Futhark: Rune Magic 101 - Isa/Ís (I/i)

“The unwise man
is awake all night
and thinks of all sorts of things. 
Tired is he 
when the morning comes
and his problems unchanged.” 
- Hávamál

Literal Meaning & History 

If you utter the name of the rune out loud you can hear what it means. 

The word means ice. The literal state of being frozen solid. 

Contextually, colloquially, it was not uncommon to refer to winter weather and the covering of snow in terms of ice either. That ice had been laid across the land. Similar to how in English one could say the land was iced over. 

Figurative Meaning & Symbolism 

If there is one key word to describe this rune and it’s meaning it’s “frozen”.
No, not as in the movie, fuck that. 
As in literally cold and unmoving.
As in figuratively cold and unmoving. 

It is the permanence of self. (No matter how far you go, you will always be there.)
It is inaction.
It is stagnation.
It is perfect focus and concentration.
It is the enduring patience. 
It is deep contemplation and meditation.
It is standing still.
It is rest. 

This is laying around the house and doing absolutely nothing for days on end. 

This is getting stuck in a pattern of doing the same things day in and day out though you are busy and working all the time. 

This is getting so lost in concentration as you draw that when you raise your head hours have whisked by and it’s nearing dawn. 

This is being unable to put down the book.

This is the deep breath and repeated correction of unwanted behaviour in a pet or a child without a spark of anger. 

This is getting lost in thought and spacing out on the bus so that you miss your stop. 

This is sitting and meditating for an hour. 

This is the status quo, unchanged and unmoving. 

This is the rest stop along the way, where you sit and breathe for a while. 

A moment frozen in time.
A man frozen in the pattern his life. 
A computer frozen and won’t boot up. 

Suggested Homework 

Find two examples for your life. 

Find a habit that you’re failing to brake, that you may not even be trying to break, even if this habit isn’t exactly a good one. It doesn’t have to be a bad one either, just persistent and not a good or helpful one. 
Do you chew your nails?
Do you always need to check something?
Do you spend too much time on something?
Do you keep doing the same thing the same way though there’s no benefit to doing it, or doing it that way?

Write this down and try and write down how you fell into this pattern and how long it’s persisted and why you’ve not tried or not been able to change it.

Then find something new. 
It can be something that you’ve recently started, or would like to start doing. 
Something you want to keep as a persistent figure in your life. 
Some form of exercise?
Some creative endeavors?
Something spiritual?
A new person?
Any recent addition or change will do, as long as it’s something you want. 

Write this down and try and write down why you want this to stay in your life, how you can implement this into your established pattern, and what it’s worth to you. 

There is no promise this will break old patterns or establish new ones but being aware of them can help. 

And keep it small, if at all possible. We’re doing examples for homework, not overhauls.

The Honey Jar: A Witch’s Bottle to Make People Friendly Toward You

Materials:

·         A Bottle- Any water tight container will do but something that feels “witchy” is of course best. I like glass jars cleaned of any previous labels.

·         Writing Materials- Pen and paper. I have a blessed ritual pen. Some people use special paper, or special ink.

·         Honey

·         Sugar

·         Cinnamon

·         Nutmeg

Pour a generous quantity of honey into the bottle. Add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

         Any other sweet, pleasant things may be substituted, but this is my preferred mixture.

         Charge the jar, focusing on positive, friendly feelings and good intentions. Family, friends, holidays, celebrations.

         Holding the jar say the following:

         “Sweet as honey from the bee,

         Who’s name is here, be sweet to me.”

Write the name of anyone you need to be nice to you, and put them in the jar. As you add a name, whisper any specific things you need from them as if you were speaking to their subconscious. Tilt the bottle and watch the honey cover their name. Keep it in a safe place.

         This spell is very useful for anyone who has authority over you or has something you need. Good for enchanting employers, doctors, and government officials before an important meeting.

