Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum)

Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum, P. odoratum, and related species) is a graceful woodland perennial with arching stems bearing paired oval leaves and pendant clusters of white bell-shaped flowers in spring. The rhizome, which is the part most used in magickal work, bears circular scars where the previous year’s stems have detached, and these scars were observed by early herbalists to resemble the official seals used on legal documents. This resemblance gave the plant its name and its central magickal function: sealing, binding, and the authority to close and fix what has been done.

In magickal practice, Solomon’s Seal belongs to Saturn and Water, correspondences that give it a quality of depth, finality, and ancient authority. It is the herb of completion and of the power that holds a working in place.

History and origins

The name Solomon’s Seal appears in European herbal literature from the medieval period, connecting the plant to King Solomon’s legendary wisdom and his reputed mastery over spirits and hidden forces. The Key of Solomon, a grimoire compiled in its present form probably during the fifteenth or sixteenth century but drawing on older material, is the primary textual tradition linking Solomon’s name to magical seals and authority over spirits. Whether the plant was named for the grimoire tradition or the grimoire tradition reinforced an existing folk name is not clearly established.

In European herbalism from the medieval period through the early modern, Solomon’s Seal root was used medicinally for bruises, broken bones, and wounds, with a reputation for “sealing” and knitting together what had been separated. This physical application is consistent with and reinforces the magickal understanding of the plant as a sealer and binder.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Polygonatum odoratum (yu zhu) has been used as a tonic herb for thousands of years, associated with the cultivation of vitality, moistening dryness, and supporting long life. This parallel tradition of the plant as a sustaining and strengthening ally reinforces its contemporary use in protection and wisdom work.

In practice

Solomon’s Seal is most often used at the closing stages of a working, when the intention has been set and the spell is complete and needs to be sealed so that it can do its work without interference. A piece of the dried root or herb placed on top of a completed sachet, spoken over at the end of a ritual, or incorporated into the final layer of a jar spell signals completion and holds the working closed.

The herb is also used in protection workings, particularly protection of a firm and binding kind, and in exorcism and banishing where the authority associated with Solomon’s name is invoked.

Magickal uses

Solomon’s Seal’s primary magickal applications include:

• Sealing and binding completed workings, giving them a quality of finality and fixing the intention in place.
• Protection and warding, particularly at entry points and thresholds where a firm boundary is required.
• Wisdom and access to deep or ancient knowledge, drawing on Solomon’s legendary authority over hidden things.
• Exorcism and the binding of unwanted presences or influences, using the plant’s Saturnine authority to hold what needs to be contained.
• Banishing, particularly in workings that require a definitive and lasting outcome rather than a temporary removal.

How to work with it

Sealing a working: When your spell or ritual is complete, place a piece of dried Solomon’s Seal root or herb on top of the assembled components before sealing a container or tying a sachet closed. As you seal it, speak a brief and definite statement: this is done, this is sealed, this works. The plant’s material presence reinforces the energetic authority of the closing.

Protective threshold: Lay a line of powdered Solomon’s Seal root across a threshold, inside or out, setting a clear protection intention as you do. This is a direct and material form of boundary-setting using the plant’s Saturn and Water correspondences for firm, authoritative protection.

Wisdom work: For workings that require access to deep understanding, carry a small piece of Solomon’s Seal root in a sachet during periods of study, divination, or spiritual inquiry. The plant’s association with Solomon’s legendary wisdom supports the opening of perception to knowledge that is not immediately obvious.

Solomon’s Seal pairs well with frankincense for authority and spiritual depth, with black tourmaline for firm protection, and with mugwort for workings that combine sealing with visionary capacity.

In myth and popular culture

The name Solomon”s Seal connects this plant directly to one of the most influential figures in Western magical tradition. King Solomon”s legendary authority over demons and spirits is the foundation of the Solomonic grimoire tradition, the largest single body of Western magical texts, encompassing the Key of Solomon, the Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton), the Goetia, and dozens of related manuscripts. The plant”s rhetorical association with Solomon places it within this tradition of binding, commanding, and sealing, giving it a narrative weight that extends beyond its botanical properties.

Paracelsus, the sixteenth-century physician and alchemist, described Solomon”s Seal in his botanical and medical writings as a plant suited to wound healing and the knitting of bones, connecting the external medical application to the internal magical one. Paracelsus”s medical herbalism influenced subsequent European herbal tradition significantly, and his mention of the plant in a context of physical “sealing” contributed to its sustained reputation in both medicine and magic.

John Gerard”s “Herball” (1597) notes that the name Solomon”s Seal derives from the rhizome scars, which “resemble the print of a seal,” and provides extensive notes on the plant”s wound-healing properties. Nicholas Culpeper”s “Complete Herbal” (1653) assigned it to Saturn and noted its cooling, binding qualities, embedding it firmly in the astrological herbalism that paralleled the magical tradition. These seventeenth-century herbals were standard references for folk healers and cunning folk who worked with the plant in both medicinal and magical contexts.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Polygonatum odoratum (yu zhu) has been used as a tonic herb for centuries, associated in the classical literature with nurturing the yin, moistening dryness, and supporting sustained vitality. The parallel reputation in two independent traditions for a sustaining and binding quality reinforces the plant”s consistent identity across cultures.

Myths and facts

Several misunderstandings arise about Solomon”s Seal in contemporary practice.

• A common belief holds that Solomon”s Seal is the same plant referenced as the Seal of Solomon in grimoire literature. The Seal of Solomon in the grimoire tradition is a geometric symbol, typically a hexagram inscribed with divine names, used to bind and command spirits; the plant Solomon”s Seal is named for its rhizome scars and shares only the naming association, not a direct functional identity with the geometric seal.
• Some practitioners confuse Solomon”s Seal with American spikenard or with false Solomon”s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum), a related plant with a terminal flower cluster rather than pendant flowers. These are distinct plants with different properties; true Solomon”s Seal has flowers hanging from the leaf axils along the stem.
• It is frequently stated that all parts of Solomon”s Seal are toxic. The berries are toxic and should never be consumed; the rhizome has a long history of careful medicinal use in both European and Chinese herbalism. The distinction matters for safe handling, as the plant”s external magical uses are entirely safe, but the berries require caution around children and animals.
• Many practitioners assume that the Saturn and Water correspondences make Solomon”s Seal an exclusively banishing or binding herb. While these are its primary magical applications, the traditional Chinese medical use as a yin tonic and the plant”s association with wisdom and ancient knowledge give it a positive, sustaining dimension that complements the closing and protecting work.
• A common assumption holds that you need the root specifically for all magical applications. In practice dried herb, leaf, or root can all be used in sachets and threshold workings; the root is traditional for the most formal applications such as sealing jars and binding workings, but the whole plant carries the plant”s properties.