Herbal Forecast for June 2019

June 2019, Moon of Hyldemoer Herbal Forecast for Liminal Light

[ These notes are suggestions for herbal allies to assist with the effects of the cosmic influences of this month. Before imbibing any of the herbs recommended, research what is a recommended dosage, ask yourself & research such questions as, Does this herb interfere with any medications I am taking?, Does this herb match with my constitution?, Do I really need to take this herb into my body? Be wise: listen to your own body, intuition, guiding spirits & the plants themselves.

Imbibing the herbs recommended is of course only one way of meeting the herbs. There are countless manners of developing relationships with our herbal allies including sitting with the fresh or dry herbs, or a picture/drawing of the herb, making an amulet to wear or have on your altar (adhering to planetary hours/days is important here), visioning or meditating with the plant, & taking an herbal body or foot bath (In this case remember your skin is the largest organ of your body). Use your imagination & listen to the plants, they have been on this planet much longer than we have, are our Elders & have great wisdom to offer.]

The main herbs I have chosen for the month of June are Motherwort (Leonorus cardiaca) & Cleavers (Galium aparine). Both are Venus ruled herbs, yet Cleavers is ruled by Water & Motherwort is of Fire. As well, Parsley (Petroselinum crispum/P. sativa) ruled by Mercury/Mars & the element Air may serve one well as an ally this month.

“There is not better herb to take melancholy vapours from the heart & to strengthen it.”

Culpeper wrote of Motherwort the lionhearted (Leonorus = lion, cardiaca = heart). Motherwort brings confidence to the heart & circulatory systems on physical, emotional & spiritual levels. Motherwort is a trophorestorative of the heart as Motherwort tones & strengthens the heart muscle, finding the place of balance for each person. Motherwort supports & supports a heart that is dealing with great anxiety & stress, emotionally as well as physically from heart palpitations, high blood pressure or other conditions of the heart. Motherwort prevents internal blood clots that can lead to heart attack & reduces blood pressure.

As a cooling bitter, Motherwort calms heat & overexcitement in the body. Motherwort is a diaphoretic, so assists with opening the pores of the skin to release a fever. It helps those with fever, colds, chills or influenza with nervous conditions. It also gently stimulates the colon & kidneys & relaxes the uterus.

Motherwort has been called upon for ages as a tonic for the uterus & reproductive organs. As an emmenagogue, it brings on late menses & will ease menstrual cramps & the emotional mood swings that can occur before bleeding. In this way, Motherwort is not recommended during pregnancy. As well, some women who already bleed profusely during their menses may find Motherwort strengthens this flow even more, so maybe would call upon Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) or another ally instead.

Motherwort is called upon in moments when the world seems to fall away beneath ones feet, when one cannot stop the tears from flowing & there seems to be no answers coming forth. Motherwort brings confident aid to those that are experiencing anxiety, restlessness & disturbed sleep, as it is a nervine that works on unease of the heart. Just a couple drops of Motherwort tincture during these moments of overwhelm & unknowing, carrying a leaf of Motherwort in ones pocket, or calling upon her in the spirit realm can bring a deep remembering & knowing.

Even though most commonly Motherwort is associated with the Strength card in Tarot,anymore falls away so that ones truth & self-loving ways can step forward. Motherwort is

one of the heart medicines, along with Rose & Hawthorn, that helps our hearts to be open to giving & receiving the love that we need, but that all also contain thorny, prickly parts that remind us that to love is to also have strong boundaries of self-love. Motherwort’s first maple like leaves are so soft, then rises into gorgeous pink mint family blossoms & prickly seeds pods. Motherwort, through each growing season, portrays the many layers our own hearts can hold, including softness, openness, beauty & necessary prickly boundaries of protection, all the while remaining open.

