Eye Of Newt, Tongue Of Bat

[Autumnsong]

I am currently taking an Herbology course at ThePaganOnlineCampus.net (which offers free lessons, btw) and learned something I had never heard before! You all recall hearing at some point or another, lines in spells that said things like, "Eye of newt, tongue of bat," in references to ingredients? Well, according to a couple of sources (I can post them later if anyone's interested), those things were code! Yup, code.

Why they were put into code like that, one can only guess. Perhaps to make people leery of copying the spells, or to frighten others off... Anyway, I'm attaching my Word file here of the notes I took from the course.

I hope you all find it as interesting as I did! :ballonsmi

[Autumnsong]

Okay, okay... for those of you that don't feel like opening a word document, here's the copy&paste version -- but it won't be pretty!





Herbal Codes

In old magickal recipes and spells, strange ingredients are often called for that cannot always be taken literally. In one ancient Greco-Egyptian spell, the recipe called for “the navel of a male crocodile,” which really meant pond weed; “the heart of a baboon” meant oil of lily. The “sacrifice” in folklore was usually an egg buried in the ground. Here’s what those unusual nouns really meant!

Code Name Herb Name
Adder’s Tongue/Serpent’s Tongue Plantain
Bat’s Wing Holly Leaf
Bat’s Wool Moss
Bear’s Foot Lady’s Mantle
Bird’s Eye Germander, Pansy
Bird’s Foot Fenugreek
Blind Eyes Poppy
Blood Elder sap, Dragon’s Blood
Blood from a Head Lupine
Blood of a Goose Mulberry Tree sap
Blood of an Eye Tamarisk
Blood of Ares Purslane
Bloody Fingers Foxglove
Bodily Fluids Houseleek
Brains Congealed gum from a cherry tree
Bull’s Blood Horehound
Bull’s Foot Coltsfoot
Buttons Tansy
Calf’s Snout Snapdragon
Capon’s Tail Valerian
Cat’s Foot Ground Ivy
Cherry Pie Heliotrope
Church Steeples Agrimony
Corpse Candles Mullein
Crocodile Dung Black Earth
Crow Corn Ague Root
Crow’s Foot Cranesbill
Crown for a King Wormwood
Dead Man Ash, Mandrake root carved in a crude human shape or poppet
Death Angel Agaric
Devil’s Apple Datura
Devil’s Dung Asafetida
Devil’s Eye Henbane, Periwinkle
Devil’s Flower Bachelor’s Buttons
Devil’s Guts Dodder
Devil’s Milk Celandine
Devil’s Nettle Yarrow
Devil’s Oatmeal Parsley
Dog’s Mouth Snapdragon
Dove’s Foot Wild Geranium
Dragon’s Scales Bistort Leaves
Dragon Bushes Toadflax
Duck’s Foot May Apple
Ear of an Ass Comfrey
Ear of a Goat St. John’s Wort
Elf Leaf Rosemary, Lavender
Englishman’s Foot Common Plantain
Eyes Eyebright, Daisy, Aster, English Daisy
Fairies Eggs Molukka
Fairies Horses Ragwort
Fairy’s Cup Cowslip
Fat from a Head Spurge
Fingers Cinquefoil

