Elder

What this is

Elder (Sambucus nigra). The Elder Mother, Hylde-Moer, the Venusian tree-witch of Libra with a hand of Saturn, whom you do not cut without asking leave. Hollow-stemmed, she stands at the hedge between worlds; to burn her wood brings the Devil, to bless with her flowers brings the fairy.

What it governs

Elder answers to Venus and the element of Water, with a second hand from Saturn. Its seat in the zodiac is Libra and Capricorn, and its day is Friday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the full and waning moon. In the old practice its office is plain: Hot elderflower tea at the first fever opens the sweat and breaks it gently.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning elder is warm and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the flower and the berry. Its working colour follows Venus, green and rose; its metal is copper, its stones are black tourmaline, jet, its number 7, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Netzach. It is gentle, safe to use as the practice describes.

Where else it appears

The guardian of the threshold everywhere: planted by the door to keep the house from harm across northern Europe; her flowers and berries for the fever and the blood; her wood feared and revered as a doorway to the dead. The keeper of the boundary, one Elder Mother, many hedges.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Elder on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its one office: hot elderflower tea at the first fever opens the sweat and breaks it gently. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Anael; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with Venusian sweetness and attraction.

Why it matters

Elder keeps the threshold and asks your respect. It is for protection and for the passage between states. It asks you to seek leave before you take, and to honour the boundary you are standing at.

Correspondences

planet

Venus

element

Water

zodiac

Libra, Capricorn

number

7

sephirah

Netzach

day

Friday

colour

green, rose

metal

copper

stone

black tourmaline, jet

tarot

The High Priestess