         As long as their name remains in the bottle, they’ll stay sweet. Unless you’re enough of an ass to overcome the power of the spell, so you need to be sweet to them too.

         You can add any number of names to the jar, but you may need to add more honey to ensure every name gets coated. If the jar fills up, start a new one. You may keep the old one, or bury it in a wild place, but do not empty it or the spell will end.

         If the jar is ever emptied, you may be able to rely on any friendship you have built during the spell, but you’ll be left to rely on your own actual social skills.

Futhark: Rune Magic 101 - Berkana/Björk (B/b)

“Bear hence, my son, what thy mother hath said,
And let it live in thy breast;
Thine ever shall be the best of fortune,
So long as my words shall last.”
—Svipdagsmál

Literal Meaning & History 

The literal meaning of this word is Birch, as in the tree. 

The birch is a genus of trees that grows throughout the temperate belt and even a bit north of it. It’s a hardwood and can be found as tall, statuesque, slender trees with bright white bark, and as low, nearly crawling, shrubs, depending on climate and surrounding conditions. 

This tree doesn’t produce fruit in the traditional sense. 
There aren’t any fleshy fruits. 
There aren’t any nuts. 
There aren’t any acorns. 
Only these long and slender little flower clusters that don’t look like much that grow and mature before the tree has fully grown it’s leaves in spring. 

This tree is considered a pioneering species. What that means is that it will quickly colonize open ground and spread wide. 
In fact, this species can even be considered invasive, a threat to open spaces, and so, if grazing is not enough to keep the saplings and seedlings down, periodic burning has been a common tool to control the trees and slow their progress. 

The combination of these things, that this tree will grow without fruit and that this tree will grow where no other trees grow, seemingly even sprouting again from it’s ashes, contribute to the mythological view of this otherwise extremely useful source of hardwood material. 

Figurative Meaning & Symbolism 

There are so many words one can evoke for this rune but they all connect together under the idea, the concept of “Fertility”, not only literal but figurative.

This rune represents the mother of us all, mother nature, or mother earth.
This is fertile ground and fertile hearts.
This is growing as a person, as a being of nature, as life. 
This is creation and conception, two sides of the same coin.
This is birth and rebirth.
This is a cleansing, a purifying, a clearing.

This is new life, whether a tiny puppy or a pregnancy scare. 

This is creation of something new, whether nurturing your book as you write it, feeding it words as needed, or coaxing the image from the canvas with paints, or struggling through the night, trying to get the song to come together.

This is planting seeds in the moist earth to grow flowers, or food. 

This is the taut skin across the abdomen, heavy with new life. 

This is raising cattle, being there for the birth of every new calf, with care and love, knowing full well that this new life will later sustain your own life. 

But all these things, all this beauty, all this life, is nature. And mother nature has her dark sides, even in this. 

Birth defects. The song that you give up on. The accident. The stillbirth. The loss. The new disease.

You can not be reborn unless you also experience a death, in one way or another. 

Context. 

The little rune poem reads:
Bjarkan is a branch with leaves
and a little tree
and youthful wood. 

Suggested Homework 

Invoke your own creativity, find it. 

And don’t think you lack it, that you don’t have any, everyone has the capacity to create, everyone has creativity. 

The creative processes that go into things like writing code are similar to those that go into creating art. 

Whatever that is your creativity, whether it comes in when you need to solve a problem or when you’re idle, whatever you make, dip into that process, into that mentality. 

Make something. Anything. 
Make dinner. 
Make art.
Make a program.
Make a poem.
Make music.
Sing.
Dance.
Write.

