Weed & Witches


While browsing through Amazon, a daily occurrence personally, I saw a recommendation that piqued my interest. It was for a book entitled Weed Witch: The Essential Guide to Cannabis for Magic and Wellness. When considering ingredients for spells and potions, I typically think about rosemary and other household herbs but never cannabis. The preview for the book showed pages explaining the different ways cannabis can be consumed including bongs, joints, and edibles. It also explains how your reaction to cannabis can be different based on your astrological sign. I am a Leo which the book explains means I have a big personality so calming cannabis would be the best. An example of a spell featured in the book is called "Pesto Chango" which uses basil leaves and cannabis-infused olive oil to bring money and good fortune to the caster. 


What is the connection between witchcraft and cannabis? I set out to find out just that. 

One of the goals of witchcraft is being able to enter a transitional state of being in which your body is still on Earth, but your mind and spirit have gone somewhere else. This is considered the ability to "roam between two worlds". We see "roaming between two worlds" frequently in Hollywood depictions of witches. For example, how the witches flirt back and forth between life and the afterlife in Hocus Pocus. Throughout history, magic practitioners have used hallucinogenic plants like cannabis to reach this enlightened state. In Europe during the Middle Ages, witches were said to rub belladonna, datura, and mandrake on their bodies and broomsticks. This results in hallucinations that transport them to the Sabbath where they had wild parties and signed evil pacts with the devil. 


Modern witchcraft has been shown to increase in times of drug use popularity like during the opium dens of the 19th century and drug-crazed days of the 1960s and 70s. We are seeing this again as witchcraft rises and cannabis becomes legal in more and more states. Self-proclaimed witches use cannabis for meditation and manifestation. They say it enhances their ability to focus on the positives and stop questioning their visions. Cannabis is not mentioned in a lot of traditional occult literature but a witch can learn more about the plant in books like Weed Witch, readily available on Amazon. During my research, I looked for an official statement from the Wiccan religion regarding cannabis and could not find any but looking through specific chapters of Wicca it seems cannabis is only used for specific rituals solely in states where it is legal. 


Comments

  1. williams.dan76April 24, 2024 at 12:39 PM

    At first I was surprised at seeing the book's title, but then considering, I thought, "Of course, why not?" I should not be shocked by what's on Amazon. If you can purchase a necrophone and talk to dead people, why not a book about wed and magic. Thanks for this interesting piece of research.

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