Herb of the day! Rosemary! (I know I missed a day.)
Merry meet and welcome again to my little corner of Steemit. It seems as though I have started a theme of herbs that are connected to cleansing and purification. Or I'm mixing up a Simon and Garfunkle classic.
To stay consistent we can go over the history of this lovely little plant.
Rosemary has a very strong connection to the religion of the Ancient Greeks. It is said that Rosemary originally have sprouted around the body of the infant Aphroditie. Namely where the God Ouranos spilled his seed upon the ground by the young baby. Being created in such a sacred way, Rosemary was used to sanctify and decorate alters, temples, and sacred groves.
Later on the original Pagan roots of the herb were lost due to the rise of Christianity. But still held an important place in the lore. Becoming known as the Rose of the Virgin Mary, the christian lore states that the flowers of the Rosemary plant came from coming into contact with the blue dress of the Virgin Mary's blue dress.
There are and have been many great uses for Rosemary that doesn't involve meals, as delicious as it is. Particularly with roasted chicken and potatoes. Egyptians used it as a main component in the embalming process. In france it was burnt along with Juniper berries in sick rooms to purify the air . But mostly used around the Middle Ages. From being warn around the neck to prevent Plague, but also carried to protect themselves from the evil eye. Predominantly though it was used to protect infants from being kidnapped by Fae and replaced with a changeling. This was done by hanging a small bundle above the cradle.
Now onto the magical uses!
Rosemary is very well known for it's purifying and cleansing properties. Either when burned or infused into an oil. But another great property of this hardy herb is enhancing mental capabilities. Specifically memory, alertness, and focus. Even by just using a sprig of it as a book marker, the aroma stimulates the memory sectors of your brain.
This is also why Rosemary is a great addition to dream sachets. Increasing your ability to recall your dreams and work with them.
I have gathered my information from the following sites:
https://www.magicalrecipesonline.com/2012/09/herbal-magic-of-rosemary.html
http://www.witchipedia.com/herb:rosemary
https://moodymoons.com/2016/01/07/10-magical-uses-for-rosemary/
http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbRosemaryMag.htm
Thank you so much for your time. And again, any requests, questions, and recipes please respond in the comment section. As above so Below.
Yes! another pagan! <3
Lol! Yes we are coming out of the wood work. Pleasure to meet you!
Super cool info, fascinating to read :) Thanks for sharing! I definitely think there is something quite regal about Rosemary, with the way it looks and its aroma, so it's not hard to see why historically it has been revered in so many ways!