The Green Witch Natural Magic Dictionary

The green witch incorporates nature into their natural magic practice. Image by Peter H from Pixabay

“At this day it is indifferent to say in the English tongue ‘she is a witch’ or ‘she is a wise woman.”

- Reginald Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584 The Hedge Witch’s Dictionary

This article includes definitions of some herbal, magical, and occult terms that hedgewitches, natural witches, and green witches may encounter during their studies.

Alchemy - a medieval chemical philosophy primarily concerned with the transmutation of base metals into gold. Alchemy included elements of philosophy, religious mysticism, mythology, astrology, botany, zoology, mineralogy, and primitive chemistry. Herbal alchemy was used for healing purposes. The herbal alchemist mixed a variety of herb-based tinctures, salves, and ointments in their pursuit of creating the elixir of immortality which was also known as the philosopher's stone.

Altar - a special place often a small bench, table, or shelf on which to conduct religious or magical ceremonies. Amulet - a natural object used for protection, luck and to banish evil forces. Examples of amulets are mandrake root, herb leaves, twigs, gemstones, fossils, horns, bones, shells, and spices. The amulet may be altered in some way such as the carvings done on rune stones or by drilling a hole into a gemstone and attaching a cord so that the stone can be worn around the neck.

Amulet bag - a small pouch usually worn around the neck and filled with one or more amulets to protect the wearer from evil forces. Native American shamans use a similar object usually referred to as a medicine pouch. I have designed and constructed a variety of beaded amulet bags for my own personal use. Some of my designs have included a butterfly to represent the element air, a dolphin to represent the element water, an iris to represent the element earth, and a sunflower to represent the element fire.

Animism - the belief that every natural object including trees, gemstones, plants, and herbs contains a spirit. Anoint - to apply oil to an object or person as part of a religious ceremony or magical ritual.

Apothecary - historical pharmacists of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. They originally dispensed herbal remedies that were prescribed by physicians. In later times or in remote areas without ready access to doctors, they also diagnosed illnesses and prescribed a treatment plan for their patients. John Gerard, John Parkinson, and Nicholas Culpeper were all English apothecaries of the Renaissance.

The Latin names of plants sometimes give a clue as to their historical use. Officinalis, officinale, and officinarum used in the second part of a plant's Latin name denote a plant that was believed to have curative properties and that could be obtained in the apothecaries shop. Examples of plants with such classification include hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), sage (Salvia officinalis), and comfrey (Symphytum officinale).

Apothecaries have evolved into our modern-day pharmacists. Pharmacists are not allowed to prescribe drugs or diagnose patients although your local pharmacist may be able to offer generic medical advice on a limited basis.

Astral - spiritual in nature, divine energy, or pertaining to the stars.

Astrological botany - The belief that each plant was a terrestrial star and that each star was a spiritualized plant. Nicholas Culpeper is an example of a historical astrological botanist, he blended traditional medicine with astrology, magic, and folklore.

Astrology - a form of divination that foretells the future based upon the influence of the positions of the stars and planets on the object whose fortune is being told.

Judicial astrology attempts to tell a person's future based on their birth chart. A personal horoscope is created based upon the positions of the planets, sun, and moon at the exact date and time of one's birth.
Natural astrology foretells the future of weather and other natural phenomena and attempts to predict when is the best time to plant and harvest crops.

The modern-day farmer’s almanacs are filled with natural astrological information such as astrological timetables, gardening by the moon’s sign, moon’s place in the astrological zodiac, and secrets of the zodiac.

Astronomy - the scientific study of the positions, motion, and composition of celestial bodies. Farmer’s almanacs contain a plethora of astronomical information such as the phases of the moon, tidal information, comets, solar and lunar eclipses, etc.

Athame - a double-edged knife that is used in certain magical rituals and which represents the element air.

Bane - an Old English word meaning poison. I.e. henbane, cowbane, sowbane, wolf’s-bane etc.

Boleen - a knife that is dedicated to being used for harvesting herbs and used by some practitioners of witchcraft. It is usually short in length with a curved blade.

