An Encounter with Hyssop
The journey with Goddess Cerridwen is and has been so far an amazing one for me. Her energy has tapped into my soul in ways I can’t fully comprehend yet. One of the wonderful connections I had the privilege to learn about, as I embarked on the first spiral [first year of the training] as a sister of Cerridwen, was to connect with plants/trees and herbs.
I have always loved nature and above all plants (my house is full of plants) but never truly had I heard a plant, an herb or a tree calling me and engaging me until a couple of months into the spiral one course.
I have to be honest, I do not truly know where this will lead me but I trust Goddess’s path for me. With that firm knowledge of being supported, my heart is willing to be led and to learn more.
Let me share how the beautiful journey of plant discovery began. As I continue with my daily spiritual routines, a now-typical day for me starts intentionally with a glass of water, a ten-minute meditation, grounding and centering, a prayer of protection to shield my aura and then Cerridwen’s prayer. I love to observe some time of silence to hear from Goddess or guides/Allies.
On this particular day, as I was looking at Cerridwen’s wheel with all the trees and plants, I whispered to Goddess to help me identify plants, herbs I could readily find on the continent of Africa.
From the wheel, yes; I was able to find quite a bit that grows locally to be honest- St John’s wort, vervain, mullein, lavender, juniper. I have been able to identify many, but will share one that is not on the wheel, yet still has become a fabulous ally.
Let me introduce you to the Hyssop. I first encountered it through a West African cleansing ceremony, even though I didn’t think much of it but I felt strongly compelled to bring some branches and plant it In my garden. I didn’t think too much of it at the time and it’s connection with my journey as a sister of Cerridwen.
Let me describe the plant, it stands thin and tall with many branches and leaves. I have encountered two species so far, one growing in West Africa and another in East Africa. It has grown magnificently in my garden.
As I continued my practices, my senses were heightened and the first voice contact I had with the hyssop was when walking in my garden, I heard a voice in me asking me to come close to it. I have to say, I looked right and left to ensure I was not crazy and that I had not started to hear voices. The voice was so clear and very separate from my own, but my own doubt was too strong.
It kept calling me and I came close: greeting it, touching it. The voice was so precise with clear instructions on what to do with it. I asked Goddess if she thought it was a plant I could add to my own African wheel of healing, cleansing and nurturing. It was a resounding yes for me.
I have discovered its multiple fascinating virtues: from cleansing your aura, purifying your house, your body, to protecting one against negative energies.
Here is how it is often used in Africa and probably elsewhere:
- In West Africa, in Ifa or AFa is a divination system where people get initiated into, and where there are often identified food taboos to allow one to keep their spiritual equilibrium. If for whatever reasons, the taboo food is consumed, hyssop can be boiled and the water ingested to cleanse oneself. The taboo consequence is negated.
- When people go to cemeteries or to certain charged places, before you re-enter your house, hyssop is used in water to wash your hands, feet and face to prevent unwanted Spirits that might have followed you to come into your home.
- Hyssop baths are highly recommended for purification and cleansing. You will just take its leaves and mix it with your salt bath water.
- As a purifier, you can either dry the leaves and create a smudge stick for burning or you can cut a branch of the tree, dip it into water and splash it into different rooms.
- It can also be used as a plant talisman, dried up and hanging it in specific rooms to ward off negative energies.
I hope you try to connect and learn from this magnificent ally.
Blessings Be
Efa Adjavon
Trainee Priestess of Cerridwen
I really enjoyed reading about the “awakening” of your abilities to connect with your plant allies. How wonderful to hear the voice of the Hyssop and be able to learn as you work together. I was interested in the tradition of washing your feet after being in a graveyard to keep spirits from following you inside. It reminded me of an Irish folk tale I heard. After a long, hard day on the land, people often soaked their feet in a barrel/basin of warm water. Before they went to be, however, they had to make sure to open the door and throw out the “feet water”. If they did not, the “good people”, or fairy folk, could enter the house and party the night away in your kitchen, keeping them awake, or worse torments.