The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook: A Complete Guide to Magickal Herbs and How to Use Them - Karen Harrison 2020

The Herbs of Pluto—Karma and the Unconscious Mind
The Herbs and Their Planetary Signatures

Energies: death, alchemical transformation, regeneration, decay, sexual instinct, the deep unconscious, catharsis

Color: smoky black

Number: 33

Stones/materials: ash, lava stone, obsidian, black opal, apache tear, black tourmaline

Deities: Arawn, Pwyll, Osiris, Demeter, Rhea, Astarte

Herbs: barley, black cohosh, corn, damiana, fly agaric, galangal root, mushrooms, myrrh, oats, patchouli, pomegranate, psilocybin, rye, saw palmetto, wheat, wormwood, yohimbe

Pluto has been somewhat of an occult enigma since its discovery. Its attributions and rulerships have been debated, often bitterly, for the past fifty-some years. In fact, astronomers differ on whether Pluto is a Planet at all. Those of us who work with the energies of Pluto concur that Pluto should, indeed, be classified as a Planet, as its effects and energies are intense and discernable to the average person. The current (and most intuitively workable) hypothesis defines Pluto as the Planet of sex, death, and regeneration; of things hidden and subterranean—those primordial forces of evolution and inner compulsion that can represent and express themselves through the “Shadow” aspects of the personality. Pluto is considered officially to be the higher aspect of the energies of Mars and, in my experiences and studies, also partakes of the higher karmic and subconscious energies of Saturn. The attribution of grains such as rye, barley, wheat, and all cereal grains (plants sacred to Ceres/Demeter) associated with the planetary energies of Pluto tend to bear out the previously ascribed qualities, particularly if grain parasite-symbiotes such as ergot are added to the Plutonian catalogue.

This attribution of the cereal grains to Plutonian energies is shown in our myths of Pluto's abduction of Persephone into the Underworld, a well-known story in Western culture. In a nutshell, Pluto spies the young Persephone, daughter of Demeter, exploring the forests and meadows. Stunned by her beauty and desiring a companion, he abducts Persephone and takes her into the Underworld with him. Demeter, the Goddess of all grains and animal husbandry, grieves as she cannot find her beloved daughter and withdraws her energies from the propagation of life. The plants begin to die, the animals will not mate, and the Earth goes into a wintry sleep. Persephone becomes aware of the demise of life on the Earth's surface and begs Pluto to allow her to live part of the year in the underworld (the unconscious) with him and part of the year on the Earth's surface with her mother and living things. He agrees, noting that while she has resided with him in his kingdom, she has eaten six pomegranate seeds and thus must stay with him six months out of the year but can live the other six on the surface of Earth. The myth securely connects Pluto as an essential component of the continuing cycle of the death and regeneration of the plant life and ultimately (and metaphorically) all life.

There are, however, other levels of meaning and perspectives regarding this primal legend and Pluto's herbal attributes. When one considers the effects that ergot, a naturally occurring fungus that infects rye and other grains, has on the human system, it becomes very interesting and clear. The Eleusinian Mysteries were held around the Demeter-Pluto-Persephone legends and became, over the centuries, a profound initiatory experience. Central to the rites was the consumption of a potion made of barley water containing a decoction of ergot, the progenitor, of course, of our own LSD, the discovery of which virtually accompanied the astronomical discovery of the Planet Pluto. This powerful hallucinogenic was first synthesized from ergot alkaloids by the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann in 1938. In small amounts the ingestion of ergot can lead to hallucinations and bodily sensations sometimes termed rushes.

One of the few common threads amid the bewildering variety of experiences catalyzed by ergot and its derivatives is the feeling of death and dissolution of the ego (which from an egocentric viewpoint amounts to total annihilation) and its subsequent reconstitution and regeneration. Those who partake of ergot are taken on a voyage through their own psychic Underworld that closely parallels the experience of Persephone as the Underworld bride of Pluto. There is also a great deal of evidence to indicate that the experience involves a triggering of genetic memory and so opens the floodgates of evolutionary force.

Ergot also serves as a vasoconstrictor, narrowing the large arteries, small arterioles, and veins. Ingesting fungus-infected grains subjects the body to ergot poisoning, which constricts the blood's flow to the extremities. The resultant feeling of the hands and feet being on fire, full-body convulsions, and even hallucinations as blood flow to the brain was impeded was called St. Anthony's Fire in the Middle Ages. Vasoconstriction can also have positive effects, such as in the natural retention of blood in the phallus during sexual arousal. With Mars's association with sexuality, blood, and our circulatory system, ergot's vasoconstriction may be considered an appropriate effect for an attribute of the higher octave of Mars.

