There is so much happening in the world right now to make us angry that we regularly hear people say, ‘It makes my blood boil.’ The Koreans' word for that, Hwambyung, means fire disease since one of its symptoms is a feeling of flames in the body. In English, when outrage burns and demands action, we call it fervour – and the origin of that word comes from Latin, to boil …
Fervour can be a useful instigator of action. ‘If you’re
angry that’s a sign of hope – it means you believe change should happen and
that others should care about you enough to help,’ writes Soraya Chamaly in
Rage Becomes Her. It’s zealous fury
which fuels activism and protests of all kinds and this is characteristic of Vervain
types, standing up for what they are sure is right, while attempting to
persuade others to join in.
Anger, zeal, activism, passion, of themselves do not spell a
need for the Vervain flower remedy. But
when fervour is running high, the pressure we place on ourselves and others
becomes overbearing. Just as milk boiling
over swamps its surroundings, so will our feverish mind-set boil over, swamping
others and leaving us emptied out.
Of course Vervain isn’t solely about being incensed at
injustice. Many of us will find we need
Vervain when we are tense and restless, with too many balls in the air and
unable to relax. Anyone who finds
they’re always on the go, their engines constantly revving away, frantic to get
on with the next commitment, will benefit from a dose or two of Vervain. All those who say they haven’t got time to
sit down, or ‘switch off’, because they’re too busy, they’re needed elsewhere …
they are in the overwrought frame of mind where Vervain will help.
The high-octane enthusiasm and busyness of this emotional state
is very tiring for those in their circle.
Vervain types are perfectionists and expect a high standard from
everybody else too. And because they are so sure they are right they, like Rock
Water, can’t understand why anyone would want them to be any different. Taking
Vervain helps them to accept the need for rest, and relax enough to find it can
be restorative. To understand that their
incandescence overheats everyone it touches – and would be more effective as a
bright star, guiding others forward.
Photo: PublicDomanPictures on Pixabay (as I allude to the Post Office Scandal)
