Mistletoe Cut Herb, 1 Lb (Phoradendron flavescens)

Mistletoe is toxic. Do not eat it, do not brew it, do not steep it, do not tincture it, and do not put it in a bath you sit in. Keep it well away from children and animals, both of whom will investigate anything hung at nose height. Hang it high, store it sealed, and wash your hands after handling a pound of it. If a person or an animal eats any part of it, contact Poison Control or a veterinarian immediately. In the United States, Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222.

None of that is a formality. A pound is a great deal of mistletoe, and it is worth treating the quantity with respect.

One full pound, cut. The bulk size, for wreaths, garlands, doorway hangings, and charm work in quantity. The 1 oz and 2 oz sizes exist for practitioners who want a working amount rather than a supply.

Phoradendron flavescens, the American mistletoe. The eastern North American species, distinct from the European Viscum album of the Druid stories, though the folk uses transferred wholesale to it.

For hanging and charm work only. This is not a tea herb, a culinary herb, or a bath herb. It is a hanging herb and a charm herb, and that is the full extent of what it is for.

• Weight: 1 lb, cut
• Botanical: Phoradendron flavescens
• Powers in folk tradition: Protection, love, fertility, exorcism
• Toxic. External use only. Never ingested, never brewed, never bathed in.
• Not a food, not a tea, not a medicine

Mistletoe is a parasite that grows in the air. It never touches the ground, it stays green when the host tree is bare, and it fruits in the dead of winter. Every piece of its lore descends from those three facts. A plant that belongs to neither earth nor sky sits outside the ordinary categories, and things that sit outside the categories are, in folk logic, exactly what you want in a doorway.

Pliny records the Druid rite: the white-robed priest, the golden sickle, the oak, the cloth spread beneath so the branch never fell to earth. Whether it happened as he describes it is another question, but the account fixed mistletoe in the European imagination as the sacred bough. The Norse gave it the other half of its character: the plant so overlooked that Frigg forgot to make it swear, and so the one thing that could kill her son. Protection and lethality in the same branch. The tradition never resolved that, and neither will we.

Cunningham gives it to the Sun and to Air, with powers of protection, love, hunting, fertility, health, and exorcism. It is hung over doorways and cradles against harm, carried for luck, and burned in exorcism work.

1. Hang it, high. Over a doorway, a threshold, or a lintel. High enough that nothing curious can reach it, which is both the traditional placement and the safe one.
2. Wreathe it. The bulk size exists for this. Work it into Yule wreaths and garlands, and hang the finished piece out of reach.
3. Charm-bag it. Sewn into a sachet or a mojo bag, mistletoe is a protection material. The bag stays closed.
4. Burn it for exorcism work, carefully. Traditional, but ventilate the room and do not stand in the smoke.
5. Never bring it near food. Not in a tea, not in a bath, not in a kitchen working. This one is not negotiable.

• Mistletoe Cut, 1 oz. The small working size, for a single charm rather than a season of wreaths.
• Mistletoe Cut, 2 oz. The middle size, between a single working and a full pound.
• Mistletoe Oil by Espiritu, 16oz. The fragrance-oil form, which contains no plant matter and carries none of the toxicity. For dressing candles and doorways where you would rather not hang the herb.
• Mistletoe Oil by Espiritu, 2 Dram. The sampler of the same oil.
• Black Tourmaline Tumbled Chips, 1 lb. The mineral half of a threshold working, set where the mistletoe hangs above.

Is mistletoe poisonous? Yes. The leaves, stems, and berries all contain toxic compounds. It should never be eaten, brewed, steeped, or bathed in, and it needs to be kept away from children and animals. If any is swallowed, contact Poison Control or a vet immediately.

Can I make mistletoe tea? No. We will not tell you how, because there is no version of this we are comfortable with. Mistletoe is a hanging and charm herb only.

Why do people kiss under it if it is poisonous? Because it is hung overhead, out of reach, and nobody was ever meant to eat it. The kissing custom is English and comparatively recent; the hanging is ancient and protective. The plant's danger and its use were never in conflict, because the use never involved swallowing it.

Is this the same mistletoe as the Druid stories? Not botanically. The European plant is Viscum album; this is Phoradendron flavescens, the American species. The folk uses transferred to it wholesale when Europeans arrived, and it has carried them ever since.

What is a pound of mistletoe actually for? Wreaths, garlands, shop stock, and practitioners who hang it in quantity through Yule. If you want a single charm, buy the ounce.