Basil

What this is

Basil (Ocimum basilicum). The royal herb (basilikon), beloved and feared at once. To the Greeks it sprang from the basilisk's venom; to the Italians a pot of it on the sill said a lover was welcome; to the Hindu it is holy tulsi, the goddess herself in leaf. A warm Mars-and-Scorpio plant that carries the Sun's heat inside.

What it governs

Basil answers to Mars and the element of Fire, with a second hand from Sun. Its seat in the zodiac is Scorpio, Aries, and Leo, and its day is Tuesday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waxing and full moon. In the old practice its office is plain: A fresh leaf in the purse for prosperity; a pot on the threshold for protection.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning basil is hot and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the leaf. Its working colour follows Mars, scarlet red; its metal is iron, its stones are emerald, ruby, its number 5, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Geburah. 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

Watch one gesture cross the world: tulsi planted at the Hindu door to bless and guard the household; basil potted on an Italian windowsill to call a lover or seal a marriage; basil dusted into the till in conjure to pull custom through the door. Love, blessing, increase, drawn warm to the threshold.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Basil on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its one office: a fresh leaf in the purse for prosperity; a pot on the threshold for protection. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Samael; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with martial heat and decisive force. 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

Basil draws. Its whole nature bends toward pulling welcome things across the boundary into your space: affection, money, a blessed home. It asks you to plant it where life actually passes, the door, the purse.

Correspondences

planet

Mars

element

Fire

zodiac

Scorpio, Aries, Leo

number

5

sephirah

Geburah

day

Tuesday

colour

scarlet red

metal

iron

stone

emerald, ruby

tarot

The Lovers