Herb signatures that connected each herb to a planet and astrological sign harks way back to the ancients – philosophers, herbalists, shamans, medical doctors, alchemists. At that time it was understood that plants and herbs held planetary signatures within, each telling a story of its makeup and connection to the cosmos.
Plant medicine and astrology were once inextricably linked by practitioners who understood and lived by the maxim that the cosmos is in everything – as above so below. The renowned herbalist, botanist, physician and astrologer Nicholas Culpepper (1616-1654) knew this and treated his patients using astrology to diagnose and prescribe.
While we are all more than simply the sun sign we are born under, it’s true that each sun sign is correlated to a part of the human body and/or mind and when that specific part of the body or mind is out of balance, it will speak.
Just as every cell in the human body and every thought in the mind cannot be disconnected from each other or from the soul, so it is as well for plants as living breathing organisms of the greater Universe.
Astrology of herbs encompasses all the elements, doctrine of signatures, sensory perception, intuition and of course, ruling planets…alchemy in its truest form.
as living beings of the greater Universe impacted their very survival on planet earth, and their connection to planet earth. Digging deeper still, to the survival of each individual.
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Ruled by Mercury
For sun in Virgo people under stress, their digestion becomes an issue creating problems with digesting and metabolising the food they eat. This results in tummy troubles and also hits the solar plexus chakra, joylessness can creep in if the stress goes unresolved.
One of the herbs that is a huge help at such times is Fennel, a few cups of fennel tea over the course of the day will work wonders for these souls. Fennel gently soothes the savage beast within and helps to steer the course back to a happier disposition.
The ancients knew Fennel as a digestive, it’s now known as a stomachic and carminative, a warming herb that stimulates the liver and helps with bile production, great for improving digestion.
Courage may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Fennel but the fact that it will grow virtually anywhere, even in the most seemingly inhospitable environments, provides a clue into its keynote, which is the ability to endure in the face of adversity.
Falling into the Apiaceae family, Fennel is a herb that can softly and gently calm a troubled tummy and help a digestive system that is under functioning due to stress and/or too much fatty food.
Ruled by Mercury, the clue to Fennel being a Virgo herb is given in its affinity with the digestive system and the beautifully positive influence it has on stress and joylessness. When Virgo is overworked or over worried or living in fear, she will lose her positive perspective on life, suffer with digestive issues and find it difficult to see where the joy in life lies.
The soft aniseed scent and flavour of Fennel is instantly soothing to the Virgo soul, to the senses, to the mind and to the tummy.
In numerology the number 5 is also ruled by Mercury, keynotes for this number include:
- freedom
- curiosity
- progressiveness
- adaptability
- impulsivity
- restlessness
See you on the flipside. Thanks for reading.