Then write down: 
1. What you made, what is your creativity.
2. What is your process.
3. What does it feel like to be a creator. 
4. What had to die, be destroyed, be changed irrevocably, so that you could create.
  And even if you just wrote three lines of code, something was changed that can not be unchanged, something was lost that can’t be undone, be it the paper you scribble notes on, or time spent, energy burned, looking for answers within your mind

Futhark: Rune Magic 101 - Teiwaz/Týr (T/t)

“Winning-runes learn,
if thou longest to win,
And the runes on thy sword-hilt write;
Some on the furrow,
and some on the flat,
And twice shalt thou call on Tyr.”
 - Sigrdrífumál 

Literal Meaning & History 

Brace yourselves, there’ll be a fair bit of history here, or at least more than is the norm so far. Please read it though. To know this is important to knowing the rune. 

Literally, the name of this rune is Týr, the ás, the god. 

Týr was once worshipped as much as, if not more than, Odin and some of the names Odin wears today are borrowed or inherited from Týr. 
Týr was the original god of war in the nordic system. 
And even further back, Týr may have been the universal name for “god”. 

There are many stories of Týr where he’s put in positions no other god has been put in. For example, only twice has a god’s raw strength been compared to that of Thor’s. Once it was Týr and later it was the son of Týr. 

The most famous of all the stories of Týr is the story of Fenrisúlfur and this is the origin of Týr’s nickname as the one armed or one handed god. 

Týr was the master swordsman of the gods. None was his equal in battle, so great was his skill with a blade. 

Fenrisúlfur was the child of Loki and Angurboða (literal meaning “messenger of pain”). Angurboða was a witch and a giantess. She had been burned to the ground but Loki had found her heart still beating in the ashes. So, to protect her heart, he swallowed it. 
This was a heart of evil that overwhelmed him, grew within him, and eventually gestated into a wolf that Loki gave birth to. 
As this creature was the child of Loki, though it was a being of malice, the gods allowed it to stay in Asgard and grow up there. 

While the wolf was intelligent it was also a beast of hunger, fury and hate, and it grew large. So large that by the end the only one of the gods (Loki included) that dared approach the beast and feed it was Týr, the bravest of all the gods. 

Eventually the beast became so large and so terrifying a presence that it was decided that the beast needed to be bound, contained, controlled. 
Not killed, no. After all this was the child of Loki, blood brother to Odin himself. 

So they fashioned a binding and tempted the wolf to try and see if he could break it, which he did. 

Again they fashioned a binding and tempted the wolf, and again he broke free.

The third binding was made by the svartalvar, from six ingredients. 
The sound of the cat’s footsteps.
The breath of the fish.
The bird’s spit.
The woman’s beard.
The roots of the mountain.
And the bear’s tendons.

This time the wolf was suspicious so he asked that one of the gods would place his arm in his mouth. Týr, again, the bravest of the gods, volunteered. Though some versions of this tale cast Týr as the caretaker of the wolf, or adopted father as Loki is said to have no interest in the wolf once it was born. 
So what exactly made Týr brave enough to do this isn’t known, but what one can assume is that if any god knew where this would end, it was Týr. 

And so, knowing what was to come, the greatest swordsman in all of Asgard, placed his sword arm in the mouth of the beast. 

This time the binding held.
And Týr lost his arm.

Figurative Meaning & Symbolism 

As this is the rune of Týr, the name of Týr, Týr is at the heart of the meaning of this rune, though “Warrior” is a pretty good word to keep in mind. 

If you write and invoke this rune as a part of a spell you’re invoking Týr himself, so be advised that appropriate offerings to Týr are mead (or beer as an alternative) meat and blood. 

This rune refers to justice, true justice, not just the law. 
This is a rune of self-sacrifice. 
This is discipline, especially self-discipline. 
This is responsibility.
This is conflict. 
This is injury, wounds, hurt feelings. 
This is the law, the rules, and what they mean. 

This is repeating the physical motions in preparation for the recital for the thousandth time, ignoring pain from blisters and fatigue. Because this needs to be perfect. 

This is standing, arms locked, with your fellow man in protest, crying out for justice.

This is standing guard at the other side of the street, trying to serve the law, questioning your motives and those of the men standing around you. 

