The reasons for using smoking blends are almost as varied as the number of plants you can roll in a joint.
There are numerous benefits to incorporating spices, flowers, and herbs into your weed. It smells good, looks good, and tastes good. Medicinal properties such as relieving insomnia, pain, or stress, can be supported and heightened by blending herbs with your herb. Smoking blends can also stretch your stash a bit, essentially watering down your weed and bringing your tolerance levels down while still satisfying your urge to smoke.
Smoking blends are a time-honored tradition that religious folk around the world have utilized for millennia to commune with the energies of the natural and spirit worlds. Whether you vape or smoke, if you’ve ever been curious about mixing your cannabis with other plants, read on. Instructions on how to make a blend are below, and I have a few recipes at the bottom.
Before you create your smoking blend make sure you do your research.
Talk to an herbalist or naturopath to know if a particular plant is safe for you. If you are pregnant, some plants are off-limits. Taking pharmaceuticals? Some plants are off limits. If you are neurodivergent, some plants may be off limits.
Be wise about where you collect your harvest when you don’t buy your supplies. Find organic sources. Flowers grown next to a busy street, for example, may have been exposed to all sorts of toxins. Harvesting flowers from private property could be a real buzz-kill for the gardener who planted them. And harvesting in wild areas without considering the impact on the environment is not honoring The Goddess.
All that being said, in many cities it’s legal to harvest from a plant if the plant part is in public space (check your local public space harvesting laws.) Find out what plants are invasive in your area and see if there are any you want to work with. Your harvesting that plant helps thin it out. Connect with Indigenous land steward groups to learn more ways to harvest your own plants with mindful practices. And don’t be afraid to grab a few plastic pots and start growing your own herbs! It’s truly a baller move to pluck a leaf off a plant you’re growing and roll it up into your smoke.
To make your own smoking blends, start with a simple recipe, quality ingredients, and a spirit for adventure.
If the idea of mixing your cannabis with other herbs seems odd, remember one of the most popular ways to smoke weed—blunts—is a blend. It’s just cannabis mixed with tobacco, usually rolled in tobacco leaf papers. Many lovely premade smoking blends are available, and it can be helpful to start off with premade blends to get a feel for how you work with them. However, I also highly recommend making your own, and dial in the exact effect you would like to invoke. An ideal smoking or vaping mixture should include a few different herbs or flowers for a well-rounded flavor and experience. I recommend a combination of two parts binding herbs, one part effects enhancer, and one part flavor, but feel free to play with these portions.
Binding herbs:
These will “bind” the other ingredients into a cohesive blend. Raspberry leaf, damiana, hops, coltsfoot, and mullein all make terrific base plants, relatively cheap and smooth to smoke. Each has favorable properties: Mullein and coltsfoot are suitable for respiratory ailments, raspberry leaf is great for cramps, and damiana has aphrodisiac qualities. Hops are calming. All five are especially tasty when mixed with marigolds, uva ursi, or sage. But be warned that these flowers and herbs can dry out, producing a harsher smoke. If you find that’s the case, gently mist your plant material before smoking or vaping. It should smooth out.
Effects herbs:
These are the ingredients in the blend that have an “effect.” Great effects flowers and herbs include chamomile, basil, rosemary, lavender, thyme, lobelia, blue lotus, and eucalyptus, just to name a few. Each has intense flavors and medicinal qualities of its own, making it a perfect way to bring out the nuances in your weed.
For instance, people experiencing anxiety often use the strain Headband for its calming “heady” sensation; chamomile is going to support that calming effect and add a lovely, sweet honey flavor. If you want a puff or two before bed but all you have is a super-motivating sativa like Pineapple Express, creating a 50/50 mix with lavender flowers is definitely going to help mellow you out. Basil is excellent for nausea and will help you focus. Lobelia, also known as Indian tobacco, has an alkaloid called lobeline that the body treats like nicotine, so people use it in blends to help them stop smoking cigarettes.
Flavor herbs:
Self-explanatory. Some great ones to start with are lavender, anise, and peppermint. Get creative here (safely, of course). Spearmint, lemon or lemongrass, clove, cinnamon, rose, stevia, licorice root, vanilla bean, orange peels—all will provide a delicious layer of flavor, and can help coax out some of the hidden characters in cannabis.
But those are just the basics.
