The berries of solomon's
seal supposedly are a little poisonous. They taste sweet
when ripe, but I am not going to try that if they should be
slightly poisonous. Apparently people have taken them
without any consequences. Results could be, apparently,
nausea, diarrhea, irregular heartbeat and coma ... the
poisonous ingredient being convallotoxin, which however
probably doesn't amount to a whole lot in the berries,
unless you were to eat kilos of them.
It is the root which is
medicinal, and which is absolutely safe and non-poisonous. (Native
Americans used it for food). The root has "seals", at least,
that's what they looked like to our ancestors, hence the
name. These "seals" are scars of the previous year, each
year solomon's seal will create another seal to grow from,
much like the yearrings in a tree. Culpeper places this
plant under the rulership of Saturn which seems incredibly
apt, for the root is a wondrous medicine for broken bones
(bones and the skeleton itself belonging to Saturn).
And much like the seals of the root,
also the flowers as well as the
berries appear in orderly rows,
one after the other, another typical
Saturn phenomenon!
The root even looks like
a bone. It is a very comforting and healing remedy
lubricating joints and the whole system, but it is not a
very wellknown remedy. It can however create spectacular
results in cases of bruising and breaking bones,
or hernia (a slipped disc) for instance. This site
http://www.herbcraft.org/solseal.html is
lyrical about Solomon's seal, and the author uses it a lot
for sportsmen who get into trouble with their bones, knees
or muscles. And he gives a wonderful tip:
Collecting:
Solomon's seal is quite rare in places and yet it can be a
great idea to have some root on stock. So how to collect it
respecting the plant and even making sure new plants grow
rather than taking away one? The root is quite near the
surface, feel with your hands below the plant where the root
is and goes to and then cut off the part of the root with
the old seals, leaving the plant from the new seal intact.
By cutting it a new plant will even grow out of it, and you
have your piece of root!
Taken internally it helps for
neuralgia, inflammations of
the stomach and bowel, and with
diarrhea. It stops
vomiting and bleeding.
Solomon's seal is indicated in cases
of too dry conditions (Saturn!) for
it will lubricate the bones, joints
and muscles, including the muscle of
the heart. And it could come in
handy with arthritis. It also
rebuilds bone marrow (Saturn)
and may well be great for carpal
tunnel syndrome.
Other than that it may
well be great in cases of diabetes, as it will lower
the bloodsugarlevels (I will test that still:-). And it
lowers too high a bloodpressure (which indeed is a
Capricorn (or Saturn) - thing, fitting for persons who
always MUST do things. It will also treat a too fatty
liver.
In the case of erysipelas use it
both in- and externally. If you make
a ointment from the powdered root (for
instance with bee's wax or
sheabutter) it will take away black
and blue bruising, and will help as
mentioned heal broken bones. It also
will help for skin-inflammations.
Solomon's seal is also an excellent remedy for piles:
make a decoction: 1 ounce of root on one pint of boiling
water, and inject 4-5 tablespoons in the rectum, a few times
per day.
Medicine bag:
There used to be a ritual
in the Middle Ages apparently to go and dig up solomon's
seal root on the morning of June 24 (and only then), and
then cut an amulet from it. For good luck you had to keep
that amulet on you for the rest of your life.... (that's a
long time.... quite Saturnian again:-) This is the
amulet of Solomon's Seal, it is the Star of David:
-solomon's seal-
The
6-pointed star is a beautiful symbol, indicating the union
of sky and heaven or rather the union of the three upper
chakra's with the three lower ones. This unification takes
place in the heart (above which are three chakra's as well
as below, parallel to our spine). It is the completion of
men / women, the individual who is whole within him-or
herself.