imported>Fire: Created page with "{{for|sacred drug use|Entheogen}} '''Sacred Herbs''' are herbs that are considered sacred in some religions. Herbs such as (myrrh (''Commiphora myrrha''), ague root (''Aletris farinosa''), and frankincense (''Boswellia'' spp) in Christianity, Nine Herbs Charm in the partially Christianized Anglo-Saxon pagan, and a form of basil called tulsi— revered as a Hindu goddess for its medicinal value..."

2023-01-03T14:31:47Z

Created page with "{{for|sacred drug use|Entheogen}} '''Sacred Herbs''' are herbs that are considered sacred in some religions. Herbs such as (myrrh (''Commiphora myrrha''), ague root (''Aletris farinosa''), and frankincense (''Boswellia'' spp) in Christianity, Nine Herbs Charm in the partially Christianized Anglo-Saxon pagan, and a form of basil called tulsi— revered as a Hindu goddess for its medicinal value..."

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{{for|sacred drug use|Entheogen}}

'''Sacred Herbs''' are herbs that are considered [[sacred]] in some [[religion]]s. Herbs such as ([[myrrh]] (''Commiphora myrrha''), ague root (''[[Aletris farinosa]]''), and [[frankincense]] (''Boswellia'' spp) in [[Christianity]], [[Nine Herbs Charm]] in the partially Christianized [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|Anglo-Saxon pagan]], and a form of [[basil]] called [[tulsi]]— revered as a [[Hinduism|Hindu goddess]] for its [[medicinal]] value—are utilized in their rites and rituals.

==Europe==
[[File:Mistletoe Postcard 1900.jpg|thumb|Mistletoe postcard, circa 1900]]

Herbs were also considered sacred in European pagan beliefs.

The best known example is the [[mistletoe]]. The European mistletoe, ''Viscum album'', figured prominently in [[Greek mythology]], and is believed to be [[The Golden Bough (mythology)|The Golden Bough]] of [[Aeneas]], ancestor of the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. The [[Norse mythology|Norse god]] [[Baldr]] was killed with mistletoe.

Mistletoe bears fruit at the time of the [[Winter solstice celebration|Winter Solstice]], the birth of the new year, and may have been used in solstitial rites in Druidic Britain as a symbol of immortality. In [[Celtic mythology]] and in [[Druidry|druid]] rituals, it was considered a remedy for barrenness in animals and an antidote to poison, although the fruits of many mistletoes are actually poisonous if ingested as they contain [[viscotoxins]].

[[Verbena]] or Vervain has long been associated with [[Divinity|divine]] and other [[supernatural]] forces. It was called "tears of [[Isis]]" in [[ancient Egypt]], and later on "[[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]'s tears". In [[ancient Greece]], it was dedicated to [[Eos|Eos Erigineia]]. In the early Christian era, folk legend stated that [[Common Vervain]] (''V. officinalis'') was used to staunch [[Jesus]]' wounds after his removal from the [[crucifix|cross]]. It was consequently called "Holy Herb" or (e.g. in Wales) "Devil's bane". The [[name of a biological genus|generic name]] is the [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] term for sacrificial herbs considered very powerful. [[Pliny the Elder]] describes ''verbena'' presented on [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] altars; it is not entirely clear if this referred to a ''Verbena'' rather than the general term for prime sacrificial herbs.

Hazlitt's ''Faiths and Folklore'' (1905) quotes Aubrey's ''Miscellanies'' (1721), to wit:<blockquote>''"Vervain and Dill / Hinder witches from their will."''<ref>{{cite book |title=Faiths and folklore: a dictionary of national beliefs, Volume 2 |author1=Hazlitt, William Carew |author2=Brand, John |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1905 |page=611 |work=citing(550, 569, 611), John Aubrey, Esq.'s Miscellanies (1857), p. 147 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-4gAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA611 |accessdate=2010-09-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=Miscellanies upon the following Subjects...|author=Aubrey, John, Esq. |location=London |publisher=Bettesworth, Battley, Pemberton, Curll |year=1721  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMA5AAAAcAAJ&q=vervain&pg=PA147|accessdate=2010-09-15}}</ref></blockquote>

Vervain flowers are engraved on ''[[cimaruta]]'', Italian anti-''[[stregheria]]'' [[amulet|charm]]s. In the 1870 ''The History and Practice of Magic'' by "Paul Christian" ([[Jean-Baptiste Pitois]]) it is employed in the preparation of a [[Mandrake#Magic and witchcraft|mandragora]] charm:

{{quote|Would you like to make a Mandragora, as powerful as the [[homunculus]] (little man in a bottle) so praised by [[Paracelsus]]? Then find a root of the plant called [[bryony]]. Take it out of the ground on a Monday (the day of the moon), a little time after the vernal equinox. Cut off the ends of the root and bury it at night in some country churchyard in a dead man's grave. For thirty days water it with cow's milk in which three bats have been drowned. When the thirty-first day arrives, take out the root in the middle of the night and dry it in an oven heated with branches of [[verbena]]; then wrap it up in a piece of a dead man's winding-sheet and carry it with you everywhere.<ref>Paul Christian (1963), pp. 402–403</ref>}}

Other examples of sacred herbs include [[Valerian (herb)|valerian]], [[yarrow]], [[hemp]], and [[mugwort]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Herbs: A -Z List: (...The Medicinal, Spiritual and Magical Uses of...)|url=http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/herbsaz.htm|publisher=ancient-wisdom.co.uk|access-date=1 August 2015}}</ref>

==Americas==
Sacred non-psychoactive plants widely used in [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] ritual include [[Hierochloe odorata|sweetgrass]], and [[Salvia apiana|white sage]].{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

== In Pop Culture ==
In the series of young adult novels ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'', author [[L. J. Smith (author)|L. J. Smith]] uses vervain to protect humans from [[vampires]],<ref>Sheffield, Rob (April 08, 2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20100616232101/http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/8816/52507 Love in Vein: The Vampire Diaries]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. Retrieved 2010-09-15.</ref> in an extension of vervain's fabled magic-suppression powers against witches. In ''The Struggle, Volume II'', the vampire Stefan instructs the human Elena that vervain can "protect you against bewitchment, and it can keep your mind clear if someone is using Powers against you."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Struggle (Volume II) |first=L. J. |last=Smith |publisher=Harper Collins |year=1991 |page=105 |isbn=0-06-102001-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5R--5LXGOkC&pg=PA145 |accessdate=2010-09-15 }}</ref> He tells her how it is prepared and used, "Once I've extracted the oil from the seeds, you can rub it into your skin, or add it to a bath. And you can make the dried leaves into a sachet and carry it with you, or put it under your pillow at night", but gives her an unprepared sprig for protection in the meantime.<ref>Smith (1991), p. 145</ref>

==See also==
* [[Trees in mythology]]
* [[Nine Herbs Charm]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{二次利用|date=24 December 2022}}
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Plants in religion|Herbs]]

Sacred herb - Revision history