Plant Symbolism – A Guide To The Spiritual Meaning Of Plants
A through G H through P Q through Z
Similar to animals, plants and trees have symbolic meanings. If a certain plant or tree comes into your life on any given day, then take the time to see the symbolic meaning behind this occurrence.
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It is not by coincidence that much of our plant life is green, which correlates to the Heart Chakra. If you are ever feeling down, then go outdoors and absorb all of the wonderful green “heart chakra” energy that surrounds you.
Also, if you want to attract certain things in your life, such as love, happiness or spirituality, you may consider planting some of these plants in or outside of your home.
Various folk cultures and traditions assign symbolic meanings to plants. Although these are no longer commonly understood by populations that are increasingly divorced from their old rural traditions, some survive. In addition, these meanings are alluded to in older pictures, songs and writings.
In no way should the following be assumed to a guide to plant usage and none should be taken without medical advice.
Acicia: Protection, Psychic Powers
Adam & Eve Roots: Love, Happiness
Adders Tongue: Healing
African Violet: Spirituality, Protection
Agaric: Fertility
Agrimony: Protection, Sleep
Ague Root: Protection
Alfalfa: Prosperity, Anti-hunger, Money
Alkanet: Purification, Prosperity
Allspice: Money, Luck, Healing
Almond: Money, Prosperity, Wisdom
Aloe: Protection, Luck. Due to its ability to survive where other plants do not it is regarded as a healing plant. It is good for spells that are to sustain the body or to dispel discomfort.
Aloes, Wood: Love, Spirituality
Althea: Protection, Psychic Powers
Alyssum: Protection, Moderating Anger
Amaranth: Healing, Protection, Invisibility
Anemone: Health, Protection, Healing
Angelica: Exorcism, Protection, Healing, Visions
Apple: Love, Healing, Garden Magic, Immortality
Apricot: Love
Arabic Gum: Purify negativity and evil
Arbutus: Exorcism, Protection
Asafoetida: Exorcism, Purification, Protection
Ash: Protection, Prosperity, Sea Rituals, Health
Native American Symbolism: The ash symbolizes peace of mind, sacrifice, sensitivity
and higher awareness. The Wabanaki Indian tribes, who craft their baskets from ash splints, have a tradition that humans were first created from black ash trees as well. The Chitimacha Indians believed ash was poisonous to rattlesnakes, and would use ash canes to drive away snakes. Some Great Plains tribes, such as the Ponca, used green ash wood instead of cottonwood for their sacred Sun Dance poles. Ash bark and roots were also used as medicine herbs in a number of tribes.
Aspen: Eloquence, Anti-Theft
Native American Symbolism: The Aspen symbolizes clarity of purpose, determination and overcoming fears and doubts
Aster: Love
Avens: Exorcism, Purification, Love
Avocado: Love, Lust, Beauty
Bachelor’s Buttons: Love
Balm, Lemon: Love, Success, Healing
Balm of Gilead: Love, Manifestations, Protection, Healing
Bamboo: Protection, Luck, Hex-Breaking, Wishes. An extremely versatile plant and has many uses, it represents growth and versatility.
Banana: Fertility, Potency, Prosperity
Banyan: Luck
Barley: Love, Healing, Protection
Basil: Love, Exorcism, Wealth, Flying, Protection
Bay: Protection, Psychic Powers, Healing, Purification, Strength
Bayberry: Symbolizes illusions and appearances, it is used for visions and divining.
Bean: Protection, Exorcism, Wart Charming, Reconciliations, Potency, Love
Native American Symbolism: Beans are one of the Three Sisters of the northeastern tribes, so called because corn, squash, and beans were traditionally planted together by Native American farmers. Beans are also used as a clan symbol in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Bean Clans include the Hopi tribe, whose Bean Clan is called Murzibusi. Some eastern tribes, like the Lenape, Shawnee, and Iroquois, also have a Bean Dance among their tribal dance traditions.
Bedstraw/Fragrant: Love
Beech: Wishes. Because of its smooth grain it was often used for writing surfaces and has come to represent ancient knowledge through objects and writings. It is often used as a replacement for oak.
