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Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
For once she was a true love of mine.
 So
begins the old Simon and Garfunkel song "Scarborough
Fair," borrowed from the Elizabethans, and a
fine lot they were. For what seems on the surface
to be a perfectly innocent folk song turns out to
be riddle of devilish complexity. Nevertheless, we
as herbalists are in a prime position to figure it
out. (For the full text of the song, click here.)
Let's reconstruct: First, the hero of
the song gets a third party to take a lengthy message
to his ex-lover who lives in another town. In this
message, he instructs her to perform 5 impossible
tasks as prerequisites to getting him back. It's everything
from sewing a shirt with no seams to finding him some
land between the sand and the sea. So much for the
idea that this is a straight-ahead love song. Have
her make me a cambric shirt, indeed. Does he love
her, or is he kissing her off?
Pondering this question, the modern
herbalist noticed that in between all this dictatorial
preaching was the refrain 'parsley, sage, rosemary,
and thyme.' Aha, perhaps there is the clue to his
meaning. Here's how the song ends:
If she tells me she can't, I'll reply,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Let me know that at least she will try,
And then she'll be a true love of mine.
Love imposes impossible tasks,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Though not more than any heart asks,
And I must know she's a true love of mine.
Dear, when thou hast finished thy
task,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Come to me, my hand for to ask,
For then thou art a true love of mine.
In short, iit seems like all she has
to do if she wants him back is perform a few garden
variety, herculean tasks of the sort usually doled
out by Zeus or unusually mean witches. Begging the
question of why she's in Scarborough Fair to begin
with if she likes him even a little bit.
Looking deep into the magical lore currently
available on the Internet, the modern herbalist discovered
much about parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme that
she did not previously know.
For instance,
- Thyme: Girls once used thyme sprigs in ceremonies
to discover the identity of their true loves. A
more upscale lady of Medieval times would embroider
a flowering thyme sprig along with a visiting bee
as a token to be given to a favored knight. A woman
wearing thyme was once held to be irresistable.
- Sage: Sage was once used to help childless couples
conceive, and is associated with wisdom and longevity
in plant lore. It was also used magically to honor
weddings and to ensure domestic harmony.
- Rosemary: Was once held to represent love and
faithfulness. The plant was used in wedding ceremonies
in place of rings as a sign of fidelity, and carried
by newlyweds and wedding guests as a charm for fertility.
But it also has the meaning of remembrance, as Shakespeare
noted in Hamlet 'there's rosemary for remembrance.'
Often used in love potions, it is also said to attract
elves.
- Parsley: It was once believed that only witches
and pregnant women could grow this herb--Sow parsley,
sow babes, was an old expression. The herb has been
associated with witchcraft in England and also with
death since ancient times. But more importantly,
it is said to provoke lust and love.
So given this new information, one might perhaps
construct a scenario such as the following:
Our hero has been dumped by Scarborough Fair. She
is no longer interested in him, and has in fact left
him for another. Our hero is in denial of these basic
facts and when he hears that his best friend is coincidentally
going to see Scarborough Fair, he gives him a message
to pass on to her. He tells her that her chances of
getting him back are nill unless she can prove her
love for him by doing impossible tasks. Of course
she can't prove her love, not on these terms, but
this fact is lost on our hero.
Or maybe not. He also passes along a little metaphorical
token of his feelings in the form of the bouquet:
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Keeping in mind
the available lore, here is one possible translation:
- Thyme: I'm yours.
- Sage: I'm dependable.
- Rosemary: Remember me.
- Parsley: I want to make babies with you.
Ok, we get it now. This is no ordinary
posy, this is love magic.
Here's where he's at: he knows she's
in love with someone else, and there's no way of getting
her back. But he's still in love with her, and he's
also bitter that she left him. Does he want her back?
You bet. Does he think he has a snowball's chance
in hell of doing so? No way. So he decides to send
her a double-edged message. On the one hand, it's
a kiss off. Prove your love and then maybe I'll marry
you. Oops, you can't prove your love. This saves him
in the event that she really doesn't want anything
to do with him. On the other hand, it's also leaving
the door open: Let me know that at least she will
try, And then she'll be a true love of mine. There
he's letting her off easy.
Which brings us to the third party.
Who is this middle man, anyway? Can he be trusted?
How do we know that it isn't the messenger who is
alienating her affections? And of course we have no
way of knowing how our heroine in absentia is going
to take this strange message. Given the times, she
probably has a good laugh, in bed with her lover like
a character out of a French epistolary novel. But
anything is possible. The herbs do not speak of her.
Or more accurately, the herbs are her, or at
least a reflection of who our hero wants her to be.
Will he get her back? I guess it depends on whether
or not he picked the right herbs--or the right woman.
Not all love stories need be this twisted.
In honor of the season, we present a small collection
of love philtres and potions for your non-profit,
fully disclaimed use on the love object of your choice:
 Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Assorted herbs and doodads
A sense of humor
Take a piece of the plant vervain into
your mouth and kiss the one you desire, while saying
these words: 'Pax tibi sum sensum conterit in amore
me.' I leave it to you to decipher the Latin, as well
as exactly when one should recite the verse while
kissing your unsuspecting beloved.
Use a circle of cloth in a love color,
such as pink or red. Fill it with scented, romantic
herbs and flowers such as rose buds, jasmine, lavender,
lemon verbena, and even some of the spicy herbs such
as cinnamon and anise. Add a red felt heart and a
copper coin, and tie the bag together with a piece
of blue floss or thread, using seven knots. Carry
this charm with you to draw love your way. [courtesy
of Starhawk]
First, brew a good pot of tea using
the four essential herbs for drawing good, complex,
cosmic love to yourself. These would be parsley, sage,
rosemary and thyme, which you can even buy fresh at
most organic groceries. Dried is good too. Put equal
parts of all four into your tea, and feel free to
embellish with rose buds, spices, and the like for
romantic oomph. Set your pot to steep.
Take a nice bath, with candles and bath
salts. Light incense. Revel in your wet nakedness
for a while (but not too much -- you still have a
ritual to perform). Put on a sexy, goddess-evoking
robe and have a seat somewhere comfortable. Make sure
your tea is at hand, along with spoon and honey, as
well as any snack items that might need to be consumed.
Finally, light a candle of the color
that represents your desired lover. Is he hot? Make
it red. Is he cool? Make it blue. You'll know the
right color to use. And finally, visualize. This will
be difficult for some of you, no doubt, but try...
Ok, you've done the magic part. Now drink your tea
(or magic formula in this case) and eat your snack.
Thank the powers that be.
Happy St. Valentines Day, everyone!
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Herbalist
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