the Witchen Kitchen Beginner Herbal

tammy May 4th, 2008

There is a lovely volunteer that showed up in my flower garden this year. It has sturdy pink blossoms that look like a shy girl wearing a prairie bonnet and tucking her head demurely. I think of Laura Ingalls of Little House on the Prairie when I see them.

Anyone know what this is? (sorry, it’s a little fuzzy… my camera battery was dying when I snapped this photo)

***UPDATE:

Here’s a better photo; the blossoms are more open now.

Thanks to Elly and Rosalee for identifying this as a Snapdragon. I was curious about the myth and lore surrounding this plant as well as if there were any medicinal properties.

One reference said “Medieval legends state that maidens who wear the flowers will appear gracious in the sight of others.” (A Contemplation Upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature By Bobby J. Ward, Ann Lovejoy, online) Seems in line with my initial impression of a shy girl.

I also found that many species of snapdragon are medicinal. In A Modern Herbal, Grieves states that the species Antirrhinum magus has “…bitter and stimulant properties…” I’m not sure yet which species mine is, so I need to do some more research on that.

I am drawn to make a flower essence of these blossoms. I sense that they may be helpful on an energetic level with issues of social insecurity, finding ones voice, and other related issues. I will be doing that this week. I’m excited to learn more about this plant.

Here are some other descriptions of its energy:

Flower Society
“The flower, also called “gracious lady” stands for deception.”

(Pretending to be something you’re not for the sake of social protocols? Repressing your true voice?)

Garden Plum
“The positive Snapdragon type possesses strong physical presence. Such persons are highly energetic, with powerful wills and libidos. In some cases, these energies are so pronounced that they override the other chakras of the body. In other instances, these forces may have been culturally repressed, causing the energy to be improperly released elsewhere in the body. With both these patterns of imbalance, the individual will misdirect digestive and sexual forces which rightly belong in the lower energy centers, distorting them through expression in the communication center. The spoken word is misused in a harsh or destructive way, with the tendency toward biting sarcasm or lashing criticism. There can be extreme tension in the jaw and mouth, grinding of the teeth, or the need to eat foods which provide continuous biting, crunching, and chewing activity. Snapdragon helps such persons redirect their powerful metabolic and sexual energy into its rightful channels. At its deepest level, the Snapdragon helps the soul to distinguish its use of creative forces – especially those which radiate from the lower energy centers, and those which are used for the spoken word. By harmonizing the relationship between these energy centers, the soul evolves in its use of creative power.”

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