Ginger

What this is

Ginger (Zingiber officinale). The hot horned root (Sanskrit srngavera) of Mars and the Sun, ruled by Aries and Leo, traded the length of the Silk Road and burned, since antiquity, to add speed and strength to any working.

What it governs

Ginger answers to Mars and the element of Fire, with a second hand from Sun. Its seat in the zodiac is Aries and Leo, and its day is Tuesday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waxing moon. In the old practice its office is plain: A slice in hot water with honey — the quickest warming drink for cold hands.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning ginger is hot and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the rhizome. Its working colour follows Mars, scarlet red; its metal is iron, its stones are garnet, carnelian, its number 5, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Geburah. It is gentle, safe to use as the practice describes.

Where else it appears

Heat and quickening everywhere: chewed before a spell to give it power in conjure; rubbed on money to make it grow faster; taken for the cold stomach and the slow gut the world over. To warm and to hasten, the same fire in the body and in the rite.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Ginger on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its one office: a slice in hot water with honey — the quickest warming drink for cold hands. 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.

Why it matters

Ginger warms and speeds. It is for adding power and pace to anything that has gone cold or slow. It asks you to be ready to move, because it will not let a matter sit and wait.

Correspondences

planet

Mars

element

Fire

zodiac

Aries, Leo

number

5

sephirah

Geburah

day

Tuesday

colour

scarlet red

metal

iron

stone

garnet, carnelian

tarot

The Chariot