Marigolds inspire me because of their beauty, their scent, and because they are a traditional sacred offering for blessing and fresh beginnings.
There are two plants commonly called marigold. Both are in the Asteraceae family (daisy family).
Beyond food and medicine for your body, plants can also be food and medicine for your soul. Their scent, life cycles, color, and beauty all contribute to their magic and power.
Marigolds (both kinds Calendula (aka Pot Marigold/Jin Zhan Ju) and Tagetes spp. (aka Garden Marigold) are edible. Calendula has a slightly peppery flavor and Tagetes marigolds are slightly bitter and a bit savory.
Pot Marigold/Calendula/Jin Zhan Ju is famous for helping to heal injuries and tissues. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is known to Move and Tonify Blood. It is said to Calm the Heart, and your soul or consciousness, is identified with the Heart making marigold a flower for your soul.
Marigold (Tagetes spp.) is grown in gardens for their beauty and ability to attract bees and other beneficial insects while protecting nearby plants from aphids and other harmful pests.
Of great importance is their use as sacred offerings in Hindu, Buddhist, Aztec, and other sacred traditions. They are sacred to the Virgin Mary, hence their English name of marigold.
Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) have become so associated with Indian festivals, you may have thought they were native to India, they are not. They were introduced there around 350 years ago. They are in fact native to Mexico, where among other uses they are baked into pan de muerto (bread of the dead) as a common offering on the Day of the Dead. The Aztecs used the oils in the flowers as medicine.
They are linked to the strength of the sun and are symbol of power and the light that lives inside each person. Marigolds are an inspiration!
To make an offering with marigolds is a sign of respect and surrender. A way to mark a new beginning and fresh start. In the same way we cut a flower, ending its life, the flower becomes a symbol of our offering our lives and light to a larger connected whole and something greater that is beyond this physical realm. I like to grow them and leave them at the feet of a Buddha and Virgin Mary statue that I keep. One in my garden, the other in my kitchen. They make me smile and feel connected to the sacred.
To go beyond the physical is to begin to open yourself up to True Health. The kind of health and wellbeing that does not rely upon any conditions or “other”, but rests simply in being. The kind of health that integrates, but is not hindered, by physical conditions.
Each day in March, I am sharing an aspect of True Health that inspires me, #WRITrueHealthInspiration. Thank you for joining me on this journey!
