Open your refrigerator’s crisper, open your pantry, and you’ll find an entire stock of magical ingredients. Have you ever thought of the potato in your pantry as magical? What about utilizing the potency of an onion? Or the energy in a head of broccoli? Yes, vegetables are indeed vibrant and ready to lend their energy to our lives. They all have their own history, folklore, and magical properties. And here, we’ll explore those.

What makes veggies so magical?

Everything that comes from the earth is magical. That includes fruits, herbs, and of course, vegetables. While most fruits grow on trees and vines, vegetables are even closer to the earth growing on small plants, vines, and some even growing deep down in the ground. The closer the plant to the earth, the more of Mother Earth’s primal qualities it takes on. Not to mention, vegetables provide us with nutrients and sustenance, fiber, and healing vitamins. Our ancestors used what they could grow and acquire to not only feed themselves but also to act as medicine when there was no such thing as a doctor. Food was medicine. Food IS medicine. And…it’s magic.

Conjurors, witches, shamans, and healers have all used vegetables in their remedies, spells, and rituals. According to author Zora Neale Hurston, a conjure woman in Florida in the 1930’s often employed onions in her magical workings to heal illnesses and banish evil. Witches in Medieval Times used potatoes as poppets, when they needed something inconspicuous to enchant and hide. Today, kitchen witches all over the world understand and work with the power of vegetables…and so should you.

Vegetable Magical Properties & Uses A-Z

1. Avocado

Folks might consider the avocado to scientifically be a fruit, but we are including it here as a vegetable. Avocadoes are linked to fertility, because of the way they are shaped (what do you think they look like?) The ancient Aztecs believed eating avocado fruit would invoke intense feelings of lust and so called it the “Ahuacotl” or “Testicle Tree”. It’s also known as the Alligator Pear and the Persea. Growing an avocado tree outside of your home instills love and beauty within.

2. Beet

Beta vulgaris, also called the beet or mangold, is linked to the feminine, the planet Saturn, and the element of earth. They grow in the earth and are powerful in inducing love when eaten. If two people eat the same beet, their love will grow strong. Magical practitioners use beet juice as a magical ink to write in their grimoires and on spell petition papers, as well as use it as a substitute for blood in magical workings. Beets magical properties also include longevity, prosperity, and victory.

3. Broccoli

I love broccoli. My kids love broccoli. And that’s a good thing, because broccoli is so healthy and so magical! Broccoli’s magical properties are healing, vitality, protection, and prosperity. It is part of the cabbage family and look like little green trees. It is a rich source of Vitamin K and C and fiber. First cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean, broccoli has been a favorite vegetable in Mediterranean cuisine since ancient times. In later centuries, in America, broccoli was once called the “Five Green Fingers of Jupiter”, and thus if you eat broccoli, you can consume some of the qualities of the planet: growth, healing, prosperity, good fortune, and miracles.

4. Cabbage

There are different variets of cabbage, but for our purposes, we will just refer to all of them as cabbage. Linked to the moon and the water element, cabbage is known to be good luck when grown in the garden. Especially for a newly wed couple. Apparently, the cabbage also carries properties of fertility. Just think about those popular baby-dolls from the 1980’s – the cabbage patch kids. This concept was based on folklore! Cabbage has been cultivated and eaten in Europe since before 1000 BC! It is a rich source of dietary fiber, Vitamins K and C. Eat it in soups, stews, roasted, steamed, and in cole slaw. Some ancients believed eating cabbage would help prevent drunkenness.

5. Carrots

Carrots are root vegetables and therefore grow within the womb of Mother Earth. They are usually orange in color but also have varieties of white, red, black, purple, and yellow. Carrots are high in beta-carotene, and if you cook or mash them, you’ll get the most benefit. Folk names for this magical vegetable include Bird’s Nest, Gizri, and Queen Anne’s Lace (this specifically referring to the flowers on the tops of the plant). They are linked to the planet mars, the fire element, and when eaten induce lust and fertility. Because of the beta-carotene, the magical properties of the carrot also include clairvoyance and “seeing through the darkness”.

