Healing

Spells / Healing

Healing magic in the folk tradition is among the most carefully documented forms of intentional practice, for a practical reason: it was often indistinguishable from medicine. The cunning folk of Britain who practiced healing were doing herbal medicine alongside what we would now call magic, and for their clients and often themselves, the distinction didn't apply in the way it does in a post-Enlightenment framework. The charm spoken over a wound and the herb applied to it were both treatments, and both were recorded in the same notebooks.

What healing magic does, in a practical sense, is activate and direct intention toward a specific physical or emotional outcome. It does not replace medical care. The contemporary understanding of healing magic works best as a complement to medical treatment, not a substitute for it.

Correspondences

Colors: Blue (the healing color in most Western systems; water, the moon, gentle cooling energy), white (purity and clarity; the white of clean cloth and surgical light), pale green (new growth and cellular repair). See Color Correspondences.

Herbs: Lavender (calming, anti-inflammatory; the most universally applicable healing herb in the Western folk tradition), chamomile (the gentle healer; soothing for both body and spirit), calendula (wound healing; bright, solar energy in a water-association tradition), rose (heart healing, emotional wounds, grief). See Herb & Plant Correspondences.

Crystals: Clear quartz (amplifies any healing work; the universal stone), blue lace agate (cooling, calming, gentle; good for inflammation and fever work), bloodstone (traditional healing stone; associated with physical strength and vitality), moonstone (emotional healing, the feminine body, hormonal balance). See Crystal & Stone Correspondences.

Timing: Monday (Moon's day, the healing planet); the waxing moon (for restoring and building health); the planetary hour of the Moon. See Planetary Hours & Days.

Element: Water (the healing element; cleansing, flowing, receptive) and Earth (grounding recovery, rebuilding strength).

Fiber: Blue or white wool; cotton for its cleansing associations; silk for deep healing and recovery.

A Simple Working: Healing Poppet

For ongoing or recovery-based healing (someone recovering from illness, injury, grief, or surgery), a healing poppet is appropriate.

Materials: Blue or white fabric or felt; stuffing of dried lavender and chamomile; clear quartz or blue lace agate chips; blue or white thread for stitching.

Timing: Monday, the Moon's hour, waxing moon.

The Working: Cut two body shapes from the fabric. Before stitching, speak the person's name (including your own, if this is for yourself) and state the healing intention specifically: what body or emotional aspect is being addressed, what recovery looks like. Stuff the poppet with the herbs and crystals, naming each as you add it ("lavender for calm, clear quartz for clarity and amplification, chamomile for gentleness"). Stitch the poppet closed. Hold it and breathe slowly, directing healing intention into it. Place it under the pillow of the person being healed, or on their altar, or in a place that corresponds to the aspect of health being addressed.

Healing at the Wheel

Different sabbats support different aspects of healing:

Imbolc: Purification and the first stirring of new health. Appropriate for workings at the very beginning of recovery.

Ostara: New growth and cellular renewal. The spring equinox supports healing workings concerned with recovery and rebuilding.

Litha: Solar healing workings, clarity, and vitality.

Samhain: Emotional healing, shadow work, the grief of loss. See also Ancestor Work.

Continue reading: Divination · Crystal & Stone Correspondences · Herb & Plant Correspondences