Mars’s time in Fall in Cancer will benefit from this Fiery wise decision maker, Motherwort, who has great discerning powers, is able to bring one out of a funk & tends to what needs to be done with certainty. Motherwort is a solution finder & brings fire to the hearth in Cancer, which Mars can then have the job to protect. Cancer rules the 3rd house of the Mother/home/hearth in the Thema Mundi, so this matriarchal herbal ally will be welcomed & right at home. Motherwort is sometimes called Fatherwort, or Parentwort, yet leads through the wisdom of a wise Crone.

Mercury in Cancer will appreciate this matriarch, as Motherwort can astutely perceive when ones emotions are getting the best of them & cut through this to what really needs to be conveyed. Motherwort will support the conjunction of Mercury & Mars in Cancer, near to Rahu on June 18, allowing for fiery lucidity in this watery, emotional realm. Our messenger & warrior will receive the confidence to relay information & to act with heart led reason. As Mercury moves into Leo on June 26, heart driven & stabilizing Motherwort follows our dear messenger as a complimentary companion into this fiery, heart-ruled sign.

Motherwort brings courage when messenger Mercury & warrior Mars in Cancer both oppose the great transformer Pluto in Capricorn on June 19th to guide one through the deep underground layers of oneself with wise judgment, not become lost in shadow, but instead to learn from this.

Venus heading into Gemini on June 8th will be nurtured by the heart-led Motherwort, bringing heart wisdom to the airy nature of the Twins. Gemini also rules the nervous system, nerves, breathing, bronchial tubes & blood capillaries for all of which Motherwort is a solid ally. Motherwort is a stabilizing faction here, reminding that inner self-strength is our pillar, keeping us mindful & deeply perceiving & discerning as we are inundated with an excess of information.

“[Tea, ointment or oil of Bedstraw] is good to bathe the feet of travelers and lacqueys [messengers] whose long running causeth weariness and stiffness in their sinews and joints.”

- Nicholas Culpeper

Cleavers tendency to grow in mats along the ground rising to 2-3’ in height as it plans to offer its delicate white flowers to the pollinators, has given people & animals ideas over time to use it for bedding as well as, as a sieve to strain impurities from milk. Its little clinging, catching sticky clasps on its leaves catches or cleaves onto animals, clothing, etc. as they pass by & transports it around as well as the sticky hairy green seeds assisting in its spreading ability.

Cleavers is wonderful medicine for assisting with drainage of lymph nodes, especially around the head, ears & down the neck & has a great affinity for children for this. They help to clear that which is not needed from our bodies.

Cleavers is cooling to the entire body & is helpful for irritations, rashes, & dispelling excess heat, including clearing fevers. Often growing in moist soils, this Doctrine of Signatures tells us of this cooling medicinal quality. Cleavers is a strong ally for the kidneys acting as a diuretic & promoting elimination of waters & wastes not needed. The sieve-like action called upon physically by people using the Cleavers aerial parts for filtering is also a signature of its ability to

strengthen the filtering system of the body. It removes heat, swelling & stagnation in the lymphatic system. By taking away these toxins, Cleavers then supports the liver, pancreas & other internal clearing organs of the body. Exhaustion of the kidneys also can also lead to tired feet, the desire to sit after walking up stairs, for which Cleavers can help. This strong clearing ability makes it a strong support for those dealing with anemia, so that nutrition is able to be absorbed again into the cleared passageways & interstitial fluids between the cells.

Cleavers is beneficial to skin dis-eases as the toxins are efficiently eliminated from the body & therefore do not manifest on our largest organ, the skin. Internally & externally, Cleavers is used for eczema, psoriasis, wounds, burns, & various skin afflictions. It is also a great hair & teeth tonic with its high silica content.

The other day sitting with Cleavers, the 10 of Swords tarot card was shown to me, as the many whorls of Cleavers were pointing upwards into the sky. The 10 of Swords card is the final letting go of an idea or way of being to which one has been attached, so that one can move forward into a broader vision of self. Cleavers, with its Doctrine of Signatures of the tiny hairs on its whorls of leaves & the sticky, hairy seeds that cleave or stick to a being, tells of this attachment. Plant offerings often exist on a complex spectrum, thus because Cleavers knows of this ability to cling faithfully to something, they also know how to allow one to let go when necessary & when this is necessary. This is seen in Cleavers ability to move stagnancy through the lymphatic system of the body, the crucial janitorial system that does not have its own pump, as many body systems do, but relies on our outer movement for inner movement, the macrocosm of the microcosm. Cleavers knows how to cool heated irritation & support the whole being in releasing ways of being not in tune with ones broader vision & purpose.

