Basic Herbs Lesson 4 – Oregano, Cinnamon, Belladona

• Botanical Name: Origanum Vulgare
• Common Name: Oregano
• Folk Names: Wild Marjoram, cooking spice
• Habitat & Description: perennial small evergreen sub shrub reddish hairy stems bright color leaves. Zone 8-10 well drained neutral to dry soil in sun.
• Planetary Ruler: Mercury
• Gender: Male
• Elemental Rule: Air
• Parts Used: whole plant, leaves, flowers, seeds
• Culinary Uses: popular in Italian & Greek dishes, meats
• Medicinal Uses: antioxidant, colds and flu, bacterial and viral infections.
• Magickal Uses: rituals, love, happiness,warding off troublesome and meddlesome individuals, and some say it has the power to keep the law away.

• Botanical Name: Cinnamonum Zeylanicum
• Common Name: Cinnamon
• Folk Names: Sweet Wood, Ceylon Cinnamon
• Habitat & Description: Evergreen tree with light brown papery bark and has leathery leaves, small yellow to white flowers in clusters followed by purple berries. Zone 10, well drained sandy soil in sun
• Planetary Ruler: Sun
• Gender: Male
• Elemental Rule: Fire
• Parts Used: bark, leaves
• Culinary Uses: bark and leaves are used for seasoning and spices
• Medicinal Uses: help with diarrhea & nausea, colds
• Magickal Uses: spirituality, healing, stimulate psychic awareness, luck, money, love, purification,  and protection

• Botanical Name: Atropa belladonna
• Common Name: Belladonna
• Folk Names: deadly nightshade, bane wort, deaths herb, devils cherries, sorcerers & witches berries
• Habitat & Description: Tall perennial with erect branched stems, pointed oval leaves that are purple brown. Flowers are in summer followed by black shiny berries. Zone 6-9.
• Planetary Ruler: Saturn
• Gender: female
• Elemental Rule: water
• Parts Used: whole plant, roots
• Culinary Uses: NOT RECOMMENDED TO INGEST THIS HERB, POISON!!
• Medicinal Uses: liniment, bandages, extracts, anesthesia, ointments
• Magickal Uses: applied to skin an used as a sorcerers pomade in history, sacred to Hecate, flying potions, power plant. divination, visions.
• A very through article on history of it and its dangers http://www.merciangathering.com/belladonna.htm

Related articles

• Basic Herbs Lesson 3 – Hyssop, Ginger, Hemlock (mywiccanwalk.wordpress.com)
• Basic Herbs Lesson 2 – Dill, Sage, Foxglove (mywiccanwalk.wordpress.com)
• Basic Herbs Lesson 1 (mywiccanwalk.wordpress.com)