Marjoram

What this is

Marjoram (Origanum majorana). Sweet marjoram, rounder and gentler than oregano, sacred to Aphrodite who was said to have given it its scent. The Greeks planted it on graves for rest and wove it for brides for gladness, so that one fragrant herb watched over both the wedding and the wake.

What it governs

Marjoram answers to Mercury and the element of Air. Its seat in the zodiac is Gemini and Virgo, and its day is Wednesday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waxing moon. In the old practice its office is plain: In the wedding bouquet for lasting happiness; on the grave for joy beyond.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning marjoram is warm and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the aerial. Its working colour follows Mercury, orange and shot-silk mixed hues; its metal is quicksilver, its stones are blue lace agate, agate, its number 8, and on the Tree of Life it threads up to Hod. 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 gesture crosses the soil: Greek mourners set marjoram on the tomb and crowned the newly wed with it; Roman couples wore its wreath; English households laid it in linen and on graves alike. Comfort and joy from one plant, the threshold of love and the threshold of loss tended by a single gentle hand.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Marjoram on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its office: In the wedding bouquet for lasting happiness; on the grave for joy beyond. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Raphael; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with Mercury's quickness of mind and word. As Today's Gathering it marks a plant to take up now, while waxing moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Marjoram consoles. Its whole bent is to ease a house back toward ordinary happiness after grief, by the small door rather than the grand gesture. It asks you to make room for sorrow and gladness in the same room, and to trust that the second follows the first.

Correspondences

planet

Mercury

element

Air

zodiac

Gemini, Virgo

number

8

sephirah

Hod

day

Wednesday

colour

orange, shot-silk mixed hues

metal

quicksilver

stone

blue lace agate, agate

tarot

The Lovers