Perhaps the first flower I noticed growing wild in Ireland was foxglove. Its magenta bells call your eye, but as it wasn’t particularly new or exotic to me, I didn’t give it much notice. But I did keep seeing it everywhere I went. Sides of roads, in the woods, almost everywhere.
I was walking in Kilbarry Forest near Fermoy in County Cork when the foxgloves persisted and seemed to be ready to have essence collected. I knew right off the bat that they were steeped in fairy magic, but I was so curious to learn a bit more. They stood very tall, as if they could survey all the land around and be sure to get your attention.
As I was collecting their essence in the woods, it dawned on me that rather than attuning in my usual way, I would come home to where I was staying and connect with the spirit of the plant in a different manner. So that’s exactly what I did. But first, research.
My initial research told me:
Foxgloves have been used to treat many conditions, but are a special heart medicine: they contains cardiac glycosides which can “steady rapid heartbeats and arrythmias in small doses” but can also be used as a poison because they are also toxic.
There are countless other names for foxgloves, each related to a myth, legend, or folktale. Many involve fairies or animals.
Van Gogh is thought to have been effected by “xanthopsia, a condition that modifies colour perception, causing objects to appear yellowish or green and producing blue halos around light sources” after being prescribed digitalis, the compound found in foxglove, by a doctor whom he painted twice holding a stem of foxglove.
And looking into foxglove’s signatures (via my favorite book The Language of Plants by Julia Graves), I found:
It has what is known as a “rhythmic signature” meaning as it grows, expansion and contraction alternate, creating an energetic signature that is rhythmic like breathing or a heart beat. Plants with such signatures are good for heart, lungs, and uterus.
Their spots indicate the presence of the fae, as they’re said to be left by the fingers of the elves or fairies. The spots also indicate toxicity.
Their bottom flowers open first, indicating a yang quality.
Magenta color indicates a stimulation of consciousness relating to our physical world, as it combines purple (our highest consciousness, cosmos) with red (our physical presence, earth).
Blooms are bell-shaped, having to do with infusion of soul into the body, the process of incarnation. They both collect and release energy, and since they hang down towards the ground, signify a flow of energy down in the body.
