying grounded or establishing boundaries to maintain your life force, rhubarb reinforces you with a protective field to digest information that is supportive for your system, physically and energetically.

Card 2

Lemon Verbena
Element: Air
Final Stretch, Strength, Endurance
Affirmation: I strengthen my endurance to reach my goals effortlessly.

When lemon verbena enters your life, it gives you an extra boost to cross the finish line so you can reach your goals! The challenges that you have endured ultimately came into your life to fortify you, building resilience and strength of character. The petals of the lemon verbena’s flowers exude hope after difficult times and remind you of the cycles of life. The school of Earth teaches lessons, replaying them over and over until you have integrated them into your life. Know that you are on the right path, even if you encounter obstacles. The Universe never gives you something you cannot handle, and the lessons you’ve learned will give you an advantage for what is to come.

Card 3

Hyacinth
Element: Water
Forgiveness, Duality, Self-Acceptance
Affirmation: I forgive myself for any perceived shortcomings and accept myself fully for who I am.

The Greek mythology behind the hyacinth is steeped in jealousy. This plant is named after the lover of Apollo, Hyakinthos, killed by Zephyrus, an envious admirer. Hyacinth encourages you to look at the inner discord that can happen when you are feeling envious: Are there characteristics in that person that you wish you had within yourself? The good news is that you do have those characteristics, albeit maybe hidden in shadow. How can you activate these repressed aspects and embrace yourself for all that you are? Forgiving yourself is a powerful way to find peace and accept all sides of yourself, embracing the duality of your human existence. There can be no light without shadow.

Clarify Your Intentions

For another way to connect with Mother Earth, turn to Dirt Gems: A Plant Oracle Deck and Guidebook by Anne Louise Burdett with art by Chelsea Granger.

“We do not need to learn about nature to love and experience nature. We are nature.”

With the Dirt Gems deck, each card serves as a living being with its own essence, energetics, personality, strengths, weaknesses, and expression.

Though the guidebook offers several example spreads, you’re invited to treat the Dirt Gems deck like any other Tarot or divination deck, applying any spreads that you feel connected to. Here, we’ll do a simple one-card pull. You might choose to draw one card a day and use it as a writing prompt, or draw one card each week to help clarify your priorities and intentions for the week.

While you’re invited to physically connect with the plant you pull, you can also simply study the illustration and guidebook description if you don’t have access to the physical plant.

Evening Primrose –– Oenothera biennis

Night Bloomer

Lubricating, sweet, neutralizing, and cooling, Evening Primrose primes the way. A moon-being and a night walker, they are soothing and nourishing, allowing our tissues to relax as they empty of tension and rigidity.

If you are bound up in yourself, irritated, frustrated, coiled, and tired of cycling thoughts, let Evening Primrose in like the moon through your window, gently lighting your sleepy face.

Evening Primrose is nurturing both for those who have given birth and those who have suffered in their early years on this Earth. Evening Primrose unwinds long-held wounds quietly and in the dark.

As an ally to young life, Evening Primrose holds those early experiences. If you have felt abandoned, rejected, or believe you soon will be, reach out. Evening Primrose is like a soft hand to hold. Reach out. If there is a voice telling you it will never be safe and you find yourself pulling away from commitment, bonding, or soul connection, Evening Primrose can remind you that this is not the only voice in the room. There are forms of love that are safe. Wrap this blanket of moonlight around you, shadows and all, and know that you can be secure, loved, and will not always be left. Author your story, and let your heart open into the waters of mutual and reciprocal love.

Evening Primrose is for those times when we are most impressionable, like an impact on water that has ripples far and wide. Evening Primrose can assure you in soft whispers, You are wanted; you are safe.

Make a Dandelion Pesto

Develop and deepen your intuition with Green Witch plant rituals from Robin Rose Bennett’s The Young Green Witch’s Guide to Plant Magic: Rituals and Recipes from Nature. Though intended for young witches, the rituals in this book apply to witches of any age.

Here, we’re highlighting the Dandelion, also known as Taraxacum Officinale, which symbolizes resilience and light-up-the-darkness magic.

“All parts of dandelions support the immune system by helping lymph fluid flow freely. The roots are best known for helping the liver, while the leaves are known for overall nourishment and support of the kidneys. The flowers are delicious to eat and can be turned into oils and ointments. Flowers are also said to help ease emotional pain that is stuck in the body.”

Dandelion leaves are a powerful ingredient for cooking—try this recipe for Dandelion Pesto!