Flesh and Blood Tormentil
Fox Tail Club Moss
From the Belly Earth Apple
From the Foot Houseleek
Goat’s Leaf Honeysuckle
Gosling Wing Goosegrass
Graveyard Dust Mullein
Great Ox Eye Ox Eye Daisy
Hair Maidenhair Fern; the unexpended frond from a male fern
Hair of a Hamadryas Baboon Dill Seed
Hand The expanded frond from a male fern used to make the true hand of glory, which is nothing more than a candle made of wax mixed with fern
Hare’s Beard Great Mullein
Hare’s Foot Avens
Hawk’s Heart Wormwood seed
Heart Walnut
Indian Dye Goldenseal
Lion’s Ear Motherwort
Lion’s Tooth/Priest’s Crown Dandelion
Man’s Bile Turnip Sap
Master of the Woods Woodruff
Mother’s Heart Shepherd’s Purse
Nosebleed Yarrow
Old Man Mugwort
Old Woman Wormwood
Organ Tea Pennyroyal
Paddock Pipes Horsetail
Pig’s Tail Leopard’s Bane
Poorman’s Weatherglass Pimpernel
Semen of Helios White Hellebore
Semen of Heracules Mustard
Semen of Hermes Dill
Serpent’s Tongue Adder’s Tongue
Seven Barks Hydrangea
Shepherd’s Heart Shepherd’s Purse
Skin of a Man Fern
Skull Skullcap Mushroom
Snake/ Snakeweed Bistort
Snake’s Blood Hematite Stone
Snake’s Friend Indian Paintbrush
Sparrow’s Tongue Knotweed
Swine’s Snout Dandelion Leaves
Tears of a Hamadryas Baboon Dill Juice
Thor’s Helper Rowan
Titan’s Blood Wild Lettuce
Tongue of a Dog/Dog’s Tongue Hound’s Tongue
Tooth or Teeth Pinecones
Unicorn Horn True Unicorn Root
Urine Dandelion
White Man’s Foot Plantain
Witch’s Hair Dodder
Witch’s Thimble Datura
Wolf’s Hat Wolfsbane
Wolf’s Milk Euphorbia, Spurge
Worms Gnarled, thin roots of a local tree


Animal Herb
Blue Jay Bay Laurel
Cat Catnip
Dog Couch Grass
Eagle Wild Garlic
Frog Cinquefoil
Hawk Hawkweed
Lamb Lettuce
Lizard Calumniate
Nightingale Hops
Rat Valerian
Toad Sage
Weasel Rue
Woodpecker Peony


And when a certain part of something was needed the following herbs parts were used:

Part Needed Herb Part Used
The Eye Inner part of a blossom
The Paw, Foot, Leg, Wing, or Toe Leaf
The Guts Roots and stalk
The Privates Seed
The Hair Dried, stringy herbs
The Tail Stem
The Head Flower
The Tongue Petal
The Heart A bud or seed

[Cindlady2]

Thanks.... that is rather neat!:) :bat:

[Autumnsong]

I was really intrigued by it! It's easier to read by DLing the file, but most people are too lazy ( =P ) to do that...

But I like it 'cause if I wanna be especially enigmatic or whatever when storing my herbs, I could always label my jars, "Bat's Feet" or something creepy-sounding... Haha

[Crysiira]

Wow, that's really cool, I never knew that! Definitely copying and pasting to my comp. Thanks!! :hahugh:

[Willow Rosette]

Wow, that's really cool, I never knew that! Definitely copying and pasting to my comp. Thanks!! :hahugh:

Yep me too.... thank you for sharing!

[Isilriel]

Hah! That list is awesome. I always wondered what was up with all the "weird" ingredients, now I know. Thanks for posting it. :)

[Autumnsong]

No problem, guys. =)

I was absolutely enthralled with that stuff. If I come across anything else interesting like that, I'll be sure to post it!

[forestrangergrrl]

i've also read that some of the weird sounding 'ingredients' were actually common local names for some plants. they referred to parts of the plants that looked like what the local name was. so, some of the funky names are really just referring to certain plants, which corresponds to what you just wrote autumnsong. that looks like an interesting site, i'll have to check it out!

[forestrangergrrl]

okay, i couldn't find the site. when i typed in the address you gave, it sent me back here. it is ThePaganOnlineCampus.net right? i'll keep trying...

[Autumnsong]

Yikes, sorry! The Pagan Online Campus is the name of the site.. the actual URL is http://www.thepagancampus.net
I always mix those two up when I'm not paying attention!

[Beckyfacerod]

Wow, that's really cool, it certainly is an interesting read! Definitely copying and pasting for my journal. I'm going to check out the website. Thanks!! :hahugh: