Life in Newburgh on Ythan

By Talpa

A herb in flower

Borage Borago officinalis

According to t'internet -

"Borage has been cultivated since at least 1440 in Castille, Spain, in herb and ornamental gardens, and was brought to Europe by the Moors (it originated in Aleppo, Syria). It has been grown in the New World since 1494 and is naturalized throughout Europe, North and South America, and parts of Asia. The name "borage" comes from the Arabic name for this plant, abu arak, "father of sweat" because it induces sweating, which can be good if you have a cold coming on."

Furthermore -

"This bold magick herb ruled by Jupiter and Leo was eaten for courage by Roman soldiers before they went into battle. Medieval knights wore scraves embroidered with the flowers for the same reason. Pliny said that borage-flavored wine was the Nepenthe of Homer, which when drunk brings forgiveness. In Elizabethan England, it was considered to lift melancholy; according to Culpeper, borage expels pensiveness and  melancholy, and the candied or jellied flowers comfort the heart and spirits of those who are sick from consumption or from the passions of the heart. Gerard recommended eating this herb in a salad for joy and said that a syrup made of the flowers "purgeth melancholy and quieteth the phreneticke and lunaticke person." A contemporary commented that the flowers also "cheer the hard student." In Hoodoo, borage flowers in the house help bring about domestic tranquility. The flowers sprinkled in the bath are good for courage or for Jovian protection, and a cup of borage tea can help with feelings of vulnerability and disjointedness. Logically enough because of its connections to Jupiter, this herb is associated with the Hierophant in the tarot deck."

Apart from all that, Borage is an exceptionally pretty herb!

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