One of the things I’ve done to try and connect more with the Earth is to try to plant some herbs. Traditionally, I’m not so good with plants. I tend to forget to water them, and the light in my apartment isn’t the best. But we do have a small patio in my building, so I planted some basil, oregano, rosemary, catnip, chamomile and lavender. The catnip, chamomile, and lavender were in one container, which withered and got turned over (I suspect the neighborhood outdoor cat had a hand in that one) but the other container has been growing. The oregano and rosemary have struggled a bit, but the basil took off like crazy.

I was waiting until the full moon to harvest my basil, so it went a little longer than it probably should have, and I’m absolutely terrified that I killed it by harvesting so much. (On the advice of a friend, I left four leaves on each stem; hopefully the plan will rebound.) But it was lovely and fragrant and so great to bring in herbs from my own garden. (I also took a bit of oregano to use, and a snip of rosemary for Aphrodite’s altar.)

The magical properties of basil include luck, love, money, wealth, and courage. Basil is also used for protection–place basil leaves in the corner of your house for protection, or in your car. Carry the leaves with you for luck or wealth. Basil can also be used in potions for love or wealth. You can also sprinkle basil on computers to help them work–especially useful during Mercury retrograde!

Most of my basil is hanging in my broom cupboard to dry, but I also whipped up some late summer harvest pasta to celebrate. Containing basil and garlic, it’s a good dish for courage and protection.

Ivy’s Summer Harvest Pasta

Mushrooms, sliced
Artichoke hearts, quartered (I used marinated, but only because they were on hand)
Fresh basil
Crushed garlic
Olive oil
Cream (regular or soy)
Grated cheese (I used romano because I can have sheep milk but not cow; parmesan would work too, or nutritional yeast)
Angel hair pasta

While you’re boiling water for pasta, heat the olive oil in a pan and begin sauteeing the mushrooms and artichoke hearts. About halfway through, stir in the garlic and a few torn basil leaves. You could get fancy and chop the leaves here too, if you like.

When the water boils, add the pasta for 5 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, pour the cream over the mushroom mixture and cook down, stirring. Don’t let it boil. With two minutes left (or less) throw in the cheese and stir to thicken.

Sever the mushroom sauce over the pasta and garnish with more fresh basil. Eat for courage and protection!