The Sacred Hearth

The genus Circaea is named after Circe, an enchantress featured in the Odyssey by Homer. Some say this plant was part of the potion she used to turn Odysseus's companions into swine. Since this is a native American plant, I doubt she or Homer ever actually saw it. However, she is not the only Homeric hero associated with this herb. The common name Sorcerer of Paris and Paris Nightshade alludes not to the city in France, but to Paris of Troy from the Illiad.

Enchanter's nightshade is listed as an ingredient in many of the "ancient" herbals and magical compendiums, but berries are often mentioned. Since this plant has sticky burrs, not berries, one can only assume that these texts were referring to a different (probably European native) plant.

In the language of flowers, enchanter's nightshade means witchcraft or sorcery.

The Latin valere from whence the common name of this plant originated means "to be strong or healthy" and it may refer to the healing applications of the plant or it may refer to its strong odor. Indeed the ancient Greeks called this plant "Phu" (like phew!).
It was believed that this plant had the properties of turning anything bad into good.

The origin of the common name "foxglove" is unclear, but the original name may have been folksglove, referring to faerie folk.
The Latin name, digitalis comes from the word "digitanus", meaning finger for the timble shaped flowers that look like you could fit your finger right inside.

Although foxglove is very dangerous if misused, it has a long history of medicinal use for heart and kidney problems, edema and aconite poisoning. Legend says that Van Gogh used it to treat his epilepsy.
An old saying about foxglove goes "It can raise the dead and it can kill the living".

In the 1700s, William Withering learned of this folk remedy from "an old woman in Shropshire" and studied it. This led to Digitalis being a very important plant-derived medicine for heart disease that is still in use to this day.

In Roman mythology, Flora showed Hera how to impregnate herself with no need of a man by touching a foxglove to her belly and her breasts. She either gave birth to Mars or Vulcan from this method, depending on the source.

Scandinavian legend says that the faeries taught foxes to ring foxglove bells to warn each other of approaching hunters.

The word asparagus comes from the Greek and it refers to any young, tender shoot that can be eaten.

Asparagus was prized by the ancient Greeks over 2500 years ago. It was considered to be a cleansingi and healing herb and used it for many medicinal purposes. The Romans in their turn also prized asparagus and cultivated it (the Greeks wildcrafted it) from the and spread it throughout Europe on their conquests. Emperor Augustus coined the term “velocius quam asparagi conquatur” which means to do something quicker than you can cook asparagus. Similar to our phrase “two shakes of a lambs tail”. So much did the Romans prize asparagus, that in the first century, runners took asparagus from the Tiber River valley to the Alps so that it could be frozen and thus preserved for the Feast of Epicurus

King Louis XIV had asparagus grown in his greenhouses so that he could enjoy it year round, he dubbed asparagus the King of Vegetables. It was also popular in England and other parts of Europe and colonists brought it to America where Native Americans used it for medicine.

Asparagus was considered a phallic symbol banned from girls schools in the 19th century, but Victorian women were taught to detect the scent of this aphrodisiac on their husbands- a sure sign that he was behaving improperly!

The name Crataegus oxyacantha comes from the Greek kratos, “hardness”, oxcux, “sharp” and akantha “thorn”.

In Teutonic lore, hawthorn symbolized death and was used in funeral pyres.

In ancient Greece, married couples were crowned with hawthorn blossoms and the wedding party carried torches of hawthorn. The tree was also associated with Cardea, the Roman Goddess of marriage and Childbirth.

During springtime festivals in England, large Hawthorn boughs were cut and stood up in the ground outside houses. They were called May Bushes and decorated with wildflowers. Although it was permissible to decorate outside with hawthorn blossoms, bringing them into the home would surely bring illness and death.

This tree was considered beloved by fairies who lived within. Cuttingi down a Hawthorn tree is very bad luck!

"Had I but a penny in the world, thou shouldst have it for gingerbread"- Shakespear

The word Geranium comes from the Greek geranos meaning "crane".

The Wild Geranium rhizome is rich in tannini and was used by early American settlers to tan hides.

The name crocus is krokos in Greek, karkom in Hebrew, kurkama in Aramaic, and kurkum in Arabic and Persion. It means yellow, presumably referring to the saffron spice obtained from the autumn saffron crocus although this flower is actually purple! Saffron is an extremely expensive ingredient made from the sexual organs of Crocus sativa that also produces a fabulous yellow dye.

Although many of our garden crocuses are "Dutch", they are not native to the Netherlands but were first brought there by an ambassador from the Holy Roman Empire.

Homer referred often to the Goddess Eos as saffron-robed.

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. Some sites claim that saffron is $200-300 per ounce. I've seen it at $90 an ounce, but this may not have been the good stuff. It was used to dye the robes of royalty and was once a symbol of status and wealth.

According to some English folklore, passing under the archway formed by a bramble branch will cure (or prevent) all manner of afflictions including hernia, ruptures, pimples and boils. This has also been used as a remedy for "downer" cows.

Celtic lore said that blackberries were fae fruit, and thus forbidden for people to eat, but blackberry wine is allowed.

In Greek mythology, the hero Belleraphon was thrown into brambles when he dared to ride the Pegasus to Olympus and was blinded by the thorns and wandered outcast and alone therafter.

In Christian lore, Christ's crown of thorns was made of brambles, and thus the berries were turned from red to black.

Another tale says that Lucifer landed in brambles when he was cast down from heaven and thus he cursed them so that they would be ugly (I think they're kind of pretty, actually). It is said that he hates them so much, he stomps on them on Michealmas Day and after that, it's unlucky to harvest them. Other folklore says this happens on Halloween.

Even so, blackberries were considered as protection against earthbound spirits and vampires. If planted near a home, a vampire couldn't enter because he would obsessively count the berries and forget what he was about.

The name Bistort comes from Latin meaning twice-twisted, referring to the shape of the root.