I don’t have to tell you the world feels incredibly dangerous right now. In times like these, I reach for the help of plant friends for added protection and comfort. Fortunately, you don’t need anything exotic or expensive to facilitate magickal protection: all of the plants I list here are relatively easy to find, or purchase if you can’t harvest them yourself. 

For each of the plants below, I recommend the same methods of collection.

1. Greet the plant respectfully. Ask permission to gather a small amount for protective magick. Then wait for their flowers to nod, their scent on the air to deepen, or a sense of warm acceptance to come to you. If you sense the plant is reluctant or unwilling, look elsewhere for a specimen who is willing to be harvested.
2. If the plant says yes, carefully gather only what you need, leaving plenty for wildlife and other humans in need. Use clean, sharp shears or a clean sharp knife.
3. Make an offering: exclaim at their beauty, tell them stories, recite poems or sing songs to them. In dry seasons, pour clean water over their roots. Clean up any trash you find near them. 

If you’re unable to harvest plants yourself for any reason, I recommend purchasing from a trustworthy supplier. My favorite is Mountain Rose Herbs.

Wild Roses for Wise Hearts

When the world is on fire, our hearts ache and break at the horrors we witness every day. It can feel unsafe to care, to be open hearted and make connections to our communities. But these are the times when we need loving connection more than ever, and allowing our hearts to harden and shut down only leads to more suffering. In times like this, roses (Rosa spp.) are precious alllies.

If you can get outside, forget flower shop or grocery store roses, all ruffles and no scent, their thorns cut off to make them safe. Wander abandoned homesteads, the edges of fallow fields, old train tracks, the sides of back roads. Find the five-flowered beauties, the intoxicating antique roses gone feral and bristling with prickles. These are the ones who can protect your heart even as they help you open to love and connection. 

Then carefully, carefully cut what you need, thorns and all. Steep them in alcohol for an entire moon cycle, then decant and take a few drops when you feel vulnerable but still want to have an open heart. To boost the energy of the brew, place rose quartz on or around the jar during steeping.

If outdoor exertions aren’t possible for you, seek out dried roses with strong fragrance, such as Rosa damascena or Rosa centifolia. Follow the same instructions for your brew, perhaps hanging protective symbols, rusty nails, barbed wire, or protective stones on the jar as the herbs steep.

Blackberry Isn’t Just for Jam

Blackberry (Rubus spp.) plants are well know for their sweet fruits, and cursed for their thorns. But those thorns remind us not to allow anyone to take our gifts, our sweetness, without respect and careful handling. The thorns are available almost any time of year, unless you live where they’re buried under snow in winter. 

Ask blackberry to help you protect yourself. Carefully cut two equal-length sections of blackberry cane, with thorns intact (I recommend sturdy gloves). Let the blackberry canes dry thoroughly. Tie them together in an equal armed cross with black thread, wrapping it around and around until the cross feels stable. Hang it over your door or window. Decorate with stones if you like, especially hagstones, obsidian, and hematite. Or add charms with protective symbols.

Mugwort for Safe Travel

In times like this, it can feel terrifying to leave the house ast all, but most of us don’t have the option of staying home indefinitely. Mugwort (Artemisa vulgaris) is my go-to witch’s herb: easy to grow, plentiful, and intensely magickal. You can stuff dream pillows with mugwort or add the plant to psychic teas, but they’re also valuable for protection during all varieties of travel. 

Put a leaf of mugwort in your shoe if you are walking the woods or city streets, or carry some leaves and flowers in your pockets. Fill a tiny jar with dried mugwort leaves and flowers, seal with a cork and beeswax, and hang it in your car or hide it in your glove compartment to protect your vehicle and yourself when you drive. You can also hang bouquets or wreaths of dried mugwort in your house over doors or windows to protect you from intruders. 

Of course, mugwort protects us in trance, dreams, and visions as well. The fragrance of mugwort steam or smoke can take us deep into our own shadow selves, which could be why some people have nightmares when they sleep with mugwort near the bed. If you are ready to face your fears and work through your shadows, call on mugwort both to carry you deeper into visions and to keep you safe while you are there. Know that what you face might be unsettling or even frightening, but the experience will be valuable and transformative.

A word of caution: some people experience allergic reactions to mugwort. If you’ve never worked with this plant before, proceed with caution. If you experience a negative reaction, mugwort is not the best ally for you, and you would do better to work with a different plant.

Comfrey the Re-weaver

Trauma and toxic situations have a way of making us feel raw and ragged, like our emotional selves have been repeatedly dragged over a rusty cheese grater. Sometimes it can become so intense that any interaction–even an essentially positive one–is painful. When we get to this point, it might be time to seek help from a therapist or even, if appropriate, see a doctor about medication, if those options are available to us. But there are also things we can do to help repair ourselves energetically, and protect ourselves from continuing damage to our spirits.

When I feel this ragged exposed feeling, I reach for comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum or S. officinale). The lovely thing about working with comfrey is they’re easy to find even if you can’t grow herbs yourself. Most herb shops and retail websites offer both comfrey leaf and root for sale. 

Comfrey’s protective energies are intertwined with their healing powers. One of their folk names is knitbone, alluding to the way comfrey speeds healing. Energetically, comfrey re-weaves our energetic and emotional selves, helping us feel less vulnerable and more whole.

To access these healing qualities, brew a big, strong jar of comfrey infusion. Place a cup of dried comfrey leaf in a quart jar, or fill the jar with loosely packed fresh comfrey leaves and flowers. Bring a kettle of water to a boil, and pour water over the comfrey until the jar is full. Allow your brew to steep for 4-10 hours, then strain. If the strained infusion is very cold, warm it gently on the stove until it feels like a nice warm bath when you dip your fingers in it. (And be careful not to get it TOO hot.)

Take the infusion into the shower. As the shower water runs over you, visualize it washing away the pain left by those who hurt you, or by the horrifying events currently unfolding in the world. Scrub thoroughly with your favorite soap, and really work on seeing the uncomfortable energy being washed away and going down the drain along with soap suds, water, and dirt. When you are thoroughy clean, slowly pour the comfrey infusion over yourself, and visualize green light pouring over you, sealing up the holes in your energy body, soothing your emotions. Repeat this as often as you like to let comfrey continue to work their magick.

If a bath is more your style, first use your favorite energetic purification technique. Then when you feel clear, run a bath, add the comfrey infusion to the tub, and soak for twenty minutes. For an added boost, place protective stones around the bathtub. Or take a salt bath, then pull the plug, stand up in the tub, and pour the warm comfrey infusion over you as described above.

Take Reasonable Precautions

Of course magick is a complement to real-life action, not a substitute for it: so lock your doors and windows, avoid dangerous situations if you possibly can, drive with caution and lock your car when you park it. If you are in an abusive relationship, get help–call a hotline, find someone to take you to a shelter, something. If you are dealing with emotional trauma, in addition to using magick, find a supportive friend or (if you can) a competent therapist to help you work through the pain. As you make your best effort, magick will boost the effectiveness of your actions, strengthen your personal power, facilitate personal transformation, and bring you insight and inspiration.

And don’t worry if you can’t get your hands on any of these four plants. There are so many green protectors out there. A few more of my favorites include hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), and rowan (a.k.a. mountain ash, Sorbus spp.). If you have a favorite protective plant or tree, please share in the comments.

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