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MOON LORE 
by Elizabeth Pepper, The Witches' Almanac, Ltd. 

Plants of the Moon 

Herbal lore and legends assign certain members of the vegetable 
kingdom to the dominion of the Moon. Silvery foliage, pale 
cream, yellow, or bright white flowers; a cooling nature and 
perhaps other mysterious properties as yet undefined form the 
reasons why the following list of green growing things are said 
to possess lunar energy: 

Adder's Tongue - An alien fern found in damp meadows and shaded 
woodlands. Its leaves have healing virtues and are most 
effective when gathered during the waning Moon. A single leaf 
imparts insight to its bearer. 

Camphor - An evergreen tree, native to China and Japan, with 
aromatic wood and leaves producing a pungent substance widely 
used in medicine. 

Clary - This garden herb's name is a contraction of "clear-eye," 
referring to the use of its seeds to heal eye irritations. Clary 
wine is made from its blue-white blossoms and has narcotic and 
aphrodisiac qualities. 

Cucumber - Slice a cucumber and the reason why it belongs to the 
Moon is quickly apparent. Probably of Asian or African origin 
where it has been cultivated for over 2000 years. 

Gardenia - A native of China, grown in America since colonial 
days, its exquisite white flowers and lovely scent define it as 
a lunar emblem. 

Honesty - Its seed pods called "silver pennies" are dried in the 
autumn for winter bouquets. An easily grown, attractive gardn 
plant with fragrant flowers of white and purple, honesty belongs 
to the Moon. 

Iris - Although named for the goddess of the rainbow, this 
particular species yields the substance called orris root used 
in magical rites. Native to Europe, its lilac to white flowers 
have strong lunar associations. 

Jasmine - A night-blooming plant of tiny white flowers in the 
shape of stars with unforgettable fragrance. 

Lemon - The fruit of the lemon tree provides the ultimate in 
cooling beverages. Lemons are used in witchcraft to counter 
ill-wishing and as guard-charms. 

Lily - The Madonna Lily has been cultivated for over a thousand 
ears. Its pure white trumpet -shaped flowers bloom in late June 
to greet the sign of Cancer and the rulership of the Moon. 

Loosestrife - A wild meadow glowing with the bright purple 
spires of loosestrife is a common sight in the northeast. Its 
alien seeds were carried to America in imported wool and shaken 
out to take root in the fields surrounding mill towns. Its link 
to the Moon may be as a mystic source of joy and inspiration, or 
even as a means to tame beasts as its name implies. 

Moonwort - An uncommon variety of fern found in dry meadows and 
northern hillsides. Its crescent-shaped segments in pairs along 
the frond are like tiny moons and give the plant its name. The 
alien wildling was brought to America by the colonists for 
healing fresh wounds and because of its magical reputation. 
According to folklore, moonwort opens locks and unshoes horses 
that trod upon it. Gather at full Moon. 

Mugwort - The 18th-century Swedish botanist Linnaeus chose 
Artemisia as the genus name for silvery and gray-green leafy 
herbs. Mugwort was sacred to the Moon goddess in ancient Greece 
where it provided protection from evil and preserved energy on a 
journey. 

Night-Blooming Cereus - A spectacular cactus of the tropics with 
large white flowers coming to bloom in June after dark. 

Orpine - A succulent with clusters of purple flowers blooming in 
late June. A maiden with romance on her mind is advised to 
"collect a single blossom of orpine in silence on Midsummer Eve 
and sleep with it beneath your pillow in order to dream of the 
man who will one day be your lover." 

Poppy - The opium poppy is native to Greece and the Orient. 
Although its narcotic properties can ease pain, fear of 
addiction precludes its use. Every source, ancient to modern, 
lists the poppy as a Moon plant. 

Saxifrage - A common rock-garden plant in England that grows 
wild in Spain and the mountains of western Ireland. Mounds of 
tiny white flow! ers display a kinship with the Moon. 

Southernwood - An herb praised by Greeks and Romans for its 
magical qualities as a love charm. A strong and strangely 
pleasing scent comes from its leaves. 

Trefoil - The perennial red clover, one of the sacred Celtic 
herbs, was held in high esteem by Druidic priests who saw it as 
a symbol of earth, sea, and sky. 

Willow - The white and black (pussy willow) willow trees have 
long been associated with water and the Moon. 

Wormwood - Classical myths recount how the goddess of the Moon 
presented this aromatic herb to Chiron, the Centaur who taught 
the healing arts to Greek heroes.