The Pagan Heart Callum's Herbaria

April 2005 Issue

Callum's Herbaria By Callum Mostyn     Dydd da. Croeso i Callum's Herbaria. I'm Callum, and welcome once more to my Herbaria. Last month I started making plans to attack the muddy morass otherwise known as the duckpond at the bottom of my garden. I have drawn up some plans, and when the ground dries up a bit more, I shall hopefully start the attack. Meanwhile, I'm having visions of strawberries growing in sweet profusion alonside the comfrey and balsam. Strawberries are not only delicious, they are also quite good for you. An article at Food Ingredients First discusses some of the benefits - including high fibre content, the possession of folate, vitamin C, and potassium, and lots of lovely antioxidants. I myself have never intentionally used strawberries in magic, but the lore I came across implies that they are a fertility herb, as well as useful in turning bad luck aside. Use the fruit for any rituals of the flesh or heart, the leaves for the more metaphysical work. I also read somewhere once - a long time ago - that the strawberry tastes so divine because it is the nipple of the earth - as we consume the fruit, we take into us the nourishment of our Great Mother. The nipple is both a source of food, and a source of sexual pleasure - this should guide you in using the strawberry in magical work. I initially pondered the idea of a mixture of mint and strawberry - but quickly discarded that. Mint is such a wild, untamed plant. Letting it grow within the garden, unconstrained, is asking for trouble. It would soon overtake most of the available space and then begin encroaching upon the other plants. So, either pots or maybe a bordered garden bed. At my last place I found sinking slate tiles into the soil made a wonderful boundary - the mint plant rarely sends roots deep enough to travel beneath the slate, and the 4 inchs or so of grey stone protruding above ground presented a strong visual contrast to the masses of dark green leaves. Aside from the tasty properties of mint - and its soothing nature, magically it's a good herb to grow. Mint leaves are useful in spells aimed at breaking bad luck and jinxes, and also helps strengthen the mind. Mint also has a long history as aiding marital harmony and promoting the development of wisdom. Something we can all do with more of. There are many varieties of mint, aside from the common, garden variety. You can get varigated plants, coloured plants, and also flavoured ones - anyone care for chocolate or apple in their mint? Mix it up a bit and you'll have visual, aromatic, and textual contrasts within the garden. All these "profusely growing" herbs got me to thinking about balance. There are a number of areas open to the sunlight (when we get it) currently covered in grass. Now, I like grass, but I really loathe caring for it. It requires cutting on a regular basis. Lawnmowers and myself do not really get along. Probably something to do with my grandfather losing the first joint of his index finger inside a hungry mower. So I like to replace my lawns with groundcovers - they look delightful, smell wonderful, and require no mowing - plus walking on them often encourages them to grow hardier. One of my favourite ground covers is chamomile. There are two varieties. The German chamomile is decorative. Grows to about 8 inches and has lots of little daisy-like flowers. It's also known as wild mayweed. The Roman chamomile is the true medicinal and magical one. It looks similar to the German version. Make sure you buy the right one. Roman chamomile works wonders at relaxing the mind and body. It also has some incredible anti-inflammatory properties. For these reasons alone, it's worth growing. Magically, chamomile is the flower of the sun. Any ritual needing the Great Father's energy, or calling upon Re, Apollo, Bel, or any other sun god, benefits greatly from the addition of chamomile flowers. My use is a little more mundane. At the moment I have two large pots outside the front door where the chamomile can draw in the sun�s power, feeding it into the house and banishing any negative energies. Growing it as a ground cover appeals too since the sweet apple-like scent that is released as you walk over it always makes me think of Avalon, the apple isle. If I plant out the chamomile, which I think I will, then the two pots will make excellent homes for some hyssop. I have a nice shrubby border growing along the front fence right now - hyssop intersperced with rosemary and camillias. The previous occupants did a good job, except that the camelias grow a lot, requiring some extensive pruning. So I plan to rip them out. This will impact upon the other plants, and thus I am rethinking the entire hedge. Meanwhile, I'd like to rescue some of the hyssop. The dainty whorls of purple petals along the flower-spikes not only look lovely. They attract bees and many other beneficial garden fauna. Throughout history hyssop has been viewed as a holy plant that cleanses sacred space. Since my home is sacred, growing hyssop at the entrance appeals to me. Plus, in winter, I can easily bring in the pots and enjoy some greenery through the cold. I don't know if it's just me, or if others feel the same way, but I love the look of oregano as a border plant. It is low growing, bushy and slightly wild, and with its soft leaves, makes a very fluid edge to any section of the garden. The contrast between oregano's rich palete of greens and chamomile's delicate, feathery foliage is also very nice. I am thinking that running an alternating boundary of oregano and its sweeter cousin, marjoram, along the outside of my chamomile lawn would create interest for the eye. Oregano is a hardy herb that - when bedded down in a good compost - survives most chilly winters. It's a good idea to replace the plants every few years as they tend to get a bit straggly, even with good pruning. I like to keep a few in pots that I can bring indoors to winter in my kitchen. The warmth increases the oil content of the leaves - and thus the flavour and aroma. It also grows well from cuttings - you can stagger the plantings over a three year period so that you always have older, more mature plants. The sweeter version, marjoram, is the more medicinally inclined, being beneficial in the treating of joint disease, lung conditions, and headaches. Magically, it is predominantly a family herb - increasing emotional content and love within familial bonds. It is also protective, as are most kitchen herbs. Seems to be a common thread that the kitchen, being the heart of the family, is the source of all protection and energy from house and home! Apply this reasoning to the common kitchen herbs and you can't go far wrong. Anyway, that's it from me for this month. Hope your garden brings you as much joy as mine does me! Da boch, my friends, and bi bheannaithe!

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