Book of illumination - similar to a book of shadows or a Grimoire. A book of illumination is usually heavily illustrated with pictures or drawings of plants, herbs, magical symbols, talismans, and other items of importance to the author of the book.

Book of Shadows - traditionally this was the handwritten book of rituals, spells, herb lore, and astrological information that was kept by every witch or witch's coven. In modern times the book of shadows may be saved on the computer or pertinent printouts of information found on the internet may be pasted into the book.

Today this term is interchangeable with a Grimoire. A three-ring notebook can be used or a nice leather, suede, or cloth-bound journal can be purchased from most book stores and used as your own personal book of shadows.

Botanica - originally applied to describe a Latin-American store selling magical supplies to followers of the Hoodoo, Vodun, Santeria, and Yoruba religions. In modern times it refers to a New Age store selling a variety of items such as herbs, essential oils, tarot cards, books, amulets, gemstones, jewelry, and candles. Modern-day botanicas cater to all interests such as Wicca, sorcery, paganism, Buddhism, druidism, and more.

Botany - the scientific study of herbs and plants. I took a year of Latin in high school and a year of botany in college, which is how I started learning the scientific Latin name of plants.

Broom - Also referred to as a besom. Brooms are used in sympathetic magic, the witches would leap into the air while astride their broomsticks in the belief that this would cause the crops to grow as tall as they were able to leap. Brooms can also be used to sweep away negative energy prior to performing any type of magic.

The next time you go camping, use your cauldron to make a communal meal that can be shared by all. Photo by Julia Filirovska from Pexels

Cauldron - a large kettle often having 3 legs. On long journeys, hedge witches would carry a cauldron with them to be used to prepare meals at their campsites. The cauldrons would be filled with water gathered from a local stream, river, or pond. A variety of herbs and spices gathered from the forests, fields, and surrounding countryside would be added along with vegetables and often times meat.

This stew or thick soup would be used to feed the inhabitants of the campsite and any visitors they may have had. Cauldrons were also used to brew a variety of healing medicines from herbs. In modern times small cauldrons which have been filled with sand can be used as a container in which to burn incense or candles.

Chalice - a sacred cup that is used in certain magical rituals and which represents the element water.

Charm - the words that are spoken when reciting a magical spell, may also be referred to as a prayer. A charm can also refer to an object which is used for protection.

Clairvoyance - the ability to foresee the future. Clover (Trifolium pratense) was associated with good luck and helped to improve one's clairvoyant abilities, a 4-leafed clover was supposed to enable one to see fairies.

Consecrate - to dedicate to service, an object is often cleansed in holy water in order to consecrate it for magical use. In most traditions of witchcraft holy water is simply water to which salt has been added. Objects commonly consecrated for magical use include candles, chalices, athames, and wands. The magical herbalist may want to consecrate a special knife such as a boleen which is used solely for the harvesting of their herbs.

Cunning man/woman - a herbalist known for his or her use of medicinal herbs and who may also deal in love magic, thief detection, and fortune-telling. In 2003 Owen Davies published his book Cunning-Folk; Popular Magic in English History. Mr. Davies maintains the website www.cunningfolk.com which portrays a few of the more interesting cunning men and cunning women of history.

Daily correspondences - correspondences are imbued with paranormal energy, which can be used in a variety of magical rituals and ceremonies to help you attain a certain goal.

Divination - The observation and interpretation of a variety of phenomena such as clouds, storms, dreams, and stars. Divination is a type of fortune-telling, a revelation of occult knowledge.

Druids - were the wise men, shamans, and priests of the pagan Celtic tribes of Europe. The four most sacred herbs of the druids were:

Water mint - Mentha aquatica
Meadowsweet - Filipendula ulmaria
Vervain - Verbena officinalis - included in the Druids lustral water and worn as a protective amulet against headaches and snake bites. Lustral water is a magically infused water that was blessed by the Druids and used in many of their ceremonies and rituals. Vervain was also thought to be a powerful divinatory herb.
Mistletoe - Viscum album (AKA all heal, birdlime, golden bough, witches broom), thought to be a universal healer and a remedy against all poison. Mistletoe slows the heartbeat and was used as a sedative, it was also thought to protect one from evil.

