Sunday 20 November 2016

Magical Grass by Unity

Grass by Unity
Graminoids

The family of grasses is perhaps one of the most important and useful of the plant world. We use the grain of some grasses - wheat, barley, oats and rye etc for food and their stems as straw which can be used for animal bedding and fodder, thatching, crafts ( corn dollies) and basket making. It is also increasingly used as a carbon-neutral energy source and insulation, and in some parts of the world as a construction material when mixed with clay and concrete.

Hay is the general name for a number of dried grasses, usually rye grass, oats and alfalfa. It is mainly used as an off season food for grazing animals.

Wheat: Triticum spp
Planetry influence: Venus
Element: Earth
Deities: Ceres, Demeter, Ishtar
Magical properties: Fertlity, fruitfulness. abundance
Oats: Avena sativa G
Planet: Venus
Element: Earth
Magical properties: Prosperity and money

Rye: Secale spp.
Planet: Venus
Element: Earth
Magical properties: Love, fidelity
Barley: Hordeum spp. vulgare
Planet: Venus
Element: Earth
Magical properties: Love, healing, protection

The grass that makes up our lawns and parks is made up of thousands of varieties of grasses ( and I'm not even going to try to cover them all !)and varies depending on your country and area. Things like the temperature and amount of rainfall are both taken into consideration. Some grasses have magical properties, including the stuff that is used for lawns, and it can be used like other plants in spell bottles, bags and poppets. The longer strands can be used for knot magic.

Grass
Element - Earth
Magical properties - protection, psychic powers, knot magic and abundance.

Faerie rings
I remember finding these in the local park when I was a child. They can be either circles of dark grass that stand out amongst the paler normal green stuff, circles of toadstools or mushrooms, or circles with no grass or plant life at all. They mostly seemed to be caused by various fungi, but there are still many myths and legends about them. Depending on where you live, they are said to be caused by either fairies, elves, pixies or witches dancing, and there are numerous legends that warn of the dangers of entering one, although there are some tales that claim they are places of fertility and fortune.

Couch grass - Elymus repens
Other names: Twitch grass, dog grass, witch grass
Planetry influence: Jupiter
Magical properties: psychic powers, protection, abundance.

Couch grass is a perennial grass related to rye, wheat and other cereal grasses. It's not a favourite of gardners and farmers, being difficult to eradicate due to it's long creeping stems which spread across large areas. The smallest bit left behind when weeding will quickly grow back.
Couch grass does have medicinal properties going back to the days of ancient Greece and Rome. It's a strong diuretic so can be used to treat bladder problems. In the past it has been used as a coffee substitute.

Sweet grass - Hierochloe odorata
Other names : Vanilla grass, Holy grass, Buffalo grass, Seneca grass.
Magical properties: Purification, healing, protection, cleansing

Sweet grass gets its name from it's sweet vanilla-like scent. It grows in North America and Eurasia. It is considered a sacred herb by Native Americans who use it for smudging to cleanse negative energies, purification and to clear a sacred space before calling on spirts and ancestors. It is commonly braided and also carried as a protection amulet.

Mini Dried Grass Broomsticks


A handful of dried grass
A straight branch (cut to about the length of an artists paintbrush )
thin wire


Distribute the dried grass around one end of the branch as evenly as you can then wrap a length of wire toghtly around both to secure. Wrap a second length of wire around just the bristles. Trim the ends of the dried grass to even them up. They can also be used as natural paintbrush.


Unity













Sources :
A Kitchen Witch world of Magical plants and herbs - Rachel Patterson
The Magical properties of plants - Tylluan Penry
A Modern Herbal - Mrs Grieve
The Witches Herbal - Michael Howard
Wikipedia
Healingabout.com
nativetech.org
doodlesandjots.com

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