Legend said the mandrake shrieked when pulled from the ground, killing anyone who heard it, so the root was tied to a dog, which was made to drag it out.
Origin & Traditional Use
True mandrake, Mandragora officinarum, is a Mediterranean plant whose forked root can look like a human body. It was traditionally used in classical times as a sleeping draught, and became the most legendary root of European magick. In American folk magick the name is also given to the may apple. Mandrake oil is a modern blend named for the root.
Uses by Tradition
Witchcraft & Folk Magick
- Love and lust: anoint a red candle or a poppet on a Friday for desire and fertility workings.
- Money: keep a few drops on a coin or a dollar bill in your wallet, after the German custom of keeping coins with a mandrake.
- Curse breaking: dress a white candle and pass it over the body to draw a curse away, then burn it.
Demonology & Black Magick
- Hexing: dress a black poppet or candle when a working needs force and domination.
- Poppet work: anoint a carved root or poppet as the body of the person you are working on.
A Simple Working
- Make or buy a simple cloth poppet.
- Write the name of the person or the curse on a slip of paper and place it inside.
- Anoint the poppet head to foot with Mandrake oil.
- For curse breaking, pass it over yourself and say what you are casting out; for domination, bind it with black thread.
- Burn a black chime candle beside it.
- For curse breaking bury the poppet away from your home; for domination keep it wrapped in black cloth.
Pairs Well With
- A cloth poppet: mandrake roots were the original magickal figures.
- Black thread: for binding.
- A black chime candle: for cursing and curse breaking.
- Uncrossing oil: for the protective side of the work.
Lore & History
In Genesis 30, Rachel bargains with Leah for mandrakes, thought to help her conceive. Germans called the root Alraune and believed it grew beneath the gallows where a hanged man’s seed fell; a kept Alraune was said to double coins left beside it overnight. Medieval herbals show a dog harnessed to the root to pull it out.
What You Receive
Mandrake oil, available in 2 dram, 1 oz and 16 oz sizes.
Did You Know?
One of the charges brought against Joan of Arc at her trial in 1431 was that she carried a mandrake.
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Size | 2 dram, 1 oz, 16 oz |
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