The first love spell I ever tried involved my first love – Michael James. At age 16, we were star-crossed lovers and when we were forced apart by our families, I thought I would die!
I don’t know, does anyone ever get over their first love? All that gentle tenderness. Your heart chakra is blown open for the first time and you feel as if it will burst from such intense emotion – such pure joy. When M.J. left, I was so depressed (actually suicidal) and desperate. My young Witchy friend, Mary told me to try an old gypsy Onion Love Spell. “This will bring him back to you, I know it will,” she said.
You take an onion and with a sharp knife, you inscribe the name of your true love into the skin of the onion. You plant it in a red clay pot with a drop of your blood, saying the name of your love three times. Each day at sunrise and sunset you say these words aloud over the onion (watering it as needed): “As this root does grow, so shall the love of (say the full name of person) grow for me.”
However, after 3 months the onion looked just horrible – it was turning yellow, slimy and mushy. I decided to dig it up, intending to replant it. Well, there at the base of the root was a giant, ugly, white worm-like grub contently munching away. It had eaten the bottom half of the onion, so out to the compost pile everything went. Interestingly, even though our love was hopelessly doomed, M.J. continued to resurface in my life on and off through my early college years.
After that, I was into baking chocolate birthday cakes from scratch for whoever happened to be my boyfriend at the time. Sounds yummy and sweet, just like young love, right?
Well, yeah – except that my cakes had that little, extra special ingredient. I liked to cut my finger with a sharp kitchen knife and let the blood drip into the cake batter. Then, I’d give it a good stir, while reciting a long-ago-forgotten incantation. Into the cake pans the batter went and I popped them in the oven. I don’t know where I got the idea or what possessed me. In my burgeoning young adult mind, I thought this would bind my boyfriend to me for eternity. Oh how romantic!
The problem is that it worked a little too well! Once the infatuation wore off, I found that these ex-boyfriends never really disappeared. Sometimes an ex would show up at my parents’ house uninvited, explaining that although we’d broken up – certainly I must understand how much he loved my parents and that now he was just a friend of the family. Ick!
Then, there was the ex that I kept running into everywhere – grocery stores, at my new boyfriend’s boss’s Xmas party, driving by when I was jogging with my dogs, etc. Oh, did I mention that each weekend, he’d drop in where I was working as a waitress, wanting me to wait on him and his various dates? Then, when the date of the week went to use the restroom, he’d hunt me down at the waitress station and insist that I give him another chance. He was obnoxious and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had to get the big, burly bartender to ask him to leave.
Well, so much for the love spells of my early years as a witch. But, I was learning a valuable lesson: be very careful what you wish for. Also, be careful with binding spells – they can be tricky and the results might not be what you truly desire.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this Love Spell, which is quite ancient and a bit more practical than slicing your finger so that blood can drip into the cake batter.
This spell is from an interesting little book called Natural Magic, by Doreen Valiente, first published in 1975. My sister bought this book when we were in high school. I believe that the book may still be found online.
The spell is translated from the famous French Grimoires entitled Les Secrets Admirables du Grand et du Petit Albert (these two volumes are usually bound together). Some scholars attribute the work to Albertus Magnus, a famous 13th-century churchman and scholar. However, Doreen points out that is unlikely that he wrote them and she says they are reputed to be compiled from the grimoires of Witches from the channels of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. The illustrations are quite primitive looking, which may be a further clue as to the antiquity of these books.
This love spell utilizes the herb, Elecampane (Inula helenium), of which I am quite familiar. I have grown it in my garden for over as long as I can remember. It is a strange, other-worldly looking plant, growing well over 5 ft. in my garden, with dandelion-like yellow blossoms. It has an unusual vibration.
Elecampane is probably best known for its ability to cure lung complaints. I dig up the roots in the fall, clean them thoroughly, coarsely chop and place them in a quart mason jar. I cover the jar with 100 proof vodka and let it steep for 2-3 months. Once the plant matter is strained out, you have a marvelous tincture which will keep indefinitely. This is a remedy par excellence for lung congestion. It is useful for those suffering from chest colds, coughs, bronchitis, pneumonia and even bouts of asthma*.
*This is not intended to be medical advice, consult your healthcare practitioner for advice on this herb.
Ah, but the lovely Elecampane has a long history of folklore. In an old European recipe, it is blended along with Verbena and Mistletoe to make True Love Powder. Often times it is blended with other herbs into a tea, which is added to the bath for personal protection. As the folk names Elfwort and Elf Dock suggest, Elecampane is associated with the elves and fairy folk. It is believed that these “wee folk” inhabit the plant, which may be powdered and scatter about the home or wherever you wish to attract the aid of good fairies. The term “elfshot” was once used to describe shooting pains in the body, as if one was being shot by elves’ tiny arrows. Moreover, the herb has been traditionally used in divination/to increase psychic abilities and may be made into a tea or burned as an incense for that purpose.
The original spell from Doreen Valiente’s book calls for Elecampane and Ambergris, the latter being quite expensive and somewhat difficult to find. I’ve substituted Labdanum essential oil, along with Benzoin and Vanilla for the ingredient Ambergris. These are more affordable and make an effective magickal substitution. The original spell calls for sprinkling the powder in the food of the person you desire. I think sprinkling it over your heart chakra at the concluding of the spell does the trick. Here’s the spell:
The herb called elecampane has great virtues in affairs of love. It has to be gathered while fasting before sunrise on the eve of Summer Solstice (before dawn on midsummer morning). It must be dried and reduced to powder, with a little ambergris (several drops each: essential oil of Labdanum, Benzoin and Vanilla). Then, having carried it for nine days next to your heart (the powder can be carried in a small drawstring bag), sprinkle the powder over your heart and the effect will follow.
This Elecampane spell must have been one of my most powerful, for fate led me to meet my husband Marty and we have been married for 36 years!
Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Common and Folk Names: Elfwort, Elf Dock, scabwort, horseheal, horse elder, velvet dock, marchalan, wild sunflower, raiz del moro, helopia
Planet: Mercury, Sun, Uranus
Parts used: Roots (predominantly)
Growing conditions: Prefers poorly drained sites such as damp pastures, roadside ditches, and waste spaces.
Constituents: Calcium, magnesium, inulin, mucilage, azulene, camphor, helenin, lactones, sterols, sesquiterpenes.
Actions: analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiscorbutic, aperient, aphrodisiac, aromatic, astringent, bitter, bronchial dilator, cardiotonic, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emollient, emmenagogue, expectorant, febrifuge, hemostatic, hepatic, immune stimulant, pectoral, restorative, stimulant, stomachic
