The ash  is associated with wisdom, knowledge, protection and prophecy. 
Fraxinus, the Latin word for ash, comes from spear which may refer to its spear shaped leaves or because its wood was used to make weapons.

The ash has been revered for centuries and is associated with magic and good fortune. Ash trees are loved and celebrated in North America, Europe and Asia. This immense tree , known to reach over 130 feet tall, was said to be the backbone of the universe. 

Norse mythology defined the ash as the world tree, tree of life, or Yggdrasil, representing the universe. Odin hung from the tree for nine days and nine nights to be granted knowledge and wisdom.  The tree was said to be a friend of the sky, with its crown so high it rose above the clouds and roots that stretched so deep they reached the underworld. The tree was continually watered from a mysterious well that never ran dry and it has strong association with the oceans. 

Neptune, the Roman god of the sea (his Greek counterpart is Poseidon) is associated with the ash tree. Anything made from ash will offer protection from drowning. Ships were once built of ash, sailors carried solar crosses made of its twigs,  and witches’ broom handles are still made of ash to enable them to travel across large bodies of water and keep their feet dry!

​If snakes are a concern, carrying an ash staff will come in handy! St. Patrick carried an ash wood staff to aid  in driving the snakes from Ireland. Snakes are said to refuse to crawl over its roots, and one strike from a branch would kill one instantly. Pliny, Roman naturalist, author and philosopher, declared that simply circling a serpent with a branch from the tree would cause it to die immediately. 

Ash has also been used to cure snake bites by tying a circle of ash twigs around the sufferer’s neck.  Scott Cunningham, a life long herbal healing advocate, strongly suggested if one was bitten, it would be best to get the snake bite kit and call a doctor. I agree!

Vampires were also susceptible to the powers of the ash.  It was one of five woods, ash, aspen, willow, juniper and the hawthorn most commonly used, to make the stake to drive through his heart. 

A cure for warts recommends sticking a pin into the bark of an ash tree and then into the wart. As the wart diminishes on the body, it will be transferred and grow on the tree’s bark. 

New born babies have been influenced and protected by the ash.  The first time a baby’s fingernails are trimmed, if they are buried  under an ash  tree, the child  will be gifted  with  a beautiful singing voice! Hanging ash over a baby’s cradle was said to protect it from mischievous fairies.  A teaspoon of  ash sap was given to newborn babies to protect them from disease and infant death.
​
Another attribute of the ash is prophecy. 

​“The even ash leaf in my hand, the first I  meet shall be my man.”
or
“The  even ash tree in my  glove, the first I meet shall be my love.”

​In addition to carrying the leaves to find your special someone, you can put them under your pillow and they will bring prophetic dreams. 

There are common names for the ash tree, such as Nion, from the Celtic word Nionon which means heaven. Another is Kingswood or KIng’s Tree, from the tree’s spring arrival and fall departure. The ash is the last tree to awaken in the spring and the first tree to shed  its  leaves in the fall. Like the king, it was “The last to arrive and the first to leave.” 

The majestic ash tree has been the source of legend and lore, spanning centuries and continents. It has inspired myths, and folklore, and it continues to provide us with protection, prophecy and inspiration.  

As much as I love being a Pisces, the herbs of Venus, representing the zodiac signs of Libra, an air sign (September 23 - October 22) and Taurus, an earth sign (April 20 - May 20), include some of my favorite herbs!

During the pandemic, I made 12 collages featuring Taurus herbs for my oldest daughter. My biggest challenge was deciding which herbs to highlight, since there are an abundance of herbs ruled by Venus. Some signs have a more limited selection.

Other Libra herbs, herbs of Venus, include African violet, apple, apricot, aster, avocado, cardamon, cherry, coltsfoot, columbine, daffodil, daisy, foxglove, goldenrod, iris, lilac, and violet. There are many  more. 

Nicholas Culpeper (Oct. 18-1616 to January 10, 1654), a physician, botanist, herbalist and astrologer, is credited with identifying the planets and their zodiac sign affiliations. Each zodiac sign is ruled by a planet and  the herbs under that planet’s influence are  assigned to the corresponding zodiac  signs. 

Other than Earth, the planets discovered before the 1700 were given the names of Roman deities. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto came after the 1700s and were assigned to planet who previously shared plants with other signs. 

Signs and their planets are

• Aries, ruled by Mars
• Taurus, ruled by Venus
• Gemini, ruled by  Mercury
• Cancer, ruled by the  moon
• Leo, ruled by the sun
• Virgo, ruled by Mercury
• Libra, ruled by Venus
• Scorpio, ruled by Pluto. Ancient ruler was  Mars
• Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter
• Capricorn, ruled by Saturn
• Aquarius, ruled by Uranus. Ancient ruler was Saturn
• Pisces, ruled by Neptune. Ancient ruler was Jupiter

I’ll be including  more on the Zodiac herbs in my blog posts  and my e-book, Enhancing Your Life with Herbs, named after a course I’ve delivered numerous times over the last decade. I’ll be finalizing the illustrations and releasing  it by the end of October. Watch for it!

Phytolacca americana
Poisonous

Gender: Masculine
Element: Mars
Planet: Fire
​

 Mabon, the Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, is a time to give thanks for the many blessings of harvest. We often think of drying  herbs, canning, preserving, making wines and robs, freezing and storing root vegetables in root cellars. One method of harvesting you may not have thought of is to make ink! Poke berries are ripe and ready now!

