Angelica Archangelica, the symbol of ecstasy in the Flower language is one of the druidic sacred plants that grants its followers a sense of total peace, love, and protection.
Angelica’s name comes from the Greek “Aggelos” meaning “messenger” and “angel” and it is generally admitted that the epithet “angelica” was given by Matheus Sylvaticus, a 14th-century physician.
Tabernaemontana an early botanist and herbalist, one of the “fathers of German botany” wrote of “Angelica with its extraordinary power and virtue, as if the Holy Ghost or the dear angels had revealed this plant and wholesome root to mankind.”
According to toTabermontanus, the plant was primarily used in hospitals for infectious diseases to counteract ‘plaguey and pestilential air’ He also called it ‘poison root’ And recommended it in case of poisoning.
The name “Archangelica” was given to it by Carl Linneus, the Swedish naturalist and explorer.
During the Middle ages, it was grown in the monasteries and used in treating gastric disorders and as a remedy for afflictions of the respiratory system.
Angelica Archangelica was used also as a protector of gardens and homes to ward off spirits and all kinds of spells.
His root had been used as a protective amulet and was looked at with reverence as it was reputed to have powers against witchcraft. Ancient pagan rituals used it as a supernatural power.
It grows in shady places, preferring bottomlands and swamps. The flower in the form of an umbrella smells strongly of honey. The root contains bitter compounds and essential oils.
It grows on the 8th day of May, Saint Archangel Michael’s day and it is an herb considered under his patronage.
It is possible that it was also revealed by Archangel Michael to Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus) and it was the herb with which he helped heal all of Europe of disastrous plague.
Traditionally used for centuries in mountainous regions it is mentioned in a sacred ayurvedic text, “Chandanam Sanka” as “one of the most powerful healing agents”.
The great physician and astrologer Thomas Culpeper wrote about Angelica “some called it an herb of the Holy Ghost, others called it Angelica because of its angelical virtues”.
Culpeper ascribed that “it heals everything under the sun”.
He recommended a syrup, that can ease all the pains “and the torments coming from cold and wind so that the body is not be bound”, help diseases of the lung and shortness of breath”.
Modern scientific researches assume that Angelica’s great power (can heal even lead intoxication) is due to its substance named bergapten,, a powerful cytostatic.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica mentions, its unique power resides in a substance that was named “angelic acid”, a very antioxidative acid that can also enhance mitochondrial activity.
This acid was named after by a physician named Ludwig Andreas Buchner who synthesized it.
In 1999, Helmut Birkhan (born 1 February 1938)an Austrian philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Ancient German Language, affirmed that Angelica is an old medicinal herb and was used against evil spirits.
As healing food, the root of Angelica is largely used in Norway, where it grows and is cultivated on a large scale, mainly in the Voss area. In Norway Angelica is considered divine and named The Root of The Holy Ghost.
Here, in the 17th century, a monk was told in his dream by Archangel Gabriel that this plant could alleviate suffering. Based on this story, The College of Physicians in London developed “The King’s Majesty’s Excellent Recipe for the Plague”. They claimed it has great healing properties and can treat a very large number of diseases.
Great amounts of Angelica Roots were exported from Norway to other European countries.
Sweet to taste, the Angelica stalk can be eaten in salads.
The stalks are usually cut and in early spring eaten as a vegetable. Its beautiful honey odor recommends it for ornamenting cookies.
The roots and seeds were used in famous liqueurs such as Benedictine and Chartreuse.
As food, the root is also eaten in Greenland where they make delicious traditional recipes like Angelica root cooked in stow with rhubarb. The flowers were also eaten in omelets.
The most fascinating story that was depicted by many painters and poets was the case of a soldier who became renowned for using the Angelica Archangelis or Angelic food.
Annibal Camoux was a soldier in the army of King of France Louis XV who confessed in his diary that Angelica Archangelica was the cause of his long life.
He lived 121 years by chewing the root of this herb every day. King Louis XV even granted him a pension.
Many artists made his portrait, and even poetry was written following his inspiration.
In Lapland, the largest and northernmost region of Finland, Angelica is smoked in the same manner as tobacco.
Old texts concerning the sacred Celtic language had written Angelica’s name in Celtic language It was “lubī” or “lubā OIr lib” ‘wort, plant’ or “~ OE lybb”, “OHG, Luppi” meaning “magic remedy” and “ON hvǫnn” meaning ‘holy ghost”.
The most amazing name of Angelica is that of The Silver Bough.
A magic rod having miraculous powers appears both in the Irish poem “The Voyage of Bran” and the narrative “Cormac’s Adventure in the land of Promise”.
This narrative from sacred Celtic texts has related the adventures of Cormac who travels in the Celtic underworld, named “Tir-N-aill” with the aid of a “white silver branch” which was brought to him by a mysterious woman sent by a great God to help the hero to reach “The Plain of White Silver”, which is another name of the underworld.
The symbol of the branch appears in many other stories and every one of them tells about it as a miraculous powerful “passport” for entering a world in which there is only peace, harmony, and joy.
The interesting fact is that Angelica also was named “silver bought”.Another parchment writes that “the silver branch” is a magical power, a substance, a quality conferred by divinity to a human.
As Fraser describes in his masterpiece “The Golden Bough” (in that version Fraser proves that the “golden bough” was Mistletoe) and other ancient rites – most worthed to pay attention is “The Eleusinian Mysteries” or “Proserpine Rites” – the journey was an initiate one in which “The Golden Bough” appear to have the symbolic meaning of a “bond” between the worlds. It is offered as a tribute to Proserpine of all initiates.
This “echo” of the initiatory rite, when humans make their journey to the Underworld in full human consciousness it proves to be druidic at its origin. In it, the “Silver Branch” was the
Gift of the Celtic Fairy Queen.
In the poem “Voyage of Bran” the journey was made in a “land of joy”.
A mysterious woman comes to the hero, named Bran, handing him a branch and an incantation: “A branch of the apple tree from Email/ I bring like that one knows/Twigs of white silver are on it/Crystal brows with blossoms”.
Usually, The King of the “Land of promise” who is the Great God Manama Mac Lir of the Tuatha De Danann, Son of the Sea, launched the call through his messengers to a human who merits to become an initiate. His daughter, The Great Goddess Brigit is known as the Celtic Goddess of Healing.