Earth medicine - focuses upon the use of the healing powers of natural herbal remedies and wild plants as opposed to using chemical drugs, which are prevalent in traditional modern medicine.

Elements - the four elements of the universe are thought to be the fourfold root of all things and include:

Earth - cold and dry, associated with the body
Air - hot and moist, associated with the intellect
Fire - hot and dry, associated with your will
Water - cold and moist, associated with emotions

Elementals - nature spirits, they could become immortal by cohabiting with human mortals. The six types of elementals are:

Dryads - spirits of vegetation
Fauns - spirits of animal life
Gnomes - spirits of earth
Salamanders - spirits of fire
Sylphs - spirits of air
Undines - spirits of water

Green magic - working with the occult secrets of herbs and the powers and spirits of nature. Green magic combines aspects of green medicine along with natural magic.

Green man - a mythological symbol of rebirth and regeneration. Most often the green man was a face covered with foliage, sometimes referred to as the foliate head. The green man was a pre-Christian nature spirit representing the spirit of death and rebirth or regeneration. The green man represents father earth who is the male consort of mother earth.

In medieval times this image was found most commonly in churches and pagan temples, such as stained glass, carved in stone, and illuminated manuscripts. The green man may also be referred to as the God of the woods or Jack of the green. In some traditions, the green man is associated with the Greek god Dionysos.

Green medicine - using natural plants and herbs for healing purposes, no magical association.

Green witch - a person who is knowledgeable of the properties of herbs and plants and who knows how to use them for magical healing purposes.

Grimoire - a book that is filled with chants, spells, rituals, and other magical information and kept by practitioners of magic and the occult. Today the term grimoire is interchangeable with a book of shadows.

Hedgewitch - solitary witches that don’t belong to any coven or follow any particular witchcraft tradition. They study a plethora of methods and oftentimes incorporate various types of divination and shamanism along with the use of a wide variety of herbs.

Grow a selection of fresh herbs for use in your magical rituals, charms, and spells. Photo by alleksana from Pexels

Herb craft - the cultivation, harvesting, and storing of herbs to utilize their culinary, medicinal, aromatic, and artistic properties.

Herblore - the superstitions, folklore, old wives tales, and magical properties associated with herbs.

Herbal - a book that records the common and Latin names and medicinal uses of herbs, plants, and flowers.

Herbalism - the study of herbs such as undertaken by a herbalist.

Herbalist - a person that studies, grows, or uses medicinal herbs for their healing properties. Calling yourself a herbalist is a great option if you are not comfortable with calling yourself a green witch, or hedgewitch.

Kitchen witch - usually a solitary practitioner of folk magic and herb lore. A kitchen witch uses whatever is found around the home to work magic and is focused on making their own recipes, lotions, and potions which often feature herbs and spices.

Leech - an old English word meaning healer. Anglo-Saxon leeches thought that disease was caused by the entrance into the body of demons and evil spirits, the treatments that were used at this time (c. 596-1066 AD) were meant to rid the body of these obnoxious intruders.

Low magic - magic that does not involve highly ritualized practices or any type of ceremonial magic. This is the type of magic most often used by the hedgewitch, cunning man, and wise woman. Low magic harnesses the power of mother earth and uses natural materials such as herbs, spices, and gemstones, and taps into the natural healing power of the earth.

A variety of oils, amulets, poppets, spells, and charms may be used in this type of magic. This type of magic may also be referred to as natural magic or folk magic.

Magic - the art of controlling and forecasting natural forces through the use of charms, spells, amulets, talismans, and rituals. Sometimes referred to as magick to distinguish it from stage magic.

Magical herbs - herbs that are used for magical purposes as opposed to being used for healing medicinal purposes although healing may be one of the results or goals of the magical use of the herbs.

Magical medicine - a form of sympathetic magic that believed that disease could be transferred from the sick person to a magical amulet or talisman. Once the patient is cured the amulet or talisman must be disposed of such as by burning it, burying it in the ground, or throwing it into a lake or stream.