This is being responsible for the well being of another living being and standing up to the task, to that job. 

This isn’t fighting for your personal gain. 
This is fighting for what’s right, for what’s important, for what you should. 

This is… This is Týr. 
Standing with his hand in the mouth of the wolf. 
The wolf he fed. 
The wolf he raised. 
Knowing that the beast, however loved, must be controlled. 
And knowing the price is your sword arm. 

As such, this rune does not just represent the battle, or the victory, but the sacrifice. Not necessarily of what you are or what gives you worth, but of what you may have to lose. 

Context is key.

The small poem above reads; 
Týr is the one-handed god
And the wolf´s leavings.
And the guardian(/prince) of the temple.

Suggested Homework

What is your battle?
What do you fight for?
What is important to you?
What are you willing to sacrifice to win?

Don’t answer instinctively or immediately and without thought. 

Think. 

Dig down and look for an honest answer. 

What will you let go of for the sake of victory over injustice?

Are you ready to take this battle to it’s bitter end?

It’s okay to not be ready. 
It’s okay to pick one’s battles. 
It’s okay to be afraid and to be unsure. 

If you can’t give an answer with certainty, then “I do not know” is an answer. 

But try to find an answer. 
Try to know.

Futhark: Rune Magic 101 - Jera/ár (J/j Y/y)

“No harvest is had without the seed first being sown.”
-Saga Ólafs Trygvasonar Konungs  ch 8

Literal Meaning & History 

If you say the word out loud you can hear it’s meaning, same as with the last rune. Jera means year. 

But not just year. The term in it’s old form could also refer to seasons and with different prefixes it would refer to different types of seasons as well.

And even if we simply focus on the meaning of year, the turn of the year, the moment of new year, wasn’t always during the mid of winter, at least not for everyone. Various areas of Europe celebrated the new year during different seasons. 

This term is mostly connected to the harvest season but old heathen and pagan europeans celebrated their new year usually in the autumn or around the start of winter, though there were some that started their year in spring during the sowing and sprouting seasons. 

Figurative Meaning & Symbolism 

The thing with this rune is that it refers to the whole growing and harvesting part of the year, the spring summer and fall seasons for that half of the year dedicated to the growing and harvesting of food and other things, so it’s hard to pinpoint one word to focus on for this rune. I suggest striving to create a visual representation of a field of wheat, heavy with grain, in your mind and connecting that with this rune. 

This is production and productivity.
This is the harvest.
This is the reward for labor.
This is the inevitable and constant change.
This is the passing of time.
This is the turning of the wheel. 

If you look at the rune, how it’s drawn, it hints at motion that has no beginning and no end. 

This is standing at your graduation, ready to receive the final reward for all your work. 
This is getting payed at the end of a project and/or seeing it come to fruition. 
This is getting your book published after all that you’ve put into it. 
This is pushing through that last patch of hard work and finally seeing things come together. 

BUT. 

This rune reminds us with all those things that after graduation, you have to find work and begin a new season in your life. 
After you project is complete, you’ll begin another one. 
After your book is published, the next one waits to be started. 
After watching that hard work lead to it’s end, there will be something else to begin. 

And sometimes a period in your life runs it’s course on it’s own. 
Things change and new things come along. 
Friendships fade, friendships are made. 
Relationships peter out, new flames are kindled. 

Change can be scary.
If you’ve been the person that is doing this project for long enough, completing it can be scary because we forget who we are if we aren’t the person doing this project. 
This fear and discomfort can even make it hard to make positive changes happen in our lives. If we let ourselves become defined by our problems, even the problems can become hard to let go of. 
This rune therefore serves as a gentle reminder that there is no end without another beginning, and that change is inevitable so we might as well make the most of it. 

The little rune poem translates roughly to;
Ár is good to men
and a good summer
and a laden field.

