Belladonna and Deadly nightshade

Deadly nightshade is a European native woodland wildflower with a bushy habit and a storied history.

Deadly Nightshade History and Folkore

Deadly nightshade is well known as an ingredient in medieval witches Flying Ointment and its use by Renaissance women to make their eyes look big and excited and vapid. But there is more.

An old spell from the Carpathian mountains region recounted in Das Buch der Gifte says that a girl who wished to be as beautiful as possible, could approach a Belladonna plant on Shrovetide, dressed in her best. She would then uproot the plant and place bread, salt and brandy in the hole and carry the root home on her head. She must remain friendly and refrain from quarreling throughout the entire process and tell no one what she was doing.

Belladonna may have been used, not only to dilate pupils, but, in a different preparation, to cause the skin to appear flushed. I, however, have not found sufficient documentation to suggest that either of these cosmetic uses of belladonna were widespread. If the reader has sources, I would appreciate your sharing.

Belladonna trip stories https://open.spotify.com/episode/0qysmAbGHQ75xo8L8oj7Vu?si=479b73a4d301481d

Deadly Nightshade in the Garden

A perennial herbaceous plant with a bushy habit native to Europe and Western Asia. Belladonna is a small, shrubby, herbaceous perennial plant. It grows to about 3 to 4 feet tall, has many-branched stems tinged with green, and thick roots. The bell-shaped flowers, which begin to appear in early summer, may be purple tinged with green or brownish-purple and have a mild scent. They are borne singly on a stem. Berries will begin to appear in mid-summer and are framed by five large, green sepals. Flowers and berries may appear on the same plant at the same time and will continue through early autumn. The berries are reportedly sweet to taste. They are highly toxic to humans and many other mammals, as are all parts of this plant.

Leaves are ovate and range in size from 3 to 10 inches long. Lower leaves may appear singly, while upper leaves tend to appear in pairs.

Deadly Nightshade prefer and

Deadly Nightshade in the Kitchen

Every part of Belladonna is toxic. it is not suited to any culinary use.

Atropa belladonna for Healing

Belladonna contains many compounds used in medicine. These are also highly toxic and exact dosage is essential for safety and efficacy. The medical industry carefully extracts and separates these compounds for use in modern medicine.  Individual belladonna plants have varying levels of toxins, even in different parts of the plant and at different times of year. Thus, accurate dosage from the whole plant is extremely difficult and attempts to use the whole plant for healing is too unpredictable to be considered a good idea in my opinion.

Deadly Nightshade Magick

Belladonna is a plant of Saturn and Water. It has historically been used for astral projection and communicating with the dead. It is most notably known as an ingredient flying ointment.

Some modern uses of Belladonna include shadow work, communicating with the dead, astral projection, and protection during these activities. It is also associated with the Hero’s Journey involving the descent to and return from the Underworld.

While stories I have heard of Belladonna “trips” seem to support this work, as they are reportedly terrifying, involving space and time slips and seeing and talking to people no one else can see, I do not recommend ingesting this plant under any circumstances. Apparently it can take a long time to clear your system and might even cause permanent neurological changes. Thus, I recommend only symbolic use of belladonna.

It might be useful in a dressing oil but, since it can be absorbed through the skin, I would take care when applying it.

Enjoy this list of Belladonna toxicity experiences from Erowid https://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Belladonna.shtml

but don’t try it yourself.