Finding your way on the Poison path

10-20 years ago Marijuana had a bad wrap. Fear was drilled into us, this is a drug if you do it this will happen, that will happen. Well a little research, and time has proven that this wonderful plant is not a drug, but instead something that can help aid healing, relaxation, stress, anxiety and cancer. Well this blog post is not about that. I will wait to blog about this till a few more states have made it legal. What this post is about is the poison path. I will warn you I am a bit riled up at the moment.

With the rise of Wicca and the "harm none" it has really opened the door for Wicca, Paganism and Witchcraft to become more mainstream and accepted. Doors to the esoteric arts have been opened. This is all good! Right? Well not really. Unfortunate the door has been slammed shut on many practices. Many things are being written out of our history, and even rewritten. Flying is just meditation, you can journey with out aid etc etc. Well folks we have a bit of a darker more sinister history.

The cunning man and wise woman were once honored for their wisdom. We were all told Wicca meant wise one. Well I am finding that there is little wisdom and common sense left.  People defining their practice by bashing others, others asserting their superiority on others with fear. Wisdom not fear should be the goal of the Witch.

So this blog is about the Poison path, If you have found yourself drawn to the "witch herbs" and the poison plants, I want you to know that you are not the only one. There are many of us out there that are as well. With the technological age the wonderful Sarah Lawless has brought us into a new awareness on how to use these poison plants, their folklore and history. She is a pioneer in her field and many of us have followed suit. Anthropologists and Ethnobotanists (such as myself) have taken to the labs and books studying these plants and their interactions with humans. Richard Evans Schultes wrote many great books outlining the uses and abuses of these plants. The fact is once again we (Witches) are using these plants, honoring them and learning about them. 

So where do you go from here? Well first educate yourself. I have provided a list of books to help get you started. Second learn to grow these plants, working with them from seed to fruit will bring you a great understanding. Form a symbiotic relationship with them. Educate yourself more, and more and yes, more. If you choose to use them for ritual use start as offerings, if you want to take it even further than that, then educate yourself more. If you are not sure, you are not ready. Be sure before you do anything to your body. Even then you can hurt yourself. These are not toys, this is called poison for a reason. It took me years from the first belladonna plant I had, before I put a ointment containing it on my skin. This isn't an instant download or even in the realm of a blue candle is for healing. Not even close........ More later



Book List
Plants of the Gods- Richard Schultes
Pharmako/ Gnosis- Dale Pendell

Witchcraft Medicine- Müller-Ebeling, Claudia, Rätsch, Christian and Storl, Wolf-Dieter

The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications Christian Ratsch

Website List
www.sarahannelawless.com
www.alchemy-works.com
www.erowid.com
www.botanical.com