There’s something that happens when you walk into a room where herbs are drying — bundles of lavender hanging from the ceiling, the earthy smell of mugwort in the air, rosemary sitting in little jars on the windowsill. Something in you recognizes it. Like a memory you never actually had but somehow kept with you anyway. That’s what working with herbs does. It wakes something up.
Witchcraft has never really been about fancy tools or expensive rituals. At its heart, it’s about working with what the earth gives you. And herbs are one of the oldest, most powerful things the earth has ever offered. Long before there were spell books and online shops, there were healers and wise women crouched over fire, grinding roots, speaking words into leaves. The knowledge they carried didn’t disappear — it just waited.
Here’s the thing about herbs: they’re not just plants. Every single one of them carries its own energy, its own personality, its own area of expertise. Lavender is calm and protective. Mugwort is dreamy and a little wild. Rosemary is fierce and loyal. Once you start learning who they are — not just what they do, but who they are — your practice changes completely. You stop following recipes and start having conversations.
Whether you’ve been practicing for years or you just burned your first candle last week, building an herb cabinet is one of the most grounding things you can do. These ten herbs are a solid place to start. They’re accessible, they’re powerful, and every single one of them has been trusted by witches for centuries. Your cabinet is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
1. Mugwort — The Dreamer’s Herb
Mugwort is probably the most magical-feeling herb you’ll ever hold in your hands. It’s associated with the moon, with psychic ability, and most famously — with dreams. Burned as incense or tucked into a small sachet under your pillow, mugwort opens doors in your sleep that you didn’t even know were there. Vivid dreams, lucid dreaming, messages from your subconscious — this herb handles all of it.
Beyond dreams, mugwort is a powerful tool for divination. Burn a little before you read tarot or scry, and notice how much clearer everything feels. It’s also used for astral travel and connecting with the spirit world. Mugwort doesn’t mess around, which is exactly why it’s earned its place in every serious herb cabinet.
Uses: Dream pillows, incense, divination rituals, moon magic
2. Lavender — Protection You Can Smell
Lavender is gentle, but don’t mistake that for weakness. This herb has been used for centuries to bring peace, protect spaces, and invite love. Hang dried lavender above your door and you’re putting a quiet but firm boundary on your home. Burn it, bathe in it, tuck it into sachets — lavender is one of the most versatile witchcraft herbs you’ll ever work with.
It’s also deeply connected to sleep and healing. If anxiety is heavy in your space, lavender clears it out like a soft wind. It works beautifully in spells for self-love, friendship, and calming emotionally charged situations.
Uses: Protection sachets, sleep magic, love spells, cleansing rituals
3. Rosemary — The Protector
Rosemary is the herb that’s been standing guard for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks wore it to sharpen their memory. Wise women tucked it under the doorstep to keep harm away. And today, modern witches burn it, brew it, and carry it for protection, clarity, and purification.
What makes rosemary so special is how strong it is. It can substitute for almost any other herb in a pinch, which says a lot about the kind of energy it carries. It’s an everything herb — cleansing, protective, remembrance, love. If your cabinet only had one herb in it, rosemary would do a respectable job all on its own.
Uses: Protection spells, cleansing, memory and focus work, substitution herb
4. Chamomile — The Lucky Charm
Chamomile is sunshine in plant form. Sweet, golden, and warm — this herb is tied to luck, abundance, and drawing good things toward you. Wash your hands in chamomile tea before a job interview or an important meeting, and feel the shift in energy. Use it in money spells, success rituals, and anywhere you need a little light pulled in.
It’s also a beautiful herb for sleep and peace, and it has a gentle protective quality that works especially well for children and sensitive spaces. Chamomile is kind. It works with you, not at you.
Uses: Luck and money spells, sleep sachets, purification baths, gentle protection
5. Sage — The Cleanser
Most people know white sage from smudging — that practice of clearing a space by burning herbs and letting the smoke do the work. And while white sage is sacred to specific Indigenous traditions and should be sourced respectfully, common garden sage carries similar cleansing energy and is completely accessible to everyone.
Sage cuts through stagnant energy the way nothing else does. After an argument, after illness, after a period of grief — burn some sage and the air itself feels different. It’s also tied to wisdom and longevity, making it a powerful herb for ritual work that calls for clarity and discernment.
Uses: Space cleansing, banishing rituals, wisdom spells, smoke cleansing
6. Peppermint — The Energizer
Peppermint is fast. When you need results quickly — a boost of energy, a push toward change, a situation that needs to shift now — peppermint is the herb you reach for. It speeds up any spell it’s added to and brings a sharp, clarifying energy that cuts right through confusion and stagnation.
It’s also a powerful herb for healing, prosperity, and psychic work. Brew yourself a cup of peppermint tea before meditation or journaling and feel how much more open your mind becomes. This herb wakes things up.
Uses: Money and prosperity spells, healing, psychic enhancement, energy work
7. Thyme — The Courage Herb
Thyme has a long history with bravery. Soldiers carried it into battle. Healers used it to restore strength. Today, thyme is a wonderful herb for courage spells, purification, and healing work. It’s also tied to good luck and restful sleep, making it a quietly powerful addition to any witch’s cabinet.
Carry dried thyme with you when you’re walking into something difficult. Put it in a spell bag when someone you love is recovering from something hard. Thyme shows up when strength is needed, and it delivers.
Uses: Courage and strength spells, healing sachets, purification, luck
8. Bay Laurel — The Wish Herb
Bay leaves might be the most satisfying herb to work with. Write your wish, intention, or word of power on a dried bay leaf — and burn it. Watch it go up. There’s something about that process that makes intentions feel real in a way that’s hard to explain until you’ve done it.
Bay laurel is tied to victory, success, psychic power, and protection. Ancient Greek oracles at Delphi chewed bay leaves to open their sight. Wreaths of it were placed on the heads of emperors. This is an herb with a long, proud magical history, and it still carries all of that power today.
Uses: Manifestation and wish magic, protection, psychic work, success spells
9. Valerian — The Shadow Herb
Valerian is one of those herbs that most people have heard of but don’t fully understand yet. It has a strong, earthy smell — some people love it, some people really don’t — but its magic is undeniable. Valerian is used for deep sleep, protection, love drawing, and working in the liminal spaces between waking and dreaming.
It has a slightly darker energy than softer herbs like lavender, which makes it excellent for shadow work — that practice of going into the uncomfortable parts of yourself to find what’s hiding there. Valerian holds space for that kind of work without flinching.
Uses: Sleep magic, shadow work, protection spells, love and reconciliation
10. Cinnamon — The Accelerator
Cinnamon is heat, energy, and speed all wrapped up in a beautiful smell. It’s one of the most powerful herbs for drawing money, success, and passion. Sprinkle it across your doorstep at the new moon to invite abundance in. Add it to any spell to turn up the intensity. Cinnamon doesn’t sit still — it moves things.
It’s also deeply protective and has been used in sacred rituals across dozens of cultures for thousands of years. When you add cinnamon to your magical practice, you’re working with one of the most ancient and respected witchcraft herbs there is.
Uses: Abundance and money magic, protection, love spells, spell acceleration
Build Your Cabinet One Herb at a Time
You don’t need all ten of these tomorrow. Start with two or three that call to you — because they will. One of them will catch your eye, or you’ll keep stumbling across its name, or you’ll smell it somewhere and feel something. That’s how this works.
The relationship between a witch and her herbs grows over time, the same way any good relationship does. Learn one, sit with it, use it. Then add another. Before long, your cabinet will be full, your practice will be richer, and you’ll wonder how you ever did any of this without them.
