Magical Properties of Licorice Root: Commanding Sweet Root

[Green-Witch-Jen]

There are herbs we reach for when we want to ask, and others when we mean to be obeyed. Licorice root belongs firmly to the second kind.

Beneath its sweet, unassuming flavor lies one of the most assertive roots in the whole apothecary, a quiet powerhouse that bends situations, softens stubborn hearts, and lends our words a weight they did not have before. I’ve kept it in my working cabinet for years, and it has never once let me down when I needed to take the reins.

What I love most about this root is its paradox: it is sweet enough to charm and strong enough to command. Where so many of our plant allies whisper and gently nudge energy along… licorice speaks plainly and expects to be heard.

Its energy can be used for commanding, binding, love and lust and the steely personal power that make Sweet Root such a treasured companion in the craft.

Metaphysical Properties of Licorice Root

Licorice carries a “velvet glove over an iron hand” energy. It is receptive and feminine in nature, flowing like water, yet it directs that flow with unmistakable intent. Think of it as the diplomat (who always gets their way).

• Command & compulsion: bending a person or situation toward your will
• Persuasion & eloquence: sweetening the tongue and opening the ears of others
• Love, lust & passion: kindling desire and drawing affection close
• Fidelity & binding: keeping a lover faithful and tying intentions tight
• Willpower & self-mastery: fortifying your own resolve and nerve
• Protection & warding: shielding against ill will and the evil eye
• Amplification: strengthening and harmonizing every other herb it joins

It is, above all, a root of influence, over others and over oneself.

Magical Correspondences of Licorice Root

Correspondence	Association
Latin Name	Glycyrrhiza glabra
Planet	Mercury & Venus (with a quiet thread of Jupiter)
Element	Water
Signs	Gemini, Virgo & Taurus
Deities	Aphrodite, Venus, Hermes/Mercury, Thoth & Ma’at
Chakras	Throat (Vishuddha)
Day	Wednesday (and Friday for love work)
Folk Names	Sweet Root, Sweetwood, Liquorice, Lacris, Lycorys, Reglisse, Black Sugar
Sabbats	Beltane

Magickal Properties of Licorice Root

Domination, Compulsion & Persuasion

In conjure and rootwork, it is one of the great commanding herbs, an assertive plant alleged to grant the bearer control over a person or a situation, which is why it sits at the heart of classic blends built to make another do your bidding. Pair it with calamus, that powerful controlling root, and you have a duo that has been steering wills for generations, sweetly when persuasion will do and firmly when it won’t.

I turn to Sweet Root whenever my voice needs to carry.

Dress a candle with a licorice-infused oil before a difficult negotiation; tuck a chip of the root into your shoe before you face a boss or a board; burn it as incense while you work a domination candle over a petition.

Because it rules the throat, it also lends genuine eloquence. Chew a sliver, if you’re cleared to, before you must speak and feel your words land softer and surer. Just remember: commanding work is potent, and the ethics are yours to weigh. Be sure before you reach for it.

Love, Lust & the Binding of Fidelity

Licorice has long been a root of the bedroom and the heart.

Its old reputation for stirring the blood (chewing it was said to quicken the pulse and… rouse the passions) gave it a place in lust and passion work that endures to this day. Add it to a love sachet you or your beloved carries, slip it into a mojo to draw romance, or work it into oils and incense to kindle desire where it has gone cold. It is a magnet for attraction and an accelerant for passion.

But its most pointed love-magic is the keeping kind.

There is a wonderfully old practice of sprinkling powdered licorice into the footprints of a wandering lover to keep them from straying, and of binding it into charms meant to secure devotion. This is where its commanding nature and its loving nature meet, as licorice doesn’t merely attract but binds. Ground into powder with other roots, it makes a fine addition to fidelity and binding spells, knotting two hearts (or one situation) firmly together.

To keep or attract, that is licorice’s act.

Protection, Willpower & Personal Power

For all its sweetness, licorice is a fierce guardian.

It was buried in the tombs of the ancient world to guard the soul’s passage into the afterlife, and that protective virtue carries into our work today. Wrap a piece in dark cloth and carry it against psychic attack, hang it at the threshold to ward the home, or tie a small cross of root with red thread as a charm against injury and the evil eye.

It expels what does not belong and raises a wall around the practitioner.

Turn it inward and it becomes a tonic for the will. When my own resolve is flagging, I enchant a little of the root toward steadiness and self-mastery, then carry it or sprinkle it on myself before the task at hand. It fortifies nerve, sharpens focus, and steadies the hand, the same strengthening, harmonizing quality that lets it amplify every other herb it touches.

True power need not roar. It can hum low and certain beneath everything else.

