Bay

What this is

Bay (Laurus nobilis). The laurel of Apollo, woven into the victor's crown and the poet's wreath. The Pythia at Delphi chewed and burned its leaves to open the prophetic trance, and Daphne became this tree to escape the god. A Sun-herb root and branch, sacred to Leo.

What it governs

Bay answers to Sun and the element of Fire. Its seat in the zodiac is Leo, and its day is Sunday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waxing and full moon. In the old practice its office is plain: Write a wish on a dry bay leaf and burn it — the smoke carries the petition.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning bay 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 Sun, gold and solar yellow; its metal is gold, its stones are diamond, citrine, its number 6, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Tiphareth. It is a herb of scent, working through the nose as much as the hand, 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

The same solar virtue everywhere: a wish written on a bay leaf and burned so the smoke carries it skyward in folk magic; laurel set under the pillow for true dreams in Greek and Roman lore; the leaf carried for victory and to turn the lightning. Triumph, vision, the Sun's blessing, one fire on many altars.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Bay on Today's Herb, Scent of the Hour, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its one office: write a wish on a dry bay leaf and burn it — the smoke carries the petition. As the Scent of the Hour its message arrives through the nose, so let its smoke or its smell set the temper of the hour. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Michael; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with solar warmth and the will to shine. 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

Bay crowns. It is for what you mean to win and what you mean to see clearly, and it joins the two: the victor and the seer wear the same leaf. It asks you to name the wish plainly before you give it to the fire.

Correspondences

planet

Sun

element

Fire

zodiac

Leo

number

6

sephirah

Tiphareth

day

Sunday

colour

gold, solar yellow

metal

gold

stone

diamond, citrine

tarot

The Sun