Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s blog post is about five of my favorite Priestess Plants and ways to use them in a playful way for the Summer Months! Now is the time to balance the Summer Sun with the Lunar Wisdom and Intuition of the Priestess. Remember to Dance in the Rain, Dip your toes in the Stream, Follow your Dream, and Embrace the Fae within the Summery Rays! Without further ado, let’s look at five Priestess Plants.
MUGWORT (Artemisia Vulgaris)
~The first Priestess Herb I want to discuss Mugwort! She is my favorite smoke-cleansing herb, a bitter herb that clears out the whole room and protects the body before ritual and Oracular work. When taken internally, she is a powerfully psychic herb, promoting dream recall and deepening meditative abilities, especially in tonic form. It must be remembered that Mugwort is an abortifacient herb and should never be taken internally during pregnancy. As a huge bonus, Mugwort is technically an invasive species, growing in abundance in most areas, making her an ideal herb to gather while foraging, as she is very unlikely to be over-harvested! She is definitely easy to play with, as I love dancing around as I smoke cleanse with Mugwort, this is a fun way to use her so long as you have a fireproof dish underneath the herb bundle to catch ash.
ROSEMARY (Salvia rosmarinus)
~The second Priestess Herb I want to discuss is Rosemary! Rosemary is the fragrant herb of remembrance, which is known to help enhance the memory by even just smelling her scent. A very common herb to add to food, it is a great way to incorporate her energy into daily life. I also love Rosemary for herbal hair tonics, as she adds shine to hair, especially great for dark hair. Plus, as a bonus, when Rosemary is used topically on the head, it will also help with the memory properties of this herbal ally! When it comes to being a Priestess Herb, Rosemary is ideal for use during meditation to help remember the ancient Priestess knowledge that has been long forgotten. This is one of my most beloved ways to incorporate Rosemary into my spiritual practice! As for playing with Rosemary, making beauty products (like the herbal hair tonic I mentioned) and baking with her are very fun ways to use the herb.
BLUE LOTUS (Nymphaea caerulea)
~The third Priestess Herb I want to discuss is Blue Lotus! She is a deeply psychic herb, as are most great Priestess Herbs. Now, Blue Lotus is not actually a Lotus at all, instead, she is a Sacred Blue Lily flower originally indigenous to the Nile River, but now the plant is most often cultivated in other parts of the world with the appropriate climate. She is known for her connection to sexuality and even possible psychoactive effects. While much of her psychoactive effects are largely overstated, when combined with alcohol, as was traditional in ancient times as it was infused in wine, one should still be careful with dosage. I find that her lovely energy is great for meditation and promoting a beautiful sense of self-love! I think it is quite obvious that possible psychoactive effects are what make Blue Lotus a playful herb indeed. Plus her Latin name is even Nymphaea, as in the Greek Nymphs, very playful Faery women, adding to her playful energy!
DAMIANA (Turnera diffusa)
~The fourth Priestess Herb I want to discuss is Damiana! Speaking of Priestess Herbs that are connected to sexuality, Damiana is the most profound herbal ally for this. She is a deeply creative herb, perfect to use for times of creative blocks when you need an extra burst of creativity, and when you want to more deeply connect to your beloved! She is also a great herb to use in Shadow Work, as she can help you open up and heal from trauma, which can be an intense experience. This is one of my favorite aspects of Damiana as a Priestess Herb, for as anyone who walks a Priestess Path will likely know confronting our Shadow is an important part of our spiritual paths. Damiana’s playful energy definitely comes from her sexy and creative ties!
CENTUARY (Centaurium erythraea)
~The final Priestess Herb I want to discuss is Centuary! She is such an amazing herb, long associated with witchery and spirituality, making her an obvious choice when looking for Priestess Herbs. Like many Priestess Herbs, she is psychic and is a digestive bitter. Psychic herbs are often digestive bitters, as confronting Shadow and embracing psychic awareness can often also affect the digestive system! Centuary is a great herb to use in candle and bath magick, as she is protective and has been used since ancient times as a snake-repelling herb. This is one of the most profound aspects of Centuary in my personal spiritual path, as I find her an ideal ally for psychic protection and enhancing my connection to the natural world! Her playful energy may be less obvious than the other plants above, but I find that it is much easier to get into a playful mindset when you know you are fully protected and safe, making her protection a precursor to playing.
~I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of Priestess Plants to Play with this Summer, and that they inspire you to get in touch with your Inner Child in the Summer Sun! What is your favorite Priestess Plant? What are some of your favorite Summer herbs? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Mugwort. I found the image on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwort.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham
- Magical Faery Plants by Sandra Kynes
- The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook by Karen Harrison