Elul Virgo Moon
Elul means 'full circle.'
Herb: Cassia Zodiac: Virgo Planet: Mercury House: 6th House of Health, Work and Service Mode: Mutable Earth, Feminine Energetics: Cold and Dry
The Month of Transformation
Elul is a bridge between Summer and Autumn. It begins the season of harvest, when we reap what we have sown and reflect upon the year with faith and trust that the dying, falling, ending cycles will be renewed in the spring.
Like Demeter and Persephone, our Jewish tradition symbolizes the earth's turn inward before new growth can occur.
The Acronym of Elul
The Hebrew letters that spell ELUL (Alef, Lamed, Vav, Lamed) are an acronym for:
"Ani l'dodi v'dodi li" - "I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me" (Song of Songs)
It speaks of longing and reaching out to the unknown other "because longing is something we have for the mystery of other." (Miriam Maron)
In Elul we prepare ourselves for the new, the unknown, and we need strength to reach beyond the fears and worries of the past or anxieties over the future.
Body Correspondences
In Virgo we move beyond the ego self established in Leo and practically apply the truth of who we are in service for the whole. We show the more feminine, earthy analysis and self reflection of how we are acting in the world.
Mercury ruling Virgo affects the liver, pancreas, small intestine and bile ducts - organs that discriminate what to take in and what to let go of. This is mirrored in the mental processes common to Virgo and this season.
When there is clear communication through our gut and nervous system, we can relax more into ourselves as we are.
Herbs for Elul
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) - For its relaxing and digestive support.
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) - For overly tense nervous and muscular-skeletal system. Cooling and bitter, thus aiding digestion. Good for hot, tense, overly perfectionist types which Virgos can tend toward.
Angelica (Angelica archangelica) - Aromatic bitter taste stimulates digestion and liver, relaxing to lungs and decreases spasms.
Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) - Relaxing tension especially in those who hide behind a cheery face and whose tension originates from work or business relationships (6th house).
Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) - Demulcent, soothing, synergistic, digestive tonic.
Wood Betony (Stachys betonica) - Tonic for the digestive tract, strengthens the solar plexus so we can feel and trust our gut instincts.
References
- Ancient Moon Wisdom ~ Miriam Maron
- School of Evolutionary Herbalism ~ Astroherbalism
- Anatomy of the Soul ~ Rabbi Nachman
- Matthew Wood ~ The Book of Herbal Wisdom