Pluto may indeed be the dread dark lord whose experience is, to say the least, cathartic. Pluto rules our deep unconscious, our animal instincts, and past-life memories. When we first open the Pandora's box that the experience of Pluto offers us, we must be prepared to acknowledge that some of what resides in our deep memory has been repressed because it stirs fear within us. When we bring these fears into conscious light, it may first feel overwhelming, but as we face our dread and work to transform our Shadow Selves, we release the negative energy and emotions attached to these memories and purify ourselves. Through the use of ergot, it is possible to put oneself on the pathway to the experience of death or radical transformation while providing for the possibility of human frailty by eliminating (just as in real life and death) the possibility of turning back. In this way we initiate reconnection with our Deep Selves and our past lives, enabling us to meet any unresolved or traumatic challenges again and overcome them.

Pluto is correlated to other fungi as well. Fly agaric and psilocybin subsist and multiply on decaying organic materials and were once commonly associated with dark, deadly subterranean origins. Pluto herbs bring about dramatic, sometimes traumatic change, particularly within the psyche. They promote dramatic growth and insights normally through cataclysmic circumstances. Pluto herbs, such as yohimbe, saw palmetto, and damiana, aid the sexually impotent and help to balance the physical with the spiritual.

While Pluto's effects and energies can be dramatic and difficult to integrate into one's life, gaining wisdom through the knowledge of one's karma and karmic debts can be very useful and, in most cases, not usually upsetting. The actions and events of previous lifetimes tend to be experienced in the present lifetime with a sense of distance and objectivity. Knowing what you came into this lifetime to accomplish and recognizing the challenges you will need to overcome can be invaluable gifts. With this in mind, we use the herbs of Pluto to draw back that veil between the worlds and time and take a look at a past life.

Recalling a Past Life

To discover the primary karmic lessons with which we came into this lifetime, we utilize the occult principles of Scorpio, which rules Pluto, with the karmic comprehension of those energies in a Past Life Ritual.

Spend the day lightly fasting on a Saturday, a day whose energy is very useful for understanding karma. When evening falls, gather your ritual materials:

Incense burner

Incense charcoal

Past Lives Incense (see Formulas for Manifestation of Goals in appendix E, Formulas and Recipes)

matches

two purple candles and candleholders

journal

pen

divisionary tool such as a crystal ball or scrying mirror (optional)

Past Lives Oil (see Formulas for Manifestation of Goals in appendix E, Formulas and Recipes)

Arrange your altar with an Incense burner, charcoal, Incense, and matches close together to one side on the surface of your altar. Place one of your candles in a holder behind you so that when you light it, it does not reflect in your crystal ball or scrying mirror (if using); place the other on your altar in the center behind the crystal ball or scrying mirror (if using). Place the journal and pen within easy reach of the altar so that you can jot down information as it comes to you.

Cast your circle in your usual way or, using your breathing, surround yourself with light and peace. Anoint your candles (one on the altar, the other behind you) with your Ritual Oil, then light them. Light your Incense charcoal from the altar candle, let it ignite most of the way across, and then place it on insulating sand in your Incense burner. Place some of your Incense onto an Incense charcoal and allow the smoke to waft into the air. Ground yourself with your breathing and connect your energy field with that of the Earth. Anoint your Third Eye (the spot just above and between your eyes on your forehead). Breathe in the scent of your Incense and Ritual Oil. Allow yourself to relax into a light trance state while gazing at the candle flame on your altar. When your body is completely relaxed and your mind is clear, blow out the candle on your altar and shift your focus to the crystal ball or scrying mirror. If you are not using a scrying device, you can let the altar candle continue to burn and return your eyes to the flame periodically to refocus yourself.

Visualize an ancient leather-bound, parchment-paged book on the surface of your scrying tool or visualize it in front of you. As you gaze at the book, it slowly begins to open and the pages begin to turn by themselves as if by an invisible hand. Ask yourself what lesson you are here to learn, what karmic balance you are here to redress or enforce. Keep concentrating on this question until the pages stop turning and a dim light illuminates the parchment page.

At this point, you may see the words and be able to read them, you may see static images or view a montage or “movie,” you might hear the answer directly inside your head, or you may simply gaze at a page that has no words or words in a written language that you currently do not understand. Write down the information you acquire; emotions you are feeling; names you receive; and any impressions of geography, clothing style, architecture, foliage, or timeframe that you have during this experience. Be very observant of any dreams you have during the next three nights, as they will contain additional information and even the key to the information that you witnessed on the page.

During the same working or at another time when you wish to get more information, you may use some of the imagery, names, time sense, or clues to obtain more details. It is important after doing a working of this type that you do two things: (1) eat a light snack to re-center and securely anchor yourself into your present-day body, and (2) act on any insights you receive that will help you to balance, resolve, and initiate the karmic lesson(s) you came into this lifetime to carry out.