Suggested Homework 

Think of your own past. 
Think of periods of your life that were dedicated to projects of some sort. 
School, courses, studies that you did by yourself because of personal interest, pieces of art that took a while to complete, short stories you’ve written, something you’ve built, learning to play an instrument, whatever. 

These don’t have to be big projects, something small that took a couple of days is enough. 

Choose a couple of projects, 2 maybe 3, that you can remember with some clarity. 

Focus on the last moments, the bit where the final touches happened, the last few days before it was over, the moment of completion. 

Write down, in simple terms, what you remember of the completion, and what it felt like to see it finish. 
Write down your reward.

There is always a reward. It might not always be something obvious.

HERB FOR THE DAY........SOLOMON'S SEAL

A B O U T T H E P L A N T

Solomon’s Seal (polygonatum biflorum) is a medicinal herb that has diverse healing properties. It can be used as a herbal tincture (best use), salve, tea or supplement. As an alternative medicine, it gives relief, healing or mending to sports injuries and other acute injuries related to tendons, joints, ligaments, bones, bruises, connecting tissues, cartilage, osteoarthritis, etc. It also soothes and repairs gastrointestinal inflammation and injuries. It is effective for feminine issues, such as menstrual cramps, PMS, bleeding, and the like. Additionally, it is known to lower blood pressure, relieve dry coughs, and to increase concentration and mental clarity.

Solomon’s Seal has a rich history that goes back many hundreds of years. Herbalists and healers, both in Europe and North America and the Far East, for centuries have written about its diverse effects on numerous conditions. On one hand, it seems to be a “miracle plant,” and numerous practitioners consider a bottle of tincture or a jar of salve to be an absolute must in one’s medicine cabinet or emergency kit.

Western documentation is largely anecdotal. Gardener’s and nature lovers know the plant well, for it is easily identifiable and can be cultivated. Wellness practitioners using alternative healing methods are somewhat familiar with the plant and praise it; however, their number is still small and documentation is limited. Herbalists, chiropractors, among others are increasingly validating Solomon’s Seal’s effectiveness. Traditional Western medicine, based on allopathic or invasive procedures and pharmaceuticals, has provided little knowledge or interest in integrating Solomon’s Seal with treatment. However, researchers are engaing in projects to determine the herb’s healing qualities for a number of conditions. In the next few years (i.e. beyond 2008), the public should expect to have such research available.

Below you will learn about the plant’s botanical characteristics (also visit the Picture Gallery for detailed images and commentary), selected folklore and history, and cultivation information if you are inclined to introduce it in your own yard. For a quick link to any of these sections, click on the topic below.

Botanical Characteristics Historical Knowledge & Healing/Culinary Uses of the Plant History & Folklore about King Solomon’s Seal Cultivation Links for Further Information

BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Solomon’s Seal

Polygonatum biflorum Family: Ruscaceae; Liliaceae (lily) Genus: Polygonatum Species: biflorum Synonym: Polygonatum canaliculatum; Polygonatum commutatum; Polygonatum giganteum; Polygonatum odoratum; Polygonatum officinale

Other commonnames: Fragrant Solomon’s Seal, Lady’s Seals, Saint Mary’s Seal, Sealwort, Sigillum Sanctae Mariae, Yu Zhu, Angular Solomon’s Seal, True Solomon’s Seal, Dropberry, Sealroot, American Solomon’s Seal, King Solomon’s Seal, King Solomon’s-seal, Small Solomon’s Seal, Sow’s Teats, Dropberry, He Shou Wu, Mahmeda, Meda

Category: Perennials

Height: 12-18 in. (30-45 cm) 18-24 in. (45-60 cm) 24-36 in. (60-90 cm) 36-48 in. (90-120 cm)

SunExposure: Sun to Partial Shade Light Shade, woodland

Bloom Color: Pale Yellow Chartreuse (Yellow-Green) White/Near White

Bloom Time: Mid Spring Late Spring/Early Summer Foliage: Grown for foliage Herbaceous Smooth-Textured Other details: Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not over-water Soil pH requirements: Unknown Propagation Methods: By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets) Seed Collecting: Bagseed-heads to capture ripening seed

