Druid Herbology According to Pliny the Elder (76 CE)
Pliny First Admits Rome Has Lost Its Ancient Traditions
(May 7, 2024) Pliny says the following (Book 24, Chapter 1):
Yes, avow it we must-the Roman people, in extending its empire, has lost sight of its ancient manners, and in that we have conquered we are the conquered: for now we obey the natives of foreign lands, who by the agency of a single art have even out-generalled our generals. More, however, on this topic hereafter.
But at a later period the fraudulent disposition of mankind, combined with an ingenuity prompted by lucre, invented those various laboratories, in which each one of us is promised an extension of his life—that is, if he will pay for it. Compositions and mixtures of an in- explicable nature forthwith have their praises sung, and the productions of Arabia and India are held in unbounded admiration in the very midst of us.
For some trifling sore or other, a medicament is prescribed from the shores of the Red Sea; while not a day passes but what the real remedies are to be found upon the tables of the very poorest man among us. But if the remedies for diseases were derived from our own gardens, if the plants or shrubs were employed which grow there, there would be no art, forsooth, that would rank lower than that of medicine.
References
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History; Translated by John Bostock
Their white berries associated them with the Druid full moon and celestial light goddess Selene. When growing on the life tree represented by the oak it became especially significant because it represented the integration of the 2 classes of divine powers, the motion/emotion class with the life class. Hence a romance (kissing) which occurs under a mistletoe was thought to lead to children.
They are in the same botanical order as sandalwood.
From: https://www.britannica.com/plant/Santalales
Gaius Plinius Secundus (23/24 – 79 CE), called Pliny the Elder was a Roman author, naturalist, natural philosopher, naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias.
Among Pliny's greatest works was the twenty-volume Bella Germaniae ("The History of the German Wars"), which is no longer extant. Bella Germaniae, which began where Aufidius Bassus' Libri Belli Germanici ("The War with the Germans") left off, was used as a source by other prominent Roman historians, including Plutarch, Tacitus, and Suetonius. Tacitus may have used Bella Germaniae as the primary source for his work, De origine et situ Germanorum ("On the Origin and Situation of the Germans").
Pliny the Elder died in AD 79 in Stabiae while attempting the rescue of a friend and his family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Oak and Mistletoe
(May 7, 2024) Pliny says the following (Book 16, Chapter 95):
Upon this occasion we must not omit to mention the admiration that is lavished upon this plant by the Gauls. The Druids—for that is the name they give to their magicians (magos)— held nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree that bears it, supposing always that tree to be the robur (1). Of itself the robur is selected by them to form whole groves, and they perform none of their religious rites without employing branches of it; so much so, that it is very probable that the priests themselves may have received their name from the Greek name (2) for that tree. In fact, it is the notion with them that everything that grows on it has been sent immediately from heaven, and that the mistletoe upon it is a proof that the tree has been selected by God himself as an object of his especial favour.
The mistletoe, however, is but rarely found upon the robur; and when found, is gathered with rites replete with religious awe. This is done more particularly on the fifth day of the moon, the day which is the beginning of their months and years, as also of their ages, which, with them, are but thirty years. This day they select because the moon, though not yet in the middle of her course, has already considerable power and influence; and they call her by a name which signifies, in their language, the all-healing (3). Having made all due preparation for the sacrifice and a banquet beneath the trees, they bring thither two white bulls, the horns of which are bound then for the first time. Clad in a white robe the priest ascends the tree, and cuts the mistletoe with a golden sickle, which is received by others in a white cloak. They then immolate the victims (the mistletoe), offering up their prayers that God (the divine realm) will render this gift of his propitious to those to whom he has so granted it. It is the belief with them that the mistletoe, taken in drink, will impart fecundity to all animals that are barren, and that it is an antidote for all poisons. Such are the religious feelings which we find entertained towards trifling objects among nearly all nations.
Notes
The word "Robur" is an Indo-European word meaning "strength" similar to the Latin word "Ruber" meaning the color red which is the color of life. Consequently, the 2 concepts were interrelated in Indo-European culture. When applied to a tree it is assumed to refer to the oak tree as the "tree of life."
This is assumed to be δρῦς (DTUṢ) meaning "oak." This word is probably from the Druid-Akkadian phrase D.RW.Ṣ meaning "life-manifestation's shepherd of activity." With this meaning the oak corresponds to the power which guided the fertility fluids to earth so they could manifest life forms.
This would be the Druid-Akkadian word "asu" meaning celestial healer" as an epithet for the full moon and celestial light goddess Selu/Selene. Hence all the white things in the ritual
References
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History; Translated by John Bostock
Hyacinths are a notable springtime flower, as they are among the first perennials to blossom after winter, sometimes poking their stalks through the snow to do so. Although the genus is small, there are several species, and the one most commonly grown in gardens and found in floral arrangements is Hyacinthus orientalis.
from: https://www.petalrepublic.com/white-flowers/
Selago Plant (Druid-Akkadian meaning "Selene's Energy")
(May 7, 2024) Pliny says the following (Book 24, Chapter 62):
Similar to savin is the herb known as "selago." Care is taken to gather it without the use of iron, the right hand being passed for the purpose through the left sleeve of the tunic, as though the gatherer were in the act of committing a theft. The clothing too must be white, the feet bare and washed clean, and a sacrifice of bread and wine must be made before gathering it: it is carried also in a new napkin. The Druids of Gaul have pretended that this plant should be carried about the person as a preservative against accidents of all kinds, and that the smoke of it is extremely good for all maladies of the eyes.