From June 14-19 when there are many oppositions between Mercury, Mars & Rahu in Cancer & Saturn, Pluto & Ketu in Capricorn. There will be hard-lined & possibly difficult to meet restrictions, visions of that which does not serve, that which is not viable for various reasons & that which is needed to be let go of or sacrificed in our lives standing in our pathways to face whether we wish to or not. Cleavers is a wonderful ally for this time period, especially on June 19 when both Mars & Mercury oppose Pluto, Mercury at 7 am & Mars at 11:30 pm EST, when Motherwort may be wished to call upon for extra courage to face our deep fears. Cleavers, with its strong filtering ability & support for strong flow in the body or situation, will be welcomed as a liason to Saturn, Pluto & Ketu in Capricorn. Cleavers understands this process.

Venus in Gemini will be assisted by Cleavers to filter through so much information that Gemini desires to take in; Cleavers will aid with the sorting process, placing all through the matted sieve, allowing the necessary to stay & the superfluous to continue on. This can help with focus as we sift through the excess that is in our world.

“Whoever grows Parsley will be the head of the house.”

“Only a Witch can grow Parsley” sayings in England

Parsley, part of the Apiaceae family, is of Mercury & Mars as well as the element Air.

The ancient Greeks wore Parsley victory crowns in the Isthmian games, as well as formed it into funerary wreaths, placed on tombs dedicated to Persephone. In Greek, the saying translating to ‘to be in need of parsley’ meant being at the point of death. Parsley was not used as a table herb as it was “held sacred to oblivion and to the dead” (M.Grieves) Still today in Greece, Parsley is placed in food that is served at funerals. Parsley was said to have leapt from the blood of the Greek hero, Archemorus, the harbinger of death. Homer states that warriors fed Parsley to their chariot horses. Both Parsley and Rue lined gardens of the Greek. Romans

would place a piece of Parsley in their togas for protection each morning. Later, Parsley was dedicated to St. Peter.

Placed on the plates of food is said to prevent contamination including from being inhabited by low-level spirits, thus today the custom survives of placing Parsley on the plate with the meal in many restaurants. Taking a bath of Parsley is purifying & clearing & prevents hard luck from thriving. Wearing a wreath of Parsley while drinking keeps drunkenness at bay. Wearing Parsley while traveling protects the traveler.

Parsley has been seen as a plant of the Devil, partly due to the fact that it is a biennial, & therefore takes a long time (two years) for the seeds to form, as well as because the seeds can take a long time to germinate. The saying “[Parsley] seeds go to Hell to make their obedience to their Master before they come up for you.” There was a belief in parts of England that Parsley would make three, seven or nine journeys to Hell before it would grow. Often gardeners would plant one patch of Parsley for the Devil & one patch for people. Parsley seed’s spotty germination was often denounced as the Devil taking his share. Planting four times the amount of seed needed as well as planting on Good Friday would counteract the Devil’s influence. Parsley’s association with the Devil, may have influenced its being a common ingredient in the Witch’s Flying Ointment.

It was a custom in Pennsylvania Germany to piss in a hole before planting the Parsley seed to promote its growth. In the Cotswolds in central England, Parsley was to be sown while cursing or better yet sown by a “bad man”. As well it is said that only a Witch can grow Parsley by seed. A custom in early colonial Maryland was to plant Parsley seed by blowing the seed from the pages of the Bible or from the top of a fence post into the garden. In Normandy, France, it was said that growing Parsley in the shade would lead to growing Poison Hemlock (Cicuta virosa) instead, a deadly poisonous look-alike to Parsley, of Socrates’ demise.