Native American Symbolism: The Beech symbolizes tolerance, past knowledge and
softening criticism
Beet: Love
Belladonna: astral projection *DEADLY POISON!!
Benzoin: Purification, Prosperity
Bergamot, Orange: Money
Be-Still: Luck
Betony/wood: Protection, Purification, Love
Birch: Protection, Exorcism, Purification
Native American Symbolism: The Birch symbolizes truth, new beginnings and cleansing of the past. The birch tree was of great importance to Native American peoples due to its tough, flexible, highly waterproof sheets of bark. Birchbark has been used by Native Americans for everything from papering the exteriors of canoes and houses to making baskets, artwork, and maps. In some Ojibwe (Chippewa) communities, birchbark was said to be a sacred gift from the culture hero Wenabozho and was used to ceremonially wrap the bodies of the dead for burial. Ojibwe folklore has it that birch trees are immune to lightning strikes, and that therefore these are good trees to take shelter under during a thunderstorm.
Bistort: Psychic Powers, Fertility
Bittersweet: Protection, Healing
Blackberry: Healing, Money, Protection. This was considered by all to be the food of the faeries and it was extremely taboo to eat them within Celtic Britain.
Bladderwrack: Protection, Sea Spells, Wind Spells, Money, Psychic Powers
Bleeding Heart: Love
Bloodroot: Love, Protection, Purification. This herb is used to heal wounds and aid with regeneration. It symbolizes healing, strength and growth.
Native American Symbolism: Bloodroot, also known as bloodwort or Canada puccoon, is a white flower native to the eastern part of North America. “Puccoon” is one of many American plant names to have a Native American etymology: it comes from the Powhatan Indian word poughkone or pohcoons, which was recorded by early Virginia colonists as meaning “red paint” or “red dye.” Both this Indian name and the English name “bloodroot” come about because of the red sap oozed by the roots of these flowers, which was used by many tribes as a dye for clothing and baskets and for face paint. Bloodroot has also been used by Native American people as a poison (the bloodroot plant is highly toxic) and, in small doses, as a medicine herb. In some Algonquin communities bloodroot is associated with love, and men would wear bloodroot paint when they went courting.
Bluebell: Luck, Truth. These are very enchanted plants it is believed that their bells call the faeries to their midnight processions.
Blueberry: Protection
Blue Flag: Money
Bodhi: Fertility, Protection, Wisdom, Meditation
Boneset: Protection, Exorcism. It was used to help set broken bones as well as treat wounds. It symbolizes fixing, mending, regeneration and strengthening.
Borage: Courage, Psychic Powers
Bracken: Healing, Rune Magic, Prophetic Dreams
Brazil Nut: Love
Briony: Image Magic, Money, Protection
Bromeliad: Protection, Money
Broom: Purification, Protection, Wind Spells, Divination
Buchu: Psychic Powers, Prophetic Dreams
Buckthorn: Protection, Exorcism, Wishes, Legal Matters
Buckwheat: Money, Protection
Burdock: Protection, Healing
Butterfly Weed: Like the butterfly it is considered a good plant to use for healing transformation and rebirth.
Cabbage: Luck
Cactus: Protection, Chastity. With its ability to store water it symbolizes hidden treasure as well as endurance and the ability to adapt to situations and environments.
Calamus: Luck, Healing, Money, Protection
Camellia: Riches
Camphor: Chastity, Health, Divination
Caper: Potency, Lust, Luck
Carawy: Protection, Lust, Health, Anti-theft, Mental Powers
Cardamon: Lust, Love
Carnation: Protection, Strength, Healing
Carob: Protection, Health
Carrot: Fertility, Lust
Cascara Sagrada: Legal Matters, Money, Protection,
Cashew: Money
Castor: Protection
Catnip: Cat Magic, Love, Beauty, Happiness. Most animals either find this a powerful stimulant or a sedative, due to this seemingly contradictory effect it is used in spells for deception or paradox.
Cattail: Lust. A water growing plant that turns ponds into swamps then into dry earth this plant symbolizes strong earth energy, balance and stability.
