St John’s Wort

St John's Wort is a midsummer plant, it blooms around St John's Day (24th June). It belongs to the family of rock-rose plants and grows at pathsides, in clearings, on fallow meadows as well as in gravel pits. Its striking features are the stability of the stem, the light affinity of the flowers, the "perforated" oval leaves and the red dye contained within it.

St John's Wort flowers appear like left- and right-turning windmills. The family name rock-rose already says a lot. Even in the snow of winter, the rigid, withered stems of St John's Wort stand at the roadside and awaken wistful memories of past summer days. The stem is firm and two-edged (a rarity in the plant kingdom) and grows upright with a slight spiral twist and a gentle upward curve (like a spine) towards the light.

The numerous, crosswise opposite, more or less straight lateral branches are slanted upwards, so that two side branches each form an equilateral triangle standing on its point and open upwards. Like a figure whose arms are extended upwards in a receiving manner. Letting this framework of stem and side branches affect our mind, we have an image of stability and balance. A scale that is in equilibrium.

Precisely because in the framework we find a high order, but no perfect straightness and symmetry. Everything is slightly twisted and bent and thus expresses the principle of stability in nature. Why? There is a wise plan in nature, and everything is arranged according to a certain order.

In living nature we find symmetries, numerical regularities, cycles, harmonic patterns, rhythms, yet they are never mathematically perfect. Mathematical perfection belongs to the realm of the mineral, of crystals. In the realm of the living, absolute order means rigidity and death. It is known, for example, that patients shortly before a heart attack have a heart rhythm whose phases are absolutely synchronous.

A rigid system can no longer be regulated and collapses at the slightest disturbance. The golden-yellow petals of St John's Wort are radially symmetrical, spread out in one plane like little sun discs. From above, it is noticeable how they are twisted from the inside outwards.

The St John's Wort flowers have a distinct direction of rotation and resemble small windmills. In which direction does the rotation run? We find approximately equal numbers of right- and left-turning flowers – and this is an exception in the plant kingdom. There are other flowers that also have a direction of rotation, but it always goes in the same direction.

Oleander flowers, for example, always rotate to the right and evergreen flowers always to the left. If there is a balance between right and left, this indicates a "standing in the middle". At St John's time, the transition takes place from the constructive part of the year (symbolised by right rotation) to the destructive part of the year (symbolised by left rotation). St John's Wort blooms not by chance in the middle of the year (other plants also bloom at this time) but because this belongs to its innermost essence.

Then, when the days are longest, the light forces most intense, Hypericum unfolds its sun-like flowers and seems to absorb their light energy like wheels (compare chakras). The abundance of light forces is impressively expressed in the very numerous stamens and anthers, which radiate like sparks from the flower disc. The speckled translucent leaves give the name. The harmoniously shaped, oval and stalkless leaves appear as if punctured with holes (hence the name addition perforatum).

In reality, these are the translucent cells of secretory cavities. There is a direct connection here between the signature and the specific effect of St John's Wort in puncture wounds. This also has a psychological dimension, as St John's Wort can also be used for emotional injuries. When crushing the flowers or buds between the fingers, a blood-red dye emerges.

This substance group is the hypericins. The Hypericum mother tincture or the St John's oil are also deep red. Red is the colour of activity and willpower. Through this abundant dye, St John's Wort expresses that the assimilated light forces can be transformed into willpower.