ANGELICA (Angelica Archangelica)

** angelica essential oil is photo-toxic, avoid if you will be out in the sun, especially those with a history of skin cancer. Use caution if you are pregnant. Avoid if you are diabetic.

** Angelica can protect you from good opportunites that might be overstimulating as well as events that might cause harm, so do not use if you are seeking dramatic positive change. Emotional shielding can keep dangers at a distance, but also creates an inner detachment that is healthy for collecting your presence and ushering in a phase of peace and stability, but can dampen excitement and enthusiasm. Use Angelica as a neutrality break when you need to put strong emotions to the side and focus.

** Avoid during pregnancy, as it is a muscle relaxant and can stimulate the uterus.

** Because Angelica can thin the blood, avoid or ingest with care if you are on blood thinning medications

Also known as “Holy Ghost Root” or “Archangel Root” or “Wild Celery” or “Masterwort”

Originates from France and Belgium

Middle or Base note in fragrances

Botanically related to celery, dill, parsley, and cilantro

Fire element, associated with Sunday, the Sun, the zodiac sign Leo, and the goddess Venus. Named after the Archangel Michael. Despite being associated with Venus, Angelica is considered to be a masculine herb.

Pair with Black Tourmaline and Fire Agate

Angelica is associated with the Strength card in the tarot, which is my own card in numerology. This may explain why I have such an affinity with this amazing herb.

Magical benefits

Releases negative emotions and thought patterns, brings steadiness and neutrality, promotes logical, sensible thinking patterns, protection from evil spirits and down-to-earth mishaps, grounding, relief from anxiety and wild flights of imagination, purification of one’s personal energy, lifts the mood, banishing, promotes physical healing and well-being, strengthens and enhances the aura, emotional shielding, self-confidence and a stable, healthy sense of personal validity, helps you to achieve your goals by offering the ability to believe fully in your ability to meet them, clears feelings of emotional hollowness and dissociation while dampening anxious, desperate enthusiasms, reconnects you with your life and your unique powers, talents, and aptitudes, rekindles hope when you are feeling dismal, connection to the divine in meditation and prayer, aphrodisiac, breaks hexes, evil eye energy, curses, and dispels evil spirits that have attached to or are within you (exorcism).

Growing and harvesting Angelica

Grow Angelica around your home to protect your property from evil spirits and enchantments. Angelica is a biennial that thrives in zones 5-8. It prefers cooler climates and requires rich, consistently moist soil. In zone 8a (where I live) it does best with morning sun and plenty of afternoon shade to protect it from the intense summer heat. Can be grown in a pot, provided that the pot is at least 16” deep.

Plant Angelica seeds in the late fall or early winter (late November through early February) so that the seeds can stratify prior to their germination. Direct sowing or beginning in pots or trays in an outdoor greenhouse. Make sure and plant plenty of seeds, because Angelica does not have a robust germination rate. Plant by scattering the seeds over the soil and lightly pressing them in to ensure stable contact. Because Angelica needs light for germination, there is no need to cover the seeds completely with soil. Water the seeds in thoroughly and keep the soil moist over the winter.

The first year angelica grows, it is focused on establishing its root system and growing a low to the ground rosette of leaves. The second year it will shoot up nice and tall and sturdy, often reaching 4-6 feet high. It will bloom mid-summer, large globe-like clusters of tiny greenish white or yellowish blossoms.

Angelica leaves are entirely edible. When young and tender, they can be chopped and added fresh into salads, tasting somewhat fennel-like. Older leaves can be cooked down like spinach or added to soups and stews as a flavoring herb. It has also been traditionally used to flavor gins and liquers. The leaves can also be used to make medicinal tea.

Harvest the leaves and stems in the late spring before the plant flowers. Because the plant will die after it has gone to seed, to encourage regrowth and a longer lifespan, make sure to remove the flowers as soon as they have bloomed but before they have had time to make seeds. Angelica reseeds easily, so if you do allow your angelica to complete its life cycle and go to seed, it is likely that you will have new babies popping up each spring.

The precious roots can be dug up and harvested in the fall, once the plant has gone to seed and died back, before the ground freezes.

