The moon and it’s affect on the planet can immediately stir up debate, even amongst the most knowledgeable scholars. I choose to stay off the debating committee and would love to speak to you more about my experience about the moon and it’s important relationship with botany. It seems fitting as yesterday, March 20, 2017 was the spring equinox, or the astronomical spring if you will. Even if you don’t care much for the moon, there’s no denying it’s power in pop culture!
I grew up in Bavaria, Germany, a place marked by tradition, great beer, festivals and the birth of botany. Leonhart Fuchs was a Bavarian born doctor, philosopher and botanist. He wanted physicians and pharmacists to use the same terms as ancient philosophers. This fourteenth century visionary was known for his work during the plague, for establishing the first botanical garden and for documenting his efforts in his book: Leonard Fuchs’ Notes on certain Herbs and Simples not yet rightly understood by the Physicians.
It makes sense to me that Bavaria is the birthplace for botany as the gorgeous rolling hills, the alps, beautiful clear lakes, forestry and stunning landscape give purpose to exploration and education. The variety of botanicals present is plentiful and there is much to study. Most of what I’ve learned came from my grandfather. He was famous in the community for his medicinal teas, made from different parts of plants, often picked in the middle of the night or very early in the morning. He told me about the importance of the moon. How the moon cycles indicated when best to plant and when best to harvest leaves and berries necessary for his powerful concoctions.
My grandfather used many different types of herbs, but he was a huge fan of mullein. He even planted a few in our garden. It’s been fun to watch it come back into the collective conscious. Much like kale and turmeric, mullein is having it’s moment and I couldn’t be happier. You can probably find it at your local health food store and it’s most commonly used for tea. It’s medicinal used for the upper respiratory tract infections and makes a great antidote for the common cold. Less commonly known and even less widely accepted, mullein is said to disperse even spirits and is said to cleanse the soul.
Slim’s legacy includes the plethora of Light-Life Tools, which are now over 150 products strong. However, most of his devout fans don’t know that Slim also had an avid love of botany and was a self taught herbalist. My favorite story told is by a group of healers who were in close proximity to an Anthrax outbreak. The level of anthrax detected was quantified and documented by a radionics machine. Slim put a fungus called giant puffball, ma bo in Chinese, in the center of an Environmental Harmonizer. He knew the mushroom’s medicinal properties and was confident they would help. He ran the Environmental Clearing tape (at that time there were no CD’s available) for a few hours. After he was done with his ‘experiment’ the anthrax in the area was unable to be detected.
Whether you are a moon goddess, a seasoned botanist or an adamant skeptic, I hope whenever you glance at the moon again you’ll give it your thanks and gratitude. If you can’t comprehend it’s powerful influence on the biology of the planet, perhaps you can appreciate it’s stunning glow.
By the way, did you know that in the German language the sun is female and the moon male? If you know more about this let me know!