Everyone usually has the humble potato in their cupboards - it’s a staple part of our diets and is very versatile. I have potatoes with my main meal in one form or another, most days, unless I’m having pasta or a salad, but even then, this time of year, there are some Jersey Royals slathered with butter on the side of my plate.
Potatoes are not just versatile when it comes to our culinary dishes but are just as versatile in our magical workings too.
Let’s find out a little about this wonderful food...
Potatoes are a starchy tuberous crop which is a relative of the nightshade species Solanum Tuberosum. Potatoes are the 4th largest crop grown following wheat, maize and rice. Potatoes came to Europe in the latter part of the 16th century by the Spanish who called the plant a potata.
Potato plants are a perennial that grows to about 2 feet tall, depending on the variety. The tuber part of the plant - the potato - is the only part of the plant that is not toxic. There are around 5000 varieties of potatoes grown worldwide and is one of the most versatile of our foods - it can be roasted, boiled, boiled and mashed, made into chips, crisps or fries, put into soups, made into rosti, jacket potatoes, dauphinoise - the list is endless.
Potatoes are an inexpensive and filling part of our diets and readily available, so it is easy to work with them magically...
Potato juice can be applied to bruises to reduce inflammation as they have an excellent natural antiseptic property. They can also be mashed when raw - although grating would be easier - and applied topically as a poultice to soothe burns.
They can be worked with magically for protection - place a small potato into each corner of the home, you can carve sigils or rune symbols into them for extra oomph! For money spells - place a coin in a slit cut into the potato and place it on your altar. For luck magic and for healing magic. Potatoes are a great vegetable to ground with too after magical working and meditation.
Poppets can be carved from potatoes too and are soft enough to stick herbs like rosemary and other woody stemmed herbs into.
Magical properties: Energy, magic, grounding, prosperity, healing Gender: Feminine Planet: Moon Element: Earth