By Lucille Alabaster
Not all gardens bloom in sunlight.
Some roots grow best in shadow,
fed by bones, blood, and forgotten names.
This is the garden of the underworld—
where witches walk barefoot and harvest the herbs that do not flinch at death.
The Deadman’s Garden is not for the faint of heart.
But for those who’ve buried old selves, mourned lovers, spoken with ancestors—
these are your flowers.
What Grows in the Underworld
These herbs are often:
- Poisonous or powerful
- Ruled by Saturn, Pluto, or the Moon
- Used for banishment, death rites, shadow work, necromancy
1. Datura
- Induces trance, opens the veil
- Should not be ingested—used ritually
- Associated with witches’ flying ointments
2. Poppy
- Sleep, death, dreamwalking
- Plant on graves to honor spirits
- Use seeds in shadow spells or to “blur” attention
3. Aconite (Monkshood)
- Fierce banishment, necrotic magic
- Deadly in high doses—ritual use only
- Wards off harmful spirits or persistent ghosts
4. Cypress
- Tree of mourning, grief, ancestral contact
- Burn as incense when calling upon the dead
- Tea of cypress leaf (very mild, only under guidance) for grief processing
5. Rue
- Protection, banishing the evil eye
- Associated with purification of mourners and midwives
- A bitter tea used to cut spiritual cords
A Ritual for Gathering from the Garden
Light a black or purple candle.
Place herbs (or their photos) in a circle.
Speak:
“I gather what grows in darkened soil.
From silence, wisdom. From death, toil.
These roots remember. These spirits see.
I walk in shadow, and shadow walks with me.”
Why Witches Must Know the Dark Garden
Because healing isn’t always light.
Because banishing is holy.
Because rebirth requires a grave.
The Deadman’s Garden is sacred.
It’s where we leave what no longer serves—
and take only what we can carry into our next life.
“The witch’s garden is not always green. Sometimes it’s grave-dust and dusk—and that’s where the strongest magic grows.”
—Lucille Alabaster
