Christmas Rose

Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) is known in German as “Schwarze Nieswurz” (black sneezewort), its powdered root was said to cause sneezing, vomiting, and hallucinations. Folklore claimed that the root could be used in witchcraft rituals, including spells of invisibility and protection against evil. It was believed that the root must be dug up under secret incantations, and then swung over livestock to ward off curses. Ancient Greek physicians used hellebore to treat what they called “madness” or disturbances of the mind. The plant’s narcotic and purgative properties made her a controversial remedy. In the Middle Ages, she was strewn on floors to drive out evil spirits, and some believed she could cleanse the soul as well as the body. In her, identity crosses threshold and danger: a self that heals, purges, and unsettles in equal measure.