Monkshood : Aconitum napellus
~Unity of Mind~
Also known as Wolfsbane or Aconite, Monkshood flower essence connects us with the multiple realms and beings that we are entangled with and creates resonance and rhythmic entrainment between us. It is a potent essence for those who want to actualize their leadership abilities in a way that is collaborative and beneficial to everyone involved. Monkshood essence helps us to become aware of the polyphonic nature of life, or the way that many voices, sounds, beings, narratives, activities, and thoughts, can be expressed simultaneously in a way that creates unity without homogenizing diversity.
Monkshood is a poisonous plant well known for its use by witches in flying ointments and other entheogenic preparations. It is native to Central and Western Europe and has a long history of use as a poison and is one of the plants in the garden of Hecate where her followers cultivated the plants needed for “flying.”
It’s common name, Wolfsbane, comes from its use as a poison placed at the tip of the hunter’s arrow to kill wolves. This use points to its ability to create “one-mindedness.” Hunters are required to direct all of their energy, their physical tension, their sight, their intention, and confidence completely into the pulling back of the bow and the pointing of the arrow in order to hit their mark. All aspects of self must be attuned.
The message that I received from Monkshood was from the bees. The queen bee and worker bees are not separate, the worker bees do not “work” for the benefit of the queen, they are the queen. The bees work as one consciousness with no separation between their minds. There is no hierarchy except in a logistical manner whereby the queen plays a role to the benefit of the entire hive and the proliferation of their species.
The name “Monkshood” comes from the way that the sepal covers the rest of the flower like a hood resembling the monastic cowl worn by monks. This also indicates that the plant has an effect on the brain, head, and cerebral function. Monkshood brings the mind into every cell, and the brain in service of the body instead of vice versa as if often thought in a world that has been conditioned by the narrative of the mind/body split.
Monkshood is a highly poisonous plant and can only be taken safely as a flower essence.
Dosage: This is a stock bottle so can be taken directly by the drop; 1-3 drops under the tongue or in water 2-3x per day or as desired. It can also be used to make a dosage bottle if that is a practice you're familiar with.
This essence is a “stock” bottle. A stock bottle is a dilution of the original “mother” essence made by taking 7 drops of the mother and putting it into a 60:40 ratio of spring water to alcohol and potentizing it by shaking. This stock bottle can be further diluted into a dosage bottle by taking 3 drops of the stock essence and putting it into 1/2 ounce of spring water.
Ingredients: Monkshood flowers in Spring water and Brandy