Plants in Santeria

General Cleansing & Clearing Herbs

1. Basil

   • English: Used for purification, attracting prosperity and love; common in omiero and spiritual baths.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Offered to Orishas like Obatalá and Ochún to smooth and clear energies.

2. Rue

   • English: Powerful banishing and protection herb; breaks hexes and dispels negative influences.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Employed in deep cleansings and to set spiritual boundaries.

3. Rosemary

   • English: Clears mental confusion and removes stagnant or harmful energy.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Used in head-feeding rituals and cleansings for spiritual clarity.

4. Eucalyptus

   • English: Cooling, healing, and cleansing; removes heavy energetic illness.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Applied in steam baths, washes, and fumigations to renew breath and spirit.

5. Lemongrass (Caña Santa)

   • English: Eases emotional heaviness and calms the spirit; ideal for gentle omiero and peaceful cleansings.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Softens harsh energies and helps transition from imbalance to balance.

6. Ghost Chaser (Espanta Muerto)

   • English: Repels unwanted spirits and spiritual disturbances.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Used in ancestral cleansings; protects against lingering residual influences.

7. Guásima

   • English: Used in deep ancestral and Eggún-related cleansings.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Effective against generational blockages or heavy spiritual burdens.

8. Almácigo

   • English: Burned in fumigations for purification and defense against spiritual attack.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Stabilizes and protects during high-level cleanse work.

9. Epazote

   • English: Strong herb for layered spiritual issues; cuts through ingrained osogbo.

   • Lukumí / Notes: Used when ordinary cleansings aren’t sufficient to break persistent blockages.

10. Anamú

    • English: Wards off witchcraft and dark energy; used in floor washes and protective baths.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Associated with Babalu Ayé and Ogún; anchors deep spiritual protection.

11. Mastranto (Mexican Mint Marigold)

    • English: Drives away spirits and negativity in deep home cleansings.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Resets heavy loads; frequently combined with other purifying plants.

12. Lantana (Coronilla)

    • English: Calms agitation and rebalances turbulent energies; used in stabilizing cleansings.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Supports containment and equilibrium after intense spiritual work.

Herbs for Prosperity, Love & Harmony

13. Spearmint (Hierba Buena)

• English: Brings freshness, joy, and clarity; used in love workings and to uplift spirit.

• Lukumí / Notes: Lightens burdens and sweetens spiritual conditions.

14. Parsley

• English: Attracts prosperity and love; used in floor washes and money rituals.

• Lukumí / Notes: Symbolizes growth and flourishing.

15. Purslane (Verdolaga)

• English: Promotes health and wealth; used in grounding baths and abundance work.

• Lukumí / Notes: Offered to Yemayá; stabilizes material blessings.

16. Water Flower

• English: Soft, sweet energy associated with beauty, love, and femininity.

• Lukumí / Notes: Offered to Ochún and Yemayá for attraction and harmony.

17. Buttercup (Botón de Oro)

• English: Invokes blessings, sweetness, and peace; used in attraction rituals.

• Lukumí / Notes: Softens resistance and brings favorable energy.

18. Lemon Verbena (Yerba Luisa)

• English: Emotionally balancing; used in rogaciones and omiero to center spirit.

• Lukumí / Notes: Helps integrate serenity and clarity.

19. Sugarcane Juice (Guarapo de Caña)

• English: Symbol of sweetness and abundance; used to “sweeten” life, relationships, or outcomes.

• Lukumí / Notes: Favored in works with Ochún and prosperity petitions.

Orisha-Specific & Sacred Plants

20. Ceiba

    • English: Extremely sacred tree representing ancestral connection; offerings made at its base for Eggún.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Serves as a portal between worlds; publicly venerated.

21. Yagruma

    • English: Aids spirit communication and calms nervous energy; used in ancestral healing.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Stabilizes before channeling ancestors.

22. Mallow (Malva)

    • English: Soothing and healing; associated with peace.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Tied to Obatalá; calms and centers spiritual states.

23. Hog Plum (Jobo)

    • English: Strong cleanser often used with Babalu Ayé; disperses disease energy.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Integral to restorative baths.

24. Wild Culantro (Culantro Cimarrón)

    • English: Sharp, strengthening herb for omiero and ebó; used to cut stagnant energy.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Enhances spiritual resilience.

25. Hazelnut Leaves (Avellana)

    • English: Used for mental clarity and communication with spirits.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Appears in rogaciones to sharpen perception.

26. Willow (Sauce)

    • English: Used for emotional release and processing grief.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Connected to Yemayá and ancestral women; facilitates letting go.

27. Palm Fronds (Marilo / Mariwo)

    • English: Used for ceremonial fencing, altar shielding, and sacred veiling.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Creates spiritual boundaries; essential in initiations and ritual work.

28. Marigold (Flor de Muerto / Tagetes)

    • English: Ancestor flower used to open the way and honor Eggún.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Present on altars and during spiritual masses.

29. Guava

    • English: Clears spiritual disease and opens blocked pathways.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Removes stagnation and refreshes spiritual channels.

30. Tagetes erecta (Flor de San Diego)

    • English: Soothes malevolent spirits and promotes peaceful rest.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Gentle cleansing energy; placed near sleeping areas or altars.

31. Oregano

    • English: Brings joy and healing; used in gentle cleansings and love workings.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Harmonizes and softens strong energy.

32. Pine

    • English: Powerful protector; clears spiritual residue.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Common in floor washes to fence and defend spaces.

33. Mint

    • English: Refreshes and uplifts; used in spiritual perfumes and cleansings.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Adds brightness and light clarity.

34. Fig Leaves (Higuera)

    • English: Used for fertility and ancestral connection.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Appears in lineage and family-based work.

35. Tamarind

    • English: Neutralizes heavy negativity; used in strong cleansings.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Resets after deep disturbances.

36. Ginger

    • English: Activates and energizes spiritual power; breaks blockages and empowers baths or rituals.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Catalyst for transformation.

37. Oak

    • English: Symbol of strength and protection.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Leaves used in ebó and works with Ogún or Shangó.

38. Palms

    • English: Used for sacred veiling, spiritual fencing, and omiero; connected to multiple Orishas.

    • Lukumí / Notes: Versatile in initiation, protection, and transmission of life.