The word dandelion comes from the French "dent de lion" meaning "lion's tooth" because of its long, coarse-toothed, leaves. 

Taraxacum officinale ("remedy for disorders") 

Planet: Jupiter

Element: Air

Color: Gold, Yellow, Purple

Deity: Hecate, Brighid, Belenos

Folk Names: Blowball, Cankerwort, Lion's Tooth, Piss-a-Bed, Priest's Crown, Puffball, 

Swine Snout, White Endive, Wild Endive, Priest's Crown, Irish Daisy, Monk's Head, Telltime 

Medicinal properties: All of the dandelion is edible. Both leaves and roots are extremely high in nutrients. 

They contain protein, calcium, Vitamin A and C, sodium and potassium. 

They also contain beta-carotene, choline (part of the B-complex essential for liver function) and inulin (beneficial for diabetics.) 

The white sap from the stem and root is used as a topical remedy for warts. 

Magickal properties: Divination, Wishes, Calling Spirits. 

The dandelion, which probably originated in Asia, spread throughout the world before written history. When Puritans set out from Europe for the New World, they brought the dandelion for their gardens because it was considered an essential plant for food and health.

Dandelions taste sweet, with a honey-like flavor.

Dandelion is a deep-rooted perennial weed, and the roots stay alive and spread during winter. 
The leaves remains green year-round. 
Yellow flowers appear mainly in the spring on long, smooth, hollow stalks. 
A second bloom occurs in the fall. 
The leaves and flower stalks contain a white sap. 
The flowers give rise to a "puff" ball of brown seeds connected to downy parachutes. 
Seedlings emerge from late spring to early fall, with most emerging in early summer. 
Dandelion will grow in almost any soil type and is most commonly found in sunny areas. 
It reproduces by seed and from new plants that develop from pieces of broken taproots.

Hearty and remarkably persistent, dandelions remain vital throughout the year.

It remains the most common and recognizable weed.

Dandelions grow everywhere and anywhere, and most gardeners try their best to get rid of them. 

Why? I found these reasons:
Dandelions emit ethylene gas, which can hinder growth of its plant neighbors.

Some do it just for the "manicured lawn" look.

Please be careful about where you get your dandelions - especially if you are going to ingest them. Many of the surviving dandelions have absorbed dangerous chemicals from neighboring land. They are not safe to eat if they have been exposed to weed killers and pesticides. Also stay clear of dandelions that grow too close to the road because they absorb the harmful exhaust pollution.

HOWEVER - Good News! 

Dandelions can be beneficial to a garden ecosystem as well. 
Dandelions attract LADYBUGS and provide early spring pollen for their food.
In a study done at the University of Wisconsin, experimental plots with dandelions had more ladybugs and therefore fewer pest aphids, a favorite food of the ladybugs, than did the dandelion-free plots...

Dandelions long roots aerate the soil and enable the plant to accumulate minerals, which are added to the soil when the plant dies. 

The Great Goddess
Shina Tsu Hime

Her themes are Wishes, Freedom, Playfulness, Movement, and she is of the Air element. 

She is a Japanese wind Goddess and a patroness of sailors and farmers. The farmers pray to her for fertile winds bearing seed and rain.

A wishing spell:

Gather nine dandelions. Turn clockwise in a circle releasing all but one while saying:

Come May, bring movement in my goals,

come June - playful love makes me whole.

Come July, my wishes I will see,

come August - hope grows in me.

Come September, all distractions you abate;

come October, my spirit, you liberate.

Come November, my health is assured;

come December - in my heart you endure.

Save the last dandelion, releasing it only when you have a special wish or a need for Shina Tsu Hime to help you.

adapted from 365 Goddess by Patricia Telesco

Growing up on the farm...

Dandelion greens, young ones picked before the flowers go to seed, were cleaned and served raw with diced onions and a cooked bacon dressing. We used to put it over mashed potatoes and use the dressing as a gravy.

(People spend money to go to the grocery store to buy nutrition-less lettuce, when they could be eating a nutrition-packed salad made from free Dandelion greens found growing in their back yards, which they spend more money to kill.) 

Bury Dandelion in the northwest corner of your house to bring about favorable winds.

When the blooms have seeded and are puffy, if rain is approaching the bloom will close up, and it will not open until the rain has passed.

Tea made from the root will help promote psychic power when you drink it. Place the tea next to your bed to call spirits.

You can also roast and grind the roots for a delicious coffee substitute.

Make a wish, then blow the seeds completely off the head with one blow - and your wish will come true.

Blow the seeds once, and you will live as many years are there seeds left attached.

Blow three times at the seeds, the number of seeds left is the hour.

Concentrate on a message for a friend, then blow the seeds toward them to send it.

It's said that if you can blow all the seeds off with one blow, then you are loved with a passionate love. If some seeds remain, then your lover has reservations about the relationship. If a lot of the seeds still remain on the globe, then you are not loved at all, or very little.

Pray Peace