Candied Angelica Stems

1 lb young angelica stems (harvested before the plant flowers; cut into 3-inch lengths)

1 cup water (for syrup) + water for boiling

1 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)

1/2 tsp baking soda (optional, but helps lock in a bright green color)

Ice bath (a bowl filled with cold water and ice)

Day 1: Blanch, Peel & First Soak

Blanch: Bring a pot of water to a boil and stir in the baking soda. Add the angelica stems and boil for 4 to 5 minutes until tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.

Shock: Immediately transfer the stems into the ice bath to stop the cooking and lock in the color.

Peel: Once cool to the touch, drain the stems and gently scrape or peel off the stringy outer layer using your fingers or a vegetable peeler (similar to peeling celery).

Make Syrup: In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves.

Steep: Place the peeled angelica stems in a heatproof glass bowl or jar and pour the hot syrup over them. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and let sit overnight at room temperature.

Day 2: Simmer & Coat

Simmer in Syrup: The next day, pour the syrup and stems back into a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes until the stems look slightly translucent.

Drain: Remove the stems with a slotted spoon and place them on a wire cooling rack set over a tray. Let them drain and dry for 2 to 3 hours until tacky but not soaking wet.

Sugar Coating: Roll each stem thoroughly in granulated sugar until well coated.

Final Cure: Return the stems to the wire rack and let them dry overnight at room temperature until dry to the touch.

Storage & Uses

Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature. To prevent moisture buildup, layer them with parchment paper. They will keep for several months.

How to Use: Chop into small bits to decorate cakes, meringues, and pastries, or chop them into fruitcakes, puddings, or scones for a unique, sweet-herbal bite.

Medicinal uses

In herbal medicine, Angelica is considered a powerfully warming tonic. Good for digestion – relieves bloating, sluggish digestion, and abdominal cramps. It stimulates bile and stomach acid production, helping to make digesting your food more efficient. It works as an expectorant for the lungs and respiratory tract, helping to clear excess mucus and ease coughs (often used in herbal cough medications). It enhances circulation, helping to warm the body, ease headaches. It is also anti-inflammatory and can ease aches, pains, and other symptoms associated with inflammation. Is is excellent for helping you to regain your health and strength when recovering from illness. Angelica has a calming effect on the nervous system, helping to relieve anxiety and nervous system dysfunction tightness that can arise when someone has experienced trauma. Immune-boosting effect. Increases the production of white blood cells.

Angelica formulas I have made and offered in my shop

Digest Tea to ease bloating and gas and promote strong digestion

Samhain Incense to protect, honor the spirit of the departed, and welcome a new year

Herbal Healing salve – Angelica has antibacterial properties. It was used as a deterrent for plague in medieval times. This can be used on any cuts, wounds, scrapes, or bites and stings.

Protection spray for keeping home and person and vehicle safe

Sniffle Ease Bath Salts for when you are battling a cold or flu

Imbolc spray and oil blend to honor the return of growth and warmth

Grief spray and oil blend for those trying to recover from loss or trauma/disappointment

Reversing Bath Salts to transform periods of misfortune into abundance and blessing and to break hexes and evil eye energy. (Use blue food coloring in this bath salt)

Dispel the Shitty spray to banish unquiet spirits, clinging bad energies, entity attachments, and break curses or evil eye energy.

SINK oil – internal rest, sleep, peace, and healing. Best made the first of September to be used in quiet preparation for the autumn season of shadow work and divination.

Unstuck oil to motivate, dispel self-doubt, and get moving toward your goals

Respiratory Health spray. Calms the lungs and facilitates deep breathing.

** To learn more about or request any of these products, you may e-mail me at:

Durga's Hearth

or visit my sales group at:

Durga's Hearth Spiritual Supplies

Other magical ways to use Angelica

A drop of angelica at each outside corner of your home attracts good luck

Angelica diffused or incense prepares the atmosphere for ritual or divination by banishing negative energy and inviting in benevolent deities

Angelica added to shampoo is a powerful protector of your person

Bathe with Angelica and salt to prepare body and mind for ritual, to ease grief, enter a state conducive to meditation, and connect with deity

Binding Spell to keep someone from being an asshole. Write the person’s name on a piece of paper nine times. Take a pinch of angelica and a pinch of mandrake root and place in the center of the paper. Bind it closed with black or red twine or ribbon. Bury the paper somewhere off your property.

