To Walk a Pagan Path by Alaric Albertsson

Author:Alaric Albertsson [Albertsson, Alaric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2013-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

You may decide that you would like to grow herbs instead of vegetables. This may be especially appealing if you have limited space for your garden. Although a small plot can yield a substantial quantity of vegetables, it will not produce more than a miniscule portion of the food you and your family will consume. However that same small plot, with careful planning, could easily supply you with several varieties of culinary herbs, and that may be more satisfying for you.

Of course herbs have many uses, and there is no reason why you could not plant a garden of remedial (medicinal) herbs or cosmetic herbs. You could even plant aromatic herbs for making your own incense and potpourri, which we will discuss in a later chapter. The reason I emphasize culinary herbs here is because of the adage “You are what you eat.” By planting herbs, vegetables, or fruits that you will later eat, you will participate more completely in that eternal cycle of taking and giving back to the earth, the cycle that gave rise to humankind’s earliest and most persistent Pagan rites.

There are no defining boundaries between remedial, culinary, or cosmetic herbs other than the uses we put them to. Some of your culinary herbs will have remedial uses, and some will have cosmetic or aromatic uses, but some may have no purpose other than to taste good when added to recipes. If you have the space and inclination, you could grow both vegetables and herbs in your garden.

FRIGE’S GARDEN

In the fifth century, in Europe, Mary was proclaimed to be the mother of God, and in the years that followed, “Mary’s gardens” became popular features both in monasteries and on private estates. These gardens were planted with flowers and herbs. They provided a private place for prayer and contemplation. The Mary’s garden was usually a very small garden, especially in overcrowded medieval towns and cities. Most featured a small statue of the Virgin Mary as a focal point of the garden.

The Mary’s garden is a Christian tradition, but you can create a similar garden dedicated to a goddess from your pantheon as an expression of your own Pagan spirituality. This works especially well if you prefer to grow herbs rather than vegetables. Since a garden of this kind is intended for contemplation and prayer, a variety of attractive and aromatic herbs will create the appropriate ambiance.

For a Saxon Pagan, this would most likely be a Frige’s garden, dedicated to Woden’s consort. Frige gave her name to the sixth day of the week, Friday (Frigesdæg). She is sovereign over marriages, families, and household arts. In a modern context, Frige is also sovereign over business enterprises, because “household arts,” for the Anglo-Saxons, included cloth making, soap making, dyeing, medicine, weaving, and pretty much any occupation other than hunting, fishing, and warfare.

A Frige’s garden can be planted with rosemary, sage, chamomile, fennel, alecost, and feverfew. All of these herbs were known to the Anglo-Saxons, either because they are indigenous to England or because they were brought there by the Romans.

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