Top 5 NYC Plants with Traditional and Magical Uses

By Melissa Jayne Madara

Melissa Jayne Madara is an author and educator based in New York City. As a writer, Melissa loves discussing plant magic, herbcraft, and presenting deep analysis of historical spells and charms. Learn more on their website.

As the first chill of autumn appears in the air, the witching season is upon us. With Halloween just around the corner, I am happy to partner with the Natural Areas Conservancy. I am a local author specializing in plant folklore and the history of witches. Below are my top five favorite “witching herbs” of NYC parks, along with some folk-beliefs about what makes them so magical.  

To learn more about the magical plants of NYC, join us for a special Halloween guided hike on October 26th, where I will join the NAC team in sharing information about traditional, historical, and folkloric uses of plants we encounter along the trail. 

BLACKBERRY 

The blackberry is believed to be a plant of protection in European folklore, specifically against  snakes, sickness, and witchcraft. In charms that use blackberry for magical healing, a short song is sung over the afflicted area while the leaves and tea of blackberry are passed back and forth. However, these beneficial qualities are said to fade in autumn as soon as the first berries ripen. When this happens, traditionally in conjunction with Old Michaelmas Day (October 10th), it is said that the Devil has thrown his cloak over the brambles, making the plant unwholesome or dangerous to gather.  

MUGWORT 

Mugwort’s history as a magical plant begins in the ancient world, where it was viewed as a protective charm against danger, attacks, sickness, and even fatigue. In the Roman era, travelers would bind their feet with mugwort leaves, under the belief that this would prevent them from ever tiring of walking. The root of the mugwort was an important talisman in the middle ages, believed to grant wealth and great power if it could be dug up precisely at midnight on Midsummer eve. This plant is also associated with the delivery of dreams and nighttime visions. The Latin name of mugwort is Artemisia, after Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon.  

PLANTAIN 

Plantain is a common, low-growing plant brought to North America during European colonization. Before this time, Europeans held the plantain in high regard, believing it to be a powerful herb of  healing. In ancient Greece, the root was worn as a talisman to ward off illness, and is cited in  Shakespeare as a plant with profound and miraculous healing capabilities. Plantain even features in a famous medical spell from the 10th century, called the Anglo Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, where it is said to withstand venom, illness, and “the loathesome foe roving through the land.” 

ELDERBERRY 

In European folklore, particularly in Northern Europe and Scandinavia, the elder tree is believed to be inhabited by a spirit named The Elder Mother. This spirit can be either protective or vengeful, depending upon how she is treated. In Danish belief, if one wanted to harvest elder wood without angering the Elder Mother, they must beg forgiveness three times, promising that they will return the exchange when they die and become a tree themselves.  

BURDOCK 

Due to the clinging burrs of the burdock plant, it has a traditional association with attraction and love magic, earning it the common name “love leaves.” In Essex, folklore relates that young lovers could toss the burrs onto the backs of their sweethearts to divine their interest- if the burr held fast to their clothing, their affections were returned. Under the Doctrine of Signatures, which relates that plants shaped like parts of the human body can be used to heal the corresponding anatomy, the tuberous root was believed to be an aphrodisiac charm.

RSVP to the Natural Areas Conservancy’s Forest Park Halloween Magic Plant Guided Hike on October 26, which Melissa will be co-leading.

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