Dried Angelica Root is an excellent addition to loose incense blends or floor and door washes intended to clear negative energy from a space.

Carried in a mojo bag, Angelica Root brings good fortune, enhances courage, and establishes a protective boundary around one’s energy field.

Sprinkle Angelica root around your home to keep evil energies and spirits at bay.

Angelica leaves can be smoked to induce visions or to connect to your higher self.

Burn on charcoal when you are unwell to bring in healing energies.

Wear as a powerful force of self-blessing.

Burn Angelica at Imbolc to dispel the darkness and welcome the light, blessing the upcoming spring and helping you to become inspired by the plans and goals that you will set for the warm days ahead.

Sometimes I don’t realize how much I love a scent until I realize how often I have to head out to forage or jump online to reorder it. My love of pine struck me the other day as I was using up the last of my essential oil. I always go through my bottles of pine pretty quickly throughout the fall and winter. This revelation prompted a quest to really dig in and study the magic of pine in a way that I’ve not done before. Not only does pine smell amazing (hell, I even like the way that the trusty scent of Pine-Sol sends me shooting back to my childhood) it also works well in blends and has a multitude of magical and healing properties. Here are the cliff notes version of my research:

Pine Lore

Pine is found almost all over the globe and is, therefore, revered in multiple cultures.

Alghough I would have never considered this because my experience with pine is totally land-locked, in Greece, pine is associated with the sea. It is the sacred wood of the oceanic god Neptune, because pine wood was used by the ancient Greeks to build their mighty ships.

In some Christian cultures, it is thought that the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made from a pine tree. This association began a tradition of putting pine branches in or on the coffins of deceased loved ones to help ensure them a safe passage into a happy eternal life.

In Japan, pine trees represent perveverence and commitment because, regardless of the weather, they are always green.

Native Americans stuffed their mattresses with pine needles to repel lice and fleas.

Middle Eastern people, some of the most progressive healers of the ancient world, treated pneumonia and other lung infections and maladies with pine.

In Western Paganism, the tradition of bringing pine into the house at Yule was originally for the purpose of eliminating negativity and preventing illness from invading the household during the cold winter months. If you decorate your home with pine for the holidays, you may wish to burn all your pine on a New Year’s bonfire as a way to banish any accumulated negativity so you can begin the year with a fresh, healthy atmosphere in your home and renewed health and energy for your family.

Pine in Magical Work

A couple of the most well-known magical properties of pine are those of protection and prosperity. Carrying a sprig of pine needles in your purse, car, or decorating your home with pine cones and branches are great ways to easily take advantage of pine’s protective, abundant energy.

One of the most traditional ways to use pine is in a bath. Pine baths (you can use a few drops of essential oil or a bag full of well-crushed pine needles) are famous for restoring vitality when you are exhausted, burdened, or emotionally flayed. As a bonus, a pine bath also improves circulation and relieves muscle aches and arthritis, especially when used with epsom salts. If you have senstive skin, make sure you test for sensitivity before using pine in your bath. Allergic reactions are rare but real.

Refreshing, revitalizing, alleviating malaise, pessimism, and laziness or mental fatigue are some of the magical benefits of pine. Along with Rosemary, Pine is excellent at clearing a cluttered mind and promoting focus. It also restores strength after you have been through a trying time, making it a perfect herb to burn, diffuse, or decorate your intention altar with when doing magic to reset yourself after a time of trial.

Pine also can be used in magic to enhance loyalty in friendships and romantic partnerships as well as promoting longevity.

Pine blends well with many different essential oils. Some of its best companions are lavender, verbena, nutmeg, geranium, lemon balm (melissa), cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme.

Pine is known as a masculine herb, meaning that it works in a way that is pragmatic, no-nonsense, and straight to the point.

Burning pine needles along with a petition with the person’s name will break the effects of one who is seeking to manipulate and control you. Pine is a great hack for empaths. Burning pine needles or pine incense is a great way to send all the energy you’ve accumulated back to its source, easing your stress and sense of energetic burden.