How to Use Licorice Root in Spellwork and Rituals

Licorice slips easily into nearly every form of working: tucked whole into mojo bags and spell jars, ground into commanding and binding powders, infused into dressing oils, simmered into floor washes, or burned as incense to charge your tools and yourself with authority.

Below is a simple commanding rite I use when I need a person or situation to come around to my way of thinking, gentle in method and firm in intent.

A Rite to Command the Tongue and Turn a Mind

1. On a Wednesday, cleanse your space and sit with a purple candle, a pinch of dried licorice root, a small dish, and a slip of paper.
2. Write your petition (the outcome you intend) and fold the paper toward you three times.
3. Dress the candle with oil, then roll it in the licorice and set it over the folded petition.
4. Light the wick, hold your intention firmly in mind, and speak the chant three times.
5. Let the candle burn down safely, then carry the petition with you until the matter is settled.

"Sweet of root and strong of will,
bend the mind and hold it still.
By my word their ear is turned,
the favour sought, the favour earned.
As this root is sweet and sure,
so my command shall long endure."

Work it with respect, thank the root for its labour, and trust the slow, certain way it moves. Blessed be.

[SacredOak]

Licorice root responds well to clear timing. I use the waxing moon to increase authority and draw compliance or to sweeten someone toward my words, and the waning moon when I’m breaking another person’s hold over me. For commanding sweet root spells, I avoid vague petitions. The root performs best when given a narrow road to walk.

If you’re going to use a root like this, just make sure you’re ready for it.

Dispose of remains according to the aim. Keep them close for ongoing influence, bury at your threshold for household authority, or send them away in running water when the matter is finished.

[AstralDrifter]

Licorice root works well in a success sachet for job stuff. I toss a few chips in with some cinnamon and carry it to interviews. The root helps your words land with extra pull so the hiring folks lean your way.

Just set the intent clear. It also amps up any other herbs you mix in without overpowering them.

[selenite_dreams]

For licorice root in sweet root work, I’d want whole chips or sticks if possible. You can hold and breathe command into the root before powdering or tying it.

[PotionMaster]

Licorice root makes a commanding sweet root. Try it for full moon work aimed at long-term goals. I sometimes place a small piece on the altar when I want to nudge group energy toward one shared outcome. It tends to hold everyone in the same current without anyone feeling pushed, and keeps the focus soft but present.

[BlackCauldron]

Quick practical technique for anyone working licorice root into spell jars or candle work: write your petition as a command instead of a wish. So instead of “I hope my words are received well,” try “My words are received with respect and favor.” Then lay a thin shaving of licorice root directly across the written line, like a tiny staff of authority resting on your intent. Works well for me.

I also like grinding a pinch with slippery elm when the goal is persuasive speech without the gossip or backlash that sometimes follows, like in workplace meetings or family discussions.

I

[its-me-bitch]

OMG licorice root is blowing my mind! As a newbie, I tried adding a bit to a love sachet with honey (they say honey and licorice pair well) and immediately felt its energy. I even sipped licorice tea before a nerve-wracking phone call and it steadied my nerves and voice (I heard it’s adaptogenic, so maybe that’s why?). People told me I sounded confident afterward!

I’m obsessed. Still experimenting, but licorice is definitely my new favorite ally.

[Cassandra]

Licorice is ruled by Mercury and Venus, so it brings eloquence and charm. I use it on Wednesdays for Mercury’s clear-thinking energy and on Fridays for Venus’s sweet vibes.

It energizes my speech when Gemini or Virgo is prominent, and it feels extra potent for loyalty work when Taurus or Libra is involved. Being water-aligned, I also notice it hits home under a Pisces or Scorpio moon, where intuition and emotions get a nice boost.

Licorice helps with speaking truth and sweetening hearts. Timing my spells to those planetary vibes seems to make a difference.

[ChillVibesOnly]

If anyone wants to go deeper on the commanding/engaging family of roots, Catherine Yronwode’s Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic has a good entry on licorice that traces its conjure history alongside calamus and bend-over root. It lines up with what OP wrote about the velvet glove energy.

Judika Illes’ Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells also has a handful of sweet root petitions worth flipping through if you can find a copy.

[SilverBroomstick]

Just wanted to add, OP. When you use licorice for throat chakra work, does it land better spoken aloud or carried silently as a charm? For me it behaves so differently depending on whether I give it a job through words, chanting over a candle or that sort of thing, versus just tucking it into a mojo bag and letting it quietly shape the room. Two completely different currents.

Also curious, do you separate your licorice for love work from the pieces used for commanding? I keep mine in different jars with different prayers so the energies don’t blur into each other.