Just the thought of some plants can transport me to another world: one of magic, mystery, and all possibility. The otherworldly, fragrant-leaved little myrtle (Myrtaceae family)—so beloved and revered by the ancient world—is undoubtedly one of them.
Magical Uses
Love
Myrtle’s love magic is uniquely potent and enduring. Strongly associated with such archetypal love goddesses as Venus, Aphrodite, and Hathor, her simultaneously dainty and hearty leaves, as well as her vigorous yet ethereal blooms, mirror her alignment with romantic love (a condition that is at once delicate and robust). Also like myrtle, romantic love possesses some qualities that are fleeting and others that can remain (and even grow stronger) through the ages. That’s why wearing a sprig or a crown of flowering myrtle for a wedding or a handfasting would be an excellent idea. So would the following ritual.
Love Goddess Altar Ritual for Lasting Love
To manifest a lasting romantic relationship, create an altar with a framed image or statue of Venus, Aphrodite, or Hathor as a focal point. Add a large pink pillar candle, an incense holder with a stick of rose or violet incense, and at least two vases of flowering myrtle. Light the candle and incense, place your hands over your heart, and conjure up the types of feelings you’d like to have in your forthcoming relationship. When this feels very real and specific, open your heart and emotions to the Goddess and release your wishes like an offering. Open your palms and imagine your desires rising up to the divine realm like incense. Fully release your desires with trust and love, knowing that they will not possibly fail to manifest in the perfect time and the perfect way. Thank the Goddess from your heart. Allow the incense to burn all the way down. You can also allow the candle to burn all the way down or extinguish it and light it again at intervals until it naturally extinguishes.
Passage Between the Worlds
It’s said that the location of the Greek city Sida was chosen at the site where the goddess Artemis was seen in the form of a rabbit disappearing into a myrtle tree. This story points to the myrtle’s ability to act as a portal from this everyday world to the supernatural worlds of wildness and power. This can come in handy for magical intentions related to visiting other realms, such as the realm of the fae, the realm of the dead, or the realm of eternity.
Speaking of which, during the Eleusinian Mysteries, initiates were crowned with a wreath of myrtle. In Laws, Cicero writes of these Mysteries, saying: “In very truth we have learned from them the beginnings of life, and have gained the power not only to live happily, but also to die with a better hope.” While to this day no one knows the entirety of what happened during these popular rites in ancient Greece, many who undertook them reportedly expressed that as a result of their experience, they no longer feared death. It’s postulated that participants had a sort of induced hallucination of some kind (in some ways like a present-day ayahuasca ceremony) during which they transcended the everyday, illusory world and entered the truer world of the eternal, in order to return with greater perspective and insight into the nature of reality.
Peace
Nothing confers a sense of abiding peace quite like a myrtle tree dancing in a gentle breeze. Spend time in quiet contemplation with a myrtle tree or plant one near your space to discover inner peace or to help establish peace in a household, group, or any type of relationship. Bringing the flowers inside, wearing a myrtle crown, taking the flower essence, or just visualizing the tree during meditation can also help with these aims.
Wealth
Myrtle’s alignment with the element of water (not to mention her alignment with sensuous, luxury-loving goddesses) speaks to her ability to help us manifest wealth and prosperity. Plant a myrtle in your yard to increase your abundance or lovingly approach her and request her assistance with this aim. Then, with great reverence, place a shiny silver dollar at her base and pour a bottle of blessed water around her roots.
Magical Correspondences
Element: Water
Gender: Feminine
Planet: Venus