Without question, basil represents the "King of Herbs" from the Older World, today referred to as the aromatic Thai basil or sweet basil and a member of the mint family. Basil presents outstanding terminal clusters that grow as long as 10 inches foliating a blend of deep purple-pointed bloom starts (reference right) that extend into segmented whitish-lavender blooms with flaring mauve-toothed edges, and tiny dangling white pistils. (reference far left and top)

From experience, this species of plant flourishes at the Florida 28˚ latitude position and provides an abundant supply from a single plant with its hearty nature and the stiff, tough stems for support. During the year of 2008, the plant above has been cut back several times already, and continues to grow through the winter, also seeming to want to be replanted, as one stray seed has already sprouted another hearty plant.

The historical mystery around the ancient Christians, and that of the Roman Catholic Church inclusive of the Pope, may not be that hard to solve, after all, we are talking about the most hearty plant I've experienced in a very long time, and the overwhelming amount of product received from the plant itself far outweighs other similar medicinal plants. The processing of the plant yields much more as the long blooms once dried can easily be skimmed into a bowl and crushed with your hands along with the leaves to increase flavor, and to optimize what is medicinally available in the plant.

The aroma of this ancient basil is rich, and weighty compared to other herbs, and recommended by those who cook with herbs all over the world today. As a daily addition to a diet, basil may offer a venue to expand from, to actually become actively partaking and experiencing how easily herbal plants can be grown next to an entrance or sunny spot near anyone's home. This species loves the moist heat and needs sufficient water if not readily available in the climate. Watering should increase and decrease in correlation to the peak of seasons.

In Florida, this king of herbs has unusual friends in the insect kingdom, and that of the docile wasp, of which the plant above has two hives close by nestled in a growing vine in a protected area. (see photo, opens in new window) This was more than enough to assist in the pollination of one plant that reaches a height of 24 -36 inches, and a space of the same amount, as this plant will easily crowd out neighbor plants. The wasp will attempt to survive the winter by clustering together on the small pod hanging from the vine, most will die, and some will survive to continue the nest. Without direct harassment, they remain harmless. Some of the other species who nest lower to the grown however are quite aggressive if disturbed.

In following the trial into the basis of this royal herb, we may meet the juggernaut, or that of the "lord of the world", the masculine king deity as in the Hindu jagannānth, the title of Krishna, and this seems to match the king of flora, as in herbaceous. In etymology, the closest rooted word to basil is the word basis, which is a part of the g^wā- derivative root group, a very unusually structured etymology with a large section of additions. The group's strong points are the words: become, basis, and the duplicated Sanskrit jigāti, he goes; which happens to be masculine. For those who enjoy seeing behind the eytmon mirror, Julius Pokorny provides page 463 titled "cut and dried" as navigation for the g^wā- derivative root group from the AHD, 3rd Ed, although this group has not been sequenced as of the writing.

Basil and the prominent representation of strength, the ability for a completely edible plant (see dying batch photo right), excepting the stems which may be boiled into poultice for examination, experimentation, and further study, opens the possible doorway between the man and the woman in one sense, a possible garrat, as in a place in the mind that keeps the mind's eye open. If a queen of herbs exists, an attempt to located her and classified the results is sought.

The Krishna trail however turns south upon entry, as there are two Krishna's listed in the AHD, one being the eighth and principal avatar of Vishnu, often depicted as a young man playing a flute opposing the strange Krishna², which is the Kistna, or another name for the cist, and a direct reference to cist². This is defined as the Neolithic stone coffin from Welsh for chest, from Latin cista, basket, from cist¹ which is an ancient wicker receptacle used in ancient Rome to carry utensils in procession, from the Greek kistē. There is also the cislunar, which is a classification for that which is between the earth and moon, but no listing for that which is between the sun and moon, however, a reference may be noted elsewhere. The prefix cis- represents identical atoms or groups linked by a double bond through the use of carbon atoms.

If following this prefix into the derivatives, the ko- root appears representing the essence of the whetstone, as in a "sharp pointed object", which may bring the sense of the evil red star floating above the pyramid in one lurid cislunar subjection, as seen on the American dollar bill. This is the narrowing pyramid from the earth rising into the feminine moon, and may be the Lady of the Labyrinth in analogy to power. The Pokorny from the ko- root leads straight to another derivative root group from the word distinguish on page 541. This leads to the steig- root which is the stigma, and also the instinct. However, the steig- root group is a stitch from the stei- root which is the Old Norse stone, the Greek stear, solid fat, suit; while steig- is to roast on a spit. To follow more into the rabbit trail of roots, look for a link here soon.
[Indo-European roots:  g^wā-;  ko-; stei-; steig-]

In early September, I wrote in chapter 38 of the search for the Sapient Stone Language and described the word garnish as a watchtower to an endless list of herbal and medicinal plants, and seeds that assist in homeopathic and augur properties mostly unresearched, Its lex-partner is the word garrat in sequence within the root group which is from Old French garite, watchtower, from garir, to defend, of Germanic origin. [reference: wer-⁴- mache moons (38)]

to be continued....