Tonight be a night of Saturn, and a fine winter eve to talk of Saturn’s Woody Nightshade, a rather bewitching winter herb indeed. Woody Nightshade, (Solanum dulcamara) has many other names including Bittersweet, Bittersweet Nightshade, Felonwort, Trailing Nightshade, Climbing Nightshade, Scarlet Berry, and Violet Bloom. This dark purple beauty is mildly poisonous and contains solanine, an alkaloid glycoside that can cause vomiting, convulsions, and possibly death if enough is ingested. It is sometimes confused with Deadly Nightshade or Belladonna, another in the Solanaceae family. The flowers of Woody Nightshade have yellow anthers and purple stems with blood-red berries that have an intensely bitter taste. Although… the fruit has been known to have a sweet aftertaste, cunning, and hence the name Bittersweet. While the Deadly Nightshade has stunning maroon flowers and wicked little pitch-black berries. It’s quite common for poisonous berries to have a bitter taste as a defense mechanism, deterring animals from eating them. But alas, there are a few exceptions where poisonous berries can be quite deceiving and truly sweet, which is true with Deadly Nightshade aka Belladonna. I so love that plant, it’s folklore is riddled with the devil, which is why I wrote a blog about Belladonna… A Witch’s Guide to Poisonous Plant Spirits ~ The Devil’s Berries, Belladonna
Woody Nightshade can go within the spirit, to grab hold of the parts of us that have been lost or hiding in the shadows and bring them forth. This plant spirit offers the courage to go deep into the dark places making it perfect for winter, helping us to face our fears and nightmares. Woody Nightshade is an aid to journey work or spirit travel, an ally at seeing in the dark, and will also aid in these kinds of experiences to happen. This dark beauty is known to give protection from the evil eye or witchcraft, and can be hidden within the home for strong protection. I have mine entwined within my holiday garlands this tear, the blood red berries an impostor for holly…
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