Mandrake

What this is

Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum). The root that wears a human shape, the most storied talisman-plant of the West. Pulled from the dark earth it was said to cry out, and so was dug with ceremony and kept whole; Saturn's mannikin, a true poppet grown in the ground rather than stitched.

What it governs

Mandrake answers to Saturn and the element of Earth. Its seat in the zodiac is Capricorn, and its day is Saturday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with balsamic. In the old practice its office is plain: Not a beginner's herb. Of the left-hand materia; requires formal preparation.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning mandrake is cold and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the root. Its working colour follows Saturn, black and indigo; its metal is lead, its stones are jet, malachite, its number 3, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Binah. It is not gentle, a herb of real potency to be handled with care and never taken lightly.

Where else it appears

One office in many skins: the Hebrew dudaim Rachel bargained for in Genesis are this root; the Greek love-charm mandragoras is this root; the Arab apple of the jinn is this root. Each holds the same belief, that an image faithfully made shares the state of the thing it images. Carved root, wax figure, stitched poppet, one understanding wearing three faces.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Mandrake on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its office: Not a beginner's herb. Of the left-hand materia; requires formal preparation. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Cassiel; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with Saturn's patience, depth and binding. As Today's Gathering it marks a plant to take up now, while balsamic moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Mandrake works at the deep root of a matter, where power is held rather than spent. It asks you to ground what you mean to keep, to guard the house and the gain, and never to pull at what is better left to thicken in the dark.

Correspondences

planet

Saturn

element

Earth

zodiac

Capricorn

number

3

sephirah

Binah

day

Saturday

colour

black, indigo

metal

lead

stone

jet, malachite

tarot

The Devil