Since at least 1707, Parsley’s abortifacient qualities have been called upon in the fens of England. This involved eating much Parsley as well as inserting a piece next to ones cervix as a pessary for 12 hours to inhibit the sperm from fertilizing the egg. Parsley is also helpful to dry up breast milk after a woman is finished breastfeeding.

The word Petroselinum means ‘rock celery’ as it was often found among the rocks & cliffs of the Mediterranean. This ability to grow in these conditions tell an herbalist with its Doctrine of Signatures, that Parsley is helpful for dissolving kidney stones in ones body. Parsley is one of the five “opening roots” of traditional Greek/Arabic medicine along with Celery. Fennel, Butcher’s Broom, & Asparagus. These roots are called upon to eliminate obstructions to the flow of blood, lymph, sweat, urine, stool & menstrual blood.

The salty taste tells of the mineral richness of Parsley, as well as the ability to increase secretion in ones body. Parsley thins fluids that have become too thick to flow in the body, as well as breaks up stones & hardness. Because of the high content of Iron in the Parsley plant, increased intake can assist those dealing with anemia. A poultice of Parsley leaves remedies the bites & stings of insects.

Parsley, being mildly bitter, promotes healthy digestion & raises ones internal heat, as it is warming, nourishing, thinning & opening. The fixed & volatile oils found in Parsley allow it to aid the endocrine system with the crucial movement of hormones in the body.

Eating a few leaves of Parsley each day has even more health benefits than eating an apple. Parsley strengthens bones. It is a strong diuretic that is helpful to move excess water from the body in cases of gout, rheumatism, arthritis, kidney & urinary tract complaints

Parsley act as an emmenagogue; placing organic Parsley near the cervix in the vagina for 12 hours helps to bring on a late period often within 24 hours. Parsley seed tea can ease menstrual pain. Parsley is helpful for clearing up bladder infections & cystitis. It is also a tonic for the

adrenal glands, the optic nerves & the entire sympathetic nervous system. The leaves of Parsley can be used as a poultice for inflamed or swollen eyes.

Hildegard Von Bingen considered Parsley to be supreme heart medicine & prescribed Parsley infused wine for heart weaknesses, chest pains, insomnia & tiredness.

Caveats: Parsley can stimulate uterine contractions, like many member of the Carrot family, although not very strongly, so it is recommended to limit its intake during pregnancy. Ingesting too much Parsley can halt lactation. The seeds have been used as an abortifacient. Maude Grieves states that the distilled oleoresin of the seed can cause dizziness, fainting, and paralysis, followed by fatty degradation of the liver and kidneys.

Parsley with its Mercurial & Martian rulership will be an ally of these two planets in Cancer. Parsley’s strong mineral content & ability to move fluids & not allowing them to stagnate will be welcomed in the nourishing, watery sign of Cancer.

Parsley’s robust relationship with the Underworld makes this a great ally for Mercury & Mars’s under-Earth meetings with Saturn, Pluto & Ketu. Parsley can be a guide, messenger & protector in these parts. Parsley’s ability to thin fluids & break up hardness will assist in transforming that which needs to change & redirect.

By rulership, Parsley also guides Venus in airy Gemini, toning the entire sympathetic nervous system & stabilizing with its mineral richness.

The Summer Solstice could be its own full account, yet briefly this time of the Sun traversing into Cancer on June 21 is an exceedingly auspicious time to harvest herbs for magical purposes, especially Blue Vervain, St. John’s Wort, Cinquefoil, Meadowsweet, Lavender & Fern, dependent on ones clime. Oak is strongly revered as well as are Sun ruled herbs like Ground Ivy, Angelica & Bay Laurel.

The Full Moon in Sagittarius while Jupiter is in rulership is a breath of confidence & exuberance during this time of more shadowy astrological workings. This Full Moon is a fine time to burn Bay Laurel leaves, also under the dominion of Jupiter for divination & honorings, drinking & blessings with Basil water, asperging with Hyssop & lying under a great Linden tree to hear messages from beyond of grandeur & assurance.

References

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