DescriptionIroquois and Potawatomi tribes recognized witch hazel as more than a simple shrub and harnessed its leaves and bark to create remedies for skin ailments and muscle pains. Used for dowsing for water and general divination, if you want to find something you’ve lost, take a forked branch in both hands and focus all your energy on finding the lost thing. If your intention is strong enough, the branch will point you in the right direction. The Mohegans are believed to have taught settlers to use witch hazel branches to divine for water.Carry the leaves on you if brokenhearted to help heal and overcome feelings of loss. This is also alleged to work for any heavy emotions in your life as witch hazel will help one to find emotional balance. If you are in a situation where you want to end a relationship with a partner, carry it on your person to cool the relationship down.Hung in doorways and windows for protection and to keep out malevolent influences and negative energies. For an easy banishing spell, write down what you want to remove from your life (a name, short sentence or keyword) and place it in a small bowl. Fill the bowl with enough witch hazel to completely cover your piece of paper. Set your intentions and then leave the bowl in the light of a waning moon overnight. The next day, bury the witch hazel and paper away from your home.
