Happy Full Moon!
Illumination as the Energy of Fennel
It’s fitting on the full moon, to focus on fennel’s energy of illumination. Although, there are many other reasons to recommend the plant. Fennel’s distinctive licorice flavor makes it versatile as both herb and vegetable. Some varieties form a bulb at the base of the stem which can be eaten raw or cooked in various ways. The stem, leaves, and tiny fruits (which are often mistaken for seeds) are all edible. Tea made from the fruits can help settle a queasy stomach and the fruits can be added to soups, stews, and cookies. Fennel is also a beautiful ornamental plant, with its delicate feathery leaves and it starburst flower heads. But what I want to focus on here is the mystical properties of fennel.
The energy of fennel is about lightness and illumination. A fennel stalk is central to one story of how humans discovered fire. In the Greek myth, Prometheus used a giant fennel stalk to carry burning embers to earth to share with humans. Prometheus had to hide his actions from the other gods as they did not want humans to have fire.
More than Light and Warmth
One of the reasons the other gods were so angry with Prometheus is that providing fire to humans not only gave them
heat and light, it created a kind of quickening – an illumination and a jump-start of intelligence. And the words “light” and “illumination” share that meaning even today. Light can mean illumating a room, but it can also mean illuminating our world.
Illumination has multiple aspects. There is the idea of lighting up our personal world, shining a clear light on challenges and problems so that we can see our path through and then out. But illumination also has an aspect of lighting up the world with ideas, compassion, love, and connection. In that aspect, illumination is a shift in energy on a large scale. We can work with both of these aspects. (And the world absolutely needs the latter.)
Mindful Focus on Illumination
Make a cup of fennel tea to begin (optional but recommended.) As you sip your tea, sit in contemplation or with a journal to capture your thoughts. And hold these questions in your heart:
- where in your personal life do you need the energy of fennel and illumination?
- how might you strengthen the light that you need?
- thinking of the need in the world for new ideas, compassion, love, and connection – where can you be of most use in shining a light?
- in what ways can you bring more light to the world?
And a reminder – you don’t have to do it all (nor can you), but you can contribute to the greater effort to bring light to the world. I love the Eleanor Roosevelt quote, “It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.”
One final thought – it is significant that Prometheus hid a few smoldering coals in the fennel stalk. He didn’t show up with a blazing torch. Humans needed to tend and fan the coals to create fire and light. We need to apply effort to bring light to the world. Where will your focus be?
Lunar Blog Post Series
This post is part of my lunar blog series. Each full moon I write about one of the plants featured in my book, Growing Mindful. Each new moon I write about a topic related to gardens, mindfulness, and spirituality. For more details and a list of past lunar blog posts, click here.