Dandelion Pesto

Ingredients:
● ¼ cup walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or pine nuts
● 5 cloves garlic (or to taste)
● 1 cup fresh dandelion leaves
● 1 cup fresh basil leaves
● ¾ cup olive oil
● Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
You can use the traditional mortar and pestle method and blend the ingredients together coarsely, or use a food processor and make a smooth pesto. Start with the nuts or seeds, then add the garlic, then your greens, then your olive oil, and finally, salt to taste. Serve this over pasta, vegetables, or on avocado toast––yum! Refrigerate any leftovers.

Learn How to Forage Sustainably

With The Witchy Homestead, Nikki Van De Car invites us to harness the magic of the natural world, with foraging as one way to gather plant resources.

Here’s an excerpt on foraging:

Many of the most useful and magical plants can be found growing in the wild––you just have to know where to look. After all, humans survived for thousands of years before they began cultivating their own food! And there’s something wonderfully adventurous, yet also basic and essential, about foraging for food and natural medicines, as if we too are allowing ourselves to roam wild.

That said, we can’t roam everywhere. Private property is private property, and county, state, and national parks all have their own individual rules about what you are and are not allowed to take from their land. So there is some research involved before you begin foraging. But with a little planning and study of what is safe and what is not, you’ll find that it’s shockingly easy to discover the most incredible plants in the most unlikely of places.

As we forage, we want to be careful not to overharvest. In this day and age, you are unlikely to find hordes of people all clamoring for the same wild plants, but it is right to be cautious. Never take more than you need, and never strip a single plant to the point where it can no longer thrive. Don’t dig up whole plants, and make sure that the plant you’re gathering isn’t rare or endangered. A witchy homestead is a sustainable one.

Tempting as it is, it’s not a great idea to eat right off the bush. Given environmental pollutants, roadside poisoning, and animal urine, it’s best to take your foraged plants home and wash them before eating.

And, as always, ask the plant’s permission before you take from it. After all, these plants don’t know you. They haven’t been watered by you, fed by you, or sung to by you. Honor the magic within the plants you seek to gather from, and recognize their mystical connection to the earth from which they grow.

It isn’t necessary to ask the permission of each and every plant you visit––that can feel a little fussy and time-consuming. Instead, as you set forth on your journey, do a little meditation. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Just close your eyes, breathe in the air given freely by the plants surrounding you, and express your gratitude. Offer your breath in return, and let your intentions be known. You can put it into words in your mind, whisper those words aloud, or simply feel what it is you want to do. The plants will understand.

Adapt Your Foraging for the Season

Let’s expand on foraging with Ebony Gheorghe’s Enchanted Foraging: Wildcrafting for Herbal Remedies, Rituals, and a Magical Life.

Here, we’ll share an excerpt on foraging in the spring:

The beauty and abundance of spring can’t be overstated; something about it just feels magical, the way that the cycle of life begins after a long winter.

Foraging during spring can bring us so much joy in discovering, or rediscovering, the world’s richness. There is a shift in the atmosphere, as the energy that was conserved during winter is put toward renewal. How about we take this feeling and energy into our life?

Seasonal Tips

• Again, do not overpick. Spring is a time when Nature blooms, so we have to remember that it is also an important shift in ecosystems, and insects, other pollinators, and animals also need these important sources of food, nutrients, and energy. Pollinators need to be able to snack on nectar for energy as they work; caterpillars feast on leaves to be able to develop. Sharing is caring, as the popular phrase goes.
• Take notes. Now is a great time to take notes, especially as a beginner. To learn to identify plants at their full bloom during spring and summer time will give you more confidence in your journey.
• Pick younger leaves. For such plants as nettles or other edible greens, pick the younger leaves, as those will taste much fresher. Forage from mature trees, leaving young trees to continue growing.
• Say good-bye to bugs. After harvesting, place flowers on a tray or baking sheet to allow any insects time to crawl out. I have unfortunately drowned a few bugs while making seasonal drinks.
• Sow seeds. Plant the seeds that you have collected and saved from earlier seasons. Calendula is a pretty easy one to start with if you’re new to gardening. If you do not have a garden, you can share your seeds with someone who does, or grow certain plants indoors if you have a place that gets sufficient light. Good indoor plants include rosemary, mint, sage, and lavender. Or look out for a local seed swap—you can donate what you won’t sow and gain a variety of seeds.

As you embark on your foraging journey, the Enchanted Foraging Deck offers 50 beautifully illustrated plant identification cards, making it a natural companion as you forage in the wild.

Embrace Sunshine with a Midday Ritual

Forest Magic: Rituals and Spells for Green Witchcraft is another offering from Nikki Van De Car that provides rituals and spells for each season in the year. Here, we’ll share the Midday Ritual, which invites you to embrace the sunshine of the season.

Noon is the time of the Oak King. We are closest to the sun and can stand with little to no shadow beneath its bright gaze. Even on cloudy days when we cannot see it clearly, the sun’s light is still there.

