Mullein

What this is

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). The tall woolly spire of waste ground, the hag's taper whose dried stalk was once dipped in tallow for a torch. A light raised against the dark, carried for courage and to banish nightmares, it lights the hardest passage.

What it governs

Mullein answers to Saturn and the element of Earth, with a second hand from Jupiter. Its seat in the zodiac is Capricorn, and its day is Saturday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waning moon. In the old practice its office is plain: Flowers infused in oil for earache; the dried stalk a torch for the dark paths.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning mullein is cool and dry, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the leaf; flower. 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 gentle, safe to use as the practice describes.

Where else it appears

One flame in many hands: Odysseus is said to have carried mullein against Circe's spells; the Romans dipped its stalks for funeral torches; English folk called it Aaron's rod and lit the way of the dead with it. Against the dark you raise a light, and the light need only be steady, not large.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Mullein on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its office: Flowers infused in oil for earache; the dried stalk a torch for the dark paths. 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 waning moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Mullein lights the dark passage. It is courage as a lit taper, not a blaze, held against fear and the night-terror until they loosen their grip. It asks you to keep your small light burning rather than wait for the dark to lift on its own.

Correspondences

planet

Saturn

element

Earth

zodiac

Capricorn

number

3

sephirah

Binah

day

Saturday

colour

black, indigo

metal

lead

stone

jet, malachite

tarot

The Hermit