Comment:
Selago is from the Druid-Akkadian phrase SL.G or Seku.Gi meaning "Selu/Selene's Energy. While its identification is uncertain it is likely the Hyacinthus.
References
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History; Translated by John Bostock
Samolus valerandi is also known as Brooklime, Cow Cress, and Horse Crest. The leaves were once cultivated for their bitter flavoring.
Brooklime is a fleshy, succulent herb that grows in the wet margins of brooks, streams and ditches, and also in very damp soil. It is in bloom between May and September, producing spikes of bright blue flowers, but its leaves can persist all year-round. It is an ideal plant for wildlife pond margins as it is easy to control and provides cover for tadpoles and sticklebacks.
Samolus Plant (Druid-Akkadian Meaning "Su's Counterbalance for Activity")
(May 7, 2024) Pliny says the following (Book 24, Chapter 63):
The Druids, also, have given the name of "samolus" to a certain plant which grows in humid localities. This too, they say, must be gathered fasting with the left hand, as a preservative against the maladies to which swine and cattle are subject. The person, too, who gathers it must be careful not to look behind him, nor must it be laid anywhere but in the troughs from which the cattle drink.
Comment
The word "samolus" is from the Druid-Akkadian phrase: S.ML.Ṣ meaniong "Su's counterbalance for activity." As such this plant will inhibit any unwanted motion/emotion affects, especially those from the astrological night sky.
References
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History; Translated by John Bostock
Catching a Breeding Ball of Snakes in Germany
The grass snake (Natrix natrix), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.
In defense, they can produce a garlic-smelling fluid from the anal glands, and feign death (thanatosis) by becoming completely limp[7] when they may also secrete blood (autohemorrhaging) from the mouth and nose. They may also perform an aggressive display in defense, hissing and striking without opening the mouth. They rarely bite in defense and lack venomous fangs.
In the Baltic mythology, the grass snake (Lithuanian: žaltys, Latvian: zalktis) is seen as a sacred animal. It was frequently kept as a pet, living under a married couple's bed or in a special place near the hearth. Supposedly, snakes ate food given to them by hand.
After the Christianization of Lithuania and Latvia, the grass snake still retained some mythological significance. In spite of the serpent's symbolic meaning as a symbol of evil in Christianity, in Latvia and Lithuania there were various folk beliefs, dating even to the late 19th century, that killing grass snakes might bring grave misfortune or that an injured snake will take revenge on the offender. The ancient Baltic belief of grass snakes as household spirits transformed into a belief that there is a snake (known or not to the inhabitants) living under every house; if it leaves, the house will burn down. Common Latvian folk sayings include "who kills a grass snake, kills his happiness" and "when the Saulė sees a dead grass snake, she cries for 9 days".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_snake
Grass snake eggs after hatching. This photo was taken in Denmark.
Snake Eggs and Grass Snake Musk (Anguinum)
(May 8, 2024) Pliny says the following (Book 29, Chapter 12):
In addition to the above, there is another kind of egg, held in high renown by the people of the Gallic provinces, but totally omitted by the Greek writers.
In summer time, numberless snakes become artificially entwined together, and form rings around their bodies with the viscous slime which exudes from their mouths, and with the foam secreted by them: the name given to this substance is "anguinum."
The Druids tell us, that the serpents eject these eggs into the air by their hissing, and that a person must be ready to catch them in a cloak, so as not to let them touch the ground; they say also that he must instantly take to flight on horseback, as the serpents will be sure to pursue him, until some intervening river has placed a barrier between them. The test of its genuineness, they say, is its floating against the current of a stream, even though it be set in gold. But, as it is the way with magicians to be dexterous and cunning in casting a veil about their frauds, they pretend that these eggs can only be taken on a certain day of the moon; as though, forsooth, it depended entirely upon the human will to make the moon and the serpents accord as to the moment of this operation.
I myself, however, have seen one of these eggs: it was round, and about as large as an apple of moderate size; the shell of it was formed of a cartilaginous substance, and it was surrounded with numerous cupules, as it were, resembling those upon the arms of the polypus: it is held in high estimation among the Druids. The possession of it is marvellously vaunted as ensuring success in law-suits, and a favourable reception with princes; a notion which has been so far belied, that a Roman of equestrian rank, a native of the territory of the Vocontii, who, during a trial, had one of these eggs in his bosom, was slain by the late Emperor Tiberius, and for no other reason, that I know of, but because he was in possession of it.
It is this entwining of serpents with one another, and the fruitful results of this unison, that seem to me to have given rise to the usage among foreign nations, of surrounding the caduceus with representations of serpents, as so many symbols of peace-it must be remembered, too, that on the caduceus, serpents are never represented as having crests.
Comment
The information coming to Pliny mixes the egg laying with the mating ball with a method for extracting the snake musk (tossing snakes up on down on a sheet).
The word "anguinum" seems to be a Latin word for the snake musk.
References
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History; Translated by John Bostock