About
Scientific name: Daucus carota (wild carrot) or Daucus Sativus (domesticated carrot)
Appearance: a root vegetable, we usually think of them as orange but they may come in a variety of colours: purple, black, red, white, and yellow.
Cultivation: originally cultivated for its leaves and seeds it has been selectively bred to create the larger, less woody taproot we enjoy today. Close relatives including parsley, cilantro, coriander, fennel, anise, dill and cumin (all from the Apiaceae family) are still grown for their leaves and seeds.
Carrots are first mentioned in classical Roman sources from the 1st century. They refer to a root vegetable pastinaca which was either the carrot or the closely related parsnip.
Queen Anne’s Lace, which is the flower the wild carrot plant grows, gets its name from Queen Anne of Denmark (which one is disputed.) But the story is simple, the flower is a symbol for the lace she made and the one darkly coloured sterile flower that presents on some plants was caused by the prick of her finger on her tools.
Magical
Correspondences: Mars. lust and fertility. Increases masculine energy for both men and women coming to men in the form of virility.
The flowers or Queen Anne’s Lace (wild carrot) is associated with fertility but also encourages psychic ability.
How to use it. The vegetable is best when cooked with and consumed (or offered) although using seeds as offerings may also benefit you in a petition to a fertility deity. Queen’s Anne’s lace however, should be used in the garden or dried in a sachet.
Mundane
I’m sure you've heard the myth that carrots help you see in the dark but this is only true if you are already suffering from a nutrient deficiency. This narrative actually stems from World War Two British Air Force propaganda! In order to hide their technological advances they attributed their superior air force to carrot consumption. Various sources encouraged people of the time to grow and store carrots its new and novel ways leading to carrot jam and Woolton’s pie (not this week's recipe but maybe one of them should have been!) This of course was also partially due to the rationing of food. So while carrots do contain the nutrients for good eye health they won’t give you super human darkvision.
Chalk full of antioxidants and proto-vitamins (compounds that can be turned into vitamins) but other than that I didn't find any “big claims” like I often do.
Interestingly, unlike BROCCOLI, the amount of beta carotene (a precursor to Vitamin A) is actually increased by cooking. To increase it even further you should make sure to have some healthy fats in your meal as well as it is fat soluble rather than water soluble (like B vitamins)
In the Kitchen: cooked or raw, main, side or garnish almost any meal can be spruced up by the vibrant colour of carrots. My lunch go-to is as a side for soup and sandwich and for dinner I especially love them roasted in olive oil and rosemary. They add a lovely punch to salads and a little off the beaten trail… try pickling them!
The Kitchen Witch's Food List: Magical Properties of Food (otherworldlyoracle.com)
Food Correspondences • Luna's Grimoire
Scientific name: Daucus carota (wild carrot) or Daucus Sativus (domesticated carrot)
Appearance: a root vegetable, we usually think of them as orange but they may come in a variety of colours: purple, black, red, white, and yellow.
Cultivation: originally cultivated for its leaves and seeds it has been selectively bred to create the larger, less woody taproot we enjoy today. Close relatives including parsley, cilantro, coriander, fennel, anise, dill and cumin (all from the Apiaceae family) are still grown for their leaves and seeds.
Carrots are first mentioned in classical Roman sources from the 1st century. They refer to a root vegetable pastinaca which was either the carrot or the closely related parsnip.
Queen Anne’s Lace, which is the flower the wild carrot plant grows, gets its name from Queen Anne of Denmark (which one is disputed.) But the story is simple, the flower is a symbol for the lace she made and the one darkly coloured sterile flower that presents on some plants was caused by the prick of her finger on her tools.
Magical
Correspondences: Mars. lust and fertility. Increases masculine energy for both men and women coming to men in the form of virility.
The flowers or Queen Anne’s Lace (wild carrot) is associated with fertility but also encourages psychic ability.
How to use it. The vegetable is best when cooked with and consumed (or offered) although using seeds as offerings may also benefit you in a petition to a fertility deity. Queen’s Anne’s lace however, should be used in the garden or dried in a sachet.
Mundane
I’m sure you've heard the myth that carrots help you see in the dark but this is only true if you are already suffering from a nutrient deficiency. This narrative actually stems from World War Two British Air Force propaganda! In order to hide their technological advances they attributed their superior air force to carrot consumption. Various sources encouraged people of the time to grow and store carrots its new and novel ways leading to carrot jam and Woolton’s pie (not this week's recipe but maybe one of them should have been!) This of course was also partially due to the rationing of food. So while carrots do contain the nutrients for good eye health they won’t give you super human darkvision.
Chalk full of antioxidants and proto-vitamins (compounds that can be turned into vitamins) but other than that I didn't find any “big claims” like I often do.
Interestingly, unlike BROCCOLI, the amount of beta carotene (a precursor to Vitamin A) is actually increased by cooking. To increase it even further you should make sure to have some healthy fats in your meal as well as it is fat soluble rather than water soluble (like B vitamins)
In the Kitchen: cooked or raw, main, side or garnish almost any meal can be spruced up by the vibrant colour of carrots. My lunch go-to is as a side for soup and sandwich and for dinner I especially love them roasted in olive oil and rosemary. They add a lovely punch to salads and a little off the beaten trail… try pickling them!
The Kitchen Witch's Food List: Magical Properties of Food (otherworldlyoracle.com)
Food Correspondences • Luna's Grimoire
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