A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014

Flowers of The Sun and The Moon
The Flower
Assessing the Natural Resources

Each genus and species of plant is designated as coming under the central influence of either the sun or the moon. This central influence determines the way in which the plant may be used, who uses it (to best effect), how and when the plant must be harvested, upon whom the plant is most likely to have the best effect, and what other plants may work with or against the plant’s own energies and attributes.

As we are looking at flowers in this section, we should first note that flowers themselves are better suited to some applications than are other parts of the plant. They reflect the softer, gentler uses of plants, often used in works where children are the focus. They also appear in rituals concerned with spiritual love and affection, emotional matters, fertility, birth, and death. They generally are used in a happy way and as a means of commemoration.

Many of these symbolic uses relate to their visual appeal and the delicacy of their structures as much as to their latent energies and attributes. What, then, may we expect from plants that fall under the central influence of the sun?

Plants of the Sun

It must be noted here that other traditions may have alternative and sometimes contradictory symbols for the celestial bodies. For example, the symbol for the sun in the hermetic (alchemical) tradition is a circle with a single dot at its center, and the zodiacal sun symbol is the lion. On occasion, it may be important to be able to distinguish the symbols of the Druidic tradition from those of other traditions.

We now know that the sun is the center of our “solar” system. This is a concept of which the ancient Druids had no comprehension. They did, however, recognize that the sun is central to all life, that its light and heat have a profound effect on all living things. They knew that if plants were deprived of the sun’s light, they would cease to flourish and that in winter, when the sun’s heat diminished, many of the plants around them died away, only to return with the heat of the sun the following spring. They no doubt enjoyed the heat of the summer sun on their bodies and missed its comfort during the cold winters of northern Europe. They would have used the daylight hours to hunt and to gather crops and would have felt threatened as the sun set and darkness descended, not knowing whether the sun would return. The sun was therefore seen as the universal provider.

The Druidic symbol for the sun is the Circle

The sun was the main controlling factor in the ancients’ lives. The long, warm days of summer allowed them an existence totally different from the short, cold days of winter. The sun also played a major role in the way in which they organized and planned their lives, their day-today work and rest, the availability of plants and animals for food, and their harvesting and gathering activities.

It also influenced the cycle of reproduction of all living things. Spring saw the birth of many young animals, along with the arrival of new plants and new growth on old ones. Conversely, many things die in winter when the sun is at its lowest ebb. The sun was therefore linked with energy, vitality, and sexual vigor.

So within the Druidic tradition, the sun casts its influence over the functions of control, organization, and planning. It therefore has an influence on the mind, the thought processes, and willpower. We invoke the sun’s influence if we wish to exert power and control over something or somebody or if we wish to imbue the recipient of a spell with similar powers.

The sun’s influences are linked with generosity and giving. Its influences are all embracing, engendering wholeness and completeness—hence its circular symbol. Its energy is central to all things, and all things radiate from it. Its main areas of influence in relation to the body are the heart, the mind, the nervous system, and the male genitals. Its main contact points in the body are the head, the heart via the chest and pulse points, the solar plexus (literally, “the complex of the sun,” the system of radiating nerves at the pit of the stomach), and the genitals.

We have seen that the sun is masculine, so plants falling within its central influence are best used by priests and their intentions targeted toward male recipients. If a priest needs to target his intentions toward a female recipient, then the parts of the plant with female, or moon-associated, influences should be used or emphasized. The plants of the sun are best harvested, refined, energized, and employed in daylight, as they are purified and energized by exposure to sunlight.

You may see from the above that the influences ascribed to the sun are founded in the observation of the practical effects of the sun on the world around us. Druidic lore is, in all cases, pragmatic at one level and spiritual on another. However, when it comes to ascribing magical influences, the pragmatic informs the spiritual and the spiritual then enhances the practical.

Plants of the Moon

The moon is the earth’s only satellite, and its appearance in the night sky changes dramatically over the course of the lunar month. The Druids recognized the moon’s influence on the waters of the world, causing the tides to ebb and flow. The apparent variation in the moon’s shape we now know to be caused by its ever changing relative angle to the sun and the amount of the moon’s surface exposed to the sun’s light from below the horizon. The ancient Druids, however, thought the moon actually changed its shape, swelling and shrinking in a cycle of fertility that was emulated by the earthly female.

The moon, then, imbues distinctly female characteristics. It influences fertility, conception, and the reproductive process in general. The sun influences the conscious mind; the moon influences the subconscious and inner feelings. It influences growth and the rhythm of reproduction. We shall see later that in the application of Celtic sex magic, the moon exerts the influence of passion (often wild passion) and raw, physical instincts, while in other applications it may have a loving, motherly influence on an individual or a family. This again ties the ever changing appearance of the moon to the changeable aspects of its influences.

The main areas of the moon’s influence on the body are the subconscious mind and the reproductive system. Its main contact points in the body are the head, the breasts, the womb, the ovaries, and the female genitals. We invoke the moon’s influence if we wish to affect fertility, sexual energy, sensuality, and adventure, and alternatively—and I am aware of the contradiction here—motherliness, family feelings, reflection, purity, and the subconscious.

Plants falling within the central influence of the moon are best used by a priestess and their intentions targeted toward female recipients. If a priestess needs to target her intentions toward a male recipient, then the parts of the plant with male, or sun-associated, influences should be used or emphasized.

The plants of the moon are best harvested, refined, energized, and employed in moonlight, as they are purified and energized by exposure to the light of the moon.

One of the most important influences of the moon is that of its purity. This is channeled in the crafting of moon-cleansed water, used extensively in most Druidic rituals and potions.

The Druidic sign for the moon is the crescent