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Concept
Sacred herb
Summary
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—are utilized in their rites and rituals.
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 of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans. The Norse god Baldr was killed with mistletoe.
Mistletoe bears fruit at the time of the 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 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 divine and other supernatural forces. It was called "tears of Isis" in ancient Egypt, and later on "Juno's tears". In ancient Greece, it was dedicated to 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 cross. It was consequently called "Holy Herb" or (e.g. in Wales) "Devil's bane". The generic name is the ancient Roman term for sacrificial herbs considered very powerful. Pliny the Elder describes verbena presented on 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:"Vervain and Dill / Hinder witches from their will."
Vervain flowers are engraved on cimaruta, Italian anti-stregheria charms.
Official source
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