The herb library · Touch of Magick Book of Shadows
Coltsfoot is a plant of sequence. Its yellow flower heads rise on scaly stalks before the broad leaves appear, earning old names that notice the child arriving before the parent. In a Book of Shadows, that unusual order can support reflection on beginnings whose full structure has not yet become visible.
At a glance
| English / Spanish | Coltsfoot / Tusílago |
|---|---|
| Botanical identity | Tussilago farfara |
| Plant family | Asteraceae |
| Part discussed | Dried herb, 0.5 ounce; flowering stalks and later leaves are illustrated |
Getting to know coltsfoot
Kew accepts Tussilago farfara as a temperate perennial native from Eurasia through North Africa and the Himalaya. The single-species genus belongs to the daisy family. [1]
The U.S. Forest Service describes a rhizomatous forb whose yellow flower heads emerge before the leaves. Later leaves are broad, angular to heart-shaped, and pale beneath. The plant is introduced in North America and can spread vigorously, so this page is not a guide to gathering or growing it. [2]
History & documented traditions
In The Complete Herbal, Nicholas Culpeper places coltsfoot under Venus. His account belongs to seventeenth-century English astrological herbalism. We preserve the named correspondence while leaving aside his period medical instructions. [3]
Coltsfoot also has a long medicinal history, but modern scholarship discusses pyrrolizidine alkaloids and safety concerns. This guide makes no health claim and recommends no ingestion, application, or smoke. [4]
Spiritual uses
Our suggested themes are sequence, emergence, patience, and trusting that a beginning can be real before every supporting detail appears. The flower-first pattern can become a reminder to distinguish courageous first steps from reckless haste: begin what is ready, then make room for the leaves—the systems, boundaries, and care—that must follow.
If Venus belongs in your practice, treat Culpeper’s attribution as one historical lens for harmony and relationship, not a universal law and not a promise of attraction.
Correspondences
| Historical planet | Venus — Nicholas Culpeper’s Coltsfoot entry. [3] |
|---|---|
| Documented context | Seventeenth-century English astrological herbalism; a named source, not an ancient universal. |
| Spiritual themes | Sequence, emergence, patient timing, and building support after a beginning — Touch of Magick suggestions. |
| Suggested element / colors | Earth and Air; golden yellow, green, pale silver, and parchment cream — Touch of Magick choices. |
A practice for your own Book of Shadows
Keep the dried herb sealed, or draw a yellow flower on one page and a hoof-shaped leaf on the facing page. Under the flower, write what is ready to begin now. Under the leaf, write the structure that must grow afterward: time, consent, skill, money, rest, or help. Circle one first step and one support step that belong together.
Journal prompt
What may begin before I can see the whole path—and what support must I promise to build next?
Bring coltsfoot into your practice
Explore the matching half-ounce dried botanical supply and its current availability.
Keep the dried herb sealed, dry, and away from children and pets. Do not ingest, apply, burn, smoke, or identify gathered plants from this page. Coltsfoot contains compounds associated with safety concerns, and it can be invasive outside its native range.
Sources & further reading
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Tussilago farfaraAccepted identity, native range, and growth form.
- U.S. Forest Service: Tussilago farfaraMorphology, phenology, habitat, and North American status.
- Nicholas Culpeper: The Complete Herbal, ColtsfootPrimary historical text for the Venus attribution.
- Chen et al. (2021): Review of Tussilago farfaraScholarly review of ethnobotany, chemistry, and safety concerns.
Original practices, colors, and spiritual themes are Touch of Magick suggestions; the planetary attribution belongs to Culpeper.