Sketchy Herbs & Magic Rocks: Mullein & Malachite

This Sketchy Herb and Magic are both featured this month in the Witch n’ Bitch! I chose them because they have strong connections to the world of the dead, and to transformation. Both Malachite and Mullein are an excellent addition to a Halloween or Samhain altar, are great for dream magick and astral travel, and work to keep you safe from things that go bump in the night.

Mullein

Elements: Fire
Planet: Saturn
Used For: Protection, opening the door to the other world, communicating with the dead, prophetic dreaming, psychic connections

This is one of my absolute favourite herbs. I use it on a weekly basis in various magickal ways – mostly as a base in incense blends! Mullein’s soft and fluffy leaves with very little of their own odour make them a perfect base for incense blends that are related to death, psychic powers, dreams, and night time. The reason it was our herb for the month of Halloween is because Mullein is one of a witch’s best friend if she’s looking to speak with the dead. Mullein facilitates spirit communication while offering protection against negative entities and ghosts. In the words of Sarah Anne Lawless: “It belongs to the crossroads, to Saturn, and to the underworld. It it Hecate’s torch and Lucifer’s staff. It is a key and a door.” Mullein is a witching herb of dark days gone by, when magick was done in the dark of night by the light of a torch. In fact tall, dried out, stalks of mullein can be soaked in beeswax and used as a torch!

For modern witches mullein makes an amazing base for herbal blends that will become incense, mojo bags, dream pillow filling, candle dressing, and even in a magickal herbal smoking blend. Mullein is actually very common in herbal smoking blends of a non-magickal nature and when combined with herbs like mugwort, lavender, catnip, cloves, or blue lotus can deepen your focus, open your third eye, and make you more able to receive messages from the spirit realm, or other planes of existence.

In our online meet-up to talk about mullein in the Witch n’ Bitch, we made an herbal smoking blend for spirit communication called Spirit Speak! I also drew protective symbols on the paper I used to roll the herbal cigarette with etable markers. I did a lot of my research on the practical side of herbal cigarettes on this post from The Herbal Academy, which offers information on smokeable herbs and gives a great formula to start making your own blend. I left the blend to sit with this skull-shaped amethyst to help drive home the spirit communication aspect.

Malachite

I’ll be honest, I chose malachite because it’s a spooky green and kind of looks like a witch’s cauldron with all the beautiful swirls? It’s also slightly toxic (watch out!) which made it seem spookier to me. I knew Malachite was a powerful spiritual ally, but I’ll be honest I knew little else.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn Malachite has long been associated with both life and death, and the cycle of rebirth. In ancient Egypt Malachite is mentioned in the Egyptian Book of the Dead when it talks about a place of eternal peace for the righteous – The Field of Malachite. It was sacred to the goddess Hathor who was associated with both life and rebirth and the cycle of death. Elsewhere in the Book of the Dead, the deceased is described as a falcon with wings of green stone and in the Pyramid Texts Horus is described as”Lord of the Green Stone”. During the mummification process, many of the organs were removed and discarded like the brain, but the heart was left in the body and a green heart scarab was placed over it to offer magickal protection. (So I’ll be looking for a malachite heart FOR SURE.)

Aside from its connection with death, Malachite strengthens your connection with other worlds, and also strengthens your own energy being projected. This can be an issue in your waking life, but can also help clarify and amplify your messages and intentions to spirits and ghosts. This makes it a powerful tool for meditation and metaphysical transformation. Malachite aligns, clears, and activates all of your chakras – even those outside the standard chakra system. In this capacity it not only connects you to other worlds and planes, but it anchors you here to earth and to yourself.

A word of warning: Malachite is toxic in its raw form. Though malachite powder was a popular addition to makeup in ancient Egypt, I don’t recommend that now. When you first start out with malachite, get a small tumbled stone and don’t keep it in contact with your skin for long lengths of time. Keep it in a small bag or cloth, in jewellery with a metal backing, and out of your bed. It’s also not one that you should get wet, put in your bath water, or consume. As it’s such a powerful stone and does absorb negativity, it needs to be cleansed often, spiritually speaking. It’s a pretty powerful stone!

Both mullein and malachite will be tremendously helpful if you’re looking to connecting to long lost ancestors or work some spooky divinations this halloween or samhain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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