Native American Symbolism: Cattails, also known as bulrushes, had a number of practical uses in traditional Native American life: cattail heads and seeds were eaten, cattail leaves and stalks were used for weaving mats and baskets, cattail roots and pollen were used as medicine herbs, and cattail down was used as moccasin lining, pillow stuffing, and diaper material. In the southwestern tribes, cattails also have more symbolic meaning. They are associated with water and rain by the Pueblo tribes, and used ceremonially in rain dances. The Mexican Kickapoos associate cattails with water serpents and make offerings to the snake people before gathering cattails. The Navajo believed cattail leaves were a protective charm against lightning. And many southwestern tribes used cattail pollen as a traditional face paint.
Cedar: Healing, Purification, Money, Protection. Excellent at repelling negative energy. It is used for protection and warding away negative spirits.
Native American Symbolism: The Cedar symbolizes cleansing, protection, prosperity & healing. Cedar is one of the most important Native American ceremonial plants, used by many tribes as an incense and purifying herb. Cedar is especially associated with prayer, healing, dreams, and protection against disease. Many Salish tribes consider the cedar tree a symbol of generosity and providence, and had special rituals regarding the felling of cedar trees. Cedar is commonly used as part of sweat lodge ceremonies, and is also one of the herbs frequently included in medicine bundles and amulets. Cedar leaves and bark are used as medicine plants in many tribes as well.
Celandine: Protection, Escape, Happiness, Legal Matters
Celery: Mental Powers, Lust, Psychic Powers
Centaury: Snake Removing
Chamomile: Money, Sleep, Love, Purification
Cherry: Love, Divination
Native American Symbolism: The Cherry tree symbolizes strong expression, rebirth, new awakenings and compassion
Chestnut: Love
Chickweed: Fertility, Love
Chicory: Removing Obstacles, Invisibility, Favors, Frigidity
Native American Symbolism: Chicory is a wild-flower that was not originally native to North America– it was brought over from Europe, probably in the 1700’s or late 1600’s. Because of this, chicory does not play a large role in Native American mythology. But like other newcomer plants, such as dandelions, chicory did become part of 18th and 19th century Native American traditions. The chicory plant was associated with the sky in some tribes (due to its sky-blue color), and chicory roots were used as a medicine herb among eastern tribes.
Chili pepper: Fidelity, Hex Breaking, Love
Native American Symbolism: The chili pepper is one of several plants with a name that comes from a Native American language– “chili” comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec Indian) name for the plant, xilli. The chili pepper’s alternate name, cayenne, also comes from a Native American name: the Tupi word kyynha.
Chili peppers were primarily used as a food seasoning in Native North American tribes, although they were used in some rituals by the Hopi and Pueblo tribes of the Southwest. In Mexican Indian tribes, chili peppers played a much more spiritually important role. Many Maya tribes ascribed healing and protective powers to chili peppers, and even today some Mexican mothers are in the habit of feeding their children spicy food when they fall ill.
China Berry: Luck
Chrysanthemum: Protection. A very decorative plant it denotes nobility and royalty. It is particularly good for speeding up the rate and flow of spells.
Cinchona: Luck, Protection
Cinnamon: Spirituality, Success, Healing, Power, Psychic Powers, Lust Protection, Love
Cinquefoil: Money, Protection, Prophetic Dreams, Sleep
Citron: Psychic Powers, Healing
Cloth of Gold: Understand animal languages
Clove: Protection, Exorcism, Love, Money
Clover: Protection, Money, Love, Fidelity, Exorcism, Success. With its three-fold leaves it was very special to the Celts symbolizing balance and the triad. A four leaf clover is very lucky, and it is said that wearing one within your hat will allow you to see fairies.
