Witch Hazel

What this is

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). The shrub whose forked branch was the diviner's dowsing-rod, the wych in its name an old word for pliant, the wood that bends to the hidden spring. Cooling and astringent, it is the herb that cools the passions and mends a heart gone sore.

What it governs

Witch Hazel answers to Saturn and the element of Earth, with a second hand from Mercury. Its seat in the zodiac is Capricorn, and its day is Saturday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waning moon. In the old practice its office is plain: Forked twigs for dowsing; distillate at any bruise.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning witch hazel is cool and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the leaf; twig. Its working colour follows Saturn, black and indigo; its metal is lead, its stones are jet, malachite, its number 3, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Binah. It carries well on the body, kept in a pocket or a small sachet and it is gentle, safe to use as the practice describes.

Where else it appears

One cooling and seeking in many hands: the indigenous peoples of the American east used witch hazel to cool inflammation and soothe a hurt; the settlers cut its forked branch to dowse for water and for what lies hidden; folk craft cools the passions and binds a broken heart with it. The wood that finds the hidden spring is reached for to find and soothe the hidden hurt.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Witch Hazel on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its office: Forked twigs for dowsing; distillate at any bruise. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Cassiel; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with Saturn's patience, depth and binding. As Today's Gathering it marks a plant to take up now, while waning moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Witch Hazel cools the passions and mends the sore heart, and dowses for what is hidden. Its bent is to take the heat out of feeling and let the buried thing be found. It asks you to let an inflamed heart cool before you act, and to trust the pull toward what lies beneath the surface.

Correspondences

planet

Saturn

element

Earth

zodiac

Capricorn

number

3

sephirah

Binah

day

Saturday

colour

black, indigo

metal

lead

stone

jet, malachite

tarot

The Hermit