Valerian, Venus and Saturn in Libra, Alraunes - Green Folks of Venus in Libra
Before being a witch, I was an animist, and before that I thought little men lived under the broad leaves of Dock.
Our set of Venus in Libra offerings just dropped (with a few more goodies, too!), and I thought that I would create a series of posts as small profiles for the plant spirits involved in its concoction.
While I base my formulas on nearly a decade of magical practice, trafficking with spirits and herbal studies (including a certificate!), I am by no means a voice of authority on any of this, and I’ll leave it up to the likes of Cornelius Agrippa to dictate the definitive zodiacal and planetary attributions of these multi-faceted individuals. These plant profiles are just my personal understandings, musings, and experiences regarding these plants, and my reasoning for their use in our Venus in Libra magic.
Please feel free to share any thoughts or arguments in the comments, as I love to discuss all things botanical!
Check out the rest of our articles and plant profiles on the blog. I’ll be posting these guys as they come, so if you’d like to keep up make sure to take a look at our Instagram stories!
Valerian
Valeriana Officinalis
Attraction and repulsion are one and the same; to become drawn to something means embracing the urge to part from another. No plant exemplifies this lesson better than the pale dame herself, Valeriana Officinalis.
Our fair lady is a perennial flowering plant native to Europe and Asia, although it has naturalized and is considered invasive in large parts of the US and Canada. Valerian is a proliferous self-seeder, and is also able to spread through underground shoots making her a threat to ecosystems in which she robs native plants of sunlight and minerals. In early summer, she paints sunny hillsides with her plentitude of fragrant blooms. Reaching over 5 feet in height, this relative of All-Heal (Stachys Officinalis) makes an attractive garden plant, all the better for the simpler wishing to harness her healing properties.
The plant is valued in medicine and perfumery for its incredibly fragrant root. Some describe the scent as deeply earthy and aromatic, while some argue that it smells like wet feet! Although I have encountered both in my work with Valerian, I have come to appreciate her duality for what it is. I've purchased Valerian from many different sources, and I find that the scent ranges from something akin to camembert cheese to almost-artificial fruit punch. Smelling the plant, it's easy to understand how it could be applied to the art of perfumery to replace musk and spike.
Some critters are particularly fond of the smell, however. Both rats and cats adore the root, and the latter will gladly choose it over catnip or silver vine. It is interesting to note that these animals are both Saturnine in nature — Venus and Saturn both find their exaltation in the sign of Libra. After all, Libra is the sign of the balance, of order and fairness, qualities that both Venus and Saturn may embrace. This gives us insight as to the nature of Valerian — she sweetens and dominates those beasts of Saturn as Venus would the planet, or perhaps it is that she finds common ground between herself and their nature. I have heard of folks remediating negative Saturn influence by means of Venus, and perhaps this is a path worth exploring.
In such an operation, the practitioner could call on the spirit of Valerian through the means of a bath or smoke to pacify the Greater Malefic and bring balance to his action. Valerian could also be used to call spirits of Saturnine disposition, whether strewed about the working circle or used as a wash for vessels and tools. A smoke of one part Valerian and two parts White Sandalwood may be used for the same purpose, but experimentation is encouraged as most would argue that Valerian smoke is best used in rites of exorcism and banishment.
Even so, Valerian is typically attributed to Jupiter, or Mercury — two correspondences which make little sense to me. Although Valerian is a plant of Water, thus having an affinity with Jupiter, she does not, in my opinion, reflect any Jovian qualities outside of her large leaves and use in exorcism. As for Mercury, I have only seen it mentioned by Culpeper, and I’ll leave it to his ghost to explain why. To me, Valerian is of Venus, whether in her Taurean aspect of the Lounging Queen, or that of Libra, as Queen of Feasts and Great Pacifier.
The herb, sprinkled about the home, is recommended by Cunningham in his Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs to put peace between a quarreling couple instantly. It is also used in love and lust powders, sprinkled on the sheets or carried in a small bag to draw a lover. It is said that should a woman carry this herb, men would follow as children. Valerian, despite its smell, is a powerful attractant; it is rumored that the Pied Piper of Hamelin carried Valerian in his pockets as he led the town’s rats away, and that the plant was responsible for his ability to do so rather than his musical prowess. The Scandinavians made tradition of lining a bride's wedding dress with Valerian or Garlic to prevent the envy of the Elves towards her marriage.
Valerian root is also used as a decoction or smoke to chase evil spirits from a place, and to banish nefarious beings. Some like to include it in witch-balls, small balls of wax filled with hair, pins, sulfur, and other materia meant to bring harm to the one whose roof or yard it is thrown on. I've also heard of folks throwing it at their enemy's door the same way they would Blackberries, and I imagine the whole plant would be best for this.
Medicinally, the plant is used to treat insomnia and nervousness, and although its effect is near-narcotic and well recognized by most, there is a lack of research proving that Valerian has any effect treating either. The root can be tinctured and used as a sleep aid for up to three weeks at a time, at which point it can begin to cause heart palpitations and restlessness. Culpeper says that:
“[...]the root boiled with liquorice, raisons and aniseed is good for those troubled with cough. Also, it is of special value against the plague, the decoction thereof being drunk and the root smelled. The green herb being bruised and applied to the head taketh away pain and pricking thereof.”
