Mint
(including peppermint & spearmint)
Mentha spp.
Family: Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Deities: Oya, Obatala, Nana Buruku, Ellegua
Element: Peppermint (fire), Spearmint (water)
Ah mint, how tasty and refreshing. The fresh mints are very popular and easy to grow. There are many species/varieties that answer to the name mint and while there are differences, there is a great deal of overlap of spiritual and medicinal properties. I'm only going to focus on peppermint and spearmint for this article. Spearmint is considered to be the older of the two, with peppermint being a hybrid, appearing later.Medicinal Uses: Most famously, mints soothe upset tummies and relieve gas. They may also prevent ulcers. The mints have anesthetic properties and one of the active ingredients, menthol, is a well known treatment for respiratory congestion. Mints are antibacterial and antiviral.
Spiritual Uses: Mints are healers and therefore often get added to healing spells, especially for anything involving the digestive or respiratory systems. Mints are also wonderful purifiers and are excellent at clearing the air of negativity. Both will also increase mental clarity. You'll notice that peppermint is listed as being aligned with the element of fire (due to its spicier nature) and spearmint is listed as water (probably due to its milder, mellower character). If everything else is equal, consider the elemental alignment when choosing one over the other.
Both mints grow up to 3 feet tall and have pale purple-pink flowers that grow in whorls at the end of stalks. Also, both mints grow easily from runners and, like the rest of the mint family, have square stems. These perennials like shady, moist soils and are cultivated through out the world. Spearmint has lance-shaped sharply toothed leaves while peppermint has oblong to oval toothed leaves.
