Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants (18 page)

Many species of Saint John’s wort were called
Hartheu:
above, the mountain Saint John’s wort (
Hypericum montanum
L.); below, the four-petaled Saint John’s wort (
Hypericum tetrapterum
Fr.). In his herbal Hieronymus Bock wrote of Saint John’s wort that it chased away all poisons and banned all ghosts. “The old women speak thusly / oregano [
Origanum vulgare
L.], / Saint John’s wort and bog rosemary [
Andromeda polifolia
L.] / makes the devil violent. Thus it becomes clear what the ancient heathens thought of this herb and what they did with it.” (Woodcut from Hieronymus Bock,
Kreütterbuch,
1577.)

Because of these qualities the rural people called the herb
Teufelsflucht
(devil’s flight) and
Jagdteufel
(hunt-the-devil).

Marjoram, Saint John’s wort, chicory make the devil flee.

The grandmothers used charms such as these when they picked the herb under the sign of the lion and put it in the baby’s first bath, placed it on the first sheaves of grain, strew it in the feed of bewitched livestock, or placed it crosswise in the window or under the rafters to guard against lightning. In the case of spellbound love, “for one who has lost his senses and become unreasonable because of a love spell,” Saint John’s wort was soaked in wine.

Old crones also made weather-magic with Saint John’s wort. They banished the black clouds and charmed the sun back again. In central Germany it is said, “Saint John’s wort and dill makes the storms still.” A story from the Saxony-Anhalt region tells of a terrible storm that wouldn’t end and that threatened to destroy the harvest in the fields. Suddenly the frightened farmers heard a voice thundering in the dark clouds: “Is there not a single woman who knows about Saint John’s wort?” When the farmers’ wives placed Saint John’s wort in the windows, the storm stopped.

The herb was usually burned, however, as can be interpreted from the traditional saying:

Mugwort and Saint John’s wort burn on and stop the storm!

Is it pure superstition, or is something hidden behind it? Is it possible that one can banish bad weather with Saint John’s wort? Ethnologists have repeatedly witnessed how shamans influence the weather, but they have never been able to explain it (Kalweit, 1987: 112). I was the unbelieving witness of a Native American rain dance that brought an end to a long drought in Oregon, despite the fact that the radio had predicted more heat. If we take seriously the holographic model, which says that everything is contained in everything else, then it is entirely possible to influence the weather. One must quiet the internal weather (the atmosphere and the emotions), and the external will adapt itself via resonance.

Women and feminine images have been honored as the Great Goddess since the Stone Age. This statue is known as Venus of Lespugue. (Photograph by Christian Rätsch.)

The billy goat can grow to become an impressive animal. The ancient peoples saw in him a divine being. The goat was reinterpreted from its sacred role in heathen times to the Christian symbol of the devil. (Photographs by Christian Rätsch.)

The archaic custom of bringing the head of a sacrificed animal to the altar and keeping it there as a skull is still practiced today in Crete. (Photograph by Christian Rätsch.)

The young round fly agaric (
Amanita muscaria
[L. ex Fr.] Pers.) was called witch’s egg or devil’s egg. It is possible that the Orphic cult of late antiquity saw in it the world egg out of which the universe was born. (Photograph by Christian Rätsch.)

Ergot (
Claviceps purpurea
L.) is a parasitic fungus that affects rye in particular. Black-violet growths (“mother grains,” or sclerotia) develop on the ears of grain. In earlier times ergot was used by midwives as a medicine for labor. Albert Hofmann not only developed the psychedelic LSD-25 from ergot alkaloids, but also made methergin (methlergometrin), which works on a long-lasting uterine contraction following labor or a miscarriage. It is still successfully used for postpartum bleeding, lochiostasis, and for delayed regeneration of the uterus following birth. These are the last remains of witchcraft medicine.

Wild thyme (
Thymus serpyllum
L.) is an ancient medicinal and ritual plant. The aromatic herb has been burnt as magical incense since antiquity. Many Mongolian and Siberian peoples still use wild thyme as shamanic incense. The genus name
Thymus
comes from the Greek
thymon,
“incense brought to the gods as offerings.” Before the introduction of frankincense (resin of
Boswellia sacra
) from Arabia, thyme served as the most important incense in Greek rituals. The smoke is supposed to fend off disease-bringing demons. Thyme used to be called “our Lady’s bedstraw” and was used in the Middle Ages for many women’s problems. (Photograph by Christian Rätsch.)

Marigold (
Tagetes
spp.) has been considered a flower of death since ancient times in Mexico. During the great Masses of the night before November 1, it is placed on family shrines, altars, graves, and open places. During this night the souls of dead ancestors are fed with offerings, and are sometimes made drunk.

Ephedra (
Ephedra alata
Decne.) is found throughout the Near East and was used sixty thousand years ago by the Neanderthals as a flower of the dead; it was placed with the bodies in their graves. Ephedra has been used for at least six thousand years as a medicine for asthma and bronchitis and as a diuretic. The prophets of antiquity named the plant “the food of Saturn.” Ephedra was one of the psychoactive ingredients of the Persian haoma drink in pre-Zoroastrian times. In the Himalayas
Ephedra gerardiana
is still known as
somalata
(“soma plant”). Ephedra has a strong, stimulating, awakening, and vasoconstricting effect that lasts for about eight hours. Ephedra is a beloved aphrodisiac for women. (Photograph by Christian Rätsch.)