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Gardening By Moonlight

It's June. The days are short, the nights are long and I'm trying to get some garlic in the ground. For the past weeks I've been waiting on a waning moon in which to plant it.

While I'm usually too impatient to stick to lunar planting cycles, my (probably-too-ambitious) winter garlic crop can use all the help it can get. Lunar planting guides are included in many gardening books and charts and the practice feels so ancient and witchy that I had to investigate its origins, and the nature of witchiness itself.

The basics

Moon planting, lunar planting or lunar gardening is the practice of timing agricultural activities according to the phases of the Moon.

Though there are some variations on which types of plants do best in the waxing and waning phases, modern lunar planting guides seem to follow this rhythm:

1. New Moon to First Quarter (Waxing): Good for sowing crops that grow above ground (leafy greens, cereals, fruiting plants).

2. Full Moon: Associated with peak moisture and vitality. (Generally not a time for planting).

3. Last Quarter (Waning): Best for planting root crops, pruning, and harvesting.

4. Dark/New Moon: A time of rest, clearing and soil regeneration.

Old ways

Connections between agriculture and the moon seem to be ancient and widespread; the Babylonians, Assyrians and Romans all had lunar systems for determining the best times for planting, harvesting and land care.

"...a field containing stumps is best cleared when the moon is decreasing..." writes Cato in 'De Agri Cultura'; an all-purpose Roman farming almanac that includes rituals and prayers.

Some cultures have developed sophisticated planting calendars integrated within or associated with a larger lunar calendar (looking at you, mesoamerican long count calendar). The Māori Maramataka system recognises up to 32 distinct moon phases to give guidance on the best days for planting, harvesting and fishing.

"...a field containing stumps is best cleared when the moon is decreasing..."

- Cato the Elder

Many of the ideas around lunar planting that you will encounter today were popularised by the work and followers of Rudolf Steiner, and carried on in the biodynamic and organic farming communities.

Is lunar planting 'witchy'?

It's important to acknowledge that a lot of the ideas surrounding contemporary western witchcraft are the result of cultural reconstruction - 20th century idealism layered over much older, fragmentary cultural traditions.

Lunar planting (at least the type you find on seed packets) is a similarly reconstructed practice that was popularised in the 20th century by Steiner and his disciples.

I'm still working out what kinds of contemporary cultural practices I would define as 'witchy' - it's a vibes and values based assessment at this point, but I intend to use these writings to order my thoughts around this.

To me, moon planting has all the hallmarks of witchiness. It's an ancient and widespread practice that varies by region. It connects people to both the land and the unseen power of the greater cosmos. It is also, I would argue; an enchanted worldview - a system of knowledge that layers observation of the natural world with an appreciation for unseen powers.

You can't get much more witchy than that.

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This is a post about intention, direction and cultivation.

Witchcraft is my happy place. Learning about it, writing about it, experiencing it. It's both grounding and uplifting and there are so many trails of enchanted breadcrumbs to follow (and plenty of rabbit holes to fall into).

But frankly, as someone who struggles with focus and direction it can be overwhelming.

With that in mind, I'm setting the intention publicly for how I will structure this blog and the types of subjects I would like to focus on.

I'm dividing up my writing into five pillars:

#Historical Witchcraft — grimoires, laws, persecution and cultural shifts.

#Folklore & Belief— folk magic, paganism, seasonal beliefs, charms and protection.

#Spells, Recipes & Practices — adapted historical or reconstructed rites.

#Modern Resonances — echoes of witchcraft in popular culture and aesthetics. The long shadow of Margaret Murray.

#Personal Reflections — my own experiences, thought and philosophy.

With this in mind, I'll be adding to the archive regularly to explore these topics in short and long form.

#witchcraft #paganism #hedgewitch #folklore

[salt-circle-archive]

Welcome to the Salt Circle Archive.

I've created this space to explore witchcraft, folklore, and folk magic and the threads that connect magical traditions to modern culture.

This blog is born from my love of old stories and older spells—of rowan-wood charms, cunning folk in crooked cottages, and trial records that still whisper from the margins.

I’m especially drawn to the witchcraft history (and folk culture) from the British Isles: the long shadow of the Witchcraft Acts, the quiet work of wise women and village healers, and the way superstitions have threaded themselves into everyday life.

From witch bottles buried under thresholds to salt circles and seasonal rites, these fragments of belief still linger in language, landscape, and ritual today.

My aim is to gather them here—scraps of lore, reconstructed spellwork, trial accounts, remedies, omens, feast days.

Some posts will be deep dives into historical sources. Others will explore the symbolic, the personal, and the speculative. All are part of an ongoing archive: part field notebook, part folklore cabinet, part spellbook.

If you're a fellow hedge-witch, history enthusiast, or folklore fiend, I hope you find something here that speaks to you.

Let the work begin—