Passionflower

What this is

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata). The intricate crown-flower the missionaries read as the wounds and crown of the Passion, every part a sign. Beneath that name it is a herb of peace and quiet, kept in the home to calm strife and draw friends near.

What it governs

Passionflower answers to Venus and the element of Water, with a second hand from Moon. Its seat in the zodiac is Libra and Cancer, and its day is Friday, when its virtue runs fullest. It strengthens with the waning moon. In the old practice its office is plain: Tea before bed for the racing mind at 3am. Peace in trouble.

Its properties

In the Galenic reckoning passionflower is cool and moist, and that temperament is the whole key to its work. The part you take is the aerial. Its working colour follows Venus, green and rose; its metal is copper, its stones are emerald, rose quartz, 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

One peace in many readings: the friars of the New World saw in its corona the crown of thorns; the indigenous healers used the vine to settle the nerves and bring sleep; folk craft keeps it to soothe a quarrelling house. A flower of suffering remade into a flower of rest, the same plant calming the same restless heart.

Where you meet it on the Oracle

In the Green Kingdom you meet Passionflower on Today's Herb, Angelic Herb, Moon's Companion, Today's Gathering, and Herb of the Hour. When it surfaces it counsels you toward its office: Tea before bed for the racing mind at 3am. Peace in trouble. As the Angelic Herb it stands under Anael; read its rising as that intelligence laying a hand on your day, with Venus's love and gentle harmony. As the Moon's Companion it walks with the night, marking a dream, a tide of feeling, or a thing best done by moonlight. As Today's Gathering it marks a plant to take up now, while waning moon and the day are with it.

Why it matters

Passionflower calms strife and draws friends. Its bent is to take the heat out of a fraught room and let ease return. It asks you to set down the agitation, let the quarrel settle, and make your space one that others want to enter.

Correspondences

planet

Venus

element

Water

zodiac

Libra, Cancer

number

7

sephirah

Netzach

day

Friday

colour

green, rose

metal

copper

stone

emerald, rose quartz

tarot

The Hanged Man