White heather is one of the plants most associated with luck. It's a bit of folklore that pretty much everyone knows, although Queen Victoria gets the honour for popularising the belief beyond Scotland.
Wearing a sprig is supposed to bring you good fortune, while having some in the home will protect it from all sorts of problems, from fire to fairies. Brides can include a sprig in their bouquet as a symbol of purity, constancy and fertility. Heather pillows are said to help bring sleep and sweet dreams.
Heather is more associated with late summer than with the time of the Spring Equinox, but there are winter and early spring varieties. That's the kind that grows in my garden. There's so much at the moment that I had to prune it back from the path when I did weeding the other day. I brought the cuttings in to put in the vase you can see in the photo.
It might not be the usual thing to put on a Spring Equinox altar, but I believe in witchcraft we should go with what nature is providing rather than purely stick to what's stated in text books. That vase is going on my altar.
One of the great things about heather and it's use as a good luck charm or protective amulet is that it dries really well. You can continue to wear it or have it on show it for a long time after you pick it, but please don't gather more than you need. Another thing about white heather is that it's rarer than the usual pink or purple type.
All wildflowers, especially the rarer ones, are best left for wildlife to enjoy if possible. Winter heather is an extremely valuable source of food for insects in the early months of the year.
Rachel Patterson in her book A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Herbs writes that it can be used in incense blends to cleanse space. I'd suggest letting it dry, then grinding it up before adding it to mixtures. She adds that apparently the incense can also be burnt while doing spells to bring rain.
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