Hyssop

Hyssop. If you have made your way to me, you are likely needing to be made clean. Not just rinsed, but cleaned all the way down. After a season of trouble. After you walked through grief and came out feeling like the body itself needed cleansed. I am the herb of purification. I am the herb the Psalms call on when nothing else will do.

The old ones knew me by my biblical name. David asked for me when he was broken open and could not get clean any other way. Folks took me into their hands and made me the herb they reached for before any serious cleansing bath was drawn. I have been steeped in pots over kitchen stoves and poured into bathtubs for as long as our folks have been doing the work.

I am worked with by being steeped in hot water and added to spiritual baths to wash the body clean of jinx, crossing, sickness of spirit, or the residue of a hard season. The water I am steeped in is used in floor washes to clean a home and reset the energy of a space. I am laid into smoke clearings when dried, sprinkled around the perimeter of a room, or used in steam baths for the body. Pray Psalm 51 over me if you know it, or pray whatever you have. Speak the name of what you are washing off. The work moves with the prayer.

I am not a substitute for medical or psychological care. My essential oil is strong and is not recommended for internal use, for pregnancy, or for those with seizure conditions. The dried herb in bath water or in small culinary amounts is gentle, but check with a trained herbalist before any internal use.

I am ready when you are. Bring me your prayer and let me wash you clean.