Mod content notice: Please be aware that some herbal associations and lore explored may be difficult for some (TW: Death)
Merry meet,
'Tis the season to spotlight one of my favorite purple plants! Let’s talk lilacs 
Lovely Lilacs
Lilac season falls in the liminal space between Beltane and Litha. You may have seen the colorful bunches piled high on shrubs and small trees along the road or in the garden. They come in a variety of colors ranging from white to pale or dark purple.
According to the Lilac page on Wikipedia, they are actually in the olive family Oleaceae and are native to the Balkans. Lilacs can be found in the wild but are very popular for their enticing scent and are beloved as a garden ornamental. Blooms vary by the individual plant and growing zone, but they are generally considered a flower of late spring and early summer.
Doorways…
Due to their beauty and fragrance, lilacs are a popular choice for doorway gardens and fences near the home. In his book The Heirloom Gardener, John Forti dedicates a chapter to “dooryard gardens” where he explores the plants of the “middle ground” - the liminal space between the private home and the public streets beyond. Lilacs are mentioned as a popular choice.
The corners of the house were most frequently planted with lilac, as a harbinger of spring and standard bearer for fragrance… ~ The Heirloom Gardener
…And Death
Lilacs bloom in liminal spaces not only in the yard, but also between here and the beyond. This is a plant associated with transition from one life into the next.
In some English traditions, the lilacs were placed in coffins to help mask the scent of death.
The origins of this particular bit of folklore are murky, but there is a theory that it may be due to the practice of using lilacs to mask the scent of death by placing them in a coffin. This concept is slightly problematic, as lilacs only bloom for a short period each year. Regardless, it does appear to be localized to certain areas of England. ~ From Learn Religions: Lilac Magic
Famous American poet Walt Whitman wrote his poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” in mourning of the assassination of President Lincoln. When reflecting on the piece, Whitman said:
I remember where I was stopping at the time, the season being advanced, there were many lilacs in full bloom. By one of those caprices that enter and give tinge to events without being at all a part of them, I find myself always reminded of great tragedy of that day by the sight and odor of these blossoms. It never fails. ~ From ‘Specimen Days’ lecture, quote from Wikipedia
While spending time in the Polish countryside, I heard several times the warning to never try to replant a lilac tree. It is believed that when someone uproots a lilac and relocates it, someone in their family will die.
I can’t find a source online for this one, but my spouse (who is Polish) insists this is true. Needless to say, we will not be transplanting any lilac trees! (I asked and yes, it’s perfectly fine to cut branches and bring lilac inside. Just no uprooting the plant according to the folklore).
A Faerie Flower (?)
For some reason, I had a strong association between lilacs and the Fae. But when I went hunting around for trustworthy resources, not much came up. The only historical link between lilacs and fairies I could find was the Lilac Fairy from The Sleeping Beauty ballet.
The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who you may recognize from his other works: Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. In The Sleeping Beauty, a character known as the Lilac Fairy represents the forces of good and acts throughout the piece to aid the main characters.
Each fairy brings a gift of a virtue or positive trait, such as beauty, courage, sweetness, musical talent, and mischief. The most powerful fairy, the Lilac Fairy, arrives with her entourage, but before she can bestow her gift, the evil fairy Carabosse arrives with her minions. ~Wikipedia: The Sleeping Beauty
That isn’t much for a tie between fairies and lilac, so I’ll write this one down as a personal association for the time being. If you also have personal associations or credited sources that link lilac to fairies, I’d love to hear them!
Purple Power
The jury is still out about lilacs and fairies, but when it comes to color magick, the association is an obvious one. There’s even a special shade of purple called “lilac” - it’s the plant’s signature color!
Purple is a magickal color of royalty, higher powers, and spiritual abilities. It is the color associated with the Fifth Element: Spirit and believed to assist those who wish to connect with the divine.
Kitchen Magick
You might be surprised to hear that lilacs are actually considered to be edible! I certainly never thought of them as a snack plant, but they can used be in cooking. It is only the flower buds that are used and flavor can vary greatly depending on the variety.
Lilac flowers are edible, but flavor varies among cultivars, from no flavor to “green” and lemony flavors. Gather insect- and disease-free blooms early in the day. Avoid any that are unopened or past their peak. Wash the flowers gently in cool water. Pat them dry and refrigerate until ready to use. ~ Almanac: Lilacs
Popular uses for lilac buds include sugar/candied flowers and lilac syrup. Here are some lilac recipes you might try:
Lilac Correspondences
The following correspondences are suggestions based on the blooming season and associations of lilacs. Please also consider any personal associations you may have.
Season: Spring, Summer
Sabbat: Beltane, Litha
Elements: Water 
Zodiacs: Taurus, Gemini, Cancer
Magickal Uses of Lilac
Lilac is a flower of liminal spaces and the in-between. It is associated with transitory spaces both in the physical world and the bridge between life and death. As such, it is a good plant for those pursuing Hedge Magick and working with The Veil. It may also assist those who wish to explore their own shadows and find peace in the darker areas of their heart and soul. A talisman or amulet made with lilac could help provide guidance when journeying into Shadow Work. It’s associations with death could be beneficial for those doing Spirit Work, such as through psychography or other methods of mediumship.
As one of the flowers of spring and summer, lilacs could be a colorful addition to either Beltane or Litha altars, depending on when blooms appear locally in your area. These flowers could make a nice offering to nature or floral deities.
More Herbal Magick
Ready for more plant lore and green witchery? Here are some more plants you may find interesting.
Crocus: Transformation and Travel
Snowdrops: A Spring Flower for Breaking Curses
Do you like lilacs? Have you ever used them in spellwork?
Feel free to share your spell experiences, advice, and wisdom with fellow coven members in the comments below.
Blessed be and happy almost Litha!
I love them and dislike them at the same time lol
I hope you’re able to enjoy the lilacs from afar! 
I’m a huge lover of signs and correspondences. We all brought our favorite tarot and oracle decks to the ending ceremony and drew one of each. I got two different cards that both said Spring, and also the Fool. Together with the spring association here with the lilac, and the connection to gateways, I like to think of my graduation as a birth. I still have my teacher, just like most babies have their mother, but I’m ready to start taking my first steps. They will feel wobbly at first, and I’ll be tripping over my own two feet, but that’s part of the process. I’m still doing it! And I want to write this for anyone who might have gone or is going through a similar gateway into a new world, however it may look for you. It’s not an end but a beginning! Something new is coming out of this and we can’t see what it is yet, there maybe hiccups and false starts and whatever, but every step is a step forward in the larger scheme of things. We’ll cross all of those bridges when we get to them. A Fool is a fun thing to be, I’m going to enjoy it while I can 
Morning Glory = the daily opening of the
