Grounding elements

Channel the Sun’s Vitality With These Solar Plants

Channel the Sun’s Vitality With These Solar Plants



What do the stars have in store for you this month?



Your Vedic astrological chart contains the wisdom of the ages.



Part 1: THE SUN


The sun is the center of our solar system, the light of our lives, and so plays a central role in our vitality and health. Being hot and dry, it is able to warm up and relax cold, tight tissues and promote circulation. It has an uplifting quality to our mood and can dry up dampness and clear stagnation in our tissues and in the ecosystem. We rely on the warmth of the sun to warm and incubate growth in nature, and to inspire our courage, awareness, and initiative.

Organ Systems

The organ systems traditionally associated with the sun are the heart (Leo) and arteries. The sun is also associated with the eyes, eyesight, and also to the head (Aries). Life-giving circulation is connected to the sun, as is our sense of courage and pride. Renaissance physician Nicholas Culpepper advised the nurturance of the heart “above all else” to maintain vitality and health. In the astrology chart, our sun sign is representative of our vital energy reserves, and how we need to recharge these.

Learn about the mythology associated with your sun sign!

Solar Plants

We can identify solar plants in nature by their golden yellow and orange color, resembling the heat and rays of the sun. They often have round, disc-like flowers or petals that resemble the sun itself. Solar plants tend to grow in warm, arid environments and open sunny places. Their herbal qualities tend to be hot and dry like the sun, and when applied topically or ingested they impart warming and drying qualities into the body—or have qualities that soothe an excess of these. Their effects can be physical, but also emotional, restoring joy and well-being. Solar plants tend to be useful to calm, relax, and relieve discomfort or pain.

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

Mildly hot and dry, this gentle and familiar remedy is easily identified by its round solar flowers. It warms the head, liver, and joints, promoting circulation in the body. Chamomile tea helps to purge excess heat from the system and is gentle and relaxing. Chamomile is a known anodyne, meaning it relaxes and relieves pain.


St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

This plant grows on open sunlit pastures and slopes. Its bright sunny yellow flowers, which bloom midsummer when the sun is at home in Leo, identify it as a sun plant. A prime solar plant, teas and tinctures of St. John’s wort invite warmth and circulation into the body and are effective in treating depression. St. John’s wort is also known to heal wounds and relieve pain and swelling. A solar infused oil of St. John’s wort will turn bright reddish orange, another echo of its solar identity.


Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Another solar remedy that is more moderately hot and dry, rosemary grows in dry sunny environments and has a dry quality to its leaves and branches. It brings heat and warmth to the head, and its stimulating herbal fragrance helps to improve mental clarity and memory retention. It is astringent and a known carminative, meaning it helps relieve digestive gasses and promote digestion. Rosemary oil—when diluted in a light carrier oil—is excellent for massage, it’s relaxing solar warmth is very soothing to tight, tired muscles.





Art by Debra Stapleton