Dria El
June 21st, 2001, 06:46 AM
Anise
(Pimpinella anisum)
Folk Names: Anneys, Aniseseed, Yanisin, Sweet Cummin, Anason, Anis, Anasur,
Anisu
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Jupiter
Element: Air
Powers: Protection, purification, youth
Online Reference: <A HREF="http://www.rain-tree.com/anise.htm">Database
Entry for Anise - Pimpinella anisum</A>
Text references: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Scott Cunningham) & Growing and using the Healing Herbs (Gaea & Shandor Weiss)
Plant information & uses: Because it is gentle, safe,and delicious, anise is a very good addition to the herb garden. The ancient Egyptians cultivated anise, as did the Greeks and Romans. The Romans made an anise laced cake, a fore-runner of our modern wedding cake. This mustaceum was a delicious way to end a long feast, and the digestion aiding properties of the anise seed in it balanced the otherwise rich ingredients. Anise leaves and stalks are an ancient salad herb, popular even today in France and Italy. They have a sweet, licorice-like taste and are delicious served fresh, or steamed and suateed with a bit of olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice.
Sweet anise with its succulent, hollow stalk, and feathery, fernlike leaves is a member of the Umbellifer family. Displayed against its vibrant light green foliage are the plants white flowers in the umbrella like shape characiteristic of the group, which also includes, angelica, coriander, and fennel. Anise has a perennial root except in cold climates, where the plant is an annual herb. It grows from 11/2 to 2 feet tall in moist, fairly rich soil and fall sun.
Plant anise seeds when the danger of frost is over and cover with about 1/8 inch of topsoil. The seeds will germinate in 7 to 14 days, depending on the air and soil temperature. Because it has a long taproot, anise can only be transplanted in the seedling stage. By late summer, the plants will be ready for harvest, although you can gather small amounts of the feathery leaves before then.
Anise's healing propertires emanate from its seeds. Gather the seeds when they have turned from green to grayish brown. Cut the entire umbel along with a legth of stalk when the seeds are ripe. Then hang the anise stalks with thier seed clusters upside down in a paper bag.
Medicianally, sweet anise has warming and moistening properties. It is also slightly diuretic and has been used traditionally in European herbal medicine to treat flatulence and indegestion, to sweeten the breath, and to increase mothers milk. Mildly expectorant and helpful in the releif of cough and congestion symptoms, anise appears frequently as a flavoring and active ingredient in cough syrup and lozenges.
Star anise is the start-shaped pod of a tree (Illicium anisatum or Illicium verum), and in Chinese medicine enjoys some of the same uses as sweet anise does in European medicine. The star anise tree is native to China but also grows in Japan and North Vietnam. Star anise is a tender evergreen tree or shrub which grows up to 18 feet in hieght. It has alternate, shiny, aromatic leaves, and yellow, unscented flowers with many petals which appear in solitary fashion. These are followed by the star-like fruit, with eight rays, each containing a shiny, flat, oblong seed. The star-shaped fruits are collected when they are green and then sun-dried until they become woody and reddish brown. The star anise tree was imported to Central America, and now it grows wild in Yucatan, Mexico, and Costa Rica. The tree likes well-drained, fairly rich soil, and adequate moisture. It can be grown in climates where the temperature does not drop below freezing. Gerdeners in colder areas can cultivate it indoors or in a greenhouse.
Star anise is found in many recipes traditional to Chinese and japanese cuisine and medicine. Unlike sweet anise, the star anise has wrming and drying qualities. The Chinese often chew on a ray of star anise after meals to sweeten the breath and releive flatulence. Japanese poeple plant the tree in temple courtyards and pound its bark to make one of the ingredients for thier temple inscense.
Magical uses: Fill a small pillowcase with anise seeds and sleep on it. This will ensure that you have no nightmares. Use in protection and meditation incenses. Fresh anise leaves placed in a room will drive off evil, and they are sometimes placed around the magic circle to protect the magician from evil spirits. It also averts the evil eye.
Anise seed is also used in purification baths, especially with bay leaves. It is used to call forth spirits to aid in magical opwerations, and a sprig hung on the bedpost will restore lost youth.
WARNINGS: Anise is an Abortifacient (meaning:an agent (as a drug) that induces abortion). As such it should NOT be taken internally in any circumstances by pregnant women, or those who THINK they might be pregnant. As with all drugs & herbs consult a suitable resource & professional before any type of internal use, or use on open sores & wounds.
