Anise

What this is

Anise (Pimpinella anisum). A warm, sweet seed of the carrot family, ranged with the airy, expansive nature of Jupiter and the quickness of Mercury. The Romans baked it into the mustaceae cake eaten after feasts; ancient physicians chewed it to sweeten the breath and settle the gut.

What it governs

Anise answers to Jupiter and the element of Air, with a second hand from Mercury. Its seat in the zodiac is Sagittarius and Gemini, and its day is Thursday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waxing and full moon. In the old practice its office is plain: Set a small dish of seeds by the bed — protects sleep from nightmare.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning anise is warm and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the seed. Its working colour follows Jupiter, royal blue and purple; its metal is tin, its stones are turquoise, amethyst, its number 4, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Chesed. It carries well on the body, kept in a pocket or a small sachet and it is gentle, safe to use as the practice describes.

Where else it appears

Its sweetness reads the same everywhere: a dish of seeds set by the bed to bar nightmares in old English charm; hung over the bed against the evil eye in folk Catholicism; burned to draw clear dreaming and protective spirits. Air made friendly, the same note from kitchen to pillow.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Anise on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its one office: set a small dish of seeds by the bed — protects sleep from nightmare. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Sachiel; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with Jupiter's expansion and good fortune. As Today's Gathering it marks a plant to take up now, while the waxing and full moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Anise belongs to clarity and ease of breath. It loosens what is clenched in the chest and the mind and makes the air around you safe to sleep in. It asks you to let the day's tightness go before you lie down.

Correspondences

planet

Jupiter

element

Air

zodiac

Sagittarius, Gemini

number

4

sephirah

Chesed

day

Thursday

colour

royal blue, purple

metal

tin

stone

turquoise, amethyst

tarot

The Empress