Pine in Herbal Medicine

Besides the aforementioned healing affect on the lungs, where it serves both as an expectorant and a way to dry up excess mucus, pine promotes healthy circulation and is a gentle but potent diuretic, assisting in relieving fluid retention. This is a godsend to me at “that time of the month” when my erratic hormones can cause me to suddenly gain several pounds of water weight in one day!

Pine tea or tincture also helps to break fevers. Between this and its positive effect on lung health, pine is a valuable addition to your cold and flu season apotecary. It also helps calm coughing spasms and makes coughs more productive. Inhaling or diffusing pine oil can relieve sinus congestion.

Be careful not to overdo it, becuase pine is also known as an excellent way to gently relieve constipation. Too much may cause diarrhea. In addition, be gentle with pine if you have high blood pressure. Its positive effect on circulation can cause your blood pressure to raise. If you have low blood pressure, though, pine can certainly help!

Pine is also helps to heal adrenal fatigues caused by stress and, as well as cleansing the liver and kidneys, improving their function. Catching a UTI quickly and treating it with pine tea could help you avoid antibiotics (note: always see your doctor if cystitis or a bladder infection has not cleared up within a couple of days, though, because urinary infections can be far more dangerous and progress more quickly than many people realize).

Pine essential oil or sticky pine resin can be used topically to treat certain skin conditions, too. Its assistance in relieving psoriasis, eczema, and acne are noteworthy, as is its effect on soothing and quickly healing razor burn. Even at my age, my face will occasionally break out and I find that pine oil spray or a dab of neat essential oil on the spot clears them up fast. You can also use tea tree oil on breakouts this way, but I prefer the scent of pine and it works just as well.

A few drops of pine essential oil in your shampoo (perhaps paired with Rosemary) will help oily hair and stave off or treat dandruff.

Used to clean the home (Pine-Sol really was onto something) pine is a great way to disinfect and cut contagion and all manner of germs. I put several drops of pine essential oil into some natural dish soap and dilute it into a spray bottle. This is what I clean my countertops and other surfaces with, and it works great!

My Own Pine Creations

Over the years I have made some amazing, effective creations with pine, including:

Empath Incense

Protection (window and door salt and body/room spray)

Safe Travel Sachets

Fatigue Fix Tea

Yule (perfume oil and body spray)

Sniffle Ease Bath Salts

Forest Dweller (perfume oil and body spray)

Energy and Motivation (perfume oil and body spray)

If any of these blends appeal to you, let me know and I will make a batch so you can have some. My products are always priced affordably, because my little biz doubles as a spiritual service - it’s not all about making money. You can comment here to inquire or reach me at durgashearth@gmail.com. Or to see all my current listings, visit my Facebook group here: Durga's Hearth Spiritual Supplies

To celebrate my current passion for pine, paid subscribers will get 10% off any and all of my pine blends through the rest of the year. Think of me when you are doing your holiday shopping! I’d love to help.

On September 1st each year, I celebrate the (almost) start of my favorite season by getting my annual first Pumpkin Spice Latte and then taking a trip to TJ Maxx to browse their wonderful Halloween section and bring home an item or two. I very rarely go shopping, but this annual ritual is beloved to me and I always look forward to the outing.

Last year I did not get to go, because seasonal illness came early and I ended up super sick with a terrible virus that pretty well ruined the month of September for me. I had not been punctual in stocking my cupboard with the remedies that keep me well. This year, I’m making sure to be ready!

Wild Cherry Bark is the star ingredient in a traditional Native American cough remedy that I have bought and used with great success for years. It works (and tastes) better than anything I’ve purchased over the counter and even better than prescriptions I’ve been given. It’s not cheap, though. The cost plus the fact that I believe made-with-love remedies are often superior, I decided to do some research and dig into making my own this year. The result has been fantastic!

I’ll be posting up the syrup-making kits in my inventory group here: Durga's Hearth Spiritual Supplies tomorrow morning. This way everyone can make their own syrup and be ready for the coming cold and flu season that is mere weeks away! A fresh, tasty, and potent jar of cough syrup can be made for far less cost than you would pay at the retailer. Plus, the syrup is easy and fun to make and definitely ups your witchy, earth-mama cred. Instructions are included and the only thing you need to add is water and local honey. Paid subscribers will get 10% off their order, so if you have not joined up to support my publication, this would be a great time to do so! Just let me know when you order that you qualify for the discount.

