The Renaissance Planet-Herbal Assignment Mess:
Striving Toward A Useful Method

March 2022

Copyright © by Judith, 2018 (rewritten in 2022)

Renaissance doctors were master herbalists and significant astrologers. Personally, Nicholas Culpeper and Joseph Blagrave are two of my favorite and most revered teachers. Both writers left us works of pure genius in the fields of astrological herbalism. These works included extensive herbal classifications by planet. Some planetary designations were borrowed from far earlier traditions, and some were self-assigned.

However, all Renaissance planetary-herbal lists contain some quite confusing and contradictory classifications. Unfortunately, these constructs have been parroted down the centuries without question. Foremost is what can amusingly be described as: “The Herbal Mess”. This epithet refers to the tossed-salad style construction of traditional herbal lists under “their” planetary “rulers”. We do not imply that planets, and zodiac signs do not fraternize with, or favor the healing herbs most akin to themselves. “The Herbal Mess” refers to the scrambled, even opposing reasons for these pairings - there is just no consistency! Let’s examine the phenomena up close.       

Herbs were traditionally grouped under their “ruling” planet for multifarious and often contradictory reasons including: sympathetic action to planet’s influence; antipathetic action to same planet’s influence; color; form; function; taste; smell; organ affinity; temperature, season of flowering; plus mythic, religious and symbolic associations.

The hopeful herbalist is confounded by lengthy lists of herbs grouped by planet, seemingly willy-nilly. “Just pick one!"

For instance, some solar herbs are indeed warming (Sun), whereas others sport large yellow flowers that resemble tiny Suns (e.g. Sunflower). Still others are gathered during the Sun’s sunny sign Leo (St. John’s Wort); or treat heart complaints because the heart is governed by Sol (e.g. Hawthorne). Some solar-specified herbs stimulate the heart whereas others sedate it! The list goes on. 

My favorite example is the Oak (Quercus robur), one of our best nutritive astringents. Mineralization and astringency are hallmarks of Saturn, as are dry leaves, snarled bark and ancient age. We use this bark when tissue requires greater integrity. Blagrave aptly assigns this tree to Saturn, whereas the far more widely-read Culpeper does not. Instead, Culpeper assigns the Oak to Jupiter, possibly due to the tree’s traditional association with the Grecian God Zeus (Jupiter), to whom this tree was sacred. Or, perhaps to the Druidic ceremonial preference for sacred Oak groves. Here we find the religious association is used, rather than the Oak tree’s actual properties or traditional use. We find many such disparities between Culpeper and Blagrave. Let us be careful not to declare an herb’s definitive, single ruler from any one opinion! We must think out a useful and consistent system of planetary assignment, noting that most herbs may be pertinently assigned to two or more planets. Say again?

When cross-examined, many traditionally assigned “solar herbs” treat many other organ systems equally well as the heart (e.g. Angelica); whereas others have blue, instead of the “required’ sunny, warm colored flowers (e.g. Rosemary). Saint John’s Wort is an infamous sedative vulnerary - qualities antipathetical to the Sun’s traditionally energetic nature. Despite St. John’s Wort’s famed neurological affects, most Renaissance sources assign this herb to Leo, and Leo’s ruler, the Sun. However, neither of these two cosmic mainstays are astrologically specific to nerve issues. The delicate yellow flowers of this herb are traditionally plucked for greatest efficacy near the first day of Leo, (the sign of Sol), quite distant from John’s Day, on June 24. However, they can just as readily be found in late Cancer, and sometimes early Virgo.

The thorny Hawthorne is another solar-classed herb that is highly specific to the heart and well placed under Sol’s regency, despite its “martian” signature - the thorn. This tree blooms intensely in a prolific week-long spree in May (season of Venus’ sign Taurus) and is renowned for the sexually-specific female scent of its tiny white or pink umbrells (Venus cues). We see all three planets playing their part.

We also have the grand problem of sympathy vs antipathy.  A sympathetic herb would evince and promote the same influence of its ruling planet; whereas an antipathetic herb would correct or nullify an excess of that same planet’s action. For instance, Mars is associated with fevers, and bleeding. In Renaissance medicine, we find both antipyretic and hot, sweating herbs under ‘his’ auspices. Mars lists also contain styptic herbs for stopping hemorrhage, as well as those that promote blood flow.

As we see, these old herbal lists have never been segregated according to specific energetic action, nor organ specificity in a manner truly useful to either astrologers or herbalists. The working  result is about as useful as a cart disengaged from its horse! It seems apparent that few herbs are truly governed by only one planet! Even the lovely Rose, so beloved of Venus, possesses obvious spiny, toxic thorns - is this a little gift from her lover Mars? Realistically, the signature of Rose would be Venus-Mars. Comparative texts support my complaint - as we have already brought out, not infrequently do Culpepper and Blagrave vary in their planetary assignment of herbs.

I would promote the structuring of herbal tables by element, sign and planet, according to the herb’s dominant sympathetic energetics, and organ specificity (where relevant). Not only does this approach make sense, but it provides a realistic guide to prescribing for symptoms caused by planetary excess and deficiency. Let’s give an example as to how this might be accomplished.

Solution to “The Planetary-Herbal Mess”

Personally, I’d suggest an altogether new method for listing planetary-herbal assignments. Herbal lists should be segregated by either their sympathy or antipathy to the known qualities of specific planets (e.g. Mars). Further designations can be made by organ affinity (many herbs have multiple bodily affinities); and degrees of hot/cold; dry/moist, (e.g. hot to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th degree, etc.)

Example:

Creating a list of herbs sympathetic to Mars, and “his” intrinsic nature would be easy. Herbal candidates must be possessed of the majority of the following “Martian” qualities… at least four of the seven. Most herbs will not satisfy all the signatures of one planet.

1) hot in the 3rd or 4th degree; 2) red color somewhere; 3) rich in iron; 4) stimulant in action; 5) thorny, highly pungent or poisonous;  6) affinity for Mars-ruled functions and systems: male parts; libido; excretion; digestion; bile; anti-parasite; antibacterial; 7) stimulates excretions of waste (of any preferred time).

Obviously, our best candidate is Cayenne Pepper! Conversely, an herb that allays fever is antipathetical to Mars-nature and would not be included as “Mars-ruled” unless it satisfies a majority of the above specification. Mars-antipathetical and Mars-sympathetic herbs could also have separate “Mars” listings, depending on how the list was structured.

It is apparent that most herbs have two, or even three planetary rulers, or sign rulerships!

Factually, planet-herbal lists should never be used as an exclusive means of selecting herbal medicines. Natal planets, signs and elements, (plus and transiting planets) are best used to discern the patterns underlying disease. Physical symptoms and innate physiological type must be carefully considered. Once the disease energetics are established, the healer is supremely empowered to select the best herbs for the job!