Wonderful Weeds: Nettles & Cleavers for Food & Spells

My friends who go foraging tell me love the spring for it's bounty of edible green shoots. I photographed this patch of nettles and cleavers on an overgrown bank beside my local DIY store, and might pop back to pick some. You can make nettle soup and nettle pesto or use the young tips as a subsitute for spinach in quite a few recipes. I like nettle and mint tea sometimes too. Magically, nettles can be used in protection and banishing spells. Do wear gloves when you handle them though!

Cleavers can also be put in soups and stews. A friend recently told me the shoots are nice boiled as a veg on their own, but apparently they taste best with butter on them. My doctor recently ordered me to cut down on butter, so I might not be trying that. Cleavers have long sticky stems, so magically they are great for bindings.

Both of these plants are normally considered weeds. To be honest, they can both grow profusely and tend to take over a flowerbed if left completely unchecked. However, insects and caterpillers love them, so it can be good to leave a patch in your garden for wildlife as well as for harvesting.

If you go foraging, make sure you've identified plants correctly, only take what you need, and leave plenty for insects to enjoy.

Share your seasonal photos!

I recently started prompts to share seasonal pictures, art, crafts, words and other creativity. I'll continue this over the months ahead. I'd love to encourage readers to record what's happening in nature in various ways including photographs, journalling, drawing or painting and crafting.

Here are ways to share the things you're doing or what you see out and about as the wheel turns:

• Leave a comment on this post about what you're up to
• Find my prompts to share on my Facebook Page: Lucya Starza Pagan Portals Author
• Share on Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) with the tag #RoundingtheYear

My book offers more ways to acknowledge the Wheel of the Year and celebrate the seasons in ritual, magic, folklore and nature. You can find it at estoeric bookshops and via my publisher Moon Books: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-rounding-wheel-year

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/03/spring-spellcraft-growing-herbs.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/rounding-year-camelia-forsythia-blossom.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/spring-herb-lore-greater-periwinkle-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/02/rounding-year-flowers-birds-pancakes.html