Full Moon in Aries: Spotlight on Rosemary

Happy Full Moon! This one is in Aries, the hot, dry, athletic sign of the Ram.

When I lived in Arizona, I saw entire hedges made of Rosemary. It could grow to shoulder height in that hot climate! It needs very little water to thrive, and it isn’t prone to many pests or diseases, making it an easy-care, scented, lovely structural piece for gardens in warm climates.  (Cold climates will have to replant it every year.)  In addition to being nice in the garden, Rosemary is absolutely delicious in food, and it has excellent medicinal properties as well. 

Materia Medica Data

Latin Name: Rosemarinus officinalis, or Salvia rosmarinus (older name)

Plant parts used: aerial parts

Energetics: Warming, Drying, tonifying

Herbalistic Properties: circulatory stimulant, CNS stimulant, digestive stimulant, diuretic, hepatic, nervine, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antispasmodic, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, general tonic, cardiac tonic, cholagogue, alterative

Incomplete list of ailments traditionally treated: headache, difficulty with focus, worry, ovarian tumors, fatigue, gastritis, memory loss, hair loss, rheumatism, poor circulation, high blood pressure, anxiety, sensory overload, infected gums, spasms, sluggish liver, indigestion, halitosis, respiratory infections, skin fungal infections, high blood sugar

Astrological Rulership: Culpeper says it is ruled by the Sun and under the sign of Aries. It is rare for Culpeper to give a zodiacal sign to a plant; usually he just gives planets.  So what is he saying by including both the Sun and Aries?  In my opinion, he is clearly pointing to Rosemary’s affinity for the head. Rosemary stimulates bloodflow upward, especially to the head and the brain.  In melothesia, (the process of astrological symbols to different body parts), Aries rules the head.

The Sun also has ancient associations with the brain and the head, so that may be why it rules Rosemary.  The Sun is also associated with a cheerful mood, and Rosemary can help with depression, so that may be another reason to place Rosemary under the Sun.  I also suspect there may be another ancient connection with the Sun, which is the athletic wreath of victory.  Dioscorides wrote of Rosemary, “the Romans call [it] rosmarinus and those who plait wreaths for the head use it.”  I could not find any other concrete evidence that Rosemary was used for athletic wreaths, besides this mention in Dioscorides, but there must be a reason he said this.  The Sun is associated with awards, honors, and trophies, so it is possible that Rosemary’s connection to the Sun ties in this way as well.

How to work with Rosemary:

Most people know Rosemary as a culinary spice, and it is wonderful in food.  I like to put it into baked goods, pot roasts, and roasted vegetables.  I also sometimes add it to my coffee; it’s a lovely flavor.  But my all-time favorite recipe with Rosemary is bacon-wrapped prunes— I’ll post the recipe at the end of this article!

Medicinally, Rosemary’s praises have been sung by herbalists for centuries.  It is helpful for so many ailments!  It lowers blood sugar, promotes healthy digestion, clarifies the liver, slows tumor growth, functions as an antioxidant, and more.  Science has only just begun to scratch the surface of rosemary’s powers, and what it has seen so far has been impressive.  Rosemary is one of those super-power plants!  Rosemary’s primary action, though, is to move energy (cardiovascular and neurological energy) upward, specifically to the head. This is why it is associated with the sign of Aries, which rules the head in traditional medical astrological texts.  

After I got COVID, one of my longer-term symptoms was that my hair started to fall out.  I would have clumps of hair fall out every time I took a shower.  I didn’t connect it to COVID until someone mentioned it in conversation.  Apparently, one possible side effect of the COVID infection is microclots forming in the circulatory system, and this can lead to poor circulation in the small capillaries such as those on the scalp. When the hair follicles do not receive adequate blood flow, they can weaken, and the hair can fall out.  When I learned this and realized it was happening to me, I turned to Rosemary.  I am now in the habit of spraying some Rosemary hydrosol on my scalp after every shower, and I take a few droppersful of Rosemary tincture every week. I also made an effort to add more Rosemary into my cooking.  I’m happy to say, my hair loss problem is gone!  No more clumps in the shower!

Because it increases energy to the head, Rosemary is also useful when you have to focus.  I include it in a blend I make, which I called “Clear the Fog.” This blend helps me on days when “brain fog” attacks and I just can’t seem to get my head in the game, especially at my job.  It really works!  It helps me think clearly and finish my tasks with fewer mistakes. I am not licensed to sell products yet, so I can’t sell you this blend. But if you’d like to purchase the tinctures separately and mix them yourself, here’s the recipe I use:

Clear the Fog

(All parts are by volume)

• 2 parts Rosemary tincture

• 1 part Lion’s Mane double extraction tincture

• 1 part Calamus tincture

• ½ part Lobelia tincture

Mix together in a dark-colored glass jar. Take 20-30 drops on the tongue or mixed with a bit of water in the morning. Do not take at night, as it is stimulating and could cause insomnia.

OK, and now may favorite recipe with Rosemary!!

Bacon-Wrapped Prunes with Rosemary Skewers 

This recipe is very simple, and SO delicious!!!  I serve these as appetizers for fancy dinners and always get rave reviews.  The Rosemary flavor seeps into the other ingredients, and it’s absolutely wonderful.

I know I got this recipe from a cookbook at some point, but it was over a decade ago, and I cannot remember which one. I must have lost the book, because I searched the cookbooks I still have, and couldn’t find it. Apologies to the original chef!

• 12 prunes

• 6 slices of thick-cut bacon

• 12 sprigs of rosemary

Remove the leaves from the Rosemary sprigs, so that just the sticks remain. Cut each strip of bacon in half. 

Wrap each prune with a half-slice of bacon. Poke one Rosemary skewer into each prune to hold the bacon in place.

Roast at 425ºF for 10 minutes.  Cool and serve on an appetizer tray.

References

Culpeper, Nicholas. (1650). The Complete Herbal, and The English Physician. Edited by Chris Curnow. Project Gutenberg, 2015. London: Thomas Kelly. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49513/49513-h/49513-h.htm.

Dioscorides Pedanius (circa 1st c. CE), Tess Anne Osbaldeston, and Robert P. Wood. De Materia Medica: Being an Herbal with Many Other Medicinal Materials : Written in Greek in the First Century of the Common Era : A New Indexed Version in Modern English. Johannesburg: IBIDIS, 2000. https://archive.org/details/Dioscorides_Materia_Medica.

Ghasemzadeh Rahbardar M, Hosseinzadeh H. Therapeutic effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and its active constituents on nervous system disorders. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2020;23(9):1100-1112. doi:10.22038/ijbms.2020.45269.10541

Schreiber, Marvin F. “Babylonian Astro-Medicine: The Origins of Zodiacal Melothesia.” ZodiacBlog, Freie Universität Berlin (blog), February 17, 2022. https://blogs.fu-berlin.de/zodiacblog/2022/02/17/babylonian-astro-medicine-the-origins-of-zodiacal-melothesia/