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Heavier than the other daturas and therefore attuned to the Earth aspect of Venus, this annual plant is called Jimson weed because in Jamestown in 1676, it poisoned soldiers who made the fresh leaves into a soup. Magically, this herb has been implicated in lycanthropy and shape-shifting. It is interesting in relation to this that in the language of flowers, jimsonweed signifies disguise. Some people claim this is an aphrodisiac, probably because it is a Venus herb. Its visionary qualities--and they are very strong--can probably best be accessed by inhaling the scent of the flower instead of ingesting it in any way. Some consider this a Saturn herb, which makes some sense because of its association with a number of other plants that are Saturn and because it is one of the baneful herbs. Saturn's preoccupation with borders would also suit the shapeshifting aspect, since that means one changes one's borders. I personally believe it is Saturn, but in a very tricksterish aspect, something we would not normally associated with that sort of influence. I have had profound experiences with this plant, much more so than the other daturas. Top Toxicity
In the Garden
This is a tough plant that grows throughout the
temperate world. It especially likes to grow in
open places, such as pastures, and farmers
consider it a weed. The flowers open at night and
remain open for part of the next day. The seed
capsule is a very spiny oval in the regular jimsonweed
and an odd bumpy critter in the black spineless jimsonweed that opens when it's
ripe and beginning to turn brown. It has been shown to clear TNT from the soil
of old ammunition sites.
It can get up to
five feet tall. One plant will provide enough seeds
for you and about 50 of your friends. When stored in a cool, dry place,
seeds of this plant are viable for years. This
plant is also known as Stramonium, Devil's Apple,
Jamestown-weed, Stinkweed, Devil's Trumpet, and
Apple of Peru.
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D. stramonium var. tatula
D. stramonium var. inermis
Uses in Witchcraft & Magic:
Shapeshifting © 2004, 2007 Alchemy Works; No reproduction without permission
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Datura stramonium
Because it is a New World
plant, this was not traditionally grown in a
witch's garden, but it's terrific in a Moon
garden. Many Native American tribes used this
plant medicinally, but none used this particular
datura for religious purposes (they used other
datura instead). Although reports of deaths
connected to herbs are usually just thrown around
without any substantiation, I have found reliable
numbers that two people (probably children) died
of eating this plant (probably seeds) in 1999.