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Belladonna has a long file in folk magic: Highly toxic.
Belladonna in the craft
Highly toxic. All parts of the plant are extremely poisonous. Encourages astral projection and produces visions, but belladonna is best avoided. A primary ingredient in flying ointments. Used in funeral rituals to aspurge the circle, helping the deceased to let go and move forward. Used to invoke Circe. Gather berries when they are ripe (around Samhain.) Store with onyx. Medicinally, it has been used as a sedative.
Correspondences
- Also called: banewort, witches berry, sorcerer's berry, deadly nightshade, death's herb, devil's cherries
- Gender: Feminine
- Planet: Saturn
- Element: Water
- Deities: Hecate, Bellona, Circe
Note: -POISON -As every part of the plant is extremely poisonous, neither leaves, berries, nor root should be handled if there are any cuts or abrasions on the hands. The root is the most poisonous, the leaves and flowers less so, and the berries, except to children, least of all. It is said that an adult may eat two or three berries without injury, but dangerous symptoms appear if more are taken, and it is wiser not to attempt the experiment. Though so powerful in its action on the human body, the plant seems to affect some of the lower animals but little. Rabbits, sheep, goats and swine eat the leaves with impunity, and birds often eat the seeds without any apparent effect, but cats and dogs are very susceptible to the poison.
The wider web of symbols
| System | Correspondence |
|---|---|
| Mythology | Hekate — deity of this plant |
| Colors | Black — color of the same planetary force |