Working the Poison Path

When looking at a medicinal understanding of poisonous plants, we can see that within their toxic cocktail of chemicals, there lies the capacity to create great medicines as well as lethal weapons. The archetype of the witch relies upon incorporating this two-handed approach; embracing the capacity to hex alongside the capacity to heal, to cure and to curse, and to hold space for both understandings within the same whole. For this reason, poisonous plants are positioned as particularly useful allies to witches, for they speak the same morally-ambiguous language as we do.

By exploring a select few of these poisonous plants, we will illuminate this two handed approach to witchcraft, and uncover the path of working these deadly allies in ritual, medicine, and craft. We will explore the mythology, history, and science of poisonous plants, many of which can be found in the waysides and gardens we already tread, and…