Hardiness: USDA Zone 3a: to -39°C (-40°F) USDA Zone 3b: to -37.2°C (-35°F) USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4°C (-30°F) USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6°C (-25°F) USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8°C (-20°F) USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1°C (-15°F) USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3°C (-10°F) USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5°C (-5°F) USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7°C (0°F) USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9°C (5°F) USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2°C (10°F) USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4°C (15°F) USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6°C (20°F) USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8°C (25°F)

General Characteristics

Solomon’s Seal is a close relative of the Lily of the Valley and was formerly assigned to the same genus (Convallaria, but now Liliaceae), with several similar species that are native to North America, northern Europe and Siberia, and cultivated as popular garden ornamentals. The hardy perennial has stems of three feet in height that finally curve gracefully and bear pale green, oval leaves and drooping clusters of creamy white flowers, followed by blue-black berries. It thrives in light, well drained, moist, humus-rich soil in partial shade or in sun (preferring forests) with a cool root run.

Solomon’s Seal is a lovely woodland perennial with native varieties in North America, Asia and Europe. It is native to most of the eastern and midwestern United States. It can grow up to two feet tall. Unfortunately, some areas may consider the plant invasive and obnoxious. Solomon’s Seal prefers a light soil, good mulch and a shady location. It can be grown by division or by seed. It will return year after year and spread itself. It is a lovely, delicate addition to a shade garden.

The Flowers & Leaves

The plant consists of a single stem with many broad, ovate leaves with parallel veination arranged alternately along the length of it and clasping the base. The plant often grows in a slight arc and the flowers dangle from the leaf axils beneath the arc of the stem. (This gives the plant its folk name “sow’s teats”). The large and broadly-oval leaves grow alternately on the stem, practically clasping it by the bases. All the leaves have the character of turning one way, being bent slightly upward, as well as to one side, and have very marked longitudinal ribbing on their surfaces.

The flowers are in little drooping clusters of from two to seven, springing from the axils of the leaves, but hanging in an opposite direction to the foliage. They are tubular in shape, of a creamy or waxy white, topped with a yellowish-green, and sweet-scented, and are succeeded by small berries about the size of a pea, of a blackish-blue colour, varying to purple and red, and containing about three or four seeds.

The Root (Rhizome)

The generic name Polygonatum signifies many-angled, and is supposed to be derived either from the numerous knots or swellings of the root or from the numerous nodes or joints of the stem, but the characteristics are not very marked ones. The specific name, multiflorum, serves to distinguish this many-flowered species from another in which the blossoms are solitary, or only in pairs from each axil.

The creeping rootstock, or underground stem, is thick and white and is lifted in autumn and used in herbal medicine. Because of the creeping rootstock, the plant multiplies very rapidly. The plant’s botanical genus, Polygonatum, refers to the “many-angled” knots on the root or the numerous joints on the stems. Its English name is believed to refer to the flat, round scars on the rootstocks, resembling the impressions of a seal; and when the root is cut transversely, it resembles Hebrew characters, giving rise to the legend that the wise King Solomon, who knew of the virtues of the roots, set his seal upon them.

You can estimate the plant’s age by examining the rhizome. Each year the stem leaves a scar, or “seal” on the rhizome. Counting these will give you an idea of how long your plant has been alive.

(photo bySapphire Kate)

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HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE & Culinary Qualities

Solomon’s Seal is named for King Solomon of Hebrew lore who was granted great wisdom by the Hebrew God and had a special seal that aided him in his magical workings, allowing him to command demons without coming to harm. According to herbal lore, King Solomon himself placed his seal upon this plant when he recognized its great value. Those with imagination can see the seal on the rootstock in the circular scars left by the stem after it dies back.

