Honeysuckle: Magical Properties & Uses

Honeysuckle is the herb of devoted, long-term love and of the bonds that strengthen over time rather than dimming. Where rose draws new love and jasmine draws moonlit romance, honeysuckle holds what is already present and ensures it grows rather than fades. It is used in workings to strengthen existing relationships, to increase psychic awareness (the scent opens the mind to what is just beyond ordinary perception), and to draw prosperity and good fortune gradually and sustainably. Placed in the home its scent encourages loyalty and affection among those who live there. The flowers are used in dream pillows for pleasant and occasionally prophetic dreams.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum and related species) has been used in European and Chinese herbal medicine. The flowers and leaves have demonstrated antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties in laboratory studies. Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a cooling, anti-inflammatory herb for infections and fevers. The berries of many honeysuckle species are toxic and must not be consumed. Culpeper recommended the leaves and flowers for asthma, spleen complaints, and liver disorders. Contemporary use is primarily as an adjunct herb rather than a primary medicinal plant.

Aphrodite, Mercury

Twining, sweet-scented, and impossible to untangle once it has wound itself around a support: a true emblem of devoted love. In British folk tradition honeysuckle growing around a doorway was said to prevent fever from entering the house. The scent was believed to induce erotic dreams. In the language of flowers it signifies devoted affection and the bonds of love that do not let go. In Irish folk tradition honeysuckle (woodbine) was one of the plants carried for protection against fairy mischief. Culpeper associated it with Mercury and recommended it for spleen, liver, and asthma complaints. The flowers have been used in love magic throughout the British tradition.