Between Two Worlds: Belladonna

Ever since Hekate chose me I’ve been drawn to belladonna. Specifically Atropa Belladonna. One of Hekate’s most desirable poison pretties. Belladonna is also my plant Spirit ally. Last year when I moved back to Wisconsin I knew I needed to know much more about Her.

I started by attending a belladonna class taught online by Coby Michael. Coby is very knowledgeable about so many of the poison plants. I refer to his book The Poison Path Herbal regularly.

Part of my practice with my Goddess Hekate is to ask Her for guidance. When I decided early this year to incorporate belladonna plants into my apartment living room I asked for Her advice. I don’t have any animals living with me and no children visit me. Safety for myself and others was my top priority.

Two of my very best friends visit me on a regular basis. I knew I needed to make both of them aware of what I was doing. One friend is a pagan who lives about two hours from me and is very knowledgeable about the deadly nightshades and many other herbs.

My other best friend, who isn’t pagan, lives in the same building as I do. That required me to teach her about belladonna for her safety. She visits my apartment almost daily. I started by reading some basic articles about belladonna to her. She knows that I’m a pagan witch and a Priestess of Hekate, so that wasn’t a surprise to her.

Since I wasn’t sure how belladonna would grow inside I started with three small plants last spring. To be honest, just in case only one or two survived. My living room windows all face south so natural sunlight wasn’t too much of an issue. I purchased a plant moisture meter to make sure I wouldn’t overwater my plants.

They accepted transplanting quite well and almost doubled in size after a couple of months. All three of them seemed to thrive for a while. Then their growth slowed down. After more research online, I decided to transplant them to larger pots. Since my good friend Annie gardens with me, I decided to ask her for help. You can read about her garden here.

Off we went to our local garden center for much larger pots and organic potting soil. Wearing gloves, and laying out a plastic tarp we cautiously transplanted the three plants. I was very concerned about how they would take to being transplanted twice in six months. After a few weeks, two of the plants almost doubled in size.

Then all of a sudden I noticed a small flower appear. I have seen all kinds of belladonna flower photos, but here was one right in front of my eyes. It was so beautiful. I thanked my belladonna plant Spirit ally and Hekate right away for being able to have that happen. As the flower started to die, I noticed a small green berry growing where the flower had been.

I kept watching it grow daily. It finally started turning to purple. Such a beautiful fruit it bore. Later on the same plant another flower started to grow. And another berry. Hekate and belladonna plant Spirit ally had gifted me with two flowers and berries on the same plant. What an experience!

As fall was approaching I knew I needed to augment the natural light. Days were getting shorter. I went back to my notes from the class I had been in chat on Zoom with another witch who was using artificial light. He had started to use a new type of LED light from a company called Soltech. I decided to purchase one and try it out.

We moved my larger pots to a very sturdy table and we hung one light above and between those two plants. The light covers both plants quite well and I still get some natural light coming in from one side. That was in mid-September. Both plants have grown about 6 inches in height since then.

I moved my yarrow, lemon balm and the third belladonna plant to another stand in late October. I hung a second Soltech LED light above that stand. Those three plants seem to be thriving fine even though they aren’t near natural light. This will be an ongoing project. I think I’ll move that stand back to another living room window using that light to augment natural light as well.

I’ll keep you updated on this progress. Until next time…somewhere, sometime in the future! Have a Blessed Yule and Winter Solstice!