Club Moss: Protection, Power
Coconut: Purification, Protection, Chastity
Cohosh, Black: Love, Courage, Protection, Potency
Coltsfoot: Love, Visions
Columbine: Courage, Love
Comfrey: Safety during travel, Money
Copal: Love, Purification
Native American Symbolism: Copal is an important ceremonial herb of Mexico and Central America, long used as a sacred incense by the Maya, Nahuatl (Aztec), and Zoque peoples. It is not actually a plant but a plant product, being the resin of the torchwood family of trees (which are sometimes also referred to as “copal trees” in Mexico.) “Copal” is a Spanish variant of the Nahuatl word copalli, meaning “incense.” The Mayan names for copal resin are pom, poom, or poomte. Copal played a very important role in the ancient Mayan religion; copal was considered the food of the gods and was burned as offerings to them. Today, although few if any Maya or Nahuatl people continue to worship the old gods, copal is still used for ritual purification and other traditional ceremonies, and is often burned at mainstream Mexican celebrations such as the Day of the Dead.
Coriander: Love, Health, Healing
Corn: protection, luck, divination. One of humans most treasured plants, it has always been a great source of nutrition as well as providing medicine. It is closely related to the sun, harvest, health and the earth goddess.
Native American Symbolism: Corn, also known as maize, is the most important food crop of the Americas, cultivated by hundreds of different tribes. Even some tribes who were too nomadic or lived too far north to grow it themselves had corn as part of their diet, since they traded extensively with corn-farming neighbors. Corn is one of the Three Sisters of the northeastern tribes, so called because corn, squash, and beans were traditionally planted together by Native American farmers. Corn played an important mythological role in many tribes as well– in some cultures Corn was a respected deity, while in others, corn was a special gift to the people from the Creator or culture hero. In addition to its importance as a food source, corn also played a ceremonial role in many tribes, with sacred corn pollen or cornmeal being used as ritual adornment and spiritual offerings.
Although the word “corn” comes from a general Old English word for a cereal seed (related to “kernal,”) the word “maize” has Native American origins: it comes from the Spanish version of the indigenous Taino word for the plant, maiz. The names of several corn dishes also come from Native American languages: hominy, pone and succotash (from Eastern Algonquian languages), sagamite (from Cree,) and chicha (from the Nahuatl, or Aztec language.)
Corn is a common clan symbol in many Native American cultures. Tribes with Corn Clans include the Muskogee Creek tribe (whose Corn Clan was named Atchialgi or Vce’vlke in the Muskogee language), the Navajo, the Mohave, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico (many of whom have multiple Corn Clans such as the Blue Corn Clan and Yellow Corn Clan.) Many tribes, such as the Caddo and the Pueblo tribes, also have a Corn Dance among their tribal dance traditions.
Cotton: Luck, Healing, Protection, Rain, Fishing Magic
Cowslip: Healing, Youth, Treasure Finding
Crocus: Love, Visions
Cubeb: Love
Cuckoo-flower: Fertility, Lover
Cucumber: Chastity, Healing, Fertility
Cumin: Protection, Fidelity, Exorcism
Curry: Protection
Cyclamen: Fertility, Protection, Happiness, Lust
Cypress: Longevity, Healing, Comfort, Protection. This is regarded as a sad tree, as it was used to build funeral pyres it is associated with mourning.
Daffodil: Love, Fertility, Luck
Daisy: Lust, Luck
Damiana: Lust, Love, Visions
Dandelion: Divination, Wishes, Calling Spirits
Native American Symbolism: Dandelions were not originally native to North America– the now-ubiquitous yellow flowers were brought over from Europe in the 1600’s. Dandelions spread across the continent rapidly, reaching the West Coast long before the Europeans themselves ever did, and became well-known by many tribes as a food item and medicine herb.
Datura: Hex Breaking, Sleep, Protection
Deerstongue: Lust, Psychic Powers
Devils Bit: Exorcism, Love, Protection, Lust
Devils Shoestring: Protection, Gambling, Luck, Power, Employment
Dill: Protection, Money, Lust, Luck
Dittany of Crete: Manifestations, Astral Projection
Dock: Healing, Fertility, Money
Dodder: Love, Divination, Knot Magic
Dogbane: Love
Dogwood: Wishes, Protection. This tree symbolizes charm and finesse; it is used to enhance personality as well as aid in social stature.
