WITCHCRAFT & FOLK MAGIC · LESSON 10 OF 12 · 14 MIN
The Poison Garden — Baneful Herbs in History
Mandrake, belladonna, henbane and hemlock — the "witches' plants" of legend, the flying-ointment controversy, and why respect means keeping your distance.
Every herbal tradition has its dark side: the baneful herbs, plants that can heal in a physician's careful hands but kill in anyone else's. In folklore they are the witches' plants — mandrake, belladonna, henbane, hemlock, aconite. This lesson is about their history and meaning. It contains no recipes, and it is not an invitation to experiment: these plants kill people every year, and there is no safe amateur dose.
Safety: Do not eat, drink, smoke, burn or rub on your skin any of the plants in this lesson. If you grow them for their history or beauty, keep them away from children and animals, wear gloves, and wash your hands afterwards. If someone may have swallowed part of one, get medical help at once (in the UK, call 999 or NHS 111).