Betony

What this is

Betony (Betonica officinalis). Wood betony, the Anglo-Saxon betonice, of which the Roman Antonius Musa wrote a whole treatise listing forty-seven cures. Sell your coat and buy betony, the proverb ran; planted in churchyards to keep the dead quiet. A Jupiter herb of the steadied head and nerve.

What it governs

Betony answers to Jupiter and the element of Air. Its seat in the zodiac is Sagittarius, and its day is Thursday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waxing moon. In the old practice its office is plain: A sprig tucked at the breast before entering an unfamiliar place — steadies the nerve.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning betony is warm and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the aerial in flower. Its working colour follows Jupiter, royal blue and purple; its metal is tin, its stones are amethyst, sapphire, 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

One office, many tongues: hung at the door against witchcraft and bad dreams in medieval England; carried against monstrous nocturnal visitors in the Lacnunga; burned to break a hex in later folk craft. A herb that keeps the unquiet, of the mind and of the night, at bay.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Betony 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 sprig tucked at the breast before entering an unfamiliar place — steadies the nerve. 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 moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Betony guards the head and the nerve. It is for the moment of stepping into the unfamiliar, when you need a steady boundary the unseen will respect. It asks you to enter braced rather than rattled.

Correspondences

planet

Jupiter

element

Air

zodiac

Sagittarius

number

4

sephirah

Chesed

day

Thursday

colour

royal blue, purple

metal

tin

stone

amethyst, sapphire

tarot

The Hierophant