St. John’s Wort

St. John's Wort  can be used to detect another person's use of magic; in times past, it was held to the lips of accused witches to force them into confessing.

St. John’s Wort can be used to detect another person’s use of magic; in times past, it was held to the lips of accused witches to force them into confessing.

St. John’s Wort (“wort” is Middle English for “plant,” from the Old English wyrt) is one of the most powerful and commonly used of the magical herbs. Considered a “masculine” herb and associated with the sun and fire, it is used to conjure health and protection as well as strength, love, and happiness. It is also used for divination.

With the advent of Christianity, it was associated with St. John the Baptist, and was said to start blooming on his birthday, June 24 (i.e. Midsummer). On the day of his beheading (August 29), the plant was believed to bleed red oil from its leaf glands. It is to this day believed to be at it’s most potent when harvested at Midsummer, likely due to the timing of the birthday celebration of St. John the Baptist. The genus name Hypericaceae means “above an icon” in Greek, and sprigs of the plant were used on images and statuary by the ancients to drive off evil spirits.

In modern magic, St. John’s Wort is believed to be of benefit when carried on the person for courage, protection, detecting other magicians, and strengthening the will when confronted with bad situations. The leaves made into a necklace are believed to ward off sickness and tension, and to enhance endurance and will when doing battle.

For protection from lightning, fires, strong storms, and evil spirits place sprigs of St. John’s Wort in a jar and place the jar on a windowsill. Similarly, hanging bunches of the plant over every window of the house is said to protect from evil spirits and evil or demonic witchcraft. Burning St. John’s Wort as incense or in the fireplace thought to protect the home and repel unfriendly spirits, and burning is common in exorcism rituals.

Placing St. John’s Wort under the pillow of a single woman at night is said to induce dreams of her future husband.

One old Welsh custom for Midsummer was to hang a sprig of St. John’s Wort on a rafter for each family member for the night. The degree of wilting of each sprig the next morning was said to foretell how soon each individual would die, thus giving clues on the state of the health of the individual.

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Pearl, the birthstone of June

Pearls 02

In Greek mythology, pearls were tears of joy that Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, shed when she was born from sea froth. Persian mythology gives us the same belief that pearls are hardened tears. Ancient Chinese mythology gives a grimmer origin to pearls: they believed they came from inside the brains of dragons.

To Muslims the pearl is one of the rewards to be found in the afterlife. It symbolizes absolute perfection in Islamic tradition. In some early Arabian legends pearls are hardened moon drops, and the oysters that give birth to the pearls were lured to the sea by the moon itself.

It is said that to give a pearl to a child born in June will ensure they have a long life.

Wearing pearls is sometimes said to cure madness, and also help to treat jaundice, and snake and insect bites. Pearls are also thought to cure depression in women – maybe because receiving pearls is sure to make most women happy. But be careful — not only are pearls said to have aphrodisiac properties, but placing a pearl under one’s pillow and sleeping on it may cause couples to conceive.
Pearls should only be purchased for someone else because wearing pearls you purchased yourself is considered unwise and unlucky. But even if they are a gift, a bride should never wear pearls as a woman will shed a tear for every pearl that she wears on her wedding day. 

Furthermore, be warned, gentlemen: a pearl given to a woman by her lover or husband will loose its luster if the man is unfaithful!

Gemini

 

Statue of the twins Castor and Pollux, now in the Parc de Versailles.

Statue of the twins Castor and Pollux, now in the Parc de Versailles.

 

In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri. Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who seduced or raped Leda in the guise of a swan.Though accounts of their birth are varied, they are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.

 

In Latin the twins are also known as the “Gemini” or “Castores.” When Castor was killed, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini. The pair was regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo’s Fire, and were also associated with horsemanship.

Even after the rise of Christianity, the Dioskouroi continued to be venerated. The fifth-century pope Gelasius I attested to the presence of a “cult of Castores” that the people did not want to abandon. In some instances, the twins appear to have simply been absorbed into a Christian framework; thus fourth-century AD pottery and carvings from North Africa depict the Dioskouroi alongside the Twelve Apostles, the Raising of Lazarus or with Saint Peter. The church took an ambivalent attitude, rejecting the immortality of the Dioskouroi but seeking to replace them with equivalent Christian pairs. Saints Peter and Paul were thus adopted in place of the Dioskouroi as patrons of travelers, and Saints Cosmas and Damian took over their function as healers.

Those born May 21–June 21 are considered to be under the patronage of the Twins and are intellectually inclined, forever in search of information. The more information a Gemini collects, the better. Sharing that information later on with those they love is also a lot of fun, for Geminis are supremely interested in developing their relationships. Dalliances with these folks are always enjoyable, since Geminis are bright, quick-witted and the proverbial “life of the party.” Even though their intellectual minds can rationalize forever and a day, Geminis also have a surplus of imagination waiting to be tapped.