Medicine man - the tribal healer of his people who often employs shamanism along with herbal healing. The medicine man may also be referred to as a shaman, witch doctor, or village healer.

Medicine pouch - similar to an amulet bag and traditionally used by Native American shamans. The pouch is used to hold a collection of items such as herbs, gemstones and animal parts (bone, horn, fur, etc.), and other items associated with healing that appeal to the user of the pouch.

The medicine pouch which is commonly made of leather or suede connects the owner to mother earth. Smaller versions of the pouch may be worn around the neck while larger ones may be worn across the shoulder.

Medicine wheel - A center circle of stones with spokes emanating to an outer circle of stones and which is sacred to certain native American tribes. This most basic medicine wheel design is also the astrological symbol that represents the earth. More complex medicine wheels may be constructed with the number of spokes either representing the 12 months of the year or the number of days occurring in a particular month.

Metaphysical - based on speculative or abstract reasoning.

Metaphysics - a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality and the relationship between mind and matter.

Mother nature - may also be referred to as Gaia, mother earth, earth goddess, or earth mother. She represents the spirit of the earth and is a type of fertility goddess.

Mystic - one who studies and practices religious mysteries and occult sciences.

Mystical - spiritually significant.

Mysticism - consciousness of transcendent reality or of a god or goddess through deep meditation or contemplation.

Natural magic - magic using the manipulation of natural forces in order to achieve the desired goal. It is a type of low magic often employing herbs, charms, and spells. People practicing this type of magic may be referred to as hedge witches, wise woman, or cunning man.

Occult - hidden, secret.

Occultism - the study and belief in supernatural powers.

Oracle - according to the American Heritage Dictionary oracle can have one of four meanings: a shrine consecrated to a prophetic deity the priest or priestess at such a shrine a prophecy made known at such a shrine a wise person

Paganism - this word originally meant country-dwellers, in modern times this word is most often used to refer to people that follow any type of religion that is not based upon Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. People such as hedge witches, green witches, etc. are often referred to as pagans. Raymond Buckland is his book The Witch Book says that: “Like Wiccans, Pagans work either as solitaries or in groups, which are autonomous. Paganism may be a religion or simply a way of life.”

Pentacle - the pentacle is used in certain magical rituals and represents the element of earth. A pentacle usually refers to a circular piece of wood or metal engraved with magical symbols such as a pentagram and used for magical purposes. A pentacle may be fashioned into jewelry such as a ring or necklace and worn as a protective talisman.

A pentacle may also be inscribed on the ground to form a magic circle which is then used for healing purposes and to perform magic rituals. The circle surrounding the pentagram represents the circle of life.

Pentagram - a five-pointed star with the single point usually facing upwards. The five points correspond to the four elements namely earth, air, water, and fire with the fifth point corresponding to spirit or life force.

Pharmacopoeia - a list of medicinal herbs along with their uses, may also be referred to as materia medica. A comprehensive modern-day pharmacopeia is the book PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) for Herbal Medicines. I found a brand new copy of this book on the clearance table of my local bookstore for only $20.00, this book normally retails for $50.00 or more.

Philosophers stone - A stone sought by the alchemists of the Middle Ages which was supposedly able to transmute base metals into gold, to make precious stones, and to cure all ills, and thus confer longevity; it was also believed to be a universal solvent.

Philtre - can refer to any type of magical potion although in the past it was usually referred to as a potion used to attract love or to enhance one's sexuality.

Plant spirits - are present in every plant, shamans commune with plant spirits to help them tap into the healing power of the individual plant. The shaman asks the plant spirit for its help in healing, failure to invoke the plant spirit may render the plant ineffective for healing purposes.

Talking to your plants is a way to encourage them to grow more abundantly and to enable them to produce a higher amount of magical healing energy. This is a form of communicating with the plant spirits. Witches of old would often enchant or sing to their herbs before harvesting them to tap into the occult powers of the herbs.