There is a jar in my 'fridge labeled POISON because the juice is a luscious magenta color, clove scented to preserve it, and it could be very tempting! This is the ink that was rumored to have been used to write the Declaration of Independence. Further research indicates that it was used for the draft, but the actual document was written with iron gall ink made from ferrous sulfate and ink extracted from the oak galls. 

In the spring, the immature leaves of the poke plant, said to be similar to turnip, collard or mustard greens, are cooked with bay leaves, Cajun spices, and a ham bone.  Unlike the other greens, poke is considered to be poisonous until 'thoroughly cooked", a process that requires boiling it for at least five minutes for three times and throwing out the water to replace it with new, uncontaminated water each time. After the final boiling, the instructions are to wring as much water out of the plant as humanly possible. Because the plant is poisonous, so you have to cook it. A lot.

I grew up in the mountains of West Virginia and knew people of considerable age (note - I was 12 at the time - anyone over 40 was of 'considerable age' in my perception) who ate poke annually, praising it for it's role in reducing or eliminating joint inflammation, arthritis, and numerous types of cancer.

Personally, I'm reluctant to cook plants that have been declared poisonous. I can go to the grocery store or farmer's market and buy plants that are safe . . . and edible.

NOTE: As I was "poking" - pun intended - fun at poke during one of my  “Enhancing Your Life with Herbs” classes, one of my participants mentioned that she grew up eating poke and they simply gathered and cooked the young plants in early spring. She convinced me to give it a try, but Gil, another participant, asked that I wait until my class was over!  Loved that class!!!

There are other ways to use poke. If anyone has put a hex on you, use hydrangea and poke to remove it. Call me. I'm not getting into all of that here.

And you  could  always write a song about poke, as Tony Joe White did in 1969. He wrote Polk Salad Annie.  He did a fabulous job and I adore his version, but I'm featuring Elvis because his use of crib notes is truly hilarious. So I apologize to you Tony. After all, Elvis is King! Enjoy!

My first introduction  to the Sri Yantra Mandala was in India and I’ve wanted to make one since then. After several failed attempts, it became apparent that having a compass that locks into place is extremely helpful! 
The rose petals hold more meaning for me than the lotus and the  numbers are increased for personal reasons. 
I’m only beginning to understand and use this  powerful sacred geometry tool  but making my first  one is a start! And Raven seems to feel very at peaceful under it!
​

Yantra (यन्त्र) is the Sanskrit word for a mystical diagram, especially diagrams or amulets supposed to possess occult powers in astrological or magicalbenefits in the Tantric traditions of the Indian religions. Traditionally such symbols are used in Eastern mysticism to balance the mind or focus it on spiritual concepts. The act of wearing, depicting, enacting and/or concentrating on a yantra is held to have spiritual or astrological or magical benefits in the Tantrictraditions of the Indian religions.

Shapes and patterns commonly employed in yantra include squares, triangles, circles and floral patterns but may also include more complex and detailed symbols, for instance:

• The lotus flower typically represents chakras, with each petal representing a psychic propensity (or vritti) associated with that chakra;
• A dot, or bindu, represents the starting point of creation or the infinite, unexpressed cosmos;
• The shatkona (şaţkoņa) (Sanskrit name for a Hexagram) is composed of a balance between:
• An upwards triangle which according to Tantra denotes energy, or more specifically action and service (seva). It may also denote spiritual aspiration, the element of fire, or Shiva. It is also said to represent the static substratum of the cosmos;[citation needed]
• A downwards triangle which according to Tantra denotes spiritual knowledge. It may also denote the creative power of the cosmos, fecundity, the element of water, or Shakti;
• A swastika represents good luck, welfare, prosperity or spiritual victory;
• Bija mantras (usually represented as characters of Devanāgarī that correspond to the acoustic roots of a particular chakra or vritti).

Geometric element meanings:

• Circle = Energy of the element water
• Square = Energy of the element earth
• Upward-facing Triangle = Energy of the element fire; energy
• Downward-facing Triangle = Energy of the element water; knowledge
• Diagonal line = Energy of the element air
• Horizontal line = Energy of the element water
• Vertical line = Energy of the element fire
• Point = Energy of the element ether

This was originally posted on October 28, 2012.
​It seems even more appropriate now than it did then. 

My dear friend Ramesh Jain posted this in his newsletter. Written by Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church.

A Paradox of Our Time . . . 

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness..


We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.


We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.
​

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Relationships are not about holding hands while you understand each other……..!                                    
They are about having lots of misunderstanding 
and still holding each other’s hands…..!

 Ramesh Jain
 
POORNA ANANDA
(Centre for Spiritual Evolution and Joyful Living)
Hyderabad, INDIA
​

​Monarda didyma
Scarlet Beebalm

Gender: Feminine
Element: Water
Planet: Mercury
​

The brilliant scarlet bee balm,  is a perennial herb and belongs to  the mint family, Lamiaceae. My fondest memories  are the patches that grew at Camp  Arcona, a much loved Girl Scout Camp in Mechanicsburg,  PA. Sadly, the camp was sold for real estate development. Our beloved camp  may be gone,  but our memories remain. When day camp began in June, the gorgeous crimson flowers were always there  to  greet us!
There are two reasons bergamot  has the folk name bee  balm. One is  bees are attracted to it, and another  is the leaves are soothing  when rubbed on a bee sting. 
The  flowers are edible and the petals add a tangy flavor, in  addition to a  splash of color, to garden salads and fruit salads. Add to corn muffins or corn bread for unexpected zest! They compliment sweet as well as savory.   Use your imagination and  make  this versatile herb a part of  your welcoming  summer ritual!