Reconocimiento de la necesidad de extremar las precauciones cuando se lleven a cabo

Sun: Plants ruled by the Sun are typically yellow or golden in color and have a strong relationship with the Sun, above and beyond what most plants have. Plants that make one more photosensitive, that move easily with the Sun, or relate to the heart have solar correspondences.

Moon: Moon-ruled plants are those that are night blooming, white or silvery white in color, and/or enhance psychic ability. They usually have a strong water resonance.

Me rcury: Mercurial herbs are those that stimulate or calm the mind and nervous system, have a lot of seeds, or grow in abundance. Mercury plants are very adaptable, and have a special relationship with air.

Ve nus: Venusian plants are those that work well in the feminine reproductive system. The flowers can be pink, and in general, flowers with five petals are most often associated with Venus.

Mars: The herbs of Mars are fiery. They too are spiky, easily drawing blood and are spicy. They often have a high iron content. They tend to grow at boundaries and borders, and are often good for the blood and circulatory system.

Jupite r: Spices are primarily ruled by Jupiter—anything rich and warming and fit for a king. Plants with blue and purple flowers are traditional for Jupiter, and roots that heal the liver and gall bladder are Jupiterian in nature.

Saturn: Saturn plants are usually toxic. At the very least, they are grounding and earthy. Saturn plants work on the bones and can be tenacious weeds, difficult to get rid of from a garden. Saturn flowers, like the Moon, are usually white, and five and six petals are common.

Uranus: Uranian correspondences, like all of the outer planets, are fairly new. Herbs that are stimulating to the nervous system, like coffee, are defined as Uranian. Things that have an unusual or startling nature are ruled by Uranus. Anything that heightens awareness is Uranian.

Ne ptune : Herbs of Neptune induce dream-like visions. Flowers that are sea-green or foam-blue can have connections with this outer planet. Many entheogens are considered to be ruled or co-ruled by Neptune. Plants fermented into alcohol have an affinity for Neptune, as well as plants that have a relationship with water, and in particular, the sea. Herbs that hold a lot of water, and fruits that hold water, such as grapes, are also ruled by the sea king.

Pluto: Pluto’s herbs, like Saturn’s, are most often toxic. They are the banes that can kill you. They are also the plants we are most attracted to. Some rich plants and spices, due to the rich earthy nature of the underworld, can be considered ruled by, or co-ruled by, Pluto.

A key component of the Doctrine of Signatures not usually discussed by practical practitioners and that has been brought into modern use through the disciplines of flower essence consultants is the sacred geometry of the plant, and most specifically, its flower. Sacred geometry is the study of the underlying patterns within creation, and flowers express this in the shape they form through their petals. The numerological and geometric significance of the petals can help determine the nature of the plant’s inherent spirit.

Four-petaled flowers are sacred to the four directions, the four seasons, and the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. They are concerned with the balance of cycles and seasons. Four-petaled flowers promote harmony of the four basic components, and when used with human beings, they balance the body, emotions, mind and soul. They are the flowers of the magick circle and the medicine wheel.

Six-petaled flowers are the stars of the macrocosm in the Green World. The six pointed star is a symbol of the heavens and the planets, and is used in rituals of the hexagram to evoke and banish heavenly forces. The symbol of two interlocked triangles is one of integration, and many of the six-petaled flowers are used to not only unlock the mysteries of the heavens, but to integrate those mysteries within the psyche. Flower essences made from six-petaled flowers are used to integrate changes, or bring someone out of shock.

Three-petaled flowers are similar to six-petaled flowers. They promote a sense of harmony between mind, body and spirit. Two-petaled flowers help us resolve our awareness of duality and work in healthy balance with polarity, rather than remain divided. Seven-petaled flowers seek the mysteries that cannot be easily explained.

To the Witch, the most important plants are those with five-petaled flowers, as they mimic the image of the pentagram. Five-petaled flowers are especially sacred to the Goddess Venus. The pentagram is often thought of by modern Pagans as strictly a symbol of protection, but it’s much more than that. It is a gateway. Witches hold the ritual pentacle, a paten, or simply five outspread fingers up to the four directions to open the gateways to the four elemental realms. Ceremonial magicians and hermetically influenced Witches draw the five pointed star in various ways to unlock and lock the gates to the elemental realms. So while the pentagram can be used for protection, it is more accurate to think of it as a gateway. The door can be “opened” to let things in or “closed” to block unwanted energies, and talismans of the pentagram can be consecrated to block specific energies and let in other forces, as desired by the Witch or magician.

Flowers that have the same shape as the pentagram also have the same powers as the pentagram, and open and

close the gates, not to the elements, but to the realm of life force, of spirit. The pentagram is sometimes depicted as the human body in medieval drawings, with the head, two legs and two arms as the points of the star. With this depiction, we realize it is a symbol of incarnation, of life force, of the spirit entering the world of form and creating the body.

These flowers are some of the most powerful magickal plants, usually either very healing or very toxic, making the favorite balms and banes of Witches. They help the life force incarnate and remain healthy, or discarnate, and leave the world of form.

There is a spectrum of five-petaled flowers. On one end of the spectrum are the flowers that open the gate to life force and heal. They include Vervain and St. John’s Wort. These flowers bring life and light. On the far end are the flowers that remove life force and do harm. Belladonna and Datura are among their number. And some are

somewhere in the middle, like Vinca. These middle flowers are not exactly deadly, but do have some toxic qualities.

Many shift their position on the spectrum depending on the dose, becoming more or less toxic. Both ends of the spectrum are used in the classic image of the Witch’s flying ointment.

Fig. 6: Four-Petaled Flower

Fig. 7: Five-Petaled Flower

Fig. 8: Six-Petaled Flower

Other geometries of flowers can influence their use in magick and medicine, but the most common ones to identify are the four, five and six-petaled flowers.