Horehound is one of the bitterest herbs in the old physic garden, and practitioners have always read that bitterness as strength: a plant that bites back.
Origin & Traditional Use
Marrubium vulgare is a grey, woolly member of the mint family native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It was a cottage-garden staple, brewed into bitter ales and boiled with sugar into the horehound candy still sold today.
Herbalists across the centuries recorded it as traditionally used for coughs and colds.
Uses by Tradition
Witchcraft & Folk Magick
- Protection sachet: sew a pinch of horehound with rosemary and a little salt into a small white cloth and carry it against sorcery and ill-wishing.
- Clearing water: steep a handful in hot water, strain, and sprinkle it through rooms and across thresholds to drive out lingering influences.
- Mental work: modern herbals of magick give horehound to Mercury; keep a little on the desk or altar during study and divination to sharpen focus.
A Simple Working
- Steep a tablespoon of horehound and a sprig of rosemary in a cup of just-boiled water for ten minutes.
- Strain into a bowl and add a pinch of sea salt.
- Light a white chime candle at the centre of the home.
- Starting at the back of the house, flick the water into corners and across each threshold, working toward the front door.
- Say plainly what is to leave.
- Pour what remains out on the front step and let the candle burn down.
Pairs Well With
- Rosemary: an old partner in household protection and cleansing.
- Rue: the classic companion against the evil eye.
- Sea salt: fixes and strengthens a clearing water.
- Hyssop: for deeper spiritual purification.
- White chime candle: a clean light for clearing work.
Lore & History
The English name is usually traced to Old English har hune, the downy or hoary plant, after its frosted-looking leaves.
The early twentieth-century herbal A Modern Herbal records that Egyptian priests called it the Seed of Horus, and gives the old names Bull’s Blood and Eye of the Star.
What You Receive
Cut dried horehound herb, available in 1 oz, 2 oz and 1 lb.
Did You Know?
Horehound escaped from gardens around the world and is now a declared weed in parts of Australia, where grazing stock leave its bitter leaves untouched.
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Size | 1 oz, 2 oz, 1 lb |
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