Of course, noon considered this way, as when the sun is at its zenith, does not necessarily mean when the clock is exactly at 12. Just as the calendar of trees does not follow the Gregorian months, neither does the sun obey the strict rules of Daylight Savings Time. On the day you want to perform this ritual, look up online exactly what time the sun will be at its zenith. Then be ready to perform this ritual at that time, gathering everything you need in advance.

Of course, all a spell or ritual ever really requires is you and your intentions––but you can help ground and boost those intentions with a few supplies.

• Sunstone, peridot, or pyrite
• Marigold, chamomile, or sunflower

Find a place to sit on the earth in direct sunlight––wearing sunscreen, of course! Hold your chosen crystal in your nondominant hand and your flower in the other. Close your eyes, and lift your face to the sun.

Feel the sun’s warmth on your face, and see its bright light against your eyelids. Inhale that brightness, that shining gift of life and warmth. Exhale your own warmth in return.

Feel the energies of the very different elements in your hands. One is hard, while the other is malleable. And yet, they are both of the earth and both symbolic of the sun. Let their complementary energies intermingle within you. Consider these questions: Where in your life should you be firm and fiery like the sun? And where in your life should you bend and shift with the breeze, following the light?

Dive Deeper

Fall in love with the natural world and learn how to harness its magic respectfully with this collection, available wherever books and decks are sold.

Grace Duong

About the Author

Grace Duong is a multidisciplinary artist, author, and entrepreneur at the intersection of art, tech and metaphysics. She is the creator of Mystic Mondays and the bestselling Mystic Mondays Tarot Deck. Grace lives in Philadelphia. She can be found on Instagram here.

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Anne Louise Burdett

About the Author

Anne Louise Burdett is an agroecologist, conservation scientist, clinical herbalist, and educator. She has a background of fifteen-plus years working in plant conservation, alternative medicine, sustainable agriculture, and community organizing. Her experience working in different settings and communities to support resilience building and equitable systems has led to bridging her terrestrial work with marine science. Anne Louise is interested in working at the amphibious edges of land and sea, at the intersection of anthropogenic impact and changing ecosystems and their vulnerabilities and interdependencies. She has a master’s degree in marine conservation and coastal and ecological resilience. Her work is focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation and community-based natural resource sharing and management. Anne Louise is also a writer and dancer with works focused on land-based storytelling, stewardship, and play. She believes wholeheartedly in being true to oneself, acting from authentic desire, and in individual wellness being essentially and always tied to collective wellness. Her approach is through a lens of mutual aid, scientific literacy, and outright wonder.

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Chelsea Granger

About the Author

Chelsea Granger is a multidisciplinary artist. Painting, drawing, illustration, murals, and tattoos are the foundation of her practice. She recently self-published a zine about death and grief titled So Many Ways to Draw a Ghost. After the death of her mom as well as a dear friend, she started seeing her art as a way to sing up life, with the hope that her art can act as a doorway to create conversations about death and grief. Chelsea’s art is of the everyday, inspired by the overlap of earth/spirit dimensions, and woods as church. She is interested in painting as medicine, painting as a portal, painting as a spell. Her work has been exhibited across the Northeast, and her murals exist across New England. For more than twelve years, Chelsea has collaborated with Thyme Herbal, making medicine posters and zines. Chelsea holds a bachelor’s degree in painting from UMass-Amherst and a certificate in therapeutic recreation from Gateway Community College. Her work celebrates life while honoring death and walking gently into the unknown.

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Robin Rose Bennett

About the Author

Robin Rose Bennett has been writing, teaching, and practicing green witchery locally and internationally for over 30 years. She is the author of Healing Magic—A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living and The Gift of Healing Herbs, which was nominated as “Herb Book of the Year” by the International Herb Association. Robin has taught tweens and teens at the “Circle within the Circle” at national herb conferences and enjoys inspiring and empowering a new generation of green witches. NewYork Magazine once dubbed her “The Leading Green Witch of New York.” She now lives in New Jersey on the edge of 3,000 acres of protected state forest with her extensive herbal gardens that neighborhood kids love to come and visit.

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Nikki Van De Car

About the Author

Nikki Van De Car is a blogger, mother, writer, crafter, and lover of all things mystical. She is the author of ten books on magic and crafting, including Practical Magic and The Junior Witch’s Handbook, and the founder of two popular knitting blogs. Nikki lives with her family in Hawaii.

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Ebony Gheorghe

About the Author

Ebony Gheorghe has an academic background in geology and environmental sciences, which naturally informed her love for wild resources, herbalism, and plants. She runs her own business, Nettles and Bees, selling balms, crystals, hair oils, and other products made from foraged materials. When she’s not working as a lab technician, she offers foraging workshops for children and adults. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and daughter.

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