Solomon’s Seal is a bittersweet, astringent, tonic herb that includes convallarin (also one of the active constituents in Lily of the Valley), asparagin, allantoin, gum, sugar, mucilage, starch and pectin.

Solomon’s Seal has been used for centuries to heal wounds, repair damaged tissue, bruises, and knit broken bones; relieve dry coughs and tuberculosis; treat chronic dysentery, diarrhea and hemorrhoids, among other diverse uses, as explained more below.

In A.D. 130-200, the most famous physician of his day, Galen, recommended the use of Solomon’s Seal root to remove freckles, spots and marks for a fresh, fair and lovely skin. In the sixteenth century, the herbalist, John Gerard, in his Herball, claimed that Solomon’s Seal was an effective treatment for cuts, wounds and bruises of all kinds (when used in a poultice). The herbalist also said that when taken internally, the roots were excellent for “broken bones to knit.” So enamored by Solomon’s Seal’s diverse healing qualities, he pronounced: “Common experience teacheth, that in the world there is not to be found another herbe comparable to it.”

In his publication, Theatrum Botanicum, of 1640, John Parkinson, a renowned British apothecary, noted that Italian women used the root to improve their complexions and retain their beauty and agelessness. In North America, early native tribes made a tea of the rootstock as a cure for women’s complaints and general internal pains. In some countries, Solomon’s Seal is boiled and eaten as a vegetable similar to asparagus, and it has also been used in snuffs to induce sneezing and relieve head congestion.

The fresh root, pounded and applied topically helps fade bruising. For centuries the powdered roots have been shown to made an excellent poultice for bruises, piles, inflammations and tumours. The bruised roots were much used as a popular cure for black eyes, mixed with cream. The bruised leaves made into a stiff ointment with lard served the same purpose. Today, a salve such as our Cortesia Solomon’s Seal Salve, would be the ointment of choice.

A decoction can also be used as a facial rinse to help fade blemishes or for poison ivy and similar skin problems. In Galen’s time, the distilled water decoction was used as a cosmetic: the diluted water of the whole plant used to the face or other parts of the skin, cleanses it from freckles, spots or any marks, leaving the place fresh, fair and lovely, for which purpose it is much used by the Italian ladies and is the principal ingredient of most of the cosmetics and beauty washes advertised by perfumers at high price.

Solomon’s Seal root tea is a good tonic acting on the kidneys, heart and sexual organs as well as soothing the digestive system. An infusion can be used for profuse menstruation and internal bleeding, indigestion and other stomach and digestive complaints including ulcers, bowel problems and hemorrhoids. Used as a mouthwash, it is said to help strengthen gums.

Oil infused with Solomon’s Seal root is good to keep on hand for first aid treatment of sprains, strains and broken or bruised bones. (Not to replace, but to enhance traditional medical intervention.) Solomon’s Seal root tea or tincture aids in the repair of broken bones and may be drunk after a doctor has set the break. It is also great for torn ligaments, dislocations and other issues with joints.

Culinary Uses (root & young shoots only!)

Solomon’s Seal seem innocuous and so widely useful, but parts of it are poisonous. Except for the root and tender young shoots, all parts of the adult plant, especially the berries are poisonous and should not be consumed. The berries are stated to excite vomiting, and even the leaves, nausea, if chewed. So, heed this warning:

POISONOUS: Do NOT eat the berries or leaves or stems!

Young shoots harvested in early spring can be prepared and eaten like asparagus. This is a favorite food in Turkey.

The root dug in autumn and dried is also edible. Any roots should be boiled with three changes of water before being roasted and eaten. The roots macerated for some time in water yield a substance capable of being used as food and consisting principally of starch.

If you are unsure about identifying the plants or its parts, seek out a personal consultation with a skilled herbalist or botonist before using internally for food or medicine.

