Calendula & Marigold: Discovering the Physical and Spiritual Benefits of These Healing Blooms

Calendula 

In Europe Calendula had been called Marigold for thousands of years, and then when the

Spanish brought Marigold seeds that they had taken from the Aztecs, Calendula started being referred to as Pot-Marigold. The name Marigold itself, evolved due to its sacred connection to the Virgin Mary- Mary’s gold, however in Latin the name would translate to bitter or rebellious gold- precious metal. Precious, she is indeed! While the two plants are both in the Daisy family( Asteraceae) and do have some similarities, they have different medicinal as well as spiritual properties.
Calendula
Calendula Officinalis~Pot Marigold
Hailing from Central Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Iran, her name in Latin derives from the word Calendae~meaning first day of the month, or even farther broken down Calea~meaning warmth, flower heat. Her blooms are bright yellow to orange with a definitive center, where long petals stretch out from, she is similar in appearance to the daisy flower in that way. Calendula blooms cyclically every month( all year, in warmer climates) ; she also opens up in the morning sun and closes when the sun fades from the sky. The Pot-Marigolds’ deep, rich color has been used for dying fabrics, and coloring foods in place of Saffron. Her flowers are edible and nutritious, and known to encourage healthy eyesight.
An amazing ally for the skin, she is a wound healer and soother. This is mild medicine that can be used for children, even babies. She can stimulate the uterus when taken internally though, so she is not indicated for use during pregnancy. The energetic qualities of this herb are spicy, bitter, neutral-cooling, the cooling part is unusual since her planetary influence is that of the sun, her element fire.
Calendulas Medicinal properties give her the ability to help with:

​~Topically~ rashes fungal infections burns prevention of scars diaper rash sunburn dry, cracked skin sores cuts bruises herpes shingles

~Internally~candida infections cervical irritation delayed and irregular menstruation
liver issues healing of old inflammation ulcers gastritis colds and flu lymphatic congestion

~Spiritually, Calendula can be a beautiful ally as well. Working with her can be helpful when you need:
a boost of brightness in your life clarity to listen to hear a message, not just to listen to respond better communication a renewed sense of how you deal with the world around you ease when healing and
growing to work on your warmth and receptivity

I personally like to work with Calendula during Beltane and Samhain. Before the Marigold
that we know as Marigold today came to Europe, the ancient Druids and Pagans had never seen today's Marigold. I find that Calendula has strong protective qualities. She can allow us to be a great communicator so she facilitates our ability to reach out to the unseen( but felt) realms as well as teaching us to listen. She creates a space for us to be able to show reverence for those we have lost with a sense of warmth and ease. She closes her petals in the evening and catches the nighttime dew, and when she opens up again in the morning she weeps, I see this as a message that in order to experience the light and warmth of the sun, we must let go of what we hold onto in the darkness

Marigold

Tagetes Erecta~Cempoalxóchitl(sempa-soo-cheel)
Aztec Marigold is sometimes called African Marigold, but these plants are Native to Mexico and Guatemala, where they grow in the wild. The Ancient Meso-American civilizations like the Aztecs, Mayans and Toltecs revered the Marigold as medicine and as a sacred plant. Like Calendula she can be used to dye fabrics and foods and is edible. In modern Mexico she is integral to their Day of the Dead celebrations. Her pungent aroma guides the spirits of the dearly beloved back to the earthly realm to visit, and her bright orange and yellow colors invoke a connection to the sun; the bearer of warmth and of life. Marigolds keep pests, both above and below ground, at bay-interestingly this could apply to both physical pests and spirits that mean harm. The energetic qualities of Tagetes are pungent, bitter, astringent with planetary influences from the Sun and the sign of Leo.

Cempoalxótchitl can be called upon medicinally for a variety of conditions:

• degenerative eye diseases sore eyes
• stomach upset ulcers low platelet and white blood cell count reduction of bleeding and reduced clotting time cancer prevention fungal infection parasitic infection diabetes
• wound healing fevers bacterial infection
• liver inflammation skin aging reduce inflammation reduce cytokines soothing of the nervous system

The oils of this plant are also helpful to:

• repel mosquitos: it produces naturally derived herbicides, larvicides, and pesticides, reducing the use of manmade chemical agents

Spiritually speaking, the Marigold( Tagetes) is beautiful to work with for support in the following ways:

• building a bridge to connect to your ancestors
• uplifting your mood warming your spirit, when you are feeling disconnected protection from less desirable energies bringing healing allowing oneself to let go of the connection to the people and things that bind us, while keeping the connection to how those experiences served us and shaped us while it was necessary to do so
• Absolutely a lovely companion for shadow work. Because we do not need to be fixed, but we need to learn to welcome all parts of ourselves, past, present and future.. the Marigold holds that welcoming and that surrender so that we may do just that

​This post was written by Debra Romano, a Herbs Love And Yoga Apprentice.