When Plants Become Magical Texts
Occult botanicals entered my artistic world long before I had a name for them. I felt their presence in the way roots twisted like runes, in the way petals mirrored themselves into strange symmetry, in the way seeds glowed as if carrying more than mere potential. In my work, plants are never passive forms. They behave like coded messages, small vessels of intuition that speak in symbols rather than literal meaning. Their language comes from folklore, ritual and the quiet logic of nature, where transformation and mystery are inseparable.
The Folklore Origin of Magical Plants
Across Slavic, Baltic and Mediterranean folk traditions, plants were understood as intermediaries between the visible and the hidden. They predicted seasons, protected homes, carried spells, healed heartbreak or exposed deceit. A twisted root could warn of danger. A blooming flower at the wrong time of year could foretell a journey. A seed that refused to germinate could mark emotional stagnation. When I paint occult botanicals, I tap into this centuries-old understanding that plants hold knowledge. They don’t simply grow—they reveal.
Roots as Subterranean Symbols
Roots have always fascinated me because they behave like a secret alphabet. In folklore, root systems were read like omens: straight, clean roots promised harmony, while tangled or forked ones warned of conflict. In my art, roots act as maps of emotional undergrounds. They trace what is hidden, what twists in silence, what breaks and reforms. A root glowing in neon green or deep cobalt becomes a signal of movement beneath the surface. It speaks of subconscious forces, ancestral memory and intuitive truth.
Petals as Spells and Signs
Petals in occult botanical language are less about beauty and more about intention. A petal that hovers, repeats or mirrors itself feels like a spell in motion. In Slavic flower-reading, petals predicted love, betrayal, return or departure. I bring that logic into my symbolic compositions. A ring of mirrored petals whispers of alignment and fate. A petal split in two suggests emotional fracture. A blooming form with a luminous centre feels like a revelation—an answer rising through softness.
Seeds as Carriers of Hidden Fire
The seed is the most potent occult botanical symbol I work with. In ancient practices, seeds were used as tools of prophecy: their behaviour revealed whether change would come easily or at a cost. In my paintings, seeds glow with inner heat, almost like tiny lanterns of possibility. They mark beginnings, thresholds and spiritual ignition. A seed surrounded by a faint aura becomes a moment of internal awakening—the instant where intuition gathers strength before becoming action.
Night-Blooming Forms and Otherworldly Presence
Night-blooming flowers hold a special power in folklore. They were believed to open gateways, warn of approaching spirits or guide travellers through darkness. When I paint nocturnal botanicals, I try to capture this charged stillness. Their glow is soft but uncanny, as if they generate their own energy. These plants become guardians—protective, watchful, slightly threatening in their beauty. Their radiance is not decorative; it is otherworldly, a reminder that magic often thrives in the spaces where vision fails.
Botanical Hybrids as Mythic Creatures
Some of my occult botanicals are intentionally hybrid—part plant, part spirit, part emotional form. Their bodies twist into shapes that resemble wings, talons or eyes. Folklore is full of such beings: plants that speak, roots that move, flowers that dream. By expanding botanical anatomy into symbolic creatures, I honour these myths while creating my own emotional vocabulary. A bloom that stares back at the viewer becomes an oracle. A root shaped like a spine becomes a memory. A seed suspended mid-air becomes a choice waiting to manifest.
Colour as Magical Atmosphere
Occult botanicals rely heavily on colour frequency. Cobalt signals depth and identity. Neon green marks intuitive electricity. Violet suggests dream logic and psychic permeability. Red carries emotional heat and hidden desire. When these tones wrap around botanical forms, they become more than aesthetic decisions—they create an energetic field. The artwork turns into a ritual space where colour functions like emotional alchemy, shaping the symbolic charge of each plant.
Why Occult Botanicals Guide My Symbolic World
I continue to paint occult botanicals because they allow me to speak through mystery without losing clarity. They offer a language that feels both ancient and personal, rooted in folklore yet open to intuitive interpretation. Through glowing seeds, mirrored petals, tangled roots and night flowers that behave like sentinels, I explore the emotional terrains we rarely name out loud. Occult botanicals remind me that the natural world is full of hidden messages—and that sometimes the most magical revelations grow quietly in the dark, waiting to be read.
