About Basil
Basil is a herb of the hearth: prosperity, protection and love. Folk custom grows a pot by the door or window to keep the household safe and welcome good fortune in.
Grown by the door as a traditional household-protection and prosperity plant.
History & folklore
In India, holy basil (tulsi) is sacred to Vishnu and grown in courtyards as a household goddess. In Italy, a pot of basil on the windowsill signalled a woman was ready for suitors. Some old European herbals feared basil, saying scorpions bred beneath its pots, while others called it a herb of kings.
Correspondences
- Traditional uses
- Protection, prosperity, love
- Latin name
- Ocimum basilicum
- Element
- Fire
- Planet
- Mars
- Best day
- Tuesday
- Moon phase
- Waxing moon — for drawing things toward you
- Intentions
- Protection, Abundance, Love
Ways to work with it
- Grow a pot of basil on a sunny kitchen windowsill as a living protection charm.
- Place a fresh leaf in your wallet or till for prosperity.
- Cook with it when welcoming guests — basil is a herb of hospitality.
Growing & gathering
Basil is a tender annual that needs warmth, sun and regular water. Pinch out the flower buds to keep it leafy. It loses scent when dried, so for magic it's best used fresh or frozen. A supermarket pot on a sunny windowsill will last for weeks.
Safe as a cooking herb. Basil essential oil is concentrated and should be diluted.
Spells to try
Pairs well with
HawthornProtection, love, Beltane
VervainProtection, purification, love
CloveProtection, money, banishing gossip
DillProtection, love, moneyCorrespondences are traditional associations gathered from folk practice and modern craft books. They vary between sources, and they are not medical advice. Read our editorial approach.