Ravenhawk's Herb of the Week

Herb of the Week: Thyme

This week’s herb is: Garden Thyme

Thyme [Thymus Vulgaris]Garden Thyme
Gender: Feminine, Element: Water, Planet: Venus

Thyme is a perennial with a woody, fibrous root. The stems are numerous, round, hard, branched, and usually from 4 to 8 inches high, with the largest growth scarcely attaining a foot in height. The leaves are small, only about 1/8 inch long and 1/16 inch broad, narrow and elliptical, greenish-grey in color, reflexed at the margins, and set in pairs upon very small foot-stalks. The flowers terminate the branches in whorls.
There are three varieties usually grown for use, the broad-leaved, narrow-leaved and variegated: the narrow-leaved, with small, greyish-green leaves, is more aromatic than the broad-leaved and is also known as Winter or German Thyme. The fragrant Lemon Thyme, likewise grown in gardens, has a lemon flavor, and rather broader leaves than the ordinary Garden Thyme, is not recurved at the margins and ranks as a variety of T. serpyllum, the Wild Thyme. It is of a more trailing habit and of still smaller growth than the common Garden Thyme, and keeps its foliage better in the winter, though it is generally considered to be not as hardy as the common Thyme. Another variety, the Silver Thyme, is the hardiest and perhaps has the best flavor. There is a variety, also, called the Orange Thyme.

Herbal and Healing:

Healing Properties: anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-rheumatic, anti-parasitic, antispasmodic, anti-fungal, tonic, and carminative

Flowers, leaves, and oil are used as medicine. The volatile essential oils in thyme are packed with anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-rheumatic, anti-parasitic, and anti-fungal properties. Thyme is a great immune system booster that encourages white blood cell formation while increasing resistance to foreign organisms. Thyme can be used as an infusion to treat any kind of chest malady, The infusion is made with an ounce of the dried herb placed in a pint of boiling water and then sweetened with honey. When used as a tea, it relieves flatulence and calms the stomach. the tea will also calm the nerves and is a good remedy for headaches.

MAGICAL PROPERTIES: clairvoyance, cleansing, consecration, courage, divination, dreams, exorcism, faeries, happiness, healing, love, money, preventing nightmares, protection, psychic development, purification

When used as incense, dried thyme promotes good health for your entire household. It is burned to purify an area, and used in healing spells. Placed beneath the pillow, it promotes restful sleep. When worn, thyme helps with the development of psychic powers. Thyme carried on your person gives courage. Adding thyme tea to your bathwater helps you to release the past and fills you with a sense of inner peace and love, It will also increase your willpower and give you courage. Wear a bit of thyme around your neck to attract love.

Recipe: Bath Tea~ 2 tablespoons of dried Thyme to two cups of boiling water. Allow the mixture to steep for about 10 minutes before straining it and adding it to your bathwater.