Remarkable Rosemary!

Rosemary Collage

Rosmarinus officinalis
​“Dew of the Sea"

Gender: Masculine
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire

Smelling  rosemary  prevents aging,” I explained to my class of 25 students, as I handed each of them an eight to 10 inch sprigs from my garden. All were over 50 years old in the Renaissance Institute lifelong learning program.  “It will also keep you alert and help you remember the information you learn in class.” It was my first session in a series, over a period of 6  weeks, of my Enhancing Your Life with Herbs, and rosemary was the ideal herb to introduce the course. 
Rosemary’s well documented and legendary gift of preventing aging is one of the virtues I wish I had found out years ago - maybe when I was eighteen! Since I’ve learned of this magical power, I breathe in deeply  when the plant is nearby.  
Many virtues have been associated with rosemary throughout the centuries. He is one of 500 herbs featured in Eber’s Papyrus, found in the Valley of Tombs near Luxor. The 20 meter long scroll, about the  size of a bowling alley, was written in 1500 B.C., though believed to have been copied from an earlier document. It documents its use as an herbal remedy. Sprigs have been found in Egyptian tombs dated from 3,000 B.C. 
Its medicinal uses have been documented in Greece and Rome since 500 B.C. The “herb of crowns”  is also reputed to improve memory and mental powers. 
Priests burned it as incense and it has been used as a disinfectant and strewing herb. The pungent fragrances covers up unpleasant odors and purifies the air. It has been credited with protecting people from the plague and having a clean fragrance that is purifying in a sick person’s room. Once valued for medicinal uses, it is now mostly used in cosmetics and cooking. 
Friendship and love have long been associated with rosemary. It has been used in love spells and is credited with encouraging faithfulness, so it is often used in friendship and wedding bouquets. Both Sir Thomas More and Shakespeare have commemorated rosemary’s association with friendship and remembrance in well known quotes.  
Rosemary  is often found at with funerals. My rosemary sympathy cards and comfort journals for people who have lost loved ones encourage people to find easement in sacred memories.