A witch's hedge is her boundary, her privacy, a source of herbs for spells & a home for her friends in nature. I adore my front hedge, but the back needs some work. I just decided to create an elder hedge, but have had trouble finding the plant stock. As with most things in my life, once I decide on the intent, it is time for me to let go & allow the Universe to work. Here is the story of our new hedge:
When we bought this home, I felt like it was too open to the neighbors. My darling husband listened to my complaints, & for our 1st Christmas he gave me a shirt box with our property done in origami out of $20 bills. We were seriously broke then! He had saved for 6 months to have enough for my hedge, but didn't know what plants I wanted.
I was BLOWN AWAY!! What a wonderful man!!! We created a front hedge out of viburnum that is now about 20 feet tall & incredibly thick. The birds & bees love our hedge.
The back "hedge" kind of grew on it's own. Our yard is flanked by about 30 camphor trees. Now, camphor has some nice uses, but it's an invasive here in Florida, so we've been thinking about how we can replace these trees & still maintain our privacy. Since most of my magick is done out in the backyard (aka Faeryland) & some of it is done skyclad...privacy is sort of important! Elder was suggested to me by a fellow herbalist & magical practitioner. We've been looking for some, but couldn't find it locally. I could go & dig some in the wild, but also couldn't find any in an allowable spot for digging up plants. So, I had resigned myself to waiting until my local nursery could order some in & then spend the $10/plant she was going to charge.
Yesterday, we went to visit our organic farmer for some salad & I mentioned I wanted to find some elder trees. She gave me 10 elder tree starts & said I can have as many as I want for free!!! (oh, did I tell you she's a Brazilian wise woman?)
Our new babies have been planted & soon the camphor trees will come down. I'm sure there will be a season or two when I have to be a bit more conservative in my outdoor practices, but how exciting!!
I chose elder for a variety of reasons. Elder's powers are used in exorcism, protection, healing, prosperity & sleep. It is sacred to many Goddesses because of its white flowers.
Elder wards off attack of every kind, can break hexes, can protect against evil & negativity. Elder is used in blessings as well. It is known to bring prosperity to the household when grown near the home & protects against robbers. Elder is even reported to protect from the temptation towards adultery. Elder branches can be used to make flutes for calling spirits. And, its a great one for making magick wands. (referenced:
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs)
Whew! With all elder's magical uses, I'm not sure I'll ever need its medicinal properties.
Wild & Bright Blessings!
~*Rhi*~
)O(
