Herbal Forecast For November 2019

November 2019, Moon of Hyldemoer Herbal Forecast for Atavisceral

This November we are stretching the herbal world into the land of trees, specifically fruits & nuts of trees, the storage for Winter, the bringers of new visions & new generations. These fruits & nuts can be guardians & nourishers when one traverses the Under Realms as well as can become offerings for the Benefics as one asks to gather the essence of their prosperity & their great convergence.

{ These notes are suggestions for herbal allies to assist with the effects of the cosmic influences of the month. Before imbibing any of the herbs recommended, research what is a recommended dosage, ask oneself & 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 ones 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.}

November sees us calling upon Fig (Ficus carica) who shares correspondences with both Venus & Jupiter. These delectable fruits are not truly fruits or flowers, but instead are either bisexual vessels, called a syconia, that holds the both female pistilate & male staminate flowers that are pollinated by wasps (caprification) or are ’parthenocarpic’, developing figs, without wasp pollination, only possessing femal flowers. This last month of Jupiter in rulership in Sagittarius, especially venerated on Thursdays & Sunday eves, on the Sagittarius New Moon on the 26th & this whole month as the Lesser Benefic Venus joins the Greater Benefic, a full on meeting on November 23 at 8:30 am EST, Figs can be called upon for feasting, for offerings, for reserves, & for divining.

In ancient times, people would carry strings of dried figs on long, onerous journeys (i.e. Mercury retrograde in Scorpio) as these fruits offered a protein, carbohydrate, iron, calcium, potassium & phosphorus rich food. Pliny wrote in the 1st century A.D. of Figs, “Figs are restorative and the best food that can be taken by those who are brought low by long sickness…Professed wrestlers and champions in times past fed with Figs.” (This quote can call to Figs offering nourishment for dignified Mars entering Scorpio on November 19.)

Astringent Figs are also known to be supportive of arteries allowing for strong circulation, the arteries both ruled by Jupiter & Sagittarius, as well are often seen as warming like Sagittarius. Essence of Fig is seen to enhance energy when aspiring to ones own greatness & to circumvent feelings of meaninglessness, both Jupiterian abilities. Caveat: Eating too many figs in one sitting can cause stomach distress so assure some are for offerings.

Returning to the inner worlds of the Figs, these ”fruits” are like an inverted vessel of flowers, some self-pollinating & others reliant on the Fig pollinator wasp (Blastophaga psenes). Where both the “wild” bisexual tree, the Caprifig (thus named as these wild, inedible Figs were known to be suitable food for goats in the Old World) & the cultivated female tree (only possessing female flowers inside the hollow syconia) grow in proximity to each other, the Fig Wasp plays a crucial role in Fig & seed production.

There is an opening at the tip of the “wild” Caprifig as it is beginning to ripen, through which the Fig wasp enters & lays its eggs into the ovaries of the short-style flower, forming galls with baby wasps inside. There are also long-style female flowers that when pollinated by the pollen laden wasps from their by the movement of over the male pollen-bearing flowers, form seeds. As the cultivated Figs only possess female flowers, they rely on the young wasps to be dusted by the pollen from the Carpifig & then to visit & fertilize the cultivated Fig. The Figs produce a chemical called ‘ficin’ that breaks down the wasp bodies, so that one is not devouring wasps when eating Figs. Ficin is so successful at digesting animal protein that Indigenous peoples of Central America have eaten Fig sap to treat intestinal worm infections. On the Isle of Wight, England, a 34 million year old fossil fig wasp from the Eocene was discovered, such that the Fig & Fig Wasp relationship may date back to more than 65 million years ago to the Cretaceous Period. Very Scorpionic territory indeed, from wasp pollination to parthenogenesis to the dissolving of the wasp bodies by the vegetative Figs.

Figs can sustain Mercury Retrograde in Underworld Scorpio. The Fig can be likened to the Underworld itself, being an inverted vessel into which messenger Fig wasps enter to make love, lay eggs, are birthed, inadvertently pollinate & sometimes are completely absorbed. Likewise messenger Mercury in retrograde is navigating the Underworld of Scorpio, ruler of the reproductive organs & sexuality. Some of Mercury’s retrograde work will be absorbed in the depths of Scorpio, some will rise forth for pollination & other energies will form seeds for future use.

In ancient Greece, the plural for Fig was also the word for testicles. The Fig was sacred to Dionysus who was also called ‘Philosykus’ or ‘friend of Fig’. As well, the Fig was carried at the forefront of the Greek ‘plynteia’, or ‘procession’ & was called the ‘hegetria’ meaning ’female leader’. The Fig was sacred to Demeter, whose daughter Persephone traversed the Underworld half the year. As well, in Rome, on the western slope of the Palantine Hill, grew the ‘Ruminal Fig’, said to be the place where Romulus & Remus, the founders of Rome, had been found washed ashore. The word ‘Rumial’, as well as the names of the divine twins, come from ‘ruma’ meaning ‘Mother’s breast’, thus Figs were seen to offer good fortune, prosperity & nourishment, all necessary for the arduous journey of Mercury.

Offering & divining with Figs can assist in discerning the mysterious messages being received during this Mercury retrograde. As Mercury joins the Sun in an Inferior Conjunction on Monday, November 11 ritually feasting on Figs may bring these communications to light. As Mercury stations direct on Wednesday, November 20, open a Fig that has been on the altar & scry into the voluptuous interior for messages.

