Yule And Herbal Magic
Honor and celebrate the darkest days of the year with magical, seasonal plants.
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Plants have many spheres of action. There are herbal brews, homeopathic dilutions, flower essences, oils, poultices and salves, incenses and magical potions, each of which resonates with a different stratum of the body, psyche and spirit. Among all of these octaves of the healer’s art, one thing is common: Plants want to heal us.
Plants have spirits that we can communicate with when we show them gratitude and respect. They are sentient beings and allies. When we tune in to the natural world — to the plants, animals, waters, winds, Sun, Moon, Earth — we begin to see that these beings, entities, and forces surround us, support us, and call to us. We ignore them at our own peril.
As a species, we need to learn to contain ourselves, to find the humility of our reliance on the rest of the natural world, to find the joy and awe of participation in a web of connectedness that defies our capacity to grasp. We need to stop assaulting nature. We need to be mindful of where we choose to build and how we use natural resources. Behind and beyond all the artifice of cultivation and construction, the natural world is our home. We need to stay wild.
These herbs have a special connection with Yuletide and Christmas, and all are valuable winter medicines. Roots, barks, berries, leaves, flowers, nuts and seeds have many dimensions and spectrums of influence. As you work with each one, whether in cooking, ritual or medicine, think also of the spiritual qualities and magic the plant embodies.
Bayberry (Morella cerifera)
Bayberries are named after Cape Cod Bay in New England. When the Puritans discovered them, they began making candles with the waxy berries.
Beeswax and bayberry candles were luxury items in American colonial days. Most candles at that time (used at a rate of about four hundred per year per household) were made of tallow, but tallow candles were smoky and had an unpleasant smell if they went rancid. Eventually folk traditions developed around the fragrant bayberry candles.
According to tradition, bayberry candles may be lit on Winter Solstice Eve, New Year’s Eve, or Christmas Eve, after the first star is seen. The lighting of the candles must be timed so they burn until after midnight. If they are burned down to the socket, it’s said, a year of prosperity and good fortune will come into the home.
It is also good luck to give away bayberry candles. Include a note:
“These bayberry candles come from a friend,
So, on Solstice Eve, Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, burn them down to the end.
For a bayberry candle burned to the socket
Will bring joy to the heart and gold to the pocket.”
Decorate the house with the fresh boughs of bayberry at Yuletide. Pinch the leaves to release the scent.
Holly (Ilex spp.)
Why do we decorate with holly at Yuletide? The tradition goes back to the days of the ancient Roman Saturnalia (December 17 through 23), a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture and husbandry, when Romans would tie a bright sprig of holly to the gifts they exchanged.
In Norse tradition, holly was sacred to Thor, god of thunder and lightning, war, and fertility, and holly plants were grown by the home to prevent lightning strikes. Among the Gauls, holly was sacred to Taranis, god of thunder and storms.
In British Pagan tradition, the holly tree symbolizes the waning of the Sun, commencing with Summer Solstice, and the oak tree symbolizes the waxing of the Sun, commencing with Winter Solstice. This symbolism can be seen in the legend in which the Holly King battles the Oak King for dominance at the Solstices. The Oak King wins as the light half of the year comes in, while the Holly King dominates as the dark half of the year starts.
Hang boughs of holly on the door and in the house and Yuletide and then burn the holly decorations at Imbolc (February 2), leaving a spring hanging somewhere in the house for luck and protection. Holly is an herb of Mars. Feel its protective forces surrounding you as you sip a cup of the brew! The best holly for decaffeinated tea is gallberry or inkberry (Ilex glabra), which tastes like orange pekoe without the caffeine. Dry and crumble the leaves before use and steep for about 5 minutes using 1 teaspoon for cup of freshly boiled water. Reminder: never eat holly berries of any species; they are poisonous!
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
According to lore, the palm tree, juniper, willow and rosemary were plants that sheltered the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus as they fled into Egypt to escape the soldiers of Herod. During the flight into Egypt, Mary is said to have spread her child’s clothing on a rosemary plant to dry, and the flowers, which had been white, turned blue and gained the sweet scent we know today. At midnight on Twelfth Night, or January 5, the eve of Epiphany, it’s said, rosemary plants burst into flower in celebration of Christmas.
The ancient Romans wore crowns of fragrant rosemary at feasts such as the Saturnalia revels, and ancient Greek scholars wore crowns of rosemary in their hair to help them focus and memorize for exams. This is why the old Latin name for this herb was Rosmarinus coronarius. (The Latin coronarious means “crown.”)
Rosemary was also used to decorate the wassail bowl and to garnish the main course of the Yuletide feast, such as boar or roast beef. In German tradition, it is said to bring joy to the family when it is burned in the house on Christmas Eve.
Fragrant rosemary is an herb of the Sun. Hang a wreath of rosemary on the door, or incorporate it into a wreath of pine and other evergreens. Place it on the Solstice altar and burn it during your ceremony. Make orange and clove pomanders, arrange them on a plate, and decorate the plate with branches of rosemary. Use rosemary to decorate the main dish on the Solstice table. Burn dried rosemary with crushed dried orange peel and crushed cinnamon sticks to scent the home. Put some rosemary in a pot with apple slices, orange slices, cloves, cinnamon sticks and a small branch of pine. Leave it on the stove to simmer and perfume the house.
Excerpted with permission from The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas: Remedies, Recipes, Magic and Brews for the Winter Season by Ellen Evert Hopman (©2023 Inner Traditions Publishing) www.InnerTraditions.com
Ellen Evert Hopman is a master herbalist and homeopath, who has been a Druidic initiate since 1984. She is the author of several books, including Secret Medicines from Your Garden and The Sacred Herbs of Samhain. She lives in Massachusetts.