It can also be used as a bath for sore muscles or for relaxation (this can double as a love attraction bath!), or as a compress on burns and wounds. The essential oil can be used in sprays or diffused to bring peace, and frankly smells quite good.
Returning to the sorcerous applications of this gorgeous plant, it had been in my plans to create an Alraune from the roots of Valerian. Although the project never saw completion, I learned a lot from the research I did on the topic. I offer the outline of the experiment below.
Alraune of Valerian
Within a circle, five Valerian seeds should be planted in dry, sandy soil (note that drier soil leads to a higher concentration of the active constituents in the root) on a Friday of a New Moon. It is best to do this in a pot, using local substrate. The seeds should be watered with a mixture of water, a few drops of the practitioner's blood, and a teaspoon of full-fat milk. As this is done, familiar spirits and witching gods should be called on to witness the beginning of the project, offerings given in exchange for their blessing. The Alraune should be watered with this mixture each Friday until it is unearthed.
When the seedlings have grown a few inches tall, select the healthiest of them and prune the rest. Take these dead bodies and burn them to ash, adding their remains to the next batch of water-blood-milk. This should also be ritualized, and performed as a funeral both to mourn their loss and celebrate the strength of the seedling selected.
This plant should be raised as a member of the family; its watering schedule should be followed strictly, and if you are not home, the water mixture prepared and left for someone else to do the watering. Offerings can be placed at the bottom of the pot, or on the soil itself. All things Venusian can be offered, and trinkets which speak to the nature of the plant, which you will learn to know as you care for her.
The plant will bloom in early summer, and the flowers should be cut as soon as they have opened. These should be dried or preserved, tinctured in brandy. This allows the plant to put more energy into the growth of its roots and will potentiate the final material. The dried or tinctured flowers can be used to call on the spirit of the plant, connecting with it through the means of teas or baths, and meditation with the living plant.
When the plant is at least one year of age, the next New Moon falling on a Friday should be observed as the date of the Alraune's birth. The plant should be revered and praised and offered such things as incense and food, water, blood, milk, honey, etc... and gods of witches or familiar spirits summoned within the compass. When the Moon is high in the sky, the plant is pulled from the earth in one motion, and dunked in a basin of holy water, blessed in any way you see fit. All dirt is removed from its roots, taking care not to scuff nor damage the precious tendrils. The aerial parts of the plant should be cut right above the root crown, so as to keep the root ball intact. These can be dried or added to your flower tincture, if any remains, and used in spellwork involving the spirit.
The roots are then dried after being fashioned into the form of a human being, a task easily accomplished by braiding and folding the thin roots over one another. This figure is then named and baptized in any way you see fit. It is important to speak to the root as if it were a person, and to feed it your blood as soon as it has been named. It should be told of its task as a familiar spirit embodying every aspect of the plant, whether that is for love, lust, hexing, protection, or keeping evil spirits away, but I will leave it up to you to learn its capabilities from Valerian herself.
The Alraune should be wrapped in a cloth of green silk and placed within a small box containing any offerings and trinkets given to the plant over the course of its life. You need to make sure to continue its feeding schedule, instead bathing the root in the solution and praising it for its work. When working with the spirit, promise liquor and food in addition to its standard offerings and only give these if the spirit completes its task.
A word of caution: Alraunes have been known to frequently turn on those who forget to feed them, so make sure you're really careful! The only way to get rid of an Alraune is for another witch to buy it from you, or by passing it on to a descendant.
Valerian & Poppy Tincture
This tincture is incredibly potent and should be taken in a glass of water or cup of tea 15 minutes before bed. Those taking this tincture will find deeper sleep, more vivid dreams, and an easy rise in the morning, given they aim for 8 hours of sleep each night. For best effect, the Valerian should be collected in late fall, after the aerial parts have died back. The Poppy should be harvested as the Moon wanes, before the flower begins to nod. Please note that I cannot legally recommend the consumption of such a tincture and am only offering this recipe as an anecdotal experiment.
You will need:
Valerian root, dried (30g)
Fresh Poppy, aerial parts (10g)
Skullcap leaf, dried (10g)
Grain alcohol (250ml)
Honey (100ml)
Dissolve the honey in the grain alcohol and set aside. In a non-metallic mortar and pestle, crush the poppy until it's a fine paste, and add this to your liquids along with your valerian and skullcap. Let this infuse in a dark place for the span of a full lunar cycle, 28 days, or for the length of an alchemical month, 40 days. Strain and bottle.
Take 10-20 drops in water or tea 15 minutes before sleep.
Do not consume for more than two weeks at a time, after which a break of the same length should be taken. When taken for prolonged periods of time, valerian can cause heart palpitations and other cardiac problems, while Poppy can create addiction. Use discernment.
I hope that this short profile will allow you to connect to the mysteries of Valerian, and that I’ve kindled a love for this plant within you. She’s one of my favorite allies and I had an absolute pleasure researching and working with her for this article.
Go, and bewitch!
Cheers,
Mahigan
Sources:
Thorpe, Benjamin (1851) Northern Mythology 2013-04-16 at the Wayback Machine. Lumley. Vol. 2. pp. 64–65.
Grieve, Maud (1971). A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 2.
Harper, Douglas. "valerian". Online Etymology Dictionary.