Herb Talk ~ Bay

Herb Talk ~ Bay

     And now,  from my exploding herb cabinet, I bring you Bay Leaves.  Bay is one of the first herbs I worked with when my foray into herbalism and kitchen witchery began.  It has multiple uses dating back to the ancient Olympic games and beyond and you can find it in any grocery store.  Because of its long history it has quite a few folk names.  Bay Laurel, Baie, Daphne, Grecian Laural, Laurier d'Apollon, Noble Laurel, Roman Laurel and Sweet Bay are a few of its folk names. Its ruling element is fire and its planet is the Sun.  Bay is a masculine herb and it's associated with Apollo, Ceres, Eros and Faunus. 

                                                                     Dry Bay Leaves

     Bay is a powerful, multipurpose herb.  It's used for healing, protection, purification, strength, wishes and psychic powers.  An herb that represents success, triumph and victory, bay was used to crown the victors in ancient Olympic games.  Need to bring some success to your life?  Add bay leaves to a hot bath or grind some leaves up and burn them.  Sprinkle bay around your place of business to attract customers and leave a few bay leaves under or in the cash register for prosperity.  For a money spell, dress(rub oil onto the candle) a green candle with bay oil.

     Bay is also a great herb for protection.  It will not only remove negative energies but it also draws in positive energies.  Carry bay leaves to ward off negative energies and spirits.  When hung in the home, bay will prevent cranky spirits from stirring up trouble and help remove anything negative already in the home.  Plus, bay leaves smell great, look great and maintain their shape so hanging some in your home is a nice touch (especially during Yule).  Bay is also used in wisdom and psychic potions (keep in mind it has a strong taste). To induce prophetic dreams sleep with bay leaves under your bed or pillow.  Bay was used by ancient priestesses of Apollo. They chewed the leaves to bring on a meditative and prophetic state.  They also used bay as a Yule decoration and many people still practice this today.

Simple Bay Leaf Spell

Use a bay leaf to make a wish.  First take a bay leaf and hold it in your hands.  Think about your wish and envision it coming true.  Then take the leaf and write your wish on it.  Once you've written the wish on the bay leaf place the leaf under your pillow or bed.  Leave it alone, forget it's there (except when you change your sheets! don't wash the leaf, remove it and then put it back) and allow your wish to manifest. You can also place the leaf on your altar or any place safe and out of the way. Once your wish has manifested bury the leaf.  I recommend using a felt tip pen, a fine point sharpie or something similar when writing your wish on a bay leaf. Using a regular pen will crack and break a dry bay leaf. 

Bay leaves can also be used to attract love in a few different ways:

• Write a simple love wish 
• Draw a heart 
• Place a few drops of a love drawing oil or your favorite perfume on a bay leaf

Some may suggest writing the name of the person you desire on the leaf but that's a little too close to tinkering with someones' free will in my opinion. Carry the leaf with you until love finds you. Then bury the leaf or put it away somewhere safe. 

Since bay is a dual purpose herb (it repels the negative and attracts the positive) you can also use it to remove something from your life.  Take a bay leaf and hold it in your hands.  Think about what it is you want to push away from you. Then write it on the bay leaf.  Once you've written down what you want to get rid of burn the bay leaf and throw the ashes to the wind. Or, if you are near a source of water (a creek, lake etc), take the leaf to the water.  Place it in the water and watch it float away while envisioning it taking away what you want to get rid of.

Will bay leaves kill me??

Absolutely not.  It is used around the world to season foods.  Everything from soups, meats, fish and spice mixtures are seasoned using bay leaves. If your eating a dish that contains bay leaves and you find yourself with a bay leaf in your mouth don't eat it right away!  First, make a wish.  Bite the leaf while simultaneously making your wish. Then put the wish out of your mind, allowing it to manifest. If you're having guests for dinner, charge the leaf before adding it to your dish, telling it to find the person that needs the wish the most. Tell your dinner guests that the person who finds a Bay leaf in their dinner gets to make a wish. Make sure they know the wish is between them and the leaf!

     Bay leaves.  This powerful, multipurpose herb can be used to repel the negative and draw in the positive.  Use a bay leaf to make a wish or add some taste to home made soup. Challenge ahead or goal in mind?? Bay is about success. Carry it with you to make sure you achieve your goal. Wear it when competing in physical competition (put a bay leaf in your shoe when running a marathon etc.) to ensure strength, stamina and victory.  Add bay leaves to a bath to give yourself a boost of successful energies. Bay leaves are sold in most grocery stores so keeping them on hand is very easy. However you choose to use it, I highly recommend adding bay leaves to your own exploding herb cabinet. 

Bright Blessings,
~Amethyst~



***I am not a doctor and I don't play one on TV. Do your research before you consume any herbs via potions etc.


Source:
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by: Scott Cunningham
The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients by: Lexa Rosean
Witchipedia.com