The Jupiterian & Sun ruling tree-bearing Black Walnut (Juglans nigra L.)/English Walnut (J. regia) can offer guidance as well this month. In Greek legend, Carya, one of the three daughters of the Laconian king, Dion, was granted prophesy by the God Apollo. When Carya died, Dionysus changed her into a Walnut tree, so that this tree was known to offer oracular powers & divinations. Carya was the name for Walnut until Juglans, from Jove, replaced this.

Walnuts are a wonderful source of protein, potassium & folic acid. Walnuts contain over 50% oil including alpha linoleic acid (Omega 3) which supports ones immune system, heart, brain & circulatory system. In Western Herbal medicine, Walnut leaves are said to stimulate the liver, very Jupiterian. Receiving a gift of Walnuts brings grand wishes, also the territory of Jove.

Walnut is known as a prime dreaming tree. Walnut leaves dried & placed in dream pillows bring peaceful sleep & dreams. Walnuts can be called upon when working with the dead & ones ancestors & for work during the dark time of the year.

The parts of the Walnut tree can be called upon for increasing mental activity & to promote & ease writing projects. The green outer covering of the Walnut resembles the pericranium of the skull & thus is a Doctrine of Signatures for head wounds. The inner nut is similar to the skull & the kernel represents the brain itself, thus eaten for brain food. Caveat: Some people are deathly allergic to Walnuts.

Carrying Walnuts on ones being, calling upon them for divination & making offerings to Jove this month can bring one closer to Jupiter in Sagittarius this month. Placing Walnuts under ones pillow or near ones bed will assist in bringing forth the broad visions of a Sag Jupiter to ones nightly dreams. As well, drawing/writing ones visions of these dreams, & those from Mercury’s journey in retrograde in Scorpio, using Walnut ink, will add extra potency to these messages.

As Mars marches confidently into his dignified domicile of Scorpio on November 19, Martian ruled, tropical Greater Galangal (Alpinia galangaa) & Lesser Galangal (Alpinia officinarum) will be welcomed as a comrade in arms. This rhizome, similar in appearance to its cousin Ginger, is even more warming, offering pungency & a mix of flavors between Ginger & Pepper with a hint of Cinnamon & sour, Lemon. This ally’s tastes are sweet, spicy & slightly bitter. St. Hildegard Von Bingen called Galangal “the spice of life”. She wrote, “And let whoever has heart pain or a weak heart thereupon have a mixture of galangal and wine; the person will be better….Let the person who has a burning fever pulverize galangal and drink it with spring water, and the burning fever will go away…let whoever suffers from bad humors in the back or side mix galangal.” Galangal, as Hildegard noted in the 12th century, promotes longevity & strength of ones heart muscle. Galangal has pain-relieving qualities; sometimes associated with Mars. As well, Galangal supports catabolic functioning in the body, also ruled by Mars.

As Mars advances from his unsatisfying time in Libra into Mars ruled Scorpio, Galangal increases ones vigor for covert operations after being in a weakened state, always concerned about others emotional states, not Mars’ forte. Galangal worn on ones being brings good fortune & promotes lust, both pleasing for Scorpionic

Underworld travels. Galangal is another of our roots/rhizomes that is called High John the Conqueror root.

As Mars opposes Uranus a few hours after Venus conjuncts Jupiter on November 23rd, having such extra potency provided by Galangal can aid one in gathering the dynamism of this operative electrical moment, possibly providing a vessel or talisman for this energy. This can then be dried if using fresh, or the powder added to future workings if this energy of the Benefics meeting with added electrical prowess from the opposition of Mars & Uranus, is desired. Powdered Galangal, as well, can be a secret ingredient in ones soups & baking projects bringing overall wellbeing & stamina from immune & digestive support, to pain relief from rheumatism to heart health & anti cancer protection.

Caveat: Galangal is not recommended in excess during pregnancy as this ally can stimulate the uterus. Some people have found that excessive use of Galangal (over 2 g./day) has caused stomach aches. (This is very typical for herbs to be on a spectrum, a certain healthy dosage being supportive of an organ system & an excessive dosage causing harm for that same body system, calling to the complexity of our herbal allies as well as of life itself.)

References

Boyer, Corinne. Under the Witching Tree Troy Books, 2016.

Cunningham, Scott. Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs Llewellyn Publications, 1997.

Dowden, Anne Ophelia. The Secret Life of the Flowers The Odyssey Press, 1964.

Erichsen-Brown, Use of Plants fort the Past 500 Years Breezy Creeks Press, 1979.

Grieve, Maude. A Modern Herbal Vol II Dover Publications, 1971.

Hageneder, Fred. The Meaning of Trees Chronicle Books, 2005.

Hopman, Ellen Evert. A Druid’s Herbal Destiny Books, 1995.

Hopman, Ellen Evert. Tree Medicine, Tree Magic Pheonix Publishing, 1991.

Potterdam, David. Culpeper’s Colorful Herbal Sterling Publishing Co., 1983.

Seal, Julie-Bruton & Matthew. Kitchen Medicine Lyons Press, 2010.

Von Bingen, Hildegard. Physica Healing Arts Press, 1998. https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/arbimg10.htm

Moon of Hyldemoer, Suzanne Stone, 2019

This material is not a substitute for a health care practitioner. Please do not duplicate this material without permission.