Native American Symbolism: Dogwoods are symbols of protection and safety in southeastern Native American tribes. In Northwestern tribes such as the Quileute and Makah, the dogwood symbolized good luck and dogwood berries were eaten during religious ceremonies. Dogwood fruit was a popular food item for many Native Americans, especially the Interior Salish tribes, but to Blackfoot people, the dogwood tree was associated with masculinity and women used to refrain from eating its fruit. The bark and roots of dogwood trees were frequently used as medicine herbs and dyes, as well. Dogwood sap, however, is toxic and was used in some tribes as poison.
Dragons Blood: Love, Protection, Exorcism, Potency
Dulse: Lust, Harmony
Dutchmans Breeches: Love
Ebony: Protection, Power
Echinacea: Strengthening Spells
Edelweiss: Invisibility, Bullet-Proofing
Elder: Exorcism, Protection, Healing, Prosperity, Sleep
Elecampane: Love, Protection, Psychic Powers
Elm: Love. It is associated with shadows, darkness, and depression and was used to mark off tainted areas of the countryside.
Native American Symbolism: The Elm symbolizes wisdom, strength of will and intuition
Endive: Lust, Love
Eryngo: Travelers Luck, Peace, Lust, Love
Eucalyptus: Healing, Protection. It is seen as a protecting and nurturing tree. It can also symbolize ‘sloth’ due to its narcotic foliage.
Euphorbia: Purification, Protection
Eyebright: Mental Powers, Psychic Power. As the name suggests it has long been associated with being farsighted and clearness of vision. It is used for seeing faeries, the truth, and far sight.
Fennel: Protection, Healing, Purification
Fenugreek: Money
Fern: Rain Making, Protection, Luck, Riches, Eternal Youth, Health, Exorcism. The favored plant of the pixies and wherever these grow you are supposed to find them nearby. It also represents ancient knowledge and archaism.
Native American Symbolism: Ferns had many practical uses in traditional Native American life: they were eaten as greens, boiled into herbal teas, and woven into mats. Ferns are associated with water by many tribes and considered important medicine plants– different species of ferns were used by Native Americans to treat everything from digestive problems to arthritis to childbirth pains. Virginia moonwort, a type of fern known as “rattlesnake masterpiece,” was said to cure snakebite and ward off snakes. And maidenhair ferns were a symbol of traditional dancing in many Northwest Coast tribes, and used as part of traditional Northern California dance regalia.
Feverfew: Protection. So called because of its ability to banish fever it is good for healing.
Fig: Divination, Fertility, Love
Figwort: Health, Protection
Fireweed: One of the first plants to grow after a fire, and it is also extremely useful providing humans with many uses. For this reason it is seen as a good plant to have as an ally.
Flax: Money, Protection, Beauty, Psychic Powers, Healing
Fleabane: Exorcism, Protection, Chastity
Foxglove: Protection
Frankincense: Protection, Exorcism, Spirituality
Fumitory: Money, Exorcism
Fuzzy Weed: Love, Hunting
Galangal: Protection, Lust, Health, Money, Psychic Powers, Hex breaking
Gardenia: Love, Peace, Healing, Spirituality
Garlic: Protection, Healing, Exorcism, Lust, Anti-Theft
Gentian: Love, Power
Geranium: Fertility, Health, Love, Protection
Ginger: Love, Money, Success, Power
Ginseng: Love, Wishes, Healing, Beauty, Protection, Lust. This plant concerns clarity of the mind and is used to enhance focus.
Goats Rue: Healing, Health
Goldenrod: Money, Divination
Golden Seal: Healing, Money. It is mainly used as a cleaning agent and in spells it is used to purify and cleanse.
Gorse: Protection, Money
Gotu Kola: Meditation
Gourd: Protection
Grain: Protection
Grains of Paradise: Lust, Luck, Love, Money, Wishes
Grape: Fertility, Garden Magic, Mental Powers, Money
Grass: Psychic Powers, Protection. This is a hardy plant that is the first to grow in most places it symbolizes food, concealment and hardiness.
Ground Ivy: Divination
Groundsel: Health, Healing
A through G H through P Q through Z
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