Witchy Wednesdays - Helianthus
Witchy Wednesdays - Helianthus The Sunflower, a well recognised plant due to their iconic look, the bloom is made up of many small petal-less flowers bunched together and ringed with large bright petals. The stems are thick and leafy and usually topped with a single inflorescence. These flowers can reach nine feet tall with heads up to a foot across. The are native to America but are found across Europe as well. In Aztec temples of the sun, priestesses carried sunflowers and wore them as crowns. Sunflowers can be used to extract toxins from the soil including lead, arsenic and uranium. Sunflower seeds make a great snack out of hand and are also delicious tossed on salads and baked into breads. Use sun butter in place of peanut butter and you will soon find you prefer it. SunButter is a brand of sunflower seed butter made from sunflower seeds and promoted for use by people with nut allergies. Because of its strong sun aspect, this plant is good for building a healthy ego. It is also associated with fertility on account of its numerous, prominent seeds; it is said that women who wish to conceive should eat them. To protect yourself against smallpox wear sunflower seeds around the neck, either in a bag or strung like beads. If you cut a sunflower at sunset while making a wish, the wish will come true before another sunset. Its essence helps balance the first chakra and also helps with confidence in leadership roles. Finally Sunflower oil can be used as a carrier oil for healing oils used in massages and ointments.
