Hemlock by Wanderer MoonChild

Botanical Basics

1. Common Name(s): Hemlock, Poison Hemlock
2. Folk Name(s): Devil’s Porridge, Witches’ Weed, Beaver Poison, Herb Bennet (confused in old texts)
3. Scientific/Latin Name: Conium maculatum
4. Family: Apiaceae (Carrot/Parsley family)
5. Plant Type: Biennial herb
6. Botanical Description: Tall (up to 8 ft) with hollow, ridged stems marked by characteristic purple blotches. Leaves are finely divided and fern-like, resembling parsley or wild carrot. Umbels of small white flowers bloom in summer, forming clusters of tiny seeds. Emits a mousy, unpleasant odor when crushed.
7. Growing Zones/Climate: USDA Zones 5–8
8. Best Zones for Growth: Prefers temperate regions; invasive in many areas
9. Habitat & Range: Native to Europe and North Africa; naturalized worldwide (including North America). Found in roadsides, riverbanks, ditches, and disturbed soils

Cultivation & Harvest

(⚠️ Not recommended for cultivation; highly poisonous to humans and livestock.)

1. Soil & Sun Requirements: Moist, well-drained soils; tolerates full sun to partial shade
2. Propagation: By seed (self-seeds prolifically; invasive)
3. Companion Planting: None (toxic to most neighboring plants, animals, and people)
4. Harvesting Guidelines: Historically leaves, seeds, and roots were gathered for poison; ⚠️ modern handling is dangerous—use protective gloves if removing infestations
5. Drying/Preservation: Retains toxicity when dried; not safe for herbal use

Traditional & Historical Use

1. Cultural Significance: Infamous as the plant used to execute Socrates in ancient Greece. Symbol of state punishment, poison, and fate.
2. Traditional Medicine: Used in antiquity in minuscule doses as a sedative, pain reliever, and antispasmodic—but with extremely narrow margin of safety. Rarely used after safer herbs became available.
3. Symbolism: Represents mortality, fatal choices, and inevitability. Seen as a plant of fate, endings, and taboo knowledge.

Medicinal & Practical Properties

1. Active Constituents: Piperidine alkaloids (coniine, conhydrine, pseudoconhydrine, γ-coniceine)
2. Medicinal Uses: Historically used for spasms, whooping cough, and nervous conditions—but abandoned due to danger.
3. Preparation Methods: Only prepared historically as juice, extract, or poultice under physician’s care in antiquity.
4. Dosage & Guidelines: ⚠️ None—lethal dose is close to any “therapeutic” dose.
5. Safety/Precautions: All parts are toxic, especially seeds and roots. Causes paralysis of the respiratory system leading to death. Livestock and humans are highly vulnerable. Gloves required to handle.

Magical & Spiritual Properties

1. Elemental Association: Saturn (restriction, death, endings)
2. Planetary/Deity Correspondence: Saturn, Hades/Pluto, Hecate, the Fates
3. Magical Correspondences: Baneful magic, death rites, severance, spirit communication, curse work
4. Ritual Use: Rarely physically used due to danger; symbolically employed in ritual as a representation of death, finality, or boundary crossing.
5. Symbolism in Divination/Dreams: May signify a warning of danger or a message from ancestors; also linked to surrender, endings, and acceptance of fate.

Ecological & Culinary Uses

1. Pollinator Value: Umbel flowers attract bees, flies, and other insects despite toxicity
2. Wildlife Uses: Provides nectar for some pollinators; toxic to mammals and livestock
3. Culinary Uses: ⚠️ None. Deadly poison often mistaken for parsley, wild carrot, or anise—historically fatal error

Household/Practical Uses

1. Quick Uses: None for household; occasionally controlled as an invasive weed
2. Notable Traits: One of the most infamous poisons of history; killed Socrates; feared in European herbal lore
3. Special Notes: Modern witches often work with hemlock only symbolically (ink drawings, correspondences, sigils) to avoid danger

Supporting Notes

1. Grieve, M. A Modern Herbal (1931)
2. Chevallier, Andrew. Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (2016)
3. Rätsch, Christian. Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005)
4. Mann, John. Murder, Magic, and Medicine (1992)
5. Watt, J.M. & Breyer-Brandwijk, M.G. The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa (1962)

Baneful Herb Warning: Hemlock is among the most poisonous plants in the European witch’s pharmacopeia. Consider marking this grimoire entry with a skull sigil, red border, or “Do Not Use” warning.