Bog Myrtle

Bog myrtle, also called sweet gale, is an aromatic deciduous shrub of cool temperate Eurasia and North America, with grey-green leaves set in a spiral and catkins that appear before the leaves. Kynes describes a bushy shrub of two to four feet with sweetly scented foliage. She says it was picked for luck in Scotland and kept mischievous faeries away, though in Ireland it was sometimes held unlucky. She adds that in Yorkshire the leaves replaced hops in gale beer. Kynes gives water and Venus, and powers that include dream work, peace, prosperity and protection. She has a little essential oil diffused to help focus, seeds in a sachet on the bedpost to support dream work, and dried leaves burned in protection spells. Cunningham has no bog myrtle entry. Kynes records a hazard, set out in the safety notes.