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Botanical Name
Hylotelephium telephium
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Details

Orpine is a succulent perennial of the stonecrop family, native to Eurasia, with flowers held in dense heads that can be reddish or yellowish-white. Wikipedia lists its other names as livelong, frog's-stomach, harping Johnny, life-everlasting, live-forever, midsummer-men, Orphan John, witch's moneybags and garden stonecrop, and says it was formerly counted among the species of Sedum. Kynes enters it as Stonecrop, giving the same Latin name and the other names everlasting, love-forever and Midsummer men. She says the plant gained a reputation for lasting forever because it resisted drying out and grew in stony soil, and that in Britain, Germany and Switzerland it was used for love divination on Midsummer's Eve. She gives the element water, the Moon, and powers of divination, healing, love, loyalty, protection and strength. She has you grow it as a protective charm, sprinkle seeds on an altar to help divination, and place flower clusters in a love spell. She sells seeds.

References

#1#2

Correspondences

Elements
Water
Celestial Bodies
Moon
Zodiac Signs
No zodiac signs recorded.
Colours
No colours recorded.
Deities
No deities recorded.

Folk Names

  • Everlasting
  • Harping Johnny
  • Life-Everlasting
  • Live-Forever
  • Livelong
  • Love-Forever
  • Midsummer Men
  • Orphan John
  • Stonecrop
  • Witch's Moneybags

Categories

  • Divination
  • Fidelity
  • Healing
  • Love
  • Protection
  • Strength

Substitutes

No substitutes recorded.

Forms

Flower

Kynes places several clusters of flowers in a love spell. Wikipedia says the flowers are held in dense heads.

References

#3#4

Seed

Kynes sells seeds and has you sprinkle a handful on an altar or table to help divination.

References

#5

References

Notes

  1. Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Stonecrop".
  2. Wikipedia, under "Hylotelephium telephium."
  3. Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Stonecrop".
  4. Wikipedia, under "Hylotelephium telephium."
  5. Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Stonecrop".

Bibliography

  • Kynes, Sandra. The Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants: History, Folklore, Correspondences, and Spells. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2024. (EPUB.)135
  • Wikipedia, under "Hylotelephium telephium." Accessed October 23, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hylotelephium_telephium&oldid=1374817239. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)24