Habitat:
Belladonna can be found in waste lands and quarries. Under the shade of trees, on wooded hills, on chalk or limestone, it will grow most luxuriantly, forming bushy plants several feet high. Plants growing in places exposed to the sun are apt to be smaller. It will rarely grow to a large size when cultivated in the open, and is more subject to the attacks of insects than when growing wild in natural conditions.

In the last 1800s to early 1900s the bulk of the world's supply of Belladonna was derived from Southern Europe. The industry was an important one to Croatia and Slavonia in South Hungary, the chief center for foreign Belladonna. The annual crop in those provinces was estimated at 60 to 100 tons of dry leaves and 150 to 200 tons of dry roots.

Description:The root is white, thick, and fleshy and is about six inches long with branches. It is a perennial plant. The purple colored stem is annual and herbaceous. It is stout, about two to four feet high and undivided at the base. 

The flowers appear in June singly in the axils of the leaves and continue blooming until early September. They are dark purple tinged with green large pendent, bell-shaped, and the corolla has five large lobes. 

Folklore: 

As are many plants which can be dangerous or even fatal to humans, belladonna has much lore attached to it. During the Dark Ages and the Burning Times, this plant became associated with the devil:

Who goes about trimming and tending it in his leisure and can only be diverted from its care on one night in the year, that is on Walpurgis, when he is preparing for the witches' Sabbath (Grieve 585).

Walpurgis Night is derived from the feast of Saint Walpurgis, an English saint from the eighth century. Today it refers to the Beltane Eve or the night before May Day which became associated with evil views of witchcraft during the times of persecution. In addition to the common association of deadly nightshade with the most intense of magical energies, there is a far different aspect of this herb's lore, reporting that some believe it to be named for Bellona, the sister of the Roman god of war, Mars.

The priests of Bellona drank an infusion of Belladonna before worshipping Her and invoking Her aid. Bellona is the Roman Goddess of War. Known for her great passion and ability to plunge into battle with torch in one hand and a long whip in the other a cult formed around her of which we can read in Myths and Legends of All Nations: 

….degenerate priests, the Bellonarii, dressed in black [who] honored her at sacrifices by screaming, shouting, and wounding themselves in the arms and legs. Bellona’s temple, built by Appius Claudius Caecus outside the city walls, was used for meetings of the Senate when it was negotiating with ambassadors from foreign countries, and to receive Roman generals returning from a victory (Robinson 136).

 Belladonna is thought to be the plant that poisoned the troops of Marcus Antonius during the Parthian wars. Also according to a Scottish story, when Duncan I was King of Scotland, the soldiers of Macbeth poisoned a whole army of invading Danes by a liquor mixed with an infusion of Dwale supplied to them during a truce. Suspecting nothing, the invaders drank deeply and were easily overpowered and murdered in their sleep by the Scots.

An old legend says that the plant belongs to the devil who goes about trimming and tending it in his leisure and can only be diverted from its care on one night in the year on May Eve. The apples of Sodom are held to be related to this plant. The name Belladonna is said to record an old superstition that at certain times it takes the form of an enchantress of exceeding loveliness that is dangerous to look at. Though it is more generally accepted view is that the name was bestowed on it because its juice was used by the Italian ladies to give their eyes greater brilliance by using the smallest amount to dilate the pupils of eyes.

Ritual Uses:
The association with Saturn is easily seen when we look at the word Atropa, in the generic name for deadly nightshade. Named for one of the Greek Fates, Atropos was most Saturnine in her behavior, holding her magical blade with which she cut the threads of life when a person moved into the realm of death.

Today belladonna may be used in rituals for the dead. Added to the chalice of water which will aspurge the Circle, it may be used to help the spirit let go of its longing for the life ended, helping the beloved to move forward into union with the Universe toward rebirth. This herb is corresponded, for obvious reasons with the Death card as it can be used to help cut the old away, allowing you to enter a new stage of life.

Burning some belladonna (do not inhale the smoke) as an offering to Bellona would be appropriate when preparing to do battle, such as when one must work through negotiations, enter a courtroom, or otherwise engage in competition which is not a sport.

Deadly nightshade may be used to invoke Circe (known as the Enchantress) and is considered the appropriate herb when consecrating ritual items which contain the metal lead. There is an affinity with onyx as well. Belladonna and onyx share similar legends and similar energies. To keep your deadly nightshade empowered for ritual, store an onyx in the container. Belladonna may be used to consecrate any jewelry made with onyx.

Although lore suggests harvesting at Beltane Eve, practical gardening suggests that, climate allowing, you harvest at Hallow's Eve. The reality is that the berries should be gathered when they are ripe.

Magical Uses: 
Belladonna was an ingredient of the "flying ointments" used traditionally on May Eve. This is the traditional celebration of the Germanic witches known as Hexen. Flying ointments were prepared with poisonous and psychedelic herbs as a salve. These salves often included soot to help the witch see how much she put on. When the witch would rub the ointment on her skin, she was enabled to '"fly" astrally. Entire covens have been said to fly together in this way to a designated location without actually moving their physical bodies.

Today belladonna is not used often in herb magic due to its high toxicity - all parts of the plant are extremely poisonous and there are still reports of death resulting from accidental ingestion of nightshade. In the past it was used to encourage astral projection and to produce visions, but safer alternatives are available now and belladonna is avoided.

Caution: 
The plant is narcotic and has been used for high fevers with inflammation, pain, dilated pupils, and reddened faces. The leaves are applied externally as a poultice for cancer. Colitis and kidney pain are relieved by this herb. One to three drops of the leaf tincture or one drop of the root tincture is the dose. Belladonna can cause paralysis of the central nervous system if overdose occurs and should not be used without medical supervision.

Works Cited:
Beyerl, Paul. A Compendium of Herbal Magic. Phoenix: Phoenix Publications, 1998.

Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications.1985.

Grieves, M, A Modern Herbal Volume II. Chicago: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1931.585.

Hopman, Ellen Evert. A Druid's Herbal. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1995.

Images:
http://www.awl.ch/heilpflanzen/atropa_belladonnae/