Ready to bring the spirit of the sun back into your home this Imbolc season?
Let’s take a look at a delicate mini daisy that possesses more power than you might expect!
This Th-HERBS-day, we honor chamomile, (Matricaria recutita), also known as German chamomile.
It’s a member of the daisy (Compositae) family and an OG plant studied by herbalists around the world.
Many people consider it to be the European counterpart of ginseng because it has a long list of medicinal use.
If you’re getting more anxious from being couped up all winter, try adding chamomile tea to your daily routine.
Chamomile is a nervine herb, which means it can calm and gently sedate the nervous system, making it easier to relax the mind and body.
To top it off, it tastes amazing brewed with ginger, honey, and lemon peel.
In witchcraft, it’s said to break hexes, bring fortune, enhance love spells, and protect the space it occupies.
Chamomile’s gentle presence and wide range of use, make for a perfect herb to work with for almost any type of magick.
The History of Chamomile
This calming herb has been used for a number of ailments and has been praised for its ability to help with seemingly everything.
The name chamomile translates to “ground apple” in Greek because of its light apple-like flavor and fragrance.
People have utilized chamomile’s healing properties since as far back as ancient Egyptian times when it was used to help treat malaria.
In medieval England, it had been a common “strewing” herb and helped eliminate rancid odors of spoiled meat.
It was hung throughout homes to freshen the air, especially since bathing wasn’t common in those days.
It was even planted to cover entire yards so that when the flowers were trampled, it would fill the area with its lovely fragrance.
Women throughout history (and even up to today) used chamomile in hair rinses to accentuate natural blonde highlights.
Pliny and Dioscorides, Greek’s famous herbal pioneers, mixed chamomile in herbal baths and poultices to treat headaches and internal organ issues.
Today, scientific studies have proven its effectiveness for treating skin inflammation, indigestion, menstrual cramps, and minor infections.
Much of its medicinal effects derive from the volatile oils extracted from its flowers.
When drank as a tea, its medicinal traits are less potent due to having very little of the healing oils in this form.
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Witchery With Chamomile
Chamomile almost has an airy energetic presence like the properties of Mercury-ruled herbs.
As you begin working with it, you’ll find that it has a subtle invigorating essence that corresponds to the Sun’s astrological properties.
Additionally, chamomile also emits some obvious water elements.
There are two species that work together to enhance each of their fire and water elements.
The properties of chamomile are equally shared within its species, namely between Roman chamomile and the German chamomile.
Roman chamomile (Matricaria nobile) is the shorter and more fragrant of the two.
It carries more of the fiery aspects of the Sun in its revitalizing potent fragrance.
While German chamomile (Matricaria recutita), is the taller twin and carries stronger medicinal properties, lending its watery elements.
Its willingness to nurture other plants growing nearby and its soothing medicinal properties are perfect displays of water elements.
Both chamomile species work equally well in spell crafting and bring out the best of each other’s traits.
They provide well-rounded energy to your craft and catalyze the positive properties of other herbs in your workings.
One of the easiest ways to connect to the spirit of chamomile is by working with its essential oil by using an oil diffuser.
The diffuser will not only allow an easier connection to chamomile’s essence, but it will also fill the home with the subtle energy of the Sun.
Its spirit helps enhance meditation with its ability to ease the body into relaxation.
It likes to work by moving energy blockages and bringing in the Sun’s protective vibrations anywhere its fragrance can reach.
Like the gentle hug of a grandparent, the spirit of chamomile has a subtle yet powerful impact on anyone open to receive its gentle warmth.
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Chamomile’s Energetic Properties
This list of chamomile’s properties is an extremely helpful guide to assist you in spell crafting and rituals.
The energy of the herb is heightened when planned carefully with corresponding days, seasons, zodiacs, etc.
Here are 18 energetic properties associated with chamomile:
1. Planet: Sun
2. Zodiac Sign: Leo
3. House: 5th
4. Element: Fire, Water
5. Gender Energy: Masculine
6. Chakra: Ajna/Third Eye (Indigo)
7. Archangel: Raphael
8. Deity: Helios (Greek), Baldur (Norse), Usil (Etruscan)
9. Sabbat: Imbolc, Litha
10. Season: Early Spring, Summer
11. Day: Sunday
12. Body: Heart, Back, Right Eye of Males, Left Eye of Females
13. Rune: Raidu, Kauna, Isa, Jera
14. Numerology: 1
15. Fae: Salamander, Sprite
16. Major Arcana: The Sun, Strength
17. Minor Arcana: Wands, Cups
18. Cartomancy: Diamonds, Hearts
Cultivating Chamomile
Both the Roman chamomile and the German chamomile species will grow easily just about anywhere.
The German chamomile is an annual that prefers its soil a little moist than the Roman species.
You can plant the seeds in the fall so that the freezing and thawing of them increase their chances of growing stronger and faster.
Though, you can find just as much success in growing them if you plant them in the spring too.
Chamomile loves a lot of sun, so be sure to plant them accordingly.
German chamomile will reseed itself if left unharvested, so next season you can expect to see them back.
If you are planting specifically for medicinal uses, stick with planting the German species over the Roman.
Happy Th-HERBS-day!
