MIPC: Yarrow Love Potion

 

Yarrow ©2021

 The Spell 

"Back when I was first teaching at the University I had a student who came from a particularly secluded area of the Ozarks. Her name was Rune, and she had been raised in an atmosphere of witchcraft, for her other and aunts all claimed to be practicing witches. Whether this girl was  one or not, she had been taught a number of charms, which she used quite freely. She used to talk with me about it, knowing my interest in the subject. 

I remember one time in particular - He smiled at the memory. Rune was in love with a young man who was a member of the basketball team. He was an extremely good-looking boy, and very popular. He dated one of the cheerleaders, and they planned to be married as soon as they graduated. Well Rune decided to do something to upset that plan.

She attended an after-game party in the cheerleader's dorm room,, and while there she went into the bathroom and got a couple of hairs out of her rival's brush. She took those back to her room and made a little statue out of beeswax and stuck the hairs in it. Then she lit a match and began melting the wax figure. She let a couple drops of wax fall, and then she blew out the match and went back to the party. 

Well it just so happened that while Rune was in her room performing this little ceremony, the cheerleader had become suddenly ill with stomach pains. The party broke up, and the basketball playing boyfriend was leaving just as Rune reached the door. They stood in the hall and chatted a few minutes, and then Rune suggested in a friendly way that they go back to her own rom, where she could make some coffee. So they did, and she brewed the coffee and put something in it - I think she referred to the ingredient as millfoil, but I believe it was actually a part of a plant called Achillea millefolium. For that night on, as far as I know, Rune and the basketball player were a steady couple, and he never looked at that poor little cheerleader again."

Summer of Fear (1977),  Lois Duncan  

The Analysis 

Achille Millefolium, aka Yarrow, has a long history in medicine as well as magic. Herbalist have used yarrow to promote bleeding as well as to stop the flow of blood from wounds, heal bruises, to bring up phlegm, and treat skin disorder to name a few. It should be noted that contact with Yarrow can cause allergic skin rashes. 

In magic, however, Yarrow has several uses most of which center around drawing love, and fostering psychic abilities. According to writer and herbalist Scott Cunningham, yarrow attracts "love, friendship, and distant relations" - perhaps this is also why it was used as a main ingredient on Charmed (1998) in the spell to call a lost witch?  He also goes on to state that a tea made of yarrow flowers will improve a person's psychic abilities. In addition, the stalks of yarrow have been used to cast the I-Ching and the flowers have been placed under pillows to help you dream of your future spouse. 

In his book, Ozark Magic and Folklore, Vance Randolph states that Yarrow is used by women in the Ozarks to make love potions by slipping it into the food or drink of the object of their affection. 

I personally would not recommend anyone slip Yarrow into another person's food or drink for this purpose unless a) that they are absolutely sure the herb is Yarrow b) the herbs was thoroughly cleaned of any possible pesticides, c) the yarrow was properly dried, and d) they were absolutely sure that they wanted this person to be devoted to them. 

All ethics aside, love is a fickle thing. Many a witch has cast a spell to gain the love and affection of someone only to find that once they got their wo/man they no longer wanted him or her. Not to mention how easily love can turn deadly. In addition, once you have your wo/man you may find it hard to rid yourself of him or her as the Grimoires and receipt books provide no antidote to the potion. 

However, if you find yourself burdened with an ensorcelled lover and wish to be rid of him or her, Cunningham tells us that pistachio nuts are used in Arabic countries to counter-act love potions. In the New Orleans Voodoo Tradition, one of my teachers shared a powerful spell which calls for the remains of a black-widow spider. Still, I would not draw from this well too many times as you may find that it has run dry and you are forever bound to a lover you now despise. 

Carolina Dean