Mistletoe

**Planetary Associations**: Sun and Jupiter

**Gender**: Masculine

**Element**: Air

**Deities**: Brigit, Flidais, Macha, Aengus, Mac Óg, Dagda, Manannan Mac Lír

**Folklore**: Mistletoe has always been considered a magical, good luck plant. Lovers who kiss beneath it will have lasting happiness and carrying. A sprig on your person will ensure good luck, protection and fertility. Hanging it in the home was supposed to protect it from disease, lightening, werewolves and having your children switched with faerie changelings.

In England and Wales, farmers gave a bunch of mistletoe to the first cow that calved to ensure the health and production of the whole heard for the year. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was a symbol of peace under which warring parties swore truce.

According to lore, Druids held mistletoe in high esteem and collected it only when they received a vision ordering them to do so, and then with great ceremony. Since the seeds are spread through bird droppings, our observant forebearers named Mistletoe “dung-on-twig”, (the word literally translated is a conjugation of “birdlime” or “bird dung” and twig) mistakenly believing that the plant actually sprang from the dung itself. Other beliefs held the Mistletoe grew where a tree was struck by lightening.

**Magickal Uses**: Mistletoe is one of the best luck and money drawing herbs there is, add it to sachets or charms to increase fortune and finances.

Mistletoe is also carried or placed where protection is needed, it is hung over a cradle to prevent the theft of a child by fairies. Amulets and jewelry can be made of its wood as talismans of protection and to speed healing. It will aid in hunting and in conception. Hang it in the bedroom to bring beautiful dreams and to unlock, through the dreams, the secrets of immortality. Add a few berries to the ritual cup at a handfasting, and hang it in the home to bring the blessings of the Goddess of love.

Mistletoe is used at Yule to celebrate the birth of Baldur, the god of light. It is not uncommon in Britain to save the Yule Mistletoe until Candlemas, when it is burned in the fire, completing the transition from Winter solstice. Some give Mistletoe berries to their guests, gathered and dried from the previous year, which are tossed into the flaming cauldron during Yule rites. Some use Mistletoe to fashion wands, and some use it to make the handle of the ritual knife. Hanging a bunch of Mistletoe tied with a red cord brings Winter blessings into the home or altar.

Mistletoe is protective against lightning, disease, misfortune and fires. It also aids in matters of the heart. The fresh juice has been said to increase fertility in barren women. Harvest Mistletoe on the sixth night after the New Moon.

Mistletoe is an excellent all purpose magickal herb. Its wood is a good choice for wands and ritual implements. Place it around a “Hand of Glory,” a candle shaped like a hand that is burned to ward off thieves. According to Virgil, Aeneas could go down to Tartarus only when he carried a sprig of mistletoe in his hand as protection.

Mistletoe is reputed to protect the bearer from werewolves. Burned it banishes evil. Wear in an amulet to repel negativity & ill will and protect against unwanted advances. Carry for luck in hunting. Use to draw in customers, money and business. Use in ritual baths or prayer bowls for healing.

**In Voodoo**: Mistletoe has two major uses: On the one hand it may be combined with jinx-breaking herbs such as Rue and Oak Wood, and burned to Keep Away Evil, and on the other hand is is used in the preparation of love-charms and sachet powders. In neither case does it play the major role, but it is a good addition to mojo bags for love. When Mistletoe is blended with Verbena and Elecampane and the mixture is finely powdered, the result is sometimes called True Love Powder. Its efficacy in love work is also attested to by the custom of kissing under fresh-cut Mistletoe to seal one’s love at the Winter holidays.

### Mistletoe Love Spell:

Mistletoe was the most sacred of herbs to the Druids and is one of the oldest holiday decorations—even older than the Yule tree. It’s excellent as a love-attracting herb, and this is the perfect time of year to perform this spell. In a dish, combine mistletoe leaves with its berries, some pine needles, and pink glitter. Cast your magic circle and carry the dish to each of the directions. Return the dish to your altar and say:
Mistletoe, herb of love, bring me the perfect romance.

To enhance the spell, include mistletoe with other holiday greenery as you decorate your home for the season. These could include pine, holly, rosemary, and boxwood. And for some old-fashioned love magic, hang a branch of mistletoe over a doorway, and exchange a holiday kiss with those who enter.

One spoonful of salt grains

One sprig of dried mistletoe

One smooth rounded stone of unusual colour

One magic wand

DIRECTIONS:

I. Grind a spoon of salt in a mortar (with a pestle)

II. Grind the mistletoe in the mortar

III. Rub the stone in the mixture

IV. Kiss the stone

V. (Recite this verse:)

With this kiss, I thee impart,

Power most dear to my heart.

Take me now from this place hither,

To another place far thither.