Rhizotomists - They were one of the first magical herbalists in recorded history. Rhizotomists were members of the Greek medical profession, they roamed the countryside collecting roots to be used in their healing practice. They used a variety of chants while collecting the roots.

Root doctor - a folklore term for a healer that uses plants especially the roots of herbs for their magical, healing, and spiritual powers.

Root working - an ancient southern tradition originating from West Africa and the Caribbean and brought to North America by slaves. It combines elements of herbal folklore, religion, magic, and healing. The voodoo religion is one form of root working that has survived to modern times.

Runes - one of the letters of an alphabet used by ancient Germanic tribes and often carved or written onto a variety of materials such as bone, ivory, glass, gemstones, or wood. The runestones can be used as a form of divination by interpreting the individual symbols.

Shamans - they communicate with the gods in order to control natural phenomena such as wind, rain, and the sun. They go into a trance-like state in order to visit the spirit world, these trances are often induced with hallucinogenic herbal potions or the inhalation of the smoke from burning plants.

Dance and monotonous sounds, such as drumming or chanting, can also be used to induce these trance-like ecstatic states. Shamans may also assume the form of an animal or the assistance of their animal spirit who act as a guardian to the shaman while they partake of their journey to the spirit world.

Shamanism - the communication with the spirit world as practiced by shamans, medicine men, and other primitive tribal healers.

Smudging with white sage is a wonderful way to rid your workspace of negative energy. Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels

Smudging - the burning of plants such as white sage, sweetgrass, or pine in order to remove the negative energy from a particular area. Smudging is often done before working magic to ensure a positive environment. A bundle of herbs is set on fire, the flame is blown out allowing the plant material to smolder. The resulting smoke is wafted over the person or object being treated to cleanse it of any negative forces.

Sorcery - invoking spirits in order to use their supernatural powers to perform magic.

Spells - the ritual act of bringing about the desired result, a word or formula which is infused with magic power.

Talisman - similar to an amulet but refers to a man-made object as opposed to a natural object. Some people classify a talisman as a symbol that is written on parchment with ink which is then used for magical purposes. A written talisman is usually folded up then worn around the neck using a piece of red string. The talisman is torn up and disposed of or burned when it is no longer needed.

Tarot - cards used for divinatory purposes.

Tribal magic - the magic of the earth used to heal and protect, practiced by medicine men, witch doctors, and shamans.

Triformis - representing the 3-fold nature of the goddess:

Maiden-mother-crone
Birth-life-death

Village healer - another name for a hedgewitch, cunning man, or wise woman.

Wand - a tool that is used in certain magical rituals which represents the element fire. Wands are often made from a fallen tree branch, you should never cut a branch from the tree as this would upset mother nature. A found, fallen tree branch should be thought of as a gift from mother nature.

My favorite wand is one that was given to me by my daughter. She went camping one weekend and returned with a small pine branch which has two small pine cones attached at the very top. I like to display it in a basket of large pine cones, I’m the only one that knows that it is really a magic wand as it looks like a normal part of my pine cone display.

Wicca - a nature-based religion that evolved from elements of pre-Christian pagan-based teachings, sometimes used as an alternative to the word witchcraft.

Wise woman - a herbalist renowned for her use of medicinal plants

Witch - from the Anglo-Saxon word wicce meaning wise one.

Witchcraft - a pagan religion focusing on the worship of nature-based gods and goddesses.

Witchdoctor - a tribal healer that employs the use of herbs along with a variety of charms and spells. May also be referred to as the village shaman or medicine man.

Wizard - a magician or sorcerer that utilizes high or ceremonial magic for a variety of occult purposes.

Wort - Anglo-Saxon word for herb:

elfwort = elecampane
liverwort = agrimony
coughwort = coltsfoot

Wort cunning - the knowledge of how to use the secret occult properties of herbs for healing purposes. Wortcunning combines the use of herbal magic along with herbal knowledge and herbal healing.

Peace, Love, and Light
The White Witch, AKA Lynn Smythe
Founder of Craft of the Wise, the Essential Survivalist, and the Creative Cottage

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