(Pimpinella anisum)
Folk Names: Anneys, Aniseseed, Yanisin, Sweet Cummin, Anason, Anis, Anasur,
Anisu
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Jupiter
Element: Air
Powers: Protection, purification, youth
Online Reference: <A HREF="http://www.rain-tree.com/anise.htm">Database
Entry for Anise - Pimpinella anisum</A>
Text references: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Scott Cunningham) & Growing and using the Healing Herbs (Gaea & Shandor Weiss)
Plant information & uses: Because it is gentle, safe,and delicious, anise is a very good addition to the herb garden. The ancient Egyptians cultivated anise, as did the Greeks and Romans. The Romans made an anise laced cake, a fore-runner of our modern wedding cake. This mustaceum was a delicious way to end a long feast, and the digestion aiding properties of the anise seed in it balanced the otherwise rich ingredients. Anise leaves and stalks are an ancient salad herb, popular even today in France and Italy. They have a sweet, licorice-like taste and are delicious served fresh, or steamed and suateed with a bit of olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice.
Sweet anise with its succulent, hollow stalk, and feathery, fernlike leaves is a member of the Umbellifer family. Displayed against its vibrant light green foliage are the plants white flowers in the umbrella like shape characiteristic of the group, which also includes, angelica, coriander, and fennel. Anise has a perennial root except in cold climates, where the plant is an annual herb. It grows from 11/2 to 2 feet tall in moist, fairly rich soil and fall sun.
Plant anise seeds when the danger of frost is over and cover with about 1/8 inch of topsoil. The seeds will germinate in 7 to 14 days, depending on the air and soil temperature. Because it has a long taproot, anise can only be transplanted in the seedling stage. By late summer, the plants will be ready for harvest, although you can gather small amounts of the feathery leaves before then.
Anise's healing propertires emanate from its seeds. Gather the seeds when they have turned from green to grayish brown. Cut the entire umbel along with a legth of stalk when the seeds are ripe. Then hang the anise stalks with thier seed clusters upside down in a paper bag.
Medicianally, sweet anise has warming and moistening properties. It is also slightly diuretic and has been used traditionally in European herbal medicine to treat flatulence and indegestion, to sweeten the breath, and to increase mothers milk. Mildly expectorant and helpful in the releif of cough and congestion symptoms, anise appears frequently as a flavoring and active ingredient in cough syrup and lozenges.
Star anise is the start-shaped pod of a tree (Illicium anisatum or Illicium verum), and in Chinese medicine enjoys some of the same uses as sweet anise does in European medicine. The star anise tree is native to China but also grows in Japan and North Vietnam. Star anise is a tender evergreen tree or shrub which grows up to 18 feet in hieght. It has alternate, shiny, aromatic leaves, and yellow, unscented flowers with many petals which appear in solitary fashion. These are followed by the star-like fruit, with eight rays, each containing a shiny, flat, oblong seed. The star-shaped fruits are collected when they are green and then sun-dried until they become woody and reddish brown. The star anise tree was imported to Central America, and now it grows wild in Yucatan, Mexico, and Costa Rica. The tree likes well-drained, fairly rich soil, and adequate moisture. It can be grown in climates where the temperature does not drop below freezing. Gerdeners in colder areas can cultivate it indoors or in a greenhouse.
Star anise is found in many recipes traditional to Chinese and japanese cuisine and medicine. Unlike sweet anise, the star anise has wrming and drying qualities. The Chinese often chew on a ray of star anise after meals to sweeten the breath and releive flatulence. Japanese poeple plant the tree in temple courtyards and pound its bark to make one of the ingredients for thier temple inscense.
Magical uses: Fill a small pillowcase with anise seeds and sleep on it. This will ensure that you have no nightmares. Use in protection and meditation incenses. Fresh anise leaves placed in a room will drive off evil, and they are sometimes placed around the magic circle to protect the magician from evil spirits. It also averts the evil eye.
Anise seed is also used in purification baths, especially with bay leaves. It is used to call forth spirits to aid in magical opwerations, and a sprig hung on the bedpost will restore lost youth.
WARNINGS: Anise is an Abortifacient (meaning:an agent (as a drug) that induces abortion). As such it should NOT be taken internally in any circumstances by pregnant women, or those who THINK they might be pregnant. As with all drugs & herbs consult a suitable resource & professional before any type of internal use, or use on open sores & wounds.