The Sacred Hearth

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all loved calendula and used it for culinary and healing purposes. During the medieval period it was considered a cure for just about everything. During the Rennaissance, it was a popular garden flower and commonly used as a pot herb earning it the name pot marigold.

Shakespear honored the flower in a verse in A Winter's Tale
""Hot lavender, mints, savoury, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun
And with him rises weeping: these are flowers.""
It was said that if marigold didn't open by 7am there would be a thunderstorm.

One medieval belief about marigold was that it would strip a witch of her will.

The genus name Baptisia is derived from the greek bapto, meaning "to immerse", in reference to the plant's for creating dyes for cloth. The specific name australis is Latin for "southern".

False indigo is native to North America and is most common in the midwest. It was used by many Native peoples for various purposes including medicine and dye, which the Europeans later did as well. Its common name comes from this practice, as it was often used by Europeans as a substitute for true indigo Indigofera tinctoria.

The world laurel comes from the Celtic lawr, meaning "verdant" and nobilis from the latin meaning "noble" or of high rank.

The Greek word for Bay is dhafni, after the nymph Daphne who was changed into a bay laurel tree by Gaea (or her father Peneus, or herself, depending on who's telling the story) to protect her from the unwanted advances of Apollo. The tree is sacred to Apollo and it is said that the Oracle at Delphi chewed the leaves and inhaled the smoke when seeking visions. It is also associated with honor and glory and kings, heroes, triumphant athletes, poets and other great men and women were crowned with it to signify their greatness in both ancient Greece and Rome. Garlands of bay laurel were traditionally bestowed upon the winners of the Pythian games in Greece and later the Olympic games (prior to the change, olive leaves were used).

Today, grand prix winners are given wreathes of laurel. The world laureate as in poet laureate and baccalaureate (lit "laurel berry") are additional reminders of the high status of this tree.

Laurel wreaths were worn for their protective properties. They were believed to protect against the anger of sky Gods and the Emperor Tiberius always wore laurel during thunderstorms to prevent his being struck by lightening. Doctors also wore laurel as it was considered helpful in curing nearly everything.

N. alata
Native to Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, N. alata was introduced to North American and European gardens in the 1800s. Jean Nicot, from whom the genus name Nicotiana was derived, first introduced flowering tobacco to the French court.

Nicotiana tobacum and N. rustica

Christopher Columbus’s sailors were amazed when they discovered the Natives’ habit of smoking tobacco. The idea of ingesting smoke for pleasure was a foreign one to European culture and the Natives were mockingly referred to as chimneys.

According to legend, tobacco was first presented to Queen Elizabeth I by Sir Walter Raleigh after his famous adventures, and she bet him he could not tell how much smoke was in a pound of tobacco. He weighed the tobacco and then the ashes after smoking and declared that the difference in those weights was the answer. The Queen paid up saying that although she’d heard of many who had turned gold into smoke, he was the first she knew of who had turned smoke into gold. In 1618, Sir Walter became the first man to have a last smoke before his execution.

Other sources say that Sir John Hopkins, or a member of his crew, may have been the first to introduce it to European culture in the 1560s.

Thanks to John Rolfe, husband of Pocahontas, tobacco was soon the mainstay of the Virginia colony’s economy. Rolfe is also credited with breeding stronger, sweeter tobacco than the original variety used ceremonially by the Natives.

The Arab word tabaq meaning “euphoria producing herb” may be the origin of the word “tobacco”. The location, Tobago, in the West Indies, from whence tobacco was first discovered by Europeans may also be the origin of the name. The Spanish word tobacco originally referred to a pipe.

To dream of tobacco means that one will have success in business and failure in love.
To see it growing indicates a pleasant surprise.
To see the dried leaf in a dream indicates a good crop or coming prosperity.
To smoke it tells of good friendships.

The name of this plant may have derived from the Greek word Athanaton meaning immoral. According to legend, it was given to Ganymede to make him immortal.

Tansy was once used as an embalming herb and to preserve meat. It was also used as a strewing herb because it helps to deter pests.

The word Thyme comes from the Greek meaning to "fumigate". This indicates that it was used as a smudgingi herb. The Greeks thought very highly of Thyme. It was mixed in drinks to enhance intoxicating effects and induce bravery and warriors were massaged with thyme oil to ensure their courage. Women wore thyme in their hair to enhance their attractiveness. The phrase "to smell of thyme" meant that one was stylish, well groomed, poised, and otherwise attractive.

Thyme is a Mediterranean native spread throughout Europe by the Romans. Their soldiers added it to their bathwater to increase bravery, strength and vigor.

It enjoyed a long association with bravery. In Medieval England, ladies embroidered sprigs of thyme into their knights' scarves to increase their bravery. In Scotland, highlanders brewed tea to increase courage and keep away nightmares.

Thyme was used as early as 3000 BCE by Sumerians as an antiseptic. It does indeed have impressic antiseptic qualities.

It was used as an embalming herb in ancient Egypt and was burned in other places as offerings to celebrate Rites of Passing. It was placed in coffins throughout Europe to ensure passage into the next world.