I have gone slightly dandelion crazy over the past couple of weeks; I have been waiting for most of the winter months for dandelions to start popping up. A couple of weeks ago I noticed a few in the garden, but was disappointed it was only three or four. Today I went out there and there were more than I could carry! I currently have several bunches of dandelion heads drying from a wardrobe door handle now (got to make do with what you've got!). So what is so great about dandelions?
Dandelions are associated with solar deities and so good for harnessing the energies of the sun. Thanks to this, dandelions work well in spells or charms designed to encourage success, luck and happiness. This makes them so versatile - who doesn't want to bring an element of joy to their lives?! They can be used in floor washes to bring positive energies to a house, used in tea to help you feel more friendly and sociable, or used in a charm bag when heading off to an interview or test. The planetary influence it is most often associated with is Jupiter, the planet of wealth so can also be used in finance spells to encourage monetary prosperity.
As a dandelion grows it transforms from a yellow flower into a grey/white 'puffball', which is its way of distributing its seeds. In this stage it is often associated with the element of air and of wishes - one tale of 'folklore' I remember from my childhood is to make a wish and then blow the seeds off the head of a dandelion - if you can blow them all off at once then your wish will come true. The seeds of the dandelion can also be used to tell fortunes by blowing them onto water and then interpreting the patterns that they land in.
Dandelions are associated with solar deities and so good for harnessing the energies of the sun. Thanks to this, dandelions work well in spells or charms designed to encourage success, luck and happiness. This makes them so versatile - who doesn't want to bring an element of joy to their lives?! They can be used in floor washes to bring positive energies to a house, used in tea to help you feel more friendly and sociable, or used in a charm bag when heading off to an interview or test. The planetary influence it is most often associated with is Jupiter, the planet of wealth so can also be used in finance spells to encourage monetary prosperity.
As a dandelion grows it transforms from a yellow flower into a grey/white 'puffball', which is its way of distributing its seeds. In this stage it is often associated with the element of air and of wishes - one tale of 'folklore' I remember from my childhood is to make a wish and then blow the seeds off the head of a dandelion - if you can blow them all off at once then your wish will come true. The seeds of the dandelion can also be used to tell fortunes by blowing them onto water and then interpreting the patterns that they land in.
In this aspect, the dandelion could be useful for banishing; focus on that which you wish to banish and then 'blow it away' as you blow the seeds off the plant.
Divination and increasing psychic powers is another characteristic of the dandelion. Drinking dandelion root tea is supposed to help increase psychic powers, although I have to admit, I have never used it for this purpose. Similarly it is supposed to be able to help communicate with Spirits and induce prophetic dreams. Again, not something I have tried with the dandelion.
An easy to find, bog-standard garden weed this plant also has several healing properties, and being edible there are many ways to get them into your system; you can brew a tea, add the flower heads to a salad (make sure you pick the green bits off the bottom though as these can be bitter), make dandelion beer out of the leaves (or wine out of the heads), make them into a jelly or even deep fry and batter them. A natural diuretic, they can also be used to help cleanse the liver and kidneys, as well as encourage digestion. Packed with vitamins A and C they are also reported to be good for cleansing the skin and clearing up acne, eczema, etc. Again, I haven't tried using dandelion for this purpose as I usually use Lavender, Rose and Tea Tree as my go-to's for skin issues, but I might give it a whirl next time I make my skin cleansing salve.
When using the heads, the younger the better, and the roots are best dug up round about August time. If you plan on drying dandelion heads to save for later then pick them, and hang them upside down until they have dried before storing them.
Divination and increasing psychic powers is another characteristic of the dandelion. Drinking dandelion root tea is supposed to help increase psychic powers, although I have to admit, I have never used it for this purpose. Similarly it is supposed to be able to help communicate with Spirits and induce prophetic dreams. Again, not something I have tried with the dandelion.
An easy to find, bog-standard garden weed this plant also has several healing properties, and being edible there are many ways to get them into your system; you can brew a tea, add the flower heads to a salad (make sure you pick the green bits off the bottom though as these can be bitter), make dandelion beer out of the leaves (or wine out of the heads), make them into a jelly or even deep fry and batter them. A natural diuretic, they can also be used to help cleanse the liver and kidneys, as well as encourage digestion. Packed with vitamins A and C they are also reported to be good for cleansing the skin and clearing up acne, eczema, etc. Again, I haven't tried using dandelion for this purpose as I usually use Lavender, Rose and Tea Tree as my go-to's for skin issues, but I might give it a whirl next time I make my skin cleansing salve.
When using the heads, the younger the better, and the roots are best dug up round about August time. If you plan on drying dandelion heads to save for later then pick them, and hang them upside down until they have dried before storing them.