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HISTORY & FOLKLORE

“Set me as aseal upon thy heart” (The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s, 8:6)

King Solomon, the son of King David, established Jerusalem as the city of justice and peace. His name reflects the original name of the city, Shalem. Solomon is said to have been given both wisdom and knowledge, this is usually taken to mean wise government, the ability to distinguish morally between good and evil, and a thorough understanding of the universe. “Behold I have given you a wise and understanding heart; there has been none like you before you, nor after you shall any arise like you.” (Kings 1, 3, 12).

The legend of King Solomon’s Seal, of the wondrous signet ring that he received from heaven, is common to Judaism, to Christianity and to Islam. King Solomon’s Seal, whose base is on the ground and whose tip reaches heaven, symbolizes a harmony of opposites, whose significance is manifold as much as it is multi-cultural. It reflects the cosmic order, the skies, the movement of the stars in their spheres, and the perpetual flow between heaven and earth, between the elements of air and fire. The Seal, therefore, symbolizes super-human wisdom and rule by divine grace.

The symbol of the hexagram, the star-like figure formed by two triangles, has many connotations, especially when it is enclosed by a circle; super-natural powers have been attributed to it in many parts of the world since ancient times.

Through geometry, in which the Pythagoreans and their followers saw cosmic symbolism, the hexagram and the pentagram became an expression of heaven and its reflection on earth, the divine and its reflection in creation and of the connection between heaven and earth, between the macrocosm and the microcosm, and between spirit and matter.

King Solomon’s Seal combines strength and beauty, symbolism and illustrative quality and all within a geometric figure, the most important characteristic of Islamic art. The Moslem artist’s love of geometry allows the true essence of King Solomon’s Seal as a symbol of the connection between the two worlds to be expressed; in this context, it symbolizes the link between science, beauty and metaphysics, with elements of medicine and magic, astronomy and astrology, the art of irrigation and its influence on the garden, and the symbolic connection between pleasure gardens and the Garden of Eden, between the sky and architectural domes and on traditional cosmology and its connection to religion.

Today, the hexagram is known as the Star of David and is seen as the definitive symbol of Judaism; the term is even used in Islamic countries. There is adegree of confusion about its origins, name and associations. In Europe, the pentagram is usually known as King Solomon’s Seal, while the hexagram is known as the Star of David.

The magic drawings of the hexagram and the pentagram were known as seals, in keeping with the idea that a person “stamps himself” with these signs in order to protect himself from harmful spirits. This term is connected to the legend of King Solomon who controlled the demons by means of a special signet ring on which was engraved the Tettragrammaton. The seal only had power for one thing: to provide protection from malevolent forces.

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CULTIVATION

Solomon’s Seal is a very hardy plant. It prefers a light soil and a shady situation, being a native of woods. If grown in asuitable soil and place and not crowded by shrubs, it will thrive and multiply very rapidly by the creeping rootstocks. It will be better for occasional liberal dressings of leaf mould, or an annual top dressing of decayed manure in March.

Seeds, sown as soon as gathered in the autumn, germinate in early spring, or the roots may be divided to any extent. The best time to transplant or part the roots is in autumn, after the stalks decay, but it may safely be done at any time, if taken up with plenty of soil, until they begin to shoot in the spring, when the ground should be dug about them and kept clean from weeds. They should also have room to spreadand must not be removed more than every third or fourth year.

To give Solomon’s Seal a good start when planting, the soil should be well broken up with a fork and have a little mild manure worked in.

You can estimate the plant’s age by examining the rhizome. Each year the stem leaves a scar, or “seal” on the rhizome. Counting these will give you an ideaof how long your plant has been alive. When harvesting the roots, leave several inches (or 3-4 nodes) of the newest portion untouched so that you don’t kill or damage the plant. Always harvest/wildcraft with care and respect for the plant and its surrounding habitat.

Solomon’s Seal prefers a light soil, good mulch and a shady location. It can be grown by division or by seed. It will return year after year and spread itself. It is a lovely, delicate addition to a shade garden.