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The Ingredients

The kingdom of herbs offers us a great many allies for fighting seasonal illness, so many that narrowing down possible ingredients can be quite a challenge. To make this syrup, I landed on four that I think are indispensable in making this brew.

Wild Cherry Bark is a no-brainer. Indigenous people knew what worked and the bark of the Wild Cherry tree has been used for centuries, if not millennia, to calm coughs and help the body to combat and recover from viral infections. Wild cherry inhibits the cough reflex, making it super effective for dry, spasmodic, and persistent coughs. It also is excellent for soothing sore throats, reducing inflammation in the bronchial tubes, and functions as a mild expectorant, helping to clear mucus while drying excess phlegm in the longs and respiratory tract. As a bonus, it is also great for easing upset stomachs and has a calming, mildly sedative effect.

Echinacea is one of my go-to herbs for shortening the duration of colds and flus. It can be used both as an immune booster that helps to stave off contagion, as well as shortening the duration of illness. Its magic lies in its ability to stimulate the production of white blood cells - our body’s infection fighters. The echinacea I am using and prefer is the Echinacea Purpurea variety, which I grow myself. My plants are so healthy and happy and their medicine is just the best!

Elecampane Root is a new herb to me, but after reading up on it, it will be a fixture in my home apothecary. Where Wild Cherry helps to chill out persistent, hacking coughs, the power of Elecampane works on bronchial congestion, helping to break that shit up so that you can clear your lungs. Preventing bronchitis and pneumonia is crucial any time you catch a cold or related illness and the best way to do this is to support your body in keeping all the yuck in your lungs thinned and able to be expelled. Elecampane is also anti-bacterial, helping it to fight respiratory or sinus infections that can develop over the course of an illness.

Horehound is one of my favorite herbs, both because I LOVE the way horehound candy and cough drops taste, but also because it reminds me of my beloved Granddad, who shared his ever-present stash of horehound candy with me while we were driving in his impossibly long old Lincoln Continental through the mountains. That old car’s shocks were so bad that it felt like a carnival ride (I loved whipping around the curves and dips) and my Papaw was not one to drive slowly. Even going to take a cake to a sick neighbor became a hair-raising adventure. Paradoxically, I have never since felt as safe and happy as I did by my granddad’s side. Horehound would have been added to this mixture even if it did nothing but taste like the best days of my life. Lol. But it’s a heavy hitter when it comes to fighting seasonal illness. It has long been used as a cough remedy, helper for sore throats, and to treat bronchitis and other lung-related issues. Horehound “coats and soothes” irritated bronchial tissue that causes that painful, hacking coughs that don’t seem to do much but make us miserable and sleepless.

Please don’t forget to join me on Facebook at Durga's Hearth Spiritual Supplies if you would like a bag to try! If you don’t use Facebook, you are welcome to message me here, leave a comment on this post, or email me at durgashearth@gmail.com to ask questions or place an order. My shipping costs are low, and I’m always happy to chat and answer any questions you might have, whether magical or mundane. I’ll be offering Substack only discounts on some of my favorite finds and creations from time to time, so if you’ve enjoyed my products and would like to subscribe, I’d be honored. Fall is coming!! Stay well everyone.

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Remember all those old time cleaning recipes that make your whole house smell like vinegar? I am not down with that at all. The formulas that I’m sharing here will help to freshen musty, dusty odors (doggies anyone?) as well as promoting harmony, positive energy and balance in the home.

I’m sharing these recipes with you as a thank you for being a supporting member of my substack! I appreciate your interest in what I have to say and share.

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Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

One of the most versatile herbs and also one of the most gentle. It is one of the few herbs that can be used undiluted in essential oil form.

From France, Bulgaria, England, the United States

Element of Air

Sabbat of Midsummer – burning Lavender in a midsummer bonfire wards off evil spirits throughout the year

Planet Mercury (c…

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A long time ago, when I was beginning my magical practice, I ignored all the talk about grounding. There were more exciting things to do - learning and casting spells, memorizing correspondences, collecting all the beautiful tools that I could get my hands on, and developing the psychic and divination skills that all new witches are obsessed with. These were the things that made witchcraft alluring and that would lead to me becoming the witchiest witch. Grounding seemed mundane and super boring.

