Plant allies - Vinca or Sorceror's Violet
I’m hoping this will be the start of a little series on plant magic. It is a saturated area really, blogs on plant magic are ten-a-penny, but I’m hoping I can bring something new to the table. I want to interweave this with working with plants as allies as a way into bonding animistically with your locale. I can but try.
For those of you who don’t know, I live in London, UK, in a tiny, dark little flat with no outdoor space at all, not even the sort of windows one can fix window boxes to. As desperate as this witch is to grow her own herbs and flowers, it just isn’t happening any time soon. As a result, I’ve gone about things a different way, and have spent the last few years really getting to know my local area - mapping out what grows where, and when, has been invaluable in many ways. I’ve come to know the local flora in a much more intimate way, I recognise the patterns of nature in this urban landscape and have used this as a way into a firm relationship with the spirits of place. I’ll talk more about that in later posts, I hope.
Today we are meeting my very favourite, and to my mind one of the most magical of all plants, the Vinca or periwinkle, known by the folk name ‘Sorceror’s Violet’
I mean the clue is literally in the name…
Attributions:
Planet - Venus
Element - Water
Works - memory, love, protection, binding, necromancy, prosperity, general boost to all work
Description:
There are two main kinds of Vinca - major and minor - their uses are virtually identical, so I will not split hairs. In the Spring and early Summer this plant can be found across London (and most cities in most countries) both growing wild and adorning cultivated gardens. It is easily recognised with its distinctive blunt-ended, five-petalled flowers flirting from hedgerows in shades of blue and white. A very hardy perennial, it blooms for much of the year, usually starting in April, but it is not just the flowers that are magical. The gently clinging vines and shiny leaves, still easy to find in Winter, are useful too.
Five-petalled flowers tend to be associated strongly with all kinds of witchery, due to their resemblance to the pentagram, the most famous example being the five-petalled rose as shown on the Rosicrucian banner.
The name ‘Vinca’ comes from the Latin ‘vincere’ meaning ‘to bind’ - and much of this plant’s power comes from it’s ability to bind things either to or away from other things. Many plants do this - bindweed does it with force, ivy with tenacity. Vinca, however, has a gentle touch which makes it very suitable for love bindings between established couples.
It is also very closely linked to death across the the UK, partly because it grows so well in graveyards as it loves disturbed ground, and this makes it wonderful for ancestor work.
Uses medicinal:
It has been long held as a remedy for boils, toothache, and nosebleeds, even bearing the epithet ‘cut finger’ as it can be used to staunch wounds. Culpeper recommends it for ‘stopping women’s courses’ , stating a dose of two ounces of pressed juice, and chewing it to prevent bleeding of the mouth.
Sir Francis Bacon believed binding the vines around the legs would guard against muscle cramp. It is also believe to lower blood pressure when used as a tincture.
It also contains vincamine, a plant alkaloid which is used in as a brain stimulant in modern medicines to treat stroke and dementia. Culpeper also mentions it for help in nervous disorders and nightmares.
As ever - medicinal use bleeds into magical use (pardon the pun)
Uses magical:
This really is a plant useful in all magic, and I tend to throw some dried Vinca onto any candle I am burning or add a pinch to any incense blend.
According to master herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, lovers should eat the leaves together (dried or fresh) to bind them in love
add leaves or flowers to red wine and drink with a lover to inspire tender feelings
To bind lovers together, press photos of the two parties face to face and wrap together with a Vinca vine
a hoodoo spell recommends sewing the leaves into the mattress of a married couple to keep them in love (yronwode)
Fertility:
To prevent miscarriage, bind a vine around the thigh (Illes). This reminds me of the use against cramp above. Not recommended for internal use by expectant mothers however, as it could be abortifacient.
Necromancy:
Vinca picked from a graveyard is excellent in works of necromancy - either taken as a tincture to align the mind or burned as incense.
Vinca oil can be used to consecrate and empower necromantic tools.
*Note: Welsh lore suggests that picking periwinkle from a grave can result in the picker being haunted - always ask permission from the graveyard guardians and the resident of that particular grave before picking any plants from a graveyard.*
Protection:
As with most magic - it can also protect against that which it attracts. Weaving a wreath or decoration and handing over the front door protects a household from roving ghosts, and burning dried Vinca like one would sage can cleanse a space of an unwelcome presence
Memory:
Just gazing at a Vinca is said to return lost memories - I use a tincture of rosemary and Vinca as a general memory aid - but this could easily be used in deeper shadow work when trying to exorcise or integrate old traumas and repressions.
Some sources state you should only pick Vinca on the 1st, 9th, 11th or 13th of day of the moon, however as the plant is Venusian, I prefer to pick it on a Friday.
I’d love to hear whether you use this wonderful plant and what your experience has been.
Sources:
https://www.alchemy-works.com/info_periwinkle.html
https://www.icysedgwick.com/magical-plant-folklore/
http://www.feritradition.org/grimoire/garden/periwinkle.html
Culpeper, N. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal and English Physician.
Hatfield, G. Hatfield’s Herbal - The Secret History of British Plants.
Heldstab, C. R. Llewellyn’s Complete Formulary of Magical Oils.
Illes, J. The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells.
Phillips, R. Wild Flowers of Britain.
yronwode, catherine. Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic.