Bay Laurel
Laurus nobilis

Associations

Element: Fire

Planetary Ruler: Sun

Mood: Uplifting, energising, protective.

Folkloric: Success, victory, protection.

History

O, victorious Laurel, the tree after whom the whole Laurel family (Lauraceae) and order (Laurales) is named, tell us your secrets! Other members of the Laurel family include Cinnamon, Camphor and even Avocado (!) but the matriarch of these is the noble Laurus nobilis, Bay Laurel. There will be more to say on the origin of laurel later, but I should say now that bay comes from the Old French baie meaning berry, and does not relate to the body of water. I should also point out that the plant commonly called 'Bayberry' is a different genus and species altogether and not related.

Bay Laurel is native to the Mediterranean and parts of Asia and is an evergreen tree with aromatic elliptic shaped leaves. These leaves are harvested throughout the year, but most aromatic when picked in late summer after a spell of dry weather. Laurels have been used throughout history in food, medicine, and as a symbol for victory. There are many phrases and traditions that originate from the word laurel, including the popular name Laura.

Although the tree is not native to the UK, it was naturalised fairly early probably by the Romans, as evidenced by the fact it is 'so well known' by the time Gerard published his herbal in 1597, that he said it would be unnecessary to write a description for its identification. 

Today the bay leaf is a staple seasoning to any good red pasta sauce, although the internet has made it a highly memeable ingredient. My personal favourite is the caption 'Putting a bay leaf in my sauce even though I don't know what the f*ck it does' above a screen grab from Severence with the iconic line 'the work is mysterious and important.'

Traditional Uses

 

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Bay leaves have a traditional medicinal history of being good for curing bruises and sprains. This is something still cited today as use in aromatherapy (Lavabre, 1990), and also which aligns with Grieve's A Modern Herbal (1931). My favourite nugget of traditional lore I think comes from Gerard's herbal or General Historie of Plantes (1597) which says: 'it is reported that common drunkards were accustomed to eat in the morning fasting [breakfast] two leaves thereof against drunkenness.' So, those of you who enjoy a bloody mary to cure hangovers (bay leaves of course being one of the ingredients), you are really enjoying a centuries-old remedy! Although I don't recommend actually eating the bay leaves, they can be a strong purgative to the bowels and there's some evidence that it might be toxic to the liver in the long run if you eat the leaves whole and often.

As many well know, bay leaves are typically added as a flavouring to sauces or meat dishes and then removed before eating to prevent choking hazards. There are a delightful many recipes you can find online that call for bay leaf, and if you haven't already I would give one a try! Bay leaves can be found in most grocery shops and also at whole foods shops like Holland & Barrett.

In home aromatherapy, the essential oil has a lovely warm and sweet herbaceous smell. It can be good for clearing the skin and reducing inflammation, and on a personal note it is one of my favourites to use as a home fragrance because it just smells so cosy!

Folklore

Ever used the term 'resting on one's laurels' and wonder where it came from? Well, it is a suggestion that one not rest after a victory but instead continue the pursuit of further glory. It comes from ancient Greece and Rome, where Laurel crowns/wreathes were given to those who had achieved greatness. In Greece the Laurel was given to the victors of games that were held in Apollo's honour, and in Rome it was adopted as the symbol by several emperors.  Today we still see this symbol for victory on sporting brands and used to crown victors. For example, in Formula 1 until the mid-1980s huge wreathes were adorned upon victors and the plant can still be seen 'crowning' the victors hats on the podium today. The symbol we most commonly associate with the Laurel wreath for victory (as pictured next to Lando Norris here) also appears as 'olive branches' in the logo for the United Nations, which is an interesting dual symbol. It certainly gives us food for thought, can peace really only come after victory as it did in 1945 when the UN was established?

Today we still see the concept of lauding* someone with a Laurel wreath carried forward in words like 'poet laureate' and baccalaureate—which actually means 'laurel berry'! (bacca = berry, laureate = of the laurel). It seems that the word 'bachelor' as in bachelor's degree (another word for a baccalaureate) is only coincidentally spelled the same as bachelor as in 'a single man' which seems to be derived from other similar sounding words and itself has no association with the Laurel tree. Whereas the degree most definitely is related to the Laurel as is seen in Italy, where it is still common today for graduates to wear a Laurel wreath at their ceremonies. It is really lovely to see a tradition carried on alive and well thousands of years later!

*Etymologists tell me the word lauded, which comes from 'praise' in Latin, has nothing to do with a Laurel but you honestly can't convince me of that.

Ovid tells the story of how Laurel became associated with Apollo in his epic poem Metamorphoses. In book 1, Apollo is struck by cupid to fall in love with Daphne, a forest nymph and daughter of the river Peneus. Daphne is the Greek word for Laurel, and thus Laurel is the Roman name for the nymph Daphne, having no other translatable meaning etymologically. I shall share a portion of the translation from The Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge because I thought it painted an exceptionally beautiful portrait of the wild divine female being objectified and ultimately sacrificing herself to stay free. It mirrors well the desire that some women have to be 'anything but being married' which we see so often in stories of female Catholic Saints such as St. Lucia or St. Columba of Cornwall.

Apollo was in love, while Daphne took flight at the very word, rejoicing instead in woodland dens and the trophies of captured beasts, trying to rival the virgin goddess Diana. A headband held together her unkempt hair. Many men wooed her but she turned them all away. Having no time for men, she roamed the pathless glades. She cared nothing for the god of marriage, or love, or for a wedding.

Often her father said to her, 'My daughter, you owe me a son-in-law,' and as often, 'Child, you owe me grandchildren.' But she rejected marriage torches as if they were a crime. Her beautiful face blushed red and she clung to her father's neck. 'Dearest father', she said, 'allow me to enjoy perpetual virginity. Diana's father allowed her this in the past.'

[...When Apollo took up desirous pursuit of her,] she fled from him faster than the breeze and did not stop to hear the words that he called out. [...] It was like when a Gallic hound spots a hare in an empty field: the one uses his feet to seek his prey, the other to seek safety. [On they ran until Daphne's] strength gone, she grew pale. Worn down by the effort of her flight, she spied the waters of [her father] Peneus, and said: 'Give me help, father, if your streams possess the power. Change and destroy the beauty for which I was too much admired.' 

Her prayer was scarcely finished when a heavy torpor took hold of her limbs. Her soft chest was surrounded by a thin bark. Her hair grew into leaves and her arms into branches. Her foot, that had recently been so swift, was stuck in sluggish roots. A treetop overwhelmed her face. Only her radiant beauty remained.

This tree, too, [Apollo] loved. He put his hand on the trunk, and felt the heart still trembling under the new bark. He embraced the branches with his arms as if they were limbs, and planted kisses on the wood. Even the wood tried to escape his kisses.

'Although you cannot be my wife', the god said to her, 'You will certainly be my tree. My hair, my lyre and my quivers shall always wear you, Laurel. You will adorn Latin leaders when a happy voice proclaims a triumph and the Capitol sees long triumphal processions. At Augustus' doorposts you will stand, as faithful guard before his doorway, and see the oak in between. And as my hair is uncut, you too will wear an everlasting crown of leaves.'

-Ovid, Metamorphoses, i.452–567 (c. 8 AD) translated by The Fitzwilliam Museum

This is of course the Greco-Roman origin myth of how Laurel came to be, as the nymph Daphne who turned into a tree. While it seems perhaps 'adoring' to the ancients, that Apollo continued to use her body without her consent thereafter to crown his victors—I think modern audiences might disagree. I like this translation so much because it really puts you in Daphne's desperate shoes, and shows her transformation and her outer shell of the Laurel tree as a symbol of her own protection. By transforming, she kept her virginity, and can remain a powerful nature spirit forevermore. Therefore, in addition to being a symbol for victory and success, I see Laurel as a powerful symbol of protection, independence and divine femininity.

This ability to protect was evidently also believed in by Medieval folk in England. In Culpeper's herbal he provides a quoted description from 'a friend' about its protective properties:

[Bay Laurel] resisteth witchcraft very potently, and also all the evils old Saturn can do the body of man, and they are not a few; for [I believe it was Mizaldus—a French astronomer—that once said], that neither witch nor devil, thunder nor lightning will hurt a man where a bay tree is.

-Nicholas Culpeper, Complete Herbal (1653)

In modern folk practice, there is a common ritual shared online about writing a wish (or any other working you desire) on a bay leaf and then burning it to manifest it into reality. I personally do love a good bay leaf burning session when I feel life is getting a bit too stagnant and I need to shake things up! Equally, for those with less of a penchant for fire, adding bay leaves to your recipes or diffusing this gorgeous smelling essential oil is a great alternative way to experience this same wonderful effect.

O, victorious Laurel, have we now unwound your secrets? What more do you have to teach us? Only time and honoured tradition will tell...

Aromatic Profile

• Note: Middle
• Scent Family: Spicy, herbal, camphoraceous

Essential Oils Safety Information

• Never ingest/take internally.
• Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes.
• Keep away from children and pets.
• Full safety information and directions will be provided in a safety card upon purchase, please read fully.

Bibliography & Sources