All About Thyme: June 2024
Finding a little more green in your life
To longtime friends: All About Thyme is my monthly herb-themed newsletter, dropping into your inbox from my Substack address. To new friends: the main character in my China Bayles mystery series is an herbalist. China and I have been sharing All About Thyme for 20 years—we hope you enjoy it.
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June’s Special Days: A Potpourri of Celebrations
Herb of the Year for 2024: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Named by the International Herb Association
Birthday Flower for June: Honeysuckle
June is National Dairy Month, National Rose Month.
Week 1
June 4. National Cheese Day. May I recommend a super-easy baked brie?
June 5. Episode 2 of “A Collage to Kill For” arrives in your inbox. Look for it! Also National Gingerbread Day. (Why this doesn't take place in November or December is a mystery.)
June 6. National Gardening Exercise Day. Go for it!
June 7. In ancient Rome, the beginning of the annual festival in honor of Vesta—the goddess of hearth and home.
Week 2
June 12. National Red Rose Day.
June 14. Flag Day. Fly yours.
June 16. Father's Day. America's first national celebration: 1972.
Week 3
June 19. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery and the beginning of a challenging road to racial equality in America.
June 20: The summer solstice. The Sun enters Moon-ruled Cancer and summer begins.
June 23: St. John's Eve, originally the pagan feast of Midsummer Night. Traditionally celebrated with bonfires and fertility rituals, assimilated by the Catholic Church into a saint’s-day feast.
Week 4
June 27. National Indian Pudding Day.
June 27. National Orange Blossom Day. Brighten yours with a delectable Orange Blossom Bundt Cake.
How St. John’s Wort Got a New Name
As I’m sure you can guess, St. John’s Wort had been around for many centuries before John the Baptist came along. You may also know that the word wort (Anglo-Saxon for “plant”) emerged in the eleventh century.
Before then, this cheerful little herb was known as Hypericum. Its name was made up of two Greek words, hyper (“over”) and icon (“image”). Hypericum got this name because it was hung over images of the gods to ward off evil spirits. Another name for the same plant: Fuga daemonum (“devil's scourge”).
The idea that hypericum could protect against an invasion of dark spirits was an ancient one. In pre-Christian times, the plant was used in exorcisms. It was also an important part of the pagan rituals of the summer solstice, or Midsummer’s Eve, when bonfires marked the beginning of the sun’s descent toward the dark, forbidding winter. Hypericum’s sunshine-bright flowers were gathered with special rites. The plant was burned in the Midsummer bonfires or hung over doors and around the neck to guard against the menacing powers of darkness. When the leaves are steeped in oil, the oil turns blood red. This red oil was used both medicinally and in protection rituals.
But as Catholicism began to replace paganism, the priests began making an effort to control the seasonal fire festivals, which sometimes got a bit . . . well, rowdy. They sanctified the winter solstice by connecting it with the birth of Christ. To solemnify the summer solstice, they named it the feast day of John the Baptist. The pagan Midsummer’s Eve bonfires became the “fires of St. John” and hypericum became—naturally—St. John’s Wort.
But the idea that St. John’s Wort had the power to protect against the powers of darkness has persisted, and with good reason. A stretch of melancholy that might once have been thought “possession” might today be called “depression” and treated with St. John’s wort. In fact, the plant has become one of the most popular herbal therapies for mild depression. You can read a review of the recent research on the effectiveness of this herb in the treatment of depression and anxiety.
What I know: the sunny yellow blossoms of this hardy little plant are wonderfully cheering on a gloomy day. It’s easy to understand how it could be thought to chase out a devil or two—and cheer the Sun on its journey from the bright days of June to the darkness of December.
June’s To-Do List
If you overdid it on Garden Exercise Day, essential oils can help ease those sore muscles, reduce swelling, ease tension. Here are some suggestions.
In honor of Vesta, craft an herbal smudge stick. This useful how-to uses herbs from your garden. Sage, lavender, rosemary, mugwort, bay, and juniper are traditional smudging herbs.
Celebrate Father's Day by baking Dad's favorite cookies, Ruby Wilcox's Hot Lips Cookie Crisps. (China gets more requests for this recipe than any other!)
On Red Rose Day, consider the color red. To get technical about it, here are a few provocative facts.
Juneteenth honors African American freedom and achievement and encourages respect for all cultures. For this year's Juneteenth, enjoy an authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Easy marinade of herbs and spices produces a uniquely delicious blend of flavors.
Trace the storied history of Indian Pudding, one of America’s oldest desserts.
Thanks for reading! China and I will be back on Wednesday, June 5, with Episode 2 of her latest short story. And please, tie a string around your finger, reminding yourself to ask your librarian to put you on the waiting list for the new China Bayles mystery, Forget Me Never. Available in print, digital, audio.
Happy June Susan! So many good things in this post. I agree with you about the uplifting spirit of St. John's Wort. Even as a preschooler I was charmed by the bank of St. John's Wort that grew along our driveway. They seemed like yellow stars against their dark green leaves. Our house was a many-times over, remodeled 2-bedroom bungalow that very likely was little more than a miner's shack or something similar originally. It had a large pot-bellied oil stove in the living room that my mother had to light with little bits of paper set aflame and dropped down into 'the pot'. Each time crossing one's fingers that it would 'catch'. The house had been lived in by a very singular tall black woman who owned a good deal of land in the area and was known to have walked her property toting a rifle or shotgun. It is said that she inherited the property from a lover who was politically well known in Seattle in the early 1900's. Anyway, near the house was also one of the biggest holly trees that I have ever seen. It benefited from our septic system! There was also a rather grand patch or rhubarb that grew nearby. In reflection, I wonder about the planting of the holly tree and the St. John's Wort and who might have been wanting their protection? Without knowing any herbal history, I must say I always felt protected there. Also want to thank you for both the Orange Bunt Cake and Indian Pudding recipes! I will be giving them my best GF makeover sometime over the summer!
Re SJW, I seem to remember taking capsules some years back for ‘anxiety and mild depression’. Meant to tell you, Susan, I’ve read Forget Me Never and (as usual! Does she ever shut up??) have things to say, but I’ll hold back until more of the gang have got and read their copies. But thanks so much, you’ve helped me through a frustrating episode.