Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum - A Compendium of Plants

Plant Witchery: Discover the Sacred Language, Wisdom, and Magic of 200 Plants - Juliet Diaz 2020


Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum
A Compendium of Plants

ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES

balance, protection

Jack-in-the-pulpit is an unusual flower—she can change her sex. Her flower looks a little phallic, but although these plants are typically male when young, as they get older, they become female or hermaphroditic. A single plant can change sex several times over the course of its life.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Fittingly enough, jack-in-the-pulpit can both enhance fertility in men and act as a contraceptive for women. Her bitter and warm properties are used in Chinese medicine to treat respiratory disfunction. But remember to cook this plant carefully before you consume—jack-in-the-pulpit contains calcium oxalate crystals, making her poisonous when she is raw.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit Protection Jar

This protection jar allows you to be very specific—what is it that you want protection from? Jack-in-the-pulpit will help you.

YOU WILL NEED

Incense (I recommend cedar, copal, frankincense, myrrh, or lavender)

1 tablespoon black pepper

Lemon peel of 1 lemon

1 strand of your hair

1 clear jar

3 to 6 jack-in-the-pulpit seeds

Olive oil or other oil of your choice

WHAT TO DO

· Start by burning some incense to clear your space and tools.

· When you’re ready, place all the ingredients except the seeds and the oil into the jar.

· Add your seeds 1 at a time, and as you do, set an intention for protection for each area of your life, using a different intentio for each seed—for instance, “protection from judgment” or “protection for the heart,” and so forth.

· Finally, pour the oil all the way up to the top of the jar.

· Seal the jar tightly and place it by your windowsill for 30 days.

· After the 30th day, take the jar outdoors and bury it in the earth.

MAGICAL PROPERTIES

The dual nature of jack-in-the-pulpit can serve as an inspiration for us. We all have opposing forces within us, and jack-in-the-pulpit can teach us how to hold both possibilities at the same time. Perhaps when you are in a fight with someone, jack-in-the-pulpit can help you see both sides more clearly. I myself am bisexual, and have found that jack-in-the-pulpit accepts me entirely as I am. Jack-in-the-pulpit heals those who are similar in spirit, and when I work with clients from the LGBT community, I bring jack-in-the-pulpit in to give the warm embrace they have been longing for, offering an acceptance of some kind to the spirit itself. Keep jack-in-the-pulpit in your sacred space for all prayer and healing work.

PLANT WISDOM

When jack-in-the-pulpit shows up in your dreams, she is bringing a message that is unique to the dreamer. For example, jack-in-the-pulpit deals with a lot of the hidden aspects of the self, things no one else knows but you. She will teach you to embrace all the sides and shades of who you are. Keep jack-in-the-pulpit in the wild, outdoors, where her balancing energy can create a beautiful, safe sphere around your home.