Woodruff is associated with the planet Mars and the element of Fire.

Even if it is a few days past the end of May, there is still time to enjoy a glass or two of May wine!

May wine, a popular spring-time beverage in Germany or German-speaking areas, is made by steeping sweet woodruff in white wine. Sweet woodruff has a strong scent, which increases when the woodruff wilts. The fragrance persists as the woodruff dries, and the dried plant is used in potpourri and as a moth deterrent. Dried woodruff is also used, mainly in Germany, to flavor May wine, sweet juice punch, syrup for beer (Berliner Weisse), brandy, jelly, jam, a soft drink (Tarhun, which is Georgian), ice cream, and herbal tea. Also very popular are Waldmeister flavored jellies, with and without alcohol. In Germany it is also used to flavor sherbet powder, which features prominently in Günter Grass’s novel The Tin Drum.

Woodruff is carried by business-folk to attract wealth and prosperity or by soldiers and athletes to attract victory. Anyone who carries a bit of woodruff in a leather sachet is protected against harm, especially harmful magic or ill wishes. In astrology, Mars is the planet of energy, action, and desire. It is the survival instinct, and can be thought of as the “leftover” animal nature of man. It is this association with the planet Mars that causes woodruff to drive its bearer to success and victory and fights against the harmful magic directed against its bearer (leather being associated with soldiers’ protective “armor” in the ancient or medieval world since metal protective gear — i.e. a knight’s suit of armor — was too expensive for most peasant soldiers).

Maybe a glass or two of May Wine is just what I need to get rich or win the Olympics? Or protect myself against witchcraft and black magic? I should definitely enjoy some May Wine before selecting the numbers the next time I buy a lotto ticket!