6. Cauliflower

One of several plants in the Brassica family, cauliflower is what I like to call white broccoli. In ancient to Medieval times, they were considered a delicacy to some. There are orange and purple hybrids of cauliflower, which I’d LOVE to get my witchy hands on! They grow best in cooler temperatures and are linked to the water element. This special vegetable is rooted in Roman mythology and its magical properties are amplification, purification, lunar magic, and divination.

7. Celery: The “Witch’s Vegetable” Magical Properties

Celery, Apium graveolens, is part of the carrot family and is a biennial plant that grows in moist to wet conditions (think swamps, marshes, etc.) SO if you’re a swamp witch, this is your vegetable! For centuries, celery was employed in cleansing tonics to rid the body of illness and negative energy. Interestingly, celery garlands were found in King Tut’s tomb yet scholars do not believe it grew in Egypt at that time (obviously pointing to trade with people from Europe or Asia). Celery’s magical properties are psychic powers, lust, purification, astral travel and mental powers. I’ve also found it helpful in balancing and grounding workings. According to Scott Cunningham, “witches supposedly ate celery seeds before flying off on their brooms so that they wouldn’t become dizzy and fall!”

8. Corn

Corn in the Americas is a different kind of corn from Europe. We will refer to the American form, also called Zea mays or “giver of life”, “maize”, and “Sacred Mother”. Corn is a tall plant that sends out shoots or “ears” filled with yellow fruits or seeds called corn. It was first cultivated and eaten in Southern Mexico over ten thousand years ago. To say that it’s been a major food source for Americans for a long time is obviously an understatement. So we can assume that corn’s magical properties include prosperity, survival, but also protection, luck, for speedy childbirth, to bring rain, and are used in divination.

The Corn Mother is a deity worshiped by indigenous for hundreds of years and brings fertility and abundance to her people. Eat corn to bring prosperity and protection to your home. Spread the kernels over doorsteps and windowsills to keep out evil. Place under the bed of a baby to keep the baby safe and free of nightmares.

9. Green Beans

Green beans, Phaseolus vulgaris, are a delicious and magical vegetable in the bean family. They’re also known by haricot verts (French beans), string beans, and snap beans. An older name is Poor Man’s Meat. They are connected to the planet Mercury, the air element, and deities Demeter and Cardea (Cunningham). Green bean magical properties include offerings to the dead, protection, divination, exorcism, wart remedies, amplification, love, and reconciliation. The seeds within the green beans are the most potent part of the plant. Keep the seeds on your person to protect against the evil eye and malefic magic. Add some lemon and thyme and you have a delicious dishes.

10. Greens

Mustard, collard, winter greens and spinach. Eat and draw money to you. This type of magical veggie is particularly healthy for you with high amounts of fiber, vitamins c, k, and a. As well as folate and manganese. Mustard and collard greens are prepared and eaten on New Years to bring prosperity in the New Year. Spinach specifically brings ingenuity and endurance to those who eat it, because of its amazing evolutionary abilities over the centuries. A fresh leaf of collard greens hung over the door wards off evil, while one placed on the head will relieve a headache.

11. Kale

Strangely, kale was part of the Samhain festivities for Celts in past centuries. And even stranger, it was used to divine and determine who was going to be married to whom. According to the Smithsonian, the tradition of “pulling the stalks” consisted of eligible single men and women led to the garden and blindfolded. They were then instructed to pull up the kale stalks as they found them. Whoever found the first was lucky, and the kale stalk was “read” to determine the future spouse of that individual. I recommend eating kale before divination sessions to increase mental clarity and psychic abilities. But it can also be eaten to maintain good health, bring abundance, and more.

12. Lettuce: aka Sleep Wort

Lettuce is loaded with water and therefore is linked to the water element and the moon. It was a sacred plant in ancient Rome and eaten at festivals and parties to counteract the effects of wine, according to author Sarah Robinson (see sources below). Throughout Europe, lettuce was eaten to induce sleep and so was called “Sleepwort” by the Anglo-Saxons. Its magical properties are sleep, chastity, protection, love, divination, and travel safety. When grown in the garden is protective but don’t grow too much as it may cause “sterility”, according to Cunningham.

