Hades, lord of the underworld and brother to Zeus, longed for a wife and was becoming more and more frustrated as every woman he asked refused to go into the dark underworld where there was no growth, no flowers, none of the beautiful life that abounded on the surface. Zeus, seeing his brother’s plight, called into being a magenta and silver narcissus (the sacred magenta color of menstrual blood and silver color of the moon). The flower was so beautiful no woman would be able to resist coming closer once they saw it.
On sunny days when Persephone was not busy with her duties of tending to spring, she could be found with her sisters, care-free and happy, picking flowers on the fields of Sicily. Persephone wandered through the fields of flowers laughing with joy, picking flowers that especially caught her eye. When Persephone wandered past the magenta and silver narcissus, she was awe struck. She had never seen anything so beautiful. She swept toward it as the narcissus’s fragrance enveloped her.
Instantly, the ground began to rumble, the earth fell, and in shock, Persephone watched Hades ride out of a chasm driving his coal black horses. Hades grabbed Persephone and plunged down into the chasm from which he came, into the black depths of the underworld. The earth’s surface closed over them choking off Persephone’s screams.
Demeter, who had been away from Sicily when Hades kidnapped Persephone, had no idea what had become of her daughter. For nine days and nights Demeter (carrying a lighted torch, an ancient symbol of anger) combed the earth and fasted, and took no part in the pleasures of bathing or eating. Finally after combing the entire earth, Demeter went to the sun.
The sun, which had seen what had happened, told Demeter the whole story. Learning that Zeus was involved, Demeter withheld her gifts to the earth, and the land became barren, icebound, and lifeless. Demeter’s tears turned into crystal snow, and the land was covered with a blanket of sadness. That year was the worst year for all the creatures of the earth. Nothing grew from the grieving soil, no seeds, and no flowers. The earth was dry and lifeless. Zeus began to fear that the whole race of men would die of famine and sent god after god to Demeter to try to turn her from her anger, but she would listen to none of them. Never would she allow a single plant on the entire earth to bear fruit, until Persephone was returned to her.
Zeus sent Hermes, messenger to the Gods, to the underworld to bid his brother Hades return Persephone. Before Persephone could leave, Hades made Persephone eat some pomegranate seeds. When Persephone appeared at the surface with Hermes, there was much rejoicing by all the people and creatures of the land. Demeter and Persephone were so happy to see one another again. When Demeter heard of the pomegranate seeds Persephone was forced to eat, which would keep her daughter, the virgin Spring Goddess infertile, she cried in anger fearing she would not be able to keep her daughter with her.
Demeter, angry at the injustice done to the women of her family, retreated to her temple and wept. Rhea, the mother of Zeus (also known as Cybele), drove her winged chariot to Demeter’s temple to comfort her.
‘Come, my daughter. Come once again to where you will have your desire, your daughter Persephone, to comfort your sorrow. …Peace now: Give men life, which comes alone from your giving.’[415]
Gathering: Pomegranate trees usually bear fruit after five to seven years of growth and continue for at least thrity years. Fruit should be snipped from the stem with clippers so not to damage the fruit bearing nodes, which have the capacity to bear fruit for many years. Harvest pomegranate fruit when the rind becomes yellow to red brown and when pressing on the rind gives the sound of grains crackling.[416] Root bark is best gathered at the end of the fruiting season just after the leaves turn brilliant yellow.
Purchasing: Choose a pomegranate heavy for its size with a bright and shiny skin.
Preparation: Slice the pomegranate as an orange, removing the top, bottom, and scoring the rind every few inches around the fruit. Peel fruit in a bowl of water, separating the peel from the fruit crystals (arils). Discard any discolored arils. Place the arils in a piece of cheesecloth and tighten to extract the juice into a container. Stir the fresh seeds into a jar of honey and store in the refrigerator. Seeds may be used contraceptively. (See Appendix J).
Words to the Wise: Pomegranate seeds are estrogenic and may cause estrogen-like side effects: abnormal blood clotting, liver problems, and may encourage the growth of estrogen-dependent tumors. Pomegranate roots have caused blindness in some people who have used them medicinally. The blindness caused by pomegranate roots is usually temporary but occasionally is permanent and is thought to be due to inflammation of the optic nerve.[417] Use Caution.
Watch for Specific Signs of Toxicity for Pomegranate Root Bark: muscle weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, prolonged and abnormal dilation of the eye, dimness of vision, and loss of vision.
Pomegranate Abortifacient Infusion (root bark): Soak 2 oz. (57 g) of root bark in 1½ cup (375 ml) water overnight. Boil gently to 1 cup (250 ml). Pour into glass thermos. Give lukewarm in three doses, at intervals of one hour.
Pomegranate Abortifacient Pessary: Grind the inside of fresh pomegranate peel with water and apply to the cervix.[418]
Queen Anne's Lace
In India, the seeds (Daucus carota) are popularly supposed to cause abortion, and are kept by all the native druggists.
-William Dymock in Pharmacographia Indica, 1891
AKA: Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, lace flower, devil’s-plague, parsnip, and rantipole.
Part Used: Seed.
Medicinal Properties: Emmenagogue, estrogenic, also traditionally used as a deobstruent.
Effects on Body: Effects fertility, either positively or negatively, depending on dosage. Also removes calculi, kidney stones, and gall stones.
Abortifacient Action: Estrogenic and blocks progesterone synthesis.
Contains: Betaine (an abortifacient), beta-sitosterol (a phytoestrogen), and diosgenin (a phytoestrogen).
Description: Queen Anne’s lace has erect, 1 – 3 ft. (0.3 – 1 m) high, hollow, ridged, bristly stems which bear alternate or basal leaves made up of feather-like segments. In late summer, tiny white flowers crowd flat-topped umbels, which mature to concave seed filled cups. One to several tiny flowers in the center of the umbel is deeper colored than all the rest, usually deep pink to purple. Introduced from Eurasia, Queen Anne’s lace has spread to every state in the continental United States, with the possible exception of North Dakota. Queen Anne’s lace is a very common weed found in dry fields, old meadows, pastures, and waste places.
Queen Anne’s lace’s abortifacient powers have been known since ancient times. Dioscorides (1st or 2nd century A.D.) noted in his Materia medica that Daucus carota had emmenagogual and abortifacient powers, “To bring forth the menses and abort the embryo, take Queen Anne’s lace seed.” The ancient Greeks called Queen Anne’s lace ‘Phileon’ and noted a connection with affairs of love.[419] In North America, women living in the Appalachian Mountains have used Queen Anne’s lace seeds to regulate their fertility for hundreds of years. In the autumn, when the seeds are ripe, Appalachian women gather enough seed for their use throughout the following year. The day after sexual intercourse, women who do not want to be pregnant stir one teaspoon of the dried seeds into a glass of water and drink the mixture.[420] In India, women in Rajasthan, take the same seed in water mixture or chew on the dried seeds of Queen Anne’s lace to reduce fertility.
417
David G. Spoerke Jr.,
418
A. Cornelius Celsus, trans. W.G. Spencer,
419
Jeannine Parvati,
420
R. Chaudhury, "The Quest for a Herbal Contraceptive."