strewing herbs 🧺🌿🥀
excerpts from daniel schulke's viridarium umbris & the green mysteries
dividers by @strangergraphics
concerning the noble art of strewing (viridarium umbris)
The Work of Strewing is a gift of the Arbor Tabulatus; it is the ancient and venerable deed of 'Casting Forth the Path of Blossom' upon which the Beloved treads on her way unto the Altar. Thus is the Field of Art scattered with fragrant herbs and flowers, then trodden in circumambulation, the spirits praised in exhortation, the ground fed with sweet sacrifice. Throughout the Greater Feast of Spirit, let all brethren tread, or yet recline, upon this perfumed Round, its virtues released over time and blessing both Plot and celebrant alike.
Therefore let the freshly gathered offerings be sweet of fragrance, the better to perfume the Circle of Art when trodden. If the feet be naked when pacing the circle round, so much the better for the Herbalist to share the plants' virtue with the Plot of her treading; and yet let the feet be shod where certain works of the Circle require strewing bane-blossoms, thorns or rank leaves.
For works of the daylight, brightly coloured petals may lend charm, and for the night, white blossoms shall shine in darkness as the very Light of Selene. The Greel in which the Herbs are borne shall be generous of size, for great is the delight of the spirits when large quantities are given, and greater the efficacy of the Work.
The Laying of the Ring of Blossom is a sorcerous act of great meditation and presence, no different than prayer itself, for by ways of the step, the chant, and the sacrifice of Herbs of Delight, the ground is charmed in love and adoration, and the Invitation to the Feast of Spirit made. Thus let each casting forth of petals be joined to the casting forth of invitation, and of devotion unto the good ground.
of the herbs of strewing and their powers (viridarium umbris)
i am going to condense the information from this passage similarly to that of the following section. please read the original text for more extensive descriptions of each herb.
blessing: rue, monarda, tansy
exorcism: featherfoil, santolina, tansy, costmary
ecstasy: clove pinks, calamus leaf, yerba buena
happiness: daisy, asperula
purification: chamomile, rose, lavender, basil, rue
spellcasting: fennel, asperula
summoning: neroli, citrus, winter savory (rustic host), thyme (earthly host)
worship: rose, violet (earthly host)
unspecified: balm, pennyroyal & podina, pelargonium
strewing herbs (the green mysteries)
"The Strewing art, which may be adapted to any ceremony or religious ritual, involves two phases: Casting the fresh plants upon a pathway, floor, or other sacred ground, and then treading them, sometimes barefoot. Depending on the nature of the ceremony, elaborate and artful patterns may be laid out prior to the rite, enhancing aesthetics and unifying the ground with the middle and upper tiers of the ritual arena. Used in sufficient quantity, the right plants, Strewn wisely, can perfume a space as Strongly as incense."
communion: myrtle (myrtus communis — leaves)
exorcism: costmary (tanacetum balsamita — leaves), fleabane (erigeron spp. — leaves & flowers)
funerary: cedar (cedrus spp. — needles), cypress (cupressus spp. — fronds), stinging nettle (urtica dioica — whole fresh plant), pine (pinus spp. — needles), sagebrush (artemisia tridentata — leaves & flowers), savory (satureja spp. — leaves), tansy (tanacetum vulgare — leaves & flowers), thuja (thuja spp. — leaves), tobacco (nicotiana spp. — cured leaves)
love: citrus (citrus spp. — leaves & flowers), coriander (coriandrum sativum — leaves & unripe fruits), myrtle (myrtus communis — leaves), pearly everlasting (gypsophila spp. — flowering tops), rose (rosa spp. — petals & buds)
marriage: myrtle (myrtus communis — leaves), pearly everlasting (gypsophila spp. — flowering tops), rose (rosa spp. — petals & buds)
purification: cedar (cedrus spp. — needles), citrus (citrus spp. — leaves & flowers), costmary (tanacetum balsamita — leaves), escallonia (escallonia spp. — leaves), hyssop (hyssopus spp. — leaves & flowers), lavender (lavendula spp. — leaves & flowers), mint (mentha spp. — leaves & flowers), pennyroyal (mentha pugelum — leaves & flowers), pine (pinus spp. — needles), rosemary (salvia rosmarinus — leaves), sage (salvia spp. — leaves), sagebrush (artemisia tridentata — leaves & flowers), savory (satureja spp. — leaves), tansy (tanacetum vulgare — leaves & flowers), thuja (thuja spp. — leaves), thyme (thymus spp. — leaves & flowers), tobacco (nicotiana spp. — cured leaves)
revelry: angelica (angelica spp. — leaves & flowers), coriander (coriandrum sativum — leaves & unripe fruits), perovskia (perovskia spp. — leaves), rose (rosa spp. — petals & buds), sassafras (sassafras albidum — leaves)
warfare: stinging nettle (urtica dioica — whole fresh plant), tobacco (nicotiana spp. — cured leaves)
worship: angelica (angelica spp. — leaves & flowers), escallonia (escallonia spp. — leaves), pearly everlasting (gypsophila spp. — flowering tops), perovskia (perovskia spp. — leaves), rose (rosa spp. — petals & buds), sage (salvia spp. — leaves), sassafras (sassafras albidum — leaves), thyme (thymus spp. — leaves & flowers), tobacco (nicotiana spp. — cured leaves)
