Welcome to the Eightfold Year. Every day a different painting will appear, along with moon phases, saints days, seasonal plants and other festive celebrations.
You can find out more about the concept of the Eightfold Year here.
We hope you enjoy this website. We will be adding content as we go through the year and welcoming your feedback and suggestions.
Onwards and Upwards!
Warm Wings, Liverpool 2007: Jamie Reid
Moon Phases, May 2012:
Full Moon – May 6, 03:35
Last Quarter – May 12, 21:47
New Moon – May 20, 23:47
First Quarter – May 28, 20:16
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Beautiful Forms, Liverpool, Spring 2011: Saul Hughes
Saint's Day:
Calocerus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Dunstan
Ivo of Kermartin
Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
Maria Bernarda Bütler
Peter Celestine
Pudentiana (Roman Catholic Church)
Festival:
Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)
Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)
Hồ Chí Minh's Birthday (Vietnam)
Flowering Now by Saul Hughes: Herb Bennet
Herb Bennet.
Geum Urbanum.
Family: Rosaceae.
Gaelic Name: Machall Coille.
Also known as Colewort, Avens, Wood Avens, Goldy Star, Gariophilata, Radix Caryophyllata, Blessed Herb and St Benedict’s Herb.
This wonderful plant is quite happily found growing in urban areas as it is in the hedgerows and woods, a sacred plant in Christian tradition, its leaves often being carved on the capitals of columns and in wall patterns adorning churches.
The name of Herb Bennet is named in honour of St Benedict of Nursia (Italy) because of the plants medieval uses in warding of witchcraft, poison and venomous creatures and these attributes were also part of the miracles attributed to St Benedict, hence the plant became known as the ‘Blessed Herb’ ‘St Benedict’s Herb’ and colloquially as ‘Herb Bennet’.
The Name of the genus ‘Geum’ is from the Greek word ‘Geno’ which means to ‘Yield an agreeable fragrance’, because when the plant is freshly dug up it, the roots have a clove like aroma, this aroma gave rise to its old botanical name of ‘Radix Caryophyllata’ Caryophylata being the Greek Name for the Clove (Eugenia Caryophyllata) and Caryophyllata was the name given to it by Pliny the Elder (23AD-79AD) in reference to the nut shaped leaves of the clove; Gariophilata being its corruption and ‘Radix’ meaning ‘Root’, the common name of ‘Clove Root’ arises from this association.
The name of the species ‘Urbanum’ is derived from the Latin ‘Urbanus’ meaning ‘City Loving’ as it is frequently found growing wild in urban areas. The name of the family this herb belongs to ‘Rosaceae’ is derived from a Germanic name, which was composed of the elements ‘hrod’ (Fame) and ‘Heid’ (kind).
The folk name ‘Colewort’ is from ‘Cole’ a type of Kale in reference to the shape of the leaves and ‘Wort’ being an old Anglo-Saxon word for a healing plant. The name ‘Goldy Star’ refers to the five golden yellow petals, the other very common name of this plant ‘Avens’ is derived from the Latin ‘Avencia’ and was also variously known as ‘Avantia’, and ‘Arvense’, sadly the meanings of these names are now lost in the midst of time.
The Gaelic name of ‘Machall Coille’ is derived from ‘Macha’ (head) and ‘All’ meaning the same as the English ‘All, i.e. ‘All Head’ in reference to the flower head of this Avens being bigger than other species of this genus, ‘Coille’ (wood), referring to where this herb grows.
Medicinally Herb Bennet contains Eugenol an essential oil (Eugenol is used as a local antiseptic and anaesthetic and its compounds are also used to attract orchid bees) Tannic Acid (As well as being used for tanning leather, it is also used medicinally for treating burns), Gum, Starch, Bitter Substances, Calcium and Mineral Salts.
Its actions are Analgesic (Pain killing), Antiseptic (Anti-Bacterial), Astringent (constricts the skin), Haemostatic (Stems bleeding), Soothing (Soothes the intestines), Styptic (Checks bleeding), Sudorific (Induces sweating), Stomachic (Improves the stomach function) and febrifuge (Reduces fever).
Herb Bennet is used to treat Diarrhoea, Dysenteries, Ague, intermittent fevers, Toothaches, Gingivitis, Pharyngitis (Inflammation of the throat), Amygdalitis (Tonsil inflammation), Bronchitis, chronic and passive Haemorrhages, Gastric irritation, Headaches, Asthenia (General weakness and loss of strength) and Leucorrhoea (Weakness in the reproductive organs of women).
Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) says of the herb: ‘A wholesome healthful herb, it is good for the disease of the chest or breast, for pains and stitches in the sides and to expel crude and raw humours from the belly and stomach, by the sweet savour and warming quality; it dissolves the inward congealed blood, occasioned by falls, or bruises and the spitting of blood’, ‘It treats all manner of inward or outward wounds, it comforts the heart and strengthens the stomach and a cold brain, opens obstructions of the liver, helps the wind-colic, those with fluxes, it takes away spots and marks of the face, it is a good preservative against the plague, poisons and helps the digestion’.
It has been used to flavour ale, and the young leaves and root have been cooked to flavour stews and soups and is used as a substitute for cloves with a hint of cinnamon flavour.
Magically, the herb is under the auspices of the planet Jupiter and was held sacred to Christians because the trefoiled leaf represented the Holy Trinity and the five golden petals the wounds of Christ. It was worn as an amulet to ward off evil spirits, witches, venomous beasts and poisoning; In the ‘Hortus Sanitatis’ wrote by Jacob Meidenbach and published in 1491, he states that: ‘Where the root is in the house, Satan can do nothing and flies from it, wherefore it is blessed before all other herbs, and if a man carries the root about him no venomous beast can harm him’.
Its flowers have been used in love spells, and the whole herb is used in purification rites and exorcisms, being very efficacious in driving away demons and evil spirits.
The leaves of this herb are mined by the Metallus Gei Sawfly (Hymenoptera Tenthredinidae) the Leafminer Fly (Agromyza Potentillae) and the Sawflies, Empria Liturata and the Empria Tridens.*
Also on this day:
1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales (and Henry's older brother). Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
1780 – New England's Dark Day: A combination of thick smoke and heavy cloud cover causes complete darkness to fall on Eastern Canada and the New England area of the United States at 10:30 A.M.
1897 – Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol.
1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of Happy Birthday.
1997 – The Sierra Gorda Biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
* All information regarding the uses of the plants is exactly for that informational purposes only, and that the author and owners of the web do not encourage anyone to be eating, or disturbing wild plants, but merely to admire them in their natural environment and to ponder on their rise and fall within human culture.
All content © 2010+ Jamie Reid. eightfoldyear.org is curated by Isis and was built by Rebels in Control.
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