A Witch’s Garden is a space where magic and nature meet. These types of gardens are focused on having the key herbs and spices that a witch will be using for her rituals, magical meals, or other related matters. Alongside growing selected herbs and spices, a witch will also work with her gods/goddesses or work with a different god that is related to harvest in order to produce herbs with the best magical results. Just like an altar to the gods, a garden altar will include the gods as well as imagery of growth, fertility, and nourishment. This altar would be the intermediary between her and nature, a bridge to connect a witch to the Earth. Most garden altars are rather simple and could just include a mossy rock, or if it is indoors one can collect different elements of nature and group them together (bundle of rocks, fallen leaves, clump of earth, etc.). In addition to a witch’s garden, there is also the concept of involving the elements of the Earth: Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. A witch can entirely focus on one element and have the herbs and spices related to that element or have a balance of all four or just the ones that she wants to focus on.
How to Make a Witch’s Garden Both Outdoor and Indoor?
Creating a witch’s garden is practically the same concept as a normal garden, but taking it to a whole other level. Let’s first focus on what a witch will need to create a witch’s garden outside:
A witch will need to secure a space to start the garden. Just like a kitchen altar, she will want to set up elements that will be associated with her garden such as imagery of a god(s), the pentagram, the yggdrasil, etc. All of these symbols will help charge her garden with magickal properties. Planting herbs and arranging them into symbols also helps to boost the magical effectiveness; for example, if a witch were to arrange the garden into the symbol of Hecate (the Triple Goddess) then this would invoke upon Hecate to bless this witch’s garden. It also helps a witch to invoke a chant during any process of the garden such as planting, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting.
If you do not have space for an outdoor garden, here’s how you can make an indoor witch’s garden:
Take advantage of the vertical space of the home, a witch can use hanging pots or even shelves in order to place her plants. She can be as creative as she wants with this and even build her garden in the shape of an arch to symbolize a gateway between the magical and the mundane, the shape of the tarot card that represents the tower, or she can arrange the hanging pots in the shape of a constellation. Once again, it then becomes important to charge the garden with symbols and imagery that a witch will want to put into the garden she will grow.
After she has secured her garden, it becomes important to learn what herbs will be grown in relation to the garden she is growing.
What Herbs Should I Grow In My Garden?
Choosing the herbs and spices to grow is important to consider because everything depends on a few factors:
- What types of spells will you be casting and how versatile are the herbs you want to use? (Basically, you want to choose an herb that will apply to more than one type of spell.)
- What element(s) do you want your garden to be focused on? (Each herb and spice are related to a specific element, meaning you want to put herbs of the same element in the same soil, or at least have them divided into different sides of the soil with a divider in the middle.)
- How often will you be needing herbs or spices? (This is important because different herbs and spices have different life cycles, so you want to make sure you plan ahead of time and consider how long each herb and spice takes to grow.)
After you consider these factors, you are then ready to choose the herbs you want. Here are a few common herbs and spices with the corresponding element:
Fire: Chilis, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, basil, garlic, pepper, rosemary
Water: Mint, star anise, yarrow, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, jasmine
Earth: Clove, jasmine, sage, honeysuckle, mushrooms, potatoes, Camellia sinensis
Air: Elder, marjoram, thyme, mint, nutmeg, lavender, anise, lemon verbena
If you want to infuse your herbs with more magic, the best way to do so is to include imagery/elements into the herbs you are growing. For example, if you are growing chilis, then you would want to spread some ashes from burning paper or anything relevant that won’t be damaging to the plant/soil. Infusing those herbs with the proper elements will not only intensify its flavor, but it strengthens its unity with the element.
When Is The Best Time To Start My Witch’s Garden?
Deciding when to start a witch’s garden is fully dependent on the herbs that a witch is trying to grow. A witch must research what is the best weather/season for the herb to grow in, and how long it would take for that herb to produce a harvest. For example, if a witch wants to grow a rosemary bush, then the best time to start is in April, as rosemary grows best during the spring and summer seasons. She would tend to the rosemary all through the seasons and if taken care of properly, a healthy and powerful rosemary bush will flourish. Do not center a witch’s garden around one kind of herb, you want to grow herbs that develop around the same season and time frame. It is important for any witch to keep track of the moon cycles throughout the growth cycle of the herb she is growing. The moon cycles have phases of increasing power and decreasing power. Timing the growth in relation to the cycle can drastically improve or decrease the potency of your herbs.
What Can a Witch’s Garden do for Me?
Growing a witch’s garden can bring many benefits to a witch. Starting with the most obvious, a witch’s garden will bring you herbs and vegetables that are much more intense in flavor than a regular garden. You will be able to use these charged herbs to enhance your esbats, spell casting, magical meals, and hedge gardening. For a kitchen witch, a witch’s garden will grant more power to the magical meal she is preparing, especially when she wants to cast a protection spell during hard times. For any kind of witch, the garden will provide you the resources you need in order to cast stronger spells. During esbats, offerings will be more effective if a witch has personally tended to her garden and through her magic, has made them blossom into powerful herbs. For a hedge witch, it is essential to grow a witch’s garden because of the type of magic she will be involved in; herbal and healing magic. While any witch can grow healing herbs in her garden, it is important that a hedge witch has a magical garden in order to produce the best herbs and healing spells. A witch’s garden that has been tended to and has been provided with the proper elements to the corresponding herb will get the best result come harvest time. The garden is a garden witch’s best friend, solace and place of power. Although only a few types of witches were mentioned, having a witch’s garden benefits all types of witches as most of the spells she will create will always require the use of fruits/herbs/vegetables. Even if a witch is not growing herbs for spells, it will always make a great offering to her gods.
Another benefit of a witch’s garden is the therapeutic value that is associated with it. Keep in mind that the herbs you plant are infused with the energy of both the element and your own magickal energy; which means you will have a special connection to your plants. Remember that although plants cannot speak or react to what we say, they are living beings and they are always listening. It is beneficial for both the witch and the plant to talk to it. It’s beneficial for her to talk as it allows negative energy to leave the body and allow positive energy to remain; at the same time, the plants will benefit from the energy you are expelling and flourish healthily.
This is only but the start of understanding what a witch’s garden is, the rest is up to you. Remember that your garden is a magical canvas that will become a part of you and a part of the earth; the fusion of both flesh and dirt. Tend to and personalize your garden in accordance to what embodies you: spirit, element, mind, and body. Blessed be.