Mullein
The Hag’s Taper
I am too near, too clear a thing for you,
A flower of mullein in a crack of wall,
The villagers half-see, or not at all,
Part of the weather, like the wind or dew.
You love to pluck the different, and find
Stuff for your joy in cloudy loveliness;
You love to fumble at a door, and guess
At some strange happening that may wait behind.
Yet life is full of tricks, and it is plain,
That men drift back to some worn field or roof,
To grip at comfort in a room, a stair;
To warm themselves at some flower down a lane:
You, too, may long, grown tired of the aloof,
For the sweet surety of the common air.
The great mullein is a sturdy plant. She grows biennially, often in disturbed soils from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil. In her first year, she produces a rosette bed of large downy leaves, that seem to be opening to some kind of gift. This alludes to her generous and nurturing side. In her second year she shows us a more fiery side. A single robust stem grows up to 6 feet tall and upon this is a long dense spike of small yellow flowers which can last up to 3 months. Her fur is not confined to the leaves alone, but are also on every part of the stem so that she appears to be gray and wise. The down on the older leaves and stem makes an excellent tinder leading to her use in candle wicks, while her dried flower stalk was dipped in grease and used as torches. She is a persistent plant that can both sooth and comfort or excite and annoy.
The Magic of Mullein
Correspondences
Element: Fire
Gender: Feminine
Sabbat: Litha
Planet: Saturn, Mercury
Chakra: Brow
Spellwork
Protect
Courage
Purify
Illuminate
Heal
Proverb
American: Among the mullein stalks the sheep (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
The Medicine of Mullein
Ayurvedic
Not Applicable
Herbology
Expectorant
Anti-inflammatory
Antispasmodic
Lung tonic
TCM
TCM Name: Jia yan ye
Botanical Name: Verbascum thapsus
Common Name: Mullein
Energy: Cool, Moist
Flavor: Sweet (slightly), Astringent
Organs: Lung, Stomach, Intestine
Movement: R
Science of Mullein
Botany
Botanical Name: Verbascum thapsus
Family: Scrophulariaceae (Figwort Family)
Type of Plant: Herbaceous Perennial
Habitat: Dry soil, Sun
Zone: 3-9
Bloom Time: June – September
Height: 2-7 feet
Spread: 1-2 feet
Propagation: Seed, Cutting
Harvest: Leaves year 1&2 before flowering, Flowers in summer, Root year 1
Part Used: Leaf, Flower, Root
Constituents: iridoids, Flavonoids, Saponins, Tannins, Mucilage
Native Region: Europe, W. Asia
Sustainability: Good
Leaf
Structure: Simple
Arrangement: Rosette, Alternate
Shape: Oval
Length: up to 18 inches
Margins: Waved
Surface: Wooly, Thick
Flower
Inflorescence: Complex
Sexuality: Perfect
Stamen: 5 with white hairs
Petals: 5 rounded
Color: Yellow
Size: 1 inch
Sacred Story
It was said that Mary traveled through Ireland in August just before the festival of Lammas blessing all the mullein flowers. Women were instructed to rise before the sun and while barefoot, to harvest her blessed herb saying “Our beloved Lady goes through the land, she carries mullein in her hand!” Those who were touched by Mary’s mullein were healed from illness and injury. As a source of divination, if you gently bent the unharvested flower stalk toward the home of your intended, you could see if your lover was faithful. By returning the following day, you simply had to note if the stalk returned to an upright position (your lover was true). However, if the mullein stayed bent, indications were not so favorable.
