The Mustard Seed: A Cultural Constant
The mustard family, Brassiaceae, is an enormous family of flowering plants comprising over four thousand accepted species. As such, members of the mustard family are found nearly everywhere on Earth! The family includes such common cruciferous vegetables as broccoli, turnips, and kale, but also produces seeds in many of its species that have been used as a pungent spice. These seeds have a significant amount of folklore attached!
In Texas, one may find 186 members of the mustard family-- most commonly, the shepherd’s purse (C. bursa-pastorum), the bittercresses (Cardamine spp.), the wallflowers (Erysimum spp.), and the pepperweeds (Lepidium spp.). There are two local edible species I recommend using: the shepherd’s purse and pepperweed.
Much of the folklore around the mustard seed is derived from its smallness. Jewish scholars compare the knowable universe to the mustard seed to demonstrate its insignificance-- how can we think so highly of ourselves when we are so small, and part of small things? Similarly, the Christian Parable of the Mustard Seed is a story Jesus tells about faith, saying that the kingdom of heaven may be like the mustard seed, but when planted becomes large and fruitful. The Ḥadīth recount Muhammad warning that a person with even a mustard seed’s worth of pride in their heart would not be able to enter Paradise.
A 5th century BCE Buddhist tale concerns a mother who has lost her only son, and brings his body to the Buddha to seek a cure. The Buddha prescribes that she go from house to house in her village, looking for a handful of mustard seeds to being back from a household that has never lost a loved one. She realises how selfish she is being when she cannot find a single family in her village who has not lost anyone. Death is a part of the human experience.
Several nations around the world, including India, Italy, and Denmark, have folklore stating that mustard seeds may be sprinkled around the boundaries of the home to keep out evil spirits. German folklore prescribes that mustard seeds be sewn into the hems of wedding dresses to ensure a happy household. In the United States, jewelry incorporating a single mustard seed, usually kept in a glass vial, as a symbol of faith, as in the Biblical parable, or as a signifier of perseverance and hope.
In magic, you may use the mustard seed (whether it comes from a commercial spice provider or is harvested from local plants in the family) as a symbol of protection, strength, and perseverance. It may be part of an offering to a spirit as a request to leave your space, or an amulet to protect oneself from evil intentions. Its Western associations with faith and belief may make it a reminder that what you put into the world grows and outlasts you.