Other types of herbs can vary the smoking properties. For example, if you like your blend to have a more luxurious, thicker smoke, like tobacco, you can add blackberry leaf or willow bark for that extra oomph.
Do some research on sites like Smokable Herbs or The Herbal Academy, and compile a list of flowers, herbs, and spices that are safe to smoke and will result in the medical effects you desire. Then head to a local apothecary or Pagan supply shop to discuss the magickal uses. Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is a great source for basic Witchcraft practices. If you’re in Seattle, I recommend Rainbow Remedies or Sugar Pill for buying your herbs. Ask lots of questions and take some notes, say thank you for their time and wisdom, and spend some money if you can.
Use a mortar and pestle or your weed grinder to get your herbs uniform. Grab a big bowl and add a 1/4 teaspoon per part of each herb to start, adjusting for flavor and strength as you go. If your herbs are dry, add 1-3 of drops of water, juice, or honey to bring up the moisture. Go for a consistency similar to the stickiness of nugs.
To get you started, I have some recipes:
Solar Flare Blend
Excellent for rituals and spell work where you want to bring in high energy, Yang energy, thrust energy. This is a great blend for celebrating solar deities, or evoking dragon or phoenix energy. Also great when heading out with the coven to Dance Church. Mix one part mullein, one part damiana, one part rosemary flowers and leaves, and one part ginseng/lemon/orange peels with an exhilarating sativa like Grapefruit. Moisten with a drop of orange or lemon juice.
Starlight Blend
Ideal for working with dreamtime deities and astral plane entities. This can also assist in out-of-body practices. This soothing, sleep-inducing blend is also great at the end of the night, or if you’re feeling pain, anxiousness, or stress in your body. Just mix one part hops, one part marshmallow flowers, one part chamomile flowers. Add one drop of organic honey with something seriously mellow like Granddaddy Purple or White Rhino.
Guardians of Air Blend
To honor any entities or deities associated with the direction of East and the element of Air. Excellent for Spring and mornings. Also to help a cough. Blend one part mullein, one part coltsfoot, one-half part eucalyptus, one-half part sage, and one part peppermint with a smooth indica like Afghan Kush. It might seem counter-intuitive to smoke something to help a cough, but it’s an alternative treatment used around the world.
The Couch of the Empress Blend
For people who experience their menses intensely. For doing any work with Mothering deities. To help with cramps or other sore muscles, mix one part raspberry leaf, one part willow bark, one part sassafras. Add one part wormwood and a tiny pinch of clove. Blend with sweet and spicy indicas high in CBD, like Milky Way, Sweet & Sour Widow, or Shiatsu Kush.
The Serpent’s Kiss
A sexy blend that tastes better when shared with a lover or lovers. This is perfect for working with Love and Lust deities, as well as glamour-based Witchcraft. Two parts damiana, one part blue lotus, one part rose. Add 1 drop of organic honey, with dried apple peels, and vanilla bean. Moisten the blend with a few drops of pomegranate juice. Pair it with super sexy strains like Cherry Diesel, Strawberry Cough, or Kali Dog.
Another approach to smoking blends is to incorporate flower wraps.
Twitter user @simple_sasha broke the Internet with her video demonstrating how to create a blunt-like wrap with fresh rose petals. It smokes smoothly and looks sexy as hell. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. Roses have added flavor to sweets, teas, and smoking blends like shisha all over Europe and India for centuries.
HOW TO ROLL A ROSE BLUNT pic.twitter.com/2Cr26rzllF
— Sasha💋 (@simple_sasha) September 14, 2017
If all that sounds like too much work, never fear. Many vape-cartridge makers now offer options with essential oil blends. This opens up your possibilities past what might be growing on your front stoop. Some folks are recommending adding essential oils to your cartridges, but I would encourage talking with an aromatherapist or naturopath first to get advice on the proper dilution rates. If you are vaping, remember to keep your temperatures low by taking small, short pulls. And don’t forget to savor the flavor!
Read More…
Get a reading!
Subscribe to my Patreon for the weekly podcast!
Watch my Six Week Guide to the Witch’s Sabbats
And sign up for my Newsletter!
Portions of this were originally published in Seattle Weekly.
This is super helpful Meagan! I’ve been looking to change my smoking habits to fit my needs better, and I’m excited to try these options out!
You are so welcome Krista! There’s so many benefits, but you also have so much variety! Smoke in good health, friend.