HEDGEWITCH
ONLY THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON
We’re simply enchantedby our new Hedgewitch designs – a celebration of herbalism and the power of ritual practice.
Hedgewitchcraft is a branch of witchcraft that has been practised for centuries. Hedgewitches are healers who specialise in the boundaries between worlds and who seek to traverse those liminal spaces. Their craft is heavily reliant on a good working knowledge of herbalism to allow spiritual exploration and healing, often taking a trial-and-error approach and adjusting their methods based on the efficacy of their rituals.
Featured on the intricate Hedgewitch print are some of a Hedgewitch’s most essential herbs. Oleander, Psilocybe, Belladonna and Hemlock, all of which are highly poisonous plants and fungi, were used in low concentrations to separate the spiritual from the physical and aide astral projection. Ointments made from such flora were said to give a witch their ability to fly, although the hallucinogenic effects such a topical application probably had something to do with this lore. A few brave souls even incorporated deadly nightshade into pain remedies and beauty routines: its effects on the nervous system might have numbed pain and dilated pupils for a wide-eyed look. We know now that its leaves and berries are incredibly lethal, so it’s best to look and not touch – thankfully, it makes for a most beautiful design.
While your first impressions of these pieces may be ones of wonder and intrigue at the alluring flow of the Hedgewitch Midi Dress' summer-ready silhouette or the Wide Leg Trouser's bewitching all-natural, breathable fabric that makes warmer weather bearable for us creatures of the night, peer closer still and you may be surprised to see a friendly face looking back.
This little earth-dwelling creature, best known as a gnome - has appeared in all sorts of folk tales. But have you ever heard of this humble fellow’s intriguing origins?
Physician, alchemist, and philosopher Paracelsus first described gnomes in A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits, published posthumously in 1566, as the elemental being corresponding to earth.
While this might sound a bit “out there” - especially coming from a doctor - Paracelsus became an important figure in the Renaissance because of his open-mindedness. While many of his forerunners and contemporaries dismissed traditional medicine, Paracelsus paid attention to practices and techniques he encountered on his extensive travels across Europe and accumulated remedies based on the work of local healers - and perhaps even one or two Hedgewitches along the way.
Think of this little gnome as an homage to all who encountered a helpful Hedgewitch on their spiritual journeys.
As a result of their results-based approach, the work of bygone Hedgewitches has survived and been passed down through generations to become the basis of many herbal practices we still use to this day.
After all, if their remedies didn’t work, would we even be talking about it today?
So let us honour our ancestors with this homage to Hedgewitchcraft, and prepare our mind for a trip beyond this plane of existence.
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