Lemon Balm
Watching the reflection of the full moon rippling across calm waters is a good metaphor for the energy lemon balm contains.
Lemon balm can bring tranquility and peace to your mind, body, and home.
It is practically a cure-all when it comes to its healing abilities and an important herb in alchemy teachings.
This Th-HERBS-day, we honor Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis).
It’s a species part of the Mint (Labiatae) family and is one of the mildest of mints.
It had been cultivated for just about any ailment and was desired as a favorite tea.
In witchcraft, lemon balm is utilized for love, success, and healing.
It can add a lot of focus and to all of your manifesting efforts.
Lemon balm’s magick is strong, but like its ruling moon, it can be changeable and phase out quickly.
Utilizing this powerful herb can help you connect mentally, physically, and spiritually to the divine feminine.
Lemon Balm in History
The Greek doctor Dioscorides experimented with lemon balm in search of antivenoms.
Though it may have calmed the area of the skin of the venomous bite or sting, it was one of the many failed antivenom remedies.
Arabians in the ancient world adored lemon balm.
They used it in winemaking. They loved its ability to uplift moods and believed it was useful in love potions.
Ancient beekeepers found that it helped keep swarms around longer, as the bees preferred lemon balm over any other plant.
Early colonizers in America brought the herb with them as it undoubtedly soothed the stressors that came with settling new climates.
Even Thomas Jefferson was known to grow it in Monticello.
Native to Northern Africa and Southern Europe, this herb’s medicinal reputation was highly sought after for centuries.
Ancient civilizations were fond of lemon balm, so much so that it was naturalized all over the world.
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Lemon Balm’s Medicinal Uses
Lemon balm was practically the pre-modern equivalent to Valium.
Its nervine properties were often used to lift spirits and calm the mind.
IBS has been tied to anxiety and patients have found that lemon balm can help calm down its symptoms.
You can also use lemon balm to help break fevers or reduce menstrual cramps.
It’s an antispasmodic, antiviral, antimicrobial, and can be used for almost any skin ailment.
If you have acne issues, you can use it in facial steams or bath soaks to deeply clean pores.
The aromatic essential oils of the herb are concentrated the highest in the lower parts of the plant, closer to the roots.
The lemony scented oils are what give lemon balm its name and are often used in aromatherapy.
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Spell Crafting with Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is exceptionally powerful for mental clarity and focus.
Spell crafting for success is often associated with this herb because the clarity it brings can help the caster maintain focus in their craft.
It is also a powerhouse for direct connection to the divine feminine and moon magic.
Though you may find that these heavy-duty energies can quickly run out of steam.
This is primarily because lemon balm’s natural essential oil content is limited.
It has very few volatile oils compared to the other herbs in the mint family.
The best way to condense the power of lemon balm into a longer-lasting helpful ally is to make a plant stone.
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Part One: Lemon Balm Tincture
The first part of the process will involve making a lemon balm tincture.
To do this, it is highly recommended to begin this long process on the new moon.
This initial step is just as important as making the stone because it will begin connecting you to the herb’s spirit.
To do this, you will need to make a tincture using clear top-shelf (or close to top-shelf) alcohol.
Fill a tincture bottle about 75% full of fresh lemon balm, then pour in the alcohol.
If you don’t have a tincture bottle, you can use a small mason jar with a lid that can tightly close and keep out oxygen.
It’s important to completely submerge the plant to lower any risk of molding.
Be sure to keep the tincture in a dark room, or you can cover it with cloth or foil and shake it every day for about 2 to 6 weeks.
Once the tincture is finished, strain the mix through a cheesecloth in a new glass, label, and store.
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Part Two: Lemon Balm Stone
The second part of this process involves the left-over plant material from the tincture.
Place the left-over plant material or “marc” in a glass baking dish and set it on fire.
Use a copper, gold, or silver utensil to stir the marc so that it burns entirely to a black ash.
Once the marc has fully turned to black ash, place the dish into an oven and bake until the ash has turned white.
When the ash has turned white, then you will know it has been purified and you can take out the pan and let it cool completely.
Next, you will need the lemon balm tincture from the first part of this process.
Gather the purified white ash into a pile and add the tincture drop by drop, very slowly mixing it in the ash.
The mix will form into a wax-like substance that you can gently roll into the shape of a stone.
This stone will need to be kept in a safe container or small jar so that you can carry it with you as a pendant.
This stone will harness and preserve the lemon balm’s spiritual properties and can be used in lunar rituals.
You can use this process for any craft and using it for Moon rituals can help connect you to the divine feminine in a powerful way.
To connect more deeply with the magick lemon balm, you can dissolve the stone in a chalice of wine and drink during full moon ceremonies.
Just be sure to do your research before consuming any herb as they could cause allergic reactions or interferences with medications.
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Lemon Balm’s Energetic Properties
The properties of lemon balm are 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 lemon balm:
1. Planet: Moon
2. Zodiac Sign: Cancer
3. House: 4th
4. Element: Water
5. Gender Energy: Feminine
6. Chakra: Sahasrara/Crown (Purple)
7. Archangel: Gabriel
8. Deity: Selene (Greek), Diana (Roman), Heimdallr (Norse), Catha (Etruscan)
9. Sabbat: Lughnasadh
10. Season: Summer
11. Day: Monday
12. Body: Breast, Mind, Nerves, Stomach
13. Rune: Gebo, Wunjo
14. Numerology: 2
15. Fae: Sprite
16. Major Arcana: The Moon, The High Priestess
17. Minor Arcana: Cups
18. Cartomancy: Hearts
Cultivating Lemon Balm
Like most mints, lemon balm is easy to grow and can germinate from the seed uncovered.
It needs well-drained soil and loves full sunlight, though it can survive in shaded areas too.
It can be grown from cuttings and is a perennial so you can expect to see it back in the same spot next year.
You’ll find that its benefits even extend to the garden, as it attracts bees to help pollinate.
Also, most pests hate lemon balm and tend to stay away from it.
Be aware of powdery mildew because lemon balm is generally susceptible to it.
You can use Neem Oil to help keep the mildew at bay.
You can propagate by cuttings or from the seed, just make sure to plant in a hotbed in early spring.
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Harvesting and Storing Lemon Balm
To harvest for optimum fragrance, cut off the plant about two inches off the ground before flowering.
Keep in mind that the herb’s very first year of harvest will be weak, but this is normal.
The second-year should yield much more hearty plants.
It can produce enough herb to harvest up to three times a year if it is well watered and kept.
Much of the fragrance will be lost during harvest, so being thorough can help retain most of it.
Try to avoid any damage or bruising to any part of the plant during harvest.
This is not an herb you will want to dry in bunches.
You will need to spread the cuttings apart in a shaded area in dry sunny weather between 90 and 100 degrees (or higher).
Let dry for two days and then store in a glass or tin container with a tight lid in a cool dark space.
Happy Th-HERBS-day!