13. Mushrooms

Also not technically a vegetable but treated as such, mushrooms are powerful ingredients to have in your witch’s cabinet (or fridge). They are linked to the dead and the ancestors. And, because of their appearance in many fairy tales, are connected to the faeries and elemental realms. In fact, folklore says if you see a ring of mushrooms, this is a “fairy ring” and was where the fairies currently danced. Don’t go inside of it or knock the mushrooms down! When eaten, mushrooms have many nutritional benefits. Yet certain varieties are hallucinogenic AND some are downright toxic/deadly. Some believe the Norse shamans of old dranks the reindeer’s urine after they’d been in a patch of mushrooms in order to receive visions (we highly recommend AGAINST this practice!) Mushrooms are linked to Druids, Witches, and bring wisdom of the Otherworld.

14. Onion

Onions are such a staple food in my house and in many houses all over the world. And, would you know it, they are potent in more ways than just as a food. First, they grow in the ground, making them close to Mother Earth and linked to the earth element. Secondly, they have layers, which means their powers are multi-fold and versatile. In Florida Folk magic, onions have been used for years to absorb negative energy in a house or person. And they’re used to send people away / banish them from one’s property.

They are linked to the planet Mars and are masculine. The onion’s magical properties include healing, money, exorcism, protection, prophetic dreams, and lust. The onion even has a history in ancient Egypt as being a sacred plant that was sometimes invoked while “taking oaths” (cunningham). You can cut open an onion, write your woes on a piece of paper, then stuff the paper inside and sew up the onion. Then bury or dispose of the onion to be rid of whatever plagues you. By placing a half an onion under your kitchen sink, it will absorb much negative energy and illness.

15. Peppers (Bell)

Red and orange bell peppers are high in Vitamin C. This vegetable is ruled by the planet Mars, who is also the god of war. The fire element is their element. They are part of the nightshade family of plants and therefore inevitably connected to witches. The seeds specifically can be used in spells for happiness, confidence, success, and were traditionally used to ward off vampires and werewolves!

16. Potato

Yet another powerful vegetable with varying magical properties is the POTATO. Boil it, mash it, stick it in a stew. POTATOES, PRECIOUS. Did you know for a long time people were scared to eat potatoes, because once again, they are part of the nightshade family. Therefore they are also linked to witches. Ireland is well-known for being the land of the potato, and so if your Irish grandma used potatoes in her remedies and charms, you would know it. The potato is feminine, linked to the moon, and the earth element.

Potato magical properties are protection, poppet magic, healing, banishing, regeneration and purification. As the potato dies, it will send out shoots to rebirth itself. Leave a potato in your pantry for a while and see what happens. Potatoes have been used for centuries as poppets, and the “eyes” of the potato are a ward against the evil eye. Carry a potato with you in your purse or pocket (it better be a big pocket) to ward off illness in the Winter. Put in soups, stews, etc. and eat for grounding, healing, and cleansing effects.

20. Radish

The radish is steeped in folklore. It is masculine, connected to the planet Mars, and the fire element. Apparently, the radish was a vegetable that was held in high regard in the ancient world. It might have first been cultivated in China, but it’s use spread throughout the world at some point. Because we know it was eaten in Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. And then in Medieval Times we have folk tales of radishes being devices used to identify the location of witches and sorcerers. In addition, they were known to repel demons when worn on the person. Radish’s magical properties include: lust, prosperity, and protection.

21. Tomato: The Witch’s Wolf Plant and Its Many Powers

While technically a “fruit”, we are including tomato here as a vegetable because it is mostly treated as one in cuisine. Tomatoes are an aphrodisiac and are also called the “Love Apple” in old folklore. They are feminine, connected to the planet Venus, and to the water element. Did you know they are part of the nightshade family, and therefore are a sacred plant to many witches and magicians throughout time. In Medieval Germany, people considered the tomato a “witch’s plant” and believed they used this plant to conjure werewolves. Giving it another name, the “wolf peach”. Tomato’s magical properties are lust, love, prosperity, shapeshifting, magic (in general), and protection when grown in the garden. When paired with bay leaves in a spaghetti sauce, invokes protection AND love.

MORE Magical Foods & Herbs:

• Thyme Magical Properties and Uses
• Garlic Magical Properties and Uses
• Cinnamon Magical Properties and Witchy Uses