Just possessing a mandrake root and carrying it as a charm was thought to protect the bearer from possession and to bring good health. The root of the mandrake was often used as a poppet to represent a person. For magickal operations, the mandrake is employed as an amulet. It is a hallucinogen, and this is one of the herbs often worked into “flying ointments.” This herb is classified as a masculine herb, and it has the reputation of being a Witch’s hexing herb. Mandrake root is one of the world’s oldest narcotics. The root of the mandrake is what is typically used in magick. According to plant folklore, the mandrake screams when it is pulled from the earth–and for best results, you were supposed to pull out the plant by circling it with silver and then in one swift pull remove the entire plant, with the root intact. Mandragora can grow up to twelve inches in height and has a long, parsnip-looking root that often resembles a human shape. These toxic fruits were called the golden apples of Aphrodite. The plant does bloom–a pale violet-colored flower in the spring that then matures to round, yellow, pineapple-scented fruits. The leaves are described as “malodorous,” meaning they stink. It has long, ovalshaped leaves that are pointed at the tips. This baneful herb is sacred to Aphrodite and is a native plant of Europe. Folk names include devil’s apple, herb of Circe, ladykins, mannikin, and womandrake. The following excerpt can be found on Pages 167 to 168. If you can point us in the right direction.Photo by Bouba/Courtesy Wikimedia CommonsĮxcerpted from Garden Witch’s Herbal: Green Magick, Herbalism & Spirituality (c) 2009 by Ellen Dugan. Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. I have a large autumn mandrake in fruit right now which is about 6 months off cycle–you can expect the unexpected when working with mandrake. They go dormant through much of the year. Mandrakes are going to be happiest if you can develop an outdoor area for it. Give as much sun as possible if the plant is indoors in a window, if outside plant to the north side of a rock so it gets shade sometimes but not all the time. Pot up to a gallon pot using fast-draining mix (I recommend cactus mix mixed with standard potting soil 50/50) and add a small handful of ground limestone or oyster shells to the soil to increase alkalinity. The Autumn mandrake are nice and you should do well with your plant. There’s a whole blog on mandrake at this link Potted plant, Certified Organically Grown Autumnalis does fine in dry sun to moist shade, tends to flower in the autumn as opposed to the winter-flowering types. Plant prefers alkaline pH-deep, sandy soils. Source of tropane alkaloids–do not ingest. Traditional usage (TWM): fertility, aphrodisiac, a magical totem, relieve pain, promote sleep. Flowers purple to 12 inches tall, giving way to fruits of yellow and orange. One of the most choice of all true Mandrake species. Herbaceous perennial, native to Southern Europe. Please only order this plant if you will be happy with a dormant root. Normally we do choose only aerial plants to ship, and then they tend to go dormant in the box on the way to the customer, or they go dormant soon after receipt, or they grow actively and make people very happy. So, we have re-enabled this item on the basis of prolific stock, reduced the price back down to $14.00 and cannot guarantee that the plants will be aerial when you get them–sold on the basis of a solid root in a 3-inch pot. Please note: We do everything in our power to keep the price down and the aerial parts up on our sturdy mandrake plants.
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