This was a terrible mistake.

It did not take long before my spirit became frantic, anxious, and confused. I was working hard at my new craft, but making frustratingly little progress aside from the basic knowledge that could be absorbed through reading books or taking classes. I could have written a banging thesis on how to do witchcraft, but that did not translate into a joyful, effective practice for me. My spells did not work, my divination was either ecstatically accurate or it absolutely fell flat, and self-doubt and imposter syndrome were my ever present companions. I was manifesting the hell out of stress and disappointment. I am stubborn, so I pedaled my heart out on the “fake it till you make” it path for a long time.

It took an embarrassing number of years for me to realize what I was doing wrong. I was completely ignoring the foundational practice that brings everything we do in the energetic and magical realms down into our bodies and lives, where real change happens. This practice is called grounding, and being consistent in its application is essential to getting the magical results we want. The more I have experimented and learned, the more I realize that, more than any other element of magic, grounding is the difference between an effective, powerful witch who creates her life with intention and an erratic practitioner whose magic is built on wishes and mania.

There are a lot of instructions and youtube videos out there about how to ground, many of which involves tree roots and visualization. Some are helpful. Some are weird. However, if you are anything like me, visualization and getting the tree root vibe going is difficult, perhaps even impossible. Read on for ways that I have found to steady my personal energy and enhance my magical power, all of which are easy and extremely effective.

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Aquarius brings in a lot of fast, intense, everything-everywhere-all-at-once energy which can produce anxiety in all of us who enjoy simple energy that stays on an even keel. Even with two of my major planets (Sun and Mercury) in Aquarius, big energy in this sign can send me spinning off into a realm of my own thoughts and ideas. This realm, a familiar one to me, often suffers from lack of grounding. During this Full Moon, it is important to remember that a busy mind does not always ensure productivity. Without taking the time to ground and curate our racing thoughts, turning ideas into steady, intentional action, there tends to be a big flurry of mental activity happening but, in the end, nothing actually getting done.

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On the New Moon following Beltane, I was doing some big work surrounding how busy I have been over the last year. I’ve been putting fires out left and right and not taking as much time to breathe and dig deep into my practice as I have needed to. As a result, my spiritual life has been running on auto-pilot. I am rock solid in my beliefs and dedication to magic is part of my daily routine but my inner growth has not been as fruitful and fulfilling as I would like. In an effort to change this, I’ve committed to taking some deep dives into my areas of interest going forward. Putting more time in. More research. More experimentation. More focus. More fun.

After receiving one of those weird, intense Divine pushes that happen to all of us sometimes, I began this revival of my magical studies by taking the time to really get to know Lemongrass. Sounds humble, right? It really isn’t. This herb that we generally only hear about in passing (or when we are ordering Thai food) is a magical powerhouse that deserves to be retrieved from the cobwebby corners of our witch’s work and put in a more exalted place. The more I’ve researched and read about Lemongrass, the more excited I’ve become to make it the focal point of my herbal magic practice right now. For the next while, I’ll be playing with and getting to know this herb to see what happens. It’s interesting how the booming directive “thou shalt study Lemongrass" came up seemingly out of nowhere. I had little idea of its usefulness beyond as an ingredient in my bug spray and as an energy cleanser. By listening to the call, however, I have discovered that Lemongrass in magic and healing is kind of a big deal.

Lemongrass is powerful in spellwork involving prosperity, confidence, road opening, courage, and promoting truth, authenticity, and fidelity in our relationships. The ways that it can be used, from a tea to combat arthritis to an incense to enhance psychic abilities to an anti-aging face cream are myriad. I’ll go into more detail below for those of you who are interested.

Also, please remember that paid subscribers not only get access to the entirety of my written content, but also receive a discount from Durga's Hearth Spiritual Supplies for thirty days on all items featured. I’ll be making several products featuring Lemongrass in the month to come, so please join my group and keep an eye out for new offerings! Just let me know you are a paid subscriber when you claim a relevant item and you’ll receive your discount when I send out the invoice.

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