Do you ever wish you could invite a little more magic into your life? As fall approaches and the spooky season of Halloween is upon us, I’m sure many of us long to connect with something… mystical. But magic doesn’t have to be complicated or even supernatural, plant friends. The energy of nature that surrounds us every day provides plenty of opportunity for wonder, spiritual connection, and manifestation!

To guide us, I’ve invited my dear friend Rachael Cohen, who is a wonderful example of a modern green witch. While terms like “witch” can carry a stigma, Rachael shows how nature offers a portal to our intuition, healing, and inner wisdom.

 

In this episode, we learn:

• [07:25] Rachael’s journey to becoming the “Green Witch”
• [12:54] How did making art with succulents help Rachael find peace?
• [15:18] Get a free engraving with code ‘growingjoy' at Wind River Chimes
• [17:08] Explore diverse, flavorful garlic varieties for your garden at Territorial Seed Company 
• [19:29] Complex history behind the term “witch”
• [21:54] How does Rachael define a witch?
• [27:24] What is magic?
• [29:21] What does it look like to be a “Green Witch”?
• [30:30] Where can you find top-tier houseplants grown in the state-of-the-art European greenhouse?
• [33:09] Connection between seasons, menstrual cycles, elements, and spirituality
• [36:48] How do green witches use the cycles of the moon?
• [39:06] New moon vs full moon and the different energies they release
• [42:00] Try to read The Farmer’s Almanac to learn more about the moon
• [47:37] How does Rachael work with plants as a green witch? (active plant magic vs passive plant magic)
• [48:31] Different energies and creation of herbal teas
• [52:41] How to identify the uses of herbs
• [55:57] What makes people choose tinctures over teas?
• [57:41] Spells can include rhymes, but intention matters more than words
• [01:01:27] How do you create a spell bag for financial abundance?
• [01:04:18] Should planting intention spells align with the new or full moon?
• [01:05:50] Strategic plant placement impacts energy flow based on Feng Shui and yin/yang qualities (aka passive plant magic)
• [01:11:58] Working with seasons and elements
• [01:16:26] Where can you find Rachael on social media?

 

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What is a Green Witch?

Green witches develop intimate, creative relationships with nature. Their “magic” comes from working with plant medicine, moon cycles, crystals, seasons, and more.

Rachael shares her personal journey to green witchcraft through plants. She went from initially killing every houseplant she owned to finally connecting with their energy during pregnancy.

Making art with succulents became medicine during a difficult period of anxiety for her. This creativity laid the seeds for her brand, Infinite Succulent, and book, Everyday Plant Magic.

Rachael defines a witch not as a religious label but as someone intentionally moving energy. The “green” in green witch refers to nature.

 

Understanding Magic and Working with Plants

Rachael explains that magic is:

1. Recognizing everything is energy
2. Intentionally moving energy to manifest desires

She explains that plants take the raw energy of sunlight and earth and alchemize it into food, medicine, and more. Plants show us real natural magic!

There are two types of plant magic according to Rachael:

Active – involves physically crafting items aligned to your goals using herbs, including:

• Teas or tinctures to help you in various ways – for example, Rachael mentions borage for calming self-criticism and rosemary for improving memory.
• Spell bags with carefully selected plants
• Tinctures – Steep herbs like rosemary in alcohol extracts to take their medicinal powers over longer periods of time.
• Candles dressed with herbs to set intentions. 
  • You can make “attraction” candles with mint and lemon balm during new moons or “banishment” candles with rose petals during full moons.

Rachael shares that lemon balm brings energies of luck and mint grows abundantly, so they make perfect ingredients for a financial abundance spell.

Note: Try to look into books on herbology and medicinal plants to understand their traditional uses.

Passive – This involves strategically placing plants based on their energy in your home. For instance:

• Putting a “bodyguard” snake plant at your front door for protection
• Choosing trailing plants like pothos in your bedroom to encourage restful sleep
• Considering yin/yang plant energies: Upright, pointed leaves (like snake plants) have more vibrant masculine energy while trailing, rounded leaves (like pothos) give more feminine, restorative energy.

You can also use feng shui principles to orient plants. The ancient Chinese art of placement believes different home areas correlate to aspects like health, family, career, etc. Place plants intentionally in these spots to manifest desired results.

Choose plant placements based on your intentions for the space.

Note: To set an intention, you can write it down on paper, speak it aloud, or draw a symbol to focus your purpose.

 

The Moon and Her Cycles

The moon's orbit creates cycles of intention-setting, growth, harvest, release, rest, and rebirth.

New moons are the best for planting seeds and setting intentions. Full moons are when it's ideal to harvest and let go.

Rachael explains how working with the moon's phases creates more flow, emotional awareness, and connection to our lineage. Even our ancestors have looked to the moon's rhythms!

 

Elements and Seasons

Earth's seasonal cycles invite us to move through periods of high activity as well as necessary dormancy.

Each season corresponds to an element:

• Spring – Earth: Renewal
• Summer – Fire: Energy
• Fall – Air: Slowing down
• Winter – Water: Hibernate

While society pushes for constant productivity, nature shows times of rest are essential. Honoring personal cycles alongside nature brings more joy and balance.

Synching your life with moon phases and seasons creates space for more joy and magic. Green witchcraft offers simple ways to tap into Earth's wisdom through plants, astrology, and inner intuition.

 

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Growing Joy Episode 60: Live Taping! DIY Succulent Crowns With Infinite Succulent
• Growing Joy Episode 165: Everyday Plant Magic With Rachael Of Infinite Succulent
• Rachael’s book Everyday Plant Magic: Change Your Life Through the Magical Energy of Nature
• Rachael’s book Infinite Succulent: Miniature Living Art to Keep or Share
• Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way
• Arin Murphy-Hiscock’s book The Green Witch
• Juliet Diaz's books
• The Farmers’ Almanac

 

 

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Wind River Chimes

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Visit windriverchimes.com and use code GROWINGJOY to receive free engraving on all Corinthian Bells wind chimes.

Territorial Seed Company

Are you ready for the fall gardening season? Skip the lines at the garden center and let Territorial Seed Company deliver top-of-the-line, healthy and hardy plants right to your door. They have a great line of pre-grown plants, an expansive seed catalog, and over 40 years of experience delivering the best seeds and plants for everyone's garden. Whether you are looking for leafy veggies, flowers or edible plants in either seed or seedling form, Territorial Seed Company has your back.

Get 10% off by visiting territorialseed.com/growingjoy – discount applied at checkout.

Proven Winners

If you want to have success with houseplants, you’ve got to have two things: the knowledge to care for them successfully and healthy plants. Meet my new favorite houseplant grower: Proven Winner’s leafjoy™. With only the best plant genetics grown in a state-of-the-art, European greenhouse, you will not be disappointed in the variety and quality of your favorite plants from Proven Winner’s leafjoy™. This company has taken the guesswork out of plant shopping with plant tags that include scientific names and care guides, as well as color-coded collections for the different areas of your home that you want plants in!

Find plant joy in leafjoy™. Head to provenwinners.com to find your local leafjoy™ dealer and let me know which plant you take home on socials!

 

 

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